#also. now i can't help thinking of that one scene from LOST: when jack and kate got caught in a net together on the island and kate told

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Buffy getting caught in a net in Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 2.15, and then Angel being trapped in one in episode 3.15. LOL

[paris-geller-was-straightwashed]

okay so, having now seen furiosa: a mad max saga opening night and having Ruminated on my thoughts, I am going to give my two-pence on the movie even though nobody asked or wanted it - you're getting it anyway!

but before going into the full thing, I actually re-watched fury road today, bc I just wanted to contrast it now that we know furiosa's full story that lead her to her trek in fury road, and I just had mad max on the brain (and also I love that movie).

spoilers under the cut below!!

first, I already knew before seeing the prequel, that that scene in fury road where furiosa breaks down after learning about what happened to 'the green place,' was going to now hit 2x as hard once we learn what really happened the moment she was ripped away, and...yeah, it's super painful to watch. it was already a very emotional scene, but now having known how much pain and struggle it costed her, how many times furiosa desperately made her bet to get back home and fell short - you can really feel her grief

funnily enough though, I was shocked to find myself tearing up not during that scene, but when furiosa was reunited with the last of the many mothers. having just watched her ripped away so unfairly as a defenseless child, her whole world destroyed and clinging onto this dream of one day, getting to embrace her family - you can't help it!! I started tearing up when the other woman rushed to furiosa, embracing her with the gentle touch of their foreheads, 'this is our furiosa' 😭 like..she did it!! she made it home!!! - also, I learned in the credits - that woman was actually the same little girl, valkyrie, in furiosa who was her friend!!! that girl saw her friend get snatched and pulled away from their home, and then finally, both grown, they reuinite! I just thought that was sweet

what max says to her about hope in the scene after they find the mothers, 'if you can't fix what's broken..you'll go insane.' - my mind immediately jumped to dementus. we get this glimpse that he once had a wife and child(ren) he loved, that were either taken from him or killed, and he tells furiosa in their stand-off more or less how that destroyed him mentally, further plunging him into this hateful madman who acts so cruelly to others. he couldn't 'fix' it by getting them back ('I want them back!!' 'I can't!!'), the one thing he loved that kept him sane, and so he lost his humanity.

I saw a post of someone saying how ricktus's death (immortan joe's son) is 10x more satisfying after having seen what he (nearly) did to child furiosa...abso-fucking-lutely (though, I think with that in mind, furiosa should've gotten a part in it..)

also, max & and furiosa's dynamic after knowing about her & jack...the parallels! the parallels!! their gradual bond of trust, how fluidly they work together to kill/fight the enemies of the citadel akin to her and jack vs. dementus and gang, etc.

this saga, of course, is about hope and redemption, alluded to in both fury road and the prequel. in fury road, max says (I think in his opening monologue) how he was once strived to be a 'righteous warrior', who could do good and help others. later, when one of the wives finds the warboy nux, he's distraught bc he thinks his chances for greatness are gone, but then she tells him that maybe, he's destined for something greater - and that would be, of course, later sacrificing himself to save her and the rest by crashing the rig into the war party. in furiosa, jack says how his parents were valiant warriors, and how he hopes one day, he could be the same - also, later, fulfilling that by sacrificing himself so that furiosa might escape dementus and the destroyed gastown. it's just such an amazing string of parallels - all three men, looking to do something great, and then, through furiosa, they're given that chance and achieve something good even amongst the destruction!! but it's only bc of furiosa, this harbinger of hope, that they do so - she's the tie between them all, the embodiment of that goodness!!! it's! just! so! good!!!

honestly there's probably way more parallels out there I'm sure ppl will bring up, but those were the things that struck me. now, onto my actual thoughts on the prequel.

--I'll start by saying I was unbelievably excited to see this movie. I'm annoyed though, bc despite knowing about it and wanting to see it once it was released, I literally only learned it was coming out a week before the release date. straight up, the press for it was so poor, not once did I hear about it before the trailer randomly crossed my feed one day - and considering how popular fury road is, I find that bizarre (but, I'll bet you a good couple bucks, that the press/hype was deliberately poor bc of the movie company execs, due to this being a female lead film 😠) - but it did mean I didn't have to wait too long, and that I did watch the trailer about 13 times on my own accord until then..

--having read the reviews, I do agree, it is a bit slower then fury road - but, that's really only bc it's a character story instead. fury road takes places in the current time of the film and the actions that follow, whereas the prequel is specifically about furiosa, so it's honed less to the action and more about a certain character, in my opinion. but it's just as good for a character story! it does an excellent job of unfolding furiosa's journey, and really, if you're gunna compare everything in the franchise to fury road, it's never gunna live up. that said, there's still excellent action and real nail-biting moments.

--I will say though, that I found it almost...darker, then fury road? fury road is definitely intense and there's of course violence, but it never openly tips into anything past pg-13; the darkness that is there, is more or less touched upon by the narrative (like, we can get a sense of what must've happened to the wives (ie assault) and why they escaped once we see how immortan joe regards them as property, the suffering furiosa must've went through by the pure vitriol look she gives him when their cars are side-by-side and later, 'remember me?' before killing him (my favourite scene)). but it's never explicit - furiosa is. from the torture of her mother, to that scene right after the max cameo when he drops furiosa off at the citedel's underground where I literally had to cover my eyes and ask my friend to say when it was done..there's an overtone of darkness that gives to the tragedy of furiosa, this child molded from pain (not to mention, again, that scene of ricktus and her as a child which to me, was the most nerve-wracking moment). fury road gives you a glimpse, but furiosa doesn't hold back.

--chris hemsworth, meanwhile, made an excellent villain. not just as an actor, but dementus as a character was fantastic. he's got lots of great lines and brings in a lot of humor - he's both deranged and erratic, while also clever and simultaneously childish, and mostly, cruel. he's wonderfully dynamic. bringing in a backstory of losing his wife/child was a great added piece to his story (I love a good backstory), and the way he takes the loss of his kid and tried to mold it around furiosa, tries to fill that empty piece inside, was a great choice in terms of their dynamic. it made him more then just a mad-man who stole a child for yuks - he had a deeper desire to tote furiosa around, almost as a security blanket in the same way the teddy bear also acts as one. his final monologue was great - the ramblings of a hateful man, but it was, in the end, what got furiosa to see past vengeance, and become better - to choose hope, and not destruction.

--anya taylor-joy did a great job I thought - while I wish furiosa had more lines, she made up for it in just the facial expressions and how full they were, really giving us a glimpse of what furiosa was feeling. even still, it would've been nice to have known what was going on in her head, or even hear her talk about her past - the green place, and then dementus, are the pure driving force of her character, yet she doesn't ever mention or grapple with her grief around these things, simply stays silent (except for the final confrontation with dementus). I would've loved maybe, if she had confided in jack, or maybe even one of the wives, to give more depth to her feelings.

--I also wish furiosa could've bonded with someone else besides jack, or at least before him. it would've been nice for to have had at least one ally, or, I dunno, a friend? like that war boy who had dwarfism - she seemed almost sad, when realizing after the battle that he was dead. instead, she's alone, but a fellow misfit friend could've been nice.

--speaking of jack, loved him! thought he was great! it's unfortunate his part was so short, would've loved delve into his background (also, I'm as gay as they come, but he's like..an objectively Good Looking Man, so well done all around).

--I was really nervous, for how they were gunna do the romance. I was against it initially, bc the great thing about fury road, was that romance was not at all forced into the narrative - you can read that between max & furiosa if you want, but for one of the very, very few times when a woman and man team up, romance wasn't forcefully wedged in, and instead they could be respected allies. so I was skeptical - and then I totally fell for them. they were so sweet! the two actors had great chemistry - their bond was just so soft. the way, after they crash and are caught by dementus, furiosa, who can barely stand, gently leans herself into jack's shoulder, sweetly muttering to each other as he leans his forehead back against hers, like 😩😩 it was so lovely, and so tragic. you could really feel the respect and care they had for each other; it was so organic, bc jack genuinely wanted to help furiosa. he respected her and asked nothing of her - he was a purely good man, and through that, furiosa was able to open up to him and trust him. it's the great curse of the mad max universe though - no romance can escape it's claws, same with how nux and one of the wives were torn apart. in my heart of hearts though, there lives a little AU fic where dementus doesn't catch them, and they make their way back to the green place and live happily ever after with a kid perhaps, and maybe, furiosa and him go back to later rescue the wives (they say, like they're not thinking of already writing that very fic...).

--one more thing about furiosa I wanted to mention, if I can call back to earlier saying how she becomes a beacon of hope for the various men that enter her life (and the women too, when you think of the wives..) - that, despite all this horror handed to her, at the very end of the rope, she gives into her hero's heart. time over, we see, even as the destruction of the wasteland chips away at her, furiosa can never quite betray her heart. she runs back to her mother even after being pushed to leave, she goes back for jack despite having the perfect escape to finally make it back home, and in the end, takes all her hurt and anger wrapped up in dementus, and turns it and him into something that can bring good into the world. it's about choosing good, above all!! a hero's heart, even in the darkest of worlds!!!

--the trailer really emphases the green place, but we only see it for like...a couple minutes? I was looking forward to more lore about it, maybe seeing some of it's inhabitants like the mothers. but furiosa is taken immediately and then her mother starts her hunt after her, and that's it. kinda a bummer.

--there's a couple inconsistencies here and there - like, when furiosa is first brought to where the wives are kept, there's gotta be about 20 women in there, roughly. but then, as she becomes a young adult, we see at the very end her approach the 5 wives from fury road (I was expecting a call-back, so loved that) and it looks like there's only them there - what happened to the rest of the women??? did they all die in childbirth?? also, when furiosa runs away and hides herself as a warboy/mechanic, how did no one know she was gone?? it seems odd, since immortan joe specifically picked her out and probably has a mental line-up of all his 'treasures', you'd think he'd notice. or how, later on, the new 'imperior' with jack looks oddly similar to that young girl ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

--also, I wanna know how furiosa got away with being the only female imperior - you'd think immortan joe might snag her away instead to be a wife bc she's young and viable, or that she'd be either dismissed or preyed upon by his sons/the other men. maybe because she was partnered with jack it was easier, but that was kinda confusing.

