#he’s so polite to the people who hurt him. maybe that’s why he hates Izzy

[stizzysupremacy]

So the first time Izzy meets Stede, Stede is all “you’re very skilled with a sword” and “I’m glad this isn’t over because I kind of enjoyed it” and like, they are rivals in the moment yeah but they’re not total jerks to each other.

Then the second time they meet, at Spanish Jackie’s, Stede is IMMEDIATELY the biggest bitch we ever see him be in the whole show. He isn’t even rude to the Spaniard who gut-stabbed him, or his childhood bullies ffs. But he puts on his cockiest attitude and looks down his nose despite knowing Izzy is a master swordsman with a ship full of men at his back. Zero self-preservation instincts.

And Izzy has no idea why this peppy blonde sudden started acting like such a dickhead, but Stede did claim to be a pirate and pirates do tend to be dickheads…

So is it at all surprising if Izzy wasn’t perfectly polite when they meet again on the Revenge? He’s got no reason to respect this guy coming in to the situations, and then Stede’s like “Ed, your flunky is a complete asshole!” My brother in piracy, you know damn well you antagonized that angry rat man ON PURPOSE.

Fuck around, find out.

A sword to the gut was honestly Stede getting off easy.

[lunar-system]

izzy thoughts

i didn't feel at all the death was accidental or without a cause. izzy was the most himself when he told ricky to go fuck himself and defended the pirate way of life without a regard for his own personal safety. he was targeted by ricky's gun because he so vocally and ferociously stood up for what he believed in

izzy dying because he stood up to what he believes in FEELS BAD because it IS BAD in the show's actual universe as well. He died to what is the show's equivalent of homophobia, he got hate-crimed for his pirate life style, ricky targeted him because he stood up for himself and his people – that is horrible! for us and for the characters! in the actual story! it was a sad and unfair way to go! and ricky is a villain who did a horrible thing to a character we love! it hurts! gaahhh!

what hurts in real life is that we were under the assumption that there would not be hate-crime equivalent things in the show. it was a safe show for many. so yeah, of course it's a shock. the assumption is that if someone does something racist or homophobic etc in this show, they get punished right away and laughed at. but this time the bad guy actually killed someone. the violence was real. izzy hands still didn't operate under the muppet rule set. real world violence rules applied to him this one time.

why was this wound deadly when no other was? because this show decides the stakes and accuracies on a case by case basis. right now it wanted it to count. eternal arguments can be had about if that was the right choice or not.

yes, it felt kinda unfair that the show trained us not to fear death. ed practically died earlier this season, and he was fine. it was a weird surprise that for izzy the death was permanent. well. unless season 3 proves us otherwise. a long con. we'll see.

the fact that djenkins happens to be mostly on the same page with fandom, i think that's a happy accident. remember that he was surprised that people didn't dare to believe ed/stede was happening? he didn't know the fandom's long history with queerbaiting. he was just writing his show. it makes sense he would not be up to date with the fandom style politics of that you should not kill a character who is a strong symbol for something in the real world. sounds to me like it was a similar surprise than the queerbaiting one. earlier he happened to play with fandom rules, but he doesn't really know there are that much rules at all. now he happened to go against one rule, just like he happened to go by the rules earlier. he writes the kinda fanfic he likes. and right now he liked the weight that an actual character death has. unfortunately in tv shows there are no tags "major character death" to soften the punch.

could he have predicted how massively popular izzy became with his new added arc? i'm not sure. To some degree you can try to predict the impact your writing has in the real world, but you can't really control how your work is received. with the release of s2 i saw it in real time, the weight that izzy had and the importance of him for many. maybe it was a surprise that the redemption arc was that effective. and tv shows are really, reaaaally slow to make. you have to stick with a decision you have made a long time ago, unless you have ridiculous amounts of money to throw around for reshoots. And once a season is airing, it is absolutely too late to start changing anything. Djenkis wanted an impactful death, and he ended up with a bit TOO impactful one. There's no changing it, I personally don't see a point with fighting it, it happened, it was written, shot, edited, colour graded, composed, produced with care and set in stone a long time ago, and now we work with what we have. Maybe i'm just not confrontational, but I was given this, it's what I have, so I'll find a way to roll with it. Maybe I'll use a bit of fiction to cover the trauma, you know? cause not moving on is worse? Honestly, I think whittling a shark would be a great way to pay homage to izzy. I should get some soft wood to do it.

no end thoughts, just, gosh he was a wonderful character. loved to get to know him. rip izzy <3

[cityandking]

2, 3, 18 for vesper, lira and dai!

thanks sweets // angsty character asks

2. What would break your OC beyond repair? Has it happened?

VESPER — honestly the fact that Inquisition didn't break her feels like a testament to her being Unbreakable. I guess maybe if the entire Inquisition keeled over dead and she was the sole survivor she'd have a serious crisis on her hands (socio-political as well as personal) but she's so built around the concept of The Dawn Will Come, of being that one light in the darkness, that I kinda think she could weather anything. literally anything. (she's gonna have to if she's so determined to save solas)

LIRA — truth be told I'd say that her family's death did that. I mean yeah she kept it together enough to get through the blight, but she's been pretty much a shade of her former self ever since. some scars you just don't heal from.

DAI — I honestly don't know. there's a lot of stuff that's chipped away at him, like the strain in his relationship with Pelor after his (first) death (also, the guilt of Izzy's first death) but he's also had a crash course in Keeping It Together so it's hard to say what would break him beyond repair. maybe the abyss. maybe what happens after the abyss. I think if his dad died he'd be pretty supremely fucked up, but I also think he could piece himself back together, even if it took an age. I guess we'll find out.

3. What is your OC’s worst memory?

VESPER — not leaving for the Circle itself, but the days before leaving for the Circle, when her secret came to light (when the twins outed her) and she understood that no one, not one member of her own family, was going to protect her. kit tried, but he was still a boy himself really, and their father was— well. best forgotten. there's a specific horror to knowing your own family isn't going to help you, and she's carried that with her since forever (that year on the run after Ostwick collapsed too, I think, but in a different, more actionable way. nothing matches the helplessness of a child being cast out of the family)

LIRA — the highever massacre. there were other bad things during the Blight (rip the broodmother), but nothing so gut-wrenchingly personal as the slaughter of her house in the dead of night by someone who was supposed to be a friend. that'll stick with her forever

DAI — watching Izzy fall that first time and being too far away to stop it. it was understanding that they were well and truly on their own and his responsibility in a way he hadn't fully conceptualized before, and realizing all that in his moment of failure. zaref walking right into the void is a close second.

18. What is the worst possible ending for your OC and why?

VESPER — becoming an abomination. it's something she's feared ever since she was a kid and the twins told her she was a monster before the templars whisked her away and she'd hate becoming something that hurt the people she wants to protect. it's one of the reasons Envy was such a satisfying horrifying threat—because she's always afraid of the harm she can do (she makes Cullen promise. if she ever loses control, if she ever becomes something Else— that's how much she trusts him. and how much he loves her.)

LIRA — fading. fading into obscurity, fading from her friends, becoming the ghost she's been longing to become ever since her home burned. in a good and just and kind world, she holds on to her friends and heals and comes back, makes new homes for herself, but the bad ending is the one where she walks out after the fight and just—never comes back.

DAI — being left in the abyss forever probably. or alternately like, just never ever making it home and wandering between the worlds forever. losing all sense of self and home and groundedness

[run-me-through-but-not-like-that]

Ok but you're like singlehandedly fueling my obsession with the feral cat man. Your work is so amazing i love it!! 💜💜💜💜

A reader/Izzy story where the reader continues to be nice in the face of Izzy's anger, for like a really long time, but finally snaps at him, and it's like ruthless. Where the reader is like one of those quiet angry types, but will chill you to your soul with a few words. And Izzy is just like "😳😳🥵😍" immediately, and is also like "wtf was that??" And can't stop thinking about it. And he keeps trying to rile the reader into that anger again, but the reader is still meeting his meanness with a smile, and Izzy finally is like "oh my God would you just hurt me already??" And then immediately goes like shy bc that was supposed to be an inside thought. But then the reader is like "why didn't you just ask, love" (and then smut happens if you are comfortable with that) with a fluffy ending. (Gn!reader please)

You're amazing!!!

💜💜💜💜💜

Will all of my Izzy Hands smut involve teaching Izzy the meaning of consent and bodily autonomy? Yeah, probably.

All You Had to do was Ask (NSFW):

Word Count: 5803

When Izzy first assessed Bonnet's ragtag crew, he had thought you would be easy to walk over. No matter what he spouted at you or made Ivan or Fang bug you about, you never fought back. You never argued the matter, always took his chastising with unfaltering politeness, normally even with a smile.

Sure, that was what he wanted in a member of his crew. Somebody who kept quiet and followed orders. However, Izzy soon realised that you weren't easy to walk over.

You were taunting in your own way, the way you would smile at him instead of cowering or snapping back became a taunt of it's own. You almost watched him like a child throwing a tantrum, smiling and nodding, giving a half-sincere 'yes sir' before getting back to work.

Your ever present smile was particularly bothering Izzy today. As he often did with the crew, he was berating you. Had picked on the smallest flaw in your chore and focused in on it. As always, you watched him, nodding slightly and smiling at him, occasionally raising a quizzical eyebrow.

Anyone who witnessed his tirade seemed to ignore it, not seeming to worry about you should the worst happen. Maybe that should have been his first sign that there was something bubbling under your surface.

He had been spouting so much bullshit, and he knew it was just to get under your skin, that he wasn't even sure what it was that he said that prompted your sudden change in demeanour.

One minute you're smiling and nodding along, the next Izzy is silenced by the familiar feel of a blade at his throat.

He blinked. Once. Twice. Before putting the pieces together. You were the one holding the knife to his neck, of course, a fire in your eyes that he hadn't thought you were capable of. Fury, if he didn't know better.

"Watch your fucking tongue, Hands," you snarled, teeth bared. "If you plan on having a long tenure here, you better start playing nice," the threat in your words was more than clear. You would slit his throat. Izzy swallowed the lump in his throat, Adams apple bobbing against the blade.

He hated to admit it but Izzy was staring at you in a stunned silence, his lips parted as he continued to do nothing but stare. Trying to figure out what the fuck he did, what the fuck switched, and where the fuck it had come from. The look in your eyes was downright scary. Izzy had seen that look in people's eyes before, hell he had seen it in Blackbeard's on more than one occasion. A look that told you that the bearer could do something absolutely ruthless, that you truly better watch your step. Or your tongue, in this case, he supposed.

"My jobs always get done, with or without your pestering. You can leave now, Mister Hands," and just like that, the blade was away from his throat. Still in your hand, ready to lash back out should you need too.

Izzy wanted to snap and snarl and growl, but he was unable to find a response, or the ability to talk at all. Instead, he shot you a deadly glare before sulking off.

He stormed across the deck and down to his cabin, hoping that nobody, especially you, had noticed the prominent bulge forming in his pants.

Despite himself, Izzy couldn't stop thinking about you for days. That burning look in your eyes, the way he was certain you would slit his throat if he had dared to run his mouth again.

After a few days of driving himself insane, Izzy decided that he had to see that anger again, had to pry it out of you, had to experience it again. He couldn't go another night in his cabin, with you pathetically on his mind.

And so, Izzy made it his mission to rile you up. The problem was that he just couldn't get that reaction again. No matter what he spouted or cursed, not matter how much he pushed you, you only ever met him with a smile. The same reaction every goddamn time.

It was almost as if you knew what he wanted and were purposely denying him. If that were the case, you were truly cruel.

He was enduring that now. You weren't taking the bait.

While he snarled and shouted, you just lent back against the ship's railing with your arms folded over your chest and a smile on your face.

When there was a lull in his chastising, you threw your unknowing punch. "Can I get back to work now?" you cocked an eyebrow at him, almost condescending but that wasn't what made him snap, your fucking patience did.

"For fucks sake why won't you fucking hit me? At least fucking scold me like you did before," Izzy's eyes widened right after yours did.

He said that out loud, didn't he? Holy shit, he said that out loud. He wasn't meant to actually say that.

You stared at him, watching as he went silent and turned red, looking mortified. Slowly, your surprised expression morphed into a smirk.

"Oh love, why didn't you just ask?" it definitely wasn't the threatening tone you had used the other day but it wasn't the kind one you used more regularly. It was low, almost pitying, but with just an edge of your usual kindness.

"Fuck off." It came out weak, breathed out more than anything.

"Well, I didn't mean right here on the deck. Not a huge fan of an audience. Y'know, unless you're really into that," you mused, clearly enjoying yourself. He huffed again, but his feet remained glued to the deck. "Your stubbornness isn't helping you, Izzy, but fine...hypothetically, would I be able to find you in your cabin after supper?" you asked in a tone that demanded an answer.

"...yeah," Izzy nodded weakly.

"Great," you smiled brightly at him, no hint to your previous conversation in your expression. Like you had just got done giving him a rundown of your completed chores. "Bye, Iz." You didn't move.

Oh, you were dismissing him.

Clearing his throat, Izzy turned on his heel and left. Definitely not left hard in his pants once again.

Izzy was antsy for the rest of the day.

You, on the other hand, continued the rest of your day with a skip in your step. Some of the other crew members had questioned your suddenly good mood but you had brushed them off the best you could, not giving anything away.

You had supper with the crew like you always did, joining in on the conversations, but practically bouncing in your seat from excitement and suspense. You knew there was a change that Izzy would change his mind, tell you to fuck off and really mean it, but you were feeling optimistic.

After supper, once the rest of the crew was preoccupied and wouldn't notice your absence, you headed down to Izzy's cabin. You were still polite enough to knock and wait for him to answer.

The door swung open, revealing Izzy. You couldn't figure out his expression. His face could certainly be expressive but right now, as he stared at you, everything you could make out was just contradictive.

"You wanna let me in or do this out in the hall?" you cocked an eyebrow at him, smirking when he dipped his head and stepped to the side to let you in.

You entered the cabin as if you owned it, letting him close the door behind you. Normally, you would show much more respect to another person's space but you had a feeling Izzy wasn't into that.

"What the fuck do you want?" Izzy questioned and it almost made you laugh. He had to be kidding.

"We're still doing this? You're going to pretend that you didn't practically invite me here just to smack you about a bit?" you scoffed. You enjoyed preamble, the witty foreplay, but you weren't going to play into his game.

"Fuck you," he seethed.

"In time," you hummed promisingly. "I get it...you need me to earn it, right? You don't want to just be smacked around, you need to be put in your place" you concluded after looking him up at down.

He was standing with his chin held high, his back straight, and shoulders squared. Defensive.

"I'm not a dog."

"Not a well trained one anyway," you sighed disapprovingly. "Don't worry. I think you just need the right handler. Isn't that right, love?"

"Don't fucking call me shit like that," Izzy turned his nose up at the pet name. You honestly weren't sure whether he meant it or he was just poking at you.

With a deceivingly, and Izzy knew it was deceiving, soft smile, you walked up to stand right in front of him. Your fingertips danced around his neck, over the tattoo of a swallow and round to the back of his neck. Suddenly, you were gripping the hair on the back of his head and tugging harshly.

Izzy gasped in surprise at the delicious sting as his head lurched backwards.

"We'll have to work on your attitude," you warned lowly, threateningly. It sent a shiver through him, reminding him of that first time you snapped at him. "How about this, you behave and then we can figure out what the hell I'm doing here. Yeah?"

He nodded, causing his hair to pull against his scalp again. "Words, love" you hummed.

He snarled a little but another tug on his hair shut him up. "Yeah."

You gave him the sweetest smile he had ever seen before hooking your ankle behind his, catching him off guard and pulling his foot out from under him. Izzy fell down onto one knee with a grunt.

"Stay," you ordered, semi-playfully.

Izzy glared up at you as he shifted so that he was kneeling on both knees. Despite the glare, you combed your fingers through his hair tenderly, knowing this wasn't what he wanted.

"Get fucking on with it already," Izzy demanded, only for you to make him gasp by roughly pulling on his hair again.

"Who's in charge here?" you questioned, forcing his head back so that he could look away as you leaned down.

"You." You were a little impressed that he didn't spit in your face.

"Good boy," you praised, loosening your grip on his hair. "Lets get some things out of the way. Before, you asked why I hadn't hit you. Do you want me to hit you?"

"Yes," he answered through gritted this teeth. Embarrassed, perhaps.

"So hitting is good. Clearly, you like having your hair pulled. Scratching, biting, choking, that all good?" you just wanted to hear him admit it.

"Yeah."

"Can I leave marks behind?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. You're going really good," you complimented, noting how he seemed to respond to him. "Remember, if you don't like something, anything, even if you don't like it just a little bit, you tell me and I'll stop," you had meant it, of course, but you hadn't thought much about it. Just a quick reminder in case he reacts badly to anything, a reassurance.

So, when he squinted at you like he was confused, it made you pause for a moment.

"Oh, sweet Izzy..." you cooed sadly, petting his hair.

"I'm not fucking sweet." Nobody would describe him as 'sweet', Izzy knew that, and he didn't need your fucking pity either.

"You will be," you promised him. But you weren't dropping the matter at hand. "Tell me you understand that you can ask to stop anything at anytime, that you can tell me if you don't like something."

"I understand," he huffed.

"And if you want something, you can ask for it. Like I said, all you had to do was ask and I could have been in here days ago," you reminded him. "If you ask prettily enough, maybe I'll give you what you want. Yeah?"

"Yeah" he let out a sigh as you pet his hair, your lack of hold on his hair letting him hang his head.

You were getting somewhere with him, felt like you were making some sort of progress, but now he wasn't looking at you.

"Look at me, Izzy" you ordered, speaking firmer than you had been.

Obeying the order instantly, Izzy lifted his head and met your gaze. You gave his cheek a rough pat, not quite a slap but more than enough for him to still feel it when you took your hand away.

"Keep looking at me, okay?" He nodded, holding your gaze.

"So, let's give it a try, yeah?" you hummed. "Do you really not like it when I call you sweet names like 'love'?" you asked. While you enjoyed the little pet names, if he truly didn't, you would stop immediately.

"...I like it," Izzy confessed, pink tinting his cheeks and ears. You knew that if it weren't for your command, he would have looked away from you by now.

"Good job, sweetheart" you rewarded him with a tender caress to where you had patted him on the cheek. "Now, tell me, why me?" that was the question you really wanted an answer to before really starting anything.

Though, Izzy looked a little confused by the question.

"There are bigger, stronger, scarier pirates on this ship," you pointed out but he only rolled his eyes. You knew what he wanted to say, and you could help a small laugh. "Alright, maybe none of us are all that scary. But Wee John and Black Pete could manhandle you pretty well, and Roach has a particular love for his knives which I'm sure you would appreciate. So, why me?" you clarified your question.

"...when you threatened me..."

