#bookending the episode with how well they balance each other and hold each other up

[guardian-angle22]

TK/Carlos + Touch

↳ 3.08 In the Unlikely Event of an Emergency

[reservoirreputation]

Some thoughts on House S1

House was one of the first shows I really got into. Even from a young age, I had a soft spot for the comedic relief character that has a tragic backstory and doesn't want to let people get close for fear of being hurt again. Always a banger, rarely misses.

I was also waaaaaay too young to be watching, but watch it, I did. It was probably in its fourth season when I got into it? So, about 2009? Maybe 2008. So, I would've been around 10. That's some formative entertainment, right there.

I don't recall watching the show after it ended, so, this recent rewatch for the past week is the first time I've touched it since 2012. Really, I gave into temptation after seeing for the dozenth time tumblr's continued enthusiasm for it.

So, Season One.

I could recall the general plots of most of the episodes, sometimes could remember how some ended, sometimes just vaguely familiar. Considering how long it's been, it's still impressive how much has stuck with me.

God, I remember when I used to think Hugh Laurie was American. It's so funny growing up with Britcoms, not realizing that's him in stuff like Blackadder. I've always found Foreman's name funny because it's literally the same as Eric Foreman from That 70s Show.

I've always enjoyed the original team's dynamic: Foreman butting heads with House constantly, but only because they're so alike. Cameron wearing her heart on her sleeve, but also not afraid to try new things (the episode where she tries to persuade her coworkers by using their first names, and the way it works). Chase being so laid back, but he can get really opinionated at times, though, and adds nice conflict and contrast with the other two.

Cuddy and Wilson help balance out House's personality and antics so well. It's also interesting watching Wilson's more passive development, where we only get occasional updates. Like how he's at first happily, though strained, married, and then he's having casual lunch with one of the nurses, insisting that's all it is, and then spending time with House instead of his wife because his buddy needs the company and she's used to him being away. Then by the end of the season, his relationship is in the toilet.

With Cuddy, it's so hard to concentrate, because she's so damn pretty. The costuming department, wherever you are now, THANK YOU. Her attire is so on point, speaks volumes about her character, and is so aesthetically pleasing, and her office?? Is so gorgeous?? And is peak academia?? How are there not tumblr blogs solely dedicated to her outfits??

Truly, Cuddy's wardrobe for me is "God, I wish I had these clothes, these accessories!" But in reality, I dress like House. Well, I wear more plaid, but you get the picture.

A couple of highlights from this season; so, I only cried twice. Once during 1X10 and then 1X21. The former, with some of the best character development for Foreman, and how he goes from dismissing this poor woman to holding her hand as she dies of rabies, god DAMN was that a gut punch. Just, exquisitely done. And Three Stories, just as the audience puts it together that these are all very similar to what happened to House, BOOM, they reveal just exactly that: he's expressing his past trauma the only way he knows how, as a teaching moment. Just, I needed a moment after the episode ended, because it just makes you feel like shit. If you or someone you love has ever been misdiagnosed, or doctors have ignored your symptoms, or inadvertently made your condition worse, you know exactly how this feels. It's just so heartbreaking.

That bookending moment, with the season opening and closing with You Can't Always Get What You Want, is so good. The way it, again, socks you in the stomach by reframing the context of the song, showing how House and Stacy were it for each other, and still want one another, but they're bad together. House may be the One, but Stacy's husband is what she needs. Jesus fucking christ, this first season is so good.

Is it perfect? No. The writers are still getting to know these characters, and that's expected. But it's a really strong start, and is really great at looking at the many different facets of these characters very early on.

Fun little side note, despite having health related anxiety, this show doesn't freak me out. Maybe it's because it can be funny, maybe it's reassuring in how, no matter what's wrong with you, there's likely someone out there that can help. They may violate your privacy while they're at it, but they'll help you. It's oddly reassuring.

[lokiondisneyplus]

Holy crap. Look at Kate Herron's shirt. When the Loki director pops up on Zoom, she's donning the most glorious image anyone will see since we laid eyes on Alligator Loki: A Teletubby wearing the Loki horns. Are the Teletubbies Loki variants? Sure, why not!

"I got it on Instagram," Herron says. "There's an amazing comic book artist and he designed it. He made it into a T-shirt for me because I saw it and was like, 'That's incredible. Can I get it for the press junket?'"

Herron, no big deal, just pulled off an MCU miracle. Entering a mammoth franchise with, notably, some of Sex Education's best episodes under her belt, the director deftly brought a plot involving multiverses and Richard E. Grant in a cape and superhero mumbo-jumbo to brilliant, beautiful life. Following Loki's tear-jerking, mind-bending finale, the series has been dubbed by critics and fan's alike as one of Marvel's best efforts—which is no small feat. Of course, we needed to ask Herron how she stuck the landing. Following the most epic finale you, me, or any Teletubby can remember, Herron talked to Esquire about the Miss Minutes jump scare, filming the finale's introduction of He Who Remains, and why she won't return for Season Two of Loki.

ESQ: How are you doing?

KH: I'm good. I think I feel very relieved that I don't have to sit on the secret of He Who Remains anymore, It was a very big secret to hold, but for an important reason, right? Because it's such a good character to be launching. So yeah, I feel good.

ESQ: Loking back at your old interviews, you have such a good poker face when you're avoiding spoilers, but you're also incredible at giving aggregator crumbs.

KH: I play a lot of board games, so you need to be quite good at strategy and poker faces so people can't always read your hand. So I think weirdly board games have prepared me more for working with Marvel than anything else.

ESQ: I have to start with the Miss Minutes jump scare. What went into the decision to make her a memeable, creepy apparition in that moment?

KH: I love horror, and my executive, Kevin Wright, knew that. Me and him were talking about Episode Six and I remember that he was like, "Oh, maybe you could do something creepy of Miss Minutes." And I immediately was like, "We have to do a jump scare!" Because I haven't got to do a good jump scare in anything yet and I really wanted to, because a lot of my friends are horror directors. I was like, "I can't let them down." So I was really excited to have a shot at doing a jump scare. And Miss Minutes, it was really fun testing it because we'd kind of bring different people into the edit, me and Emma McCleave, the editor, and we'd just play it for them, watch them, and check that they were jumping when we cut it.

ESQ: One thing that I think is getting missed in all the craziness is that we see a peak moment of the love story between Loki and Sylvie. Where does the finale leave the companionship that they found in each other?

KH: When I started the show, that was always in the DNA of it—that Loki was going to meet a version of himself and they were going to fall in love. And that's honestly what drew me into the story, because I directed Sex Education. I love stories about self-love and finding your identity and your people. Loki is such a broken character when we join him, and seeing him go on this amazing journey with all this growth and finding the good points of himself in seeing her—I think that was very beautiful. It's also paying respect to the fact that Sylvie's in a very different place to him. She hasn't had the Mobius therapy session. She even says, in Episode Five, "I don't know how to do this. I don't have friends." You really feel for her because she has been on the run and her whole life has been this mission.

It's almost funny because these characters are thousands of years old, but it's almost teenage the way they both talk about their feelings for each other. I think everyone can relate to that, right? In any new relationship, there's always that kind of awkwardness and like, "Oh God, am I too keen? The important thing was the hope—like when Sylvie and him kiss, I think it is genuine and it is coming from a place of these feelings they have for each other. Obviously she does push them through that door, but for me it was a goodbye and it was with heart. But it's kind of a goodbye in the sense of like, I care about you, but I'm going to do my mission because that's where I'm at.

ESQ: I would pay for you to direct the Sex Education episode where Otis falls through a portal into the multiverse, into the main MCU.

KH: He really looks like a Loki as well, which is so funny. I always thought that. I was like Asa does look like a Loki. It didn't come to pass or anything, but it would be interesting to do a Sex Ed-Marvel crossover. I wonder who all the different characters would be within the MCU, but it would be quite funny.

ESQ: You're right, he could pull off a teenage Loki.

KH: Yeah, like a teen or a very young ’20s, maybe. But it was just funny because I was like, "Oh yeah, he looks a bit like Tom." I wonder how they could do it. I'm sure they'll find a way to do a crossover anyway.

ESQ: Can you just take me back to filming with Jonathan Majors? And you capturing him in such a compelling, quirky, scary way—I'm sure your direction was such a big part of that.

KH: I was just so excited because Jonathan is an actor that everyone was so excited about. He's like a chameleon in everything he does and he's so talented. I just feel as a director so lucky to have worked on this because I feel like I've got to work with some of the best actors out there. And when you're with Jonathan, you know you're in the presence of just someone really magnificent. For me as a director, it's giving him the space to play and feel safe. Because we filmed it all in a week, but it was a lot to film in a week. So I think it was really about creating a space where he could have fun and find this character because he's going to be playing him for a long time.

ESQ: What went into the decision to introduce us to the good guy first?

KH: I remember in the script, he comes up the elevator and it was so casual. I was like, "Oh man, that's so fun." And then Jonathan, when he plays it, he's relaxed. And I the thing he used to talk about a lot was that this is a character who's been on his own for a long time. Because at the beginning, we introduced him in a space in the universe that feels like this very busy, loud place, but actually, when we see the Citadel, he's surrounded by the Timeline and he's very isolated. Even in his costume with [designer] Christine Wada, for the idea of his outfit, he's a character who's existed for multiple millennia. So it's like, OK, let's pull from lots of different places so you can't necessarily pin down which time or which place he might be from. Also the fact that his clothes look comfy. They were like pajamas because he's living at home. He loved the idea of the office [being] the only finished part of the citadel and that the rest of the citadel was like this Sunset Boulevard kind of dusty, dilapidated space. And just again showed that he probably just keeps himself to his office. All those elements definitely fed into Jonathan's performance in terms of balancing the extrovert, but also the introvert of someone that would be living by themselves and only talking to a cartoon clock.

ESQ: It really is incredible how you pull a nail-biting finale with this battle of wits and dialogue.

KH: It was really exciting because I feel like Episode Five was a lot of fun because we got to play into all the joy of the different versions of Loki, but also just the fact that it was our big usual Marvel third act, right? Like it was where our big spectacle was as they were fighting this big monster. But I love that our finale bookends, right? We began with a conversation and we ended with one.

ESQ: I also loved that there was no end-credits scene—I think it makes the ending that much more impactful. Was there ever an end credit scene on the table, or any kind of a stinger?

KH: I think no, because weirdly, we never went after the kind of mid-credit sequences. I think we always just were thinking just of the story and where we knew we wanted it to end. For example, Episode Four, originally Loki was deleted and then we went straight to him waking up. And it was only in the edit I was like, “I think it'd be really cool actually. We should move that scene to mid-credits because then we'll really feel like Loki has died." Because if I watched that moment and then it went to the credits, I'd be like, "What?!" And then when we were talking about the best way to talk about Season Two, we were like, "Okay, well, let's do that like a little mid-credits at the end because that is exciting to confirm it in that way." I'd say we found both of those in the edit just because we wanted to kind of do it right and have a fun nod to something that Marvel does so well.

ESQ: Is there anything you can tell about the future of the story you've told here—or even where you personally would like to go with the studio or otherwise going forward?

KH: Yeah, so I'm just on for Season One. So I'm so proud of the story we told. I mean, it was amazing getting to set up the TVA and take Loki on this whole new journey. And I mean, I think we've left so much groundwork for his character, and as people see in the comics, there's so much more to be delved into. And I just am excited honestly to just see where all the characters go. Like, who is B-15? What did she see in those memories and where did Ravonna go and where is Loki? I think for me, we've set up these questions and I look forward to seeing them being answered as a fan in the next season.

ESQ: Absolutely. Well, can we please work on the Asa Butterfield Loki?

KH: I will call him and I'll be like, "You want to do some crazy Marvel crossover?"

[brynnmck]

J/B Smut Swap recs!

I come bearing @jb-smut-swap recs! Presented mostly in posting order because that’s mostly how I read them, though first, my wonderful gift fic:

Jaime’s Game by @catherineflowers29 - SOFTEST BONDAGE EVER. I have told multiple people that reading this story felt like getting a warm hug, but with ropes. And a crucial part of the softness is the vulnerability between them, the way they’re so clearly building their trust in each other, taking care of each other, and there’s just a little bit of adorable awkwardness too as they negotiate this new thing together. It made my heart so glowy and happy. Cathy, thank you so much for volunteering to pick this up and delivering something so well-suited to my requests; I could feel the care you took with this and I appreciate it so much! <333

More recs below the cut ‘cause this got long (as did Jaime, HEYOOO); if I missed anyone’s Tumblr handle, please let me know!