--final thing, bc this post is already too long - my last gripe is mainly about furiosa's dynamic with immortan joe. in furiosa, her revenge is purely motivated towards dementus, but then, switching to fury road, she now holds contempt and anger towards the warlord. part of what I wanted to see in the film, was her past with immortan joe; we didn't know initially how furiosa got to the citadel, but my interpretation, was always that possibly (because she was branded with the logo on her neck) she was brought on as a wife, inevitably abused by him, and then something happened where she was no longer useful as a wife (maybe an accident that cost her her arm) but was still useful as a tool. but, immortan joe isn't really looked at in the prequel; he's here and there, but doesn't show any particular cruelty or act towards furiosa that I was expecting. that vitriol she shows in fury road, and of course, 'remember me?', makes you think there was something there to fuel furiosa's revenge. instead, nothing really occurs between them - of course, furiosa is brought on to breed him children and then is expected to do his every bidding in getting supplies, so, I think we're supposte to assume that she has seen how cruel he is up close, and so acts against him. still, I was expecting something deeper there.

all in all, I loved it and had a great time. fury road will always be one of my favourites, but this is a great addition. fury road is great on all fronts; a fascinating world, great characters, amazing action, a well-made and clearly cared for story, but the thing I love most - is that it's about hope. it's about choosing, every day, despite the horrors around you, to get up and hope for something better. to do something better, even at your own cost. it's about hope and what we mean to each other when we extend it. and I just love that so much

go see furiosa! support it! it's a great time!

[satureja13]

Jack's Therapy Game (From the beginning -> here)

While Ji Ho was logged in in his Therapy game, Jack was preparing dinner and has an eye on Ji Ho through the new opening. And Sai is sitting at the counter, programming the interface for the Therapy Game so they can throw out an early beta version to help other creatures, as planned. He could do this in the therapy room, but it's more important to watch Jack rather than Ji Ho. (lol) Jack: "He's back! Can Ji Ho continue cooking so I can have a quick session? I've already come so far! Two of my spots are already gone and maybe today the third and I'd be pain free after all these months! Please, Sai. Hm, hm, HM?" Saiwa sighed: "Sure."

Jack is so excited to go back ingame and back to Lou ^^' Jack: "Lou and I will have a great day again. Maybe plan another fight at the Arena and then I will meet the Queen again and I will ask her out! Oh, I love this therapy!" Sai is a bit stressed about the release of their game but he's so happy for Jack. He had this painful rash for over 6 months now, after he left his fated mate and Alpha, Kiyoshi. Ji Ho and Jack changed gear and Jack was ready to go.

uhm

He's dead. Lying there in a pool of his own blood. It's still bright red.

'His eyes, they closed and his last breath spoke He had seen all to be seen A life once full, now an empty vase Wilt the blossoms on his early grave

Walk away me boy, walk away me boy And by morning we'll be free Wipe that golden tear from your mother, dear And raise what's left of the flag for me'

What's left of the Flag - Flogging Molly (One of the best songs ever! As if it was written for this scene.)

Oh no.

Meanwhile Ji Ho had put dinner in the oven and started to work on his Siren's Songs. He's still worried that his evil grandfather has his flippers in this and somehow managed that Ji Ho put a spell on Vlad when they first met so he can get a grip on his powers, like Morgan had claimed. They should somehow solve this and make sure they are safe before Ji Ho can start to have a real relationship with Vlad. And he's still afraid that the Council/his grandfather could try to influence his friends through his Siren's Songs. He should use them only sparsely and they should be very careful on the rare ocassions he sings them to calm his friends when they meet on the festivals in the wheel of the year so they can spend a carefree time together. If only for a few hours. But they also should be safe from the Council as long as they are here in the Otherworld.

And while he was lost in his thoughts, Jack showed up again. Ji Ho: "Why are you back this early, you just left?" Time passes faster ingame. Here, in the real world, only a few minutes, so Jack must have stood stunned for quite a while next to his dead body before the game logged him out. Poor Jack. Jack: "Uhm - I'm dead." Ji Ho: "No." Oh no. It just went so well for all of them! Jack getting rid of his pain, Ji Ho finding his King (and his buried down feelings) and Saiwa living happily on his Flamingo Island.

Sai heard them and came over and they had to tell him. Saiwa: "No." Well, getting killed in a therapy game is a big no-no. All the work and months of playtesting for nothing. What was Tiny Can thinking?

They sat in their 'office' where already the first meeting for the Therapy Game had taken place. Saiwa: "This is game over for the Therapy Game. I told you, one little weirdness and it's over." Jack is more shocked than anyone else about his ingame death, but he can't let go. Not being able to see Lou again, and the Queen, and finally getting rid of his pain... Jack: "But Sai, we've come so far. Don't you want to go back to your Island and heal? And what about poor Ji Ho? He could finally get his buried down feelings back and get rid of his trauma. And Vlad and him could finally be together - for real."

But Saiwa didn't budge. And Jack won't let go either. Saiwa: "There is a murder on the loose in the game. We don't know what happened to you and who it was. We can't go back. No way." Jack: "But what if this is part of my therapy? What if Tiny Can wants me to learn something from it and prosper? Maybe the death of the old me is just the beginning of a new, better Jack?" No one craves a new, better Jack more than Saiwa but: "Jack, what if Ji Ho gets killed? That would only deepen his trauma. You did not experience your death, didn't feel the pain and fear and cruelty that came with it. Maybe Ji Ho or me would."

Ji Ho: "But we can exit the game anytime if something happens. Maybe Jack is right. And we could try to solve the murder of Jack. This must have a meaning. Otherwise Tiny Can wouldn't have implemented it. Time only passes by ingame when one of us is logged in, we could plan our log ins to not loose precious time, find clues and look for witnesses and solve the murder of Jack." Jack: "Oh! That would be awesome! A Criminal Therapy Game!" Ji Ho is already two steps ahead, on the case ^^' : "In which area did you die?" Jack: "Uh, I was a bit out. But it looked like the clearing where Lou and I sparred, in the woods near Goldshire. And now that I recall it - it looked like my heart had been ripped out." Saiwa: "WHAT?" His heart? Ji Ho already has a hunch. He told the others about the incident in Saarburg and that he wants to research what has happened when Greg made the wish at the crossroads. That 'their hearts would change'... Maybe someone took it too literally? But who? Jack: "Detective Duath, we have a case!" Saiwa threw up his hands in surrender: "Fine!" Ji Ho: "But none of us is near Goldshire to look after Jack's dead body. You are still on the Island and I want to stay in Saarburg to investigate and I don't know if I'm free to leave whereever I want when we're back at the castle since I'm supposed to look for my King." It was quiet for a while. Until Jack remembered: "Lou mentioned his friend, the owner of Valerian. He's living in the village nearby. That must be NPC Jeb. Maybe we could send Jeb ingame to investigate the crime scene and look for evidence?" Saiwa took a deep breath in. Jeb. They haven't spoken since Saiwa, Ji Ho and Jack left for the beach house after Saiwa broke down. But this was months ago. And they'll have to go home eventually and solve this case too and have a talk with the others so they can live together again. Maybe this was Tiny Can's plan? Bringing them back together before they drift further apart and the happenings of the message from future Jeb take place? Now that he thinks about it again: They also found Tiny Can at that temple in Selvadorada where future Jeb had left them the message... Saiwa sighed: "Ok. Let's go home. Are you ready for this, Jack?" Jack: "I'm ready when you're ready, my friend."

The Therapy Game Master Post with the sessions and places so far is -> here

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 3, Episode 8, Part 4: "Let The Games Begin", the part where Lorelai says that if Jess was trapped inside her burning house she would save her shoes first

Lorelai Gilmore, you are no Jack Pearson. I won't complete that thought, even though I'm feeling nice and mean and I totally should.

Scene: Lorelai and Rory are discussing the upcoming road trip to New Haven with the Gilmore Grands. Rory forgot to pack. Lorelai goes into panic mode. Rory questions why she needs to pack her entire closet for a short road trip. Lorelai recounts a family vacation story from her childhood that would be best unpacked in a lengthy therapy session, frets that her mother will lecture them for under-packing, starts rummaging through Rory's dresser. Rory catches Lorelai making a double entendre about a meaty taco and declares it was dirty. The show makes another dig at New Haven after Lorelai brings home a pamphlet about Exciting Things to Do In New Haven but it's only a few pages long.

You sound surprised, as if ya'll aren't wearing heavy coats and long sleeves in the spring and summer. I swear there's something in the drinking water affecting everyone's thyroids in this town, they can't regulate their body temperatures.

Could anyone tell I'm stalling here? Classic Salty.

Rory: Mom, stop rummaging through my shit. Awwwe. Even Evil Villains like Lorelai Gilmore get the blues. I'm surprised she decided to go on this road trip to Yale instead of sending Rory off alone with the Grands, that way she'd have the house and Dean Forrester to herself the entire day. Since Dean's sexual stamina only extends to 1-2 minutes, they could have had sex hundreds of times in a day.

Two quips that sprang to mind (couldn't decided which one was better): The only words Lorelai is thinking about right now are "Dean" and "Shower". Lorelai thinks Jess removed Rory's bracelet while they're in the shower together? Jess could only hope.

Excuse me for a moment... *deep inhale*

I went into the Tumblr gifs library and looked up "peaceful". Here is a nice, presumably not-evil, Peaceful Bunny.

So not only does Jess commit attempted vehicular homicide, and steal Quarters on a String, he steals said QOAS by forcibly ripping them directly off the wrists of poor unsuspsecting delicate young ladies.

Nice try. You think you're so slick, but you're not, Slick Gilly.

You all don't understand the effort it takes for me to break down a scene like this without taking the cowards way out and simply rage quitting (which I have done before). I have to come up with multiple lines of witty, cutting commentary about what is unfolding before me, when all I want to do is KEYBORD SMASH. SO, YOU KNOW WHAT I WILL!! ITS A FREE COUNTRY ISNT IT! BALD EAGLE BASEBALL APPLE PIE! (Deep inhale) sagfshafgahfgasvxzcywtryqwuhajlkansjbkfagsfyafvabsfvsdgr2347527q2y4q#&$T%#^%^#*U@(%)&@tGSHFBSHFSVAGFSFS FUCKYOULORELAIGILMORE#^&#^%&#^WGHFSHGAS@$%@^@

Thank for reminding the audience the reason why Lorelai thinks Jess should, ya know, die painfully and slowly. He was mouthy once. (the Netflix captions borked the line; Rory also said "and wrecked my car", but as if that makes Lorelai's treatment of Future Nephew any more justifable).