You had heard his hushed confession but you wanted to hear him say it with his chest.

"What was that, love?" you teased, tilting your head at him.

"When you threatened me...fuck, you were always so...kind, could never get a rise outta you. Thought you would be some doormat at first but you just kept smiling, like nothing was bothering you. Then, then you threaten me out of fucking nowhere. Where the fuck did that come from?" admittedly, you had expected a shorter answer, hadn't expected him to should so rattled by it. But you listened intently.

"Not all of us have to shout and scream to get things done. Normally, I'm not a very confrontational person. Most things I just let slide because it's unimportant, not worth the bother, but I am perfectly capable of standing up for myself and the people I care about. I am still a pirate after all," you explained with a small shrug.

"You're were fucking terrifying," Izzy breathed out, looking up at you reverently.

"See, you are sweet," you caressed his cheek again, chuckling when he snaps his teeth at you. Apparently that was too much sweetness for him.

But then, in an instantly, your smile fell. Looking down at him with utter disappointment. Tutting at him, you shook your head.

It was what you did next that sent him reeling. Your backhand to his cheek was strong enough to knock him to the side, his hands quickly bracing against the floor to prevent him from hitting his head on the hard surface.

"Back on your knees, Hands," you ordered coolly. Izzy did as you said, lifting himself back up onto his knees. "And you can do as you're told," you smiled, giving him a taste of approval.

This time when he looked up at you, his eyes had turned a little glassy. Oh, this was precisely what he wanted.

"Think you can work on those manners of yours?" you asked.

"Yes," he responded, eyes a little wider than before.

"Then tell me what you want, nicely," your order sounded more like a request. He still knew better than to question it.

"Just...anything...please," his gaze flittered around your face. You took mercy. He wasn't trying to be difficult, he really did just want whatever you were willing to offer him.

"Bet you sound wonderful when you really beg. I'm really lucky," you were petting him again, and this time he lent into your touch.

That's when you were certain, you had him where you wanted him. Pliant and soft under your touch.

You took the moment of compliancy to look him over. He was kneeling and sitting back on his haunches, his hands placed flat on his thighs and his chin tilted up to look at you, tilted slightly to lean into your touch.

The scary, infamous first mate of Blackbeard, the perfect picture of submission. And all for you.

Gaze exploring further, you noticed the bulge in his pants and smirked to yourself. "Spread your legs a little for me?" you asked sweetly, knowing when to be firm and when to be gentle.

You had a feeling that the softer touches and words were confusing Izzy slightly, leaving him more at a loss for what to do than usual.

Izzy gave you a quizzical look but did as you said anyway, letting his knees slide apart the perfect amount. Without a word, you slid a foot between his legs, running the toe of your boot up the inside of his thigh before settling the ball of your foot over his crotch.

Izzy swallowed in anticipation as you continued to tenderly run your fingers through his hair. Christ, you were smiling down at him as you pressed your foot down.

He let out a noise, somewhere between a moan and a whine. Such a pretty noise. Such a shame he dropped his head at the same time.

"What did I say about looking at me?" you tutted and his head instantly snapped back up to look at you.

You had to bite back a smile at his quick reaction.

"Good," you approved, applying more pressure with your foot until his brow was furrowing and his eyes were screwing shut. A mix of pleasure and pain etched on his face.

Then you removed your foot completely, letting him breath. His eyes blinked open, peering up at you, only for his whole face to fall when you stepped away from him. He almost looked betrayed by the distance you put between the two of you.

"Hush now, love, don't you worry. I'm not going anywhere," you gently assured him as you sat on the edge of his cot, proving that you weren't going anywhere. "Stand and undress for me," you ordered.

And, god bless him, he did.

Izzy stood, not particularly gracefully but it didn't bother you in the slightest. The first thing he removed was his glove, placing it down on the desk in his room. The next item to go was his necktie, fingers working clumsily despite how often he had tied and untied the article. He placed the tie and the ring that hung from it down on his desk.

Then he knelt down and removed his boots, pushing them to the side before standing again.

He didn't take as much care with the rest of his clothing. He had enough awareness of what you might want and was facing you as he unbuttoned his waistcoat. Once it was off, he threw it over the back of the chair in front of the desk.

He worked slower on his shirt, starting at the top and unbuttoning them. You didn't rush him. It didn't seem like he was purposely teasing you, perhaps he was a little nervous to strip down in front of somebody, to be that vulnerable before someone. Especially since you were still fully dressed.

Izzy shrugged off the shirt, draping it over the back of the chair, revealing his bare torso to you. You couldn't help but let your gaze linger, taking in all the little details and blemishes.

Izzy didn't look at you as he unlaced his pants, tugging down the leathers. They weren't the most graceful thing to strip out of, but you had to admit that he looked damn good in them.

Once the trousers were tossed over the back of the chair with the rest of his clothes, he paused, looking at you.

"All of it, love," you encouraged.

You decided not to even pretend you weren't watching as Izzy removed his smalls, kicking the material to the side. Finally standing bare in front of you.

Izzy shifted under your stare, the silence killing him. Waiting on your next order, your next comment, your next move. You knew he was growing antsy but you couldn't help it, just taking in his body. All the scars, and there were many. Littering his entire body, his chest and abdomen, his arms and legs, you were sure his back sported its fair share as well. All of his tattoos. He didn't have many but you admired each of them.

"You're gorgeous, Iz," you finally spoke, voice dripping with sincerity. Izzy couldn't stop the way his face heated up, causing him to look away. He couldn't hold your gaze when you were looking at him like that. This time, you decided to excuse him for not looking at you.

"Nobody ever told you that before? That's a damn shame because you truly are," just from his reaction to your praise, you figured he wasn't so used to kind words. He didn't respond but that by itself was answer enough.

"Come kneel again, love," you patted your knee, giving him further direction.

Izzy moved closer to you before dropping back to his knees in front of you. He was looking up at you again now.

"Help me with my boots," you nodded to him.

Following your gentle command, Izzy lifted your foot and rested it against his knee before undoing your boot. Once the shoe was loosened, he took hold of your calf and slid it off of your foot, placing it to the side. He then repeated the same procedure with the other boot.

"Trousers next." He nodded, hands going straight to unlace your trousers.

Once the laces were undone, you stood up, Izzy shuffling back slightly to give you the space. You gripped his shoulder, pressing your thumb into the tense muscle and rubbing in small circles as he helped you out of your pants.

You removed your shirt yourself, tossing it to the side with your trousers. Izzy sat back on his heels, gazing up at you, taking in your figure, much like you had down with him.

Sitting back down on the cot, you enticed the man forward. "Come closer, Izzy" you parted your legs, giving him enough room to settle between them.

Of course, he did. Quickly shifting closer until he was kneeling between your thighs.

"Do you need orders for everything, Israel?" you asked, tone taking an edge of disappointment again.

And he fucking whined.

Whether it was at the use of his full name or at your disappointment, you weren't sure.

Izzy pressed his his face against your knee, hands still folded in his lap. You couldn't help but smile sweetly when he pressed a wet kiss to your skin. His kisses continued a trail up the inside of your thigh. Perhaps Izzy could be quite the romantic.

When he reached the plushest part of your thigh, he looked up at you through his lashes. There was no mistaking it, the look in his eyes was downright mischievous.

You knew he was up to something but before you could do anything, he bit down on the softness of your thigh. It hadn't been hard enough to draw blood but you would definitely be left with indentations for a little while, and likely a bruise. Should have known he was a biter.

You yelped slightly as you pushed him away with a firm glare. He was just smirking up at you. Taunting you.

"Brat" you seethed, suddenly lunging toward and wrapping a hand around his throat.

He sighs at the contact, moans when you tighten your grip.

"And to think I was going to be nice," you sighed, tightening your grip further.

Izzy's eyes went glassy again, like he was both somewhere far away and yet couldn't be any more present. Normally you wouldn't push your grip any further, but this time you did. A moan got caught in his throat.

"Just a glutton for punishment, aren't you? Have to piss off even the people who show you kindness to get what you want. Don't you?" you released his throat so he could answer you, letting him suck in a ragged breath before speaking.

"Yes," he gasped out, still sucking air into his lungs. "Fuck, yes, please." As he seemed to be getting his breath back a little, you gripped the back of his hair again, since he seemed to like that a lot, so that he couldn't look away from you.

"Oh, my darling Izzy, you poor thing," you cooed, making him shiver. "I'll give you what you want if you promise to let me show you kindness, is that a fair deal?" you asked.

Izzy nodded but you raised an eyebrow at him. Your silent demand was clear. Use his words. "Yes. Yes, that's, that's fair," he agreed breathlessly.

"Good boy," you leant down and kissed him for the first time.

He melted right into it, whining and mewling into your mouth, letting you take full control of the kiss. Once you felt him go slack beneath you, you bit down on his lower lip. Hard enough that you tasted copper.

Izzy groaned loudly, though it was muffled by your own mouth, as his back arched slightly.

"Now, back to work. You'll have to earn your reward now, for being such a brat," you tutted at him as you lent back on the cot, palms against the thin mattress.

Izzy scrambled over closer, shamelessly burying his face in the crook of your thigh, mouthing at it. Perhaps some form of apology. Proof that he can be good.

"Such a sweet thing," you hummed, dragging your nails over his scalp.

Another tug on his hair told him to get to work. His mouth was on you in an instant, like a starved man. There was no build up with Izzy, no hesitance in his actions, it was like he just wanted to consume you.

And Holy shit, he was good at that. Better than you thought he would be.

"Fuck, Iz," you gasped. "You've been holding out, should have done this ages ago," you chuckled breathlessly to yourself.

Your breath hitched at the feeling of teeth grazing your most sensitive area.

"Watch the teeth, dammit" you snarled, wrenching his head away from you, knowing it pulled harshly on his scalp. "I don't take kindly to threats. Watch your step or I'll leave you here...leaking on your wooden floor," you warned.

Izzy flushed in embarrassment of the effect you had on him, but nodded frantically. Giving you the most pleading look he could muster, even if he wasn't aware of it.

Mercifully, you released his hair and let him get back to work. You let him work at his own pace for a while, choosing to just enjoy the feeling of his wonderful mouth.

But when you started to feel that familiar peak approaching, you finally grabbed hold of his hair again. Moving both his head and your hips as you saw fit, effectively using him.

You felt no need to supress your moans, to act like he was up to standard for you. You wanted your sweet little first mate to know how good he was making you feel.

"Got a perfect mouth, Iz," you praised look down at him, he was already looking up at you with hooded eyes. "Fuck, you really enjoy this, don't you? Answer me."

Izzy nodded, unabashed, any verbal response he made being muffled. You couldn't help but groan at that.

You took in the sight of him, noticing with a smirk that he hadn't tried to touch himself yet despite being so hard that it must hurt. It was only understandable, you hadn't given him the order too yet.

"Izzy, love, you can touch yourself but you don't come before me, yeah?"

He nodded again, not letting up for a moment. He actually seemed to be doubling his efforts as he finally wrapped a hand around himself, touching himself to the same rhythm he was pleasing you.

The little sounds he made sent vibrations through your body, sending you over that ever approaching edge. You rewarded him with a moan of his name.

You shamelessly rode his face through your high before slowly collecting yourself. Yeah, he was really good at that. Looking down at him again, you saw him burying his face into your thigh. He was right there on the edge. You had other plans.

You wrenched his head back again so that his hazy lidded eyes could meet your gaze. "Don't you fucking dare," you didn't have to say anything else, he knew exactly what you meant.

Izzy whined. Nearly fucking sobbed. But he forced his hand to still.

"You're quite the prize, Izzy," you smiled fondly, stroking your thumb over his swollen wet lips. "So fucking beautiful, so good for me," he keened at your praise.

"You want me to finish you off, love?" you asked.

"Yes, please. God, please" he pleaded desperately. You were right, he did sound utterly wonderful when he was begging.

"Get on the bed."

Izzy scrambled to follow your orders, rising from his spot on the floor, not caring about the ache in his knees. He crawled onto the bed, let you guide him to lay down on his back.

As you sat down beside him, he only watched you. Like he was looking at something holy.

One of your hand petted his hair soothingly while your other stroked his length, torturously slow.

"Listen carefully now and I'll let you come," you promised. Izzy was deadly focused on you. "Next time you want me. Whether it's to rough you up or show you some well deserved tenderness, you just come find me, okay? No pestering me or the crew until I snap."

"I promise," Izzy nodded, wide eyed.

He meant it in the moment, would have agreed to anything in that moment, but he knew it was a lie. He would find ways to purposely rile you up, looking for that authentic anger again. Fuck, he nearly came just thinking about it.

As a reward, you lent down and kissed him tenderly. Lovingly, dare he think it.

"Now, Izzy," you whispered against his lips. He finished on your command, it was almost impressive

As he rode his high, you fussed and cooed over him. Watching as he lent into your tender touches and words, even if he didn't notice he was doing it.

Once his body began to relax, melting into the mattress, you stood from the bed. You managed to find a piece of cloth, using it to wipe yourself down before beginning to clean him up as well.

"What are you doing?" Izzy questioned as he came back to himself, voice rough.

"Taking care of you," you stated, as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Why?" Despite enjoying his afterglow, Izzy's brow furrowed at you, confused by your desire to 'take care of him'.

"You promised that if I gave you what you wanted, which I think I did, that you would let me show you kindness," you reminded him, before adding, "the rules still stand, though. If you want me to stop, I will."

"...don't stop," Izzy whispered, making you smile, as he let his head sink back into his pillow.

Once you were both as clean as you could manage, you lay down on the cot with him. A part of you thought he might kick you out once the afterglow was over, but you chose to enjoy the moment of peace with him.

"...was me threatening you really that hot?" you asked, any commanding tone you once had now gone.

Beside you, Izzy laughed. Actually, properly, laughed, and it made your heart flutter.

"Yeah...yeah, it fucking was," he confessed.

"Huh..." you smiled to yourself. "Glad it had an effect on you. Would have held a blade to your throat sooner if I knew that's how you would feel about it," you teased. Izzy groaned at the thought. "Next time, love," you promised.

"...alright," Izzy found himself smiling to himself, daring to hope for a moment. You thought there was going to be a next time, you wanted him again. And he found himself aching at the thought.

You rolled over so that your body was facing him, using your folded arm as a pillow. Izzy did the same, facing you and mimicking your position.

"Can I kiss you?" you asked softly. His swollen lips, the bottom one slightly bloody, were just too enticing.

Izzy laughed a little, though he sounded more bitter this time. "Pretty sure you just did more than kiss me, didn't ask me before," he scoffed.

"Well...yeah, but I didn't know if anything had changed now," you shrugged and he could see that you were being serious.

"Yeah. Yeah, you can kiss me," Izzy whispered, like he was afraid to say it.

And so you did. With so much tenderness that Izzy almost felt like crying.

"Are you going to send me back to the crew or can I stay here for the night?" you asked, leaving the choice up to him.

"You can stay, if you want" Izzy shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Thank you, Izzy," you shifted closer, cautiously wrapping your arms around him.

Izzy tensed for a moment and you were about to remove your arms before he relaxed into your embrace. Seeming to accept the affection, Izzy buried his face into your chest, holding you as close as you held him.

When you removed an arm from him, he was about to complain, until he realised you were just grabbing the blanket and pulling it over yourselves.

Izzy had had other people rough him up and push him around in the past, it was what he enjoyed, not that big of a deal. However, he had never had somebody stay afterwards, clean him up, hold him, tenderly run their fingers through his sweaty hair, massaging the places on his scalp that stung, kissing the top of his head.

He had never had anyone whisper, "goodnight, sweetheart," before he drifted off to sleep.

Maybe that was why he clutched you close so securely. Because he had always craved a firm hand, but now he craved the soft touch that the same hand could provide both during and afterwards.

[bronyinabottle]

MY LITTLE PONY: A NEW GENERATION (G5 Movie) THOUGHTS

It’s finally here. The beginning of Generation 5. Though before I get into the movie in some detail I’m going to reiterate one more time what G5 means for my content and a non-spoilery summary of the movie.

Again, I will say that the movie nor will the G5 series coming later have much of an effect at all on any of my blogs. The revelation in Secrets of the Dragon’s Tear that life itself is also magic means that a world that implied to have no magic for years would mean the extinction of all life (Perhaps resulting in the wasteland we saw in the Season 5 finale). There may be something I’ll probably do at some point on a certain different blog. But even then, that may likely be a one-time thing and probably come around the time the series is starting to air.

That said, just because I’m continuing with mainly G4 content doesn’t mean I disapprove of G5. In fact, my non-spoilers thoughts on the movie is I think it is a good start for this new generation. There are questions I have that I’m not sure will be answered (Though many of those questions are the same ones I had in my Trailer/Preliminary thoughts) quickly enough. But the movie is structured well enough, in fact it’s probably a better movie as a whole compared to any of the movies G4 had (The 2017 movie, Rainbow Roadtrip, and all 4 Equestria Girls movies). As the 2017 movie was fun, but it jumped around a lot, sometimes scenes transitioning too fast. And while Rainbow Roadtrip may have been this on purpose, the entirely slice-of-life story taking up a long length… made it something of a less interesting plot to follow. It feels like some of that special could of been cut to at least a two-parter length and keep the same beats they hit. And while i have a soft spot for the 3rd and 4th Equestria Girls movies, I’ll always say a full-length pony adventure feels better suited for what I want to see out of MLP then spin-off movies with high school movie cliches and weird pony/human world shenanigans.

So movie-wise I’m not a G4 purist. It’ll take some time to see how Gen 5 compares to Friendship is Magic when we get to the series. As I feel it’d take a lot for it to surpass G4 in my mind. But I’m going to try to be as fair as possible and judge on it’s own merits. The implied connection to G4 by referring to G4 being ancient Equestria is going to naturally get the staff and hasbro pressured by fans to tell us what happened in-between the generations. Because that’s the trap they put the writers in when they made it so they want to try to say it’s in the same universe. That’s the double-edged sword Hasbro chose to have, trying to appease the G4 fanbase and keep at least some of them around. But at the cost of questions both nitpicky (Such as character design being inconsistent) or actual honest questions that need to be known (Why did magic disappear, and what happened to the Alicorns) for some of us to truly see this as the same Equestria.

After the break, I’ll have more spoilery thoughts

Even for a brief moment, it was nice seeing the Mane 6 and 2D animation. The former because of course those are the ponies many of us that saw all of G4 loved. And the latter, because while the animation wasn’t bad in this movie. I’m one of those who’d prefer to have 2D animation in an animated film. As in most cases aside from Pixar, it’s just a strong preference of mine. If this had the animation of the 2017 MLP movie but otherwise everything else was generally the same here, I feel that would of have been great.

I wish they didn’t have to have Sunny’s dad die off-screen, as he seems like he could of been a compelling character. And not to mention if perhaps he has any connection the “ancient” days in any fashion. But *sigh* I get it, it’s an old trope where part of the character’s offscreen growth is not having their parent(/s) around.