Binary Explosive by @sdwolfpup - Okay this isn’t in posting order but I DID read this first and also it’s my blog and I make the rules. Am I biased about this fic because it’s SDW and because it was inspired by one of my favorite due South episodes? Yes. Does that make this fic any less amazing? IT DOES NOT. This is battle couple/mutual competence kink/danger kink at its finest, crackling with banter and absolutely dripping with (literally potentially lethal) sexual tension, all wrapped up in an entirely swoonworthy established relationship. The cocktail of soft and horny here is thoroughly intoxicating, and it’s so much FUN, with just the right hint of crack, and the ending makes me kick my feet in glee every time I read it (which has been, of my own volition, SEVERAL TIMES). LOVE.

Thrust Exercises by @nire-the-mithridatist - STRIP SPARRING. We’ve all said it but also oh my god STRIP SPARRING. WHAT A GENIUS THOUGHT. This is a fabulous combination of fun and sexy, and they’re so FOND in it, too--nire hits such a beautiful note of playful competitiveness and also a little shyness/awkwardness and a LOT of heat and, has been very correctly noted, a VERY wonderfully slutty Jaime. (Jaime’s premeditation regarding their wedding night is both very horny and very sweet/thoughtful, and thus very Jaime, and also his line about how he quite likes her loud face is right up there with my favorite love confessions, as well as being a thing that Jaime and I very much have in common. AGH SO GOOD.)

Second Chances by @firesign23 - I love me some JAB and the setup of this is so delicious, that Brienne is given a second chance at an opportunity she once turned down. This is another one where all three of them just LIKE each other so much--the J/B is so solid and lived-in and warm, and the history between Jaime and Addam is delicious, and the Brienne/Addam has that little thrill of newness and “oh my god we actually get to do this” (there is a kitchen kiss that is GOOD TIMES for me). So much trust and love here, it’s lovely.

crosslines, the scratches and stains by QuixoticChloe - One of two sex bruises fics in the swap, and SCORCHING hot. This whole thing has such a teasing vibe to it, and a sense of dirty discovery within an established relationship, and the whole “we’ve got a sexy secret and we’re gonna torture each other with it as much as possible” aspect was A LOT. Damn.

Diplomatic Relations by @eryiscrye - In which Jaime and Brienne get married and proceed to scandalize/delight/horrify the entire continent with their loud married sex. IT’S GREAT. It’s Eryi’s so you know it’s gonna be super hot, and she really touched on so many of the greatest hits here: cave sex, armory sex, water sex, quiet sex, alcove sex, SO MANY GOOD CHOICES and so much sweetness to go with them, too. And the other characters’ pained/pleased observations were hysterical. SO much fun.

Apart, Together, Together Apart by greenmtwoman - Oof, this one made my chest ache in the best way. It’s so soft and romantic and LONGING and full of equal parts Brienne and Jaime’s devotion to each other and devotion to their respective duties, which feels incredibly true to them. The way this story builds and releases and then slowly builds tension again is lovely, and it’s bittersweet, but very full of hope for their future.

left your fingerprints all over me by @writergirl2011 - Friends-with-benefits-to-dating, yessssss. The banter in this was adorable, and the connection between them was so palpable, and it was delightful to watch them finally acknowledge their feelings. 

Good Long Line of Praises by @aliveanddrunkonsunlight - In which Brienne discovers that Jaime has a praise kink and we ALL get to benefit. Actually the praise goes both ways here, and the result is lovely--they take each other apart at the same time they’re holding each other very closely, and it’s a wonderful mix of sweet and sexy. Another established relationship fic that included so much joy of discovery built over a strong foundation.

Nights Avoiding Things Unholy by @forbiddenfantasies1 - I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of this one and when I tell you that it has been living rent-free in my mind ever since... this is LUDICROUSLY, brain-cell-incineratingly hot, with so many delicious horny details, but also with FF’s trademark gigantic heart behind it (I feel like heart + hornt is basically FF’s brand and I love this for all of us). Again, you get such a strong sense that these two LIKE each other so much, even when they’re a little resentful and a lot scared about it, and the filth is so full of genuine affection that it makes it all the more devastating. I literally read this and was like “shit, I gotta up my game” regarding my own draft, lol. SO GOOD.

Light My Fire by @wildlingoftarth - While I fully respect and celebrate the union suit kink, I don’t have strong feelings about it, myself, but this fic made me a convert. The painstakingly sexy descriptions here were SO MUCH, and I’m also such a huge sucker for the slightly chaotic camp counselors vibe of this, that sort of euphoria and recklessness that overtakes you when something time-bound is about to end. The banter was adorable, there were so many moments that made me giggle, and of course it was hot as hell too and I’m very glad that these two dorks FINALLY figured it out.

Clothes (un)Make the Man by @aviss - CLOTHES-SWAPPING YESSSSS. I am such a sucker for that and Aviss delivered on it beautifully; seeing the progression of their relationship was so delightful and the feelings built so well throughout, and there were a couple of lines that made me laugh out loud, and, again, both the tension and the smut were super hot. LOVELY.

I’ll never let you go (if you promise not to fade away) by LadyRhiyana - This fic is going to HAUNT ME in the BEST POSSIBLE WAY. For one thing, I have checked the word count MULTIPLE times to make sure it’s not ten times as long because the world here is so vivid and so affecting that it’s like some sort of magic. I adore the setting here, and Cersei’s POV is spectacular--she’s all sharp edges and frustrated longing for the things she thinks she can’t have and I felt for her SO MUCH. Both she and Jaime are just incredibly, helplessly horny for (HOT MECHANIC) Brienne, and I loved the way that LadyRhiyana made it so clear that having Brienne there shifts the balance for Jaime and Cersei just enough that all their spikes can slide together a little better instead of just eviscerating each other all the time--and yet this happens without ever making it feel like Brienne is just a conduit or a means to an end for them; all three sides of the triad feel thoroughly distinct and important (including a very deft hand with the Jaime/Cersei aspect). It’s also EXTREMELY hot, and the Jaime/Brienne aspect has so much softness to it, and Brienne is so forthright and so kind and so curious, and AGH. I loved this.

a grip so tight I couldn’t tear it apart by @janiedean - The other sex bruises fic, and this one ended up (coincidentally, I assume) being a perfect bookend to the other one--if the modern AU is all about sexy secrets, this canon-based one is all about Jaime and Brienne’s pride in each other and joy in not having to hide their relationship, gleefully declaring their love and desire for each other for everyone to see. I was so happy for them!

with those who know secret things by @sdwolfpup - This has been recced widely and DESERVEDLY SO. The amount of CARE in this fic is overwhelming, and it’s full of all of these subtle details that suddenly come into sharp focus at just the right moment to really devastate you, and by you, I mean me. The prose itself is also gorgeous--the description of Brienne in her ad came directly for my throat (as well as some other places)--and it’s beautiful to watch these two surprise and delight and take care of each other. They’re both so GOOD and Jaime is so soft and vulnerable and Brienne is so kind and incisive and THEY LIKE EACH OTHER AND WANT EACH OTHER SO MUCH I CAN’T. The whole thing is lustrous and wonderful and I adored it. 

Today Will Die Tomorrow by HNJ - This fic also DESTROYED me. The way the time shifts are handled so that we slowly put the pieces of the night together and feel the full impact of each moment, the understated delicacy and very obvious love with which both Jaime and Brienne are handled, the multiple lines that made me catch my breath with how TRUE they were, the way their love for each other uncurls and opens up to the light over the course of the story... it’s really gorgeous and just burrowed right into my heart. I also loved that this was a canon-based first time that focused more on Brienne not knowing what to do emotionally than not knowing what to do physically; I’ve read and enjoyed the latter a bunch of times but the former felt really fresh and fascinating; it was an excellent take. 

Hush by @kiraziwrites - I have a thing for quiet sex anyway, and like everyone else, I will be suing kirazi for the fact that this fic left my brain a smoldering wreckage with nary a coherent thought left for the comment box. The sex in this is so deliciously varied and dirty and every bit of it feels somehow decadent and completely necessary at the same time, and watching their relationship build as they try each new thing is wonderful, and there are so many images in this that have burned themselves into the empty space where my brain used to be and taken up permanent residence. I could list MANY, but a sampling: the glacier comparison, and Brienne’s teeth-marks in Jaime’s jacket, and also Brienne DROPPING A CONDOM IN JAIME’S POCKET AND PROPOSITIONING HIM ARE YOU ACTUALLY TRYING TO END MY LIFE, KIRAZI. It’s also so funny and so fond and the fact that it’s literally exactly 5K is such a flex, I can’t even. Gah. TOO MUCH.

we used to wait by @it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined - I was reading things in update order and I kept thinking that I hadn’t read one yet that I could clock as jencat’s, and then kirazi was flailing about this fic and how beautiful the prose was and how strong a sense of place it had and I was like aha without even having read it yet. And this fic is indeed those things, as well as being sexy as fuck; Jen just drags the tension out and out in this very deliberate-yet-spare-yet-somehow-also-lush way until you want to claw your face off (and then she makes it totally worth the wait, too). Their relationship had some wonderful details, too, to show how well-matched they are--Jaime increasing the speed on his treadmill to match Brienne’s, rather than to exceed it, wasn’t what I was expecting and worked fabulously in this context--and the image of Jaime leaning against the wall at a crucial moment was SO MUCH. Whew. Just lovely.

The Waters and the Wild by LadyRhiyana - The last entry in the swap but by no means the least! This was another one where I couldn’t believe how much happened in such a short space; the descriptions were so vivid and cinematic, I could see the whole landscape unfold in my head, and it included some high-quality competence kink, too. We get just enough backstory to be fully invested in this version of Jaime and Brienne, including their delightful hidden-identity initial meeting, and the tension and affection and trust and frustration between them just simmers and simmers until it inevitably boils over and it’s incredibly satisfying. I also thoroughly adored the ending--including Brienne being as indignant as Jaime at [redacted]--and I would buy this movie so fast if it actually existed. 

[amwritingmeta]

15x05: How to Fight God

Proverbs 17:3 --> The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

This proverb really gets to me when looking at it in the light of 15x05, but also when looking at how it relates itself to the series as a whole, because our boys are going through nothing short of a trial by fire, their whole world and sense of self is beginning to take flame and that sounds poetic af, but it’s also so fucking poignant that I can’t even. 

Because isn’t this what their whole journey has been? And what it’s been about, too, meaning that the trial by fire serves an actual purpose, the get rid of the impurities (if you will) while the actual trial isn’t by fire, but lies truly in the aftermath, in the lessons and the learning curve: the heart stuff.

That aside, of course, applied to 15x05 it’s quite literally God testing their hearts - and what they’re really made of - by throwing them a proper curve ball in Lilith, not to mention this revealing the fact that he’s still a presence. 

We open on Sam, who’s checking his phone to see if Cas has finally replied to all the concerned texts Sam has sent him (my heart leaped I loved it so much!) (of course Sam wouldn’t not reach out) (and amazing that Cas literally decided then and there to walk out the door and he just removed himself entirely) (also - poor Sam!) (he lost a friend!!) and Cas hasn’t gotten back to him.

Buuuut!

Cut to the end of the episode and Sam is just hanging up from having an actual conversation with Cas. Sorry, this was me remembering this entirely wrong and not double-checking - it went straight to voicemail and is clearly stated as doing so, pls, ignore my ignorance!

There’s still a nice, subtle bookend here, and it still underscores the change we get from the opening scene to the closing: the brothers both believing they’re back to business as usual (with the difference of how now they’re actually holding the reins) vs. realising God isn’t gone and that the status quo is not something they can fall back on here.

Speaking of the status quo, the way things have always been, the saving people, hunting things, family business side to the brothers’ lives that is, as far as they’re concerned, the cornerstone of their identities... yeah, let’s speak of that for a bit, because if we look at the episode I believe the status quo, or perhaps the repeat patterns, is/are actually the answer to the question Dean finishes the episode with: 

How do we fight God?

So then.

How To Fight God

This is basically speculation based in my meta reading of the episode so pinches of salt, loves, but it’s intriguing to me to think about what the rules of this world actually are, because this is GOD the CREATOR, right? Yeah.

How can you, the puppet, defeat your puppet master when your puppet master determines which of your strings are pulled at any given moment? 

Well, firstly, I’m stuck on the exchange between Dean and Cas from 15x02:

Cas: You don’t think I’m angry? After what Chuck did? After what he took from me? He killed Jack. But that doesn’t mean it was all a lie. [...] Even if we didn’t know that all of the challenges that we face were born of Chuck’s machinations, how would we describe it all? We’d call it life, because that’s precisely what life is. It’s an obstacle course. And maybe Chuck designed the obstacles, but we ran our own race, we made our own moves, and mostly we did well with that. Dean: Did we? I’ll tell you what we do know - nothing about our lives is real. Everything that we’ve lost, everything that we are, is because of Chuck. So maybe you can stick your head back in the sand, maybe you can pretend that we actually had a choice... I can’t. Cas: Dean. You asked what about all this is real -- we are.