I am told that in a later season, Lorelai bemoans the fact that unlike Dean, Jess never offered to change her water bottle for her. NOW WHY WOULD HE DO THAT? YOU'RE ABOUT TO WISH HIM A FIREY DEATH. AND WHEN HE WAS (FORCIBLY) APPOINTED TO CLEAN YOUR GUTTERS YOU DIDN'T WANT HIS HELP..

Lorelai practically moans this, lol. We know "Change the water bottle" can mean two very different things. You ain't so slick, Slick Gilly.

Welcome to Gaslighting and Emotional Manipulation Theater! See, here's the thing Slick Gilly, I watched an entire frigging episode about you accusing Jess of being a thief, it was called Lost and Found and it took me four frigging centuries to finish, I'm quite sure I have concrete evidence that you have accused him of stealing things. I am Jess Mariano's defense attorney and I will see you in court. Bring Rory too, she should also start getting used to what a court room looks like.

Rory, honey. Sweetie. Sugar bear. It's best you don't wish for a crystal ball. Just strap in to the rollercoaster that is dating Jess Mariano while living with your mother, and pray.

See, here's the thing Slick Gilly, I watched an entire frigging episode about you not letting Jess enter your house, it was called Swan Song and it will take me four frigging centuries to rewatch it.

This "Jess talks in grunts" shtick is getting old and moldy.

So not only does Jess commit attempted vehicular homicide, steal Quarters on a String, and steal said QOAS by forcibly ripipng them directly off the wrists of poor unsuspsecting delicate young ladies, but he's also an arsonist, and not only is he an arsonist, he's such a bad one that he'll apparently be killed by his handiwork? (he also can't be trusted to clean gutters). He was probably trying to off himself instead of live in Stars Hollow for another minute. Can we recall another time Rory tried to play this same grim hypothetical with her mom? Does Rory, like Jess, also have some kind of firey death wish? I mean, who can blame either of them. *twinkly flashback music to early season 2*

I notice Pigtails didn't say "my daughter" this time, either. Sorry Rory. Maybe try playing a third time until she answers with "Some form of human life." Lorelai lies to Rory's face that she "promised you before and am promising you again that I will cut "this kid" some slack." Alright, I ran through my 30 screen shots, let's stuff this scene in a sack and throw it into the lake with Shane and her swan family.

Rory: "You're just waiting for the day I break up with Jess." Lorelai The Villain: "Did I like Dean? Yes. Did I worry less when you were with dean? Yes! I never expected you to be with Dean forever. I don't expect you to be with Jess forever." What a pile of rancid baloney. Maybe he won't be with Rory forever, but 13 years later Jess becomes her nephew and will be a part of her family forever and I will never, ever, ever stop loving that. What JUSTICE.

When I hit my lowest of low valleys listening to this wretched woman spew her many lies and Gilly-Nonsense, It's often the only thing that makes me smile.

[vickyvicarious]

I love Arthur so much. It was so good to hear his voice at greater length... and today he is doing the two things he does so very well: see through the mask and provide resources.

Art doesn't get a ton of time on the page. And even when he's there, he isn't usually the focus of the scene. So I think a lot of people tend to underestimate just how important his actions are.

Because... look, everyone knows that Mina is the one who 'writes Dracula', so to speak. She collates the information, she's the first to share the information, she makes unique connections with every single member of the team and takes on a lot of the emotional labor for them. She's great at noticing important things and at connecting with people.

But Mina isn't the only one. Arthur and Mina actually share a fair bit in common I think, and Mina would never have been able to do her thing if he didn't act first now.

Like... yes, of course Lucy is a uniting force in this part of the novel. She's the one everyone wants to save, and her relationships with others are pretty central to bringing them all together. And after they fail, Mina is the one who takes up that role in a lot of ways. But Arthur's relationships are pretty central too. It seems apparent from the way they're first introduced that Art is the reason Lucy met the other suitors in the first place, and he seems to be the one who is closest to both the others/has known them longest. Quincey and Arthur especially spend a ton of time together and seem super close. Van Helsing starts to think of him as a son. He and Mina agree to be like siblings for the rest of their lives, and while he has the least direct connection with Jonathan, he still goes on a journey alone with him at the end and makes sure to look after his health. Everyone loves everyone else, and they all have multiple close relationships, but I think Arthur is probably the one who gets the most emphasis on each different one after Mina. (Even as he is more of a side character.) And while he goes through a ton of loss and isn't able to be a support for everyone for a good while, he always seems to want to try, and he does when he can. I think when he isn't completely lost in grief that's his default state. And he seems pretty good at it. Not just the noticing but also getting people to accept his help. He convinces Lucy to meet with Jack despite the awkwardness. He convinces Jonathan to go to sleep despite his intense drive to keep going without pause. That sort of thing.

Most importantly here is how Arthur sees through Lucy's pretence. (And others too, like when Jack and van Helsing try to pretend she isn't as bad as she is, and he figures it out multiple times. Also, it's not exactly the same thing, but he and Jonathan are the only two people to notice Dracula at Carfax, however briefly.) I've talked about this before, but in the proposal scenes he was the only suitor that was meeting Lucy on even terms. They were both emotionally honest, his proposal was unplanned, and both he and Lucy could read one another well. Through various hints it seems to me that Arthur is usually pretty open with Lucy about everything including his worries, while she talks to him about all sorts of things except her own worries. However, even when she isn't honest with him, Arthur is able to see through Lucy's pretense. For someone who always tries to act happy/well and care for other people first, who hides how poorly she is doing and can't easily ask for help, that's huge. It makes them very well suited. And honestly, he expresses himself a lot in this book in a way entirely devoid of ego. He cries, he admits when he doesn't know what to do, he asks for help, he's willing to follow orders, he forgives what seem like slights against him...

And that's part of what makes his ability to provide resources so useful. Because sure, he throws money at problems. And that's super helpful later on. But he doesn't just do that. He also tries to anticipate specific needs when he knows he has the ability (planning to get his horses, bringing his dogs since he'd heard that Dracula could command rats amongst other things), and offers up his resources for others who know better what to do to use (letting Jonathan use his name to deal with the other lawyers, and giving his blood to Lucy is a big one). And that extends to people too. Arthur knows he can't save Lucy here, so he reaches out to Jack. He uses his relationships to do three things here: convince Jack to come, convince Lucy to be open with him, and trick/distract Mrs. Westenra so she won't be alarmed. Later on, he reaches out to Quincey as well. He never hesitates to ask for help when he thinks it's necessary and not only is he always correct to ask but he gets the answer he wants.

Even though he's far from the most visible character, I think he's pretty important. And I'm deeply fond of him.

[bitchyfoxymama]

Werewolves and Moon Knights and Magic! Oh My! - Moon Knight System x F!Reader x Jack Russell

Warning: non con chocking, facial, cream pie, SMUT!, Magic, small fight scene, Khonshu stiring the pot, face fucking, oral (F&M), unprotected sex

A/n: this one was supposed to be like maybe 1.5k but it just kept flowing out of me haha! idk I might make another part? Like if yall want?

...

“You will release us of the spell you put on us you crazy perra,” Jake says as he holds you by the throat, your back pushing against the bookshelf behind you. The hand that wasn't holding your neck has a knife against your jugular.There's a smile adorning your face, you know he won't hurt you, especially if they want your help.

You could use your magic to have him release you but where's the fun in that. Especially when your husband was silently entering the room. Your eyes flickered over to his, his mouth snarling as he watched the intruder hold you hostage.

You croak out his name, "Jack" it's barely a whisper as Jake's hold is firm on your neck. Jack is there in a flash, he has the man by the throat and is growling in his face.

"Don't you ever touch mi esposa you coño,"

"Don't test me, your dumb perra of a wife put a spell on us,"

'Jake watch it, we don't have our powers and this guy is something else, he has claws mate' Steven says in the head space.

'Steven's right, we don't know what he's capable of especially if he's married to that witch' Marc agrees. He knows they have to go at this in a smart way. They can't go in guns blazing especially since they can't summon their suit.

You watch your husband hold them hostage, the astounding Moon Knight brought down by a simple spell. One you didn't have a hand in of course, but one you recognized. You rub your neck where the man's hands had previously been.

"As much as I would like for my husband to rip your throat out," you begin using your magic to rip them away from each other. You were holding them the way a mother cat would hold her babies, by the scruff of their shirts.

"What exactly happened? Speak and if I think you are bullshiting me I'll let Jack rip your throat out. I'll kill you since you don't have your Moon Knight suit."

You both watch as his eyes roll back and his face shifts into a scowl. It made him look like an angry eagle.

"Well, it began a week ago." He begins, his accent having lost its Spanish undertones instead adopting one of someone from Chicago.

They were on their usual night patrol, currently Marc had control of body as they scored the night. They were almost done and they could go back to the flat and sleep a few hours before Steven had to go to work the following morning at the children's museum of history.

There was a scream, and it put Marc on high alert. He glided through the air, landing in a dark alleyway. There was no sign of the person who had screamed. Instead, there stood in front of them a hooded figure.

"Que pierdas tus poderes" the stranger said in Spanish, a black glow erupted from their hands.

"Ugh fuck," Marc can feel his body getting weaker, the powers of Khonshu leaving his body. The suit disappears and darkness welcomes him.

When he comes too, he can't summon his suit, and neither can Steven or Jake.

"This is bad Marc, really bad, we can't even contact Khonshu!" Steven paces around their flat. He took over the body as soon as they realized they couldn't summon their suits. He got them home as soon as he could so he could look through his books.

They had also called Layla since she was still Taweret's Avatar. She said they've never faced a foe that could cut the connection between Avatar and their God. But Khonshu had found a witch whom he suspected was the one who had done this. She was in Salvage, Alabama.

The boys booked the next flight out of London. And that's what had led to where they were now. It had taken two weeks of recon, and they watched as you left your little cabin to go out and forge herbs, plants, and fungi. They noticed that you also drove to town for things you couldn't get out in the wilderness. What they hadn't realized was the werewolf that had kept an eye on them along with the man thing. Watching. Waiting. For them to mess up and reveal why they were watching his wife. Jack was suspicious, and rightfully so. This leads us to the exact moment when they burst into your home and held you against the bookshelf.