On a side note there’s quite a few times during the beginning of the movie that somewhat foreshadow what happens to Sunny later. 3 times where she had a fake horn and wings on her. Once in the flashback, then 2 separate times when she’s doing her protest where she has her own costumed wings and horn. As well as the helmet and mechanical wings.

Also, there’s no way around it. Some of the discussions this movie are going to get quite political. (Namely one part of Sunny’s song that could be seen as having a double meaning of a jab at Trumpsts regarding “Building your wall”) From the very premise in the early times, we know that the inspiration for the story was last year’s Black Lives Matter protests. Which honestly, I do support the message they’re going for. Having an anti-racism message to tell kids from the very beginning and making a focus on it is important when in G4 it only got briefly touched upon in Bridle Gossip and the Heath’s Warming Eve play. Although it certainly rose up to some form of prominence with Season 8 and onward. Still, while you can argue if G4 executed the anti-racism message well. it does come with something of a problem that the series finale left Equestria in the least divided it’s ever been.

And personally, I feel it’s a terrible interpretation of time to say “Well, it’s a realistic take. Racism has existed for years in our world. Same should go for the ponies” and while yes, racism is still rampant in today’s world. That said, that ignores that if we went from The Last Problem to the start of G5. There’s a huge difference between our world and Equestria. There is no ancient civilization that we look at like “Yeah, those were the golden days of world peace” when normally the “Golden age” was reserved for the high classes of Ancient Greece or Rome. It was most decidedly not perfect, with slavery rampant and wars for the sake of expanding an empire. While if you look at The Last Problem’s Equestria, you not only have peace between the three main types of ponies. But you literally have non-pony citizens in Equestria. You can see a dragon handing off a flower to a pony which can imply cross-species romantic relations. With the Friendship school still going strong, and was the reason that the world was saved in The Ending of the End. While perhaps it may be too glowing to say that future is perfect for everyone even in-universe. It’s certainly a hell of a lot better outlook then comparing to how we view even the so called Golden age of ancient civilizations. The Last Problem’s Equestria implies it looks to ally with every country outside of Equestria, not conquer them.

So it should still be a valid question on just how this world collapses to the point it gets to where G5 is at the start. I at least assume that it’s not the fault at all of any of the Mane 6 nor Twilight. Or at least I hope it isn’t, as I’d rather the MLP fanbase not have to deal with a The Last Jedi Luke Skywalker situation. (Where after the joyful end of the original trilogy, things go wrong as Luke almost murders the son of one of his best friends and his sister despite trying to hard and succeeding at redeeming his father who at that point in the canon was a galaxy-wide known ruthless mass-murderer.) I assume we’re at a point where everyone of the Mane 6 sans maybe Twilight are presumed dead. And even in Twilight’s case, there’s a chance that G5 decides to say that G4 overestimated the whole Alicorn immortality thing. Though I wouldn’t put it past Hasbro to have some event where the Mane 5 of G5 meet the Mane 6 in some special event whether that’s a a Season finale or a sequel movie/special. Where either the Mane 6 return in a limbo situation similar to the Pillars at the end of Season 7 or Time travel gets involved. They may even string us along on answering just what in the heck happened until they involve a meet-up with the Mane 6 in that way. Though I hope they don’t, I’d really like the beginning of the series (Or I guess this supposed special coming up in Spring supposedly?) starts to answer some questions. G5 should get a chance to stand on it’s own, but I hope the writers are actually well aware there will be so many questions people have and address them in the show. A cynical part of me feels like they’re likely to string us along until at least the Season 1 finale.

Onto the characters for a bit. I think Izzy Moonbow was absolutely the most stand-out character in the whole movie. She was energetic, funny, and aside from “The pegasi are bad news” she along with Zipp and Sunny were the most averse to the way the world was. She was already the most popular due to the tennis ball memes. But now it feels like she legit stands on her own and most certainly deserves to be the most popular character of G5 thus far. Behind her in a bit of a surprise to me was Zipp, who I thought would be mainly a Rainbow Dash-expy. Though she really helps out Izzy and Sunny in Zephyr Heights. Despite having Twilight be my favorite pony from the very beginning of G4 all the way to the end, I didn’t feel as strongly about Sunny for some reason. So she’s in the middle of the pack, she could grow on me later. I just don’t know if I click with her as much as I did with Twilight. As for the last two, while I don’t hate either of them. Either one could be the lowest of the 5 for one reason or another. Pipp (Although I will say she's probably my favorite character design out of the 5) feels like she doesn’t do a whole lot in the movie and it takes until she’s forced to be an outlaw because the other choice was to get imprisoned like her mother was. So she may come off as quite pretentious, though it’s arguable Rarity was the same way early in G4. But she definitely grew later. Could be the same case for Pipp. And as for Hitch, he has shining moments in the film. But what might hurt him is the fact he was such a bad friend to Sunny up until the campfire scene. “I’m the last real friend you have. You really want to lose me too?” is not a healthy friendship. Hitch may have been Sunny’s friend the longest, but it definitely feels like Izzy connected immediately. I don’t know if this show will get into shipping any of the main characters between each other mid-show, but if they do. I hope it’s between Izzy and Sunny currently, cause Hitch and Sunny just gives bad vibes even with Hitch getting better later.

None of the songs I felt were particularly too special. Though I think the closest was Sprout’s “Danger, Danger” song that has similarities to Smells Like Teen Spirit in some parts of the song since I tend towards more rock/metal-esque music.

I touched upon it earlier, but there’s perhaps a stand-out reason for why the G5 movie outdid the 2017 MLP Movie. They have the typical “Our heroic group splits after a sad moment before coming together again for the climatic good end” in Sunny seeing that that the two crystals don’t instantly bring magic back, and when Twilight left the group after an argument that happened with Twilight trying to take a pearl. They perform the same purpose in the movie. But the crystals not working, crushing Sunny’s hope for a little while works better into the story. Where as Twilight’s part frustratingly brought the sea pony scene to an end too quickly and/or doesn’t feel right of Twilight to have done that. It felt forced in the 2017 movie, but works out in the G5 movie. Especially since a part of it is that it’s not the crystals themselves capable of bringing magic back. But it’s the journey going after the crystals that brings the ponies themselves their magic back.

Just a small note on dictator Sprout, he tries to cause a war. Though admittedly the film seems to treat him as a joke the entire time despite his seriously evil ambitions. With the only repercussions is he gets a wishy-washy answer on if he was a good sheriff from his mom. I don’t quite know how I feel about that yet, but I wonder what they’ll have in mind for Sprout given his actions. He and his mom are the only ones that feel like a true antagonist. Though they seem to be ok with things fast when the magic comes back.

But anyway on to the ending, we see that Sunny becomes an Alicorn. Which I guess with no other real Alicorns around, I guess it makes sense to alicornify her since she’s the real leader behind what united the leaders of each type of pony again. Though there is of course this weird thing where her horn and wings don’t seem like as much a part of her body compared to very obvious connected wings on Twilight when she got hers. Sunny keeps her horn and wings to the end of the movie, and has colored streaks in her hair. Though I do wonder if that;s truly permanent. If it is permanent, I suppose at least they got to have a headstart and have it established at the end of the introductory movie rather then have it shock people at the end of a shortened 3rd season. I still feel like Twilight had well earned her alicornhood considering that besides what she did in the series. She has a whole childhood and time as a teenager learning under Celestia. Which had to mean something, and I’m not sure Celestia just leaving her to live the rest of her days with her friends in ponyville was that. Sunny has no doubt been trying countless time to try to spread friendship throughout her life even after the tragedy of her father’s passing. So there’s no doubt she’s been through a lot, and may indeed be worthy of being an Alicorn at this point. Though in terms of screentime before Alicornhood it's definitely a lot less then Twilight had. And it is at least nice to see that it is possible for non-unicorns to become one. (The only case of that we sort of got was a children's book that may or may not be canon that implied Cadence was a pegasus before she ascended)

Though you have to wonder if the visual differences such as Sunny’s alicorn horn and wings, the cutie mark only on one side (Yes I know that’s how it was normally in the MLP generations before G4. But a distinct visual difference between shows is still noticeable even if the context of G4’s cutie marks on both sides of the flank was about it being easier on the puppets for Flash), and how animals can have wings or weird round shapes such as those bunnies when G4 has normal looking animals. There’s enough striking visual differences for any nitpicky G4 to say “This isn’t the same Equestria”. And if someone tries to say maybe some sort of evolution happened. That’s still trying to put a little too much real world logic on this fantasy world. And evolution tends to take millions of years to have such dramatic changes. Not 1000 years or so, there should still be normal looking animals at this point and time. And these small details are probably going to be the things most ignored but nonetheless can build a case that this isn’t the same Equestria. Even if they touch on the important questions like how magic disappeared and what happened to the Mane 6, there will be details they make different that will add to the case that this is it’s own universe if it doesn’t quite matchup with what was remembered about G4. There will be fans who will be that nitpicky to call G5 out of continuity for small details like that. That is again the trap they put themselves in when they decided to try to say it’s the same Equestria.

All-in-all though, I think that’s at least a good enough chunk about my thoughts on the movie to end off here. If there’s something I missed or something from the movie you’d like me to give a particular opinion about or elaborate on something feel free to ask me here. G5 is indeed off to a good start, just I will be along the many hoping some questions get answered sooner then later. And I’m not sure I’m confident in getting anywhere until a Season finale or a 2nd movie. And it’ll be a year before the series starts proper (Though again I guess there’s a 44 minute special coming in Spring to try to hold us over). But I could definitely see G5 finding it's own following, now there's just the inevitable clashes between some of the more vocal fans of each generation bickering at eachother. But hoping there will be enough that take the movie's lessons on divisiveness to heart and be able to enjoy both even if there may be preferences.

[khaleesiofalicante]

About the show thing...

I mean, if you think something is better than the other, it doesn't mean you like one and hate the other, right? I think most of us like the show so much too.

I, personally, prefer books to the show, It was a pretty good show indeed, but, they changed the main story so much. It wouldn't make any problem, if it didn't make most of them out of characters.

I can give you some examples that annoyed me the most:

First: I still cannot believe Alec couldn't say Magnus was in Valentine body. I know their relationship was true, but common!! It was so very new in TRSOM too! And it was much, much harder to find the real Magnus between hundreds of similar illusions. But he did it. Cause he's Alec. So I was so much disappointed when for whatever reason they had, Alec couldn't distinguish between them.

And, even if he couldn't be sure, how could he let them torture somebody they had the potential to be Magnus? That's not Alec Lightwood. No.

Second: They were not really good at showing the true nature of Alec's interest to be in the Clave. In the books Alec refused being the head of any institute, cause he didn't want power. He wanted change. He wanted to change the law for Magnus. And for his children. And himself. Also for all those ShadowHunters and downworlders that had similar situations like them. So,

1) I still don't see why he would accept becoming the inquisitor. I can pretend that it was because he thought that title made it easier for him to become Consul one day? But it doesn't seem like that tbh. It just emphasize on the Alec's interest in politics that they portrayed in the show.

2) I cannot imagine the problem with the soul sword happen with book Malec. Like, it was sooo much of a politic move. And dishonest. Sure, Alec lied to Magnus in the books too, but that was an act of love and jealousy and he was hurting AND it was so much Alec. A boy that loves you so much that he does the most stupid thing ever to be with you as much as possible. Yes, he also fucked up in the book, but in a sooo much Alec way. With his heart in his hand and without any guile to conceal how much he loves Magnus. BUT in the show, it was like they wanted to show us that: of course, Alec loves Magnus, but he's a Shadowhunter first, and he can lie to Magnus when necessary if his kind is in danger. And I don't think there is anyone who has read the books and doesn't know how much bullshit this is. Alec would never. That's not a guess. It's a fact.

Third: I seriously didn't like how they shows parabatai in the show. Sure, in the books too, Jace was always the one who seemed to care less about their bond, and Alec was mostly the one who always watched after Jace. BUT, we could clearly see how much Jace cared for Alec. When he told Alec that he wasn't not in love with him, he was just trying to convince himself so that he didn't have to risk. Even before Alec himself knew, Jace told him he was in love with Magnus. And this conversation means a lot, coming from a boy who doesn't like to speak about feelings. Or how Jace fucking prayed, when Magnus was ill, cause no body better than him knew what Magnus' death would do to his brother, and that made him terrified. All I'm saying is that you couldn't see the beauty of their Bromance and parabatai bond but watching the show. In the show they just brought the parabatai topic up, when Alec wanted to chase Jace and risk his life, AND of course, in most of god-damned malec fights. I was really done with how much they tried to show Alec had to choose between Magnus and Jace. And for what?!! Because he had a fucking crush on him once?! They never made Alec chose between Magnus and Izzy, or Magnus and Max. It was just Magnus and Jace, like Alec still felt anything more that brotherly love for him. It was frustrating honestly. And most of Jace haters are the people who's just watched the show. And honestly? I don't blame them for not knowing the true Jace Herondale. Alec and Jace's relationship in the show was portrayed kind of toxic. It was showed one-sided and the reason for a lot of Malec fights. And with no other example for parabatai, lots of people got the wrong idea.

Fourth: Clary!!! OMG I can't believe how they managed to show her sooooo much annoying! Sure, she was reckless in the books too, but she was also scared, like he should be, and confused, and with so much love. In the show she was bossing every one around at the first day of seeing the shadow world! She also acted so mighty and like she knew everything god-damned thing! I mean, seriously?? -.-

Fifth: Simon and Clary slept together in the show. I don't think I need any more explanation for just showing the disaster.

And, and, and...

There are other things here and there, but these were the most important failures in my opinion. Of course it's ok to change the story, it makes things interesting but, I think they ruined some things in their characters in the process. Alec's guileless nature and pure heart, Jace's deep care for Alec and his loved ones other than Clary, Clary and Simon's friendship nature ( Clary did love Simon romantically in the show, just not as much as Jace),...

But that being said, we all love SHTV, and these are just criticisms I think it deserved. And , I love Harry and Matt beyond understanding, maybe not as much as real Malec but I still don't think there are any actor who can play Malec better than these two. I just didn't like the story line.

Also, sorry for ranting 😶🙈🤭🤭 I just had an overwhelming need to say these after I saw that ask. *Hugs* thank you for listening 🙈😂

Okay but this is all very interesting. The points you made are very different from the ones people use to criticize the show.

I was particularly impressed by point no.2. I didn’t even realize it but the show didn’t capture Alec’s ambition of changing the Clave. Of course it wasn’t evident in the tmi books at all. So that’s fair. Even we only learned about it after trsom and tda and gotsm. But they could have included that since it’s an important part of his personality.

Thanks for the rant tho. It was very educating 🤭

And yeah, just because you find something flawed, it doesn’t mean you don’t enjoy it :)

[beclynn-herondale]

You Are needed

(This is more therapeutic for me and I wanted more Jace and Magnus bonding)

It was getting late and Jace was sitting on a park bench just waiting for Clary and Alec to finally send a message that they were alright, they had gone a mission together and told Jace and Izzy to stay at the institute to take care of things.

It had been a slow day at the institute and so Izzy went off to do her thing and once Jace had finished his paperwork he had noticed it had been over several hours since they had left and no one had contacted to say they were okay.

Most people we brush it off and say they are most likely okay, but Jace wasn't like that as much as he tried to fool everyone on the outside, on the inside he always got extreme anxiety when the ones he loved were on missions or doing something that could get them hurt.

Jace tried to push these feelings down and just ignore them in the past but as he was growing and learning that feelings are okay he started feeling things he hadn't felt in so long and sometimes it was too much, his anxiety was starting to get unbearable with the thoughts of 'what if they are gone?' or 'what if they won't come back?'

It's not that Clary and Alec aren't good fighters, angel knows they are two of the best damn Shadowhunters Jace knows and just don't receive the credit they deserve cause some people suck.

No he just replays these things in his head whenever they go on missions, cause he isn't there to make sure they come home.

He knows they will have each other's backs no matter what but you never know when you live this lifestyle, and lately Jace was remembering things he didn't want to remember, things he wishes he could erase and never have to think about again.

He was remembering the dreams he had about losing Clary and he was thinking about Thule and how there Alec is dead and when he does think about both of them being dead or gone, he finds he can't breathe and he doesn't know he could live without them, he knows he would have to go on, but could he actually be able to?, But he would for everyone else, but he knows he wouldn't be himself, not his actual self if anything ever happened to them.

And he was thinking about every other negative thing and feeling he has ever had and so he went to the park in hopes of maybe not breaking down, cause he noticed as he started letting himself feel again, that feelings are important but they can also suck.

He heard footsteps and snapped back into reality, and there was Magnus approaching the bench Jace was sitting on, he sat down next to Jace, they stayed silent for a few moments.

"Have you heard anything from them?" Jace asked.

"No, you?" He replied.

"Nope, but I hope something comes in soon or I may start to go crazy," Jace said. And he realized he just let out his true feelings and wished he could take it back.

"I know how you feel," said Magnus.

"I am just worried about them," Jace said.

"I know, I am too, and if you want to talk I will listen, I know we have a odd relationship perhaps, but Alec and Biscuit love you and in that love, I too have some, and besides sometimes it's good to share our thoughts and feelings with someone or we'll go mad," Magnus said. And Jace could tell he wanted to be distracted and have his mind taken off things as much as Jace did

"I suppose you're right," he replied.

"I do tend to be often," Magnus said as a joke, which Jace appreciated.

humor was his coping mechanism and so we're jokes, he never really meant half the things he said, he just always wanted to make the mood lighter and make everyone feel at ease if he could, and avoid talking about his feelings cause sometimes it just hurt too much and he didn't want to cry, and he knew Magnus was the same in ways.

"So do you have any deep secrets you have held in for so many years, that you are dying to let out?" Magnus asked jokingly.

But there was stuff Jace held in and never shared, there were things he never even told Clary or Alec about himself cause he couldn't bear to hurt them and see the pain in their eyes.

"You know there is but I don't know if I'll ever tell them," he answered

"Jace..., Are you okay?" Magnus asked in a much more serious voice.

And Jace's heart was begging him to just say that no he wasn't and that some things were still eating him away, but how do you tell anyone these things really, especially when you know everyone has there own burdens and you telling yours would just make the load heavier?

"Do you actually want to know or are you just being polite like you always are?" He said, and he could hear the emotion in his voice and cursed himself.

"I mean it Jace, I know we both joke around and pretend we are always alright, and we may act like we annoy each other, but I do know we are similar in some ways, as much as it pains me to admit that, but if there is something bothering you then tell me, don't tell me as Alec's husband or Clary's mentor, tell me as a friend who is concerned about you," he said, "oh and you won't hear me say that again," he added again to lighting things, he knew Jace preferred it that way.

