#i really really hope we get a third season and I am proved absolutely wrong on this

[thegoldenhoof]

This is a possibility, that is just hitting me and part of me feels like this is in too much bad faith to even consider but it also makes sense in a way i cant get out of my head.

That Izzy's death was basically the writers' way of dealing with Ed's lack of accountability and growth this season.

That what they mean by Ed can let go of Blackbeard now is that the crew/audience can let go of the things Ed did as Blackbeard/Kraken and move on now because the Blackbeard part of Ed has died with Izzy. There will be no further reflection of this. Ed gets to walk away from that now and find peace and we, the audience don't get to question what happened to all the issues he was dealing with.

Izzy is Ed's version of Frenchie's box in the flesh and apparently the message of this season is lock it in the box and move on.

Ed's lack of growth and the point of Izzy's death were never two different problems. It was the cause-effect of the same problem.

[kasienda]

The Five Minute Adventures of Snake Noir: Ch 6 - Miraculous Abuse

Chapter 1: I Want It To Be You

Chapter 2: Best Friends

Chapter 3: Best Laid Plans

Chapter 4: A Thank You

Chapter 5: Unwanted Revelations

Chapter 6: Miraculous Abuse

If Adrien had avoided using the snake before, he now was operating on the other extreme. Ladybug had told him to abuse it, and he’s not sure she would have meant it quite so literally, but well… he and Nino had come up with a list. 

It had started with his homework. If he could finish his homework in far less time, he’d  have more time to visit Nino and Marinette. Not that it took a lot of time to visit Marinette as it was usually a loop, so even if he spent hours with her, it never took longer than ten minutes as far as the rest of the world was concerned. 

He unfortunately couldn’t do all of his homework in a time loop because that would leave whatever he had completed in the last five minutes erased. But he could do all the reading, researching, planning, and studying in a loop. Anything that didn’t require him to write anything down. 

Nathalie had only walked on him transformed once. 

“Yes, Nathalie?” he had asked, without looking up from his textbook. He hadn’t even thought about it. 

She stood stock still and was dead silent. He glanced towards her with a frown - her eyes were comically wide, but that was the only sign that she was shocked. He glanced down, and remembered he was transformed at Aspik. 

Read on Ao3

“Oh shit!” 

But it had been easy enough to fix. He just reset, destranformed, waited for Nathalie to come in and deliver his schedule changes for the week and leave, and then he transformed again. 

And then Nino had realized if he could pack all of his studying into the space of five minutes, Adrien could surely squeeze in some well deserved leisure time as well. 

It only took 71 loops to read a hundred thousand words, and Adrien had long ago discovered the joys of fanfiction, but he had never really had time to read more than a bit here or there. Now? With unlimited time and an entire endless library of things to read based on his favorite games and anime? Let’s just say his current power set brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, “Just One More Chapter.” 

And a season of anime was only 119 loops. Hell, he had gotten through all 981 episodes of One Piece in 4532 loops, which was still nothing compared to his time as Aspik, and honestly, far less traumatizing. 

He had felt slightly guilty about it. He was literally using the powers of time travel to watch anime. 

But when he mentioned it to Nino, his friend had just rolled his eyes. “Dude! You’re thinking about this all wrong. You’re a hero and we need you to be okay. This is about avoiding burnout as much as it is about having a good time. It’s so you get enough of a break and enough sleep to be a competent hero that we all need!”

But eventually the stories and shows hadn’t been enough to hold his attention. And he took another of Nino’s ideas and started paying visits to several of his friends. 

He had gone to Kagami first. He had no expectations of healing things with her, but he had always wanted to be able to explain so that his apologies might mean something.

“Chat Noir? Is there an akuma?” she asked by way of greeting. 

He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Ah, no. I wanted to talk to you about something, but I also have to erase your memory after the fact to protect identities. Are you okay with that?”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “You have piqued my curiosity. You may proceed.” 

He nodded. He had already activated his power before he had landed in her bedroom that was definitely as lavish as his own if not quite as spacious. 

“So… more than anything I wanted to apologize to you?”

She frowned. “I’m unaware of anything that you have done that would require an apology.”

“Kagami, I’m Adrien.”

Her eyes went wide for a second. “Ah, I see.” Then, she nodded. 

“That’s it?” 

“No, it makes a lot of sense.” And then she did something he never would have expected. She smiled. And most of his tension released. 

“I just wanted to explain now that I had the ability to. That I wasn’t ever lying to you or running from our dates because I wanted to.” 

“You had to sacrifice your own desires for a higher calling.”

“Yeah, that’s it exactly.”

She smiled at him again. “I appreciate you coming to explain and I understand completely why I can’t remember. May I ask you a question?” 

“Of course!” 

“Were you never in love with Marinette?”

“Well, I… uh… it was hard to see Marinette when I was completely enamored with Ladybug, but…”

She shook her head. “Are you in love with both of them now?” 

“I mean, sortve?” He knew Kagami hated when he ended every sentence as if it was a question. “They’re the same person.”

Kagami sighed. “How disappointing.” 

“Disappointing?! She’s amazing!” 

“I know, but if she’s Ladybug and you’re Chat Noir, I have never had a chance with either of you.” 

He felt like he had been thrown off a cliff. “What? You had feelings for Marinette?” 

She grinned. “Well, she is amazing, as you always say. At least I know that I have really good taste.”

“Well, I’m sorry to have ruined all your prospects.” 

“I will survive. Neither of you define me as a person.” 

“You’re pretty amazing, too, you know,” he told her sincerely. 

She nodded. “You honor me.” 

He laughed. “Kagami, please don’t get all formal on me. I’m still just me.” 

“Well, I hope you know that I appreciate all that you and Ladybug do for the city,” Kagami told him, ignoring his request.

“Thank you, Kagami. That means a lot coming from you.” 

She nodded in acknowledgment and he knew he was being dismissed, and then he slid the switch on his bracelet and he was on the roof of her family’s manor once again his heart a little lighter.

He had gone to Alya after that. He had been nervous since she was the one who tended to push him aside as Chat Noir. But his fears proved to be completely unfounded as for the most part she could never stop laughing whenever he revealed himself.

“Wait! You’re Adrien?!”

She burst into cackles immediately. 

“Why is that so funny?!” He has demanded the first time. 

She had just grinned, shaking her head and still chuckling. “I wish I could explain it to you, sunshine.” 

“I already know Marinette is Ladybug,” he said.

“Oh good! Then I don’t have to be panicked about accidentally slipping!” And she went back to rolling on the floor laughing. 

“You wouldn’t happen to already know Marinette’s other secret would you?” she asked.

His eyebrows scrunched together under his mask. “Umm… that she’s in love with me as Adrien?” 

Her face lit up. “Oh see!! You do get it!” 

He shook his head. “I do not get it.” 

“The two of you managed to get yourself in a love square. You’ve been chasing each other around like two cute little hamsters in hamster balls.” 

He sighed, far less amused than Alya at the current state of his Marinette’s relationship. “I’m really glad someone is getting some joy out of this.” 

“Hey!” she objected. “I’m only going to know this for another three minutes! Let me have my fun!”

He held up his hands in surrender, and he was smiling in spite of himself. Maybe some time in the future, after he and Marinette could be together, it would be funny to him, too.

“God! This is why it feels like I’m third-wheeling during akuma fights,” she exclaimed.

“You feel like a third wheel?!” he repeated in disbelief. “Have you seen the chaotic energy that is you and Marinette coming up with a plan together? I am definitely the third wheel in that situation.”

And then she was cackling again. “I’m sorry,” she wheezed. “Nino says I can be a bit of a bulldozer when I’m trying to find a solution to something.” 

“That’s putting it mildly,” he said dryly.

All the mirth fled her face and she looked at him in concern. “Hey, you okay?”

He nodded. “It’s not like I’m allowed to be anything else.” 

“No, don’t say that! You’re allowed to be upset with me! I deserve it sometimes.”

He shook his head. “I’m never going to hold your ability to defeat an akuma against you. I just… have felt a little unneeded lately,” he admitted.

She stared at him for a second and then she burst into laughter again. 

And despite still not getting it, he found himself chuckling, too. Her laughter was just that infectious. “Why do you find this so funny?” he asked. 

“Because you’re a literal superhero and a model with more money than god, and a heart of absolute gold. You work with her as Ladybug so well I have to deal with crazy conspiracy theorists on the Ladyblog  who think the two of you must be telepathic aliens!” 

“What? People don’t think that.” 

“They do! And it’s annoying. But my point is you’re the real deal, Agreste, and she’s crazy about you, and you know it, and yet you still manage to doubt yourself.” 

“I’m glad my struggles and hang ups are so amusing to you,” he said with a pout. 

She sat up and fist bumped his shoulder. “Aww! Sunshine! I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, your insecurity makes you seem sweeter and cuter. And it makes you seem more human. I don’t mean to mock you in any way.”

He searched her face and only found open sincerity.

“Thanks, Alya.” 

“So, does she know that you know?” 

“I mean, she doesn’t right now. But I’ve told her. Many many times, but it was just like this and she doesn’t remember.” 

She softened. “That sounds difficult.” 

“It’s apparently better than the alternative,” he said, going for nonchalance, but he didn’t fool her if her scooching to sit right next to him was anything to go by.  

“I wish we could all fix it for you, Adrien.” 

“Yeah, me too.” 

“How are you?” 

He shrugged. “I’m okay at the moment. Some days are worse than others. Nino… Nino has been a godsend.” 

She smiled. “He is pretty amazing. He knows outside of a loop?” 

“He does.” 

“I’m glad you have that, Adrien. Marinette was falling apart at the seams before she told me.” 

“Does he know about Marinette?” Adrien asked. Sometimes, it seemed like Nino knew more than he was letting on. But maybe his friend was just really respectful of secrets and didn’t ask questions.

“Not from me! And he hasn’t told me about you being Chat Noir either.” 

Adrien glanced toward the window. 

“Does it bother you that there are secrets between the two of you?” he finally asked.

“No, not these ones. They’re not our secrets. They’re yours, and they’re Marinette’s, so they’re not ours to share.”

“I'm jealous,” he admitted.

She offered him a sympathetic smile. “Someday, you won’t have to be anymore.”

The Snake beeped it’s first warning. “Time’s just about up.”

She offered him a fist bump and then a hug. He reciprocated both. “I’m glad you stopped by, Sunshine. You’re always welcome any time you think my particular brand of company is something that would help you.” 

He grinned. “Thank you, Alya.” 

“I look forward to the day when all four of us can just be open about everything,” she said. 

He snorted. “You and me both.” 

His went to his bodyguard next. 

“I just wanted to apologize to you for always running off. I don’t mean to make your job harder or get you into trouble. I am literally running away to save the city.”

His bodyguard didn’t say anything. He never said anything. He had just let out a resigned sigh and then patted Adrien’s shoulder. 

Adrien took that as forgiveness and reset the loop. There was no sense in sitting there in awkward silence for another four and a half minutes. 

When he had told Nathalie one afternoon at her desk outside her office, she looked horrified - frozen as still as a statue trapped in Medusa’s gaze. 

“Nathalie?” 

“I… all this time?” she whispered.

“Yeah. I know it’s a lot. I know it causes you a bit of grief when I disappear.” 

She waved away his concern. “Right now, we’re in some kind of time loop and I won’t remember?” 

“But you will,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

“Yes,” he confirmed anyway. 

“Adrien, I need you to listen to me.”

He nodded. 

“I can never find out. Your father can’t either. If you need something because you’re hurt or cornered, or…” she trailed off.

Was she crying? 

She cleared her throat. 

“Go to your friends. Their parents. Just… not your father, okay? Or me, because I’d have to inform him.”

His brows furrowed together in confusion. “Okay?” It wasn’t hard to to agree despite how weird she was being. He knew Paris needed him and he also knew that his father would never let him continue. Especially if he was seeking help due to an injury or something.

That’s what Nathalie was referring to, right? 

She patted him on the shoulder. It was even more awkward than when his bodyguard had done it. 

“Adrien, you’re quite impressive as a hero.” 

“Thank you,” he said with a smile.

And then there was Marinette. He had learned that it was impossible to tell her he was Adrien without making her cry, which was frustrating because she was also so much more open and affectionate once she knew. 

“How do I get you to not breakdown when I tell you this?” he asked her seriously.

She laughed through her tears. “I’m sorry, kitty. I have no idea. It’s just… it’s not fair.” 

He smiled. “That’s what Ladybug always says,” he told her casually. She didn’t know that he knew this go around.

“She’s right! You deserve so much, and life… it’s not fair!”

He turned to her seriously. “I don’t need life to be fair, Mari. I just… don’t want to have to wear a mask all the time.” And then he smiled. “I’m glad that you’re okay with me doing this.” 

She nodded tearfully. “Anytime, Kitty. Anytime.”  

Then during a regular patrol at one point. He had just realized he wanted to make her laugh. So he spent another few hundred loops figuring out which jokes made her laugh the hardest and which ones were absolute duds. Then, on a day when she was having a hard time, he showed up on her balcony and gave her the best one hour comedy of her life. 

Her unrestrained laughter was so explosive she had literally fallen out of her chair. Totally worth it. 

“Thank you, kitty,” she said wiping the tears induced by her laughter. “You have no idea how much I needed this.” 

He hadn’t argued. “Of course, princess. I am always at your service!”

Then, he started working on the perfect confession. He was trying to see if he could get her to kiss him as Chat Noir without revealing his identity because, you know, that always made her cry. 

“Can I use the snake to ask you a very important question?” He has asked Ladybug on patrol. 

She nodded, and he activated it. 

“What do you think it would take to get you to kiss me?” 

She laughed. “Are you serious right now? That is your very important question?” 

“It is,” he nodded, but offered her a huge grin so she could take it as a joke if she wanted.

“Why? You haven’t been able to be successful yet?” she teased.

“Oh no! I’ve been super successful. All I really have to do is tell you my name.”

She scoffed.

“No, I’m serious!” he boasted with a huge grin splitting his face knowing she only half believed him.

“So, why don’t you just do that?” she asked seriously. 

“Because you always cry! And I don’t want to kiss away your tears. I want to make you smile.” 

She got quiet. “You know, we can’t be together right?” 

“Yeah Marinette,” he whispered. “I know that really well.”

 It was silent.

“How long have you known?” she asked softly.

He had no idea how to answer that question. Because time was now very weird for him. In one sense he had only known for a few weeks, on the other he had literally spent so much time in loops that it had to have been at least twice that at this point. Maybe more.

“A while,” he said. “But we’ve already talked about that to death. I’d much rather figure out how to get you to fall desperately in love with this half of me.” 

She raised her eyebrows. “You want me to fall desperately in love with you in five minutes?” 

He shrugged. “We have a solid foundation of trust and friendship. I’m not starting from nothing. Plus, I’ve fallen in love in less than five minutes before.” With her. He didn’t think he needed to say that though.  

She actually smiled. “Yeah, I’ve fallen in love pretty fast before, too.” 

And it occurred to him that he had no idea what had made her fall in love with Adrien. He probably could ask her, but that was one more memory that he wanted her to remember having told him. 

He could probably just show up on her balcony as regular old Chat Noir and just say something like, “So, Adrien Agreste, huh?” She’d probably tell him, and she’d even remember it. But she wouldn’t know that it was him she was telling. 

How the hell had his life gotten so complicated? 

“There’s no way I would start crying just from knowing your name though,” she said. “You have to be making that up.”

He just turned to her and raised his eyebrows. 

The expression probably didn’t work as well with his transformation covering them. 

But she still hesitated. “There’s no way!” she exclaimed, but then she got a thoughtful look in her eyes. “Unless…” 

And then her eyes started welling with tears.

And he almost laughed. But he managed to hold it back.

“Oh, come here, bug,” he said instead, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her to him. And he just held her as she shook silently. 

“It’s not fair,” she whispered. 

“I know,” he said, and then kissed the top of her head. “I know.”

“Do you see my problem now?” he said after another pause. 

And she laughed through her tears, which had been his intention, and he smiled.

She pulled away. “I’ve thought about it before, you know.”

“Thought about what?”

“Letting myself fall for Chat Noir?”

He hugged her tighter. “Yeah?” 

“It never seemed like it would be that hard. I think if it hadn’t been for Chat Blanc, it would have happened after New York.”

He laughed. “Really? New York was when I thought maybe I should ask out Marinette.” 

She looked up at him in horror. “Oh my god! We’re just perpetually screwed, aren’t we? We’re just going to keep missing each other over and over!”

He kissed her hand. “No m’lady,” he assured. “That can’t happen because now I know, and I can’t forget.” 

And then she was crying again, harder. “I don’t want to forget either.”

“I know,” he told her, kissing her hand again. “I promise it won’t be forever.” 

“I love you, Adrien.” 

“I love you, too.”

And that time, of the two of them, it was he who was stronger and able to slide his fingers across the reset. 

And he might have stayed in that loop far longer than he should have trying to figure out the way to the heart he had apparently already won.

He learned that she did enjoy his flirting whatever she said to the contrary, but the moments where he was vulnerable and genuine were the ones that seemed to move her the most.

But none of it was quite enough. If he wanted a kiss, he always had to tell her his name. 

But despite his failure, pulling himself out of that loop was the hardest thing he had ever done.

And that’s how he knew he was in trouble. 

… 

“Nino, you have to take this away from me,” Adrien said, holding out the snake miraculous. He had just arrived and released both his transformations. 

Nino took it, his eyebrows pinched together. “What? Why?” 

“Because I’m scared I’m going to go into a loop and I’m never going to come out of it.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Look! Being here with you, with you knowing everything, is amazing. It’s the only time I feel like myself, unless,” he held up the bracelet, “I’m using this and… it’s getting harder to pull myself out of the loops.” 

“Your visits to Ladybug?” 

“Yeah,” Adrien admitted. “She told me to go every single day so I would remember what it was like to be loved,” he paused for a second, trying to swallow the sudden lump in his throat. “The problem is I really really like being loved.” 

And then he couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. 

Nino pulled him by the arm down to the ground and sat right next to him shoulder to shoulder.

Adrien buried his face in his hands. 

“For the record, dude,” Nino whispered. “You are loved even outside a loop with Ladybug.” 

Adrien threw his arms around Nino. “I honestly don’t know why you put up with me at this point. I feel like you have to put up with a lot.”

Nino grinned. “Hey! I happen to like hanging out with you! This shift has been awesome because I get to see you way more often.” 

“And I’m not like messing up date night with Alya or anything, am I?” 

“Nah!” Nino waves away his concern. “Alya and I hangout in the mornings and during lunch. Lately Marinette has monopolized her evenings.” 

Adrien managed to keep a straight face at that. “If you and her ever do need a day away from the children, I’m sure Marinette and I can figure out a way to take care of ourselves for a day.” 

Nino burst out laughing. 

“What?! I’m a big boy and Marientte’s a big girl. We can take care of ourselves.” 

Nino just shook his head, still snickering. 

“Maybe all four of us could do something some time,” Nino suggested, his eyes sparkling.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. Did Nino know? He knew he couldn’t ask without giving it away, and he had just handed over the snake. 

“That sounds really nice,” Adrien said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to handle going on a double date that he had to pretend wasn’t a double date. But someday. 

He wanted to cry again, but his eyes remained dry. 

“So, you just want me to keep it?” Nino asked, holding up the bracelet. “Should I hide it here in the room? Or wear it?” 

“Wear it,” Adrien said. That was the only way Nino would know where it was at all times. “But don’t use it. Not even for an akuma.”

He didn’t want Nino to ever experience a loop on the battlefield. Not if he could help it. 

“I reserve the right to come save your ass if necessary,” Nino said as he slipped the miraculous around his wrist. 

Adrien laughed. “Okay, but please don’t unless you absolutely have to. I don’t need Ladybug pissed at me for giving away a miraculous.” 

Nino frowned at him then. “Why are you giving this to me, instead of back to her?” 

Adrien’s answer to that was complicated. Partly because he didn’t want Marinette to know that his loops with her were hurting him even as they gave him hope, and he definitely didn’t want her to know that he had fallen to the point of being borderline addicted. 

But there was also a strategic element to his choice. He could approach Nino in either form, and Nino would know to trust him. 

“You know who I am,” Adrien finally said. 

“Will you be okay without it?” Nino asked.

Adrien shrugged. “I don’t know. But I’m definitely not okay with it right now.” He paused, then looked at Nino. “I might be texting and calling you a lot over the next few days.” 

Nino laughed. “I can’t promise to answer right away all the time, but you can always do that, man. Always.” 

Adrien let his head fall onto Nino’s shoulder. “Have I ever told you that you’re the absolute best?” 

“I could stand to hear it a few more times,” Nino said. 

Adrien grinned. “Noted.”

…

Chapter 7: The Five Minute Adventures of Ananta

[beauty-and-passion]

Hey! How are you? Just came across your blog recently, and I gotta say I absolutely love your theories!! I’m still catching up, but they’re so well thought out and deeply analyzed. It’s an absolute joy to read through, so thank you for all your interesting ideas!

I love theorizing myself too, and I’ve been wondering a bit about what the upcoming season finale of Sanders Sides will look like. Do you have any thoughts/theories on that?

I believe Joan mentioned we will have another 1/2 Asides before the finale of the current 2nd season. After FWSA (which apparently is playing an important part in the overall storyline according to the team), I feel like we might get an intense 2-vs-2 situation that could revolve around Thomas and Nico. Virgil and Roman on one side arguing Thomas is ready to start a relationship with Nico, and Patton and Janus on the other side arguing against it. Don’t know whether Nico would make a return so soon though, as it also feels Roman’s arc might become a vocal point in upcoming episodes (then again, the two could intertwine).

Anyway, do you have any ideas on how the finale would play out? Could we potentially get some Orange hints? (I am freaking out about him lately so would LOVE some more hints in next episodes lol.) Sorry if this is too long for an Ask Me Anything, still figuring out how to Tumblr. Would love to hear your thoughts!

First of all: thank you, I’m glad you like my theories! And I hope you will keep hanging around, because more will come in the future ;)

Second: don’t worry, this wasn’t a long ask :) it was nice to read your thoughts on the matter, because that’s not an easy one!

Third: o-oooh, what a question! I really love it! But I will also need some time to properly answer it, so I apologize in advance for my late reply.

Before starting, a premise. As you said, there will be two Asides, then a two-parts episode that will end season two. During every two-parts episode we visited the room of a new Core Side and considering we’re into Roman’s arc now, it’s pretty clear Roman’s room will be the next one. That also means this two-parts episode will be focused on Roman.