"Alright, I believe you. I could tell the moment you barged in, you had been whammied, the witch who did it has been after me for a while. She must have used you to kill me, " you say, letting them go, "I can remove the spell from you. Only if you apologize for trying to kill me instead of just asking you dipshits,"

You watch as his facial expression changes one more time. This time he's timid and a bit shy.

"We're really sorry love," Steven has taken over the body as he is the one to sound actually sincere unlike the other two men, "I completely agree that immediately barging in, and basically strangling someone is a bloody wanker move,” he says speaking to Jake and Marc as well as you.

Jack is now behind you, his hands have found their home on your waist as he keeps the death glare trained on them. It was rather in their favor that it was neither the week of the full moon or anywhere close to it.

You hum out in response to their apology, “Apology accepted, now whom might you be? You aren't American, I can tell that much by your British accent.”

He blushes, you were gorgeous now that they have gotten a proper look at you. He swallows thickly only now noticing how the lilac sundress hugs your body, how it pushes your breasts together and rather tastefully, he can feel his cock come to life as he watches you. If they weren't here to get the spell off them and you weren't married they would, rather he would stumble and Marc or Jake would pick up where he left off and ask you on a date and probably shag you after.

“I-my name is Steven Grant, the mad man who held you by your throat is Jake Lockley and the host of the body is Marc Spector, you met him when he told you about the incident.” He gives you his world famous lopsided smile.

“Hmm,” you let his name roll off your tongue, he was attractive. They all were, you were ashamed to admit it but when they held you by the neck a hot wave of arousal went straight to your core, “Alright, i'll take the spell off you now,” you smile sweetly.

You walk out of Jack’s hands and gently place your own on Steven’s warm cheeks. You gently place your lips on his, you feel him tense but shortly relax into the kiss and place his own hands on your hips, deepening the kiss.

When you pull away, you smile and gently rub a thumb over his cheek. “There you are my love, you should be able to call upon your suit once more. I also added another spell, one of protection so that neither of you will ever be affected by another spell user again. Now go on and summon your suits, I’m sure your God has missed you,”

‘There you are worm! I see you've finally gotten your powers back,’ Khonshu says as he sits in the corner of your cabin. You give him a glare.

“You stupid bird, how dare you tell them it was me who whammied them. My husband almost killed them.” you cross your arms over your chest as you look at the God, stunning the 3 men into silence as Jack goes to sit in a corner to read a book.

“You-you can see him?” Steven asks as he summons his Mr. Knight suit. Damn does he look mighty fine in it.

“Yeah, all magic users can see them. Now why don't you leave us alone, big bird, so that I can speak privately with your Avatar.”

“Stupid little worm, you don't command me!” He stands up and slams down his staff.

With a snap of your fingers he disappears much to the MoonKnights surprise, “Now that we're alone again,” you begin as you go and plot yourself in Jack’s lap, he begins to absentmindedly rubbing circles into the flesh of your exposed thighs, “I think, no, I know what you are thinking. I feel the same way and I am more than positive that Jack would be more than happy to join in the fun,”

The men stare at you in awe and confusion. What were you talking about?

‘I told you, you made it way too obvious that you were checking her out,” Jake says.

‘But can he help it? I mean look at her, shes practicaly giving us the green light to fuck her,’ marc makes an appearance.

“Jack, are you ok with sharing me with our guests,” you ask your husband behind you, although you never take your eyes off Steven as he stands in front of you.

“You know I give you whatever you want,” he says leaning into your neck kissing the dip between your shoulder and neck sensually.

You smile as your fingers begin to untie the straps of your dress, bringing the bust down to release your breasts.

“I want you and my husband my husband to fuck me,” you say as you bite your bottom lip and push your breasts together.

***

“Oh, fuck. God Steven your tongue. Yes baby just like that,” you moan as you reach back behind you to kiss your husbands lips as Steven eats your cunt as though you are the only oasis in the desert and he is dying of thirst.

You moan into Jack's mouth as he ruts his cock in between your ass cheeks as Steven continues his assault on your cunt. The both of them bring you to the top of your third orgasm of the night. You havent even been fucked the way you want and youve already come thrice.

“See, I don't you her pussy was a sweet nectar and that you would be addicted,” Jack says as he pulls his mouth from yours. This causes a groan from the man with his face buried into you. They've each given you an orgasm with their tongues but Steven wants to be the one to give you your fourth one before they even think about coming themselves.

“Oh fuck fuck fuck” your body begins to lift off the bed but you are pulled back down by stevens strong hold, “Jack i need you inside of me, i need you both inside of me. I want you to both fuck me til im dumb.”

“Yeah bebita? You think you can take both of us?” he says as he rubs his fingers down your cheeks.

You try to speak but nothing comes out of your mouth as the coil in your belly snaps and you feel yourself gushing on their face. Your legs actually begin to shake with pleasure as you pull them up by their hair and kiss Steven’s lips, you can taste yourself on him.

You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself before you get into position on the bed. Jack has since come back from behind you to position himself in front of you. He takes his cock in his fist and begins rubbing his head through your folds, slicking his cock with a mixture of your essence and Stevens spit. Without either of you noticing a switch has occurred. Marc had taken the body.

“8in of dick ain't enough for you sweetheart? Need my cock to fill you up too,” Marc says from behind your head. You lean up to look at him moaning out as Jack slides into your already wrecked cunt.

You squeeze one of your breasts as you shake your head yes.

“I need a verbal answer sweetheart or else you aren't getting your mouth stuffed.” Marc’s domineering voice turns you on to no end. As it's usually you taking charge in the bedroom.

“Yes daddy, I want you to stuff me full,” you say as you lean your head back and open your mouth for him to use.

He slides his cock into your mouth, your moans vibrate against his cock as his head presses the back of your throat. Jack’s slow and steady thrusts push you further onto Marc’s cock. You use one hand to fondle your breasts, tweaking your nipples between your thumb and finger as your free hand goes to fondle Marc’s balls.

“Fuck bebita, your squeezing my cocks so tight,” Jack moans as he begins to pick up the pace. His grip on your thighs tightens.

“Your wife sucks my cock so well Jack you are a lucky man, I-I dont think I’m gonna last long with her perfect lips on my cock. Shes sucking my soul out through my cock,”

You can feel the coil building up. Getting your face and cunt fucked is bringing you to your peak and you never want to stop this feeling. You begin to wonder if Jack will let you keep them as your lover. Having them both fuck you whenever you want. You bring a hand from your breast down to your swollen and slick clit. You move in tight fast circles, moaning as the coil is almost at its peak.

Both men are near their own orgasms, however not selfish lovers they want you to finish before them. One more sweep of your clit and one final thrust you are coming undone, your vision going white as your scream is muffled by Marc. Jack comes next, filling you to the brim with his hot essence. Marc pulls out and finishes himdelf over your fucked out face, his seed coats your face beautifully. He stares at you covered in him and he thinks you are the most beautiful looking like this.

Jack pulls out gently, he leaves a kiss on your lips before grading to get a washcloth to clean you off. Marc leans down and kisses you, licking a bit of his own come from your cheek.

“That was something,” he says smirking as he catches his breath.

“I agree, definitely something that shouldn't end here,” you smile back at him as you both wait for your husband.

[noxofspades]

Appreciating+analyzing Brokeback Mountain's first tent scene for it's 18th anniversary

It’s been 18 years since Ang Lee used his familarity of repression from his culture to bring Brokeback Mountain to life. Starring legendary actor, Heath Ledger, and his co-star, best friend + the godfather of his child, Jake Gyllenhaal.

And i want to show appreciation to the first tent scene. It’s the most famous scene along with Jack’s final speech. I guarantee that most non-viewer knows about either one or both of these. And while this sex scene is very impactful and a few ppl also like this scene, it's usually met with two types of reactions. First, plain homophobia. Like when ppl just immediately left the theatre, outraged or disgusted.

Ppl made parodies about this, and there was a trend of ppl showing someone this scene out of context and enjoy the shocked, horrified or disgusted reaction

On the flip side, there’s the ppl who loves+appreciates this film but has valid criticisms about this scene. It’s not realistic when it comes to prep. There’s the beans thing (even though Jack threw a whole tantrum about hating to eat this, so Ennis had to give him alternatives like hunting elk+getting soup).either way, that beans aspect is something ppl can't look past,therefore can't take seriously. This scene is too rough for some, too short for others. Or it feels really sanitized to them.

I see all of these points. I actually disliked this scene as well on my first watch when i was a young teen.However, as i grew older and i rewatched this film a few times, i developed a huge appreciation for this scene. i geninuely love this now. And coming from an aro/ace person, this one of my favorite scenes in cinema. And here's why...

We know that Ennis is a virgin from the ‘sinner’ talk. And later on, you get the details of Ennis' trauma from being forced to see the horrific aftermath of a hate crime. So growing up, as he went through puberty…i don’t think he let himself fantasize about guy. And also, his parents were methodists, so add religion in his childhood.

So this isn’t only about him giving into his lust for Jack, this is about struggling with all these repressed emotions of fear, shame. He grew up, being denied the most simple pleasure of life. So this isn’t just about this sexual release, it’s a huge, shattering emotional release as well.

And putting all this together, this backstory is the reason why this scene is vital. I highly doubt that with all this repression+trauma, that Ennis would make any kind of move, romantic or sexual. Heck, i don’t even think he was fully aware of his feelings until this moment. It implied in the short story that even though he doesn’t know why he’s so happy around Jack, he could still just palm the white of the moon.

So i believe this is the only way he could face not only his lust, but his emotions. Having Jack being aroused and explicitly state with his actions how much he wanted this

This being THE MOMENT where Ennis could experience true freedom. Let the restraints go and just vulnerable with another person. And i think it being it at night, in the dark helped give him that extra courage.And because of all the pent up lust went with his emotions, he just lost control at the sound of the belt unbuckle and just roughly took Jack on the spot.

I like how this subverts my expectation. Jack is the impulsive, extroverted and bold one. And also, i'm used to scenes where when someone is hesitant or really scared to be intimate with someone, they are usually soothed and they will slowly let themself experience pleasure. But instead, Ennis is overcome with lust, and fully takes over.