"There's a lot but I suppose today, one thing I can't seem to stop thinking about is a time when someone told me 'Jace stop killing yourself, cause the world is going to need you.' and you know I hate that the person was right, and I hate more that I can't quite remember who told me it, and I hate that I still doubt it at times," he said, he knew he would never normally say this and he should be thinking more about other things but part of him is asking himself if that's so true then why am I not there with them to have their backs?

"Well, I am going to be honest for a moment since you are letting your rare vulnerable side out all of a sudden, the world does need you Jace and so does Alec and Biscuit, look at everything you have done and look at the people you have given hope to and helped, I can tell you if you were not here today the world would be a little less bright, you are one of the rare souls who want to do good and leave the world a better place, don't let that pass you by J-Bear," Magnus said.

Jace realized him and Magnus had never really been this open and vulnerable with each other and it may not happen again, cause if Jace was being honest he was a little shit at times when it comes to feelings and being honest about them.

"J-Bear?, What's that?," He asked amusingly

"Oh just a nickname I have for you but never use cause you have so many moments where you just lose the chance of me calling you it," Magnus said jokingly.

Jace was happy they were back to joking, he was good at this kind of interacting

"On a serious note, I like it, but if you tell anyone about this I will sent the whole thing," he said.

And they both laughed and just sat there poking fun at each other, and Jace had to admit he did feel better.

Later they got a message from Clary and Alec saying for reason they weren't able to send any messages cause of the area they were in but that they were okay and would be home soon

Jace and Magnus hugged and Magnus said "it's okay J-Bear and they are okay,"

They both agreed to never mention this to any ever but that it was nice, Jace knew that Magnus likes helping people and that it made him feel better and helped him cope, so he supposed they both got something out of today, and tonight they would both sleep well knowing the ones they loved were safe.

[themyskira]

One of the things that’s so irritating to me about G. Willow Wilson’s run is that she’s actually taking the story in directions I really want it to go, picking up on plot threads ignored since the end of Rucka’s run, bringing back the mythology and resolving (finally!) Diana’s inability to return home with a development that enables the Amazons and Themyscira to be a recurring part of Wondy’s ongoing story again… and yet somehow she’s doing it in the blandest, most uninteresting way imaginable.

A lot of it isn’t technically bad. She’s not pulling any James Robinsons here. But there’s no emotional punch, no surprise, no heart to it. At the end of the day, she’s just moving pieces around a board.

As an example of this, let’s talk about her writing of Veronica Cale.

Veronica sees love as a weakness. When you open your heart to others, you give them power over you, hanging only to trust and blind hope that they won’t use that power to hurt you, to betray you, to destroy you. When you allow yourself to love, you make yourself vulnerable. You cultivate avenues by which your enemies can attack and manipulate you.

Veronica: Wonder Woman’s been here all of six months and she’s lecturing us about how we need to love one another. That through love we respect each other. That we will appreciate one another and this beautiful, precious world of ours. Adrianna: So it’s naive, maybe, but-- Veronica: It’s not naive, it’s a lie. Love has never solved a problem, Adrianna... all it does is create them.

And this was her mindset before the only two people in the world she’d let into her heart were stolen from her by a pair of sadistic gods seeking to use her to get to Wonder Woman.

Years of tucking an empty-faced, inanimate child into bed each night while her daughter’s soul screamed from the prison of the fear-gods’ gemstone. Years of being forced to scurry at Phobos and Deimos’ bidding as they held Izzy’s life in their hands. It sends her down a very dark road, one that leads ultimately to her ruin and that of everyone around her.

Veronica will not be controlled again, and so she works systematically to control everyone and everything around her. Every person and every resource is a potential tool in her cause, and she’s willing to hurt, kill, torture, manipulate, exploit, curse or destroy anybody if it gets her a single step closer to rescuing her daughter. 

All of this comes to a head at the end of Rucka’s run.  Due in part to Veronica’s own actions, her daughter is lost to her forever. Safe but unable to leave Themyscira, Izzy must remain with the Amazons -- to be raised by the people of the woman Veronica loathes most in the world.

Sick with grief and self-loathing, she lashes out at the only other person who cares - Adrianna, the AI patterned after her lost friend. She rejects that friendship, denies Adrianna’s personhood and dismisses her as a tool, seeding the beginnings of a rift.

She’s attacked by a murderous Cheetah, symbolic in that moment of everything she’s burned and broken and corrupted in her fruitless quest, only to be rescued at the last by none other than Diana.

Which leads to this heartbreaking exchange:

Veronica: We’re never going to be friends. You understand that. Diana: I understand we could have been. I understand that you see weakness in the places where I find strength. And I understand something more. Veronica: Do you? Diana: That you will always be alone, Doctor Cale.

And that’s where we leave her, alone amid the rubble of her life.

As significant as she is to Diana’s Rebirth story, it’s no surprise that the writers who followed Rucka (James Robinson, G. Willow Wilson) wanted to return to her. Unfortunately, neither of them seem to have known quite what to do with her beyond ‘Veronica is rich and powerful and hates Wondy’.

To be fair to them, this would be a challenge for any writer. Rucka created this version of Veronica with a very defined character arc, from the kidnapping of her daughter that begins her descent into villainy, to her tragic ruin which sees her daughter put forever beyond her reach. For ten years her sole motivation has been saving Izzy no matter what the cost, and now that’s gone. What is there left for her? Where does she go from here?

And the easiest answer is, well, she still hates Wonder Woman and blames her for what was done to Izzy, so I guess she’ll just make it her new mission to fuck with Diana by creating new metahuman villains to run rampant or launching a campaign to destroy Wondy’s reputation.

Robinson goes the former route, in the process reducing Veronica to a sadistic mad scientist, throwing monsters at Diana and conducting experiments on her foes simply because she likes hurting them.

“She tried to kill me, did you know that? Came close, too. I swore then that she’d be my property again, if I ever got the chance. So yes. Thank you, Adrianna... let the hunt begin.”

Wilson opts for the latter, and on its face this route has more promise. The celebratory news coverage of Wonder Woman and her (infantile, lecturing, false) mission rankled Veronica even before she became ensnared in Diana’s orbit. Being surrounded by it now, all this fawning over the woman Veronica believes ruined her life? That must burn her. It’s not hard to imagine her launching a covert campaign to show the public the ‘true’ face of Wonder Woman.

The problem here is that such a story has been done, and done very effectively, in Rucka’s first run on Wonder Woman, where he first introduced Veronica Cale. If you want to avoid simply retreading old ground, you’re going to need something more, a new angle.

Wilson has one, but it’s not good.

For context, Wilson’s run begins in Ares’ Themysciran prison, now also home to Grail. In amongst the other weapons littering their cell, Grail idly picks out a sword named Godkiller. Ares (who, apropos of nothing, has decided to stage prison break so that he can live a reformed life as a Noble and Just god of mass slaughter, wtf Willow) demands that Grail use it to kill him.

For reasons that, nearly twenty issues later, still have yet to be satisfactorily explained, Ares dies and is immediately resurrected, resulting in a “cosmic paradox” (?!) that tears Themyscira, Olympus and all their connected realms asunder (?!?!), spitting confused divinities and mythical beings out into the mundane world.

Veronica, observing the appearance of these gods, immediately begins investigating and comes to the bewildering conclusion that Themyscira is gone and therefore Izzy is dead.

This immediately makes no sense. Veronica spent ten years doing everything she could to get Izzy back, in the face of impossible odds. The scientific analysis may be pointing to Themyscira’s collapse, but that’s purely theoretical — and all around her, as gods and monsters materialise from nowhere, Veronica is being presented with evidence that she’s closer to Izzy than ever before. You can’t tell me that this woman, with her single-minded purpose, would give her daughter up for dead before she’d seen a body.

But okay. She thinks Izzy is dead. She’s hurting and she wants Diana to hurt, too. So she decides she’s going to tear apart Diana’s reputation.

By sending the goddess Nemesis to blow up a city street, waiting for Diana to show up and fight her, then storm in with cameras declaring loudly that “Wonder Woman attacked my employee in the course of her job protecting Cale Enterprises from superhuman threats” and then proceeding to file a massive lawsuit against her.

“Let the record show that Wonder Woman attacked my employee in the course of her job protecting Cale Enterprises from superhuman threats. If superheroes want to work, they must do business like everyone else. Register. Pay taxes. Otherwise, it stands to reason that they risk running afoul of the law.”

This is… so far from Veronica’s MO it’s not funny. She’s a meticulous planner, operating from the shadows, never showing her hand before she’s well and ready. Diana was clashing with Veronica’s people for years before she had the slightest idea who they were working for or what they were trying to get from her. She wouldn’t needlessly expose herself to media scrutiny with a stunt like this — not when she could far more effectively demolish Diana’s reputation from a distance with a team of PR operatives, some high-level media and political connections, and an AI ally capable of getting in almost anywhere.

But it turns out Veronica is kind of being controlled by Nemesis, who’s stoking her grudge against Diana (because, in an outrageous bit of mythology fail we don’t even have time to get into, Wilson thinks Nemesis is the goddess of… nemeses), so maybe we can explain away her brash incompetence as her not being in her right mind.

That doesn’t explain why, upon Diana’s breaking the spell, Veronica immediately bursts into tears and starts babbling, “I just want her to be safe— I can’t stop thinking about it— about her being alone and scared and not understanding what was happening—” And sobbing into Diana’s shoulder, she agrees to drop the lawsuit if Diana will search for Izzy.

“I--” [sobbing] “--I just want her to be safe-- I can’t stop thinking about it-- about her being alone and scared and not understanding what was happening--”

Remember, two of the very first things we learned about Veronica: she believes love is a weakness that her enemies will exploit, and she does not fucking trust Wonder Woman. She’s spent a long time cultivating a stony facade to hide her vulnerabilities. She’s not going to let that drop for Diana, not easily. She’s certainly not going to trust to Wonder Woman, the person she blames for Izzy’s loss, the task of recovering her daughter.

But that’s exactly what she does.

So then we get to WW #76. Diana has found Themyscira again, but before she can get caught up with her family, Diana wants to get Izzy back to her own family.

So naturally she LEAVES IZZY ON THE ISLAND and flies off on her own to pick up Veronica and bring her back.

“A reunion that is within my power to grant… yet it means bringing my enemy to the shores of my homeland.”

NO IT DOESN’T YOU ARE MAKING THIS NEEDLESSLY COMPLICATED FOR THE SAKE OF MELODRAMA

So Diana drops into Veronica’s house all, ‘hey, I found your daughter, she’s in the place you hate most in the world, so I thought I’d bring you to her rather than make this easy on you’.

And Veronica, rather than saying, ‘if you found her, why didn’t you bring her with you?’ or ‘why should I trust you?’ or ‘what’s the catch?’… drops her gun and dissolves into a weepy emotional puddle. VERONICA.

Veronica: [wiping away tears] You’re s-still my enemy when all this is over. Diana: You’re still my enemy now. Come. No more tears. There’s a young woman anxious to see you.

Where Robinson erased Veronica’s love and desperation to rescue her daughter in favour of a simplistic villainous portrayal, we see Wilson doing the exact reverse -- erasing Veronica’s viciousness in favour of a simplistic portrayal of a forlorn mother who thinks only of her baby.

And again, NONE OF THIS IS NECESSARY, YOU COULD HAVE JUST BROUGHT IZZY HERE.

Bad characterisation and hacky dramatic devices aside, what makes this story thread particularly bad is that it effects a significant change both in Veronica’s individual arc and in Diana’s relationship with Veronica without actually adding anything to either. There’s no conflict, no complication, no trade-off, no character growth. It’s a half-arsed quick fix, removing an obstacle without any effort or repercussions, which is flat-out bad writing.

And what sucks is it didn’t have to be this way.

Consider this: What if, instead of instantly giving up her daughter for dead, Veronica immediately gets to work hunting for a stable path through the cracks in the worlds? And what if this time, rather than her efforts being a threat to Themyscira and the mortal world, they’re the key to Diana finding her way home and saving Themyscira?

In this scenario, Themyscira is not under attack from within (i.e. the civil war resulting from Grail’s overthrow of Hippolyta), but from without. Evil spirits and mythical monsters have been spilling out of the Underworld through the cracks in reality and the Amazons are engaged in a desperate fight to subdue them and stabilise their world before it becomes subsumed into Hades’ realm. (You could do some cool stuff with the topography of the Underworld beginning to bleed into Themyscira - the flaming river Phlegethon slicing through the landscape, the city strangled by poppies and asphodel.)

The path that Veronica locates leads through the Underworld, so instead of a wacky journey through the ~wild world of Hippolyta’s imagination~ we get an awesome katabasis story! One way or another, Diana and Veronica’s paths converge in the Underworld and they end up unwilling allies, relying on one another to fight their way through.

This unlikely team-up also gives us the opportunity to examine the characters’ conflicting worldviews and unresolved issues with each other. Greek mythology is full of daimones, personified concepts (e.g. grief, rage, nightmares), which provides some great opportunities to bring personal insecurities to the surface and make literal characters’ battles with their fears.

So they make it out of the Underworld and into Themyscira. They find their way to the Amazons’ stronghold, where Veronica is finally able to embrace Izzy. It’s an emotional reunion, but one fraught with uncomfortable edges. Veronica’s spent ten years on a very dark road. She’s committed monstrous acts, ruined lives, doomed souls in her quest to get her daughter back. If Izzy knew the woman her mother had become, it would terrify her.

And as the Underworld encroaches, threatening to swallow whole these women who welcomed Izzy in as family, Veronica’s faced with a choice: save herself and her daughter, while breaking Izzy’s heart — or be the hero Izzy still believes her to be and stand with her enemies to save Themyscira.

With Veronica’s help, they triumph. But the new status quo brings new challenges - maybe Themyscira is pulled into the earthly realm. Maybe the walls between dimensions, while stabilised, remain porous, riddled with cracks through which gods and monsters can escape and wreak havoc. And of course, Ares is now loose in the world, unchained, along with Phobos and Deimos, whose actions brought so much misery on Veronica and her loved ones — and who, now that they’re free, have some scores to settle.

And so, while Veronica is able to bring closure to one awful chapter, returning home with her daughter, she emerges with a new resolve: to monitor, control and — if need be — destroy these gods that now lurk in the world. Because she’ll let the worlds burn before she lets them touch a single hair on Izzy’s head ever again.

Godwatch is back online.

But nah, what we get instead is a trite little reunion that ties everything up in a neat bow for Veronica, with no sacrifices required on her part and no consequences for her terrible actions, because it’s easier to portray her simplistically as a bereft mother than to remember that, HEY SHE’S ALSO MURDERED A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE.

[larenoz]

Roswell New Mexico Live Rewatch - Ep 2 - So Much For The Afterglow

Buckle up bitches here we go!

Rosa and choices. mmm

Truth, so much in the eye of the beholder.

Creepy Max at the cemetary

"it'll be our secret" - "another one"

no kidding

Because you don't want to leave Liz.

Liz still wants to kiss max.

"It's been ten years, you don't know me like you think you do"

The show is many things, subtle is not one of them.

Sorry, chockie bickie break.

"way in to Tolstoy, really nice handwriting for a guy"

Fuck I love that line.

"It's just a kiss, Max"

Liz, Liz, Liz, babe, it is sooo much more than that to poor Maximo

Fuck you Jesse Manes, die in a fire.

Just shut the fuck up.

Seriously, a fucking crash landing is not a "incident of agression" you souless fuck.

Fuck me Trevino's eyes of stunning.

Ah legacies.

The Valenti Code

Kyle, Kyle, Kyle even saying they're alive is uncool dude.

Red Level Threats

Even at this stage Kyle wants to tell Jesse to fuck off.

"Brooding level, teenage girl on a family vacation", No "roadtrip with grandparents"

And this was the line where I started to dig Jenna.

Cause seriously, that is spot on.

Temper, temper Max

Michael and Isobel, this is very, very uncool of you.

And the knife, Michael, very uncalled for.

Now Iz, no slut shaming

TBh, I can't really fault Max for hitting Michael here.

They were threatening Liz

probably, but still super shitty thing to do.

But interesting that the convo indicates that Max getting physical with Michael is out of character.

I don't care, I love the antenna hat. I want one. They should be the official Roswell fan uniform

Arturo is a such a sweety.

It's so sad that Liz thinks Rosa didn't love her.

Arturo advising forgiveness and moving forward. Nice forshadowing

Michael and his cool entries

Michael you cocky bastard.

And Americans should not be allowed to use berets in their military uniforms until they fucking learn to wear them properly.

Fucking just grabs his shirt and leans into this personal space.

But Alex is not having it.

Lips and tongoue

God my poor baby Michael. Deflection to cover his hurt feelings.

And Alex, why Alex? He wants you why push him away?????

"what happened, I was pretty wasted" No you fucking weren't

No Alex, you do NOT get to do a snort of disgust. No, fucking siree

God, Michael face after the santa's workshop comment and Alex walking away. He's so gone for him.

Kyle, I love you.

"mid make out abdondoment was very sophmore year"

He could't so easily have been a douche bag about it, but no, he let's Liz know it's cool between them.

It's not a bruise Kyle. you sneaky bastard

"You can trust me"

see the chemicals that made the bad choices.

"maybe I just need something else to blame" well....

And again with some damn solid and mature advice. You go Kyle.'

"don't focus on the science, focus on the memories" well doesn't that have a double meaning

Izzy and Noah

"Belt buckles as a secret metaphor for emotions"

I think someone needs to do a belt buckle analysis.

"Are you sassing Jesus"

Good one Max

Yeah, and that is such great imagery and really does sum up his character in alot of ways.

Max and his fear of what happens to miracle workers. I think it's easy to underestimate the impact of Max's powers compared to the others. In that his are more obvious and do come with more moral judgement at both their use and non-use.

And here we go with the memories part as forshadowed earlier

Rosa flash backs. They look so happy.

Totally

"if you're done praying or whatever" Don't ever change Jenna

I really need her to come back in S2

I blame Due South for my "shot of cops with great backs in well tailored police uniforms kink" which Max's totally hits as he exits the church.

You know the scene I'm talking about, am I rite?

God, I still hate VV after all these years.

But I digress

Michael and Iz. I love how they are.

Day brooding.

It's not about the job Iz

Hmm I think I'm gonna have to go Liz and Mikey

And now they are going to break my heart again.

Jesus Michael, these little fucking truth bombs he just drops. How the fuck can people not see his pain when he just fucking lays out there all the time?

It' really makes me hate them sometimes.

The foster ranch being the last place he saw his family and then gone  - yet another place that felt a little bit like a home taken away from him. And they make jokes.

"maybe, maybe someone would come take me home" fucking hell. Michael

Jenna being a total badass

The way she looks Wyatt in the eye as she shots out the truck tyre!! Gold

Sorta love the way Racist Hank is impressed laughing in the background

Alex in civies!! And Maria!!