But Roman’s plot isn’t the only one we have now. There’s also:

The whole “Dark Sides relationship” (yes, I’m talking about you, Virgil and Janus)

Remus (his relationship with Roman, his functions, his future role in the creative process)

Logan and his issues

Considering that those are pretty big themes, I would develop them all in season three and just give some hints for now. There will be time to properly address them all later.

The only other plot I would keep is the one about Nico. During the first livesteam after FWSA, Thomas said he wanted to show how character!Thomas deals with a relationship. So yes, Nico IS a big deal, he will come back and the next big theme will probably be about him.

Having said that, here we are:

My Theories On The Next Two Asides And The Possible Ending Of Season Two.

_______________________________________

THE ASIDES

So we have three Asides and six Sides. Two of them were in the first Aside, so I would take them out for the other two.

We have now four Sides to see. Leaving one or two behind would have no sense, so I think we should see them all, two at a time.

Second Aside: Remus and Logan

Why the next Aside should be about them? Because we need to start talking about the creative process and how it isn’t just a purely “Roman” process, but something that requires Remus’ constant stream of ideas on one side and Logan’s realistic approach on the other.

However, it’s still a bit too early to talk about that: Thomas needs to grow, Roman needs to grow. For now, I would start by showing little by little how Remus’ suggestions can potentially be useful, if properly developed and tamed.

And we can do it thanks to Nico.

Some time passes between the first and the second Aside. Thomas and Nico starts to date, everything is good.

But Thomas is still insecure, because of what Virgil said to him in FWSA: “Will deceit continue to be the answer to all of your problems? Is that fair to (Nico)?”. So he tries to be as much honest as possible with Nico, to the point of ending up being brutally honest sometimes. Nico would be a bit weirded out by this behaviour, but accept it with a shrug.

So, since things are going so well, Thomas wants to make it official. To finally be boyfriends and not just two-people-who-see-each-other-and-kinda-like-each-other.

And that’s where Logan and Remus would come into play. Thomas’ thoughts about Nico would get Remus’ attention and the sudden brainstorming session would get Logan’s. The first would poke Thomas for his less chaste thoughts, all while suggesting weird, inappropriate ways Thomas can ask Nico to be boyfriends. The second wouldn’t tear down Remus’ suggestions, but work around them, show their flaws and how they cannot work.

This back and forth will lead to Thomas realizing what he can do and how. And this solution wil be the good one: Thomas would ask Nico to be boyfriends and Nico would accept.

Third Aside: Janus and Patton

Until now, we saw two kind of cooperations: Roman and Virgil’s is based on feelings and “pushing” each other through their emotions. Logan and Remus’ is a cooperation “in power”: they work well together and we just got a glimpse of how fruitful this cooperation will be in the future.

In this Aside we will see a third kind of cooperation: the most stable and balanced one. We would see how well Janus and Patton would steer Thomas together, how they’re able to talk and compromise, how they’re gradually smoothing their most extreme points of view for Thomas’ sake. And we would see them getting along well, despite their differences.

But why showing it now? Because this would be the perfect moment in time to show it. Because now Thomas is in an official relationship: things are getting real and there are A LOT of decisions that should be taken every day. Janus and Patton’s guidance would shine and prove how a cooperation between Sides isn’t just possible, but it leads to big, better results.

And it would also prove that Roman and Virgil’s fear in FWSA (that Thomas was using deceit to solve all his problems) was without merit. Janus’ power isn’t as uncontrollable as they thought. On the contrary, with Patton’s morals balancing it and when properly used, lying help Thomas achieve more. His relationship with Nico grows stronger.

Things are going well.

_______________________________________

SANDERS SIDES - ENDING OF SEASON 2 PART 1

I’ve got an idea in the back of my mind for a while about how things can get worse and it’s something like this:

As we saw in the Asides, Thomas and Nico’s relationship is going well. Things moved very fast, yes, but they really like each other, so it’s okay.

One day, Nico says he wants to introduce Thomas to his family. Despite an initial peak in anxiety (a subtle way to show us that Virgil has problems with change in general), Thomas accepts to meet them.

Thomas is getting ready with Roman and Virgil. Virgil is - guess what - anxious about this meeting, but he’s also all butterflies in the stomach. Roman is absolutely delighted and keeps circling around Thomas, suggesting him what to wear, what to say, how to move: in other words, the whole “Himbo hopelessly in love” starter pack.

For a while, the meeting is going smoothly. Then Roman and Virgil notice how, once in a while, Thomas drops a lie. Something like “The food is delicious” when it’s not or “what a beautiful dress” even if it’s hideous. And the two Sides get worried. Once again, they try to force Thomas to stop lying, because Lying Is Always Bad and there can’t be true love with lies.

Still insecure and pushed by them, Thomas stops lying. He inevitably ends up saying something offensive/extremely mean and/or he ends up acting so badly the meeting has to end. Nico finds an excuse to justify Thomas’ behaviour with his parents (something on the line of “Thomas is very tired”) and Thomas is forced to leave.

When he comes back home, the discussion is inevitable. Roman and Virgil straight up blame Thomas for lying in the first place, because he wouldn’t have messed up so much, if he was honest from start.

But when Janus appears to defend Thomas and tells them lying IS useful in some circumstances, the situation escalates quickly. The two Sides attack Janus, blaming him for everything and making heavy statements on how deeply he corrupted Thomas/Patton or something similar. On the other hand, Janus attacks them back. They throw words at each other, things are starting to get pretty serious...

And just when the situation reaches its climax, Patton appears. He takes Janus’ side, he explains why lying is useful - especially during formal circumstances like meeting your boyfriend’s family because you want to be accepted, not to be seen as a complete jerk - and he bluntly tells Morality is HIS job, not Virgil’s nor Roman’s.

In this standstill, Thomas’ phone rings. It’s Nico. He wants to talk with Thomas about the evening. Janus suggests a simple lie (I was tired/long day at work), but Nico tells Thomas this isn’t the first time something similar happened - thus reminding us about all of Thomas’ “bursts of honesty” we saw in the second Aside. Honesty that wasn’t seen as such by Nico, but as weird, mean behaviours from the guy he likes.

So when Thomas tries to justify himself with some lie, Nico stops him. He tells Thomas he thought about a lot of stuff, after the meeting ended. He thought about their relationship. He thought about Thomas’ behaviour. Maybe they should’ve dated more, before becoming boyfriends. Maybe they moved too fast. Maybe introducing Thomas to his parents was the wrong choice. Maybe they should think a bit more. And maybe they should take some time for themselves to think about what they want to do, before going further with this relationship.

Nico hangs up. Janus is speechless. Thomas is on the verge of crying. Patton is heartbroken. Virgil is shocked.

And Roman is absolutely devastated. The love he wanted so badly, this happiness he desperately needed, is now in danger. Instead of strengthening the relationship, everything he did only managed to worsen it.

Roman sinks down and locks himself in his room.

_______________________________________

SANDERS SIDES - ENDING OF SEASON 2 PART 2

We already had a Side ducking out and a Side welcoming the others in his room so, for this third time, we should try something different. And what’s better than Thomas & his Sides trying to break into Roman’s room?

Remus might appear for a while, just to help them get inside and leave. There are already a lot of issues Roman has to face now: his relationship with Remus can wait season 3.

So we have Thomas, Virgil, Patton and Janus all in Roman’s room. And the confrontation can finally take place.

Roman will talk about his issues, his low self-esteem and how he feels constrained by Patton’s morals. He will finally admit how he desperately wanted to go to the callback and how confused he was by morals, when he first sided with Janus, only to be blamed for not siding with him in the following episode. He would start seeing the problem with his black/white mentality and we would have a nice, mature moment with Patton apologizing for giving Roman this mentality - while promising he will grow to be a better Morality. We would also have Roman and Janus properly apologize to each other for everything they said and finally work things out.

And we can end it like this. It could be a nice ending, with some conflicts solved, others still to solve and a lot of hope for the future. Patton would feel even more motivated to keep up with his growth, because he’s not doing it just for himself but for Roman too. Roman would feel better, because now he knows no one will blame or mock him for his insecurities - on the contrary, they would still be by his side no matter what. Janus would learn that cooperation is necessary and that he should keep doing it, because this is the right choice.

And Virgil... well, Virgil would drop hints everywhere about his upcoming “second arc”.

In the first livestream after FWSA, Thomas hinted at a possible “second arc” for Virgil. So, since we have a whole season to fill, I would move Virgil’s arc, his confrontation with Janus and all the dark sides’ dynamics into the beginning of the third season. For now, Virgil may hint at a future confrontation with Janus that should happen in the first episode of season 3.

And what about Thomas?

Thomas would accept Nico’s decision and write him that he will take this time to become a better man. We may even close the episode with Nico smiling for this message, proving that he’s not mad at Thomas, he still loves him and that their relationship isn’t ended at all.

Then, we would have the end card.

And the end card would feature the Side I purposely took away from the whole season two finale. Logan.

After starring in the second Aside, Logan should completely disappear for the following two episodes and for the finale. No one should mention him or even think about him. He wouldn’t appear at all. Until now.

We would see him in a room, looking at the last episode of season 2 on Youtube. His face would be completely expressionless and he wouldn’t say a word, because the only voices would be the ones coming from the pc. The camera would slightly move to show a figure behind him. A small refocus of the camera on a little orange accent on this figure’s clothes.

And bam, the end. No explanations, no voices, nothing else. Just this. Because this would drive the fandom insane. Did Logan know Orange was behind him? Were they watching the episode together? Was Orange trying to kill him or what? What would happen? All questions that would accompany us while waiting for season three.

_______________________________________

And this is how I think the next Asides and the ending of season two will play out. Of course this is pure speculation and the next Aside might be about something completely new that makes my whole plot useless - but hey, that would mean a whole new theory to elaborate :D

In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts! And for all the readers, well, feel free to add your own thoughts here about how the events will play out! Maybe one of us will get them right, who knows?

[laceyeb]

Because I’m determined to be excited about this season of DWTS (and I genuinely am!), I’m going to try to post much more about this season than I did last season and start sharing my opinions now! Starting with the cast thus far of course, with my excitement ranking out of 10 because I do what I want.

Jojo Siwa and Jenna - 1000/10

As soon as I heard about Jojo being with a female pro, I started manifesting Jenna with all my heart and I am sooooo excited!!!! I’m not saying that ANY female pro on this show is even remotely homophobic in any way shape or form because I do NOT believe any of them are. HOWEVER... If I had to pick one female pro who I feel like would be most “onboard,” it would be Jenna. (Or Sharna, but I’d prefer Jojo with Jenna just because Jenna is younger.) If this sentiment/how I expressed it comes off problematic, please let me know because that is absolutely not what I intended and I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. Anyways... I don’t know if I’m anxious, excited, terrified, curious, overjoyed, etc. etc. etc. Perhaps all at once. I can’t wait to see how this goes and how it is received. I’ve already had a small rant about the target demographic of this show, but I’m choosing to be optimistic. I would definitely prefer that they don’t spend the ENTIRE season talking about the ground-breakingness. First episode, yes. Very important, very groundbreaking, etc. Then I’d like this to just be normalized. I don’t want them to be treated any different than any other couple. I just want them to be like everyone else. I don’t expect them to change the entire world, but this is still very very important and I am very very excited. And anxious. (Also not my anxiety acting up when I sent my mom the rumored list so far and her response was “I’m disgusted.” She’s apparently “disgusted” by the fact that there are people on the cast she’s never heard of. As if we haven’t been doing this for 30 seasons now.)

Sunisa Lee and Sasha - 8/10

I did not pay any attention to gymnastics during the Olympics (aside from the general news I stumbled upon on the internets) because all my waking hours were focused on soccer, but she’ll obviously be great. I would not say that Sasha is my favorite pro, but they’ll likely be a great match. I need to find some interviews of her or something to get a sense of her personality. I’m excited though because I’m sure they’ll be fun to watch.

Kenya Moore and Brandon - 2.5/10

I’ve never heard of her, so I have no opinion. I do have a soft spot for Brandon though. Is she like well known? Popular? Likable? Dancingly inclined?

Amanda Kloots and Alan - 6.5/10

You know I love Alan with my whole heart, so that automatically gives them some points. I recognize her name and that’s about all I’ve got for her. In the little bit I see (I’m just using the Kristyn Burtt article for this), she seems very excited to be there. Dream come true and all that. I will always give anyone a chance if they come in with such a good attitude.

Olivia Jade and Val - 5/10

Right in the middle 5/10 for this because I just don’t know what to expect. Like are they going to edit her packages sympathetically or actually sympathetic AND convincing? Do I feel any excitement for her to be in the spotlight like this? Not really. But she might surprise me. Val can really do no wrong, though, at the risk of starting an uprising, I’ve kinda lost interest in him as a pro as of late. No real reason. Just feel like there’s other pros I care more about/am more invested in.

Matt James and Lindsay - 5.5/10

I’m very excited to have Lindsay back, so let’s start there! It feels like it’s been about 27 years since we’ve seen her, despite the fact that she posts about 4 hours of IG stories a day and I happily watch every second. I don’t know a whole lot about Matt aside from the fact that he’s a Bachelor guy. I don’t think I’m exactly thrilled about what little I’ve seen and I don’t know what he’s like personality-wise. But at least Lindsay is back and seems happy so far.

Iman Shumpert and Daniella - 2/10

I’ve never heard of this guy and could not care less about basketball, so I don’t even have a reason to get excited. I’ve got nothing against Daniella at all, we just don’t know her that well yet. Is he well-known/likable/have a likelihood of dancing skills?

Jimmie Allen and Emma - 9/10

I don’t know a great deal about him personality-wise either, but I’m already excited! I love Emma, I love a country singer on DWTS, I love getting to see someone on the show who I already know. Very excited all around! Can he dance? Who knows! But I look forward to finding out! He’s got a few great songs that I absolutely adore and I need to make a playlist! I think they are going to make a good pair and I’m glad he’s with a pro I really like (aka not Cheryl I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️).

Brian and Sharna - 11/10

Sharna. Sharna’s man. Sharna in love. Sharna happy. What else could I possibly ask for?! I wondered if they would partner them together or not. In a non-pandemic world, maybe not. What with married pros living apart from each other for the season, they would have to too if they weren’t partnered together. Not that they deserve any special treatment. But if they don’t HAVE to be apart, why have them be apart you know? It’s going to be really entertaining to watch Sharna post about her “partner” for the next two weeks when we all know it’s him. Believe it or not, I have not followed their relationship really super close and they also don’t post an excessive amount together (which I have no problem with because people are entitled to their privacy and what not), so I’m excited to get to see so much more of them together! If Sharna’s happy, I’m happy. Can he dance do we think?!

Christine Chiu and Pasha - 1/10

Uninterested. No idea who she is and like with Daniella, I just don’t know Pasha enough to get that excited. Again: Is she likable/popular/dance-inclined? Beats me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mel C. And Gleb - 4/10

I like Gleb more than most do, but I’m not obsessed by any means. (I mean, he’s not Sharna.) Nothing against any Spice Girls, but I’m fairly neutral on the whole. She will likely be pretty good and probably fairly popular. I look forward to seeing how she does, but I’m pretty much take it or leave it with them. It’s entirely possible she could be the dark horse I fall in love with by like week 3 and then decide she’s my favorite of the season.

Melora Hardin and Artem - 10/10

I’m VERY excited. I’ve already posted about her a bit, but oh boy I’m excited! I’ve seen exactly ZERO episodes of The Office, but I know her and LOVE her from The Bold Type aka one of my most important Gay Awakenings™️. (There were several...) I love me some Artem and he will be a great match with her as well. She’s definitely going to be one of the older pros this season (though I think she’s in her 50s which is decidedly not OLD old), but I know she has Broadway experience. I would love a week 1 foxtrot to put her solidly in a 3 way tie for third place with 4 7s and then coming in week 2 with like a samba that she absolutely nails (8,7,7,8) to prove she really can do it all. (It’s possible I’ve been watching this show for too damn long.)

Mike Mizanin - 1.5/10

I will not call him “The Miz.” I do not know this man and I do not care. Put him with Cheryl and send them home week 1. Ok wait. I’ll be nice. I definitely know NOTHING about him, but maybe he’s a fun and pleasant person. We’ll see. And if he is, I might entertain the possibility of calling him “The Miz.” (Whenever they have anyone from like WWE, UFC, boxing, or anything like that, I just do not care because I don’t know anything about them. But Paige VanZant was my actual Gay Awakening™️, so I try to keep an open mind.)

[ruzek-halstead]

dead of night

pairing: luke patterson x julie molina

written based on prompt:

"it’s three am, in the dead of winter, some idiot pulled/set off the fire alarm and i am being very vocal about how i’m gonna make that dumbass pay"

university au

masterlist || ao3 || twitter profiles

       When Julie heard the blaring alarm blasting throughout the room, she nearly cried.

It was midterm season, and she had been up late until two a.m. cramming for her exam later that day. She wasn't one to normally rely on cramming as her sole source of studying, but she had a paper due the previous day and another midterm the day before. She could only focus on one thing at a time. It pained her though, because Julie was a meticulous planner. She liked to have everything written down on a calendar and lay out a set number of dedicated time she would have to work on each assignment.

Nothing went as planned this time.

She had finally dragged herself to bed at around 2:15 a.m., with a set alarm for early in the morning to go over her notes some more. She never actually woke up on time for these said alarms, but it was the effort that counted. At least, that's what she constantly told herself.

It felt like she had only been asleep for all of twenty minutes when she was suddenly being ripped away from her REM sleep, and she was ready to kill someone.

"What the hell?" Julie hissed, throwing her duvet off her body violently. She could see her roommate Flynn (and best friend - they'd known each other since diapers) pulling on her shoes. Julie checked her phone from the bedside table and noted the time was now 3:26 a.m. She'd hardly been asleep for an hour.

Flynn opened their room door and was met with a number of their fellow students moving rapidly throughout the hallway. "Oh shit," she muttered, turning back to Julie. "Jules, get your ass out here. I'm not sure this is a drill."

Julie let out a loud groan, threw on her pair of black converse and booked it out the door after Flynn. She didn't even have time to grab a sweater like Flynn did, and only realized when she was halfway out the building, she was wearing a NYU short sleeve t-shirt and a pair of thin leggings.

"Someone better be on fire," she growled under her breath. She and Flynn were huddled together off to the side, trying not to freeze their asses off. New York was known for their particularly cold winters; it was mid-November, and this was no exception. The ground was littered with a light dusting of snow, and every time Julie breathed, she could see her breath.

She had never felt the urge to commit a felony such as murder until this moment.

Julie was so angry, she didn't notice the cluster of students hanging off to their right. She only noticed when she picked up on something particularly interesting one of them said.

"For the love of god, Luke!" The tall, blonde one yelled (Julie thought he was trying to whisper, but he obviously failed miserably). He also hit the shaggy-haired brunette (she assumed that was Luke) upside the head. "Dude, you set off the fire alarm! Our whole residence is outside in the snow!"

Julie's eyes widened and her grip on Flynn's arm tightened. Flynn groaned, absentmindedly shrinking closer to the ground.

"Alex's right. That guy's not even wearing pants!" The other brunette piped in, pointedly avoiding looking at the student in question. All three boys were dressed appropriately; pants, sweaters and beanies. Almost as if this was planned or something.

It only made Julie's blood boil even hotter.

Luke rolled his eyes, latching onto the third boys' shoulder. "Relax, Reggie. It was an accident."

"They're going to eat you alive if they find out," Alex added sassily. "I'll help them. You screwed up my beauty sleep, bro."

Luke snorted. "What beauty sleep?"

"Don't test me right now!" Alex snapped. "You know what this dry cold does to my skin!"

Luke nodded with a pout, seemingly sympathetic. "Stop being such a baby and live a little! This is sort of hilarious."

Reggie bit his lip and averted his eyes from Alex, who looked like he was about to rip his own hair out. "Dude, I'm going to strangle you if you don't stop talking."

"Oh my god," Julie hissed at Flynn. "Are you hearing this? These idiots did this because they're idiots! What the hell?"

Flynn chanced a look behind them, surveying the three boys. "Hmm, they're kind of cute," she said without thinking. Julie was quick to throw her murderous glare in her direction. "Wait no — that came out wrong..."

"I'm going to kill him."

Flynn had to grab Julie's arm and yank her back.

"Julie! I don't have the money to bail you out of jail right now! Don't do me like this!"

Julie huffed. "I have to say something. I have an exam later and I should be sleeping!"

"Just no felonies, okay?" Flynn pleaded with puppy dog eyes. Julie conceded with a nod.

Whirling around, Julie marched up to 'Luke' and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around and the smile he was sporting dropped from his lips; now he just looked confused. "Uh — can I help you?"

"Probably not," she started bitterly, "but I just happened to overhear that you're the idiot who pulled the fire alarm and I would genuinely like to know what in the hell would possess you to do such a thing on a fucking Tuesday during midterms?"

Julie was now yelling and Luke looked like a terrified deer in headlights.

His friends were holding onto each other with wide eyes.

"Uh — well —" He stammered on embarrassingly.

"Some of us have shit to do! I have a midterm in a few hours and instead of sleeping, I'm stuck out here with you and believe me, I'm trying really hard not to punch you in the throat right now."

Luke blinked, his mouth opening and closing because he didn't know what he could possibly say to make this situation better.

Alex did, however.

"Do it," Alex blurted, "punch him!"

Luke whirled around, looking affronted. "Dude!"

"Don't 'dude' me," Alex sassed. "You deserve it."

Luke turned back to face Julie with a newly apologetic expression as he tried to explain himself. "Listen," he started and by the furious look on her face, he could already tell it was the wrong thing to say. "Shit, I'm sorry! I just — I swear, this was all a misunderstanding. I really didn't mean to do it; it just happened."

"Buddy," Reggie leaned in to whisper in his ear. "This doesn't sound nearly as good as you think it does."

Luke rolled his eyes, pushing his friend back into Alex. "I'm sorry; what can I do to make this better?" For the first time since she started yelling at him, he actually looked at her.

She looked absolutely exhausted and it only made Luke feel guiltier. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her glasses were low on the bridge of her nose. He took note of her outfit and the thin t-shirt; she was obviously freezing and the goosebumps on her arms proved that. Immediately, he shrugged out of his hoodie.

"Um — here, take this," he shoved his NYU hoodie in her direction. She looked down at with furrowed brows, and then back at him. Her glare was still in full force, and Luke admired her ability to look so angry, but so adorable at the same time. "It's the least I can do."