And the moments after Jack is pushed down just gets me. You hear tiny little noises of excitement from him, cuz the shy, reserved man he knew suddenly shoved him down, shaking hard from lust+impatience. And he is just waiting, while Ennis is rushing to undo his pants then practically rips off Jack's . No pleasantries, nothing, just does him raw. Is this ideal in real life? Hell no. But as a fantastical concept, i find that incredibly hot. I may not find ppl sexually attractive, but i appreciate a spicy scenario, as long as i’m not involved.

And i appreciate the film not framing the loss of Ennis' virginity as comedic or even victorious, like a prize he finally won. I often see this in media with male characters having sex for the first time. This, while abrupt, is still taken seriously. Ennis is really clumsy, and even though he’s doing the work, he’s not the one in control. He is barely hanging on, really overwhelmed by all these new sensations. The surprise, the bliss and no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t last long. The way he pressed his forehead onto Jack’s back as the orgasmic sensations abruptly hits him.

And Jack aggressively slamming on the tent floor when the release hits him. Iconic. Apparently, Jake G added that in, which shocked Ang lee in a good way. And yeah, that definitely adds to the level of intensity that this whole scene built up to.

And there’s also this brief scene i like where the two, especially Ennis, is just WIPED OUT. And while a part of me wondered why it’d be like if this scene lasted longer, I think it also really adds to the intensity of Ennis’ experience. The physical and the emotional release is so monumental for him that not only he wasn't able to last long, it also just shattered every ounce of his physical energy.

And i like how it didn’t linger on the afterglow. It’s a quick cut to the outside shot of their tent, as you still hear their panting. I liked this because it emphasizes how this was truly impulsive this act was. How desperate they were to just feel each other that they even couldn’t utter a single word. And they couldn't even take the time to fully undress or enjoy each other's bodies yet. This was just instinctive and animalistic.

And it's the fact that there's no music, and it's all shot close up, alternating from Jack+Ennis that makes it feel more authentic. To me, it doesn't feel staged, and that again, just adds so much.

And i love the contrast between this and the second tent scene. Ennis surrenders in both but has different reactions. Because of the overwhelming lust+emotions, this moment is rushed.

But after struggling to process that he found so much freedom+pleasure in something society deems immoral, he gives into his desires and enters the tent. Now since the physical barrier has been crossed, and the pent up lust is satiated, he is forced to face his emotions. And allow Jack to fully see him the most vulnerable he's ever been. The way he clutches his hat like a shield and struggles to make eye contact.

The way Jack sees all this and responds with so much tenderness. How he kissed him, whispers reassurances and cradles him. And Ennis feels safe enough to properly enjoy Jack's body. And feel his chest. That soft kiss he plants a moment later. Just gives me so many butterflies.

On the first watch, it's really sad to see Ennis so scared. But on a rewatch, when you know the details of his trauma. Soul-shattering. You fully realize how much he needed to be soothed +held like this😭😭

And then i found this great website, Brokeback Mountain Love Scene Tent – Book & Movie Library (whythebookwins.com)

where it talks about the symbolism of the nature+ tent. I love how it points out how nature is their silent witness. Whether it’s for their frantic first time, or more tender ones that happen later on. And how the tent is so confined, which reflects Jack+Ennis’ relationship. Because of our cruel society, they had to hide their love+vulnerability from the world. And because of Ennis’ trauma and internal struggle, it’s only this tent on Brokeback Mountain, that is truly becomes their only safe haven.

Heath+Jake did fantastic in both of these scenes. Especially the first one. I'm glad that there were proper measures to make sure these two were very comfortable and they weren't exploited in any way.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s1 episode 15 thoughts

oh boy this was a juicy one! after the previous mulder's ex reveal in 01x12, we get scully's ex reveal now! surely this indicates something...

so it starts with a bank robbery where jack and the robber get shot, the robber shot by scully herself. she means business! do not stand in her way!

then we see the jack in the hospital and they give up on trying to revive him, but she says that if they don't try, she'll do it herself. another example of dana scully NOT messing around. many such cases!

and it seems to work! miraculously! as the other fellow dies at the same time and a tattoo is seen leaving his skin!!! you know what that means: it's possession o'clock!

our now dead guy gets his fingers ripped off as possessed jack wants his wedding ring back, which lead me to writing in my notes, "scully you can't serve looks in a morgue" but by golly. she sure did. decorum be damned, she was serving.

when mulder makes a pit stop with scully to the classroom of a biologist at a maryland university, a question formed in my head: how many random faculty members of colleges and universities does mulder have easy contact with? because i feel like this happens A Lot. he must keep a list somewhere.

"the plot thickens," says mulder, upon learning that jack is scully's ex! they dated for a year, and he was her instructor at the academy! now surely that cannot be a thing that is encouraged. the FBI HR department must have been in a tizzy.

(in all honesty though. gross vibes from this man before and after possession. dating students, current or former, is generally frowned upon)

to try and prove that jack is possessed, mulder gets him to sign scully a birthday card, but that leads to a scene where he gives it to her and she pauses for a few seconds before telling him he's two months early.

now, i would have LOVED to be in her head for those few seconds. the "initial confusion -> at least he thought of me? -> hurt he didn't know my birthday -> ohhh this is one of those fox mulder schemes" train of thought must have been a roller coaster.

she thinks it's possible that he genuinely forgot her birthday- she says she even forgot her birthday once (which is Feb 23rd, by the way! a pisces!) because she was studying for her medical exams!

(i expect them to celebrate bountifully in her honor two months after the events of this episode to make up for that lost time!)

this jack fellow is very much possessed and he is VERY demanding to scully. she seems surprised by this, so i don't think he was like that pre-possession, but still, not great vibes off this guy with the whole instructor-student thing.

and then he switches up and kidnaps her. and i'm not sure which was worse: the fact that scully was handcuffed to a radiator, or that she had to sit through the guy who put her there explaining to a woman that he is actually her dead ex in a new body. another moment of great scully suffering.

when the kidnappers let mulder speak to scully, he calls her "dana" again, twice. his concern was showing!!!! i am a sucker for the "only calling someone by their last name to maintain formality until Something Bad Happens and their first name slips out" trope so this was adjacent to christmas for me! (and i eagerly await the first distressed yelling of "fox!")

AND THEN! he says to the kidnapper "listen to me, you lay one hand on Scully and so help me God..." OKAY! so since scully said something along those lines in episode 12, now BOTH of them have threatened to kill whoever hurts the other! <3

(and scully did it first! despite mulder being more outwardly protective! let's psychoanalyze THAT!)

we also witness the FBI agents being mean to mulder when he leaves the room :( spooky mulder the alien guy :( they don't see his vision :( workplace cliques are still a thing in the FBI :(

but he tells everyone that this mission is really important to him so they have to do their best which was. another emotional moment for me!

using a bible salesman as an undercover agent to confirm the kidnapper's identity was so funny. now every single time a missionary comes to my door i'm gonna think of that.

scully tried to get possessed jack to remember their times together in order to snap him out of the possession and he remembers their journey to his parent's cabin :( but he slowly dies due to a lack of insulin and then shoots his former accomplice which puts scully in a very difficult place emotionally. where do you even begin unpacking that?

mulder gives her the watch she had given jack as a birthday present and she notices that it stopped at the exact moment he was being revived, which mulder had earlier suggested was a sign of possession. she asks what it means.

mulder, in his infinite wisdom, waits and says, "it means whatever you want it to mean"

(which, i think, is the right thing to say. how do you tell your coworker that you think her ex was possessed upon the revival she insisted upon? how do you tell scully, who has a strict worldview shaped by science and facts, that someone she loved was lost beyond recognition? that the pain jack inflicted upon her wasn't even done by jack himself? how do you tell her that the man she once loved and spent the winter in a cabin with was gone long before he put a gun to her head, and that their last moments together weren't even genuine?

you don't. you set aside how desperately you want her to see the world as you do, as a place inhabited by unexplained phenomena just waiting to be studied. you tell her, gently, to make of it what she will, let her endlessly spinning mind search for a logical conclusion of her own to find her peace in. just once, you don't tell her you think it was otherworldly, no matter how long you've tried to get her to believe so in the past. you have some compassion, you sense her grief is heavy, and you tell her goodnight instead.)

[lost-inanotherlife]

Lost Rewatch S3 - Random Thoughts

As I've stated before, in stops and starts season 3 was quite cringe-y. Of course, we're still navigating high-quality storytelling waters but you know there's something a little wrong when writers admit to being in shortage of creative ideas by episode NINE (the much-talked about "Stanger in a Strange Land"). As a result this post might sound a bit S3-negative although, as I've just said, I'd never question the writers' command of the narrative. It's just that some stuff didn't really work out for me this time, that's all. I'll sprinkle-sprinkle some positivity too 'cause this season gave us all some mind-blowingly intense and beautiful moments, too. We can never forget those.

Starting off strong with our lovingly island-made love triangle: Jack/Kate/Sawyer that's not so slowly becoming a love square. Not a fan of how Kate and Sawyer got together, I'll be honest. Yes, the trauma of being kidnapped, forced to haul rocks and live in cages makes a human do crazier things, still... They put on a pretty dress on Kate and all of a sudden everybody goes "woa" (very 90's "chick flicks", didn't they have EYES before?), Sawyer is smashing rocks under the sun, sweating his own weight off but can't seem to resist the urge to look at her ass and kiss her, Kate herself is working her ass off (sorry for the pun, couldn't resist haha) and, well, the shots very much highligthed that by focusing on her ass... Guys, it was cringe to watch. And yes, the kiss was a distraction and blah, blah, blah. Again: cringe. All of a sudden Kate's madly in love with Sawyer which, you know, I'd have dug if they'd continued to show how their flirty relationship evolved instead of going from their sarcastic banters to extreme "I love yous" desperately screamed at gun point. Same goes for Jack by the way: for most of S2 Jack and Kate are on looser terms compared to the closeness of S1. after their kiss Kate's way closer to Sawyer because she chose him. Jack and Kate are not together and don't speak very much for, possibly, the whole duration of s3 and all of a sudden Jack's all "I love you". I don't see the crescendo of this love, therefore I don't fully buy it. Not gonna lie, the scenes were beautiful and very well-acted but these guys have spent weeks without talking to each other lol. They did the same exact thing in S2 as I've said before and I didn't particularly enjoy it in S2 so it's not like I wasn't gonna see it repeating itself in S3.