I mean technically Dean didn’t ask anything, he stated that nothing about their lives is real but alright I get that you want to break through, Cas, because this is Cas trying to make Dean understand that not everything has been pre-determined by Chuck.

If free will didn’t exist at all in the narrative, then there would be no room for any kind of stakes, emotional or otherwise. 

If it didn’t come down to what choices each situation brought about and the lessons derived from the consequences of those choices, then the meaning of the character journeys would be completely nullified. 

And these rules of the world we’re watching are most clearly demonstrated to us in the S14 season finale, when Dean makes that epic choice of not shooting Jack, effectively ripping up Chuck’s perfect ending and forcing him to go all mental deity on a power trip on all of their asses. 

So Cas is clearly right in the above exchange, but Dean can’t hear it, and because Dean just refuses to listen, Cas sees no other choice but to leave in 15x03. Because all Cas can see is how Dean refuses to let go of old patterns of thinking, old hang ups and fears, and how Dean finds refuge in blaming an external source rather than gaining perspective, accepting his own level of responsibility (in any situation) and moving forward. 

I’m very curious about the prayer and what level of exposition it will entail. Imagine it being an actual callback to the confession scene in S11, where the exposition of Dean’s internal struggles with his longing for more is so beautifully balanced. Anyway, digression.

What I’m getting at is that choices seem to play an enormous part here, and of course they should, because that’s one of the most prominent thematic threads the writers can pull on. 

Our choices make us who we are. 

It’s not what you are, but what you do. 

No one can tell you who you are, you choose who to be.

And along these, all the times we’ve heard I didn’t have a choice. Often this has been true, when put in a situation that is about not only saving each other, but the world itself as well, but then those world-saving situations wouldn’t really have been brought about if Dean, that first time Sam died, hadn’t made the choice (echoing Mary) to sell his soul to save him, and, of course, none of the choices would’ve been necessary if Mary had let John die, but we know the world that would’ve brought about, so thank...... fate for bad choices.

Perhaps it’s time for good ones.

How do you fight God?

I think you fight him by breaking old patterns, and the only way you can break them is by recognising them for what they are and truly, definitively, moving out of them and into new ones. 

Chuck represents the writer not keeping up with their own character’s progression, right? He’s not seeing what this world he’s created has actually become, without his influence. All he sees is what he wants it to be, rather than all that it is, and he believes in his own control to the extent of not adjusting the obstacles he’s throwing at the boys to their ever evolving view of themselves and what they want for themselves. 

Which is why the plot point of Dean being seduced by Lilith wasn’t even hinted at until she stated, in dialogue, that apparently it wasn’t happening. Thanks to Dean’s progression away from who he was way back when, yeah? Not exactly the same, are you, Dean? 

And which is why I believe the moment when Sam says-->

--> is quite possibly crucial, because Sam can see the pattern, he knows the grooves of it so well that he immediately feels something is off when they’re just handed the solution on a platter, and this hunch proves right, because they know how Chuck’s story works, innately, they’ve lived it for over a decade. 

If they can catch up with this fact, if they can begin to use it to their advantage, that would be very cool. If they begin to go against their old mode of being, if they try to think outside of their own box (as it were), then not only is that a viable way of beating Chuck at his own game, it sets the stage for their final leg of character progression rather beautifully. 

Because it forces them to grow wholly self-aware, to question their choices and weigh the pros and cons. Realisation City. 

And how gorgeous then to have the setup be that to survive and have a healthy sense of control over their own lives, they must evolve away from their old ideas and ideals. *fingers crossed*

And then there’s Chuck as representative of the over-arching shadow, representative of all those things that the boys have battled throughout their journey, and if integration is the goal, then Chuck shouldn’t really be reaped by Billie, should he? I mean, him being reaped by a representative of strong, assertive femininity works on a symbolic level as well, but integration could mean that he simply has his power stripped. 

I’d quite like that, to be honest. The way to fight God is to stop worshipping him, stop believing in what he represents, stop allowing his obstacles to be real obstacles and simply move out of the narrative he’s been telling and into a new one, where his chosen ending makes absolutely no sense. And if Jack returns there may be a player with enough power to actually tell God that his time as ruler of this particular universe is done, because they will fight him, now that they see him for what he truly is. Every step of the way. 

Alright, lots of speculation here, but the thought of the brothers’ progression actually playing a role in how they can defeat Chuck makes me get all goosebump-y! 

The werewolf brothers acted as a Chuck tool of foreshadowing for his chosen ending: one brother killing the other, but there’s a deeper psychological symbology in the werewolf brothers’ story, where one brother’s control and deceit made the other see no other choice but to kill him and then himself, because they were the same. 

So looking at them as representative of the codependency, it’s actually the aspect of control and self-deceit that has to die, in both Sam and Dean, for the codependency to finally break. Sam leading the way (as per the water bottle scene at the start of the episode) and freeing them both in his process of breaking away from Dean. 

And when Lilith says that she had to die in order to get what she wanted, it could be seen as a statement of that same symbolic subtext, and how the brothers’ progression is moving them away from who they have always been, into who they truly are and want to be: they have to kill off their past ideas and ideals, and embrace the truth of this if they’re going to be victorious in this fight.

We shall see, my loves! We shall see!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t say this, though, to a writer who has given us so much:

Thank you, Steve Yockey.

For everything.

[truthbeetoldmedia]

iZombie 5x11 "Bye, Zombies" Review

It feels like I’ve been waiting for this episode the entire series, in more ways than one. Buckle in, there is so much to discuss!

The episode opens with Liv tending to all the Freylich brain kids at the headquarters, and she gives a quick rundown of events via voiceover. I wish this narrative device was used more consistently this season. I have a love-hate relationship with voiceover, I think it can often tip into cheesy and unnecessary. On iZombie, however, the use of voiceover was crucial in the early seasons. If Liv is on a different brain every week, her personality and character development can get lost in the mix. Her voiceover bookended the episodes and was a good way to touch base with her, and to make sure the audience still had access to inside her head. Liv sums up the events that have happened thus far, and how stressful things have been. But her hope remains in the cure; it’s the only thing they have to look forward to. 

This hope becomes complicated fairly quickly. Liv walks in on an upset Ravi, who tells her that the CDC has decided to use the uptiopium for treatments, rather than a cure. Charlie has been kicked off the project, and it’s been moved to a high security building. Ravi points out there’s more money in treatments than cures, and the CDC doesn’t actually have any interest in being helpful to the suffering people of New Seattle. It’s a good call back to Ravi’s fraught relationship with his old employer, the CDC. He was fired for taking biological warfare too seriously, and it seems he finds himself back at square one with them. He and Liv decide the only thing to do now is to pull off an Oceans 11-esque heist. Obviously the only answer! They gather with Clive, Peyton, and Major to tell them the plan. If I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, this show is always at its strongest when it trusts its five main players to drive the story, and let them drive it together. Getting the entire gang involved is part of what made this episode so great. 

It turns out there can be advantages to being zombies — they don’t actually have to learn any heist skills overnight, they can just consume them. They order a ninja and acrobat from Don E (who is in a really foul mood due to Darcy’s death) and Clive thinks of some old petty criminals he knew back in the day. At first, Clive doesn’t plan on going with them. He gives an emotional goodbye to Liv and Ravi, including hugs, and maybe there were a few tears involved. But Bozzio tells him to get his butt out there, and to save the world for their daughter. “You’re the Clooney,” she reminds him. How are they going to pull this off without him? Clive finally steps through the closet of the Renegade quarters, and it’s one of my favorite moments of the whole series. Everything is coming together for one last adventure, and it was an immensely satisfying scene. 

In order to get the pickpocket brain Clive recommended, Major and Liv dig up his grave together. It’s difficult to write this scene objectively, without taking into account the uproar in the Veronica Mars fandom this week. A shocking twist at the end of the new revival season regarding the show’s main couple has left many fans feeling betrayed, confused, and frustrated. Rob Thomas, the showrunner for both Veronica Mars and iZombie, has expressed multiple times that he’s not interested in writing main female characters with boyfriends or writing couples with happily-ever-afters. He didn’t see a way that he could incorporate hard-hitting detective stories and a healthy romance into the same show. 

I have only seen a few episodes of Veronica Mars, but I’ve seen every episode of iZombie, and several things about this show now make sense. I now understand why all of Liv’s boyfriends have been killed off and then never mentioned again. I now understand why when Clive and Bozzio finally got together, Bozzio got pregnant and practically dropped off the face of the earth. It makes me wonder if romance between Ravi and Liv was never explored because the showrunner believed it meant he had to eventually axe one of them, and didn’t want to do that. And most of all, it makes sense why Liv and Major haven’t had any significant progress in their relationship in several seasons. 

Rob Thomas has basically admitted that he doesn’t know how to successfully juggle murder and love on his shows, and he has no interest in finding out. So the timing for this Major and Liv scene is terrible, in more ways than one. Not only do I wish I could have enjoyed it without the baggage of another show hanging over it, but I really think it should have happened sooner in the series. Regardless, now we know why it didn’t. 

The scene itself is actually incredibly sweet. “I’m really glad we’re at this place in our relationship,” Major says. “We can dig up graves without having to talk.” The two of them reminisce on their relationship over the entire series — from how they used to be engaged to wed in a pre-zombie world, to how they’ve both done things that hurt the other, and how they’ve wound up here. “We’ve both done a lot of well-intentioned crap to each other. But here we are, still here,” Major says. He gives her a heartfelt pep talk, telling her that he believes she’s the only one that can pull this off. And pull this off, she must. The fate of the world depends on it. Not only is this a commentary on their deep friendship, but also on who they are as characters. They both have gone through immense changes throughout the series, but it feels like the core of who they are is still there. Major and Liv are both good people, with a capital G. A war-torn, zombie world has tried to change that, but it never succeeded. I’m forever grateful for this show for giving me these two. Major tells Liv she’s a badass, and she kisses him, right in the middle of the grave. Within the world of iZombie, it felt true to the show, and something I’ve been waiting on for so long! 

It means, however, that I’m incredibly worried about Major’s life. The tension between humans and zombies is finally at a breaking point. His Fillmore Grave squad tells him that zombies are riding in the streets, provoking humans and wanting to start a war. Major takes a team out to hopefully quell the riots. “They want to start a war, let’s not give them the satisfaction,” he says. He and his team ride out, but while Major is giving orders, a huge explosion hits their van. My heart skipped a bit, because I really thought Major might have been taken out in this moment. He crawls out of the van, bleeding and confused. Enzo rolls up in a Fillmore Graves van, and the final stand that we always knew was coming finally happened. Enzo convinces all of Major’s men to betray him, leaving Major standing alone. Fillmore Graves has never believed in Major, never totally committed to him as a leader. I’ve never felt the show built a convincing argument as to why Chase Graves inspired so many more followers than Major and that Major was a bad leader. Major has tried to keep the peace in New Seattle for as long as he’s been in charge, but his zombies are out for brains. He escapes by the skin of his teeth, and Enzo goes on TV letting everyone know that he’s the new sheriff in town, and humans had better hide. Dolly and her people watch from their fish food truck, and she gives the go ahead to retaliate and recruit. 

Meanwhile, Blaine discovers that Ravi has stolen his Freylich brains. He tells his smuggler that if he sees Ravi, shoot to kill. This season has really doubled down on Blaine being evil, with no interest in redeeming him. This episode sees him doing some truly unforgivable acts. While Liv is gone, she asks Peyton to housesit at the Renegade quarters. Because Blaine is the worst, he and Don E “follow Ravi’s favorite thing” to lead them to where the Freylich brain kids are hiding out. He and Don E muscle themselves in, and Peyton emotionally begs Blaine to leave them alone. It’s hard not to imagine a season that had gone all in as Blaine as the Big Bad of the entire series. If they had whittled down on nuclear threats and off-shoot human supremacist gangs, and beefed up even more on Blaine’s goal of taking control of New Seattle, I wonder if the season would have been stronger. Thankfully, the show did cut back on forcing real world political parallels that it didn’t have the range for, as I was afraid it would be the main focus of the season, but I think a centered focus on Blaine would have made everything much more focused. This scene, for example, was absolutely terrifying. Both Aly Michalka’s emotional performance and David Anders cold brutality elevated the tension in this moment, and left the fate of both Peyton and the Freylich brain kids in the balance. I’m holding out hope that this will be the moment that our dark horse player, Don E, will emerge as an unlikely hero of this series, but we are going to have to wait until the finale to find out. 