Julie looked down at the sweater again, scoffed in annoyance and walked away.

Flynn was holding back a laugh as she made eye contact with Luke. He looked exasperated as he hobbled after Julie.

"Wait! Just — hold on a second!"

Julie didn't feel like stopping for him and her angry speed-walking was finally sending some blood back into her arms. When Luke grabbed her arm to spin her around, she turned to him with a ferocious glare. "Shit — okay, sorry," he dropped her arm sheepishly, "should've asked. I'm sorry. I just — please, take this."

Once again, he offered her his grey hoodie.

She really wanted to stand her ground and make a point. But she was genuinely freezing, and her pride could only control so much. With a sigh, she grabbed the hoodie and slipped it over her head. It fit baggy, but it was so warm and her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head. She didn't even notice that this now left Luke in a measly t-shirt.

"Again, I'm really sorry," he apologized again, biting his lip. "You have a midterm later today and this was so stupid of me."

Julie took a deep breath; she felt calmer now. Probably because she had already yelled at him, and she was tired and she didn't have the energy to stay annoyed for much longer. Plus, he had already apologized like six times.

"It's fine. I may have overreacted a little bit."

Luke chuckled nervously. "No, you definitely didn't. I've always been told I'm a little — uh, reckless."

"And I guess I've been told I'm a bit uptight," she admitted. Julie had no idea why she was being so honest with a guy who's head she bit off five minutes ago; but he had really beautiful eyes, like puppy dog eyes and she couldn't help but get sucked in. "I'm Julie, by the way."

"Yeah?" He was suddenly hyper aware of how gorgeous she was and for the first time, she wasn't glaring at him. Holy shit, was she making googly eyes at him? "I mean — we can always treat that. I happen to know a few rascally boys that can help."

Julie let out a gentle laugh. God, this night really got away from her. She could see the firefighters start to exit the building, seemingly finding no sign of a fire and any other issue. "I think I'm hardwired like that, unfortunately."

The students around them slowly started filing back into the building and Luke realized he only had a few minutes left. "Um, well — again, I'm sorry. And I hope your midterm goes well." He originally intended to ask for her number, but of course, that's what came out instead.

"Thanks," she replied softly, thumbing at the sleeves of his sweater. "I can wash this sweater and get it back to you."

Julie gave him an opening and he knew it.

"Of course. Is it alright if we exchange numbers?"

Julie was surprised at the warmth that immediately spread through her chest. She could also feel the smile stretching across her lips through no effort of her own. "Yeah, that'd be great," she responded, "as long you promise not to wake me up at an ungodly time of the morning."

"No?" Luke raised an eyebrow, shooting her a smirk. He could see the fire in Julie's eyes and he knew the feeling was mutual. "But I thought that was our thing."

"If that's the case, our thing will also be me punching you in the throat."

x

i wanted to make julie sassier and make luke work for it a bit more but i got tired and i really wanted to post this asap so i kinda wrapped it up early. i hope it still ended okay???

[itmighthavebeenintentional]

Detours on the Road so Far - Ch 1

Detours on the Road so Far

- Or - 

Why Sam and Dean Need Actual Adult Supervision

Summary: Shenanigans. Lots of them. Crack. Probably some pie. (SERIES SUMMARY)

Warning: Shenanigans. Unintentional drug use. Crackfic. 

Rating: Let’s call this one at least Teen, if not Mature. See Warning above.

Word Count: 1700-ish

Author’s Note: THIS IS CRACK: unapologetically, unequivocally, utterly crack. Some of it makes little sense. Some of it makes fun of our favorite characters. I love these guys; this is just for fun. The stories are not in any particular order. Time frames will be referenced at the beginning of each chapter. Also, I was having some formatting issues, so if this ends up looking really wonky, please let me know, and I’ll do what I can.

This story is dedicated to a wonderful friend who let me behind the scenes into their writing process and watch the development of a wonderful story, a friend who fiercely has their folks’ backs and is the first on the scene if support and flails are needed. To a writer who can write action, romance, intrigue, and brothers being brothers. @stunudo​ , I am so glad I met you, and even gladder you didn’t absolutely fire me for all the awful puns.

ItMightHaveBeenIntentional’s Masterlist

Chapter 1: Everything is Awesome (set sometime in season 8...ish)

Sam yawns as he shuffles down the hall, scratching the back of his head and grinning to himself. It still amazes him, even after the months they’ve been here, to have an actual home and comfortable bed to come back to after their days and weeks on the road. Even the hours crammed in the car with his brother and his painfully slow evolution of music is more bearable, knowing there are clean sheets, peace (relative peace, anyway) and quiet, and their very own refrigerator waiting for them at the other end.

He pauses as a new sound drifts towards him from the kitchen, and he frowns. It’s not a bad sound, exactly; he knows exactly what it is. But Dean doesn’t tend to sing this early in the morning, and not ever in the kitchen. It’s not the most wrong thing Sam has ever heard, but it’s strange enough for him to take notice.

Well, he can’t be possessed, so...hex bag, maybe? Their last case in Colorado didn’t involve witches, but there was always the chance they’d run across one without realizing and pissed him or her off somehow.

Dammit.

 He cautiously enters the kitchen, hoping that he’s just assuming worst case scenario. He is greeted by the sight of Dean seated at the table, staring intently at a large, clear glass coffee mug as he adds creamer to the steaming brew. 

“Morning,” Sam says, stretching. Dean waves distractedly, his concentration focused entirely on his coffee. At least that part is normal. He doesn’t usually add creamer, but it’s not unheard of, so Sam simply shrugs as he turns to the fridge. 

At least the singing stopped, or (better yet) maybe he just imagined it in the first place. Maybe he just hadn’t been fully awake yet. Sam opens the refrigerator, his eyes already moving over the contents to find something for breakfast that won’t add to Dean’s cholesterol issues his older brother tacitly refuses to acknowledge.

Except there aren’t any contents to peruse. The entire refrigerator is completely empty. Not even a wrapper.

 He turns back to Dean, the questions dying on his tongue as he watches his brother continue to add creamer to his coffee, dark brown and beige swirling in the clear mug. Dean finally sets the creamer down, watching the coffee cup as if he’s been interrogating it and it’s finally about to break.

 “Sammy,” he says, his eyes glued to the mug, “we are never using anything but clear coffee cups again. This shit is magic.”

 What?

“Seriously, Sam,” he continues, his eyes lit with pure, childlike innocence and curiosity. “It just...it mixes itself. Food doesn’t do things to itself, Sam. I mean, yeah, Jell-O moves by itself, but no other food does that. But Jell-O is evil, anyway, so yeah. Wait, except for Jell-O shots. Jell-O shots are awesome. But otherwise, Jell-O is a slime creature sent by Eve to torment small children into thinking they’re getting a real dessert when it’s really just ectoplasm’s third cousin. Twice removed.”

 And then Dean giggles.

 Sam stares at his brother, his jaw hanging down, absolutely clueless as to how to proceed. First, Dean has never said that many words together in his entire life. Second, what the fuck? Third, what. The. Ever. Living. Fuck.

 Dean adds more creamer.

 “I think...I think that’s enough, Dean. You’re going to spill your coffee.”

 Horror washes over Dean’s face, and he slams the creamer container on the table, dropping down to eye his coffee along the top edge. “Sacrilege! I wouldn’t do that, Sam, you know I’d never waste coffee like that!”

 Sam knows he needs to close his mouth at some point, but it’s just too damned early to go with the flow on this shit.

 “Dean, are you feeling okay? I know we got back pretty late last night, but you’re acting a little off.” But his brother isn’t acting tired, not exactly. Sam realizes that his brother is also still wearing yesterday’s traveling clothes.

 “Dean, did you sleep in your clothes?”

 Dean reaches out a finger and slowly pokes his coffee mug. The cream swirls lightly through the dark liquid, further mixing the two, and Dean...giggles.

 Again.

 “It’s kinda sad when they finally get all mixed together,” he says, frowning a little. Then his face brightens as he grabs the mug. “But now I can drink it, so that's less sad, right? I mean, you can’t really be sad drinking coffee, Sam. You should drink more coffee; you’ll be less sad all the time.”

 Sam’s jaw clenches involuntarily as he watches Dean alternate between sips and sloshing the cup around to watch the contents. His brother is obviously not in any distress, but spells have started out like this before, seemingly harmless and then, before you know it, hearts are exploding or organs disintegrate or something else equally nasty.

 “I can hear the colors, Sammy,” Dean murmurs, tapping the mug gently. “I think...what, would you say? Beige? Ecru? Does it sound like ecru to you?”

 Sam was unaware Dean even knew those colors existed, much less how to pronounce them. Luckily, since Dean is wearing yesterday’s clothes, it makes looking for the hex bag easier. After two unsuccessful attempts to get Dean to go through his own pockets (“But the coffee isn’t in my pockets, Sam, it’s in my hands. Why the hell would I put down the coffee to look through my pockets?”) Sam gives up with a sigh that holds the burdens of the world in it and searches his brother’s clothes himself.

 “Knock if off! That tickles; you’re gonna make me spill the coffee!”

 For fuck’s sake.

 His search proves frustratingly fruitless. But if the hex bag isn’t on Dean, then what? A spell? A curse? What the hell is going on?

 Sam’s stomach growls, adding another question to the long list. Where the hell is all the food? Well, that, at least, he can ask Dean and maybe get a straight answer.

 “Dean, do you know why the fridge is empty? It was pretty stocked when we left. Where’d all the food go?”

 Dean grins and points down at the stomach of his shirt, which is a bit rounder than normal. “In mah belleh.”

 When Sam’s face finally emerges from his palms, he finds Dean staring at him with alarming concern.

 “Are you hungry, Sam? We can go to town and get breakfast! That would be awesome, breakfast is awesome! Do you want pancakes or waffles? Nevermind, you’re huge, you should eat both. You need to eat more, Sam, you’re too skinny.”

 “Seriously, dude, are you feeling okay? You’re acting...weird.”

 “You know what’s weird, Sammy? I ate two pies, a block of cheese, and all those protein bar things you hide in the back of the pantry. And by the way, you don’t need to hide those things from me anymore, they are absolutely vile. But then I had those bags of chips, and...what else. Oh, yeah, there was some bologna, I think, and I ate the bacon, and whatever was in the vegetable drawer, which actually ended up not being horrible. But I’m still kinda hungry.”

 Sam is speechless. It doesn’t happen often, but apparently it can still happen, even after all these decades of living with his brother. He just can’t wrap his head around-

 Wait, what pie?

 “Dean, we didn’t have any pie before we left, and we didn’t stop on the way home yesterday. What pie did you eat?”

 “Sarah gave me two pies as a thank you. It would have been rude not to eat them. I had a piece last night after you crashed, and it was -awesome- so I had another piece, and then I had to try the other pie, and it was friggin delicious, and then I looked up and some asshole had eaten the rest of both the pies.” He eyes Sam suspiciously for a minute, clutching his coffee mug a little closer to himself.

 “And then I got hungry, so I had a snack.”

 “What was in the pies, Dean?”

 “Dunno,” he says, slurping coffee obnoxiously loudly. “Deliciousness. Sarah didn't say what kind they were, just said they were her way of saying thanks for getting rid of the ghost. Called it her ‘University of Colorado Specials’ or something like that. But those pies were made of magic, Sam, delicious, delicious magic.”

“What else did Sarah say, Dean?”

The elder Winchester thinks long and hard for a moment, frowning. “She didn’t. She winked a lot, though. Do you think she had something stuck in her eye?”

 Sam leans on his hands to keep from using them on his brother. He takes a deep, steadying breath and tries again.

 “Can you tell me anything else about the pies, Dean? Anything at all?”

 He thinks for a long moment, then his face melts into a dreamy expression Sam is pretty sure he’s never seen on his brother’s face before. “One of ‘em was this lemon thing that was like a citrus tree starred in a porn. The flavor just explodes in your mouth like-”

 “I don’t need to know!”

 But Dean is still going.

 “A firecracker, Sam, a Roman Candle of delicious. And the other was this...chocolatey, coffee, creamy thing. Coffee, Sam! Coffee and chocolate in a pie! They can do that now! What’ll these crazy college kids think of next?”

 He grins at Sam, taking another long slurp of coffee. Sam bites his lip, considering Dean for a long silent moment. He’s pretty sure now that Dean will be just fine and more than likely back to normal by the end of the day...maybe.

 “I’m gonna go check in with Sarah. Just make sure she hasn’t...erm...seen anything else weird.”

 “But, Sam, we ghosted that ghost!” Dean stops, thinks about what he just said, and giggles.

 Again.

 “I just want to see...how much...we ghosted that ghost. And maybe get the recipes for those pies. I’m sure everything’s fine. You know me, I just like to be sure.”

 “That’s awesome, Sam, you’re so awesome! We could make the pies together! And you could even eat some! You still need to eat more. Can we go get breakfast now?”

 Sigh.

 “Yeah, Dean. We’ll go get breakfast. I’ll call Sarah on the way.”

 Dean grins, his whole face lighting up, and Sam allows himself to see at least a little humor in the situation.

 And then Dean starts singing that song from the damned Lego movie, and Sam. 

Just. 

Can’t.

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - 2019 Long Shows

Dear Lord. This is where all the good shows went.

2019 was absolutely awful on a season-by-season basis (except for Summer, anyway), but that’s mostly because most of the best shows ran longer than what has become the industry norm of a single season. And indeed, heading into the new decade, we seem to be seeing a major renaissance for two- or split-cour shows, given the massive success seen by shows like My Hero Academia, Food Wars, and Haikyuu!!..particularly in comparison to the new perpetual-runners Black Clover (which, despite running for over two straight years now, is still not the most popular show of Fall 2017 by viewer count on MAL, and sits at a ‘meh’ 7.2), and even worse, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which is faring even worse on both counts even though it premiered two whole seasons earlier and the fact that it is the sequel to Naruto.

As a reminder of my rules, the shows on this list may or may not have premiered in 2019, but they finished airing this year. The split-cour rule (stating that I judge any show that “finishes” and then premieres a “new season” within six months) didn’t come into play for any 2018 shows, but it will for Ascendance of a Bookworm and Food Wars this year, at the very least.

With that being said! 25 shows running longer than thirteen episodes finished airing this year after being simulcast, and of those…

I skipped 6:

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part V: Golden Wind, Fairy Tail Final Series, A Certain Magical Index III, Ace Attorney Season 2 and Cardfight Vanguard (2018) because I either dropped or have not finished their previous (also long-running) seasons.

Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS because the simulcast started late and also it was bad.

I Dropped 8:

Worst Long Show of 2019: The Rising of the Shield Hero

It’s always fun to see that a show you hated from its first episode only gets more and more distasteful afterwards, but it’s less fun when a service you have to promote because they’re the legal option is forced to shove it down your throat because they had a hand in making it and it became a massive hit that your friends don’t see any issue with because the author wrote a story that justifies its hero’s patronage of the slave industry. This is my punishment for watching the whole first season of The Asterisk War before I knew better.

YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world

A confusing mess from the word go, this ill-fated adaptation of a visual novel from the nineties seems like it was mostly made to cash in on the popularity of the Science Adventure series, but failed to present itself in a way that made an ounce of sense or looked remotely interesting.

Fairy Gone

Am I really the only one that saw potential here? I mean yes, it ended up a boring slog that didn’t care to move its plot in a meaningful direction, but the first episode was at least cool. I guess Izetta: The Last Witch should have taught me better.

We Never Learn

I know that I’m in the minority in terms of the male demographic for shows like this, but honestly, how are bland harem shows still this easy to market? A copy-pasted protagonist with copy-pasted waifus drag down what could be an interesting setup for a story. 

Karakuri Circus

The first episode of this one had me excited, the second and third left me bored to tears and wondering if it would continue to look uglier by the minute. I haven’t seen a three-cour show look this janky since Knight in the Area.

Radiant

Having heard good things about this show from my cohorts, I do feel bad for saying I’ll probably never return to Radiant, but when you have a show that’s notably written by a European author...and it turns out to be a frustratingly standard shounen affair with middling production values, well, you can see my earlier annoyance with Cannon Busters.

Ensemble Stars

This one still gets to me. It almost looked like a male-idol show I would finally be able to get behind, what with its rebellious attitude and oddball setting...that is, until the setting got to be too unbelievable and the show began drowning its audience in side-characters because they had to squeeze every husbando from the mobile game into the story, and it all began to resemble UtaPri a little too much...but without the production value.

Boogiepop and Others

This was a hard drop, honestly. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I felt four episodes in, before concluding that I was bored and not particularly invested, two things that should never describe the experience of watching a Madhouse show. The fact that this was the project responsible for ruining One Punch Man only made it worse. There’s a slow burn, and then there’s walking away without turning the stove on.

And I Finished 11 (holy crap that’s like three hundred episodes just on their own).

That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime (5/10 & 1/10)

I’ll be honest, I had forgotten just how livid I was with the ending (and especially the sad excuse of a recap episode) of Slimesekai, and reading back through my write-up of it, it’s certainly coming back to me. While this year had bigger demons to fight (Shield Hero), the bad taste that Slime left me with hasn’t really faded, and the wasted premise bugs me to this day.

Hinomaru Sumo (7/10)

What Hinomaru lacked in production value, it happily made up for in good execution and earnest heart. I can’t believe this came from the same studio as Conception, Try Knights and 7Seeds, but if they can only get out one good show a year, I’m glad that we got one bringing attention to a sport that many will joke about but few understand, respect and appreciate.

Kono Oto Tomare (7/10)

Speaking of giving love to traditional Japanese culture, here’s a decent-if-unoriginal show about a local high school koto club down on their luck, and the troubled teens coming together under a scrappy protagonist to bring it back to life. Kono Oto Tomare doesn’t have much that you haven’t seen before, but a decently-executed club drama with Your Lie In April-inspired musical performances is more than enough to keep me interested, and since Forest of Piano kinda crashed and burned under the weight of its own self-importance this year, it was nice to have an alternative.

MIX: Meisei Story (8/10)

It’s hard to judge MIX next to the other shows on this list because it’s almost too old-school for its own good, revelling in an eighties storytelling style that didn’t end up jiving with a wide audience this year. But at the same time, its fun character dynamics (and a very good dub from Funimation, despite them saying they’d never touch sports anime again) were very entertaining to watch, even if it didn’t focus as much on the sport it was supposedly about as much as I’d have liked.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (8/10)

I fully admit that I’m very salty about the fact that this won Show of the Decade in Funimation’s poll while it was still on and I thought there were hundreds of more deserving shows, but I can’t deny that Demon Slayer was a very enjoyable experience, albeit one that I had notable problems with. That’s not gonna stop me from getting mad when it sweeps the Anime Awards in a few weeks, though.

Fire Force (8/10)

I was very afraid that David Productions wouldn’t be able to match the energy of Studio Bones’ adaptation of Ohkubo’s previous work, Soul Eater, but I was happy to be proven wrong. Even if the last few episodes contained a bit too much infodumping, it was all sandwiched between jaw-dropping fight scenes that proved that the people who make Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure can still handle the reins of a more traditional action show.

Fruits Basket 1st Season (8/10)

I know that my score for this one is a bit lower than others, but I think that Fruits Basket did pretty well in its first season, considering that it was largely spent setting up future storylines and adapting the part of the manga we’d all seen before, but with much higher production value. I’ve been familiar with this part of the story for over a decade, and the scene with Tohru and Kyo (you know the one) still made me cry. Now, we get the real plot going.

Dr Stone (9/10)

A great start to a totally new spin on shounen, Dr Stone gives me hope for survival in the post-Shokugeki world in which we’ll soon live, as a show that wears its research on its sleeve. A complex plot weaving interesting characters in and out of a narrative surrounding a philosophical battle where both sides actually do have fair points (even if one of them is going about it in a pretty cruel manner). More please.

Vinland Saga (9/10)

Once again, a great start to what will hopefully be years of quality storytelling, Vinland Saga made it seem like it was dragging in the middle only to reveal just what its slow burn had been leading up to, with twist-heavy storytelling and a fantastic cast to match the high visual quality of its brutal battles.

Run With the Wind (9/10)

It’s not often that Production I.G. gets to make a complete, fully-realized show anymore, and this one was a glorious reminder of the potential of the studio in the TV space, and a great rebound for the director of Joker Game. It’s gorgeous to look at, the cast is wonderful, and the story is both realistic and idealistic in a satisfying balance. It’s a miserable process to get to the finish line in real life, but sitting back and watching this was nothing but a treat. At least, until a minor fumble at the end.

Best Long Show of 2019: Dororo (9/10)

Speaking of complete stories, Tezuka Productions and MAPPA teamed up for a breathtaking adaptation of an underappreciated Tezuka classic that expands upon the story in exactly the right way to create a thrilling, savage, beautiful masterpiece that focuses a laser-sharp eye into the relationship between two characters in their journey to, literally and figuratively, become complete people. Also, that opening was killer.

And that’s it! That’s the fun list. Next comes the painful one. Stay tuned for the trash heap.

[goutheswimqueen]

thoughts on free! s3? what do you think went wrong/right/what you wish it would’ve went etc

I could quite literally go on FOREVER about season 3 and y’know what you asked for it so I’m just gonna ramble until I feel good about it lmao.

Now first I have to say that I wholeheartedly love season 3 with the deepest passion in my bones. I genuinely didn’t think that we were ever going to GET a season 3 in the first place, so the fact that it exists is just... so meaningful to me as someone whose favorite franchise is Free! and someone whose life was saved by these dumbass swimmers. 

I will say that season 3 isn’t what I wanted from it. I wanted it to be centered on Nagisa, Rei, Gou, Sousuke, Ai, and Momo. I love Haru with my entire being but I really really REALLY wanted to see a series centered on the Iwatobi trio. They’re so underrated and I felt like they were lowkey sidelined in Eternal Summer so I wanted to see them shine and grow together in their third year. But of course Kyoani has just been setting them aside more and more as time has gone on so I feel like that was nothing but a hopeless dream lmao. I have a lot of headcanons and AUs about what went on with everyone who was still in Iwatobi while the rest of the gang was in Tokyo. The little bits that Kyoani gave us of them were beautiful, I will admit. Episode 11 is my FAVORITE episode of season 3. The fact that Rei WON A NATIONAL RACE??? Like, come on. I wish we could’ve seen the work that he put in to even be able to do that in the first place. That moment where he ponders what he’ll be doing after high school really gets to me too because I would love to know what the fuck he and the others are gonna do. I wish we could’ve seen the moments in their third year that led to whatever decisions they will make. I wanted to see the Iwatobi trio go through the absolute wringer together lmao. I wanted angst I wanted to see their journey that led them to where they are now. I wanted to see more of them growing with the new trio too. I wanted to learn more about Gou and Sousuke’s past through their interactions in her third year. If the season was longer I feel like they could’ve had it be half the Iwatobi arc and half the Tokyo arc, y’know what I mean?