The majority of the flashbacks shown in this season are... how can I put it? Not au pair with the usual Lost-esque quality. Particularly not excellent, let's say, were the already mentioned "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Enter 77" and "I Do". Also, please but Desmond's and Kate's wigs in their flahsbacks are plain awful. Please stop.

Conversely, "Left Behind" was a fucking good flashback story. Kate-centric episodes are either meh or extremely good for me. I think she's one of those characters that when you find the right vein to write her, you write an incredbily layered, unbelievably complex character. When you don't, her character feels quite flat and it's a pity.

I might be in love with Juliet?! When I watched S3 for the first time in 2007 I deeply disliked her. Maybe I was too young to appreciate her character, she's not a clear-cut archetype like the other main characters are: more lived life helped me understand her better and now I'm deeply in love with her. I love how you can never predict what her little cute smirk means, she's a bit of a mystery but, unlike Kate, she's as such not because she has something to hide from her past (at least until now lol): she's enigmatic because that's who she is, she's very "torn-in-two" character. Love it.

I'm not liking all these dead women on my screen. Locke couldn't kill his father, couldn't kill Jack but he could sure as hell plant a knife in Naomi's back. The two persons guarding the submarine hatch had to be women and they had to die, didn't they? Of course, the mothers are dying on the island, of course the mob in "The Cost of Living" had to shoot just a woman, of course Bea Klugh had to be killed by Mikhail, of course "Tricia Tanaka is Dead". I was quite growing fond of Tom and was saddened by his death but I ultimately think that if they kept sparing white guys while killing off women and black people in general in the blink of an eye they'd have a real problem. Well, as a matter of fact they still do. They should've done better.

John's "shamanic journey" in "Further Instructions" is very offensive. Shamanic practices are serious things that must be done seriously. But hey, here's our "connected-with-the-island-lazarus-rising" white old man, let's have him enter a sweat lodge, prepare a slop of something so that he can have a vision and resolve this knot in the plot. No, thank you.

I don't agree with people bashing on "Exposé": I think it's a good episode. In fact, I appreciated the Other Losties' POV (Arzt you won't be forgotten!). The real problem is that it's just that: other, plot-unrelated people's pov, nothing really new was added and the characters were eventually killed off so what's the point lol? What I want to say is that it's a good filler episode and I enjoyed it but at this point in the series, filler ep for filler ep, I'd have preferred one that was "-centric" to one or more of the main characters. But hey, I get what I can and, all in all, good ep.

Now, I know that one of the main themes of this season is the impossibility of going back: it was very artfully written to lead us to the season finale's big reveal. Fine, good, intellectually I love it. Instinctually when in a story I see characters going from point A to B and then going back to point A in the span of the same episode or the following I... well, I don't take it well lol. It's a pet peeve of mine, really, but COME ON. It's a way to milk a narrative thread for all its worth. It's a way to buy narrative time without resorting to fillers. But sometimes you just need to let it go and come up with a better idea presto. I'm talking about Kate going back to find Jack as soon as she arrives at the beach. How in hell did Kate know that Jack was on the main island and not still on Hydra? And how did John connect the dots between the writing on Eko's stick and Jack's whereabouts? And why did the Others just leave their barracks, in which they had lived for years, instead of just killing Kate, Sayid and John? Come on. These guys have killed for way less.

The best fucking line of the whole season is Charlie's: "It's the five best moments of my… sorry excuse for a life. My greatest hits. You know, memories. They're all I've got." Chills, literal chills.

"Flash Before Your Eyes" is a totally cringe episode. Everything feels exactly what it is: a set, a prop, a wig on the actor's head, lol. Twenty years ago I was still a naive girl fangirling over Desmond and Penny's relationship but now I know better. Des was a lot of a dick toward Penny, let's be real. He was obsessed with this "honor", with feeling "worthy" and totally took it out on her. She was right, he was indeed a coward. I wish they had given a different backstory to Des. Maybe it's because it's so similar to (re it's the same as) Jin and Sun's story but it didn't land for me this time. I don't see the same "epicness" in their love story that I'd first seen back in the 00'.

Eko's "Redemption-Not-Redemption" arc is the best thing of this season. I have no words to describe it so I'll just leave his final speech here. INCREDIBLE.

I ask for no forgiveness, Father. For I have not sinned. I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man. If I could answer him now, I would tell him that... when I was a young boy, I killed a man to save my brother's life. I am not sorry for this. I am proud of this. I did not ask for the life that I was given. But it was given, nonetheless. And with it... I did my best.

[bengiyo]

A Boss and a Babe Ep 7 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Cher and Gun began formally seeing each other, though Cher wanted to keep things private for now. Their dynamic is adorable, and everyone at work knows; folks are just keeping quiet to protect them. Unfortunately, life prevents them from committing to their eSports team, and they lost a big match. We left off at a very lovely moment of consent, which felt especially nice from New.

I like that Gun explicitly doesn't like skinship, so it at least explains why he doesn't instinctively reach out and touch Cher when he's unwell and instead clasps his arms behind his back.

Ah yes. This is a Thai BL. That hair better be dry or you will die if you go to sleep.

I'm okay with Sugar Daddy Gun. "You and your friends got beef? Let's grill it on the beach."

Oh, Gun, that was smooth. "Think of it as an inspection," as a way to make the guys feel more at ease is very kind. I like everyone here.

I also like the smirk Zo gave Cher.

I'm enjoying the Three apology scene, but I'm so distracted by the guy in red trunks in the background behind Jack who keeps disappearing and reappearing.

I'm definitely in love with Fluke Pusit. I really like the little bit of facial hair they're letting him keep.

See? Everyone sees what's happening with Cher and Gun, and are all like, "I'm not in that conversation."

Gun may be wealthy, but no one is immune to being dragged into the water for play time.

I think Thoop frustrates me because it's an experience I've been in Cher's position a lot lately in the last three years.

I like how genuinely Gun smiles around Cher and his friends.

I don't know about drinking out of actual glass on the beach. That seems hazardous.

Oh, Nivea product placement. How you never let us down. I'm not surprised that Gun is a nice drunk.

Yes! More Zo-Cher interactions! Zo is the emotional backbone holding this team together.

Once again! Everyone knows! Jack and Aoi told Cher not to broadcast that they went on a trip with the boss. The relationship is professionally inappropriate, but folks see how it's helping both of them, so they're keeping quiet! This is a show about how you can't control how others perceive you, and will just have to accept that people are going to misunderstand and dislike you. It's pretty clear!!

I love Aoi so much.

Book Kasidet is so fun to just observe. He's a special actor, and he and Force are to be reckoned with.

Oh, Gun. You really shouldn't appear on his stream and flirt. People are nosy and messy.

Gun is such a boyfriend. I love it.

Part of what I like about New's style sometimes is the lack of surprises. It felt like Thoop was an addict the entire time, and so it was revealed that he has been gambling. The conversation with Cher also goes exactly where you'd expect: Cher stresses that his sense of duty to Thoop is bigger than his feelings for Tian, and of course Thoop is going to force the money on Cher. Thoop is a gambler, and they don't like feeling like they owe people. He's also going to promise not to do it again, but we know he's going to get into huge trouble.

First Thoop says Cher only helps him out of a duty to his sister, and now he's mad that Cher is with someone else? Is he supposed to just mourn her forever even though she rejected him??

And now Thoop is going to do something especially dangerous.

Oh, I love Jack, too.

These two should not be having a cute conversation at work with those catty girls around.

Looks like they might get found out next week.

This has been a really enjoyable show for me, and I'm excited to talk about it alongside Step By Step next week. I've seen some confused gripes about this show, but it's been working well for me.

[reneesbooks]

wip intro/masterpost - the raedoran cycle

hi hello here it is. my baby.

genre: fantasy

pov: third person limited, with various narrators throughout

status: a series of 4 novels/stories, in various states of drafting

summary: in one night, Raedora is thrown into chaos. the royal librarian murders the queen and her youngest daughter with magic and flees, leaving behind the king and the crown princess to pick up the pieces. the princess spirals slowly into madness as her sworn shield tries to save her, terrified of her dead sister's prophecy.

two thieves in the capital set their sights on the crown jewels after attending the queen's coronation. but when one gets a little too reckless and catches the attention of the Mad Dog of Morbhard, their plans quickly go off the rails.

when their parents are killed in the Dragon Purges, two shapeshifters must hide amongst their killers to survive. one, a talented healer, tries to build a life that will be safe for them, but her little brother has his sights set on avenging their parents by murdering the queen that ordered their deaths.

a young witch is raised alone by her father, always in hiding, with strange dreams and visions of the future. when he dies of an illness even her magic can't heal, she must strike out on her own, searching for answers to the prophecy that has followed her for her whole life.

tag: the raedoran cycle

so originally this was one novel following multiple characters, but thanks to a minor plot bunny that greatly spiraled out of control (lacuna) it has become something much more. many of the four novels' events occur simultaneously, with their stories overlapping and intertwining as the character's lives do the same.

the knight of lacuna lake

Keelan: baby boy war criminal. he narrates the story as he tries to save Maura from herself.

Maura: the golden queen of Raedora. she lost half her family in 1 night and handed it incredibly well all things considered (no she didn't)

status: first draft finished(!!), shelved while it marinates and i work on the rest of the cycle. likely going to come back and edit it at some point but for now it is what it is

tag: lacuna

the thieves of morbhard

Arthur: master lockpick and ball of anxiety. he narrates his attempts to get Jack to notice him while also trying to steal the crown jewels.

Jack: cursed damned street rat. born on the night of the triple new moon and condemned to a life on the streets, he's got his sights set on stealing enough to get both him and Arthur out of Morbhard for good.

status: just barely starting to draft. fully outlined.

tag: thieves

the dragons of kiltide

Emilia: the only voice of reason around here. a talented healer fighting to protect her baby brother from both the persecution they face in their homeland and the Purges that killed their parents.