In Atlanta, Clive, Liv, and Ravi actually pull off the heist. Despite Liv on pickpocket brain having the stickiest fingers ever, Ravi being incredibly unpleasant on Russian hacker brain, and Clive getting momentarily distracted by busting some serious moves on the dance floor, they manage to hit their mark, Gladys from HR. For the second half of the heist, Liv and Ravi switch to the ninja and acrobat brains, and sneak into the high security building. Clive saunters passed a guard that thinks all black people look the same, and helps Charlie smuggle in too. For a moment, it seems like the CDC has caught on to our heroes. Saxon rushes in and opens the vault to make sure the uptiopium was still there. Unfortunately for him, he fell right into their trap. Liv points a gun at Saxon and smugly tells him they knew they wouldn’t be able to get into the vault, so they tipped him off so he could do it for them. Saxon tries to bargain with Ravi, and to apologize for how the CDC has treated him, but Ravi is done standing by. No one knows better than Ravi the importance of this cure. Not only is he a man of science, he’s watched his loved ones deal with the zombie virus for several years. He’s had a front row seat to Liv and Major’s trials and watched Peyton buckle under the pressure of being New Seattle’s mayor. He watched Isobel pass away, and then when he tried to avenge her by ethically pursuing a cure, he kept losing to Blaine and the CDC. Well, not anymore. After five seasons of setbacks, there’s no way Ravi’s going to let go of the cure that easily. Ravi rages out. He knocks out Saxon, and Liv grabs the uptiopium. There’s just one more piece they needed for the cure — the Max Rager from Fillmore Graves. Liv calls Major, and he reassures her not to worry about it. When the camera cuts to him, we see him hiding out in the waterfront, injured and alone. 

There is a lot of things to wrap up next week, but I thought this penultimate episode was exciting, character-driven, and showcased elements of the show that made me love it so much. Next week, I’ll see you back in New Seattle, for one final time. 

Stray Thoughts: 

“You’re not that great with boyfriends, are you?” Don E tells Liv, which is the first time all season anyone has mentioned that Liv’s boyfriends have short lifespans on this show. 

“His hair makes me so angry!” 

Clive mentions that if Liv eats the pickpocket brain, to “get ready for visions of me rockin’ a mustache” and I’m so mad the show didn’t make good on this promise. 

“What are you going to do without me?” Liv asks Clive, pointing out that she’s no use as a police partner without her visions. What’s their relationship going to look like when Liv is no longer a zombie?

Peyton tells Liv that she’s probably going to marry Ravi. Pavi forever. 

“We are in the south now, you don’t put stolen jewelry in a black man’s pocket.” I squeaked at this line! Between the racist janitor and this line, Clive was really coming for Atlanta in this episode. 

I thought it was a hilarious gag to have someone remember Ravi from his CDC days, even if it was a one night stand that didn’t really reflect well on his character

Haley’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝.5

The series finale of iZombie airs Thursday, August 1 at 9/8c on the CW.

[daresplaining]

Iron Fist Countdown: 10 Days

Ten Favorite Season 1 Scenes (In No Particular Order)

    It seems like only yesterday we were freaking out about Season 1, and now we are a mere ten days away from Iron Fist Season 2! Over on the Iron Fist blog one of us has been spending the month re-watching and breaking down, in-depth, the entirety of the first season. We’re not going to be nearly as thorough here, but we have managed to narrow down ten scenes we particularly love from one of our favorite superhero adaptations ever. 

Danny Receives a Diagnosis (“Shadow Hawk Takes Flight”)

    We wrote a whole post about this scene here, and another one on the Iron Fist blog, which just goes to show how much we love it. This scene exists at a pivot point in Danny’s identity quest, which is a central part of his narrative arc in this season. In the first few episodes his identity, and thus very personhood, are attacked by those around him. He finds himself on Earth with nothing, not even a name. Then, by the end of episode 2, Dr. Edmonds becomes convinced that Danny is who he says he is. In relief, Danny eagerly fills Edmonds in on the other half of his identity-- being the Iron Fist-- and inadvertently sabotages himself by convincing Edmonds that he’s delusional. It’s a wonderful scene for its character exploration elements, its dramatic irony, and its role as an oh-so-satifying set-up for Danny chi punching his way out of the hospital at the end of the episode. 

Danny Heals Colleen  (“The Mistress of All Agonies”)

    This was high on our wishlist for the show, and so we were thrilled, after nine episodes of Danny being injured/being around injured people, that he finally discovered his healing powers. The chi of Shou-Lao is really cool because it’s a power set with a huge range of applications. Even comics Danny is far from having learned everything he’s capable of. And like in the comics, Netflix Danny is missing key elements of his Iron Fist training, and thus has to learn through experience. And one thing he learns is that these powers are not merely destructive. By discovering his healing abilities he unlocks a new understanding of what it means to be the Iron Fist, and the fact that it’s Colleen he’s healing, plus the fact that it happens so late in the show, adds even more power to an already memorable moment. Plus, we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the chi of Shou-Lao special effects in this show are amazing. We could watch Danny do Iron Fist stuff all day. 

Danny Recharges His Chi (”Black Tiger Steals Heart”)

    In amid all of the action and trauma and general unpleasantness that takes place throughout the season, there are a few key moments of silence. The rapid-fire plot pauses, the world calms, and the characters and viewer are given a moment to take a breath. These peaceful, happy scenes add a pervasive positive energy to the season as a whole that feels unique and also perfect for this story. Danny learning how to recharge his chi in episode 10 is one such moment, and no matter how many times we watch this scene it never loses its impact. For a moment the world is bright and hopeful, and our heroes are at peace. It’s beautiful on its own, and it provides a powerful contrast with how horrible the situation becomes later in the episode.       

ORSON @#$%IN’ RANDALL! (”Black Tiger Steals Heart”)

    Any scene that makes us yell and leap out of our seats gets an automatic spot on lists like this. We were delighted when Danny referenced the Iron Fist legacy early in the season. We were excited by the idea of other Iron Fists possibly being mentioned, because that is a great element of the mythos. But we hadn’t dared to hope that we might actually see another Iron Fist-- especially Orson Randall, who is one of our favorites. Orson was Danny’s predecessor, and in the comics he was a bit of a mess. We don’t know much about him in this universe, but what’s amazing about this scene is that they somehow managed to perfectly characterize Orson without having him say a word. The blurry glimpses we have of the costume are perfect enough to make it obvious he’s him. And somehow, even the fighting style looks like him. We probably could have seen this clip out-of-context and still known it was Orson, which is awesome. And of course, this is a powerful moment for Danny as well. He gets to see another Iron Fist-- and the sight nearly brings him to tears. Heck, it nearly brought us to tears too.  

Colleen’s Second Cage Match (“Eight Diagram Dragon Palm”)

    We could have gone with her first cage match too, but this one has the benefit of an extra fighter and a snazzy hoodie. Colleen’s arc this season is one of self-discovery. She has trained for a long time and teaches martial arts, but she has also maintained a level of comfortable self-control. But then she discovers that being a little out-of-control holds its own appeal. The first time Colleen tries cage fighting she just goes for the money. But then she goes again, in spite of the shame she feels, not only for the money but because she enjoyed it. This second fight is a Colleen who is reveling in this newfound freedom and thrill, and it’s great fun to watch her just let loose and kick some butt.

Danny and Davos’s Big Escape (”Black Tiger Steals Heart”)

    A good fight should establish character, tell a story, and/or move the plot forward, in addition to being fun to watch. Danny and Davos beating the snot out of the entirety of Bakuto’s student body already makes this one of the most epic fights in any of the shows, but it has the added element of introducing Davos into the narrative. While we hear about Danny and Davos’s friendship in earlier episodes, their flawless teamwork and chemistry in this fight succinctly expresses just how close they are and how long they’ve been fighting together. This season did a phenomenal job of forging this friendship, which doesn’t exist in this form in the comics (616 Davos was best friends with Danny’s father instead) and this fight is the perfect embodiment of that dynamic. 

Ward Disposes of Some Bodies (“Felling Tree with Roots”)

    This season did a great job of taking Ward Meachum, a character with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and making him at least somewhat sympathetic. This was done by blasting him with incessant trauma for thirteen episodes straight, sending him into a downward spiral of horrific proportions as he tries, and mostly fails, to deal with all of the horror in his life. This scene is particularly skin-crawling. Harold tasks Ward with disposing of some dead bodies. Ward obeys. We are then treated to a drawn-out scene of Ward alone in a parking garage in the middle of the night, trying not to freak out as he stuffs the bodies into his car. It is masterful psychological horror-- not the kind of thing you’d expect from an Iron Fist story, but excellently done.     

Zombie Harold (“The Mistress of All Agonies”)

    And speaking of psychological horror... Harold Meachum is another character who was brilliantly reinvented in this show. His inherently threatening nature, pure creepiness, domineering personality, and clever balance of humor and horror (he’s both the funniest and the creepiest character in the show) caused him to steal nearly every scene he was in. He could ratchet up the narrative tension just by entering a room. And he was just full of surprises. In contrast with his comics counterpart, who is creepily unhinged for a second and then dies after a single on-panel scene, MCU Harold is nearly impossible to kill. His second revival, after Ward stabs him and dumps him in a pond, is one of the most memorable scenes in the show, and it’s 100% Harold. It’s shocking. It’s horrifying. It’s kind of gross. It’s somehow also very funny. The creative minds for this season were not afraid to pull out all the stops and deliver some truly wild plot points, and that’s part of what makes this show so great.   

Danny Vs. Davos (“Bar the Big Boss”)

    We included Danny and Davos’s badass team-up, so we had to include the counterpoint, the bookend, which is just as powerful and hurts all the more because of the awesomeness of the team-up. This fight packs a punch in every possible way-- the combat is brutal, the cinematography is gorgeous, and the dialogue is absolutely heartwrenching. It is the perfect conclusion to the fracturing of Danny and Davos’s relationship that takes place over the course of the preceding episodes, and sets up all of the pain we’re in for with these two next season.    

"Come Down” (“Bar the Big Boss”)

    This is another of those characteristic feel-good scenes that make this season magical, in which our heroes are just allowed to exist together and enjoy each other’s company. Danny and Colleen have both been through combat and heartache and survived. The world is looking not quite as dark as it did the day before. And so they do forms to music together, and you can cut the chemistry with a knife. It’s fun and joyous, the kind of scene that gets stuck in your head, and a welcome respite before the final frantic build to the season’s climax.   

[silver-wedding]

Fear

I often think about all of the story elements that make Jon and Daenerys�� relationship so powerful.

There are years of foreshadowing that led up to their eventual meeting, which may have contributed to Season 7 having the largest audience in the show’s history. There is little doubt that we will see these two characters at their best, and witness the ultimate purposes of their respective journeys.

With that being said, all of their doubts, weaknesses, and fears will not suddenly vanish. They will lose loved ones, blame themselves for failures, and lean on each other just when hope seems lost.

That is what the Great War will be.

Think back to the Rains of Castamere and Mhysa episodes. These two episodes were the bookends of Season 3, and gave the audience feelings of incredible sorrow during the Red Wedding, and unexpected optimism as former slaves showed their love for Daenerys.

This is what I believe “bittersweet” (gods do I hate that word now) really means within the context of Game of Thrones. The “big five” have witnessed many atrocities that changed them and the world forever, but they have survived to ultimately triumph. (Jon, Dany, Arya, Tyrion, and Bran)

So what will Jon and Dany fear losing the most?

Each other, their unborn child, and the potential home that they could create for themselves. Love will not be the death of duty for them, but the driving force that pushes them beyond what they believed possible.

Fear for each other

Jon tried to save Rickon from Ramsay, throwing away the strategy that he, Tormund and Davos carefully laid down. He nearly lost his life trying to save his little brother, despite all logic demanding that Rickon’s fate was all but inevitable.

Dany tried to save Jon from the Night King, despite the Iron Throne being well within her reach. What was left of Cersei’s armies would not have been able to stop Daenerys’ Unsullied and Dothraki. Never mind her full grown dragons.

Even so, she rushed beyond the Wall despite never having been so far north, risking her own life just to protect Jon Snow. Daenerys stood vigil waiting for him to return, despite watching him submerge beneath frozen waters with dead men following him.

She almost lost both Jon and Viserion in a single moment, breaking her heart in ways she had not felt for quite some time.

With no Wall to stop the Army of the Dead from marching and Viserion at the head of the horde, the fear of repeating these events in a far more dire manner will quickly grow within their minds. Will they once again risk everything to protect one another?