And here comes a big bunch of lies that will have big consequences.

Yes he did get kind of hot Maria.

"I hadn't notice" I was going to say that Alex is a lying liar who lies. But really he isn't because he's ALWAYS thought Michael was hot.

"I did it for attention"

Nice slip Max

Maybe but I think Alex is still too in his keep things secret/private headspace

"what night?"

That's the night she died

Ah shit is about to go down...

fake autopsy you say...

murdered by an alien

More truth bombs about to land

We're family - no we're not

He tries to play it off, but it hurt that he got left behind at the group home.

I just want to give him a hug.

Yes, there is someone Michael would risk everything for. And we know who it is

Gods, the longing on Michael's face when he looks at Alex.

I actually think it gets worse every time I see it!!

Seriously, just to solidfy how big a douche bag these guys are. Who beats up Arturo??

And a bit of political commentary

Uh oh. not good for Max. Liz is not a happy camper

Max, what the fuck!

Damn he looks good in the hat

Iz with that damn taser. You go girl!

Little bit hypocritical on the judge  and jury thing there Michael.

Pod Squad moment

Who's the guy?

Museum guy

Home can be a person.

Jesus this show is good at ripping my heart out.

Yeah, they are going to have to be very careful how they repair that relationship

Weather metaphors

The handprint faded.

Don't lie max, don't do it.

Annnnnnd there is my men wearing silver bracelets kink, thanks Max

Oh that look Liz gives him. That is NOT a good look.

Please stop, I have no heart left to rip out.

The ship glass is still pretty

Oh god, there is the song starting

And the photo, and his hand

The God of Wine goes crashing..

Fuck, I'm not ready for this.

Everything about the next 2 mins is just aarrrggghhhhhhh!

Alex, baby, no he's not going to Tenessee.

Alex just looks so young and vulnerable in this scene. He looks more like a teenager here than in 1.06

Fuck, here it comes.

"Who I was, when this started, before I went to war"

Confirmation that there was a "this", that it's still something.

Jesus I don't know who does their costuming, makeup and hair but fuck me they need to win an award. Michael just glows.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

"I never look away, no really"

fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck

That fraction of a second where Michael thinks Alex is walking a way again.

Such a juxtaposition between Max/Jenna and Michael/Alex. Max looks pained (not in a good way) with Jenna.

But Michael and Alex do not.

Fuck, the way Michael looks like he wants to devour Alex before pushing him on the bed.

And Alex, going for his belt and pants...

And Liz and kyle.

Who did this?

"Even if it was Max Evans"

Well, that was a bit quicker than last week.

And again, we got a jam packed episode with lots of story progress.

Having the story actually move so much from week to week is so rare these days. I love it.

But those last 3 mins. That is some of the best tv

------

I really hate Tumblr sometimes. Cause I know there were more appropriate gifs out there to use but this hellsite wouldn’t let me find them.

[stupidnephilimlove]

Office Hours P10

So this chapter got long, I’m sorry. Tagging @irisphryneadler @ifthingsgetcrazy @kindaresilient & @shiningalec .Though feel free to read or not read.  Read on ao3. Or start at the beginning.

“Alexander,” Jace butchers his impersonation of Magnus, then snorts with laughter. In Alec’s opinion, it’s not all that funny. Jace just points at Alec and directs his next words at Izzy. Thankfully, he’s using his normal voice this time. “You should’ve seen his face. He’s got such a hard-on for Professor Bane.”

Okay, Alec and the Universe really need to have words because what does it have against him? Seriously. What did he do to deserve this? Why does it keep teasing him? It gives him the illusion of something wonderful, like seeing Magnus in that coffee shop. Then it shatters it by having the worst possible person be there at the same time - Jace. The universe is on a crazy winning streak and Alec’s lost count of the score at this point. It’s probably the Universe one million and Alec’s still on nil.

“I do not,” Alec denies, and he’s annoyed by the petulant tone of his voice.

It’s not a lie. He hasn’t got a hard-on for Magnus. Well, not right now anyway. Though, there’s an 83% chance that if Jace says that again he might. When it comes to Magnus Bane, he’s in a perpetual state of turned on.

“You do too!” Isabelle chirps in and there’s a delighted smirk on her lips. “You religiously have to go to those office hours. It’s all adding up now... I should’ve put this together sooner.”

Now Izzy is turning on Alec too? Surely someone should have his back? He can’t believe he actually thought living with his siblings was a good idea. He really needs to reevaluate his life choices.

“I don’t… I don’t have to go.”

He does though. Alec can’t even think about not going. Except, now he is thinking about it. His stomach churns with dread, and for a moment he feels physically sick. He’s felt despondent all week because Magnus had to cancel for that funeral. To go another week without laying his eyes on Magnus Bane, without hearing his melodic voice, that doesn’t feel possible. Maybe it’s dramatic, but Alec’s pretty sure he won’t survive it.

From across the room, Izzy throws a pillow at Alec. It hits him square in the face and jolts him out of his daydream.

“Real convincing,” she says, voice heavy with sarcasm.

Alec launches the pillow back at her. She ducks, he misses, and she sticks her tongue out at him. Can he exchange siblings? Is there a category on craigslist for that?

“It’s true.” Alec tries to keep his voice level and at the same time fill it with conviction, but not too much, else it won’t be believable. He knows any hint of doubt and the two of them will latch on to it. Has he ever carefully constructed the speech of two words like this before? “I don’t have a thing for Magnus, and I don’t have to go to his stupid office hours.”

Please let the Universe not be listening, they’re already on tentative terms as it is. He curses his word choice. Stupid. That hour is anything but stupid. It’s his favourite part of the week and he has to go. He really has to go.

“Magnus?” Jace says.

Shit.

Alec just used his first name, didn’t he? Just when he thinks this can’t get any worse, it does. He should have left the room as soon as this subject came up, but it’s too late now.

There’s a wicked gleam in Jace’s eye as he turns to Isabelle. “They’re on a first name basis now.”

“I smell a rumour brewing.” The gleam is mirrored on Izzy’s face and, dear God, this is terrifying. The two of them cannot conspire against him like this. Is this really the thanks he gets for mediating a truce between them after the never-to-be-mentioned-again washing machine incident? Next time he’ll just let them fight to the death about it. He can’t believe he helped them make up, just to have them both turn on him like this.

“No. Jesus, don’t. There’s… nothing. He tells all his students to call him Magnus.”

Does he though? Has Alec ever heard anyone else in class call Magnus that? No, he’s pretty sure everyone calls him Professor Bane. Still, that doesn’t mean Magnus didn’t tell them to call him by his first name. That must be what happened, and no one took him up on it. Alec only did because he was so infatuated with Magnus that he enjoyed that connection, enjoyed forgetting for a while that Magnus was his Professor.

Alec eyes his siblings. They won’t actually start a rumour that he has the hots for his professor. They wouldn’t. But this is blackmail material that they will hold over his head forever.

“You’ve got it all wrong.” Alec needs to get through to them. He cannot have them teasing him about this for the next... well, they don’t actually set time limits on teasing in this family. So, for eternity then.

“Fine… then don’t go.”

Alec’s eyes snap to Izzy’s. She didn’t? She’s not suggesting what he thinks she is.

“What?” Is that panic in his voice? It is, he knows it is, but he tries to downplay it.

“Don’t go to his office hours,” Izzy clarifies.

“I-” Alec flounders for an answer, his chest rapidly rising and falling.

“Knew it! He’s got it bad.” Jace sounds far too triumphant about the whole thing. Why are they both taking such pleasure in this?

Alec takes a deep breath and tries to decide what’s worse: missing an hour with Magnus, or his siblings teasing him for life. It’s a tough call to be honest, but eventually he settles on a decision.

“Fine. I won’t go.”

It physically hurts him to say that, though.

-

Alec sits in his secluded seat, concealed between shelves of books. This is his go-to studying spot. It’s a hidden gem he found in first year and, thankfully, it’s remained hidden, known only to him and a select few. It houses a section of dictionaries and encyclopedias and Alec had gotten turned about and ended up in the section by chance.

It’s the perfect spot. It’s quiet, as libraries should be but this one rarely is. It has one of the mythical plug sockets and he often hides books he needs in the stacks here because they’re so rarely checked on.

Maia sits across from him, ready to discuss their current text if he needs to.

It’s the perfect atmosphere to study, but Alec can’t focus. He reads the same line three times before giving into his thoughts.

Is this what standing up a date feels like?

He feels queasy at that thought, his stomach is tied in knots, and his fingers tap the tabletop nervously. Alec tries to concentrate on the page but the words just seem to swim in front of him and lose all meaning. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he takes a deep breath and tries to find some calm. The quiet should be helping, but it only seems to fuel his mind into wandering where he desperately doesn’t want it to go.

Magnus won’t notice, right? He won’t miss Alec’s presence. It’s not like he’s sitting there just waiting for Alec to show up, but Alec thinks back to their meeting yesterday morning, to the words Magnus left him with.

“I’ll see you tomorrow? You can ask me then?”

Alec agreed, which means Magnus is expecting him. Fuck. Maybe Magnus didn’t really mean it, he was probably just being polite and thinking of an excuse to leave. Perhaps Magnus is happy to get rid of Alec for a while. Maybe he’s glad he doesn’t have Alec taking up all his time, he can grade papers or write his lectures in peace.

“Well you’re just a ray of sunshine today,” Maia tells him. She motions down to his hand and the pencil he’s holding. It’s now in two pieces. “What did that ever do to you?”

“It’s nothing,” Alec says, and that’s not the answer to the question she asked.

Maia sits up straighter, narrowing her eyes in assessment, before asking, “What’s the matter?”

And, well, isn’t that a question. Alec shifts in his seat a little. He’s never discussed Magnus with Maia, hell, he’s never really discussed Magnus with anyone. Considering for a moment though, he thinks that out of everyone he knows, Maia’s the least likely to tease him about it.

Taking a chance, he says, “I’ve got a crush on my history professor.”

“That’s not exactly news, Alec.”

What? Maia just smiles sympathetically at him, but there’s no surprise in her expression. She knew? Fuck, who else knows? Oh, God. Does Magnus know? He does, doesn’t he? Alec must have been really obvious about the whole thing. Magnus probably has a good laugh about the student who’s infatuated with him. Or maybe he hates it. Maybe he’s only dealing with Alec because it’s his job. Wait, of course he’s only dealing with Alec because it’s his job.

“What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you usually at the office hours for that course now?” Maia asks, unaware of Alec’s inner turmoil.

For fuck’s sake, does everyone know Alec’s schedule? And yes, yes he usually is. Not that he’s painfully aware of the fact the Magnus is there, has been for eleven minutes now, and Alec’s not. He’s not agonising over that or anything.

“I can’t go.”

“Why not?”

“I have to convince Izzy and Jace that I haven’t got a thing for Magnus.”

Maia’s eyebrow raises and Alec’s unsure as to whether it’s because he just used Magnus’ first name (he really needs to stop doing that around people other than Magnus), or because she apparently has been aware of how much of a thing he’s got for Magnus. Or perhaps it’s both.

“I’m not sure why you think you have to do that, Alec. But look around.”

Alec does, not sure what she’s getting at.

With a conspirative twinkle in her eye she leans forward and in a low voice says, “Neither of them are here. How will they know if you did or didn’t go?”

Oh. Oh. That’s a fantastic idea. Though, Alec doesn’t know if he can keep this from them. He can lie, he’s a perfectly capable liar, but Izzy has a sixth sense for these things.

Maia lifts her phone and he hears the telltale snap of the camera. She taps a few times, puts down her phone, and his lights up on the table in front of him.

“There. Now you even have proof.”

Alec considers it. He can sit here and be miserable or he can just go and finally ask those questions about that thesis.

“Plus, I promise to be your alibi.”

Okay, Alec doesn’t know what he did to deserve a friend like Maia, but at this moment he’s never been more thankful for her.

Alec pushes back from the table and hurriedly stuffs his things into his bag.

“I’m gonna…” he trails off, moving away from the table.

Maia just chuckles. He’s sure he hears a “boy, he’s got it bad” as he walks away, but he chooses to ignore it.

-

“Alexander,” Magnus says in surprise as Alec rushes into his office.

Alec’s breath heaves, he maybe sprinted from the library to get here. He’d deny it, but he’s pretty sure a multitude of people saw. Then his breath just kind of catches because fuck, that smile, the one that almost splits Magnus’ face in two is fully directed at him. Was he really going to miss this? How could he even consider that?

“I thought I wouldn’t see you today,” Magnus continues and Alec’s sure he hears insecurity in Magnus’ voice, sure it trembles just slightly on the words and that the inflection is all wrong. That can’t be right though, Alec’s just feeling lightheaded from that run and reading into things that aren’t there. He’s projecting his own feelings onto Magnus.

As he catches his breath he says, “Sorry, I got caught up at the library.”

That’s not entirely a lie.

“Take a seat,” Manus gestures. “These office hours aren’t mandatory, Alec. I’ve said that before, right?”

“Yeah,” Alec mumbles as he pulls the door closed behind him before walking over to the empty chair.

It feels like an eternity since he was last here in this room. Has it really only been two weeks? It must be longer.

Magnus stands and Alec’s eyes trail up over the black fabric of his silk shirt, to the long line of his throat, and finally to that gorgeous face. Alec’s reminded of how tall Magnus is. At his full height, they only differ by a few inches and Alec loves that. It means when they stand next to each other, as they had in that coffee shop, their eyes, their mouths line up. It makes Alec realise how easy it would be to just lean forward and press their lips together. Unfortunately, that’s an experience that Alec is cursed to only ever dream about.

The scrape of a chair being dragged across the floor brings Alec back to himself and he watches as Magnus moves to sit next to him. Alec shouldn’t enjoy this so much, but he just can’t help himself. Magnus sitting next to him is purely to help point things out and ease their discussion, but Alec enjoys being so close that the heat of Magnus’ body radiates across the short distance between them.

Magnus’ knee bumps against Alec’s as he sits, it’s an accidental touch, but Alec savours it and knows he’ll think about that long after he’s left.

Leaning forward, Magnus reaches for a document on his desk and his shirt strains around muscles that tighten from exertion and Alec’s throat goes dry. Alec could help, he should help, he’s closer to the desk after all, but he’s frozen in place and honestly, he hopes that movement never ends.

Alec’s noticed a lot about Magnus, but he’s not sure he’s ever fully appreciated those very defined biceps. He’s appreciating them now. Oh, boy, is he appreciating them. Fuck, but all he can think about is the strength that comes with muscles like those and just like that Alec’s brain produces a new fantasy for this office - he didn’t even realise new ones could exist.

His mind produces an image of himself pinned against the bookcase, of Magnus lifting him, pressing their bodies close, so fucking close together. Alec audibly gulps and strategically places an arm across his groin.

It would probably be uncomfortable, right? Those shelves would no doubt dig into his back, but Alec is more than willing to find out just how uncomfortable it would be. For science, of course.

“Good week?” Magnus asks, and Alec has to really think about those words before he can even process them. “Well since I saw you yesterday,” Magnus adds with a chuckle which really isn’t helping Alec right now.

Does Magnus have any idea how that sound just melts him? How his whole body just sort of sighs when he hears it? How can Alec be expected to even think about forming a response?

“It’s been great,” is what Alec finally says. Well, if he forgets that fact that he’s been endlessly teased by his siblings, that they then convinced him he needed to prove how not into Magnus he was, and that for twelve whole minutes he’d tried. But none of that seems to matter now that he’s sitting here. There’s something about Magnus that just draws Alec in. How can he ever stay away?

Then a terrible thought strikes him.

What happens when this course is over?

Fuck. What week are they even on? Through his panic, Alec mentally calculates how many weeks have gone by. There was the week Magnus got those red highlights (he’s still not over that colour; he gets half-hard every time he sees something in that exact shade). Then there were those trousers, the glasses, the coffee, the first time he came here, that goddamn apple… Alec gets so caught up in the memories that he forgets to count.

Twelve. He eventually settles on. It’s been twelve weeks and, fuck, that means there are only two more weeks and then finals. He doesn’t really give a shit that he only just realised finals are right around the corner. He’s more concerned with the fact that in two weeks time this course will be finished.

And then what?

Nothing?

Oh, God. Alec will never see Magnus again.

It’s a good job Alec’s sitting because that thought alone is enough to bring him to his knees.

Alec’s intelligent and not in the way that mother’s often overexaggerate. He’s bright and he picks things up quickly. So how, he wonders, did he manage to miss this? It’s as if, around Magnus, all of his brain cells just stop working. Wait… is Magnus Alec’s kryptonite?

That thought leads Alec down the trail of which type of kryptonite. He’s just settling on red because of that personality alteration (Although, it can’t really be red because then he’d be immune to Magnus after that first meeting), when Magnus speaks.

“I marked your quiz from last week.”

Oh, so that’s what the paper that Magnus was reaching for was. Alec might have been just slightly distracted at the time. He looks down, and okay, there’s hardly any red pen which is fantastic.

“It was fantastic,” Magnus tells him.

Magnus agrees? Alec tries to tell himself it’s just a coincidence they made the same word choice, it is not a clear signal of their compatibility.

It takes five whole minutes to talk through the paper, just five. It had taken about fifty with that first one. It just shows what Alec can do without a tall, dark (with pink streaks), and handsome distraction. Pride spreads through him with each section Magnus points to and praises Alec for.

“I guess my work here is done.” Magnus smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Done? They can’t be done. There are two weeks left, two weeks for Alec to prepare himself for life without Magnus. Why in the hell did he think acing that test was a good idea?

“Your thesis,” Alec blurts, then wants to slam his head on the desk. Repeatedly. Could he for once, please, just have some modicum of smoothness around Magnus Bane. Would that really be too much to ask?

“I mean-” Alec continues and reaches for his bag, then stalls. Maybe showing Magnus the post-it note strewn thesis isn’t his best idea. Smooth, he reminds himself. “I wanted to talk to you about it. I had… um, some questions.”

“Yeah?”

Magnus sounds surprised, but didn’t Alec explain that he wanted to talk about this yesterday? Oh fuck, did he not make that clear? He’s certain he did.

“Yeah. I mean, the way you made comparisons between persecution through different eras even including present day, and how really there isn’t that much difference. Like, sure the subject, the people are different and based on the beliefs of the time, but, you mentioned - which I loved - that we’re essentially just presented with information, albeit in a different format these days. No heralds making announcements, right? Although, is there a paper called The Herald. But like, what I mean is that society has always been, like, fed what to believe and I just… I don’t think I’d put that together before in my mind, but you brought it all together so well and-”

“Alec, breathe,” Magnus interrupts, shaking his head at Alec, a fond smile on his lips.