Nonetheless, I love season 3 for what it was. I’m so beyond happy that they brought in Asahi, Ikuya, Natsuya, and Nao, you have no idea. The High Speed! characters hold such a special place in my heart. I wish Asahi would’ve had more of an arc/character development though, and I wish Nao was more included. I think Natsuya’s character arc was my favorite of the whole season. Seeing the trash traveling man that he had become and his interactions with Rin and Sousuke really stuck with me for some reason. And that line that he had when he was talking to Ikuya and fucking crying like, “a dream to fight for my strength and pride, plain and simple.” That shit fucked me up bro. We all meme about Natsuya a lot but I feel like there’s a lot of deeper shit there that’s yet to be explored. When we met Ryuuji I was genuinely convinced that he was Ikuya and Natsuya’s father because it would explain a lot about Natsuya’s behavior. A trash dad who wasn’t really there for his family and just kinda fucked off to travel the world training swimmers until he found one that met his expectations? That would’ve added so much to Natsuya and Ikuya’s background stories and their character arcs. Like can you imagine? Natsuya not initially going into professional swimming because the fact that his father LEFT to find a swimmer to train instead of training his own damn son because he didn’t see that potential in him??? Natsuya being inspired by Ikuya to work hard to prove their father wrong??????? Nao punching Ryuuji square in the nose the moment he sees him???????????? A fucking gold mine that Kyoani could’ve dove into, but no he’s related to Shizuru lmao. 

I could go on forever about Natsuya in season 3 cuz I just really, really loved his arc but I’m gonna keep rolling haha. Hiyori was probably the most unexpected thing from season 3 and I just... love him so much. Like his absolute snakey behavior gave me the same chills that that scene of Sousuke pushing Haru against a vending machine in episode 2 of Eternal Summer gave me. I LOVE that shit. The Free! antagonists just keep getting bitchier and bitchier lmao. I also relate to Hiyori on a deeper level. I too have been selfishly protective of my best friends in a way that... really just wasn’t the way to go. Like jeez Hiyori I understand how you feel but maybe let them talk to Ikuya at least once??? Chill with the possessiveness? Idk I know Hiyori is the source of a lot of discourse lol, but that’s just how I feel because of my own similar experiences with myself and others who’ve acted in a similar way. I do wish his beef at the other boys wasn’t solved by just fuckin... swimming with Haru lmfaoooooo. Like I wish they just would’ve added more to his conversation with Ikuya when he asked him to join the relay with him.

I was quite satisfied with Rin’s arc in season 3. It just like, made perfect sense to me I guess lmao. I know he wasn’t there much but I don’t know what else they could or should have done with him, if that makes sense. The fact that his coach is Ai’s uncle is just the best thing ever too lmao.

I was also very happy with Haru’s arc actually!! Seeing how much he has grown makes me feel like a proud mom. Ya boi is tired of the bullshit and the miscommunication haha. Of course I’ll always wish he didn’t go into pro swimming but alas, gotta deal with it I guess. I love his dynamic with Ryuuji and the way that he has dealt with pro swimming though. And his decision to go into the individual medley absolutely made me lose my mind. I didn’t know I needed to see him swim the other strokes until it happened and I just, I loved that so muchhh. 

I alsooooo enjoyed Ikuya’s arc. Seeing someone from your past again like that can 100% have that effect on you. I just kinda wish we understood more about like, why he just randomly faints while swimming sometimes? I feel like they didn’t solidly explain it? Cuz I don’t think it was always from overworking himself. Idk maybe I’m just a dumbass and remembering incorrectly.

Kisumi deserved better. YOU CAN’T TELL ME THIS BOY DOESN’T HAVE UNDERLYING ANGST THAT KYOANI HASN’T DELVED INTO. He gave us that line of “We’ll never make friends like the ones we had back then” and then him worrying about whether or not there was anything he could do to help with the Ikuya situation. This boy feels left out and you can’t tell me otherwise and it is 100% because of the fact that he’s not a swimmer. Someone give this boy a basketball team that he can experience that kind of bond with PLEASE. I AM BEGGING ON MY KNEES!!!

Makoto also deserved better. Like, okay, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved his arc with the kids and Nao and all that. I love his new dream. BUT!!! Kyoani has yet to go into depth with his insecurities with Haru. I’m still not over that damn dream he had on that bus. All we got in season 3 was Makoto’s aNGSTY looks when it came to his relationship with Haru lmao. GIVE MAKOTO A BIGGER ROLE AND A BIGGER ARC DAMMIT. He’s one of the most popular characters I’m surprised his angst hasn’t been touched on more. This dumbass just needs to stop holding things in i SWEAR TO GAWD.

I thought the inclusion of Albert was kinda weird, dunno what the point of him is aside from making Haru shake in his bones. Kinjou is definitely interesting. He scares me lmao, but I am here for that. Give us an antagonist who is just absolutely unhinged at this point LMAO. I have some headcanons about him too but I feel like the new movie coming up is going to crush my dreams soooo yeah.

Isuzu is a goddess. I’m so happy she’s finally here and she has a name and a FACE. We learned that the Mikoshiba bros had a sister before we even knew that Momo existed lmao (Sei mentioned her in a drama cd from season 1). I almost thought they were never going to give her to us but she’s here and she’s beautiful and she’s everything that I wanted her to be. I’m so happy she thinks Gou is cute and that GOU LIKES HER and I just ugh yes thank you so much Kyoani I never expected that we’d actually get this but I’m so happy we have it. I hope she goes to Hidaka Uni and gets to race Haru like she wanted haha. And I’m so happy we got to see her swim! Our first in-anime female swimmer with a name. I love her.

Speaking of FEMALE SWIMMERS. Sighhhhhh.... My biggest disappointment. Aki Yazaki. Where is she? We deserve her!! I promise we do!! She was SUCH an important character in the High Speed! novels and kyoani decided that she just doesn’t exist anymore lmao (biggest reason why I’m not the biggest fan of the Starting Days movie). At this point I’ve lost hope that she’ll ever be included in the anime, and it makes me so sad. I love her so much and there’s so much potential for an amazing beautiful story arc with her if she reunited with the boys. I don’t think we’re going to get a season 4, (the new movie is scaring me making me think it’s the end of the series with the way it’s been advertised...) but if we DID get one I imagine it beginning with Haru walking through a snowy day, huddling close to himself to shelter from the cold, when he passes by a tall figure and catches a glimpse of familiar caramel hair with a loose little braid peeking out from behind one ear and a large scarf that has gotten quite messed up over years of wear and tear, a memory clicks in his mind like a light switch and he stops in his tracks to turn around and let a long forgotten name slip from his lips: “Yazaki Aki?” ... cue opening sequence. LIKE WOULDN’T THAT BE SO AMAZING???????? I WOULD FUCKING SHIT MYSELF OKAY YOU DON’T UNDERSTANDDDD. Aki is one of my favorite characters I’m so mad she wasn’t in season 3. I’m also mad that Satomi Nii wasn’t there either like!!! She would make a great trio with Ikuya and Hiyori that’s all I’m sayinggggg. I would probably start crying if either of them showed up at some point like genuinely I would just be a mess sobbing on the floor. ALSO I FEEL LIKE GOU AND ISUZU WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM LIKE PLS GIVE ME THE GIRLS THAT WE DESERVE!!!

The art style of season 3 was pretty good. The only thing that bothered me about it was how fucking WIDE the characters’ shoulders were sometimes. Especially with the big bois like Makoto and Sousuke. Like please god no stop that. I’m always gonna miss the art style from season 1 tho, the crazy expressions n shit that were there were just too GOOD lmao. I feel like in season 3 they kind of attempted to bring that back but it just wasn’t executed the same and done to the same extent. R.I.P. the comedy from season 1, it will be forever missed.

I love the opening and ending themes, always. So fucking good. I’m so happy all the characters were included in the end theme animation sequence. I’ll never get over Gou and her BEAUTY.

ANYWAYS. Those are my thoughts in the general sense. Idk if I forgot anything because I have so many thoughts that’re all unorganized haha. If anyone wants me to talk in more detail about anything specific I am soooooo down! Thank you for sending in this ask, talking about this show makes me happy hehe.

[darkpoisonouslove]

Winx Club Season 2 Thoughts (4kids) Part 1

I already posted some thoughts on season 2 last year when I legit just clicked through he episodes rather than actually rewatching them so I am back to give a more in-depth look on this season! (And, hopefully, it won’t end with disappointment for me.)

2x01:

- Eww, why voiceover? It just seems so unnatural since we’ve never had it before. Not to mention that Bloom told us what each of the other girls has done during the summer but she didn’t tell us anything about herself. Like, she set out to find out more about her origins back in the first half of season 1, and I know that she did learn about being the princess of Domino but she still has no fucking idea who her parents are as individuals apart from them being the rulers of Domino. Considering how big of a plot that is later on, it just doesn’t sit right with me that she doesn’t seem remotely interested in it currently and didn’t mention anything about it. It’s like that plotline is closed for her which we all know is not true. So I am having some issues here, not gonna lie (not with Bloom but with her inconsistent writing).

- Aww, am I the only one who thinks that Stella buried herself in fashion rules all summer because she didn’t want to think about her parents’ divorce? Poor baby has been going so hard with no rest to keep herself from grieving over it. But at least she did something! (Proving she’s not lazy and spoiled; she practically had a job. Her dream job. You go get it, girl! (but also take care of your mental state, please.))

- Why is Bloom so eager to learn her fortune? Has she not read Greek Mythology? Bad idea, hon. Bad idea. (The thing with the magical reality mirrors was cool, though!)

- (Is that a new secret library or is it the regular library? I’m confused. Does anybody have a handy layout of Alfea for me?)

- She just fucking told her everything! I’m not a fan of knowing your future tbh. It really messes with your head and you start thinking “Will my actions have a negative impact on it? Will I somehow change my own destiny for the worse?” and then you go and do exactly that. Not to mention that it would be so weird to stare at Layla and just feel the pressure of being told that you’ll be best friends. Like, what if it doesn’t work? And what if it is just the fact that you were told so that pushes you to seek the friendship of that person? I don’t know. It’s just not my thing.

- Layla is awesome, though! Climbing those rocks with no equipment, not to mention with so little power left. She probably couldn’t even transform and fly if she fell. That was dangerous but did she care? Nope. She was there to save the pixies! Brave little soldier. Too good, too pure for this world.

- Ugh, Darkar managed to annoy me with his very first sentence ever. Nice job. You are a loser, loser. So deal with it! God, how will I take all that narcissism for 25 more episodes? Oh god, oh no, please, no! Whyyyyyyyy?

- Ugh, Bloom, that diadem is doing the opposite of wonders for your hair, please! At least Stella had the common sense to remove it.

- Speaking of Stella, that moment with the multiplying beauty was so cute! I love how she complimented the others while complimenting herself! But guys (Stella & Bloom), you’re not discreet with the groping. Seriously.

- Oh, hey! Riven won! And Sky only came in third! Nice! But lbr here, Timmy is the real victor! The others came in on hoverbikes while he had an entire ship that he modified himself. I mean, idk about anyone else, but I would definitely go for the ship.

- Of course there’s Diaspro drama. God, can they not for literally five seconds? And also, “we’re just friends”? Wtf? Did you fall on your head this summer, Bloom? You were calling him your boyfriend last time I checked. And you were fawning over the romance in your future. Can you just drop the pretense already?

- Ooh, Layla is so smart! She managed to outsmart all the monsters and win even when she barely had any magic left! You go, you absolute badass!

- Did they even make any changes on that new wing at Alfea? I mean, besides the name.

2x02:

- How did Tecna know that Layla was the princess of Andros? Did she hack the interdimensional FBI system? Wtf.

- They could’ve showed some other things we hadn’t seen that Layla had to go through but, of course, why would they do that when they could just use the same footage and draw less animation, bruh?

- And we’re getting to the opposites. Right on schedule when the Shadow Phoenix has shown up. You gotta love how convenient those school lessons are (not to mention that Bloom suddenly started feeling her opposite out of nowhere. Nice!) At least we got a cool magical lesson. Though, idk how to feel about the ying-yang symbol. I mean, it is a perfect representation of what they’re talking about but kind of weird to see something so earthly in Alfea. Though, Earth did have magic so... Hmm. Okay, anyway. Moving on.

- Um, question, why do Stella and Layla not know each other? And in the first season Stella and Musa and Sky didn’t know each other even though they were all royalty (I am still unclear on whether Musa is a princess or not btw but anyway). Don’t they, like, have royal meetings with other kingdoms? (which they even did in season 5 when Domino was back. What, is Domino the center of the universe and they can’t function without it? I mean, come on!)

- The talk about love is getting on my nerves and I literally have “love” in my url and it is my fave word. So what is wrong with that? I do love that guard there. Heck, yeah, it’s a prison (it’s worse than that tbh). And the fact that they’re trying to make it out not to be is extremely fucked up and sickening if you ask me. Not to mention “You can force people to be happy. It just takes time.” I really hope whoever had the idea of that place (in-verse) is going to hell.

- They legit just kept recapping season 1 for a solid minute? Aaaaaaaand... SKIP.

- Can I say that a 30-page report is an actual living nightmare. Thanks.

- The girls are all friendly with Layla (well, outside of a slip-up or two). That’s cute. But where the hell is Tecna? Can the animators only animate five Winx girls at a time? What the hell, you guys?

- So the Pixie village is on Andros (if Layla found it accidentally. I don’t imagine she realm-hopped at will)? Why don’t I remember any of that? But hey, finally some flashbacks that we haven’t seen before!

- Oh, look! My guy Kerborg is here! (the only good part of this whole Darkar thing tbh)

- The Trix finally thought of trying to pretend to be happy in order to get out of there. Well, better late than never. Though, watching how it’s going I can understand why they didn’t try before that. It is, in fact, hopeless. (But at least Darcy is handling it! She always was a bit more controlled.)

- I am so majorly creeped out by Darkar. He just met them and he’s like “You belong to me! Mwahahahaha.” Ummmm? Can you calm down? But I loved Icy’s response. Though, it didn’t stick. And he’s at it again. Seriously, this is really giving me some major off vibes. He said they were going to be the queens of Shadowhaunt which, considering he’s the king, would imply they were his wives. Now there’s a mental image that I am not even going to let inside my head, thanks. Although, having in mind that he just kept buttering them up, I would say it was just him stroking their egos to get them to join him. Not to mention that his later treatment of them supports that theory. And of course, he had to test them first and see how they’d do.

2x03:

- Please, tell me that they’ll tell someone about the Pixies and won’t just go to Shadowhaunt on their own initiative.

- O!M!G! They actually told Faragonda! I can’t believe this! Finally doing something smart, I can’t! And of course she wasn’t going to just let them go. Though, did she really think they weren’t going to want to take the test?

- Shouldn’t Stella be weakened by the darkness of Shadowhaunt? I kinda wish she’d stayed at Alfea if that would’ve spared us from the arc that is coming. (Why?)

- Okay, but it was kind of rude of Layla to just overtake Riven’s hoverbike like that. I wouldn’t appreciate it if I had to give someone a ride and they shoved me out of the driver’s seat and occupied my car, thank you. I’m surprised Riven agreed to let her drive.

- I don’t really have much to say about this episode tbh.

- It was cute that Stella jumped off the cliff for Brandon but it was not the smartest course of action. It probably would’ve been easier for him to save himself if he was alone and they may not have ended up being brought to Amentia. God, I hate this. I don’t want to be bitching about this every other sentence so just know that I absolutely despise this arc from the very bottom of my heart and that will never change.

2x04:

- They have no powers and Darkar knows they’re there. Sounds like a great situation, doesn’t it?

- That amazing moment when you either have to marry a person you’ve just met or watch the one you love die and then be forced to get married anyway. You gotta love that! I hate this so much! (And this is different from my previous point. Or at least has a different angle.)

- Wow, Riven is absolutely handling being a boyfriend. Somebody get him a manual, the man is failing spectacularly.

- I am not quite a fan of Flora’s “Must be nice to have a shoulder to cry on”. Like, you have your friends???? No, I get that she wants a boyfriend, nothing wrong with that, but it came out like she has nobody. Which is absolutely not true.

- What a lucky save that Stella just arrived when they were about to become toast. Can anyone tell me why she didn’t just teleport them where the Pixies are? Or anywhere closer to them if she could do that all along?

- Am I distracted or is there nothing to talk about in these episodes? (Both. It is both.)

2x05:

- Seriously, why didn’t they at least mention the option to teleport using that gadget from the beginning?

- Aww, Brandon was trying to be noble and get out of the marriage but it backfired. Poor him.

- Why are the Pixies bickering like that? Is it Shadowhaunt’s influence or just the fact that they’d been imprisoned together for so long?

- Wait, did they just... kill a pixie? (Off screen of course, but still. Damn!)

- So Bloom and Stella did... interestingly with the boarding.

- Why is Stella afraid of heights? Also, that’s never been mentioned before. Especially not when she jumped off a fucking cliff! Wtf. They just keep throwing in new stuff without setting it up properly and I am getting annoyed.

- What happened to Tecna’s computer?

- Oh, look! Chatta lied to Darkar to protect Pixie Village.

- It’s the Trix! Finally some action! And they are harder to defeat now that they’re stronger! Nice!

- Damn! Layla was really determined to get the Pixies out of there. (Which wouldn’t have helped if Darkar hadn’t let her but she still gets points for trying.)

- Oh come on! Do I really have to deal with fake Avalon so early in the season?!?!?! Dammit! Also, wtf is up with Bloom and Stella? Like, you both have boyfriends. At least Layla’s not affected.

- “Stella returned a compliment. What is that about?” XDDD One of the funniest lines ever! And look at Amore! She is so cute!

2x06:

- But yeah, seriously, just go get Brandon, please! (Also, good that they noticed something’s fishy.)

- Aww, Stella is absolutely furious and determined to get her boyfriend back. She should’ve gone for a plan tbh since it could’ve helped them get to the palace faster.

- I love how Stella’s known Layla for a week (half of which Layla was unconscious) tops and is already making her her bridesmaid. Am I the only one who finds this weird? Like, this friendship train is moving way too fast for my trust issues.

- Poor Brandon. She’s going to stretch him, wtf? These episodes are a horror show.

- How bad can a guard worm be? Hm, gee, I don’t know, Layla. Enough to stop you perhaps since it is a “guard”, y’know.

- And Brandon is talking to a parrot now. I am losing it just like he is. How much longer will this torture go on? Please, tell me this arc is coming to an end.

- Okay, so the plotline with Amore’s magic is less problematic than I remember it. I thought she was going to make Amentia fall in love with the flower pollen but it only leads you to your soulmate. That isn’t problematic, actually. Nice!

- Wtf do you mean they’re going to eat Brandon if he’s not a good husband?!?!?! I am getting nightmares over here. Just feeling them forming in my head. Thanks.

- It must be horrible for Stella to be standing there and watching her boyfriend being forced to marry another woman. How are these people not psychologically scarred anyway?

- Aww, they’re back together! I love how Amore is just sitting in Stella’s lap! It’s cute.

2x07:

- I was not ready for the Kiko angst even though I knew it was coming.

- Faragonda really thought she could just dodge that question without them noticing, huh? Yeah, well, no.

- Oh, look! The Shadow Fire is sentient. This reminds me of LotR tbh but anyway, moving on. So Darkar is a man who is possessed by the Shadow Fire? I so did not remember that.

- Oh, no! Is it really time for Avalon already? Dammit! I was just getting thrilled there was no Darkar in these last two episodes and now I get Avalon. Uggggh.

- I get Bloom’s annoyance with this but why does she keep blasting it when that obviously doesn’t give results?!?!?! This reminds me of that quote by Einstein that madness is doing the same thing and expecting different results. “I feel tired.” You think? You’ve been out there blasting that thing for hours. Get inside and get warmed up, oh my god! Seriously, how are they even alive? They don’t take care of themselves at all.

- This might be my more advanced knowledge of what the future holds for them speaking but I absolutely do not get what is Avalon’s appeal.

- Oh, how convenient. He’s teaching magic connected to their origins. Amazing.

- “I don’t want to seem obsessive” *proceeds to spy on girlfriend* At least the show is framing it well.

2x08:

- Ugh, I really hate these Bloom and Avalon scenes. They just leave a bad taste in my mouth.

- Ugh, I’m gagging at Bloom’s obsession with Avalon. I get he promised to help her learn about her origins but she’s downright lovesick. I am so with Sky on this and I understand his frustration.

- Aww, Brandon immediately revealed his own nickname to help Stella calm down. That was so cute! I love them!

- I love how the fairies are always invited, of course, but the witches are only invited because they helped. I mean, yeah, they do cause trouble, but like, they’re witches? I think the show should have done a better job at specifying what exactly being a witch is because currently it’s like “hey, they’re evil but they can legally learn how to be evil in the legitimate school for witches!” How does that make any sense?

- Ewww, seriously? On the one front I have Bloom and Avalon and on the other Icy and Darkar. What is wrong with this season?

- Oh, hey! It’s Helia! Now only if we didn’t have to wait half a season for Flora to confess her feelings, that would be great! I love how she got mad at Stella for introducing herself to Helia. Don’t just glare there, Flora. Do something about it! (About Helia, I mean.)

- So Saladin is also a dramatic bitch. Good to know. XD But hey, the new Red Fountain looks so much better. Before I started the rewatch, I didn’t even remember the initial vision. I only remembered the one from season 2 onwards.

- Poor Timmy! But what was Tecna’s problem? Like, you dreamed of him. That’s cool. I mean, you like him. What’s the problem? I guess she’s just not used to emotions like that, though.

- “I think it was Darcy” Jeez, really? Why is the fact that she ran away not enough proof that it was Darcy? Why would she run away if she was just a random girl? But I guess it’s a good thing Musa recognized her voice because people can actually do that unlike what movies would have you believe.

- It’s Kerborg time. Nice!

- Oh, yeah, “let’s leave Bloom and Sky in charge here”. Now you trust her. Last time she was there he blamed everything on her but hey, whatever.

- I loved Sky being supportive of Brandon and then the team up with all the rest. And Riven showing a better side of himself. That was really awesome.