This is what I believe Tyrion feared as he realized Jon and Dany were making love. He may also fear losing his position as Daenerys’ most trusted advisor to Jon.

Jon’s birth name will no doubt complicate things during a time when the worst crisis in Westeros’ history is about to take place. However, these events will propel Jon into accepting a role he might hesitate in taking, simply out of a need to protect the people he loves.

He will need to be a king, alongside his queen.

What needs to be mentioned far more is Daenerys’ identity crisis as well. She has always known that she is a Targaryen, and has a great amount of pride for her family. She will realize that she has not been alone all this time, and love Jon even more for somehow finding her. At the same time, she will have figure out what the point of her journey was.

Once they find the balance among this storm of confusion, that is where they will push forward.

In doing so, there will be nothing that they can not accomplish.

Fear for their child

Every fan should realize by now just how important being a mother is to Daenerys. She viewed her followers as the “children” that she needed to protect, and any harm to them would incur her wrath. Her dragons are not just weapons of mass destruction, which is what she told Jon more than once.

Their names should be a hint of this, as Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal were named after the men who changed her life forever.

Dany will do everything she can to avoid repeating her previous experiences with pregnancy, but may feel afraid of everything that could wrong. The audience might have similar reactions, and be in a constant state of worry of the possible dangers.

Which very likely means that Daenerys will fly Drogon into battle, as she has never been happy to sit on the sidelines while others risked their lives.

This will be a very new experience for Jon, who always wanted to have a family of his own but was resigned to the fact that being a bastard and member of the Night’s Watch made it practically impossible. He knows what it means to be an older brother, but his experiences with young children were limited until he met Olly. (and I don’t need to say how that went)

Being a parent isn’t something that a person can fully prepare for, and this child will be truly unique given the numerous circumstances of its birth.

Still, I would not worry about how good of a father Jon would be. He has a big heart that matches Dany’s, and this child would likely have the greatest upbringing that Westeros can offer.

Being born of two legendary houses can lead to incredible things, after all.

With so many responsibilities being laid down at Jon’s feet, he’ll need all the support he can get. He’ll have Daenerys and Arya for some of the worst moments in his life. Complications such as Cersei’s betrayal and the Golden Company that will threaten everything he’s been working to protect, may lead to the rage we saw as Jon nearly beat Ramsay to death.

During the Great War, he may very will become a warrior with incredible ferocity, but also have the honor and love for family that guided Ned Stark.

Fear for home

So what is home? Daenerys has never really known what that is. Sure, the childhood memories of the house with the red door and lemon tree gave her an idea of it, but these were simple desires for something that she could never really hold onto.

Jon had Winterfell, as well as siblings that loved him for the most part. However, he could never forget that his family name was not Stark. This worked as a barrier, separating him from them, despite Arya and Robb never hesitating to call him brother.

They might both get an idea of what home truly is when they hold their child for the first time.

All of their collective hopes and dreams would be realized in this single instant. This is what they would be fighting for. Just the possibility of being together despite all the horror and misery that surrounds them. For all of their sacrifices up to this point being worth the prices that were paid.

Even together, they’ll experience many losses.

They won’t be able to stop some of their long time friends and followers from dying, and it will break apart the emotional armor they’ve created for themselves.

Even with this much tragedy on the horizon, I believe that Jon and Daenerys will pull through. They did not come this far to let this child go through the world without parents, just as they did.

All of us fear for them, and they will undoubtedly change as they face their greatest challenge.

Even so, all of this fear will turn into Jon and Daenerys’ strength.

[parachutingkitten]

Season 1 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challanged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Mood for this season: Logic? Nahh...

I'm taking three film classes right now, I only rip it apart because I love it! (Sry, if I seem a little overly critical at times)

So, let's start with some background (you get to learn about me, yay! This is what you came here for. Right?). When the original series (seasons 1 and 2) came out in 2012, my little brother, at the age of six, was THE target audience for lego ninjas that you could battle and spin really really fast. I... am five years older than him. He collected sets, and he even bought me a spinner pack with the "girl character", the "blue one", and one of the skeletons so that I could play with him. To this day they are the only legos I own, but they sit in an altoids tin in my night stand. It was right before our family moved to Germany (we're a military family btw) that our parents purchased the disk episodes of seasons one and two. When you live in Europe, you tend to want to do a LOT of traveling. Every weekend, I kid you not, we went to another country. Which means road trips. And road trips mean movies. I would always let my brother choose what we watched, because he was the one who would get fussy and upset, so we watched a lot of Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar, and a LOT of Cars (as in plural movies. I quote Cars 2, regularly), but the thing we watched most often was those niniago DVDs. Because you could just auto play those episodes one after another for a seemingly endless movie that would last until you arrived. So, I've seen these episodes a few times. Like, A LOT of times. Drilling these episodes into my mind over and over is what made me obsessed with it later (but we'll talk about that when we get to season 3).

Upon rewatching... they are exactly as I remember. There were no real surprises, so I don't feel like I have too much to say shock value wise, but that doesn't mean I don't have anything to say.

Plot

I've made a joke post about this before, but season one does fall into the treasure hunt formula. Find a fang blade. Lose it. Look for next one. Repeat for the next few episodes. Same thing can be said for the true potential. Find what holds them back emotionally, overcome it by the end of the episode to save the person/people you needed to fix your relationship with, glowing orb/pillar to make you certifiably awesome. For four. Episodes. Straight. Even if you space out the episodes where the ninja get their true potential, or when they find the fang blades, it would keep you on your toes a bit more. This being said... it does greatly help to give every episode a PLOT purpose. Every one of those "previously on ninjago" recaps was shoving a bunch of stuff in there. Most ninjago episodes do serve a purpose (except of course the atrocity that is the first half of season two - we WILL get to that next time) at least character development wise, but it is nice to have meaningful plot development too and keep a consistent pace throughout the season. This season certainly keeps up the pace. There is not an episode you can just miss. Even with the recap, you would still probably be confused. One thing that NO OTHER SEASON has over this one, hands down (aside from season 9 maybe, idk yet) is flow from season to season. Planning benefits this season GREATLY. It carries over things from the pilot, and sets up more to come in the next season. Watch them all together and it flows more naturally than any other season bookends. (Although I will say all the ninjago season transitions are smoother than any of Chima's [I will not touch that rabbit hole EVER again])

Characters

Character interaction is AMAZING this season. You really get to know the characters and feel all their growth equally. Every. One. Of. Them.

Think about it, Wu has an arc with his brother, Lloyd has an arc with the green ninja, Nya has an arc as samurai x, and it goes without saying that all of our regulars have an arc. And... that's about it. Those are all the characters. And I think that's why this season works so well.

You have four main characters, a handful of side characters, and they all get time and focus. Everyone has something to do during this season. As the season's go on and we accumulate more and more characters there's less screentime to go around, and the characters can suffer for it. There's a reason by season 6 they were literally REMOVING characters from the show. They don't have time to get distracted by Kai and his petty problems and drama this season, cuz Jay needs some focus for once, and we'd like to give him a little development gosh darn it! But I'm getting ahead of myself. This season works really well. Just because I feel like I should, I'm going to give you a breakdown on my feelings on new characters as they pop up or change dramatically, and because this is the first season, that means we get to do it for... all the characters! So here we go.

Nya

She's good this season. She's the most responsible in the group. The samurai x reveal was handled really well. Making all the ninja jealous of her really worked to give her credibility. She's just the right amount of strong and independent while still retaining her femininity. It goes WAY down hill when season 3 hits, but as for season 1 Nya I actually really enjoy her.

Wu

I mean... what are you going to say? He's Wu? Anyone have a problem with Wu? No? Good, moving on.

Kai

So... this is where my bias comes out. Quick piece of info, my elemental personality is water... so like the opposite of fire. I see a little bit of myself in each of the ninja... except Kai. And I think that's why he's my least favorite. Don't get me wrong! I don't hate Kai or anything! He's got some good lines (episode 5 comes to mind) he's adorkable enough. It's not hard to play or to write a hot head, but it's hard to play or write a hot head that I personally enjoy. I think what Kai is missing for me personally is the tripping over himself because of his attitude, and sarcasm. Sarcasm and sass. It's there, it's just not as prevalent as I personally would like it. He has a lot of opportunities and theoretical development, I'm not sure too many of them were taken advantage of fully, or maybe they just didn't read the way I personally can grasp it, but none of it felt very completed or meaningful. Like I said, I'm a water gal, so maybe I just can't relate and that's why it's not as powerful. I'd be interested to see your rankings of the ninja and how they line up with your own elemental personality. There's got to be a correlation there, right?

Conclusion, just not for me

Cole

Cole and Jay are tied for second favorite in general. It fluctuates from season to season depending on what's going on, but for season 1 Jay has Cole beat. I think the only reason just being screen time. Goodness knows Cole has been a bit neglected in that category, but hey. He's still really good for what he's got. I think in real life I probably act the most like Cole. I try to be serious, responsible and a leader and then I just get goofy sometimes. I love his true potential episode! It's funny, and heartwarming, and the only episode actually about him, so it's fun to see!

Conclusion, just needs more love

Jay

Jay is then, my second favorite for the season. He's funny. What else can I say? Personal opinion; Jay freakouts are the best this season. Especially at the climax. He just has that pure goofball-ness to him this season that makes his humor not annoying and actually relatable and funny. I also love his family to death! He loves them, he knows it, we know it, and the interactions between them are precious! It really is the way he plays off of other people that makes him enjoyable. He has a lot more dry humor here than other season, which I am partial to. I've got some kinks to work out with this one in later seasons but for now, he's good.

Conclusion, No, I'm the real Jay!

Zane

...My baby! Especially this season he is so innocent, loving, caring, and mysterious that I can't help but love the heck out of this guy! I am a sucker for a good mystery! He has this whole other world he's a part of with his "sixth sense" and falcon and running away at night. It's unique and special to him and it's really cool! Plus, there is SO much ATMOPHERE that comes with this guy and MAN I LOVE it! It's all just so beautiful. I love interactions between him and Jay, I love his mutual respect with Cole, I love EVERYTHING. This season and the next have the most growth for him, and it shows.

Conclusion, there's a reason we call him the pure one

Romance

Kinda adding this one last minute, but I think it needs to be here. All we got this season is Jay and Nya but BOY has their relationship changed! This is the single one thing that caught me off guard. I forgot what their relationship, especially before Jay's true potential, is like. Honestly, I love it! They're so awkward and clumsy around each other at first, and then grow into this understanding couple of one another. There's not too much emphasis on it, but it's sprinkled in everywhere. I like it! Maya approved!

Villians

The devourer arc is one of my favorites. Maybe it's the nostalgia tingles at work again, but the snakes are ninjago's quintessential villains. Nothing can ever hope to replace them. It feels natural in the plot, they have their own culture and beliefs, and their motivation makes sense. You have your legitimately scary villains and bumbling comic villians in perfect balance. Scales starting as second in command was an amazing call. It proves he has power he's earned, is not easily put down and sets up his lust for power to be explored later. Pythor. Oh man oh man Pythor. I am a sucker for ATMOSPHERE and his introduction is BEAUTIFUL. Utilizes the rule of 3s and completely subverts your expectations with that eerie empty tomb. I love it! So manipulative! So sly! They aren't my all time favorite villians, but they're certainly among the best the show has to offer.

Garmadon is also there. He's half good half bad... sorta. Idk. He's not especially interesting, at least compared to the snakes and what they're up to. Let's be honest, he's just waiting around to get awesome in season 2 ;) I do like when he comes in with all the skeletons like, "yeah, no one likes you. Screw snakes!" Only to walk that COMPLETELY back next season, but you know. Whatever.

Lloyd... should I put him here? He's enjoyably annoying for a little bit... and then just annoyingly annoying. It's not too bad. He has some redeeming moments. Once he's the green ninja and has some responsibility on his shoulders, he gets a lot better.

Climax

... I love it. I don't know what else to say. It's tense, it has proper build up, the threat is real, they get desperate, they come up with a creative solution, they work together, there are stakes, there's good action, good drama, good humor. I don't have any complaints. I can't touch this one. There are minor things, but I don't think they're worth bringing up. Go watch it. It's freaking awesome. Enough said.

Humor

Pretty good this season. There are a few eye roll lines, but that's in all the seasons. Things can get kinda stupid, but for the most part, especially some of the more subtle humor really works.

Favorite line of the season, Cole's "I don't like metaphors" episode 11 - All of Nothing. You're welcome.