And Alec does. Then he clamps his mouth shut. Fuckfuckfuck. This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. He’d colour coded the text for God’s sake, for this exact reason. It’s just, the thoughts and the questions and the sheer excitement to discuss this with Magnus have been bottled up inside of him for over a week. Still, he’s not entirely sure where that word vomit just came from. It’s not like him. Though, everything he does around Magnus doesn’t feel like him.

“Give me one thing,” Magnus says. “You can choose just one thing from the whole text to talk about. What is it?”

Well, wow, that’s an amazing question. That’s a downright mean question and Alec thinks it might be damn near impossible. He looks away from Magnus, he needs to focus after all, and he tries to sort through his thoughts and ideas.

That one.

“I think… I found it interesting, the way you suggest that things we now take to be fact were probably once seen to have occult properties. Like... gravity for example.”

Magnus’ hand is resting on his chin, and he’s looking at Alec, and he just doesn’t say anything. Alec wants to squirm in his seat. He fucked this up again, didn’t he? Why does he always manage to say the wrong thing? He should have never brought the goddamn thesis up.

“That’s one of my favourite things,” Magnus eventually says, and his voice is soft and quiet and Alec thinks he hasn’t heard him right. “Persecution is often seen most in the areas where a society lacks understanding. It’s often a fundamental part of humanity, to fear what we don’t understand. It’s how that fear is dealt with though, some lash out, some attack… as a form of self-defence. The occult is sometimes described as the study of a deeper spiritual reality… one that extends beyond pure reason. You can see how those two things might begin to overlap.

“Throughout history we see persecution, it’s only who is persecuted or the reason beyond it that changes. In the case we’re discussing here we’ll stay within this realm of the occult. Something we take for fact today, be it because science has proved it so or some other reason… you and I could have been ostracised or prosecuted for centuries ago. Merely for seeing something the rest of the world is yet to understand.”

Alec gets lost in Magnus’ voice as he speaks, in the rhythm of it. Alec absorbs each word, formulates questions to ask and somehow they devolve into a discussion.

Magnus talks with his hands, the metal of his rings glinting with each movement, and the more passionate about something he becomes, the faster the movements, the more intricately they dance through the air.

Alec loses all sense of time. That is, until a beeping comes from Magnus’ pocket.

“Sorry,” Magnus says and he pulls his phone from his trousers. “Ah, I guess our time’s up.”

Alec looks at Magnus quizzically, then he realises Magnus is telling him he should leave.

“You have another lecture, right?” Magnus asks, but doesn’t wait for an answer. “I didn’t want our conversation to have you missing another one. Like last time.” He gestures at his phone. “So, I set an alarm.”

Alec’s lost for words. Genuinely lost for words. He tells himself not to read into it, he really does, but when Magnus keeps doing thoughtful things like this it becomes increasingly difficult to do so. Magnus is just a decent human being, Alec reminds himself, that’s all.

“Thanks,” Alec says. Though he’s pretty far from thankful. He can blow off a lecture, he can blow off all of his lectures just to talk to Magnus.

They both stand and now Magnus is blocking Alec’s path to the door. Alec shifts his bag on his shoulder and moves to the left just as Magnus moves in the same direction. Magnus moves back to the other side and Alec does too. They dance back and forth until Alec clasps a hand to Magnus’ arm to steady them both. Alec would laugh, but, when Magnus’ eyes drift to where the hand is resting, it gets caught in his throat. Hastily he draws his hand back, though his palm feels like it’s on fire. Just like his cheeks.

“I can… I can send you some books to read,” Magnus says and he stumbles over the words. “If you’re still interested.”

Something just changed. Alec doesn’t know what or why, but there’s something different between them. The air feels charged with potential, Alec’s skin prickles with it, and that doesn’t make any sense.

“Yeah,” he says.

“I’ll email you.”

“Sure, that would be great.”

They still don’t move. They’re both just standing there looking at each other.

Then Magnus blinks, clears his throat and steps to the side.

It isn’t until Alec’s sitting in his next lecture that he realises that the tension, the thing that had changed, well it felt exactly like in that coffee shop yesterday morning. He has no idea what that means.

So a few people have mentioned getting some Magnus POV. It was my idea to write all of this from Magnus' side and that's in the works. I guess the thing is where you would all like that to fit. Perhaps the end of this semester?

Okay part 11 is here

[placetobenation]

Welcome to Seinfeld: The PTBN Series Rewatch! On a regular basis, JT Rozzero, Aaron George and Andrew Flanagan will watch an episode of TV’s greatest sitcom and provide notes and grades across a number of categories. The goal is to rewatch the entire series chronologically to see what truly worked, what still holds up today, what feels just a bit dated and yada, yada, yada it will be a great time. So settle into your couch with the cushions flipped over, grab a Snapple and enjoy the ride!

Best Character

JT: I liked Kramer the most here. He had some real funny lines and physical comedy throughout this one. His buried conversation enders are so good, especially slipping in that Newman was sleeping in Jerry’s bed. I also loved the delivery of his “for a fat man” line to Jerry. He was on his game in this one.

Aaron:  You’d think a pile of lesbians were fighting/lovemaking on stage if you were reading my mind, sifting through the depravity and listening to the “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry” chant. In an episode full of characters trying waaaaaay too hard, Jerry delivers with one liner after one liner. Imagine an episode where Jerry Seinfeld is the most grounded of the actors. This is it. Wait till you see the score.

Andrew: I think it was Elaine. The obsession with proving someone wrong, even at great cost to yourself, always gets me. Also, I’m a sucker for Elaine annoying people with a cigar.

Best Storyline

JT: I liked the blood the most. Jerry was annoying at points by being such an ungrateful bitch but he had some good dismissive lines and watching battle the Mandelbaums again was well done. And like I said above, I really enjoyed Kramer and this was the story he lived in for most of the episode. The meat sex stuff had funny moments but not much of a story to it and the Elaine stuff was fine too but didn’t have as many laughs.

Aaron: Polish, sausage, dancing.

Andrew: I’ll go with The Blood. I wasn’t a fan of any of the storylines, really, but the return of the Mandelbaums was my favorite part of the episode.

Ethical Dilemma of the Week

JT: If someone saves your life, you should probably not be a dick to them as soon as later that day.

Aaron: I’m going to go the opposite of JT and ask: even if you’ve saved someone’s life (which us debatable considering they were in a hospital full of blood) how do you live with yourself bringing a sworn enemy literally into someone’s bed? I get that these guys share a lot, but do they not even have a bed for that beast of a mailman to sleep in? If anything Kramer STILL owes Jerry favors for years of mooching and advantage taking. Has he ever borrowed that car without completely destroying it?

Andrew: What is the limit of the obligation when graciously accepting a gift from one’s parents? I’m going to say it’s somewhere short of “tying myself to a car”.

Relationship Scale (Scale 1-10)

JT: Kramer and Jerry, finally brought together by blood. A love made official. Relationship Grade: 3 Pints of Kramer/10

Aaron: George should keep banging that Vivian like a middle aged Neil Peart stuffing his face and trudging his way through YYZ. Relationship Grade: Boun ba ba boun ba baoun baoun baoun, ba ba baoun, ba ba baoun. Baoun badrrruuum. Down da down da down daaaaun. Dawn da down de daoun daounnnnnnn.

Andrew: I know the kid is presented as a burden, but I’m into the George and Vivian pairing. I just like the thought that there is a match for every kink out there. Relationship Grade: 10 sensual cured meats/10

What Worked:

JT: The plum diet seems like a good one; I always mark out for Morty saying “Mister Kramer”; Jerry’s point about responsibility is good one; George’s bus transfer excuse made me laugh; Jerry and George’s conversation about George bailing on Tara was really funny; Kramer going all in on calling Jerry fat in various ways was great; I enjoyed Elaine shoving Kramer into the bushes and smacking him with the broom as he yelped; I liked the payoff with the exacto knife, it was set up well earlier in the episode; Kramer demonstrating how he would rip out his kidney was great; Canadian Parliament; Newman sneaking in to watch the movie; Izzy putting the hurting on Jerry with his training was well done; the sausage making scene is a classic; Jerry calling George “Caligula”; Newman giving Jerry his blood was a good capper

Aaron: All of Jerry’s analysis and pleading with George to, for once think of someone’s else’s needs. The group screaming and Kramer’s messed up justification for needing to store so much blood in a blood bank. As someone who has watched Canadian parliament it busted me up to learn that Kramer not only watches, but records for later viewing. It’s not nearly as polite as one would imagine. Think more childish, with a lot of high pitched voices screeching “MISTER SPEAKER.” George’s series of lies, which inexplicably won over Vivian,  were great and the only thing that felt anywhere in the realm of reality.

Andrew: There’s not much to praise here, story-wise, but the episode still has some memorably great dialog. Kramer’s “for a fat man, you’re not very jolly” is excellent, and George and Jerry have some great back and forth in the diner (“I’m not suggesting getting rid of the girl”, followed by the “needs” line, is the high point for me). Elaine being compelled to prove her responsibility, and getting stuck with a permanent babysitting gig as a result, was well done. I enjoyed seeing the Mandlebaums again, and Kramer’s screen door callback got me.

What Didn’t Work

JT: Tara saying “love making”, eh; Jerry being so insanely afraid of Kramer’s blood was a bit much, just way too over the top; someone should pull a President Lincoln on that kid; I also thought Jerry was really ungrateful for Kramer’s blood, dude saved your life… stop being a bitch; who fucks a random at their kids’ birthday party?; The Izzy voiceovers at the end were terrible; why is Jimmy wearing that hat? Is it 1954?

Aaron: Is Jerry dead? They dragged him for a quarter mile which was way longer than it took to kill that dog in National Lampoon’s Vacation. This whole episode felt fake. If the paragraph above is what I felt worked then you can comfortably put the rest here. I know George has pulled some schemes but are we really to believe that a man whose entire mission in life has been to get laid, is now trading that for food and television? What kind of animal is this man? What’s wrong with Jerry? I get he’s a germaphobe, but he can’t be in a building with blood. A building???? Elaine would rather raise a child than tell a woman she barely seems to know or care about that she hates her son. Her son might be the most hateable character in western civilization. Even Kramer felt forced. I get he’s dumb, but blood in a car? Come on writers. Do better. I don’t want to go on any more. This was a mess. Also Mandelbaum sucked the high hard one.

Andrew: Vivian is wearing a gray pantsuit the first two times we see her, which seems pretty unimaginative. The dubbing of Mr. Mandlebaum’s dialogue at the end has always seemed really distracting to me.

Key Character Debuts

– Vivian

Iconic Moments, Running Themes & Memorable Quotes

– “That’s why we joined a program. We walk once around the block three times a week.” – Helen “And every morning I eat a plum.” – Morty

– “Did you give blood?” – Jerry “No, not giving. hoarding. I’m storing it in to a blood bank. Just in case.” – Kramer “In case of what?” – Jerry “Jerry, I know myself. If I’m out on the street and it’s starts to go down, I don’t back off until it’s finished.” – Kramer

– “I know, I’m glad I got to see him before he hit puberty and got, you know all lurchy and awkward.” – Elaine

– “Who wants to responsible? When ever anything goes wrong, the first thing they ask is: who’s responsible for this?” – Jerry

– “So, she didn’t appreciate the erotic qualities of the salted cured meats?” – Jerry “She tolerated the strawberries and the chocolate sauce, but eh, it’s not a meal, you know? Food and sex, those are my two passions. It’s only natural to combine them.” – George

– “Maybe instead of trying to satisfy two of your needs, how about satisfying one of somebody else’s.” – Jerry

– “You know, for a fat guy you’re not very jolly.” – Kramer

– “You? I’m more responsible than you are!” – Elaine “Don’t be ridiculous. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to fill my freezer with my own blood.” – Kramer

– “Oh yeah, you’ve got three pints of Kramer in you, buddy.” – Kramer

– “She’s right, I heard Kramer got mugged out on the suburbs on a baby-sitting gig.” – Kramer

– “So, my blood is not enough. Would you like a kidney too, because I’ll give it to you? I’ll rip it out right here and stack it on the table!” – Kramer

– “So, the free love buffet is over?” – Jerry “I got greedy. Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami.” – Jerry “Yeah, that’s what you did…I can’t believe I got another session with Izzy Mandelbaum, he’s probably makes me box a kangaroo.” – Jerry

– “All right, Even Steven. Oh, by the way, when you get back to your apartment try to keep it down because Newman is taking a nap in your bed.” – Kramer

– “Yes it is. I find the pastrami to be the most sensual of all the salted cured meats. Hungry?” – Vivian

Oddities & Fun Facts

– Lloyd Bridges was nominated for an Emmy for his role as Izzy Mandelbaum

Overall Grade (Scale 1-10)

JT: This wasn’t the strongest episode we have watched and did fade at the end but there is some quality dialogue peppered all through this one. It is definitely an episode carried on the back of actors that know their characters and relationships on a top notch, deep level because it was often the timing and delivery that made the big lines pop. The Mandelbaum return was a nice surprise but that really just kind of ends too, as do all of the stories here. Nothing quite paid off in a satisfying way. Also, that stupid fucking hat that Vivian’s kid had on was obnoxious. Fuck him. I am off to box a kangaroo. Final Grade: 6/10

Aaron: This episode sucked. It felt like a different show devoid of the characters we know and love. The writing was forced and I feel worse for having watched this one. Final Grade: 1/10

Andrew: I didn’t really care for this one. None of the storylines do it for me, which makes it hard for me get into the episode. And there are no big moments to make up for the less-than-inspired writing. But there are some genuine laughs and quality dialogue to be found, so the episode isn’t a complete disaster. Final Grade: 6/10

[pandragon88]

Let’s Cuddle

Gonna be real, this was written and edited quickly. I hope you enjoy it. It just feels like a cute little blurb that I wanted to get out. I don’t own anything. Please review if you feel so inclined      

 Hands and lips tangled and pressed against each other, desperate for the contact they’d been denied for what felt like weeks but was really only a few days. Alec arched into the strong, soft hands of Magnus as they dragged across him chest and down his stomach, promising to lead somewhere fun. Alec’s callused fingers clawed at Magnus’s back, trying to bring him closer, closer than fully pressed against him.

           “Alexander,” Magnus breathed as their mouths met once more, melting together, trying to take and give everything they had to offer.

           “Oh fuck, Magnus,” Alex moaned, they’re erections moved against each other, teasing, touching, brushing. It wasn’t rushed, they weren’t hurrying to get to the finale, they were mapping each other; check that each limb and digit was unharmed.

           Alec knew something had happened on the side of Lake Lynn that Clary and Jace had yet to tell him. He knew that the demons had disappeared but that didn’t mean they were gone. He knew he would have to file paperwork and focus on the future, but that could wait until tomorrow. Magnus knew something was up with Simon. He knew the Downworld was only safe for a moment. He knew those demons would come back and they would have to deal with them. But that was for tomorrow.

           Right now all that mattered was Alexander and Magnus and their love for each other. Every part of Magnus hurt, he was exhausted, truly needing a good night’s rest before he’d be back to fully strength, but Alec wanted this, and since Magnus had thought he’d lost this forever, he wasn’t going to complain.

           Alec was so tired, his body ached from the battle, but Magnus wanted this and he would never take for granted what he’d almost lost. But then Alec looked up at Magnus and saw the exhaustion.

           “Wait,” Alec breathed. Magnus paused, looking down at Alec who was still panting slightly. Magnus’s yellow cat eyes filled with concern,

           “Are you okay?” Magnus asked. Alec smiled, it was undeniably enjoyable to have someone ask that and mean it again. Alec cupped Magnus’s face in his hand, smiling gently.

           “Never better, I was just thinking how much I’ve missed you so much,” he claimed. Magnus smiled softly though his eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion,

           “I’ve missed you too.”

           Alec laid back on the pillow,

           “As much as I’m sure this make up sex is going to be completely amazing, would you hate me if I wanted to wait until tomorrow?” he asked meekly. He knew both he and Magnus were tired but he felt like their reunion was still so new and a little unsure and Alec didn’t want to do anything to fuck it up.

           Magnus blinked several times and then sighed in relief and rolled over to lay down next to Alec.

           “That sounds perfect,” Magnus groaned, leaning over to catch Alec’s lips with his. As they pulled away Alec turned to his side, facing his boyfriend.

           “I meant what I said, I miss you.” He claimed, “Sex is great and all, but what I think I’ve miss the most in the past couple days is this.” Alec’s voice faded into a whisper and Magnus turned to face him as well, his hand reaching out to tickle Alec’s arm. “Just breathing the same air as you, being able to touch you for no other reason than just to touch you. Falling asleep listening to your breathing and knowing that you’ll be there when I wake up. Staring into these beautiful eyes,” Alec brushed his thumb just under Magnus’s stunning, tear filled eyes, smiling tenderly at something Alec knew Magnus was still insecure about. “I’ve missed getting to hear your sleepy voice in the mornings, getting to kiss your lips. The way you play with your ear cuff when you’re shy,” Magnus blushed at those words and starting to do just that but quickly put his hand down. Alec took the hand and kissed it gently. “I love everything about you, Mag, and for a moment I thought- I thought I’d never get to say that to –to you again.” Alec stuttered.

           Magnus stared at the Shadowhunter who was looking down shyly, biting his lip. No one had ever been willing to give their everything to Magnus. No one had ever viewed him as worthy of fighting for what they had. No one had made the effort to come back again and again no matter how hard it was. Most people Magnus had loved, loved him to a point. Loved him until he didn’t call them back after an argument, loved him until he didn’t tell them his secrets, loved him until it became too much trouble, loved him until his hairstyle, glitter, and makeup became too much. Alexander Lightwood made a decision that he, Magnus Bane, was worth it. Was worth walking away from a political marriage to be true to who he was, was worth apologizing and doing better, was worth fighting for, was worth going against the Clave and losing a position he was born for. That one had worked itself out but Magnus knew dating him had cost him it originally, but Alec never mentioned it, never told Magnus the real reason, Jace had. Maybe it was time Alec hear how much Magnus loved him.

           “Oh my beautiful Nephilim,” Magnus whispered, wiping his own tears that had fallen and moving so that were nose to nose. “Do you know what you do to me? You are the first who doesn’t take more than you give. So many others were here for my magic, or my money, or sex, or just to get all the love they could without giving anything back. But not you, Alexander, you are here for me. And when you smile that ridiculously bright smile that’s just for me, I swear it makes me feel like everything in the world is going to be alright. You are the third person in my entire life to not be scared or disgusted by my eyes, the only other two are Ragnor and Catarina and you are the first lover that thought they were beautiful.” Magnus watched Alec flinched for him and then tipped his head to kissed Magnus’s eyelids,

           “They’re the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.” Alec whispered, moving his head back so his nose was once again touching Magnus’s.