- Oh, I think Helia’s got his eye on a certain fairy too! ;)

- But seriously. Literally an entire army of Specialists can’t hold the monster down while Helia did it on his own. With his glove. Wtf?!?!?!?! Though really, why am I expecting anything to make sense at this point.

2x09:

- Okay, but as annoying as Darkar is, he at least knows how to steer the witches to do exactly what he wants.

- Really, Tecna, I think your facts are wrong. You aren’t completely grown up at 16, wtf.

- Who else is completely creeped out by Avalon? He really just gave all of his very female and very young students flowers. And he’s teaching them all individual things (which is just a cover so that his interest in Bloom doesn’t stand out, of course, but still). He knows they are all crushing on him and he’s exploiting that and doing his best to lead them on and reinforce those emotions. That is absolutely disgusting, thank you.

- Seriously, even Faragonda is falling victim to his “charm” (not)? I can’t with this episode anymore and it has just started. And here I thought Darkar would be the problem of this season. How was I so wrong????????

- Oh, he wants them to trust him as much as they trust themselves? How about they throw you off a cliff instead? Oh, wait, that won’t work because he has wings. Crush him with a boulder then? (This is getting very anti Avalon and I am so sorry for all the negativity but I don’t think I can stress enough how much this is upsetting and angering me.)

- Why do I feel like Avalon is the one who planted the book there so that Tecna could do all of that and embarrass herself so that she wouldn’t try it again and he could proceed with his real plans?

- Well, we finally got Bloom’s parents’ names and a very unclear peek at them. Though, props for having their designs figured out from the beginning, though I guess that is just thanks to the comics.

- Oh, hey! Palladium is back. (Why is no one crushing on him? He is so much better and more handsome than Avalon tbh.) Glow up time, bitches. XD

- Amaryl is being Amaryl, of course. But Palladium is having none of it anymore. And he saved Stella. Nice!

- The others trust Tecna, that’s great!

- (Honestly, Griffin is the only thing saving me from losing my mind in this episode tbh, Also the fact that she believes Tecna and that Tecna was suspicious enough to dig in the first place. At least someone hasn’t lost their common sense.)

- Oh, hey, how did Bloom get that medallion? Did she pull it out of the past? Pls, tell me that’s not what happened. It can legit mess the entire timeline.

- Wait, didn’t they start chasing him before midnight? Why is it suddenly morning? Wtf? You can’t tell me they chased him all night. Why is everything so wrong?

- Poor Wizgiz! Another invention is destroyed. I feel his pain.

- At least all parts of the episode came together nicely. The writing was actually good but I absolutely hate this episode, thanks! I still appreciate the effort with the script, though.

2x10:

- Seriously, why did Bloom instantly decide that Diaspro was involved in this? Ugh. Both she and Sky need to calm down with the jealousy.

- Omg, Griselda is so savage, I can’t! Her magic is so awesome. (Since when is Stella up for cooking? Or was it just because she wanted to see the cute guy that would teach them cooking? Ah, and she’s tired of take out.) I really loved how she used different methods to deal with the different powers of the fairies. Finally we’re getting all the magical lessons and it is absolutely glorious.

- (Btw, seeing Stella openly critique classes schedule makes it clear to me why she’s always been my favorite. That is such a me thing to do. I still can’t understand how teachers liked me since I was always arguing with them.)

- Of course. Sky wants to talk and Bloom immediately decided he wanted to break up with her. Why don’t you hear him out first maybe? (Sidenote: Stella and Brandon went on a date with unicorns? That is really cute!)

- Brandon is in his role of the wingman again. Considering he’s the only one having a steady girlfriend (and they’ve said “I love you” already), the rest should just listen to him.

- Mayhem globe? That’s really cool actually.

- Helia is here. Nice!

- Poor Stormy. She looked really hurt. I thought Darcy was the one with the illusions and riddles. Why did she get it wrong and why was Icy the one to solve it (through a detail that not only has never been shown but has been pretty much disproven by what we’ve seen)?

- Yeah. Tecna and Timmy were also knocked out, Bloom. Just in case you care about that.

- Kindness spell? And non-agression spell? That’s kinda cool actually. But problematic... again.

- I am not quite sure what Bloom did but I am actually glad to see they went with a hug there (and it was cute). But how many times are they going to become a boyfriend and a girlfriend? I thought we were over this.

2x11:

- Brandon is at it again. A true specialist... in dating tips. XD

- Wow, Flora. Nice Helia spell you got there. (Btw I am so loving that we get to see them in different classes and learning things! Yes, this is what I’m here for!) But Layla was so ready to help! And I also love that Flora went to Layla instead of anyone else. It’s really cute that they got so close so fast. (”He’s crazy if he doesn’t like you.” Perhaps Layla is the one who likes Flora. XD)

- Shoulda listened to Brandon, Timmy. (But Tecna so boldly went for the “us”. You go, girl!)

- Idk but to me “The Archaic Spells of Spheria” doesn’t sound any good tbh.

- Of course Stella is all about the romantic movies. But poor pixies. They had to imprison them to save them.

- Why did all of the boys know about the Codex in the previous ep but the girls have no clue about it? Why is Faragonda keeping it from them if everyone at Red Fountain knows about it?

- What was Faragonda doing? And why did she make Bloom look for the spell? Couldn’t she do that herself? (Also, she just threw the book like that on the floor. I get why it prompted her derision but damn, really?)

2x12:

- Flora and Helia are such romantic dorks. And they’re bringing their A game there. Poems and flowers... A beautiful romance blooms. (I’ll stop now.)

- This convergence talk is giving me all the friendship feels. Not just for Winx but also for Faragonda and Griffin since they have been spotted doing convergence too. Ugh, my heart!

- Wow, Riven sure has a lot of pictures of Musa, considering the way he’s acting.

- “Kind of involved”? Mhm, sure.

- So I understand Musa’s frustration with Stella’s meddling but on the other hand I can see Stella’s point. I love Musa x Riven but Riven doesn’t seem exactly present and Musa herself stated that she’s not really sure what the status of their relationship is so...

- Okay, but there is no way in hell that it is Darcy’s birthday. It is fall currently and Darcy’s birthday is May 5 according to Wiki. So yeah, no.

- I am getting a bit sidetracked again but can we talk about the fact that Bloom and Stella couldn’t do convergence after a simple disagreement even though they’re together like 24/7 while Griffin and Faragonda managed to do it seamlessly at the end of season 1 after not speaking to each other for years and kind of getting into a fight the last time they spoke at the Day of the Royals. Friendship goals (well, besides the silent treatment.)

- Okay but I think it wasn’t right to blame Stella. She didn’t say anything that was inherently offensive. She suggested that they try to get closer. That isn’t bad even if it upsets someone indirectly. There was no need to blame her. They should’ve just focused on making Layla feel better.

- Why do I feel like none of them really had friends before they found each other? But hey, they are this big found family now and that is awesome! (I am getting all the feels again.)

- And Darcy is messing up the magical reality chamber again. Didn’t we do that already? Also, why didn’t they try to... idk, take precautions and put better security on it considering how dangerous it can be? Like, those are simple things. Please, be responsible.

- Better not play Truth or Dare with Stella. Unless you wanna be kissing ogres. XD

- That was a good save Layla pulled off there. Also, I love how the girls are mad at the “technical” issues. Tbh they are right to. How many times are they gonna get stuck in the wrong world when sent into the magical reality chamber? Like, get your shit together teachers. Also, why don’t they simply do a test run before they get anyone inside it? You’d think they’d learn their lesson.

- Damn, they can be deleted if the program is turned off? Why didn’t Darcy just have Jarred unplug it then? Winx are erased forever. Boom, problem solved. For the Trix, I mean.

- Aww, the pixies were ready to go in. That was cute.

- I LOVED that convergence! It was such a cool idea to have them make a figure. Also, they just created life. Damn! I am impressed.

2x13:

- Poor Layla. She has all those nightmares. But at least Piff helps! That’s really cute.

- I see Flora still hasn’t solved the Helia problem yet.

- They just ditched school to go to a club. What chaotic dumbass energy, I can’t.

- Aww, Layla is sharing about her harsh childhood. At least she has friends she can talk to now. But damn the difference between Andros and Solaria is very striking in scenes like that.

- Layla totally nailed that improv. Nice, you go, girl!

- I love the difference between Griselda and Faragonda! XD

- I loved that convo between Bloom and Vanessa! Yes, thank you for that. I am a little confused as to when Bloom learned Daphne was her sister. Did I miss something or did the writers miss something? But aww, Vanessa can’t see Locket. That’s making me sad. :(

- They did go to the club, though, huh? Nice one, you guys.

- How will Faragonda learn if they use magic on humans but not otherwise? That doesn’t sound very logical to me. (Speaking of logic, where is Tecna? They didn’t show her in this ep.)

- Oh, no! Poor Layla. But damn, she’s powerful. And the others are there to help her. (The pixies can cause so much trouble considering how small they are.)

- I love how Faragonda and Griselda just showed up to get them. It was cute. Though, now they’re being punished. Well, technically, Bloom didn’t break any rules because she had permission to leave but I guess she’s also in this because she shouldn’t have taken the others with her. (Cheeky to welcome Faragonda and Griselda to Earth.) At least Faragonda managed to get them the permission for music back from Griselda. XD

- Aww, babies! They are so tired from cleaning the whole school, they fell asleep. And the pixies helped, too.

- I’m not sure how Flora got that Helia is “the one” from talking to him for half a minute, but damn, wanna share those powers with the rest of us so that we can know immediately when we’ve met the one as well? (It was so cute to see Flora lean on Layla to sleep with her. And Piff, too. If she weren’t just talking about Helia, they would’ve been like a picture perfect family.)

This got very long so I decided to split the post for this season in parts. Part 2.

[amoveablejake]

The Inevitable Preview Piece

Right, I’ll say it now. This piece was inevitable, even if I didn’t realise it at first. Ofcourse I was always going to write a Premier League prediction piece, it was just a matter of time as to when this fact would hit me. As the season starts this weekend the past week or so has been full of predictions all over the place from podcasts I listen to, to different articles online and now I have this platform I thought why not put my thoughts in, which when the league ends I will undoubtedly look back upon and laugh at. Anyway, shall we begin because we have a fair bit to get through and I can already tell some of you may be skipping to the next segment. I promise I’ll try and make this at least somewhat interesting for those of you who don’t care. Maybe I’ll try and give each team a little title, that will keep you reading, right? Right? (Sigh)

Arsenal: The train that runs out of steam.

Arsenal always start well. I know that, you know that, we all know that. They are a team who always start well by playing exciting football and for a while their fans start to think, hey, maybe this will be our year after all. The thing is though, the first ten matches of the Premier League are the days of wine and roses and they don’t matter as much as you’d think. Its always after this honeymoon period ends that Arsenal hit a slump and run out of steam and maybe they’ll pick it back up at times but they never truly get back on track. I do however think they’ll do slightly better this year so I’m going to say they’ll finish fifth. I like Arteta what can I say. 

Aston Villa: The Royal team. 

Whilst Prince William supports Aston Villa I don’t think even his Royal support will spur them on to play exciting football. They had a relegation scrap last year and I see the same for them once again. I will admit that until I looked at the list to see who is in the league this year I had forgotten they were still in the top flight. I think that speaks for itself. I think that Aston Villa will finish seventeenth and will survive once again by the skin of their teeth. Sadly. 

Brighton and Hove Albion: Seagulls take flight. 

I don’t know why, but I have a funny feeling Brighton might do a bit better than usual this year. They always seem to finish around the middle to bottom of the table but I think that they might keep themselves in a European conversation, for a little while at least. The addition of Adam Lallana is a very positive one and I think they will prove to upset some of the bigger name teams over the course of the season. Plus they have a very swish new home kit and I sort of do have a soft spot for them. Predicted finish: Ninth, hey, its on the right track. 

Burnley: You again? 

Burnley is another team that I always forget exists, let alone in the Premier League. I’ll keep this one short, I think they’ll finish fifteenth. Now I’m not being mean, I hope that they have a nice season and their fans enjoy watching them play. I won’t though, I have paint to watch dry. 

Chelsea: Money can’t buy happiness. 

Okay, okay, I’ll admit it, I do not like Chelsea. At all. Yes they have quite a nice new home shirt and technically, technically, they are the closest Premier League team to where I was born however, they don’t get my support. To me Chelsea have always felt like the bad guys and perhaps that is unwarranted but what can I say. I just don’t like the Death Star. The boys in blue have spent a lot, and I mean A LOT, this summer but will it work? I don’t think so. They have bought excellent players in but the problem is Frank had a good team of youngsters already and I think by bringing in a lot of new players he has shown he doesn’t have faith in those younger players afterall and I don’t know if the team will form a solid base this time around. I see Chelsea coming in sixth and honestly, I don’t know if Mr. Lampard will make it to the end of the season. 

Crystal Palace: Please, just let Zaha leave. 

I’m never that convinced by Crystal Palace. That isn’t to say they’re not very good, they do have moments of prowess and do show signs of making it into the Europa League but then they tend to lose silly matches. I think the club might be nearing the end of its relationship with Roy Hodgson and after he leaves it might get a little shaky for a while. And the will they let him go or won’t they dance they have with Zaha every year is getting very tiring and I can’t imagine its good for the team’s atmosphere. Please, just let the man leave whilst you end up finishing in thirteenth. 

Everton: Just how Everton can Everton be. 

Everton are managed by Carlo Ancelotti. Everton. That is quite something. I’m still not sure if I believe it and honestly, I don’t think Carlo does either. Yes he has signed old pal James Rodriguez this summer which for my money is a fantastic new addition however, I don’t see Carlo seeing out the season at Merseyside. Its not the club for him and thats fine. I think they will show moments of looking pretty good but ultimately Everton will do what Everton is destined to do. And that is finish tenth. 

Fulham: Don’t Cry For Me Brentford 

I’ll keep this one short. I wanted Brentford to go up in the playoff final. Fulham didn’t deserve it. Thats right, I said it. I don’t want them here, I am still bitter and I’m not crying, you’re crying! But whats this I see through my years, I see Fulham finishing in nineteenth and me tasting sweet, sweet revenge. 

Leeds: They used to be quite big right. 

From what I’ve heard, Leeds used to be quite a big team. People were scared of them. The thing is, I am too young to remember those days so I don’t have the respect for them that some do. I am pleased that their fans finally got to see this return and I don’t think they’ll shoot right down again, in fact I think they’ll do reasonably well. I see them finishing fourteenth, which isn’t bad for a first season in the Premier League. They will show moments early on I think where people will say they’re going to do exceedingly well, but once again, never trust the first ten games. 

Leicester City: Believe in yourself. 

The foxes feel like a team that are running on the water and then when they realise what they’re doing they lose their confidence and sink. They are a team which as we know can be exceedingly good, they can be a joy to watch and whats more their players always look happy to be out there. Last season they were flying very high indeed especially on a rainy night in Southampton however, they tend to lose their confidence in themselves and I think they might do the same again this year. Also, Vardy is a great player but his back must be getting heavy carrying that attack. I think that this time around Leicester will take eighth place. Thats not a comment on them but more so on how close I think those top eight places are going to be. 

Liverpool: Foot off the gas. 

Liverpool are the best team in Britain at the moment. Maybe. Well they were for the past couple of years but now, I’m not too convinced. Why, why do I doubt such a strong team, its because there have been no changes. There haven’t really been any transfers and hey if something isn’t broken why fix it. I’ll tell you why, because whilst you were out there on your boat, enjoying the sun, looking around at your crew who you realised that they are all getting that much older and they’re very comfortable in their roles. In fact, they don’t really have to fight. They seem to have lost that hunger, a hunger that all the sharks growing underneath the boat certainly have and you better believe the moment they smell blood they’re going to surface. I think Liverpool will finish in third. They will still challenge for the title but it won’t be coming back to Anfield this time around. 

Manchester City: A team with Pep. 

Manchester City were bad last year. Yes they came second but they were so far behind Liverpool it was not a successful season. They only won one trophy also which by their standards is not good and it wasn’t even the Champions League or FA Cup. I think this season they’re going to be back to their old ways, not in a perfect way however, there are a lot of holes in that team (a new defender and striker would be good) but they do have Kevin De Bruyne and that man is from another realm. Do I see City lifting the Premier League, honestly, no, I think they might win everything else but not this. 

Manchester United: I’m allowed to be biased okay. 

Yes, I do support Manchester United and yes I do know that makes me biased however, I do have a sneaking suspicion they will win the Premier League. Whys that, well it might not look like it yet but I think some more transfers are coming both now and in January. The arrival of Van De Beek is also very welcome and I think the squad will start to believe in itself more and they’ll definitely improve as that confidence comes back. Don’t get me wrong, it won’t be a beautiful win, infact I think they will win on the final day and the whole title race this year will be very close but I don’t know, I have a feeling that they’ll do it. Either that or I’ll be crushed when they get relegated. 

Newcastle United: Mike Ashley out. 

For once Newcastle have made some good signings this summer, good sensible signings and they have kept Steve Bruce on which I think is a good thing however, with Mike Ashley still being the owner and that ever present cloud hanging over the team I don’t think they’ll ever really hit their stride. Sadly I see them finishing in sixteenth although I would really like to see them finish higher. 

Sheffield United: My soft spot. 

I have absolutely no idea but ever since I was little I have had a soft spot for the Blades and after their very impressive performance last year I would like to see them do well again. However, I think the end of the loan spell with Dean Henderson will hurt and they didn’t look as strong post the lockdown pause so I see them coming eleventh which is still good just not as good we’d like. We being me and a team always keep an eye on. 

Southampton: It was nice whilst it lasted. 

Southampton again had a very good year last year and I’m sure that their fans are hoping for more of the same however, I think that this time around the top half of the table is going to be a much fiercer, closer battle and sadly that will be at the detriment of teams like Southampton who will find themselves twelfth and it won’t really be their fault. I would like to see them head into Europe as they are my local team but I don’t think that they will this time around. 

Tottenham Hotspur: No prime delivery. 

Despite the fancy Amazon documentary coming out and Jose being Jose, I think that Tottenham will do exactly what their fans have sadly grown used to which is showing signs of being a top four team but ultimately making silly mistakes and losing against teams that they really shouldn’t which will slide them down to seventh. I hope for their fans that they win something this year, anything really but when it comes to Spurs you just never can tell. What am I saying, you can and they won’t. 

West Bromwich Albion: Someone has to do it. 

Someone has to finish last and it will be West Brom. Do I really need to say anything else. I suppose I should say something nice, um, I’ve heard that you can buy a nice pie at their stadium. A nice pie to soak up the tears when they get relegated. 

West Ham United: Time to learn. 

I want West Ham United to get relegated. Why? Because they need to learn. Not the players, not the manager but the club. The club is run horribly and they constantly make bad decisions whether it be getting rid of promising young players, signing players at big costs to no avail or to have a constant merry go round of managers. Its a shambles and thats a shame because they have a very nice home kit and I do sort of like West Ham. With that in mind they’ll finish eighteenth and I’ll be happy about it so that they come back stronger. 

Wolves: Hear them howl. 

I like Wolves. In fact my favourite animal is a wolf but thats not why I have a fondness for Wolverhampton Wanderers. No, thats because they are a good team, with a great manager, who make sensible signings, seem to be run well, sadly have a horrific kit but play very good, classic football. I like the players, I like the team and I always want to see them do well and upset the establishment. Even when one player rubs baby oil on his tree trunk arms so the other players can’t grab hold of him. He’s good enough to not make someone do that but hey, there are worse jobs to have (see playing for Burnley for further details). I think Wolves will finish fourth this time around and will reach the Champions League. I also think they’ll do well in the FA Cup and will win more praise that they definitely deserve.  

So there we have it, we made it. How will these predictions pan out, probably not very well but hey, its not like I’ve written them down so I can be mocked with them later. 

- Jake, a man who is fully aware he can never go to Burnley now, 13/09/2020

[kathrynethegreat]

@random-emerald-thoughts as promised, here are the details on season 3 of The Rape of Europa Hannibal AU television series.

If anyone is seeing this for the first time and needs to know what the heck this is, links are here:

OVERVIEW

SEASON 1 SUMMARY | SEASON 1 DETAILS

SEASON 2 SUMMARY | SEASON 2 DETAILS

SEASON 3 SUMMARY | SEASON 3 DETAILS 

SEASON 4 SUMMARY | SEASON 4 DETAILS

Below the cut is the following information:

Additional Information about each episode and the real crimes that inspired some of the stories

Artwork featured in each episode

A couple pieces of Fan Art that didn’t make the cut for the Season Summaries.

Flashbacks featured in each episode

General Season Arcs / Information / Themes

General Clannibal info (Will they, won’t they? Spoilers - they totally do.)

Season 3 General Notes / Arcs / Themes:

The third season follows the first half of the novel Hannibal fairly closely as far as Dr.Fell and Rinaldo Pazzi are concerned. 

Clarice’s Art Team and Jack Crawford’s team with Behavioral Science team up to work together. Jack Crawford, who occasionally showed up in episodes here and there in the first couple of seasons takes on a more prominent role in this season. 

While we’ve seen a few flashbacks to the events of The Silence of the Lambs, the first two season’s flashbacks were much more heavily based on Hannibal Rising, so we will start to see a lot more SOTL this season.

The season draws heavy influence from the murders of Il Monstro. The viewer, for many episodes, will not quite be sure if Hannibal Lecter is Il Monstro or not. He will claim not to be, but scenes are set up to show that he could possibly be the killer.

The season also takes much from the Pazzi Conspiracy of 1478, just as the novel does.

After Johnny and Clarice hooked up in the second season episode Whoso List to Hunt, they are tentatively seeing one another.  Clarice is uncomfortable with this, and Johnny likely feels they are on stronger footing than Clarice does. She does not put a label on it but has accepted that he is in love with her. They do not talk about it in front of other people, but everyone sort of ‘knows.’

SEASON 3, EPISODE 1: Tableaux de la Mort

DATE: August 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Jack Crawford - A man shouts at Phyllis and calls her "Bella." while they are in Florence

Clarice - Clarice remembers her first meeting with Jack Crawford, who tells her about Buffalo Bill

Jack Crawford - Jack goes home to his dying wife

Pazzi - Pazzi works on the Il Monstro case. He holds a photo of a victim in hand.

Pazzi - Pazzi walks home, sees a poster of Primavera outside the Uffizi. He goes inside and stands in front of it and makes a connection about Il Monstro.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, done as the last Tableaux Vivant at Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, California. 