Fabin: teenage ball of rage. his parents died in front of him when he was 13 and he has been supremely chill about it since then and doesn't everybody sleep with their sword under their bed?

status: outlining with the occasional scene.

tag: dragons

the witch of the west

Birdie: a talented witch born under and blessed by the full silver moon. raised by her father in the woods after fleeing the witch trials, she is determined to understand and fulfill her prophecy. her strange dreams of dragons, thieves, and knights lead her to a search for the people who she believes will help her in her journey.

status: it's complicated. this where all the original material lives for the most part so it's outlined(sort of??) and i've been writing scenes for it but idk what the actual timeline of events is and i've changed a LOT since i started. so it's a frankendraft mess. we'll get there eventually.

tag: the witch

and that's it! that's my baby! i think about Them a lot these days.

taglist: ask to be added <3 @k--havok @theharpywrites

links:

lacuna wip intro/masterpost

salt and brine (in the same world but not necessarily relevant)

i will add more as things get posted but for now you can find everything for each story/character through the linked tags up above. i am always available to scream about my children :)

[haztobegood]

⭐️ Annual Writing Self-Evaluation 2023 ⭐️

I love doing this every year. (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) I can't believe I've been writing for six years now! I looked through my past annual posts and got a bit emotional, it's amazing to see how much I've grown and changed.

1. Number of stories posted to AO3: 7

2. Word count posted for the year: 11,572

3. Fandoms I wrote for: One Direction, Music RPF (The Snuts)

4. Pairings: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Louis Tomlinson/Jack Cochrane, Louis Tomlinson/Bodyguard

5. Story with the most: Kudos: No (Birth) Control Bookmarks: No (Birth) Control Comments: Good Dogs Don’t Bark

6. Work I’m most proud of (and why): Chaos is a 100 word drabble that I'm very proud of. I tried for months to write a Louis/Bodyguard fic for the Louis Rare Pair fest and it just wasn't coming together. Putting a hard limit on the word count was a fun little challenge that helped me get the idea down on paper. At first I didn't know if I could build a steamy plot in so few words, but it worked out in the end and I couldn't be happier with it!

7. Work I’m least proud of (and why): Of the stuff posted this year, I'm not unhappy with anything, but if I had to rank everything, chapter 2 of Good Dogs Don’t Bark is at the bottom of the pack. I was in a weird mood writing-wise when I wrote that chapter and it reminds me of that time whenever I think of it.

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received: @allwaswell16 read Chaos on her podcast! I dedicated the drabble to her for inspiring and encouraging me all year when writing has been a struggle, and for being such a supportive mod for @louisrarepairfest!

9. A time when writing was really, really hard: All year! This is the least I've ever written since I started. Life has been full of big changes and it threw off my writing habits. I've also been very stuck in my head about certain aspects of writing that I never used to think twice about. I'm hoping now that life has settled and I've got somewhat of a new routine figured out, I can set some intentions and build up my habit again, because I really miss writing.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: This scene from Baking Memories made me burst out laughing when it came to me:

Looking down at his six little pies, Louis is starting to feel like a proper baker. Jack finishes up his last and says, “Alright, let’s top ‘em.” “I bet that’s your favourite part,” Louis jokes raising his eyebrows teasingly. “At least these don’t talk back when I’m topping.” “Oi!”

More under the cut.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing: From No (Birth) Control

He picked up another potato. Twisting the paring knife expertly around the spud, the thin brown peel sliced away from the white flesh in smooth, practiced movements. It was easy for Harry to get lost in the meditative efforts of slicing, dicing, and peeling. Just two potatoes remained when Harry caught Louis’ piquant scent through the open window. Harry paused his singing and peeling as he breathed in deeply. His sense of smell was always attuned to his alpha, but this close to heat the pull was even stronger. The back door opened. The scent enveloped him, stronger than the savoury aroma of the roast, as Louis wrapped his arms around Harry’s middle, hugging him from behind. Harry melted back into his touch, forgetting about the half-peeled potato in his hand. “Hi baby.” Louis said, leaning in to drag his nose along the curve of Harry’s neck in tender greeting. “Alpha,” Harry sighed, tension he didn’t know he’d been holding meting away. He could stay like this, content in his alpha’s arms, forever. Louis licked up the side of his neck. The blatant scent marking sent shivers up Harry’s spine, and a light nip of sharp teeth over his bondmark started to make him wet. He would be half-tempted to bend over the counter, if it weren’t for the roast cooking in the oven and the twins playing in the yard. Harry bit back a whimper. “Lou, no,” he groaned. “I need to finish dinner.” With all his resolve, Harry gripped the paring knife tighter and focused his attention on peeling the remaining potatoes.

12. How did you grow as a writer this year: I've learned to be patient with myself. I have a lot of wips that I've started in 2019 or 2020 that aren't even close to being finished. I used to be so frustrated that I couldn't finish them, but now I've learned that sometimes the wip needs to sit in the dark cavern of the drafts folder to age like fine wine.

13. How do you hope to grow next year: I want to be more intentional about setting time to write. I miss having a regular writing time and want to be able to work on some of the exciting ideas I have.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): @allwaswell16 and @himynameiszayn are the most supportive friends, they were always around to offer advice, help me think of words, and cheer me on when writing was hard. I don't think I would have written half the amount of words I posted if it wasn't for them.

15. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: I listened to The Snuts so much this year after seeing them play during FITFWT, so it was only natural for me to write a fic featuring Jack. I love the silly Christmas video the band shared a few years ago and knew it was perfect idea for the fic that became Baking Memories!

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: I touched on it a bit above, but sometimes taking a pause on a wip you're struggling with is a good thing. Give yourself grace to move on when an idea isn't coming together the way you want. It doesn't mean you need to give up on the story completely, it might just be the wrong time.

17. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: I am looking forward to writing something for @wankersday again, and I am getting closer to finishing my alien!Harry fic that's been 5 years in the making!

18. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

I tag @banaanipoika9 @louandhazaf @hazzabeeforlou @beelou anyone else that wants to do this!

[justplainmels]

Do you think Jack was jealous of Pete?

Interesting question! I have a short answer and another tangent.

Short answer: I don’t think he was jealous of Pete per se. If anything, he was envious of the fact that Pete was allowed to express his feelings and was able to offer her things he can’t. But as far as Jack is concerned, it all comes down to Sam and her happiness even if it's at the expense of his.

More thoughts after the break!

Now this isn’t to say that Jack didn’t have jealous moments. He is human after all. I just don’t think it’s this underlying constant feeling festering inside him which is how I’m interpreting the question. I think Jack’s attitude towards the whole Pete situation is one more focused on the love he thinks is lost between him and Sam rather than her new love with Pete. To me, the angsty moments after Grace have more to do with this and Pete is almost an afterthought tagged onto the end like “oh yeah and she’s with someone else.”

He knows that Pete is different than the others who have shown interest in her in the past, mostly because he has no connection to the Stargate. Pete represents a life outside the mountain—a chance at a “normal” life. The kind of life they fight for others to have and the kind they all deserve but may never find—or find again at least. The guys of SG-1 have all had it in some sense, albeit way too short lived. But not Sam, and if anyone deserves a chance at that, it’s Sam.

Jack would never stand in her way if he thought that’s what she wanted. He checks in on her new relationship as if he could tell that something changed from her humming demeanor on the elevator.

And he doesn’t let her off the hook with her non specific dismissive answer either.

So first of all, I think this is one of those times where they’re having a whole different conversation than the words actually spoken. Sam’s words are talking like they’re coming from experience, but when has there been even one other time in the series where either of them would have this experience? Like who is this “they” she speaks of?

Instead, I think they’re talking about this “normal” life that Jack’s been telling her to get. She’s really saying that in the past, it hasn’t bother her that work and the Stargate have been her life because she feels like a normal life wouldn’t be compatible with her life at the SGC anyway.

I love how he picks up on the key word, “usually,” which reinforces the notion that things are different this time. (The main difference being Sam now has these thoughts from her hallucinations in her head but Jack doesn’t know that! I also think gifted kid burnout plays a role in it but that’s a whole nother thing.) Essentially, Jack is hearing that Sam wants what he can't give her.

The nail in the coffin is when Sam confirms that she also thinks this time is different, or could have been.

Which brings me to my last thoughts which kind of just circles back. One of the main reasons why I don’t think Jack was really jealous of Pete is because I don’t think it makes a difference to him who Sam's in a relationship with. Again, they were talking about Pete in the scene above, but were they really? (*the answer is no*)

All that matters is her and above all else, he wants her to be happy.

I’ve had this recurring thought when I watch this scene that perhaps Jack somehow played a hand in getting Pete clearance. (This is of course overlooking the fact that it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever that Pete gets full clearance about the Stargate, but I digress…) Sam wouldn't ask for something personal like this, and I can’t imagine Hammond just freely handing out full disclosures.

From their conversation before the mission, it seems like Sam’s relationship with Pete is over because of the secret nature of her job. To Jack, that means it’s the only thing standing in the way of her chance at happiness, and a part of me thinks that he couldn't help himself when sees an opportunity after what happens at Daniel's house. Who knows what favors he had to cash in, but somehow he gets the exemption and his only other request is that Hammond doesn’t tell her the part he played.

After their debriefing, the General calls Sam into his office to give her authorization to reveal the details of the Stargate to Pete. She gives him a questioning look. "If I may ask, sir, how?" she stammers as she tries to comprehend what this means. Honoring his 2IC's wishes, he tells her a cover story. She doesn't fully buy it, but she understands the silent implication to not ask any further questions.

Once she's dismissed, she stops by her lab and pulls out a wrapped present from her desk drawer. She thinks about the picture inside and smiles wondering if her luck is starting to turn around. Maybe this time she really can have it all.

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

I've seen so much discourse about the look of Dean in the finale of The Winchesters and why he looked that way, but I think the bigger picture is being missed here.

I'm speaking purely from the SPN character/story perspective here (and not discussing The Winchesters one way or the other or Jensen or Robbie or any of that in this post) but are we really surprised that at Dean deciding to go and find an AU version of his family that would not only be able to make their own choices but possibly get to have a happy ending?

Michael: "Think of a million random acts of chance. That let John and Mary be born. To meet, to fall in love, to have the two of you. Think of the million random choices that you make and yet, how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because it's not random. It's not chance. It is a plan that is playing itself out perfectly. Free will's an illusion, Dean. That's why you're going to say yes." "You can't fight city hall."

Dean: "She's going to walk right into that nursery."

Michael: "Obviously. And you always knew that was going to play out one way or another."