Drama

Not overly saturated this season, which is kinda nice. I mean, there's always "drama" but as far as heavy stuff, we have Zane's whole crisis thing, and then the Garmadon family reunion. I'll get to how I feel about the Zane stuff down below. As for the Garmadon stuff... it's fine. Gets a lot better next season, but for now... fine.

Spotlight Episode

So for every season I'll choose one episode that stood out to me to either praise or criticize in detail. There are a lot of episodes that come to mind for season 1 for one reason or another. The one about the power of rumors (also known as the pink ninja episode), lloyd rescuing the team, Cole's true potential is a classic episode with a good mix of heart and comedy, and of course THE FINALE, but because I am biased, and because I am a sucker for personal drama, season one's spotlight episode is episode 7, Tick tock, Zane's true potential. This was by far the episode me and my brother watched together the most. Aside from the movie Cars, it's probably the one piece of media we have scene the most times together. The episode begins by establishing Wu leaving, the ninja are at a loss of what to do and then... THE FALCON. Best character this season! XD seriously, the falcon theme is one of, if not my favorite piece of music in the show. Certainly the most memorable. And most importantly it kicks in the ATMOSPHERE! Have I mentioned ATMOSPHERE?

ATMOSPHERE

I am a sucker for some good ATMOSPHERE (no, I will not stop spelling it in all caps), and BOY the falcon chase scene! Zane is slowly taken away from his team members in order to reflect upon himself, and as he runs through the snow by himself to follow this bird you can see his determination, curiosity, desperation, and just that Zane factor that makes you go "awww, my child! He must be protected!" (Even though, you know, he was built to protect and all that) but just AGHH! I can't put into words for beautiful this whole sequences is! Go watch it right now! Look at that beautiful Zane! Listen to that music! That FREAKING MUSIC AGGHHHHHH! I LOVE IT SO AGGRESSIVELY! LISTEN TO IT! LIKE SERIOUSLY, LISTEN, HERE'S THE LINK!

https://youtu.be/2p07cgwwYws

It makes my heart SO happy! Idk if I'm the only one who feels that way about this scene but oh... oh how it gets me. Every. Time. Michael Kramer and Jay Vincent are freAKING GODS!

Okay. I'm done with the falcon chase. Now onto, like... the part of the episode people care about. The tree house, again, an amazing location. Unique, and mysterious, and as soon as he walks in, you just get this sense of memory. The flash back is ADORABLE and the others finding him... I think this was handled pretty well. Their reactions seem genuine (I mean, I would want to get out of there as soon as humanly possible too XD) and you can feel the genuine concern from all of the ninja, trying to help their buddy out in their own ways.

Zane's true potential feels really earned, and his thing that holds him back was established as soon as the series began. He was different and weird and he didn't know where he came from. Coming to accept what he is, accepting his past and finding an identity of his own is what gives him the power to unlock it.

Now, just for fun and because I know I'm going to hear it in the comments like "why is Zane's discovery of identity more valid than anyone else's? What about Kai! His true potential is entirely based on finding his purpose!" And yes. Theoretical commentor you make a valid point, but I think the key difference is in the identity they find when they unlock it.

Zane accepts his personality, his past, and his robotic nature as himself and can be proud of who he is as his own person. The thing that held him back was vague and sort of indefinable, and what he became afterwards was concrete, solid, and dependable. That's why you feel like the character has gotten stronger.

Kai goes in the opposite direction. The thing that holds him back is that he wants to be the green ninja. That's solid and concrete. The problem then becomes that you know exactly how the potential will play out. He's going to face something, discover he's not the green ninja, and come to terms with it. And his ending identity is much more vague. His purpose is to protect the green ninja... okay, what does that mean? What kind of a person does that make you? He didn't change as a person, his views about a certain topic where changed. Those are two very different levels of progress.

And I know you can argue that it wasn't the green ninja thing he needed to get past, he needed to get past his pride and all that, but even if you make that argument that conclusion is harder to reach and less apparent than Zane's progress as a character. Zane's progress is entirely centered on him. Kai's progress will never be separated from Lloyd. Just watch the episode. It feels like a Lloyd episode. I remember thinking the first time I watched it when he came out of the volcano "wait... what was his true potential? Why is this happening?"

Anyway, that's my little soap box rant. I hope I didn't offend too many Kai fans. Again, it's probably just my water bias coming into play. I know there's a frame work in place for development of all these characters, and every single one of them gets an arc and theoretically everything should work out and make sense and work beautifully and perfectly, but sometimes when you step back and look at it, it's just a matter of "but does it work?" And maybe it's a matter of opinion, but Kai's potential didn't work for me.

I've been on this way to long. I'm stopping now.

Misc

I really like the suits this season. They're all unique and the masks... compliment the Lego head shape nicely? Does that make sense? It makes them look a bit cuter. Anyone else see that? Idk, maybe I'm just going crazy.

Watch this season thinking about how the snakes become good in season 3...

I want more of the Pink ninja.

I love scales and his slight incompetence. Not total, just slight.

This exchange:

Pythor: I hardly have any friends

Lloyd: Woah! I hardly have any friends too!

Pythor: You don't say!

All together I really like this season. Light hearted, funny, good action and characters. Not super compelling or anything, but it doesn't need to be. Second best season for nostalgia tingles in general, third best for me personally. Most of this is a matter of opinion, so don't fret too much over anything I say. I'd love to see your thoughts/rankings/comments/disagreements in the notes! That's the point of this thing!

If there are any aspects of the season I skipped, let me know, I'm not perfect.

Thanks for reading! And if you got this far... I don't know. Work the word saxophone into your comment. Bonus points if it makes sense!

-Maya (a.k.a. parachutingkitten)

[stephanericherthanyou]

happy end of the year! i’m barely on here but if you’re still following, thanks for sticking it out & here’s some fic recs

STAR WARS (all bodhi/galen)

Accident on Eadu by Munnin & yakalskovich: this is part of a wonderful verse but reads very well on its own, too. I’m a sucker for hurt/comfort and this has that in spades, and it doesn’t seem contrived. It plays with the dynamic the two of them have in the verse a little bit and it’s completely natural and sweet. The plot moves along but there are so many moments that remind me why I love this ship so much.

A Little Thing, and Light by sheffiesharpe: this is so well-written...”So when he is summoned further into the base at Eadu, when he is told the chief engineer wishes to meet him, he wants for this to be a mistake: another cargo pilot, another Bodhi Rook, another small brown man from a broken place.” All of it is such a fitting extension to the way the characters are portrayed in r1, and an answer to the “I want more of them” I felt while watching

That Would Be Enough by icandrawamoth: i love this writer’s ambient bodhi/galen, and this one is the kind of short and sweet moment these two deserve. brief happiness together that’s bittersweet keeping canon events in mind (bodhi calling galen ‘old man’ makes me so!)

ZNT (129)

heartbeat for sale by itskonoe: i will never be free from 129. never. reading this just pulled me back into 2014 and the hot summer days and my mindset and the world back then, of waiting for a new episode every week and these two kids doing their best to make their lives not a complete waste. the mutual longing is so palpable and real, and the writing is so gorgeous. “It’s needs over wants this close to the finish line, and he can’t let desire dictate his next steps.” /lays my head down and cries all over again

KNB

Thousands of feathery kisses by Plume_Sombre: kagahimu that deals with the past and present is probably my number one weakness like...man....this is why they’re so amazing they love each other so much LOOK and yknow this fic really shows it, the warmth and familiarity between the two of them and how much their relationship grows with them.

exception to the rule by justlikeswitchblades: kagahimu hockey au i love...the way the two of them play basketball transposed so well and carefully to hockey, how easy and smooth it feels, how well i can picture the two of them skating across the ice after each other...(also that she hadn’t written much tatsuya but captured his i-do-what-i-want attitude so well and so clearly!)

jersey shore kagahimu by ellipsometry: ““But you like me,” Tatsuya teases, running a foot up Taiga’s leg under the table, “And I'm plenty salty.”” THE DIALOGUE HERE ITS FCKN SUPERB this is a small moment but a big mood and an atmosphere i wanna sink my teeth in and scrape them against the salt.

shake shack kagahimu by ellipsometry: the penn station shake shack and its 9am burgers holds a very special place in my heart, and i love how well kagahimu inhabit it here. it’s not thrown in for the obligation of the prompt, or conspicuously built around; it’s just part of the story which in and of itself clearly rolls up to a larger kagahimu x nba world that feels so comfortably lived in.

garciraki succubus au by garciraki: it’s the details that make this fic, from masako using a string of tea lights to the pieces of dialogue hinting at more...and Masako’s POV (”She wishes she had her sword on her. The demon would probably like that, though. Damn.”) right on the money

fluff garciraki by lemontongues: a sweet fic that, while mostly preoccupied with garciraki in the middle of the moment, also pushed a plot and direction forward like a gentle wave and thinking about the best parts of summer. the last line was built up to so naturally but still hit me by itself. it’s so warm.

bra hook by justlikeswitchblades: comfy garciraki with a well-oiled routine, steady and sexy and lush, the bookend image of a beer bottle. it makes me long for gross humidity tbh and it did when i first read it, in the beginning of summer. and basketball threaded through the foreground even though they don’t actually play any within the fic my god

ocean breeze by sannlykke: do any of you know how long i’d waited for a full-length liuhimu in english? close to 4 years. since the teikou arc. WORTH EVERY HOUR FOR THIS please read this. it will answer every question you didn’t have about why you should ship liuhimu. their dynamic is so gentle; the gradual way they pull towards each other and the way they’re both cagey enough to drag this thing out (and there’s so much to this fic!) i love these stupid kids

pro ball liuhimu by sannlykke: established liuhimu who went back home to pursue their dreams makes me want to melt (and somehow someday that they play in a league together again...) and even from a distance tatsuya being a dick about everything. and the two of them watching each other’s games, calling at odd hours (” The damned curve of his lips, even with the lag, is just too much.“)...i’m so fond

in you, everything sank by thimble: “The switch was less like walking onto a highway—an instant collision—and more like a jumping out of a helicopter—a slow freefall, an endless wait for the parachute to kick in.“ I did not expect an aohimu infidelity fic to get me as good as it did, knowing that there was no good or even not devastating end, one way or the other. every moment of this fic is inevitable; it’s a special kind of dragged-out slow burn except everything is burning down to the ground oh my god.

day/dusk/night/dawn by thimble: i feel like saying a lot about this fic ruins the fun of reading it, but...especially after the last one, taking them as an aohimu set is actually kind of nice. this one is completely different (i wouldn’t necessarily say opposite) but it, too, hits deep places in both characters that just makes me wanna yell.

time and place, here and now by justlikeswitchblades: i don’t tend to seek out first person, or pov alternating, but they’re the kinds of things that when done well make me sit up and pay attention. i’ve read this over again, sifting through the tiniest of details popping against my screen--tatsuya’s voice in the opening, his teammates, the way alex carries herself, taiga’s emotions--it can be so difficult to balance all sides of a polyship but this fic nailed it...i want More of all 3 of them but i can picture it so easily in my head, this pivotal moment in their relationship and its weight only as important as it is because of what comes before and after (if that makes sense lmao--just read the fic if it doesn’t.

heart of ice cream by justlikeswitchblades: PEAK BODY HORROR YO but forreal...this is probably niche appeal but hey, if you’re into vore and people made out of candy written out in alluring detail, this is the perfect fic for you (even if you’re not that crazy about murahimu)

kisehimu models by Plume_Sombre: it’s all about the details (”They talk about today’s events, how annoying that one manager is (always trying to arrange a photoshoot with the model he’s working for), how blinding the new spotlights in the C room are, how Koizumi-san’s curry almost killed everyone with spiciness“) and the slow build up to what is and what isn’t, the aching angst in less than 500 words. The loneliness is tangible and poignant and real.

addison and sheffield by justlikeswitchblades: speaking of ‘things i’m a sucker for’ but....happy ldr angst, aomido baseball au, reading all this especially now my heart is decaying.like...it’s a scenario we’d talked about before val wrote it, but there are so many details that made me so surprised and excited...i loved the way their age/experience difference is underscored without being too focused on, and all the things that make this au good & different

After Midnight by justlikeswitchblades: haikaga’s one of those ships i lowkey liked but never really thought about on my own and this fic changed that. i went zero to sound barrier in the time it take to read this fic and let me tell you. i didn’t know how much i needed raptors!zaki until i read this fic, and the whole thing is like. the perfect amount of tender for haikaga who are still trying to feel their way around each other, keeping things casual but less than they need to be (”His teeth are scraping over Kagami’s jaw and neck in a way Kagami's tempted to call gentle, and there isn't enough dissonance to call this person someone entirely different. Kagami is content with that.” mmm)

[mantra4ia]

Lucifer Season 2 Round-out

Last April, a list began that would soon pervade into every moment of my life: “Lucifer Season 2 and Beyond - Wants and Desires”. It went through various iterations…

Original Post (pre-season) / Updated post (during season 2)

Before I go into my “Season 3” post (and questions!) I wanted to make a quick capsule of my top fulfilled desires of season 2. Please let me know what yours were, or if you have questions and desires yet to be addressed.