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli - Uffizi Gallery

NOTES:

This episode - and really the entire season is heavily inspired by the real Il Monstro case in Florence.

The season opens with Clarice Starling attending the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, California. She has begun to seek out art and culture on her own outside of work. 

The Pageant of the Masters is a yearly Tableaux Vivant Festival, and it is an absolutely magical evening, and if anyone reading this has not attended, I HIGHLY recommend. It does not disappoint. 

The Title Tableaux de la Mort is a play on the Tableaux vivant. The word “Tableau Vivant” literally means “Living Picture” while Il Monstro’s tableaux depict a picture - but using dead bodies.

We witness the staging of the traditional last painting performed as a Tableau - Da Vinci’s Last Supper. We hear the voiceover telling us about the painting - this year the narrator (for the festival) gives a beautiful discussion on transubstantiation, about the drinking of blood and eating of the flesh.

It should be noted that after catching (who he believed was) Il Monstro the first time, Pazzi went on to train at Quantico, just like in the novel. He began his training just as Clarice had caught Buffalo Bill and graduated. He had looked over the case file and remembers admiring her work. For this reason, he “Knows of” Clarice Starling. 

Pazzi knows Crawford and Johnny personally from his time training at Quantico. Having caught Il Monstro, he spent much time with Crawford at Behavioral Science discussing the case. Johnny and Pazzi also got along well.  

The Italian Police are understaffed and overworked. In 1992 and 1993, they were extremely busy dealing with the Corleonesi Mafia Clan. Pazzi has recently been disgraced when Il Monstro began killing again, signifying that he got the wrong man. His failure weighs heavily on him, and he knows he’s basically being put out to pasture. He is still employed, but not considered for any large cases. Because of all of this, the Italians reach out the Americans - specifically to Jack Crawford at  Behavioral Science and ask if they can borrow a small team.

Jack Crawford agrees to give a few people from his team, but also suggest Clarice and her team for the case as well. Since the case is art-related, he feels that Clarice may lend a different view to things than a normal agent hunting a serial killer.  Secondarily, Jack Crawford feels that the killer may actually be Hannibal Lecter. Lecter is known for his whimsy. Because Clarice is familiar with the Lecter case, he feels this is another excellent reason to bring her team in to work along Behavioral Science and the Italian Police.

Clarice is excited to be working with Behavioral Science, even if it is overseas and not officially as a member of Behavioral Science. She hopes that if she proves herself on this case that she will be able to get the promotion that she craves.

Lecter is spoken of in this episode but is not seen. Last we left him he had escaped in Sardinia after making sure Clarice and Margot were safe.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 2:  La Vita Nuova

DATE: September 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Pazzi - Pazzi trains at Quantico.

Pazzi - Pazzi meets Crawford and Johnny.

Pazzi - Pazzi attends a party on the Chesapeake with his wife

Clarice - Clarice remembers her first meeting with Lecter. When she leaves, Miggs throws semen in her face, which upsets Lecter.

Clarice - Hannibal tells Clarice to look in the car of Benjamin Raspail for a Valentine

Clarice - Clarice finds Klaus's head

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Palazzo Vecchio - Salon of Lilies, Florence

Bronze Statue of Judith and Holofernes by Donatello, Salon of Lillies

Dante’s first sonnet from La Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri

NOTES:

The title is the name of a piece of work by Dante about courtly love. It is believed to have been about Beatrice Portinari, Dante’s lifetime love.

The Curator of the Capponi Library is missing, and Rinaldo Pazzi has been placed onto the case. It is not terribly important, and no one is particularly worked up over the curator’s disappearance. He goes to the Salon of Lilies where he speaks to the Directors of the Uffizi and the Belle-Arti Commission. Both boards are busy speaking to Dr.Fell and do not have much time to speak to Pazzi.  

Pazzi, having gone over Lecter’s forms before meeting (we are shown Pazzi looking over Dr.Fell’s paperwork) doesn’t immediately see Dr.Fell. Suddenly his voice appears - he is faced away from the viewer. He stands next to a bronze of Judith and Holofernes, and for a moment it seems as if the statue is speaking.

Dr.Fell gives a lovely debate as to why he feels he should be allowed to keep the position of Curator of the Capponi Library. He reads from Dante’s La Vita Nuova, and everyone is impressed. They agree that he should lecture to the Studiolo in several months' time, at which point they will determine if he gets the keep the position permanently.

Dr.Fell reads the following Sonnet, which will (hopefully) properly foreshadow what will happen with our two lovers throughout the season.

To every loving, gentle-hearted friend,

to whom the present rhyme is soon to go

so that I may their written answer know,

greetings in Love’s own name, their lord, I send.

 The third hour of the time was near at end

when every star in heaven is aglow

‘twas then Love came before me, dreadful so

that my remembrance is with horror rent. 

Joyous appeared he in his hand to keep

my very heart, and, lying on his breast,     

my lady, veil-enwrapped and full asleep. 

But he awakened her, and of my heart

aflame, he humbly made her, fearful, taste:

I saw him, finally, in tears depart. 

After the debate, Pazzi speaks privately with Dr.Fell. He asks about a scar on his hand. He then begins to speak about the previous Curator. “You know, I am sure, that the previous Curator has mysteriously disappeared.”   “I am aware.” Hannibal Lecter says, and we flash to a quick shot of Lecter slitting the old Curator’s throat. “And the man has left no notes that you have found?” Another flash quickly shows us the Curator’s body dropped to the bottom of the Arno river, his feet in a block of cement. “No, I’m afraid he left no note that anyone has been able to find,” Lecter says. Pazzi asks if he can come by to the curator’s belongings and Dr.Fell agrees. Then he asks Pazzi if he is a Pazzi of the infamous Pazzi’s as his visage looks like a painting at the Pazzi family chapel.  Pazzi asks if he may come by to pick up the Curator’s belongings, and also says that several other team members from America might also have to ask him a few questions - he apologizes for any duplication of effort.  Dr.Fell says he understands and questions why the American police would be in Florence. Pazzi admits it is actually the F.B.I. - Behavioral Science and a couple of other people from another division of the F.B.I. - Clarice Starling, an agent who caught the serial killer Buffalo Bill is in Florence helping the Italian Police.

We are shown many flashbacks of Pazzi’s time in America at Quantico throughout this episode.

Clarice also remembers her first meeting with Hannibal Lecter and the beginnings of the Buffalo Bill Case. She thinks about the Buffalo Bill case in conjunction with the Il Monstro case, as well as her information on the Lecter case. 

At home, Dr.Lecter finds a photo of Clarice Starling in the paper. The article discusses the Getty kidnapping. 

Il Monstro strikes again - this time killing two people, and placing them in a tableau representing Judith and Holofernes. The last time we’ve seen Judith and Holofernes was in the Salon of Lillies where we were unsure if it was the Statue or Dr.Fell speaking...this will link Lecter and Il Monstro in our minds. Is Jack Crawford right? Is Hannibal Lecter Il Monstro?

SEASON 3, EPISODE 3: The Monuments Men

DATE: October 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Clarice - Clarice performs an autopsy on Kimberly Egan

Clarice - Clarice visits the Smithsonian about a moth

 Hannibal - Hannibal tells Clarice about the significance of the moth in exchange for personal information. They talk about transformation. She says the worst memory of childhood was the death of her father.

Hannibal - Hannibal agrees to help Clarice Starling Catch Buffalo Bill in exchange for privileges

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Ecstacy of St.Theresa by Bernini 

Bramante Staircase by Giuseppe Momo

Portrait of a Young Man by Raphael

The Leaning Tower of Pisa by unknown, likely Diotisalvi)

Excerpts from Dante’s La Vita Nuova and The Divine Comedy by Dante

NOTES:

 One of the inspirations for this episode is the 2009 story of a woman who found an original Jasper Johns painting in Portabello road.  In our case, however, the painting found is Raphael’s Portrait of the Young Man, which has been missing since WWII and is still widely believed to exist.

Another big influence for this episode is honestly the novel Angels and Demons, which I read long before the novel Da Vinci’s code came out. I was in art an art history class at the time, and so my friend and I read the novel together, solving each art history crime along with the character and it was a really great time. I figured one episode with puzzles about artwork and a sort of “race” to find something might be fun. 

As Ardelia is dealing with the painting and its three claimants, the various clues Clarice is following around Italy sort of tell her more and more about the war. We learn about the Monuments Men and their quest to protect artwork from being destroyed.

Hannibal Lecter - who Clarice has not yet seen and does not yet know is residing in Florence - sends Clarice on a hunt around Italy with various poems and clues keyed to pieces of art. Often his poetry is keyed to Dante.

You must depart from Florence This is willed already, sought for, soon to be accomplished by the one who plans and plots where - every day - Christ is sold and bought You shall leave everything you love most dearly this is the arrow that the bow of exile shoots first. You are to know the bitter taste of others bread, how salt it is, and know how hard a path it is for one who goes descending and ascending others staircase - Paradiso, Dante 

There is a clue about a double helix, which winds up being the Bernini staircase. There is another clue about somewhere she can walk down but go up, which of course means the leaning tower of Pisa. The tower would have been closed to the public at this time (it was re-opened in 2001), but as an Agent would have been able to go up.

Many of the clues have to do with Dante and Paradise, as well as about transformation.

As Clarice journeys around Florence, she remembers her first time meeting Hannibal Lecter and starting to work on the Buffalo Bill Case. She remembers him agreeing to help her.

Finally, she meets Lecter at Santa Maria della Vittoria, where they stand before Bernini’s sculpture The Ecstacy of St.Theresa. He tells her he knows why she is here, and that he knows Jack believes he is the one who is guilty of the crimes. He promises to help her catch Il Monstro in order to prove his own innocence and stay away from the police. She asks him why she should agree to anything - the last agreement they made - that he would not kill Pierre Trebelaux, ended in him breaking that agreement. He asks her about Johnny. The theme of the statue before them is not lost on either of them, and Clarice is uneasy. Finally, he tells her she doesn’t have much of a choice - he gave her information to find a killer once before, and he can do so again. She finally agrees.

Eventually, Ardelia negotiates a truce and all three claimants are allowed joint ownership on the condition that they allow the painting to reside in a museum. The last shot of the episode shows it hanging in the Uffizi.

 October 31 – Pope John Paul II issues an apology and lifts the edict of the Inquisition against Galileo Galilei. Hannibal Lecter would likely mention this in one of his clues.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 4: The Lost Wax Process

DATE: October 1992

ARTWORK FEATURED:

  The Card Players by Paul Cezanne

 Juggling Man, by Adriaen de Vries

NOTES:

This episode is heavily influenced by several cases in which people have faked thefts, or intentionally destroyed their art in order to collect insurance payments.

 A wealthy businessman who everyone believes is successful is secretly going bankrupt. He has a wonderful private art collection, and he hires someone to steal it from him. When investigating the claims, the insurance company becomes suspicious and turns the case over to the F.B.I. Ardelia, with her legal background, is sent in to pose undercover as an insurance claims adjuster to uncover the truth.

 Il Monstro kills again, but this time he doesn’t kill in Florence, but instead in Rome.

The title references the method of metal casting in which molten metal is poured into a mold that has been created with a wax model and the wax model is melted and drained away.

The victim of Il Monstro makes a mold of the victim and made duplicates – the body is never found.

This episode features Ardelia almost exclusively. While Clarice appears at the end when the victim of Il Monstro is discovered, Ardelia carries this episode.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 5: The Pazzi Conspiracy

DATE: November 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Clarice - Hannibal tells Clarice the Hospitals to research and what to look for - what Billy's trees will look like, what the profile she is looking for is.

Pazzi - Pazzi remembers his time at Quantico and looks over the photos of Hannibal Lecter’s cell. He remembers seeing Lecter’s sketch of the Duomo from the Belvedere.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Clarice Orsini - Domenico Ghirlandaio

Francesco de’ Pazzi as St.John the Baptist, Basilica di Santa Croce by  Luca della Robbia

Hanged Pazzi Sketch - Leonardo Da Vinci

NOTES:

This episode is heavily influenced by the Pazzi Conspiracy of 1475, which took place on Easter Sunday.

After a meeting with Dr.Fell, Pazzi walks up to the battlements of the Belvedere and looks out at the view. He watches Dr.Fell walk away down on the street. He looks at the view again and realizes he’s seen a sketch of this very view. He flashes back to his time at Quantico when he was allowed to look over the Lecter files. He remembers seeing this sketch in Hannibal Lecter’s cell. He realizes Dr.Fell is Hannibal Lecter. What’s more - he believes Dr.Lecter is Il Monstro. 

Pazzi notices the reward poster for Hannibal Lecter and calls the phone number. The poster does not specify who is offering the reward, but it is clear that is not the F.B.I. If Pazzi chooses to take down Lecter, he will be doing so as a bounty hunter, not as a police officer.

Pazzi is told that in order to get the money he must prove that Lecter is indeed where he is stated to be. The evidence must be in the form of a fingerprint.  Pazzi realizes he must somehow figure out how to get Dr.Fell’s fingerprints in order to get the money.

Clarice speaks to Pazzi about the Il Monstro case, but Pazzi has become difficult. Since Pazzi believes that Hannibal Lecter is also Il Monstro, he no longer wants Clarice to catch Il Monstro. If he, Pazzi, can catch Il Monstro, he would have not truly failed. He becomes disinterested and uncooperative with Clarice and her questions.

Clarice and Hannibal talk about Pazzi and Lecter realizes (but does not say anything) that perhaps Pazzi is on to him. He wonders if Pazzi will rat him out. Lecter then tells Clarice a bit more of Florentine history. They talk about the Duomo, and Clarice says it’s her first memory of him - telling her about it. He tells her more - about the building of the dome in a time before they understood how to complete it. As they walk inside he tells her about the Pazzi conspiracy that took place in 1478 on Easter Sunday. She asks if Pazzi is any relation, and he says that yes, he is. There is a likeness of him in his family’s chapel - he will show her some time. He goes on about the conspiracy, about how at the elevation of the host on Easter Sunday that Francesco de’ Pazzi tried to kill Lorenzo de Medici. Instead, Pazzi wound up stabbing himself in the leg and was ultimately hanged for his crimes. He shows her a painting of Lorenzo and she asks who the woman beside him is - he tells her it is Lorenzo’s wife, Clarice. (True, look it up)

Clarice and Lecter talk about art and Il Monstro. He notes he is clearly an artist with some skill.  Clarice decides to ask art schools in Italy for lists of problem students or students who had been expelled. It’s a big list, and the Art Crime Team and Behavioral Science team members will each be given a handful of people to investigate over the next few episodes, keeping them busy.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 6: Effets de soir

DATE: December 1992 FLASHBACKS:

Clarice - Lecter sketches Clarice's face on a clock and asks him about a transfer. She tells him about going to Montana. Chilton listens in.

Hannibal - Hannibal and Senator Martin negotiate. Hannibal gives Senator Martin the name Billy Ruben to mislead her.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

L'honestà negli amori by Alessandro Scarlatti

NOTES:

Dr.Fell attends the symphony.  As do Clarice and Johnny and Laura and Rinaldo Pazzi. They all chat together. Johnny still is not a fan of Dr.Fell and Pazzi is wary of having Dr.Fell in front of his wife. He is further concerned when Dr.Fell flirts shamelessly with Laura.  What’s more, Laura flirts right back and is charmed.  Pazzi watches on, horrified. Clarice, jealous, cannot say anything. 

Dr.Fell gives Laura the Scarlatti libretto with his notes on the original. She is intrigued and delighted. Again, Clarice is miffed and sulks for the rest of the performance, which annoys Johnny.

 Pazzi has hired a man by the name of Gnocco to get Dr.Fell’s fingerprints. He purchases a silver bracelet, highly polished. He tells Gnocco that he wants him to pick Dr.Fell’s pocket, but to botch the job in the hopes that Dr.Fell will get his fingerprints on the bracelet. 

After several days of watching Dr.Fell, Gnocco finally goes in. Dr.Fell grabs him and stabs him. Pazzi, knowing he will be responsible for Gnocco’s death, pulls him into an alcove and lets him bleed out. He then leaves him there to be found by the police.

Pazzi looks over the bracelet, but it is covered in blood and he does not think that he can get any workable fingerprints off of it.  He goes home angry and upset.

Laura tries her best to make her upset husband happy, but it is clear that she is unhappy in her marriage. She asks him if he will please return Dr.Fell’s libretto to him. Pazzi mumbles for her to put it on his desk and he will take it back in a few days. As he gets up to go to bed, he passes his desk and sees the libretto. He looks into his bedroom where his wife is asleep. At first he is jealous, thinking of Dr.Fell charming his wife...but then he realizes Dr.Fell’s fingerprints might be on the document. 

Pazzi sends away the Libretto to be analyzed in the hope that the prints are a match. 

Il Monstro strikes again - this time killing a current member of the Accademia Belle Arti, one of the boards that, as curator, Dr.Fellmust work alongside. Clarice wonders if Hannibal Lecter, in an attempt to better his chances of keeping his job as curator, may actually be Il Monstro. And if he is, is he misleading her with other information? 

SEASON 3, EPISODE 7: First Principles

DATE: December 1992

FLASHBACKS:

 Clarice – Clarice discussed first principles with Hannibal Lecter

 ARTWORK FEATURED:

Venus of Urbino by Titian

The Sacrifice of Isaac by Caravaggio

Cache of Lesser works, numerous small sketches, and small bronzes

 NOTES:

This episode is inspired by several instances in which museums tend to not report thefts of paintings because it will cause problems with insurance, as well as alert the media to various flaws in their security, which could cause further theft.

Clarice’s team receives a tip from an anonymous Museum worker about a cache of paintings in a warehouse. They obtain a warrant and uncover a small group of paintings that have been stolen from museums around Italy.  But Strangely, none of the paintings have been reported missing.

Clarice’s first thought is that since none of the pieces have been reported missing, they may perhaps have been forged. She calls the museums and is told that each painting is still in the collection, but a few museums admit that their pieces are under restoration. Clarice is concerned perhaps the pieces were stolen during restoration, or perhaps that the pieces in the warehouse are forgeries.

They go to the warehouse together and it is confirmed that all of the paintings are authentic.  

Clarice then begins the tasks of going to each museum again.  Most of the curators are shocked to find their paintings missing from storage/conservation area, but one curator is a bit cagey. Clarice thinks perhaps he may hold a bit more information.

Eventually, it is uncovered that due to financial problems and looking at these expensive paintings day after day, the curator worked with docents in other museums to forge an agreement for people to look the other way, enabling the curator to amass a small collection of art that he could sell to the Mafia in order to pay his bills.

Clarice, still going through lists of problem students and expulsions from various schools, wonders if they may be holding back information, as they have led her nowhere.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 8: Finishing the Arch

DATE: January 1993

FLASHBACKS:

Clarice - Dr.Lecter tells Clarice to look for rejections from several hospitals for her candidates for Buffalo Bill.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Baldin Collection  with works by Dürer, van Gogh, Manet, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian

NOTES:

 This episode is inspired by the real-life Baldin Collection, a collection of 364 masterpieces taken from Germany to the Soviet Union by Soviet Army officer Victor Baldin during the end of WWII. The paintings came from a cache of pieces stored in Brandeburg castle to protect them from air raids.  The pieces Baldin took were hidden for a year, but in 1991 the collection was moved to the Hermitage and the existence of the collection was declassified and revealed to the world in 1992. It remains there to this day…but at the time, there was a great deal of discussion (there certainly still is a discussion) about what should be done.  The works were stolen…but they were also saved from destruction.  And, do Baldin’s credit, he did appeal to soviet leaders to return them to Germany, proving that he really did take them only for their protection.  Boris Yeltsin agreed to return the works, but subsequent Russian governments overturned the confirmation.

Our story takes place in the midst of that Government discussion. Should paintings be returned to Germany or stay in Russia? If returned to Germany, should they be put into a museum, or should the individuals who owned the paintings get them? How should it be handled politically, monetarily, etc?  

Clarice and Ardelia look over the collection and assess the situation – what pieces belong to people, and what pieces would be harder to find their owner (owners being dead). They go to the Russian Government, where there is much back and forth.

Eventually, Clarice and Ardelia go to speak with Victor Baldin and he tells them about taking the paintings and his motivations. They get to talking about paintings and the war and Hitler. Baldin remarks about Hitler loving art and wanting to be an artist. He wonders if perhaps Hitler had not been rejected from art school if instead of becoming Chancellor and bringing war, he might instead have been sitting in a field painting.

This gets Clarice thinking. She begins to think about her past cases, murderers and rejection from society, etc, She realizes suddenly that Il Monstro is clearly an artist…he has the skill, but no major issues have been noted with most students. No major behavioral issues she can link to all the murders. Clarice realizes suddenly he wasn’t a student – that he was rejected from an art school and that he is picking off, one by one those that rejected his application. She heads back to Europe before Il Monstro kills again.

January 15, 1993, Toto Riina, a fugitive of the Mafia is finally arrested after 23 years. Over the upcoming year, the Mafia will begin to retaliate with a series of terrorist attacks. This would be on the news as well as be something that the Italian police are busy with. It is also important to note in this episode, as it ties in with the Uffizi bombing later in the season.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 9: The Museum of Atrocities

DATE: February 1993 FLASHBACKS:

Crawford - Crawford is harassed by a doctor about him trying to get information on a patient

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Various Medieval torture instruments

NOTES:

Clarice heads back to Italy, aware that Il Monstro is killing people associated with his rejection from school.  She needs a list of rejected students from various art schools, but that list will be even bigger than the current lists of problem students and expulsions. She looks again at the deaths. One person was on the Belle Arti Commission, but the others were not. She looks deeper into their profiles and finds that they WERE on the board at one point in their life. 

Now Clarice knows that members of the Belle Arti Committee are targets. But not all of them. Just the ones on the board during the time of the rejection of the student in question. She needs to find the time period when all of Il Monstro’s victims served on the board together, and then get a list of students they rejected during that time.

The Belle Arti is hesitant to give Clarice such a list.  They could cooperate with giving a list of problem students and expulsions because they had been students and had signed paperwork that allowed the school to give their information in the event of an emergency, legal case, etc. People who had never been students in the first place had not signed anything, and thus revealing their info was more problematic.

January 20 – Bill Clinton is sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States.

Hannibal Lecter sees Mason's miniature Guillotine on display and flashes back to Mason showing him is "toys” - specifically Mason’s portable guillotine. It is this memory that causes Hannibal Lecter to realize who has sold him out and who, aside from the F.B.I. is hunting him.