Dean's expression:

So is it any wonder that Dean started knocking down dominoes? That he meddled? That he "gave it a nudge"? While he's also been trying to protect Sam who's still on his Earth? Or that Jack (his family/son and the new God) told him to finish what he'd started aka gave him his blessing by giving him the Colt and Dean's journal?

Nope.

Dean's always been fighting for his family.

And it makes perfect sense to have had Jack there (and if they had been able to make it happen, Cas, that line of "I was looking for my family" is multi-faceted, I see you Robbie; and no that's not looking through the Destiel lens, Cas is family regardless, Dean said it himself) along with Bobby (while Sam is mentioned) for this scene:

And that is what makes Dean's death in 15x20 so tragic (and why so many people were happy to see Dean in this context again). Dean broke free from the narrative (the expected ending for Dean - being a killer, dying violently on a hunt) and exercised his free will in 15x19 only to be sacrificed to it in 15x20 (aka losing his free will). Here, he is given some of that agency back while it also sets up The Winchesters crew to be free for their own narrative (if the show continues) and helps set Dean and Sam up to come back in the future to reclaim both their agencies and their free will. (just because Sam got out of hunting, got married, and had a kid doesn't mean he got his free will; like both J's have said, Sam was able to live his life for his brother but I guarantee if you gave Sam the choice 'aka his actual reward' between that life and having his brother back, we all know which choice he'd make; he lost everyone in his family to get that ending which was no reward for his own arc)

So regardless of whatever happened behind the scenes for the spinoff, whatever Jensen and Robbie had planned or didn't plan ahead of time, whatever blunders that occurred in the actual story of The Winchesters and the production/final airing of the show, THIS was very on brand for Dean.

Bonus:

Dean was no longer wearing the peacoat or looking so much like Jensen when he finally speaks to the AU John and Mary and all is revealed aka exposition, exposition, exposition.

He looked a lot more like Dean with slightly longer hair and some more scruff than we've ever seen Dean have before (plus this scene was obviously shot at a different time compared to the bus station scene). He was dressed like Dean; he finally sounded like Dean; he was Dean. So can we please stop talking about the peacoat and the turtleneck now? Or why Jensen had to keep those looks? It really overshadows the importance of the fact that once Dean was physically present in this episode, it not only complemented his SPN characterization but also his SPN story that sets him up for future SPN story telling. And regardless of where you stand with this show as a whole or Jensen as a celebrity/one face of two of the SPN brand, Robbie and Jensen did accomplish this tie-back to SPN Dean in a very beautiful way that doesn't in any way diminish the Dean we've come to know and love for 15+ years.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s13e1 lost and found (w. andrew dabb)

metallica's nothing else matters for the road so far recap? mmmk. i loved the black album.* it's in my big playlist right now! and nothing else matters was very teen angst sad boy shit appropriate for me (album came out when i was 11 and i remember it featuring at middle school dances) but this song is way too downtempo for the clips/editing as it progresses before we get to the loud parts. weird choice. and maybe shows do this all the time and it's not with songs i know well enough to notice, but splitting the song up midway through is very jarring. i get cutting down the long instrumental intro, but segueing into lyrics differently? buh. stranger things did it with atmosphere by joy division and it wasn't terrible, but noticeable. but the scene/song combo was so impactful to me i didn't care because i was a mess

the overriding theme here with this song and clip selection is like 🚨FAMILY 🚨okay bro, i get it. calm down. is this why i see people harping on how the show is about family, not just sam and dean? is this gonna be A Thing? or am i projecting? both?? i have literally nothing else i might want do if i don't watch this. but i also don't really want to watch this. sigh.

and now i'm all distracted by them using some new fancy filming technique while they're driving where they're being paced and we're seeing the conversation from the outside and it was cool at first but it keeps going and now i'm just too busy trying to figure out where the camera is and where it's going and getting vaguely dizzy.

i get what and why they're doing this thing with jack being at the station with the sheriff but also. im tired

all right. this also reminds me of hmm. combo leo in titanic and ...josh hartnett in pearl harbor?? o.0

glad sam is totally freaked out and afraid of jack, as he should be

JACK (still fondling the wall) Lucifer? No, that's not his name. My father is Castiel.

LOL transcriber! fondling?? how about touching. anyway. papa castiel it is

MIRIAM I don't know what he's told you. I mean, I can guess. Some line about how he and his brother… (deepens voice) save the world. Grr. So macho. (she sighs and speaks in her normal voice) But really, he's not a hero. He's Becky. DEAN Becky? The roommate Becky? MIRIAM You take things and break things and piss people off, and just do whatever you want, no matter who it hurts. Also, you're a giant super bitch. DEAN Well, it takes one to know one. MIRIAM So, yeah, you're Becky, and Becky needs to die.

really odd choice to go with becky for this whole story business, unless they're invoking the actual becky from the show it's just confusing. i really hope it's not show-becky.

i think these are the angels that were in the script in 12x23? got 'em in now, i guess. so i thought carver was around for s12 but apparently it switched to dabb/singer as showrunners that season

....why did the angel just stab the sheriff's kid...? i know they're generally not big on humans but stabbing one for no real reason other than some distraction seems a bit excessive.

MIRIAM: Oh, sweetie. Almost anything. Castiel, he's dead. All the way dead, because of you.

rolling my eyes. that's a reach to try to induce a guilt trip

conveniently got confirmation that jack can't be killed easily, as expected being how they talk him up like he's more powerful than anything basically for whatever reason

DEAN Okay, Chuck… or God, or whatever. I need your help. See, you– you left us. You left us. You went off. You said… You said the earth would be fine because it had me… and it had Sam, but it’s not, and we’re not. We’ve lost everything. And now you’re gonna bring him back. Okay? You’re gonna bring back Cas, you’re gonna bring back Mom, you’re gonna bring ‘em all back. All of ‘em. Even Crowley. ’Cause after everything that you’ve done, you owe us, you son of a bitch. So you get your ass down here and you make this right, right here and right now.

being a cynical asshole but ok scenic backdrop for this praying to chuck that he could have done in the car. and he's giving my kids when they want something. need some foot stomping. punch something and risk breaking your hand instead, good choice

i think there's a handful of reasons** but i have never emotionally connected with cas and this... angsting and preparing to burn him and all, knowing that it's all going to be walked back at some point, it's just frustrating and exhausting. and now we're mourning cas, kelly, mom, crowley....

i didn't want to be sitting and stewing over pondering the logistics of how cas comes backs so i went and looked it up. and um, okay. i'm sure i'll have some thoughts about when it rolls around.

well, suffice it to say, i didn't particularly enjoy this episode. and had surprisingly little (for me) to say about it.

**his characterization that seems to change week to week is part of it and how the show talked up his relationship with the boys but didn't match up to what they were showing us for seasons on end. and unfortunately, how some sectors of fandom are about him also i think has an effect. which is a bummer all the way around

*oh james. i do enjoy your voice. i saw them live once or twice i think, but i don't really remember it. it was in the days of the album with the blood and jizz on the cover, which people didn't like. the songs or the jizz, i think

according to wikipedia, james also didn't like the blood and jizz artwork, and says homophobic shit in his explanation. great!

[unorthodox-oblivion]

Lost :P

Thank you for the ask @obsessivedaydreamer and @eponine119 who also asked for LOST

TV ASK TIME

Favorite episode and why

I don't really have one. It's always switching around between one of Kate's or one of Jack's or one of Sawyer's or one of Juliet's. I can't really pick one. But yeah, it's a switcharoo of one of those. They're some of my favorite characters and I like getting more character development for them, that's the main reason.

2. Funniest/crackiest/it’s-terrible-but-I-still-love-it episode/scene

Oh I love the scene with the glasses. Even seeing the gif on my feed gets me laughing and makes my days better. The disgust in Sawyer's face, the way Kate teases him, the tone Jack uses (that I can't even hear in the gifs, except in my head it's so clear), my god... lol

3. It’s-terrible-and-I-hate it episode/scene

To not go with Exposé, the Fire + Water episode. Ugh.

4. Best episode/scene for my favorite character

This is probably the hardest question, but either Tabula Rasa or Eggtown. At least right now. Ask again tomorrow and it might change lmao

5. Best episode/scene for my favorite ship

the scene where Kate catches Jack reading to Aaron and they make out after lol nah. I really, really like their first kiss. There's a lot to unpack there, but it had me squealing because I didn't see it coming.

6. Best episode/scene for a particular supporting character

Define supporting character lol

For Lost that's kind of hard, because a lot of the "main" cast feel like supporting characters more than main characters, even though the names of the cast pop up in alphabetic (last name) order to insinuate that they'd have roughly the same amount of relevance and screen time which is untrue since most of it falls to the A-team. And then sometimes I find myself thinking of some characters as supporting characters even though, technically, they're main characters. You know what I mean? ugh.

And I don't really like the characters that are ACTUAL supporting characters. But to go for like a side-side-side (more of a side, than a supporting really) character, I really like the post-rescue scene of Kate and Cassidy together talking about Sawyer.

7. Best episode/scene for a character I don’t usually like

Any scene between Sharon and Sayid. He made her character more interesting and more bearable for me.

8. Most visually beautiful or interesting episode/scene

Aside from that shot of Sun on the beach? lol God... the pilot. The pilot has incredible shots. Most of season 1 does, really, but the pilot is outstanding.

9. Most emotionally affecting episode/scene

Idk. I wasn't really... moved by any episodes (the friend that got me watching the show was so mad at me for actually being happy when a few people died lol) but... I guess the scene where Kate leaves Aaron behind, not because of the scene itself but because I couldn't help but picture the hell that kid would have to go through in the morning, even though she had told him who Carole was. She was still all he knew and the poor thing would be heartbroken.

10. Most powerful use of music in an episode/scene

Make your own kind of music as a season opener. Period.

11. Episode/scene that changed my perspective on the show

I don't think there was one other than the pilot. I watched the show cuz I made a trade with a friend. He would watch my comfort show, I would watch his. (I've done my part ¬¬) So I guess the pilot? I thought I was gonna hate it and I loved it and I couldn't stop watching the show.

12. Episode/scene where the acting stands out

Gosh, anything with Michael Emerson? His character frustrates me but he plays everything so well. There is so much subtlety to his acting that you notice especially on gifs or upon a rewatch.

13. Overall best-written episode

The Constant.