Desires Fulfilled / Questions Answered

✔ Does Lucifer have any other brothers/siblings we should know of? While I was disappointed that Uriel had such a brief appearance, it was still very cool and developed the arc of the season a TON! Also, there’s that mention of… ✔ Lucifer should have a sister…(2x05) AZRAEL! The Angel of Death is a she, and I have many questions and speculations about her role, power, manifestation, etc ✔ Who is Lucifer’s mother? Angel, Demon, something else? You know, for a majority of the season I didn’t know whether I liked or hated the Divine Goddess mum as Charlotte Richards. She was a fun character, but very on the fence as to what she wanted and how badly at any given moment. Mostly what bothered me is her lack of seriousness, gravitas. I wanted to see the “Goddess” side of her all season. She was jailed for centuries not just for being powerful, but also vengeful, chaotic, bordering on malicious. And then I got all that in the very last episode, 2x18 “God, Bad, Crispy” and I loved it. All that resentment, brokenness, and desperation, coupled with destructive force so that I could take her seriously. And no sooner did I love her as a balanced character of humor and strength, she (as we know her) was gone! Wot?! ✔ We’ve seen Lucifer’s lifestyle, how is Amenadiel liking his time on earth? Not at all - his poor wings! But I’m really quite glad he’s found solace in, of all places, the improv club. ✔ Who are Chloe’s friends outside the force, will we meet some? Thank Dad for Maze, Linda, and Ella, and girls night #tribe. ✔ Lucifer, Trixie, and Maze on a school’s day out field trip. Trixie and Maze trick-or-treating was 100% wonderful, and as a brilliant bookend so was Lucifer taking Trix to school and them having their own little “deceiving your parents” club. ✔ Girls’ night - Mazikeen, Chloe, Linda. And not only that but a bar fight, which is also what I wanted to see more of (the females kicking butt, which I got from all the core ensemble save Trixie, who instead kicked butt with her words, as Maze said). It’s like the writers have Lucifer powers of desire deduction… ✔ More delving into the themes of what it means to be vulnerable, when it’s good and not, and recovering from betrayal from all the characters’ perspectives. Well, divorce and single parenting are pretty dang vulnerable for Chloe I’d say….and you know drudging up the past and confronting her dad’s murder. And Dan and Lucifer at the comedy club, the openness there gave me new hope for their continued BroTP. Lucifer with Azrael’s blade while Amenadiel watched as his little bro was in pain DESTROYED ME. And even Trixie was vulnerable at that Starford private school, which was super insightful for Trixstar. And Maze and Lucifer throwing down and going to group therapy with Linda. The writers really knocked vulnerability, recovery, and moving forward out of the park. ✔ Is Mazikeen going to make more progress in the friends’ department? First word: Roomies. Second word: wifey. I really, deeply enjoyed Maze bonding with Chloe and Linda (ride or die) this season, and her growing attachment to humans. ✔ Now that Lucifer doesn’t have his Pentecostal coin to play with, does he get a new toy? I never thought seeing Lucifer with a cell phone would be that satisfying.  ✔ We see Lucifer always wearing a ring and Amenadiel always wearing a necklace. Will they come into play? Of course! Although, please props department up your game. I hated that Sumerian text. It looked like a three ring binder spray painted bronze. ✔ What stunts/ fight choreography are you guys thinking about for s2? Maze with a pool cue, a good amount of headbutting, slo-mo riots in a psychiatric ward, jumping off of a pier, some great driving sequences, a sniper/hostage situation, violence with a yoga mat, throw-down in a church (Father Frank’s church?), broken pianos. I can’t wait for more! ✔ Tom Ellis at the piano.“All Along the Watchtower” pleases me to no end. ✔ Scenery changes? I love the addition on the performance club and Chloe’s new apartment.  ✔ New potentially recurring characters? Heavens bless Ella in all her awkward moment, ice-breaking quirkiness.  ✔ Can Chloe effect other celestials adversely, or just Lucifer? Apparently yes she can. She disrupted Uriel’s pattern of destruction (2x05) I think, I could be wrong, but it came across that way… ✔ Seeing Lucifer with wings. YES! Bring on the eleventh hour cliffhanger. ✔  Lucifer’s fall? Maybe we saw a glimpse of it…depending on the context of the 2x18 cliffhanger

Things we got that we didn’t even know we wanted. SO GOOD:

Dan and Chloe are getting a divorce and in so doing becoming an even better team on the force and in life. They can razz each other more at work and be treated as equals, and she can joke with Dan “if you married Charlotte, that would make you Lucifer’s stepdad.”

Amenadiel wallowing about the loss of his wings, and the new BroTP Dandielion (Dan and Amenadiel at the comedy club)

“Cosmos are yummy” and “I like [the shape of] your head” one liners. You deserve all the praise Amenadude.

Ella’s tiny hands comment.”I’ve seen some pretty tiny manhands.” Cheeky.

Ella speaking French.

Lucifer and Maze with a taser. Superb new toy.

Lucifer being mortally embarrassed seeing his mom naked (how does it feel to be on the receiving side of nude awkwardness buddy), her interrupting his foreplay, and him having to drag her off his club stage because of her dancing. He’s essentially a teenager with her around.

Trixie’s defaced doll, and Lucifer’s sinnamon roll behavior getting her a new one.

Trixie holding Lucifer’s hand hostage as he takes her to school and bargains with her to drive the Corvette.

Chloe nearly beating someone to death with a yoga mat. “There’s a special place in hell for women…who manipulate other women.”

A reprisal of Chloe and Maze the tag team. Magnificent.

Lucifer denouncing cats. “Open box of excrement in your house? Cats,” Makes me wonder what pet Lucifer would have if he could. 

Uriel playing with patterns and probability! Sweet, now help me sail my ship! (2x05)

Lucifer as an action movie fan. Not surprising, since we already know he loves cheesy sci-fi from season 1 interaction with Chloe’s mom. But still another awesome nerdy layer.

Chloe teaming up on a case with her would-be-mother-in-law. Season 2 subtitle: #EveryoneHitsOnChloe

Lucifer in a psych ward. And of course, the Linda/Lucifer break out. Though it probably would’ve been equally fascinating as a break in.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS (TOP 10):

The stunt driving in the corvette and Chloe’s car, and the surrounding circumstances of both incidents. I love the fulfillment of “I’ll never let you drive” comes full circle when Lucifer speeds on to try and save Chloe’s life, and when Chloe has to ride shotgun on Lucifer’s terms, she loses all composure. 

Most of 2x13 “A Good Day to Die” but especially the X-Ambassadors “Unsteady“ montage where every character shines!

“God Johnson” - the whole episode from start to finish, because it revealed so much honesty, meta, and motivation about the Lucifer, Linda, and Mum. If I had to pick a favorite part, it would have to be when Lucifer is wheeling Linda down the corridor and she meets ‘God’ or the celestial parent trap. Linda and Lucifer get to act like fans in their own show, Dr. Martin reveals Lucifer’s hidden desire to see his family back together, and Mum realizes she loves her ex and much as she hates him.

Maze and Chloe on a case as a married couple.

The men #tribe and the women #tribe we clearly establish in the first half of the season through cocktails, bar fights, saunas, improv clubs, etc. It wasn’t obnoxious or super exclusive, it developed naturally and really served the characters.

All of Trixie’s screen time was awesome, and the fact she seems to get more of it. Particularly “you don’t have to speak in code, I can handle adult stuff (she’s very perceptive)” and “wusses don’t get lollies” and her reaction to Lucifer stealing her sandwich.

Lucifer’s final scene with Linda in the hospital, where she has the title line that once again gives Lucifer page turning insight, and he puts her glasses back on and I melt!

Amenadiel being able to slow time for the first time since his powers waned, and using it to save Linda’s life. It made me teary, and brought me back to 2x13 when he helped Lucifer by standing his ground for Chloe. (MVP on the Unsteady montage)

Ella standing up to Charlotte. Her saying “you hurt Dan, I’ll break your legs” at first came off funny, like ‘your East Coast is showing’ but with each episode I increasingly wonder if, instead of just being mellow and accepting and lighthearted, she knows more than she let’s on and there’s another side of her that we’ve not seen.

The made up dinner scene / “you look beautiful” / the trajectory of Deckerstar. I admit there was a faith wobble. I thought that the show was revving up Lucifer and Chloe, perhaps not ‘too fast,’ but too suddenly. A lot was development happened over very few episodes in season 2 (by contrast to the entire season one slow burn) that I was dazed. What the hell was going on? Then they slammed on the brakes and reversed it when Luci skipped town and I thought are you trying to give me whiplash. But now those trials and that zig zag line is actually effective in making their relationship more complex and less doe-eyed, leading up to the capstone line by Chloe about moving forward. It gives the series a Chuck-like nostalgia in that this epiphany frees up a lot of constraint: it doesn’t matter the twists, turns, sputters, or screaming wheelies of the ship, in fact all the better, so long as their eyes are open and the aim is forward.

DIDN’T LIKE (BOTTOM 10):

☒ The “Wobble” episode concept.(2x03 Sin-Eater) If I had to rate it’s strength as a compelling episode, it’s probably second to the bottom.

☒ Poor Uri, we did not know him well, but I wanted to! (2x05)

☒ The “Candy Morningstar“ episode (2x14). I like the resolution, however I thought overall it was a weak return from hiatus. It did not do a very good job of filling in gaps of Lucifer’s time in Vegas - but maybe that’s something flashbacks in season 3 will revisit.

☒ Ella, her brother Ricardo, (2x13) and their Brooklyn roots. At first when I heard Ella came from a big family of brothers - 5? if I’m not making that up - I thought “what rich grounds for parallels” Lucifer comes from a big angelic family and Ella and Luci hit it off quite well where quirkiness goes she practically like a sister, she even got him to go to church, I can’t wait to see where this goes. But then we met one of her siblings, and it felt somewhere between a front and a one-off plot point to serve the events unfolding in the case. Generally, I feel even though I really like her character, she was not used to full potential in the second act of season after 2x8. Part of the hazard of adding two characters in one season. However, I have hope from 2x17 when Ella goes off to accept a call from her brother that she’s been ‘waiting for all day,’ but it’s never revealed why and the call takes place off screen that we’re going to revisit Ella’s family and backstory in a more detailed, impactful way come s3.

☒ The Season Finale 2x18. Before you kill me - allow me to clarify. I LOVED THIS EPISODE, however it was so packed I wish that I could surgically take out some preceding season fluff and elaborate these critical details over 2-3 episodes so that they are more than nuggets. Especially because of three things: 1) The growing complexity of Amenadiel’s relationship with Dan and Mum!Charlotte. Face it: Amenadiel had an extended identity crisis this season. It was planned, and overdue, so it’s fine. But only in these last episodes did his friendship with Dan and anchor to humanity flourish, as though playing catch up to Maze, as well as his more complex, less idolizing perspective of his parents. I WANTED MORE 2) Mum!Charlotte’s relationship with Dan “you were my favorite human.” Writers - How can you drop a line like that and NOT go after it? Are you evil? Mum’s been around for millennia and in all that time humanity has been at best a perplexing annoyance, at worse a target for ire. And in the span of one or two months on Earth, the divine goddess has developed a favorite human attachment not just to manipulate as was her intention, but beyond her reasoning legit. That’s huge. At first it was so weird, and now that I WANT MORE you cut me off! 3) Mum!Charlotte was finally beginning to stand on her own as a character, only to be slightly Sparta’d into the void. Just a few episodes ago, her only significant interactions were he sons and Maze. Now she’s branched out to everyone with the exception of Trixie. (WHY ON EARTH DID WE MISS THAT OPPORTUNITY). Then just two episodes ago, she said “when I kissed [my husband] I knew it wasn’t him, and yet I wanted it to be” - BAM - and then when she discovered Lucifer’s real plan to parent trap her in heaven, and that he was too worried about the repercussions to humanity, she offered to gate crash heaven alone and spare her son - POW. And to top it off, she recognized her own latent identity crisis and accepted an alternative to go into uncharted territory, make a new life for herself without her ex and her children, to examine who she is as her own independent Goddess in a life and a universe of her own. To summarize: metric ton of progress for Mum in three episodes tops, mostly in the last one, and now she is gone to do the most interesting part of her journey off camera. AHHH!