Hannibal Lecter is very aware of Pazzi following him around Florence. He sees him at the torture exhibit and is aware of him as he continues to do his shopping.

Once another member of the Belle Arti Committee becomes a victim of Il Monstro, the school begins to reconsider and gives Clarice the list she needs.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 10: Carnevale di Venezia

DATE: February 23, 1993 FLASHBACKS:

Clarice – Lecter saying that they are a week into Lent.

Hannibal - Hannibal makes his own handcuff key

Hannibal - Hannibal escapes custody wearing Pembry’s Face

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Al Thani Jewels – Jewel Covered Dagger

 Al Thani Jewels – Gold Brooch

Al Thani Jewels – Pair of earrings

NOTES:

This episode is heavily inspired by the 2018 theft of Jewels from the Dodge’s Palace in Venice. The jewels were from the “Treasures of the Mughals and Maharajas” showcasing almost 300 gems and jewels from the private collection of Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani of the royal family of Qatar.

The thieves nabbed several pieces of jewelry and then blended in with the rest of the crowd in St.Mark’s square.

This episode keeps the basic concept but places the event earlier in the month during Carnivale.

The theft is quickly discovered and Clarice and Johnny happen to be in the area and immediately try to find the culprit. Of course, the problem is nearly everyone is wearing a mask.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 11: The Second Moment of Creation

DATE: March 1993

FLASHBACKS:

Crawford – Crawford gives Clarice a fake offer to give to Lecter

Clarice – Lecter confronts Clarice on her fake offer

ARTWORK FEATURED:

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli 

NOTES:

The title refers to the role that art plays in the world. That the world was created, but the second moment of creation is when made created art. It is a very human thing. We have art at our cores.

The episode is inspired by the fact that sometimes when a museum has to move a very important piece, they will use a decoy mover or multiple movers so that nobody knows which one is the real painting.

It is also inspired by a painting by Francisco de Goya from 1778 called Children with a Cart that was stolen while en route from Ohio to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Its value was $1.1 million. 

A priceless painting is being moved from the Uffizi going to be displayed in America. But it’s front-page news, 

Clarice goes to one of the forgers she has put into jail. Crawford has told her that she can offer him privileges if he works with them. This is a lie, but Clarice does not know it. She tells the forger that she will help him get out faster and he will have more access to phone calls, better food, etc if he will paint for her three duplicates of the painting being transferred. He agrees.

Three forgeries are created and the real piece, plus the forgery are crated and sent in different directions around Florence.

Johnny and Pazzi have drinks together and talk about their time at Quantico. Pazzi gets drunk enough that he lets slip some information about his plans to capture Dr.Fell who he believes to be Dr.Lecter.  He does not remember telling Johnny this the next day.  Johnny at first believes this to just be silly drunken ideas…but when he begins to think about it over the next few days he realizes that it is the truth. Once he understands this, he realizes that Clarice – who had interviewed Lecter – would know Lecter if she saw him, and thus must be fully aware of the fact that the man she has been in contact with on and off for the last few years is really Doctor Lecter.  Worse still…Last season Johnny realized that Clarice was in love with Dr.Fell, and realizes that this means she is in love with Lecter.  He suspects her love is what keeps her from turning him in.  He thinks about turning Lecter in immediately, but he realizes since Clarice is aware of Lecter, that ultimately she would get in a lot of trouble as well if Lecter were caught.  He ponders what to do, unsure just what to think.

Once the painting is safely in America, Crawford lets the forger know that he was duped by Clarice. Furious, he has his men on the outside plot revenge on her.

March 8 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. The Moon appears to be 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the year's other full moons. The next time these two events coincided will be 2008

March 16- British fashion designer Alexander McQueen shows his first collection, partly inspired by The Silence of the Lambs film. Obviously, the film does not exist in this universe - HOWEVER - Clarice is shown looking at a Vogue spread featuring a couple of the pieces from the collection.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 12: Art and Artifice

DATE: April 1993

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Light and Colour  by J. M. W. Turner

Shade and Darkness by J. M. W. Turner

Nebelschwaden by Caspar David Friedrich

NOTES:

This episode is heavily influenced by the Frankfurt Art Theft of 1994, when three paintings were stolen from a German Gallery. 2 of the paintings were on loan from the Tate museum. The Tate museum devised a plan – Operation Cobalt – to buy back the paintings from the Mafia with the insurance money they had received from the theft. They would up actually making a profit!

Several pieces of art go missing from a gallery in Italy. It is believed to be at the hands of the Mafia. Clarice manages to find out who they think stole the paintings and poses as Elizabeth Chase in an effort to “buy” them for an interested client. She has the insurance money for the Mafia to see – so they know she is for real.  It is, of course, a ruse and several members of the Mafia are taken to jail.  They threaten revenge on Clarice.

Ardelia wonders if the FBI can use members of the Belle Arti to lure Il Monstro into attacking and essentially ambush him.

Jonny, having discovered that Dr.Fell is Hannibal Lecter wonders if he should confront Clarice about that fact, but he is not entirely sure how to do so.

April 19 – Waco siege: A 51-day standoff at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas ends with a fire that kills 76 people, including David Koresh.  This would be big news in the background of the episode, especially for the F.B.I teams.  Several of Crawford’s men are required to head back home.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 13: Violent Delights

DATE: May 1993

ARTWORK FEATURED:

 Adoration of the Shepherds by Gerard van Honthorst

 Birth of Christ by Gherardo Delle Notti

 Dispute with the Doctors by Manfredi

 Death of Adonis by Sebastiano del Piombo

Piramo and Tisbe by Gregorio Pagani

Disbelief of St.Thomas, school of Caravaggio

NOTES:

27 May – Via dei Georgofili Massacre: A car bomb planted outside the Uffizi Gallery in Florence by the Mafia kills five people and irretrievably destroying several pieces of art and badly damaging many others. This episode is heavily influenced by this event.

While it first appears that the bombing is in retaliation for the passing of a new measure in prison that greatly limited freedoms of prisoners based on their crime. It applied heavily to imprisoned Mafia members and freed Mafia members retaliated.

This episode explores the fact that while the law is stated reason for the bombing, the choice of the Uffizi has to do with the police participating in the fake sale of art in order to lure in the Mafia and imprison some of its members.

Clarice has made her name in the city for being disruptive in the art world. The Mafia has noticed her and Il Monstro has noticed her as well. We see a scene of a Mafia boss and Il Monstro meeting. We do not see Il Monstro – just the back of his shoulder. The Mafia boss asks if he would be amenable to taking care of Clarice – for which he will be adequately compensated. Il Monstro agrees.

Dr.Fell lectures to the Studiolo on Dante’s Infero. He discusses Pazzi and Judas Iscariot, who both died by hanging. The Studiolo considers the lecture to be a resounding success,

Pazzi meets Dr.Fell as he leaves the lecture. Once only the two of them remain, Lecter shows Pazzi a slide he forgot – a slide of his ancestor hanging. He chloroforms Pazzi. Pazzi wakes, tied up, his mouth taped. Lecter asks him if it was Mason Verger he sold Lecter to and Pazzi confirms that it was. Pazzi tries to negotiate – he will have Laura bring money. Lecter says he doesn’t need the money and begins to make a hangman’s noose from an extension cord. He puts the noose around Pazzi’s neck, slits open Pazzi’s bowels and throws Pazzi off the balcony before quickly escaping.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 14: Accademia di Belle Arti

DATE: June 1993

ARTWORK FEATURED:

San Bernardino alle Ossa, Ossuary of Bones

Visconti Coat of Arms in Milan

NOTES:

A list with Il Monstro's victim's surfaces and it confirms to Clarice that indeed he is killing men from the board of the Art School that he was rejected from - the Belle Arti.

Clarice’s own name has been added to the list at the bottom, Il Monstro knowing that she is out and about looking for him.  The FBI insists she keeps a low profile for a little while. She books a B&B in the country, but just before she leaves, a note from the Doctor arrives, and she chooses to go to that address instead. He has a villa outside of town he has rented for a little while and assures Clarice its owners met no foul end. For a week they talk, drink, eat, laugh, and mostly try to solve the Il Monstro Case, going over the evidence. The various board members have come and gone over the years, and so the board member kills look random - until the comparison of their years on the boards is compared. From there, they determine the years in which all of the dead board members were active. Once they narrow down the years, then they are able to look through a list of rejections given by that board. It’s not a small list, and they must cull through it as well. As Clarice works alongside Lecter on this, she is also calling her team back in town and “offering suggestions” in the hopes that they come to the same conclusions she is. Clarice and Lecter, as well as Clarice’s team ultimately come up with two names - but one of those people is dead - so it narrows it down to one. The problem now is finding where that person is...

Over the week with Lecter, there is a lot of discussion about Clarice’s father. When searching for the killer, Hannibal asks her "Isn't this what you wanted? To be back to the chase?” She says she is no longer sure. They talk more about her father and the lambs, and Hannibal Lecter shows her the Ossuary of Bones in San Bernardino alle Ossa. He tells her that her father is just like these bones - this is what time has reduced him to. Her father cannot judge her, that she doesn't have to fight crime because she thinks it will make him proud - he already is proud. She doesn't have to fight crime to bring him back - he will never come back. She must make peace with that. He tells her father is not a saint, to which she replies "Neither am I." which shocks Hannibal, as he has idealized her for quite some time.

She says he once accused her of forgetting who he is, what he is, what he is capable of.  She looks at him and says she hasn't forgotten, she doesn't care. They kiss and are about to go to bed together when the phone rings, and it is The Art Crime Team and the Behavioral Science team saying they have a location on Il Monstro - they are going in.  Clarice says she is on her way and leaves Hannibal Lecter to his thoughts.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 15: A Pound of Flesh

DATE: June 1993 FLASHBACKS:

Crawford - Crawford and his team surround the home of the suspected  Buffalo Bill, breaking down the door.

Crawford - The home Crawford and his team enter winds up being incorrect, and Crawford realizes that Clarice may be in grave danger.

Clarice - Clarice investigates James Gumb, knocking on his door. She soon finds he is Buffalo Bill, and he escapes into his basement, where she quickly follows.

Clarice - Clarice and Jame Gumb stumble about his basement, and she ultimately shoots and kills him.

Clarice - Clarice is on the front page of many newspapers for having killed Buffalo Bill.  She receives a letter from Hannibal Lecter.

ARTWORK FEATURED:

Perseus and Andromeda by Titian, The Wallace Collection in London

Various sculptures and pieces of glass in Il Monstro’s studio

NOTES:

The title of the episode is a famous phrase from The Merchant of Venice. 

Clarice has been notified that her team is closing in on Il Monstro and she drives from the country to meet her team.  Unfortunately, when Clarice’s team and Crawford’s team reach Il Monstro’s location, they quickly find that the name they have is wrong. After a moment of realization, Jack Crawford understands that Clarice is in great danger.

Driving in the country, Clarice is abducted by Il Monstro.

Scenes of Clarice’s team being led to the wrong location, only to have Clarice abducted are interspersed with flashbacks of the Buffalo Bill Case when Jack Crawford accidentally send Clarice to Buffalo Bill while they chase a lead that winds up not being the right location. 

Il Monstro takes Clarice to Venice. He has a small art studio - far away and secluded - along with glass blowing supplies. He reveals that his name is Franceso Grandin, but that he has been living under an alias.

He considers what he will do with her. He threatens her with molten glass at the end of a pole. How to kill her - and how to pose her?  What piece of art does she inspire?  He ultimately decides he will drown her in the narrow canal just outside of his studio. Will she be Andromeda? Maybe Ophelia? He decides instead she will be The Drowned Martyr. 

As he is speaking, Hannibal Lecter manages to find his way to Clarice. He was not far behind her when she was abducted, and followed Francesco the whole way. He tells Clarice this, but we do not SEE it happen, as this scene should be suspenseful - we should not know Hannibal is going to rescue her.

Francesco and Hannibal fight, and Francesco manages to burn Hannibal’s arm with molten glass badly enough that he pauses for a few seconds - long enough for Il Monstro to pin him down.  Tied up, Clarice and Hannibal cannot do much, but Hannibal slowly begins to work on getting out of his bonds.

Francesco leaves Hannibal and goes back to Clarice. He drags her outside and she screams, more concerned for Hannibal than herself. She struggles the entire time but is gagged and thus cannot make much noise. Her ankles and wrists are bound and she is thrown into the Canal. She struggles with her bonds.

Back in the studio, Francesco speaks to Hannibal, and much like he did with Clarice considers how he should kill and display Hannibal. “You don’t know who I am, do you?” Hannibal asks him. When he Francesco moves close to Hannibal’s face, suddenly Hanniba’s hands come out from behind him - he had managed to come loose from his bonds. With a clay cutter from a table littered with sculptures, Hannibal Lecter slits Il Monstro’s neck as he advises Francesco that a monster should learn to recognize another monster.

Clarice continues to struggle with her bonds, having gotten her ankles free, but it is too late and she finally loses consciousness. Suddenly Lecter appears in the water beside her. He grabs her around the waist and brings her up to the surface.  He performs mouth to mouth, and Clarice vomits up some water but does not regain consciousness.

Knowing that police will soon arrive - both to deal with the commotion of his just having killed a man, as well as the F.B.I. coming in search of Clarice, Lecter carries Clarice to a small abandoned studio not far from the one they just left. 

He strips them of their wet clothes and holds her close to warm her. It’s May, and the water int he canal isn’t cold enough to make her hypothermic, but she is still cold, shaken and weak from having nearly drowned. He kisses her hands to warm them and realizes suddenly she’s regained consciousness. She is relieved to find that he is alive, and he kisses her forehead and tells her she’ll be alright. After kissing her forehead, he looks at her, overwhelmed and kisses her lips and she kisses him back. He pulls away after a moment, and she says “Don’t stop.” With three years of sexual frustration having pent up and the relief at finding one another alive, they make love.

Clarice wakes to the sound of sirens and helicopters. She sits up and looks around and finds that Hannibal Lecter is gone. She goes outside to find Johnny, Crawford, several other team members, and the Italian Police outside calling for her.

Clarice runs to Johnny and he expresses relief that she is alright. He tells her that after going to the wrong place, they knew she was in danger. With some quick thinking, they ultimately found Il Monstro’s studio and his body - his neck slit, but when they couldn’t find her, they feared the worst.  She is given credit for the kill.

Clarice is once again in the news - now mostly in Italy rather than America. Crawford assures her that he is going to do his best to get her on his team at Behavioral Science.

We see a flashback of Clarice just after the Buffalo Bill killing receiving a letter from Hannibal Lecter.  We then see her going through her mail in the present day. We can tell she is expecting a letter from Lecter. We see her disappointment when there isn’t one.

CREDIT: “It’s Art that Kills Us” poster uses an edited and cropped photograph by Tommy Liddel.

[in-defense-of-the-horror]

AHS Cult: A Rant

I’m working on some more organized AHS content, but I really just want to talk about this in the meantime, and I figure it’s good to get some of that out of my system.

SPOILER ALERT: Please, please, just watch Cult before you read this. It’s a fantastic season and not worth ruining.

One thing that I feel I’ve heard about each of the last several AHS seasons is that they were going to go back to the basics, and utilize the same elements that made Murder House so enticing.

It sounded good - for a long time Murder House was my favorite season and absolutely the one with the best pacing, an area that I felt was really weak in the following seasons.

As those of you who have been following me for awhile know, Hotel eventually displaced it as my favorite season, but when I heard that Roanoke was going to be more like Murder House, I had high hopes.

Of course, Roanoke has been the worst season by a long shot and while it was more like the debut season that got me so hooked on the show, it was similar in all the wrong ways; similar setting, rehashed plot, alienating characters, and after re-watching it to prepare myself for the Netflix release of Cult, I almost reconsidered watching this season.

But Cult was like Murder House in all the best ways, and I am so glad to have seen it.

It focused around a tight group of characters, getting into what scares them as individuals and the impact that they have on the dynamic of everyone else involved. It was immersive, well-written, and each episode took us further into the minds of the cult members, giving us more information about their past and building expertly on the premise.

The politically charged premise also led to Cult having the best social commentary out of any season (which you could probably tell was the case just by watching the opening credit sequence.) It took the concept of obliterating the two-party system that has led to so much discourse in America, promised something better, and drew the audience in much the same way that the characters were being drawn in before turning everything on its head.

It opened up a lot of moral discussions about what’s right, what’s wrong, and what’s effective. What if the only way to bring about the change we desire is through the same sort of chaos and radical action that we’re opposed to? A frightening thought, and a delicious underlying premise for the season.

Kai Anderson is one of the best villains ever to appear on television, and personifies exactly what we should fear from cult leaders. He’s deplorable, and this is something we get to see early on, but he has an undeniable charisma (we could expect no less from Evan Peters) that is downright chilling. Showing the power he has on people helps assist one of the more amazing aspects of Cult, it shows the members as both the killers and the victims. Everyone in the season is so much more sympathetic than I would have expected, which is magnified when Kai forces them to open up about their deepest fears, many of which are all too relatable.

And that fucking opening sequence.

Cult opens to election night on November 8th, 2016, and you know right off the bat what you’re getting into with this season. The emotion in that scene was unforgettable, the terror all too genuine.

That’s what it comes down to for me, I think. Other seasons (Hotel, and potentially still Murder House) may have been more entertaining and more inclusive to horror sub-genres, but Cult is the first season of the show that really scared me.

I think one of the more notable aspects of the season was a lack of diversity when it came to themes, which actually proves something I’ve been saying for years, that American Horror Story needs to focus better on its main narrative. Murder House was able to balance human-created horrors with the paranormal and religious horrors very well, but every season since that has run into some downfalls.

Asylum tried to include too many things (Asylum, Church, Serial Killer, Aliens) and even though I loved each of the arcs individually, it felt too scattered. Coven balanced its witch and voodoo arcs very well, but at the expense of character development. Freakshow’s focus was on all the wrong characters at the wrong time, excluding some of the most intriguing members of the cast. Hotel came closest to re-finding that balance because the setting lent itself out to more compartmentalized stories, allowing it to tackle ghosts, vampires, killers, etc. but the first third of the season was spent focused far too heavily on the least sympathetic and dynamic characters. Roanoke might have nailed the tight narrative aspect if its structure hadn’t been all over the place, but I suppose we’ll never know.

Cult nailed it though. It had less going on for it than any of the previous seasons in terms of stories and horror tropes, but it really didn’t need to have fall backs. The psychological and political aspects to the topic were more than enough to really engage audiences without introducing strong supernatural or mythological elements. 

I always like the seasons best right after I finish watching them for the first time. It’s very possible that, in the following weeks as I pick apart the season, it will lose a little of its magic for me, but right now, I’m a little blown away.

I hope this is more of the tone that we can expect from Apocalypse, which I now look forward to binge-watching next year.

[orionsangel86]

13x01 - Episode Review Part 1

In which Dean just about held it together... and I did not. 

This review will be in several parts. I have separated it into several sections that I wish to talk about because hot damn. What an episode! This Part 1 focuses on Dean’s grief and Destiel and saying goodbye to Castiel. 

Firstly, an introduction

As I sit here, surrounded by three friends who I met on tumblr, BECAUSE of this show, I am amazed at how far I have come. I did not think that when I joined this fandom I would ever get to this moment, but my gosh what an amazing feeling this is. To all of you out there – reach out to people, you really won’t regret what you find. 

I adored this episode. I screamed, I even shed a single man tear whilst holding on to @amwritingmeta quite tightly… sorry Annelie if I hurt you at all. @tinkdw, @margarittet and @amwritingmeta you guys are wonderful and I am so glad that I have been able to flail and scream along to this awesome episode with you. Thank you for sharing this crazy obsession with me.

Part 1 - Love, Grief and Saying Goodbye

THEY USED METALLICA’S NOTHING ELSE MATTERS AS THE OPENING SONG! We were two seconds in and @margarittet had to pause because we all collectively SCREAMED that they chose to use this as the open song AS WELL! @tinkdw said that she wanted to try and guess what the opening song was this season but I don’t think ANY OF US considered that they would reuse “Nothing Else Matters” because its just so on the nose isn’t it? Nothing else matters? Nothing else matters than what exactly?

Well once again the “Then” sequence ends on Dean kneeling over Cas’s body.

The answer is Castiel. Nothing else matters than CASTIEL. This is repeated CONSTANTLY throughout the episode. You are not allowed to forget about him for a SINGLE SECOND and this opening song drums that home. Seriously if there are any Cas fans out there still bitter about Cas I dunno what show you are watching because it certainly ISN’T the show I watched yesterday.

It hurts to think about. What even was this episode? From the opening song “Nothing Else Matters” to the “Goodbye Cas” at the funeral pyre, this episode was chocablock full of moments that prove unequivocally that for Dean, Cas truly is his guiding light, his hope. Even if you don’t see their relationship as romantic you cannot possibly deny after 13x01 that Dean and Cas have an extraordinary connection and a deep and profound love that has now transferred to an even deeper excruciating grief in Dean.

Choosing to use this song as the season opener though? The season opener always reflects the tones of the season, the main themes. To have THIS song as the season opening? Wow. Just wow. This is a song that comes up first if you google “Metallica Love Song” by the way. In case you were wondering if it was indeed a love song. Because it is. James Hetfield confirmed it was written for a girlfriend. Interestingly though it has been debated over the years as the lyrics themselves are not conventionally romantic lyrics. Nevertheless, this is now fact: Supernatural used a Love Song called “Nothing Else Matters” to set the tone and theme of season 13, lingering over shots of Dean looking down at Castiel’s dead body. This isn’t even arguable. This is where we are.

(and what a wonderful place to be my friends)

Dean’s grief was beautifully portrayed by the superb acting skills of Jensen Ackles. In my season 13 wishlist I said this:

“It probably goes without saying but MAN PAIN OVER CAS – I mean, I reckon we are gonna get a good helping of this. Maybe not immediate tears but its gonna be pretty damn angsty – if the promo’s are anything to go by. I basically want it to be UNDENIABLE in canon that CAS is the reason that Dean is so broken up and that BOTH brothers are seriously struggling with his death. It has to be OBVIOUS how important Cas was to them and how his death has affected them”

I think we can tick this one off. :)

Continues under the cut.

The grief was so intense, it left me with a constant ache in my heart that still hasn’t shifted as I write this. From the first moment, Dean’s face in this episode brought me both intense pain and also intense joy. Bless Jensen for being such an amazing actor.