           “You accept me, inside and out. Your heart, Alexander, is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You were raised to look down upon Downworlders, to feel superior to us, but you don’t. You become leader of the Institute and the first thing you do is try to make amends, it’s been a bumpy road and it will continue to be but you are going to keep trying. You are kind and smart and brave, and you love with your whole self. I missed the way your heart beats faster whenever I kiss you here,” Magnus kissed his neck and Alec’s heart did indeed speed up. “I miss the way you pretend to be asleep after you wake up even though I know you’re awake because your snoring stops.”

           “I do not snore!” Alec claimed once again. Magnus laughed happily,

           “Yes you do, and it’s been impossible to fall asleep to silence,” both of their faces falling slightly. “I’ve cleaned this apartment by hand 4 times just because I could not bear to be in this bed without you in it.” Alec smirked softly,

           “No wonder we’re both so tired, 5 days without sleep would do that to a person.” Alec whispered.

           “You too?” Magnus asked. Alec kissed his lips lightly, nodding,

           “Of course. I’ve never realized how cold you can get in a bed by yourself.” Magnus pressed their bodies impossibly closer together so they were sharing each other’s warmth.

“I love you, Alexander, and tomorrow I intend to go over every inch of your body telling you why I love every single inch.” Alec hummed happily, kissing Magnus’s lips again.

“Then it’ll be my turn,” Alec claimed. Magnus nodded,

“Mmmm,” he agreed.

Alec pulled away from Magnus for a moment and reached over, grabbing his phone sending a text Izzy, Jace and Clary.

“I told my siblings that I would be unreachable by phone tomorrow and that anything short of a nuclear war was not to be interrupted here or they would be on desk duty for the rest of their natural lives,” Alec smirked mischievously. “So my time is all yours, Mr. Bane.”

“That’s good to hear, Mr. Lightwood because I have plans for you…” Alec laughed, throwing his head back. Magnus’s breath caught and his heart skipped, he’d almost let this one go, he’d almost been too stubborn, or stupid to go to him first. Luckily the Shadowhunter was braver than he was. Alec sighed contently as he looked back at his boyfriend and his smile fell minutely but then it grew yet again and he kissed Magnus one more time.

“None of that, we’re back together, however it happened is unimportant,” Alec claimed. Magnus’s eyes widened in surprised,

“Did I say that out loud?” Magnus asked.

“You don’t need to say it for me to see those guilty thoughts churning,” the younger one stated.

“I used to be much more mysterious, Shadowhunter, it used to be no one could get into this head,” Magnus smirked. This time ‘Shadowhunter’ was said as an affectionate term, not the seething bite it had, had just this morning. How had that been just this morning? “No, you’re just the first one to try hard enough to get in,” Magnus admitted. Alec smiled,

“I like everything I’ve seen so far, Warlock.”

“You’d be the first,” Magnus said almost as a joke but they both knew it was achingly true. Magnus saw the look on Alec’s face and he leaned in, kissing Alec deeply, holding it until they both needed to breath. “I love you, Alexander.” He said it so softly, Alec wasn’t sure he’d actually said it.

“I love you, Magnus.” He echoed, nuzzling into the other man’s neck. Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec’s shoulder, putting his nose in Alec’s hair, breathing him in. There were still things to talk about, still hurts that needed soothed, but they had plenty of time. Now? Now they were just going to breathe and cling to each other, the rest of the it could wait.

[blairwaldcrf]

Hell is for Children

Jimon. 1600words. (flashbacks/child abuse) prompt by @claryroberts .. ao3

Jace has been tenuously nervous every second of free time he’s had since Simon had asked him to meet his mother and sister. There’s a million ways that this could go wrong, and he’s obsessively ran through every single with a slightly amused but mostly supportive Izzy. Alec was no help. Alec told him to try dating the Prince of Hell’s son and get back to him. Izzy, however, has told him that he’s silly for thinking that they’re going to be attacked out of nowhere and he’ll have to out himself as a Shadowhunter. She’s also told him he’s even sillier for worrying that Simon’s mom might secretly hate him for not being Clary or Maia or female. The only dilemma  she even briefly considers for more than a second is Jace’s worry about all of his runes. With an appraising eye and pursed lips, she tells him, “Maybe wear long sleeves for now.”

“Jace, I promise my mom hasn’t ever hated anyone in her life,” Simon told him on the way over, briefly squeezing his hand while driving. “I mean maybe Donald Trump, but that is like the lowest bar on earth. She even thought Raphael was sweet. You can beat Raphael.”

“What if I say something stupid that mundanes should know?” Jace asked him, glaring.

“Well if you’re worried about ever saying something stupid, we should turn around now,” Simon joked. Jace did not find it funny. Simon frowned. “Look, I’ll steer the conversation away from politics and you can just ask them super embarrassing questions about my childhood. They’ll never shut up then, we’ll be lucky if we ever get out of there.”

Finally, Jace cracked a small smile. “Permission to embarrass you? You must really like me.”

His boyfriend laughed. “You might be growing on me.”

“Not now, Simon, we have dinner first.” Jace replied, winking, and Simon rolled his eyes at the innuendo. There was still a blush.

His anxiety further escalated at the door of Simon’s old house, and peaked when Elaine opened the door. She smiled a bright, full smile, one that reminded Jace of Simon as she greeted them. “Monkey! I’m so happy to see you. And this must be the boyfriend!”

Jace had received a brief relief from his worry at Simon’s nickname. not holding back a humongous smirk that received him a don’t you dare glare from Simon. Immediately he found himself slowly relaxing as he let himself be hugged and said hello to Simon’s sister Rebecca.

“I’m going to use the restroom real quick if that’s okay,” Jace said, and like an idiot when Elaine went to tell him where it was he slipped, “Thank you, I know where it is.”

Both Elaine and Rebecca look to Simon to explain, but Simon’s looking at him with confusion until he realizes why Jace is staring at him. The first time Jace had been to this house Simon was dead and Clary was trying to decide what to do about it all while also trying to console a terrified and emotional Elaine. Simon jumped in quickly. “You guys know how detailed I am in my stories. Can’t shut up.”

When he returns everyone is sitting at the dinner table while Elaine grabs the food from the kitchen. He’s about to ask Rebecca for the childhood stories like Simon suggested when Simon’s mom rests a plate of spaghetti in front of him.

It’s stupid. It’s so utterly stupid. His brain barely registers the plea as he stares at the pasta and feels his heart rate quicken. Faintly Jace can hear Simon and his family talk around him but the sounds are beginning to slur together and even though he plasters a smile on his face so they can think he’s still listening, they still catch on within minutes. Is it minutes? It’s not seconds, it can’t be, not the way his body is reacting like it’s suddenly in quick sand and he’s being drug under the earth to suffocate in shitty memories.

The tomato-covered noodles sit in front of him and suddenly he's five and taking a bath, finally happy that who he sees as his father loves him enough to have this, even if he does roll his eyes. But then he's six and he's learning piano and crack goes one finger and crack goes the other and he's begging his father to let him quit because he's a child who hasn't learned to accept physical pain. His father heals him with an iratze and he wildly thinks, at six years old, that Valentine didn't want to hurt him Jace had deserved it. His father didn't want him to be in pain if he would heal it. Then he's seven and he says something only slightly disrespectful after a very long training session that has every part of him aching and his father has hit him across the face giving him a bloody nose. There's no iratze this time. Jace feels every rib break, every part of his skin bruise, every cut bleed over and over again. His childhood home, the cabin, the boat-- he hears every twisted horrible word about how he's stupid and worthless and too emotional and weak replay repeatedly. All of it leads up to the subject of previous nightmares, a flash of Valentine telling him he's not his son and the feeling of having what was once a loved one carelessly steal your life with their blade.

In real time he has made a mess. The spaghetti that was in front of him is flung across the table as his hands hold desperately tight to the edge of the table. His breath is more ragged than it's been the last thirty missions he's completed, so out of control that he knows he's close to passing out from hyperventilation. There are tears in his eyes, and more than the mess or the possible fainting, that is what gets to him. He's crying at dinner with his boyfriend’s family like some toddler over the food choice because he's too weak to forget the past.

Simon's hand is on his, but Jace has never broken down like this in front of him before and Simon’s face shows fear. The only people to ever witness this were Alec and Izzy when he had first moved in and had to readjust. Now Simon sees how broken Jace really is and why he never should have bothered. Jace should have stuck with hookups and book club, not destroying any chance of his future with a boyfriend and his family who will never see him the same.

Somewhere in the midst of Jace shutting his eyes to drown everyone else out and control his breath, Elaine approaches him. She tells him she's going to touch him before she does, ever so lightly, and Jace barely hears her tell Simon to get something. When he comes back, Elaine asks Jace if she can help and when he doesn't argue she slowly slips an ice pack on the back of his next.

The effect isn't immediate, but it's damn near close. Elaine hands off the job of holding it to Simon, and moves so she can kneel in front of Jace. She takes his hands as he’s coming back to the room and feeling more inside his body and as he tries to hide his face in shame she gives his hands a squeeze. “Honey, it's okay. You're okay now. Everyone is here for you and you're safe. When my-- when my husband died, I was with him. I watched him, helpless. I used to get flashbacks just as physically violent.”

Jace blinked, watching her compassionate expression. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

Elaine shook her head and brushed his hair back from his eyes. “You don't need to be sorry here. I'm a terrible cook anyway, it'll be better for everyone if we just order Chinese.”

Jace nodded in agreement and she walked out of the room. Simon set the ice pack on the table and hugged Jace as tightly as possible. For at least three minutes they sat like that, wordless, and when Jace had shed enough leftover tears he pulled back.

“Can I kiss you?” his boyfriend asked, beautiful brown eyes so completely earnest. When Jace nodded Simon complied, lips greeting his so softly and intimately that Jace could barely breathe.

They pulled back afterward, but Simon still didn't ask what went wrong. That was the beautiful thing about him. Sure, Jace figured his boyfriend probably knew exactly who the root cause was, but there had never been a moment in time where Jace was willing to admit that spaghetti was a trigger for him.

“I'm sorry I ruined dinner, Simon,” Jace said guiltily, not meeting his eyes.

“Are you kidding? This is not the first dinner that dealt with PTSD in the Lewis household, I promise. Mom being able to relate with you on that probably means I'm her favorite second son now.”

“Don't beat yourself up, Lewis, you'll always be her only monkey.”

“Ah, there it is,” Simon said dryly, but his eyes were twinkling at the joke. “If I get even one monkey themed present for my birthday or Hanukkah all of yours for the next two years will be duck themed.”

“Even for our anniversary?” Jace asked.

“Especially that one,” Simon replied with a grin. “Now you're about to learn a lot of psychology terms from my sister who is a major, so let's decide exactly how to avoid that conversation.”

“We could have sex in your old bedroom.” He replied with a grin.

“Interesting plan,” Simon said in turn, pursing his lips. Have couldn't quite tell if his boyfriend was more frustrated, aroused, or embarrassed by the idea. “Have you considered that may not be the best way to hang out with my family?”

“Hey, you just said I was her favorite son already!”

"I see my mistake now," Simon said wisely. Jace pushed his arm with a smile and Simon laughed. "Alright, but we have to be quick."

“You’re a vampire and I’m a Shadowhunter,” Jace said in a hushed tone and a big smirk. “I think we can make it work.”

[oncethrown]

2x14 High Fiving a Million Angels (But Still Not Lady Angels)

I wrote a post a few months ago about how Shadowhunters was finally starting to find its feet and all signs were pointing to 2B being the point where the show would come into it’s own and really be something. 

And I finally feel like I was right. after 2x14.

This was a great episode, it promised that the flashes of social concious the show focused on in 2x13 weren’t just filler to make Clary look good, but real problems in both the world and the narrative of the show that the show intends to deal with. It also managed to finally deliver strong character moments and not choke itself with action for once. While overall it was really strong, it still failed it’s female characters, but it’s not like I’m shocked anymore. 

I think Alec, Luke and Maryse had the strongest episode, with Sebastian as a runner up. 

Alec finally becoming Head of the Institute was written perfectly. He understands the issue, but not perfectly. He starts the downworld council, but all of the participants are quick to remind him that they’ve seen this sort of empty gesture from the Clave before, and Alec is unable to actually deliver what those downworld leaders want, despite his openness, because the Clave won’t budge. 

They also show that he’s going to face resistance from the rank and file shadhowhunters, who don’t think it’s appropriate for him to bring downworlders into their place, assume its because he’s fucking a downworlder, and expect him to fail. 

We also get to see just how much he wants this and how much work  and thought he’s putting into it. He’s in a suit this entire episode. He’s dressing the part of Head of Institute. He puts in a call to Magnus to establish boundaries in this new arena for them and their relationship. He’s measured and careful and thoughtful with everything he says, (though I do think Matthew Daddario made the professionalism feel a little wooden) and he brings in Izzy, who he knows has stronger personal relationships with the more resistant members of his proposed cabinet, Meliorn and Raphael.  

Plus the exchange with Maryse about baby Alec seriously writing crayon memos was gold.

Luke shows up hard as pack leader in this episode, he’s the perfect character to refuse to let the Clave off without a concession, and Isaiah Mustafa carries his indignation at the whole situation so perfectly. The writing is strong here too, with Luke’s episode arc of demanding concessions from the Clave, not getting them, and seeking his own revenge against Valentine because he knows the Clave will never give in to Downworld demands (also, holy foreshadowing from Raphael last week, let’s hope that goes somewhere). The way they heightened that with his interactions with Maryse was also gold.

Maryse is getting the redemption arc that I have been desperate for for 14 episodes. I am pretty salty that they’ve dropped her into the plot twice to work on that instead of giving this story line more time to breathe, especially since no one is acknowledging that Aldertree is to blame for Izzy’s addiction, so nothing he did meant anything and he was a pointless waste of time and Maryse could have been playing his role the whole time if Shadhowhunters didn’t hate women so much. 

I like that they are actually using Robert’s affair to mean something. Maryse was betrayed and hurt by someone she thought loved her, and now she’s seeing herself in a new light because of it, and that barrier between herself and her children and her old friends is starting to break down. 

Her scene with Izzy is easily the best scene of the episode. She’s seeing Izzy as her daughter instead of her legacy and is actually thinking about how things effect Izzy emotionally, like her knowing about Robert’s affair, and how the way Maryse raised Izzy could have made her more susceptible to a yin-fen addiction. 

Her scene with Luke is also perfectly placed. She’s not only starting to think about how she raised her children, and her homophobia, she’s given real thought to the tremendously anti-downworlder things she did in the past, and we even see her look genuinely surprised that the Clave wouldn’t let Luke attend Jocelyn’s funeral. 

I love that they have her starting to reach out to Alec, but that her lines about how proud of him she actually is are delivered to other people. She tells Izzy that it’s good that Alec fought for love for himself. She tells Luke that Alec’s idea for a downworld council is wonderful. She knows that the divide between she and Alec is too wide and deep right now and she needs to approach him carefully.

Her scene with Alec is still about duty and legacy. She’s excited that Alec is head of the Institute... but she’s not going to divorce Robert because she doesn’t want to risk the Lightwood legacy. 

Sebastian is givin this fantastic one episode development from seemingly sweet and caring, to creepily over involved, to ‘don’t forget he’s a psycho’ and it plays so well against the rest of the episode. Will and Nicola have the same skill for giving you a ton of emotion and subtext in their eyes. 

But There Were A Lot of Things That Sucked Here Too

But at least not all of them are Clary This Time

Izzy Nonsense

The two men vying for Izzy’s affection in this episode, could have done their whole schtick for the episode without her being there at all. Sebastian telling Raphael to back off when he’s known him for a hot minute and only sees him as a source of venom out there corrupting sweet Innocent, helpless to stop herself Isabelle is shitty (also... ALDERTREE IS TO BLAME HERE. BAD SHADOWHUNTER, NOT BAD VAMP). And then Raphael’s whole matyr thing rubs me the wrong way too. Everyone is always talking about Izzy being so strong and such a good shadowhunter and blah blah blah... and for the last like ten episodes she is only allowed to be strong as an addict. They don’t let her be strong as a person. It sucks. I’m over it. 

And like... neither Sebastian nor Raphael are wrong, I get that, but I want to watch a show where Isabelle gets to make that decision, instead of the dude’s penising in and dickily deciding, with great turtleneck bishopry, that only they can save Izzy... from herself. 

That scene also sucked because Raphael is a bad choice beyond just the yin fen thing. He hid Isabelle’s phone from her when her family needed her. If someone takes your phone away, and cuts you off from your family... you do not date them. You kick them in the nads until they puke. 

Clary Nonsense

I imagine that the original first scene from this episode was cut, and went like this:

(Alec and Magnus shirtless in bed together)

Alec: One of the first things I’m doing as head of the Institute is getting Clary in some Seelie Politics training. The queen wants to see her and I can’t have her insulting someone and starting a war. 

Magnus: What’s the point? She won’t listen anyway and she’ll yell at someone else when it goes wrong. 

Alec: All experience tells me you’re right. 

Magnus: Doi. Let’s make out. 

FIN

Clary’s position as POV character who can see how the rules of the magical society aren’t fair doesn’t work if none of those rules ever affect her in anyway. She needs to be able to hear that Jace speaks to the queen very formally, and at least try to play along. She’s been in the world long enough to know that maybe dragging an uninvited guest to see a queen, is a bad plan. And her line about the Seelie Queen looking prepubescent was just stupid. Why do the writers need me to believe that that main character is stupid?

She also suffers the same fate as Isabelle, where the menfolk are so much better at everything than her, and half to make her decisions. She’s shadowhunter, but her vampire boyfriend can’t let her go off alone. It’s not safe. Blah blah blah. No agency for women, Shadowhunters hates women. 

We all knew the stupid kiss was coming, and Clary’s inability to realize that like... something wasn’t about her somehow was deeply annoying, but I did like that the kiss was actually used to drive home a political point. The Seelie Queen has been around as long as the rest of the immortal downworlders who all know that Shadowhunters don’t respect them, and don’t keep their promises. 

I am insanely pissed off that when Isabelle came into Clary’s room to talk about her feelings for once, they got steamrolled by Clary’s long list of stupid decisions when Isabelle has like... real problems. 

Simon Nonsense

Simon is a better character than this episode made him out to be. He should know he doesn’t need to defend Clary, his insecurity about her being alone with Jace is just gross, and for the love of God the last time he didn’t listen to Shadowhunters he was turned into a fucking vampire. Come on, Lewis. 

Watching Reactions:

Boo New Intro. Go Away. Boo

Yay. Hopeuflly this flashback means more Jaia. Here for it. 

It’s too bad the official instrument of brooding isn’t more portable.

Hmmm... I wonder if the resentment of the only extras who get lines will go anywhere. 

Nice Suit, Mr. Lightwood

I love that “Book Club” is Jace’s code for casual sex and Alec and Izzy both know it. 

Clary is incapable of not fucking this up. Maybe Max can teach her things about Seelies. She is too dumb for this mission. 

Alec and Luke! A Real Plot! Awesome!