☒ The flaming sword. It got so much build up for so little actual use, apart from opening the void. Plus side: I thought the void concept / how the sword was used in conjunction with the theme of moving forward was EXTREMELY good, but at the same time my inner child wanted more swordplay with at least the three main celestials: Lucifer, Amenadiel, and Mum. You get a sword, you get a sword, you get a sword!

☒ Excessive use of Devil Eyes. I’ll have to count and compare to see how this actually tallies up, but particularly in “God Johnson” and maybe 1-2 other times I don’t recall, I thought it was overkill. I get why Lucifer’s glow-eyes are a handy physicality feature to the story, but overall I think some cues were off for maximum impact. S1 Lucifer used his eyes and true form in 3 main contexts: 1) when it suited him to intimidate or frighten 2) when it suited him for for amusement 3) when he got really overwhelmed by his emotions - possibly because it takes concentration to maintain his image and extreme emotion can blink his focus. “God Johnson” by contrast seemed more like ‘we’re telegraphing the anger.’ Of course Luci is angry, hurt, resentful, and like a kid wants the last word with Dad. However, when you factor in his smarts/cunning, and how long he’s been planning his Dad conversation, it would follow that Lucifer is laser-focused, determined, and knows that Devil Eyes don’t hold any weight with Father. Therefore, I think there are more varied, smarter, scarier ways to show Lucifer’s anger that were underutilized this season, is voice and body language especially. Plus side: I truly enjoyed Lucifer’s form in 2x13 in hell, and 2x06 for his reveal to Linda. The lighting, 5/5 Morningstars. 

☒ The pacing and balance of humor, smart storytelling, and the dramatic elements of the show felt off, probably also on account of two hiatuses. Reflecting over the whole season I’m not as annoyed as I was week-to-week. There were parts of the season where I waited eagerly for Monday only to find the comedy didn’t hit when I thought is this a comedic take on a police procedural or a parody of a comedy of a police procedural. Other times we got all the dramatic in one go and I thought Dang, where was this development when I needed it. But then I saw 2x18 and one scene made it better/sensical: Dan coaching Amenadiel at the improv club. In a strange, probably coincidental way, when Dan says “Amenadiel, that’s a little dark buddy” I felt like the writers were breaking the forth wall and saying “yes, I know, we take you on these weird tonal-emotional roller-coasters from pantomime slapstick to death and crippling guilt. We can and will make fun of ourselves now.” And I felt a burden lift as if replying “thank you for understanding that the struggle is real.”

☒  Celestial telephone tag cliffhangers. I love both of them: clever, full circle, smartly written. At the same time, I love to hate them. Twice is good. If showrunners go for a third time, I’ll take my cue from Maze and headbutt someone.

☒ I like the idea of expanding the universe by playing with the concept of the void. I think that it takes a great note from the comics. However, I’m worried it’ll be an idea that doesn’t go anywhere. As the show stands, Lucifer is so grounded in our physical world that adding a couple characters to the cast is tricky. This kind of world building? By comparison, this is God-level tricky, which is both exciting and terrifying.

Unanswered Questions / Moving Forward

See my Season 3: Speculations, Questions, Desires post.

[bauunitchief]

“Should i Watch Criminal Minds?”

Okay, so here’s what you need to know about Criminal Minds.

It’s about seven FBI agents who use psychology to solve crimes. They work in the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) as profilers. When local law enforcement comes up across a serial offender they can’t handle, or needs help with a time-sensitive case, they call the BAU in to try and profile their unsub (UNknown SUBject, a term coined by real-life profiler John Douglas). They do everything from arsonists to child abductions to terrorism - but mostly they hunt serial killers. The worst of the worst.

Why is this show special? Well, aside from the profiling, at its heart, it’s about family. These seven agents have such a close bond, and that’s what makes them work so well. Each has an important backstory, and each will tug at your heartstrings. Honestly it’s hard to choose a favorite!

In the first season, you’ll meet:

Jason Gideon: the seasoned, experienced team leader. He’s wise and plays a mentor role to many of the other agents, especially Reid. He’s also a little unstable, as a bomber took out six agents and a hostage after Gideon failed to profile him correctly. His past haunts him, but he tries to keep in mind the big picture, and do what he must for the greater good. He’s also very good with victims.

Aaron Hotchner: as the Unit Chief, he’s the official leader, but often defers to Gideon. “Hotch” as his team calls him, is a very serious and focused agent. He has high ambitions and works towards them with everything he’s got. A bit of a workaholic, he struggles to balance his time. Hotch is a skilled profiler who is good at getting inside the head of their unsubs. His wife is expecting their first child when the series begins.

Derek Morgan: the charming, enigmatic ladies man. If Hotch is all work and no play, Morgan manages to find the balance between the two. He’s witty and funny, and often is the “muscle” of the group. Breaking down doors, tackling people, looking handsome. His specialty is obsessional crimes, but he also worked with a bomb task force once, and he often role-plays to get a feel for how the unsub’s behavior translates into thoughts/personality. He has a close bond with Garcia, and ghosts in his past that have motivated him to hunt down bad guys.

Dr. Spencer Reid: no, not that kind of doctor. At 23, he has three PhDs, graduated from college at 16, and is the youngest of the team. He’s a certified genius who has an eidetic memory and can speed-read. Reid struggles with social skills, but he’s a total sweetheart who just wants to fit in. Shy and awkward, he’s not the most physically skilled member, but he makes up for that with his mind. He was bullied for most of his life, but certain events in his past make him especially skilled with some of the BAU’s more unstable unsubs.

Jennifer “JJ” Jareau: the team’s media/communications liason. JJ handles the press and often works with the victim’s families. She’s not technically a profiler, her job is to select and present cases to the team, and to act as the link between the community, local law enforcement, and the team. She comes from a small-town, and used to play soccer. JJ holds press conferences to help lure out the unsub, and she knows how to spin a story just right. She gets the job done, and doesn’t let anything stop her.

Penelope Garcia: Garcia is the technical analyst for the BAU. She doesn’t travel with the team, but stays back at Quantico. Her job is to scour the internet and use technology to assist the team in their cases. Need to know if the suspect has a criminal record? Dig up some dirt in a person’s past? Triangulate a cell phone call? Garcia’s your girl. She’s an optimist who wants to believe the best in others, and tries to brighten her work environment with bright colors and cute things to distract her from the violence. She maintains a close friendship with Morgan, and their phone calls often involve flirtatious banter between her “Chocolate Thunder” and his “Baby Girl.”

Elle Greenaway: the newest addition to the team, Elle is tough as nails. She’s extremely hard working, and she goes after her goals. Elle used to be a sex crimes detective, and as the only female profiler on the team, she’s the best when it comes to assisting women who have been assaulted by an unsub, and making them feel safe. Make no mistakes though, Elle will gladly fight you. An empowered, independent woman, she can easily keep up with the boys. Not to mention she’s particularly skilled with sarcasm.

The show has a “crime-of-the-week” format, where every episode is about solving a different crime. There are occasionally multiple-part episodes, and there are certainly overarching storylines that you’ll see develop throughout the show. You’ll fall in love with the BAU team and each of the agents. Seriously, it’s worth the watch. (And there are eleven binge-able seasons available on Netflix!)

Bonus points:

Bookend quotes. Every episode opens and closes with a famous quote.

Amazing (especially for 2004) cinematography. This fluctuates a little in later seasons, but these people know how to make good use of green screens.

Fantastic soundtracks. The number of artists i’ve found through this show... Band of Horses, Ray LaMontagne, Leonard Cohen, James Blunt, and Lily Kershaw just to name a few. Such good music choices.

You’ll learn stuff! Reid is practically a walking encyclopedia, and the show really does use a lot of actual psychology. It’s so great.

[drink-n-watch]

    Genre : Action, comedy, supernatural, urban fantasy, science fiction.

Episodes: 12

Studio: Bones

  Cities are like people. They’re living things with a mind and personality of their own. Some are calm and reserved, others brutish and loud. There are cities that are such powerful personalities that you can always tell when someone’s spent a little time there. Then there’s Hellsalem’s Lot, a city with such a powerful persona that a Hellsalem citizen can be spotted from a mile away. OK, half of them are weird looking aliens and the other half such hardened and blasé humans that they really should count as a distinct species. It’s an exciting place to be, without a second worth of boredom, if you can survive it. So what is a gentle soul like Leonardo Watch doing there? And how is it that in a city ruled by ruffians and overrun by monsters, a nice guy is slowly changing everything?

I randomly decided to pick up the first season of Blood Blockade Battlefront a bit before Halloween and was delighted to find that it had a Halloween specific episode to easily fit into my Halloween posting schedule. I just wrote the word Halloween a lot. I speak my posts in my head, so it’s starting to sound weird… I really enjoyed that first season and I knew I was going to watch the second one sooner rather than later. How awesome is it that the second season has a New Year’s and Holiday themed episode! Talk about kismet!

I hate it when this happens

In many ways, I found that the second season of Blood Blockade Battlefront (and Beyond) felt more like a first season. As much on the production front as the narrative one. If you’ve read my review for season 1, you may remember that I considered it stunning. I still do. The scenery, the cityscapes and the wonderful framing and scale is still present. But the visuals do seem a little pared down this time around.

There are much fewer scenes with countless extras and background characters. The action is still as fluid, but art style gets a bit less detailed. It’s a beautiful looking series on its own, but when you compare it to the first season, it looks a touch less polished.

On the flipside though, the voice actors have clearly gotten more at ease with the characters and what I thought was a great sounding voice cast has turned into a wonderfully cohesive ensemble that seems to be truly enjoying the material. In fact, if visuals might have subjectively gone down a notch, sound design on all levels has improved. Except for the ED. I loved that season 1 ED!

the city is still gorgous

And when I say the show feels like a season 1 in the narrative as well, that’s not a bad thing. The actual premise of the show was roughly established in the first season, although it’s a slightly messy show in that regard and the story always felt a bit disjointed. This season though has a much more focused narrative and actually started to establish the various characters in a way that truly got me to understand and are about everybody like never before.

So much of the world-building and character development happened this season rather than the last. And that may be brilliant.

I really enjoyed the storylines this time around. Although a bit more episodic in structure with narratives moving from one character to the next, establishing the personalities and history of each, rather than some larger overarching storyline, episodes somehow felt more connected to one another.

connections are great!

In many ways, the theme of season 2 of Blood Blockade Battlefront (and Beyond) is perfect for a Christmas viewing, because, at its core, it’s a story about families. Biological, nuclear or found. It’s about the bonds that hold us together and how the people around us shape the person we become. And it was very pretty.

Blood Blockade Battlefront and Beyond is a silly show that does everything at breakneck speed. It wears its name well as everything is dripping with blood and fighting but in a cartoony comedic way. Objectively, the body count must be astronomical, yet I would call it a feel-good show. But when it calms down a bit and concentrates on the characters, it truly shines and is often unexpectedly touching.

For instance, I don’t recall a series having quite so many working parents and honestly addressing the difficulties working mothers face in balancing home and career. We truly see that every member of Libra is a distinct individual, with their own set of values and beliefs and how those can be smoothly integrated into a working whole. And in a beautiful but of bookending, season 2 ends in the same way season 1 did. With a brother and sister who really love each other and want to save one another.

By balancing equal parts zany over the top action and small emotional human stories, Blood Blockade Battlefront and Beyond ended up becoming an entertaining and joyful celebration of relationships in all forms that left me eager to celebrate the coming holidays with the ones I love (by watching anime if I can trick them into it!)

K.K.’s husband also rocks – great ladies attract great men

Favourite character: KK (loved her before but now I actually know why) and Steven (we barely got to know him in season 1 but it turns out he may be the wildcard character of the ensemble)

What this anime taught me: It’s always worth giving a chance for people to betray you.

The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.

Suggested drink: Alexander’s Sister (close enough)

Every time Leo is having a bad day – take a sip

Every time there’s an instance of casual murder – take a sip

Every time we see Klaus’ cross – take a sip

Every time we see Michella – cheer

Every time there’s a cat – take a sip

Every time a member of Libra ends up all bandaged up – raise your glass

Every time anyone’s getting drunk – join them

Every time Chain lands on someone – take a sip

Every time Leo gets mugged – feel bad for him

Every time anyone mentions their kid – take a subtle sip

I’ve decided to stick to Pinterest for my screencaps. It’s just more fun and easier to update for me.

    Blood Blockade Battleground and Beyond – If You Can Make it There… Genre : Action, comedy, supernatural, urban fantasy, science fiction. Episodes: 12 Studio: Bones Cities are like people.