Boo. Simon you are better than this. 

I am LIVING for this complicated Maryse. This is everything I’ve wanted since 1x12

Goddamn it Clary and Simon. You are both better than this. I’m tired of hating you. 

I’m very invested in where they go with Sebastian. It feels like it’s going to be good. 

The fire message is cool. I didn’t expect it to be cool.

I’m actually not into this vision of the Seelie Realm. Very Renfest. The books made it a lot more menacing. 

Whats wrong with Meliorn’s face?

Izzy is politcally important! Yay!

This scene between Sebastian and Raphael, while a disaster, Izzy wise, is really well acted. Will is bringing David up a lot. 

Fuck you Clary. You’re fucking simon. Where Jace is putting his dick is none of your business. You fucking hypocrite. 

Leader Luke! Leader Luke!

Ha. The thing is it totally makes sense for all of them to look the same to Meliorn. There have been so many lines about Jace looking like the rest of the Herondales, and he and Sebastian do look pretty similar, and Meliorn’s been alive long enough for them to just all run into “Blond and Tall” “Red Head” “Loud and Angry Blonde”. 

Raphael, this is really not your place. 

Sooo... does this cut prove that Sebastian isn’t the voice?

Maryse Redemption!

This episode is great, Clary’s had sic lines. Coincidence?

Boo. She’s talking more. Sigh. 

Really Clary? Jace is dying and you gotta kick him like this?

This is too much kissing for the least engaging plot line. No matter how much pathos Dom puts into this it’s still too stupid a plot and he’s carying it all alone. 

Don’t yell at the queen, dumbass. 

Mother Daughter Scene! Mother Daughter scene! This is the best. 

Bad Ass Luke!

The outcome of this whole Sebastian plot has better be political disruption. It is too fucking late in the game to write this time of story about romance. 

I like the pointedness of Alec moving the chair. Everything from the type of chair to the way the shot is structure to how the characters are facing emphasises that Alec is not Imogen, and he did not come down here to torture a downworlder. 

Alec gets the politics! Alec is good at this!

He... stole your phone to keep you in his lair while your family was facing death. He is a bad person. He is not for dating. Why are the writers allergic to letting Izzy make good choices about men?

Don’t let her in Simon! Never let her in!

I am so excited that Clary might have to learn that consquences exist. It must come as such a shock to her. 

Are you fucking kidding me? How does this scene end up about Clary? Isabelle has real problems and Clary doesn’t even know about them because she’s been so selfish, and now... Izzy just has to drop all of that because Clary has a self-imposed sad? Fuck this. 

Hot Damn. That’s what I call an ending. 

[bytheanchorarchived]

@vcrlac replied to your post “sometimes

i cannot believe that right now everyone thinks izzy started taking it on her own bc she 'needed a release' not her own superior, who she was supposed to be able to trust, gave it to her.

me either, it makes me incredibly upset. more reasoning and triggering content (read warnings) under the cut.

@pcrcbctci replied to your post “sometimes i just sit here and tremble at the thought of how @ldertree...”

tbh not to be triggering but to me it was really rapey and i know they didn't go there but just like i can't help but feel like yeah it did

i was talking to @vcrlac last night about exactly that, and it’s something i’ve felt from day one and have been thinking about for a very very long time. it’s how i felt during the scene, it’s how sick it got me watching it, it’s how revolting it was to see, and here are a few reasons why that we share in opinion:

1. @ldertree is her superior, is@belle was supposed to TRUST him. despite everything he did, what he did before to j@ce was (as far as she knows) just cl@ve business. he was trying to catch someone they believe to be a spy, and while she hates him for thinking it, she can’t exactly judge, and once j@ce underwent trial, izzy thought he was released and everything was okay again. she had no idea what @ldertree did with the blackmailing, what he did DURING the trial, the words he told j@ce, etc. she had no reason not to trust him with a MEDICINE. she had no reason to believe that the cl@ve envoy and head of the institute would do something so LOW to her as to violate her body, and completely change the body she lives in that is her HOME for the rest of her life.

2. they live in a military society. again. that influences her TRUST on him. does sh have a whole dam lot of politics? of course they do, but their CORE is military, which means that when a superior is aiding a soldier with a war battle, to think they would do ANYTHING to harm that soldier would be utterly DISGRACEFUL. imagine a captain in battle, poisoning their injured soldier, that had every chance to live and go on with their lives, just bc they could. and as talia pointed out, it’d be disrespectful for her to say no, when he was just offering her some relief AND the possibility of more responsibility and a rise in rank, considering he told her he wanted to help her so she could lead their mission to the ir0n sisters..

3. he did a HORRIBLE thing, and yet, he practically didn’t use it for anything. he tried to get her to spy on cl@ry, but when that didn’t work, he didn’t even push it, and then tried to get her to “DATE” him, in exchange for the drug, so wth was his real motives here??!! it just makes the whole thing more disgusting than if he was just trying to gather power and grow in the eyes of the cl@ve as a strong leader who can control v@lentine’s children. it’d still be despicable, but it’s unclear if that’s even WHY he did what he did, when he gave up so easily. he could had easily blackmailed izzy, i.e. by threatening to report to the cl@ve she was an addict and a risk to their missions, she couldn’t prove he was the one that gave it to her. he had more than the means to either get her to do what he wanted or kick her out like he did j@ce, so she couldn’t speak against him. he did neither.

4. he used something he SOMEHOW knew about her (bc he somehow knows a lot of fucking things he wasn’t supposed to), about her love for the ir0n sisters to lure her in. he used a CHILDHOOD DREAM of !zzy’s to violate her. doesn’t get much worse than that. he made her feel proud, happy, and hopeful, and then used her body against her consent and gave her a life-time sentence.

5. why is izzy not saying anything?! is@belle’s EMBARRASSED (as is common for anyone to be when violated in such a manner). she thinks (as good part of this victim-blaming fandom) that it was all her fault. she thinks she should had KNOWN better, that she should had known ABOUT the drug, that she should had NEVER trusted @ldertree (even tho her entire society and values she was raised with told her to), that she should had been STRONGER and STOPPED it somehow, AFTER he had already turned her into an addict from day one. she’s humiliated, as she’s said countless times she feels WEAK and guilty for everything she did after that, even though she was REMARKABLY STRONG and none of it was her fault. she blames herself for being a fool, and not stopping sooner (even though she had no idea that she was becoming an addict and what that drug was doing to her, and that she wouldn’t be able to stop). she doesn’t WANT people to know, because she doesn’t WANT blame taken off of her. she wants people to blame her so she can keep herself in check, and not forget what she did. contrary to what fandom thinks, she IS a good person and she DOES blame herself for all of it. 

6. what @ldertree did to her, changed her body forever. she’s never gonna be able to forget it or get over it. addicts never become ex-addicts. she won’t be able to drink again, something she used to enjoy, she won’t be able to lose control just for fun, because she can’t afford to anymore, she won’t ever forget her shame, she will always be vulnerable to vampires, and their lure, as they crudely rubbed in our faces in another episode (something that made me just as sick to watch). she will never feel comfortable around them again, not completely. it will take her a VERY long time for her to feel like her body is entirely hers again, and she might not even feel it. (let’s not even GET into the fact that the ONE person that “helped” her out of addiction is the ONE person that tried to kill her little brother and betrayed all of them. it just makes me want to hurl for her. the level of DISTRUST this girl should have, is gonna have, to anyone NEW?!! is... i can’t even. but we’re here to talk about @ldertree, and @ldertree is not an abused child with demon blood that couldn’t have done any better if he tried) he is a SANE man, in perfect mental capabilities that was COMPLETELY aware that what he was doing was gonna stain is@belle for LIFE, possibly KILL her, and if not, ruin all of her relationships, her dreams, and her future. 

7. do YOU KNOW HOW BAD IT HURT to watch her not pass the purity test? doesn’t get more metaphorical, hurtful, and quite frankly, awful than that, does it? she was violated against her will and then she didn’t pass a purity test, and she was UTTERLY HUMILIATED in front of her CHILDHOOD HEROES, in front of her role models, the people she looked up to during her entire LIFE, the people she worked herself to the ground to maybe get the chance to impress one day. even if she didn’t want to be a part of them, she still craved their RESPECT, izzy CRAVES RESPECT so badly, VALIDATION, is the ONE thing she needs the most, and @ldertree not only STRIPPED that away from her, in the eyes of her society, family and loved ones, he sent her to her childhood heroes and let her be publicly disgraced by her military superiors and people she held at her highest standard, and will now very probably always look down at her. 

8. no one fucking ASKED her how she started. no one asked her. they just assumed she’d take something like that knowingly to ease her pain. as though they didn’t know her at all. as though they didn’t know is@belle would never hurt her own body like that. as though they didn’t know she loves herself more than that. as though they never believed she was ‘the strongest of us all’ at all. because if they DID, they’d have asked her. and then MAYBE, she might’ve told them.

9. the scene ITSELF?! him brushing her hair aside, his hands on her, her sleeve down, her tears, her look of drowsy ecstasy, the sick pleasure that was obvious on him. it was MADE to feel that way. it wasn’t even clinical or cold, it was dirty and downright disgusting. he took advantage of her in more than one way and if his plan had worked he’d had got her into bed without any consent out of it (since he did ask to exchange “dating” for drugs). they can’t say it wasn’t meant to feel that way. if it was, @ldertree would have just given the pot to her, but he wanted to make sure she was gonna use it, because he KNEW she’d be lost from the VERY FIRST touch. and he also enjoyed doing it, enjoyed violating her.

TL;DR  if felt that way for a REASON. it had all the characteristics of abuse, and it was supposed to be that way but it was later never addressed. izzy is living in a shame that isn’t HERS, and she’s lost her self trust and her self reliance and doesn’t believe she’s strong anymore. she doesn’t trust herself, and her family thinks she did it to herself, and izzy believes it. it’s the worst case scenario, and i don’t think they’ll address it again. she’ll have to deal with it for the rest of her life, but she’ll never get someone to tell her it was never her fault to start with. that she’s not WEAK for trusting her superior, for using a drug without knowing it, for doing the actions any addict would, for battling this completely on her own, for being humiliated by something she didn’t do, for being made to feel like a STRANGER in her own BODY. so yeah. it does feel that way i’d say.

[godtier-fics]

sammya kei’s 2016 fanfiction review

it’s time for something no one asked for but yet since when do i care about people other than me

it’s time for a new tradition! i’m going to take a trip down memory lane and talk about my top 10 fanfics from last year and go into depth about my top five! 

top ten (in no particular order): 

Stumbling Boy, The History of the World in Your Arms, the heart of an artist, Working Man, Dissolution, The Catch Up Game, Finding You Wherever You Are, taking the last train home, To the Moon and Back, onward

i picked these ten as my faves cuz when i look back at myself in 2016 these are what i’m most proud of. they each show off what i think is my ever evolving writing skills. 

now let’s look in depth at my top five! look at those below the cut! 

5) onward

lemme state for the record that i...i love aqua with all my heart and soul. i fell in love with her character in 2010 and i haven’t stopped loving and wishing her the best since. when kingdom hearts 0.2 was announced i almost cried. when the video for the opening came out i literally cried. however...onward is not a happy fic. i’m not someone who can sit down and write mushy gushy stuff. 

take this passage for example

Her name is Aqua. She repeats that to herself daily. Not that there is a daily, so maybe she repeats it more often than she realizes.

“My name is Aqua. I saved Terra. I have to go home. I have to wake up Ven.”

These words become her mantra. They get her through it, even has hoarse as it leaves her voice.

onward was just written cuz i was realizing that the first ever kh fic i had ever written was facade which was literally about the main villain of the series having sex and turning evil. anyway, aqua deserves more and maybe in 2017 i’ll find time to write her a nice long fic. we’ll see. 

i’m just nervous about writing her cuz i love her so much....

4) Stumbling Boy

this is part of the dysfunctional family funtimes series and is one of my faves that i wrote in 2016! it’s the mid-brother fic to nadia’s fic from 2015 aka Separation Anxiety that she needs to finish...which i hope she finishes...but we’ll see lol. it’s all about ginshi dealing with his brother’s disappearance and i just am crying because why is ginshi canonly dead and i cannot deal...MOVING ON 

my fave passage from this would be...

People thought that Ginshi tumbled through life, stumbling upon things, but he didn’t, not really. He did do some things deliberately and with care. When he was working on a car, he was able to lose himself. He threw himself into studying, and watched his understanding grow. He’d always liked fussing around with cars, but having a job that he was getting paid to do it at was different. He was different.

And to show that, to really show that he was different, that he was changed, he decided he needed to find something to change about himself physically.

So that when Urie did return, he could point at it and say, “Look, I made my own choice too!”

Stumbling Boy was something that i think i wrote in 2015 and then posted in 2016 but even still...it was nice to rework it and post it. i can’t wait to finish the dff series...

3) taking the last train home 

originally posted under one of my many, many pen names....this was supposed to be a hardcore BDSM fanfic. it...it’s not going to be that. i’m sorry. i’m a disappointment. i am too sex repulsed to do that to myself. so i moved it over to this account. 

anyway...this isn’t just a fic about sex which is why i got really, really annoyed with some comments i was getting. like...the first sexual scene doesn’t even happen till chapter 8 aka over 11K words later....so okay fandom...whatever. anyway that fic is locked to anyone who doesn’t have an ao3 account but enjoy this snippet! 

“If you need me to stop just tell me so, all right?”

“Because I’m going to get so overwhelmed by a kiss on my cheek.”

Yao pushes up on his chin and grins down at him, “You’ll get overwhelmed all right.” Those are bold words, Alfred thinks, but doesn’t get a chance to say so before Yao kisses him.

taking the last train home still has a quite a few more chapters to be posted and i hope everyone enjoys the ride. it’s probably going to end up being the longest amechu fanfic on ao3 that’s completely about amechu with them as the endgame? so...yay for that. #actuallymarried indeed

2) The History of the World in Your Arms

this used to hold the title of my longest amechu fic posted...but then taking the last train home came along and stole that title...ahah. anyway. i wrote this in order to figure out WHY i shipped amechu and maybe talk others into shipping it too? 

rereading it makes me wanna die...and i wanna rewrite it but i’ll resist for now. 

anyway here’s TWO snippets from the fic that i love! 

here’s from yao’s pov 

Yao looks at him, lying in Yao’s bed as if he belongs there, as if he’s always belonged right there against the pillows, and says simply, “Then that’s a fair exchange.”

“What is?”

“My ruin for your ruin.”

“Are you saying I’ve ruined you?” Alfred demands, looking confused. Which is a look that suits him.

“Yes,” Yao says, “you’ve ruined me.”

and the second one from alfred’s pov 

“It would be so much easier if I just hated you and wanted you gone. But I don’t.”

“You don’t?” Alfred tries not to sound so surprised by that, and fails. Yao looks hurt, and sighs.

“I don’t hate you,” he says quietly, “I told you years ago that I loved you, didn’t I?”

i can’t help but see a canonverse relationship as them being very, very rocky and uneasy but then they settle into something that goes beyond them and we eventually get to a point where they get married....and yeah i’m not over that picture. i could cry....

1) Finding You Wherever You Are 

speaking of art--and specifically of art that izzy has done--i’m still not over the leash in this picture after i told her i was JOKING. this fic holds a special place in my heart due to several inside jokes i have with izzy being in it. for those who are still reading at this point i’ll let you in on two of them! 

1) yao telling alfred “i know” when they’re doing something sexual or about to 

2) please mock izzy for dogfred this isn’t an inside joke this is just something i need others to make fun of her for at this point smh 

um yeah moving on 

this entire fic is basically aesthetic actually? bad boy rolls into town and finds his true love? CHECK! reincarnation? CHECK! royalty? CHECK! blood drinking? vampires? monsters? oh my??? CHECK!!! 

fave comment i got on this fic was someone stunned at the world building i did in 13K+ i’m honestly surprised too? i wrote this fic in like...a day. and by a day i mean 10-11 hours. with a sprained arm. go me? 

anyway fave snippets in no particular order!!!! 

1) 

“May I?” Yao asked, and he sounded so polite as if he were asking for something normal and not permission to lick blood off of Alfred’s hand.

“Um,” Alfred looked down at his boss, and then at the stove which was on the opposite side of the kitchen (how had he moved that fast, the fuck ) and shrugged, “Yeah, sure.”

Yao’s touch was tender as he pressed his lips to the back of Alfred’s hand and licked at the blood that was coating it. Alfred had never realized how sensitive his hands were until he got unlucky enough to have Yao devote his full attention to licking and sucking against the skin. Yao sucked one, and then two of his fingers into his mouth and gave them a wet suck, and Alfred realized that he was standing in his boss’s kitchen, with his fingers in his boss’s mouth, and he was hard. His breath was coming out loud and heavy to his own ears as Yao continued, seemingly oblivious to the effect that he was having on Alfred. But then Yao looked up at him, with three of Alfred’s fingers in his mouth and smirked.

He smirked, slid Alfred’s fingers out of his mouth, and then licked finally at the bleeding wounds. As Alfred watched him, and as Yao watched his hand the wounds sluggishly stopped bleeding.

“You should still wrap that up,” Yao said as he dropped a kiss to Alfred’s knuckles. “Learn how to control your temper, Alfred.”

2) 

“Where to next, your majesty?”

“Says the noble.” Wang got on the bike behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist once more. “Do you know the way back home?”

“I’m like a lord yeah but I’m pretty sure you were a king in your past life.”

“You wouldn’t be wrong ,” Wang said.

Alfred grinned, “How old are you anyway?”

“Far, far too old for this. Take me home, pup.”

3) 

“You are a wonder, Alfred,” Yao said. He sounded sad and fond as he said that. Alfred’s heart ached .

“So are you, thousands of years old and you still wanna change the world.”

“The world can be changed, Alfred, never doubt that.”

Alfred laughed, and then in disbelief at himself said, “I have full faith in your abilities.”

4) 

Alfred helped him put the bracelet on, and then kissed him. He growled low in his throat.

“Yeah,” Yao said. “I know. Look at you, all nice and collared and mine .” He looped his fingers in the golden buckle and made Alfred follow him back to the sofa.

“Look at you,” Alfred said, torn between the leather of the bracelet around Yao’s wrist and Yao’s face for which he wanted to look at more.

okay....

as you can see even tho i make fun of izzy constantly for dogfred i do really like this fic? it’s a bit rushed in places??? but tbh it gets the job done and gets it done nicely! good job me. 

so that’s my trip down memory lane! yeah. i just love writing and i like writing fanfics? but i will be moving on to original writing on my site starting this month and you can support me on patreon. i’ll keep writing fanfics but those will be low on my ranking of priorities. 

here’s to an amazing 2017! 

also if we breakdown my fics for 2016....55% of what i wrote was amechu. i’m in too deep. i blame izzy. 

later! 

sk