LOOK AT THIS FACE

There was a lot of speculation over the summer that Dean would just snap, pull out his gun, and go to shoot Jack once it sunk in that Cas was actually dead, and that is EXACTLY what he does. But that isn’t what broke me, what broke me is just how OFTEN the audience is reminded that ultimately, even though others died as well, for Dean, it is ALL ABOUT CAS. (Nothing Else Matters after all).

In the now famous sneak peek car scene Dean can’t even say the words when it comes to Cas SPECIFICALLY. He can admit that Crowley is dead, that Kelly is Dead and that mom is gone, but Cas? Nope. He chokes on his words:

(x)

Sam IS able to say the words. He can ask “Is Cas really dead?” Dean just growls “you know he is” and drives on. It is HEARTBREAKING.

The next moment we get that textualises the huge difference between Cas’s death and the other deaths for Dean is the moment during the fight with Miriam the angel when this wonderful exchange takes place:

(x)

Now we don’t actually know what was going through Dean’s head at this moment, but Miriam calls him out on it anyway - whether or not she was able to read his mind or she just went for the obvious assumption we don’t know. But Miriam doesn’t mention Mary, she doesn’t mention Crowley. She only mentions Castiel. This is in contrast to Sam’s discussion with Jack about reopening the portal, which is easily interpreted as Sam thinking of ways to use Jack to get Mary back, because we can understand that OF COURSE that would be Sam’s primary motivation right now. Sam still has hope. Dean doesn’t - except for the split second in this scene when he does. He falls for Miriam’s words, and it makes her “Oh sweety” so much worse.

The angels are usually exposition for Cas’s feelings for Dean, but in this scene, in a somewhat similar way to the scene in 8x19 with Naomi, they are exposition of Dean’s feelings for Cas, in a theme that is constantly running throughout this episode.

Finally once all the action is over and the boys head back to the cottage with Jack we get ten minutes of the emotional, poignant and touching moments that this show has ever given us. Enough that once I started sobbing, I couldn’t stop. 

I love Sam’s careful questioning to Dean:

“Are you sure about this Dean? I mean its Cas. Ya know? Maybe we can bring him back? Like you said?”

“No we Cant”

“Chuck did, um God did, remember that? So maybe if, I dunno, if we prayed to him or…”

“You don’t think I’ve tried that?”

Before I even get into the beauty of Dean’s prayer, THIS right here is ONCE AGAIN proving HOW differently the brothers view Cas. Sam is asking these questions, rather than telling Dean. Because he know that Dean is the authority on all things Cas. He knows that whatever Dean decides, he is going to go along with it. We have had this same theme running throughout seasons 11 and 12. Sam always accepts Dean’s decision when it comes to Cas. Always.

And yet we still don’t textually have a reason for this. Dean continues to refer to Cas like his and Sam’s third brother. So why are the two not treated equally? Yet again we have been shown the difference between the brotherly love between Sam and Cas and the ??? love between Dean and Cas. One is not the same as the other.

DEAN’S PRAYER

This is where I started to tear up. Honestly…

FULL PRAYER: “Ok Chuck. Or God or whatever. I, I need your help. You see you left us. You left us. You went off… You said, you said the earth would be fine because it had me and it had Sam but it’s not.  And we’re not. We’ve lost everything. And now you’re gonna bring him back. You’re gonna bring back Cas, you’re gonna bring back mum your gonna bring em all back. All of em. Even Crowley. Because after everything that you’ve done you owe us you son of a bitch so you get your ass down here and you make this right. Right here. And Right now.”

“Please. Please help us.”

Now, see this is where I squeal because he said “We’ve lost Everything. And now you’re gonna bring him back.” Because this CLEARLY reads as Dean saying that Cas is EVERYTHING (which fits in nicely with the theme of “Nothing Else Matters” to Dean) and I know there has been some debate over whether it was actually “him” or whether it was “em” that he said, but since the official CW subtitles caption it as “him” I’m gonna assume they are correct. And anyway, it says a lot when the official PR team use this specific interpretation – almost like they wanted to make sure we knew exactly what Dean was saying. Hmmmm… I wonder why.

The fact that we then get the pause where he turns away from the camera, waiting for a sign, anything, and it feels almost like we are interfering. Dean is hiding from the camera in his moment of anguish, and we are made to feel hopeless in light of his pain.

To then see Dean smash up the sign on the door (which I will talk about more in my Signs, Symbols, Ships and Handprints part of the review), and just finally show the extent of his emotional anguish and grief is again so fantastic for anyone still doubting Dean’s absolute love and adoration for Castiel:

(x)

This is a man who only prays in the most DIRE situations. Look at the desperation on his face. REVEL IN IT!

Moving on and honestly I didn’t think the episode could get more emotional than that prayer BUT I WAS WRONG. (Oh how much I underestimated Dabb when writing my wishlist!)

The way that Dean stands in that room, the high angle shot and the cinematography/lighting which makes it gloomy and almost sepia toned like all the colour has been drained out of Dean’s world. The way he looks both too small and too big for the room. Its sombre. Its silent. The atmosphere is drenched in sorrow. Its beautifully done.

(x)

The way he removes the shroud and takes one last look. His own private way of saying goodbye. Its Dean’s micro expressions both here and throughout the episode that I ADORE because you can tell so easily that he IS fighting back tears almost constantly. It’s the jaw clenching, the swallowing down his pain, I was half expecting a Darcy hand clench to appear.

(x)

His pain is so raw, so real, and so fucking heartbreaking. This is pain and grief for someone you deeply love on a whole other level. This is the pain of a lost spouse. Words can not describe how beautifully Jensen delivered these scenes. I don’t think I will ever be over just how intense this was to watch. I don’t think I will ever be able to watch it without crying.

We talked at our premier party about the significance of Dean wrapping Cas’s body. About how this is the first time such a thing has ever been shown (usually the show just cuts straight to the pyre). It’s a mark of serious respect to Castiel, as a beloved character on the show, and also, a nod to traditional ceremony’s in Jewish and Islamic cultures of the closest family members to the deceased preparing the body for burial. The fact that Dean does this on his own, without Sam, is also to highlight the difference in their relationships.

I stress again that Sam DOES see Cas as his brother. Because regardless of ridiculous arguments that try to state otherwise, Sam is not an asshole and made it clear last season that he too loved Cas deeply. So why is Dean doing all the work? Because Dean is not Cas’s brother. He is his freaking husband. He’s acting like a widow throughout this entire episode.  He is playing the dutiful spouse. In deep mourning, fighting back tears whilst he says goodbye to the love of his life.

(I’m crying again FYI)

But then even all THAT isn’t enough for Andrew Dabb. Oh no. He had to hit us with even FURTHER angst with the pyre scene and Sam’s heart breaking speech of goodbye:

“Thank you. You say thank you. And you say you’re sorry. You hope they’re somewhere without sadness and pain. You hope they’re somewhere better. You say goodbye.”

(x)

And in that moment Sam Winchester stomped all over my already beaten heart

Because this really was a send of to Cas. Yes Sam was talking about all of them, and we lost A LOT of great characters in season 12, and this was the writers way of paying respect to all those characters, but ultimately, like how he was at the forefront of Dean’s mind the entire episode, he was so very present throughout all of this, and the respect and love shown to Cas in this episode by the characters, the writers, the show creators... I’m in utter awe. It’s so much more than I could ever have asked for.

(x)

“Goodbye Cas”

And Dean just put in the final blow.

Once again though Cas is at the forefront of Dean’s mind. He comes first. That makes three times in this episode that Dean has listed out their fallen family. Every time though, Cas is separated from the others. Cas’s loss is on a different level to Mary and Crowley and Kelly.

Kelly was a victim, but her loss wouldn’t gravely hurt Dean

Crowley was an ally/nemesis who was sometimes something more. His loss gave Dean conflicted feelings.

Mary was their mother and that one would have hurt deeply. But Mary’s death was already an old wound, a new person in their lives who they didn’t really know. They were only starting to know her. Their grief over her will be strong indeed, but its not the same.

Cas was the loss that buried deep. Cas’s loss has broken Dean. Dabb has made it absolutely undeniably clear that Cas’s death is the focus of this episode, even when not directly mentioned (more on that later). And that Dean’s love for Cas is the very central theme of this entire season. Nothing Else Matters after all. Not for Dean. Not any more.

Thanks for reading! In part 2 I will explore the introduction of Jack and the narrative mirrors surrounding him in the premier. Watch this space.

[muzzmurray]

year in fic review (2017)

You can find all of the fic mentioned below on my ao3 account, savedby. If you’re looking for my football fic edition, you can find it here.

Year at a glance: Total number of completed stories: 32 Total word count: 77707

Overall Thoughts:

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I wrote way more than I realized for this fandom, um, wow. There were a couple of months where I was writing like four or five fics and I have no idea how that happened.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Oh, the Vegas Golden Knights! Because when they signed two, I was joking around on twitter about how I could ship them now, and my friend was like ‘well, why don’t you’ and then that evolved into Sabaton and by extension into the Bold in Gold series, which was one of the most rewarding parts of my year for sure.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? these tornadoes are for you, which was Nick/Bob and written for the Cannon Fodder exchange. The combination of magic realism, humor and their general softness was really nice to write, and @frecklebombfic did a beautiful podfic of it.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Purely in terms of style, I wrote descent, in second person, which I know tends to polarize opinions. I love it, for whenever I want to write something that feels more immediate and intimate. I actually tried to rewrite it in third person, because the friend I was writing it for told me she wasn’t a big fan of second person, but it just wouldn’t work. It had to be written exactly as it is.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I’d like to finish this chaptered Mcdrai magic AU fic that I’m working on and I’d like to continue writing the Vegas Golden Knights as their narrative unfolds, so the Bold in Gold series can become a sort of written history of the team and its fandom. Ambitious, but. We’ll see. I’m already working on the next part.

From my past year of writing, what was…

My best story of this year: armet. I think this was in the works the moment I realized that there was a possibility that Flower might go to Vegas and it ended up becoming exactly what I had hoped it would be.

My most popular story of this year: i still get jealous of your old boyfriends, judging by kudos, which is actually funny to me, because for the longest time I really hated what I wrote for that fic and I ended up posting it after having it written for a period of time.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: foundations, my Marleau/Thornton fic. I mean, it’s a niche pairing and a character study, so it’s probably as good as it’s going to get, but it’s basically peak me and my love for old men and their narratives.

Most fun story to write: world i can call mine , which was my Pod_together project with @frecklebombfic . Having her input on it was so essential (as it was in many of my fics this year) and I had such a fun time discussing Auston, Zach and Mitch, and poly with her. And her podfic ended up being perfect. It was just a great project.

Story with the single sexiest moment: Man, I don’t know, I’m an ace essentially floundering in the world of smut. But I did manage to post, like 4 explicit stories this year, which just goes to show you that you can be anything you set your mind to, kids. As it is, I’m nominating this line from wake me up come tomorrow

Oscar does, adds another finger only when he feels Adam completely relax into the first. He fingers him slow and easy, watching his face as it relaxes from discomfort to pleasure. Adam makes these noises too, cut off moans, helpless and involuntary. Oscar adds a third finger and he whines, high in his throat.

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: circumstance, which I hadn’t realized was still posted on anon until right now. So I’m owning up to it, I suppose. I’m not ashamed of it, because it still makes me laugh a lot on re-read, but please heed the warnings.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: your morning cup, my Tim Horton character study. I didn’t even really know anything about him when I decided I was going to be writing this fic. But as I researched and wrote, the story ended up being one of the most important things I wrote this year.

Hardest story to write: something like hope was an exercise in frustration, until I figured out how to frame it with quotes from Pekka’s Players’ Tribune article.

Biggest disappointment: I don’t really post things I’m actually unhappy with.

Biggest surprise: I was most surprised by how well fandom received Sabaton, because I figured it was something so niche that only a few people would actually click on, but it became one of my most popular stories. I’m really grateful for that.

Highlights + Wrap-up:

Favorite Opening Lines (4):

From tomorrow is going to be pretty pawsome

Ryan is halfway through his breakfast when he hears his front door opening. It’s 9am and he’s not wearing pants, so if he’s going to be robbed, he’s pretty much defenceless, unless he pelts the robber with some granola.

What still gets me is how real this ship became as the season progressed.

From Sabaton

There’re a few things Vadim expects to see when he lands in Las Vegas. His new teammate holding up a big sign with his name on it, decorated with footballs and pucks and glitter, isn’t one of them.

Am I still prissy about how badly they treated Shippy? Yes. Absolutely.

From LXXXVII

Sidney Crosby isn’t high on the list of people that Vadim expects to see in the hotel bar in Pittsburgh before the Knights game against the Penguins, and yet, there he is. Crosby is wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses and a hat, presumably as some sort of disguise. It only makes him stand out more.

He also seems to be getting closer, swapping stools whenever Vadim glances away, until they’re sitting elbow to elbow.

Ridiculous Sid is my favorite plot device and he was in full effect in this fic.

From your morning cup

Strictly speaking, there’s never been a hockey player called Tim Horton.

I just liked the way this commands attention when you read it. I think it when you have something so niche, you need the first paragraph to grab your attention, and I think I did well here.

Favorite Closing Lines (5):

From dust in your veins

Then, Geno pulls him into another kiss, desperate, his chest shaking under Sid’s hands and Sid thinks that maybe he won't have to separate them after all.

That he can have this – his heart beating rapid fire in his chest, and Geno’s steadying palms on the muscles of his back, and the ghost of ice above them both.

I love the removable heart AU (not to be confused with the escaping heart AU) because it just works so incredibly well for those sports narratives.

From knight

“You know, it’s actually a pun, because I used to play for the London Knights and-”

“Oh my god, please stop.”

From we were a house on fire

“I want.”

“It’s been years.”

“Want still.”

“...yeah, okay.”

“Like that?”

“Yeah. Just like that.”

I love how deceptively simple this is, with no dialogue tags, but it feels like it packs a lot of punch, cutting through the complexity of their situation.

From descent

The streets of Edmonton turn slick, coated with fallen snow. Daylight is scarce, and cold besides, and you wear a jersey that doesn’t mean much to you and you watch out for the boy that means everything.

At night your curl around Connor in your bed. He always runs hot, burning in your bones and warming you from the inside out.

He presses his mouth to the nape of your neck, and you blink, mind muddled with sleep, and you realize you don’t know which one of you is the one doing the protecting.

Ask me sometime about my thoughts about enforcers and their relationships with star players, and why end up romanticizing them so much.

From armet

“Fleuuuurrrryyyy,” the fans scream, without a hint of mocking, echoing off the concrete of the building,  “Fleuuuurrrryyyyyyyy!” and it’s all he can do to smile through his tears, waving at these people who have crucified and martyred him over the years, but have loved him through it all.

His crease hasn’t changed. He pats the pipes, feels them steady beneath his palm, familiar. His teammates are all on the ice now, circling his goal, and he catches sight of Nealer coming forward with the puck. His face is grim and determined, and Flower remembers he’s got something to prove too.

He gives Nealer a sharp nod and crouches. Smiles.

He’s ready.

Flower’s game against the Pens in Vegas was emotionally devastating and I can only imagine how it’ll be when they play in Pittsburgh.

Favorite Lines From Anywhere (6):

From be your spine

The Bruins seem just fine without him, which is just a metaphor for his life, really. He notices the absence of Boston, but Boston is too big to notice he’s gone.

He limits his texts to Tuukka, and eventually they taper off, growing sparser and more impersonal as months go by. It’s understandable. Anton feels the absence of Tuukka like a phantom limb, but Tuukka is too brilliant, too beautiful, to be affected by Anton’s absence.

My first fic of the year was a homage to the journeyman player, the one who isn’t a star anywhere, the one that’s expendable. And this was one of the lines that summarized it pretty well.

From teddy bear

“I just want to be a cool dad, like Bozie! You’re the lame dad, Zach is the big brother figure and Leo is the grumpy grandpa. We all have roles to play!”

Matt bites back his first comment, and the second one. They’re both swearwords.

This whole sequence between Mo and Matt still makes me laugh really really hard.

From foundations

The Sharks are Joe’s team by virtue of wanting him more than anyone else did, but they aren’t his team like they’re Patty’s, who’s left pieces of himself in every crack in the Shark Tank concrete and who wears the jersey with more pride than anyone Joe’s ever known.

This fic hurts more now that Patty got traded.

From heart like a home

Roman is still sprawled across PK’s bed, entirely naked, reading one of PK’s magazines. His tanned skin glows in the soft yellow light of the bedside lamps. The sight never fails to make PK’s mouth go dry. As if sensing his gaze, Roman looks up, arching an elegant eyebrow, a stray curl falling across his forehead.

I want to eventually try to capture the various details of Roman/PK in a longer fic but for now this image of naked Roman will have to do.

From these tornadoes are for you

Bob is standing at the stove, muttering something to himself. He still looks like he did last night, little bolts of lightning racing across his skin, and when he turns around his eyes are still glowing pale in his face. It’s a little disconcerting, but Nick goes with it.

“What are you doing?” Nick asks, walking next to him to look at the pan and wincing. He’s careful not to touch Bob, doesn’t know what it’ll do to him. “Was this supposed to be scrambled eggs?”

I really enjoyed writing the whole scene of Bob releasing his magic in the woods, but what made me happiest to write was the morning after and how all that magic becomes somewhat of a hindrance.

From i still get jealous of your old boyfriends

“Are you telling me that Connor McDavid’s favorite show is My Super Sweet 16?” he asks incredulously. Mitch grins at him.

“Oh, no,” he says and Auston lets out a sigh of relief, “it used to be his favorite show. I think his favorite right now is Extreme Couponing.”

Connor and Extreme Couponing is the greatest love story I’ve written this year.

Fic Goals for 2017: I want to finish off the four WIPs that I didn’t manage to this year. Beyond that, I don’t have any particular expectations. I hope I can continue to enjoy writing in this fandom and that people will continue to enjoy my work.

year in fic review (2016)

[auburnfamilynews]

Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Defense is optional this year

After only three weeks of SEC play only two teams remain undefeated. That number is assured to drop to one this time next week. Only one team has been unfortunate enough to lose every game so far this season. Everyone else seems capable of beating or losing to anyone else any day of the week.

It’s chaos and ya’ll know deep down you love it.

It was a wild weekend featuring numerous upsets and some close calls. Attempting to figure out who exactly should be ranked over whom is getting a little ridiculous at this point but I did my best. Let’s take a look at where things stand heading into Week 4.

#1.) Alabama 3-0 (—)

SP+: 3 | FPI: 3

Last Game: 63-48 W @ Ole Miss

Despite two dominant performances to start the season, there were some cracks showing on this Alabama defense. Lane Kiffin took a sledgehammer to it on Saturday night to reveal that everything is not suddenly better on that side of the ball for the Crimson Tide. Granted, Alabama’s excuse is that Kiffin knows their signals since it’s impossible for the opponent to actually just play well against them.

Alabama LB Dylan Moses said he “definitely” thinks Ole Miss had Alabama’s signals on defense, pointing to Lane Kiffin’s time in Tuscaloosa.

— Alex Scarborough (@AlexS_ESPN) October 11, 2020

But it didn’t matter. Mac Jones continues to show why Tua was not a “generational QB”. He was just a good QB in a system that does an excellent job getting its insane amount of playmakers the ball in space.

This weekend though is the big one. Can this offense continue to dominate against the best defense in America? Can this defense slow down UGA’s resurgent run game? I am fascinated to find out.

Next Game: vs Georgia

#2.) Georgia 3-0 (—)

SP+: 4 | FPI: 4

Last Game: 44-21 W vs Tennessee

For the 2nd time this season, UGA went into halftime trailing. For the 2nd time this season, it didn’t matter.

The Dawgs took control of the game in the 2nd half rattling off 27 unanswered points. The Dawgs run game still isn’t dominant but it’s effective. Kearis Jackson is emerging as a big time playmaker in the slot while Stetson Bennett continues to avoid making the big mistakes.

It gets real this weekend with a trip to Tuscaloosa. To be honest, I actually think the Dawgs have been the best team in the SEC through the first 3 weeks and have a great chance at winning this weekend. Can Kirby Smart get over that mental hurdle and take down his former mentor?

Next Game: @ Alabama

#3.) Texas A&M 2-1 (+3)

SP+: 22 | FPI: 24

Last Game: 41-38 W vs Florida

We were all ready to bury Texas A&M early in the third quarter when they fell behind 28-17. But credit this Jimbo Fisher team. They rallied and pulled out a must win and gave Jimbo his first big win as the head coach of the Aggies.

Kellen Mond had that game he has every year where it looks like maybe he’s actually turned the corner and is ready to be an elite QB. He threw for over 300 yards and 3 scores while completing 25 passes on 35 attempts. Isaiah Spiller though was the difference late just gashing a beat down Gator defense again and again.

Despite struggling to beat a bad Vanderbilt team week 1 and getting walloped by Bama week 2, A&M is now in position to cement themselves as the #2 team in the West and a potential CFB darkhorse.

Strange times.

Next Game: @ Mississippi State

#4.) Florida 2-1 (-1)

SP+: 8 | FPI: 9

Last Game: 38-41 L @ Texas A&M

The margin of error is now incredibly slim for the Gators if they wish to finally knock UGA off their SEC East perch. It looked like they had taken control of the game early in the 3rd quarter but poor defense and a brutal late fumble resulted in a frustrating upset.

This offense though is still scary and if the defense can just get slightly better they are still a force to be reckoned with in the East. They MUST win this weekend against a falling apart LSU squad.

Next Game: vs LSU

#5.) Tennessee 2-1 (-1)

SP+: 24 | FPI: 23

Last Game: 21-44 L @ Georgia

For two quarters it looked like Jeremy Pruitt’s Volunteers belonged with the Dawgs. Unfortunately for the men in orange, football is a four quarter game...

The Vols lost their chance to prove they are ready to be an SEC East contender but are still in position to make some noise this season. They play host to Kentucky this weekend, a program they have only lost to twice since 1984. With Alabama, Texas A&M, Auburn and Florida still on the schedule, the Vols have plenty of opportunities remaining to put together a big season.

Next Game: vs Kentucky

#6.) Auburn 2-1 (-1)

SP+: 14 | FPI: 13

Last Game 30-28 W vs Arkansas

Auburn rediscovered its run game this past Saturday but failed to consistently do anything through the air and defensively were exposed much of the 2nd half. Bo Nix escaped a catastrophic mistake thanks to an official being so surprised at such a dumb play he blew his whistle early. This team is littered with injuries especially on the defensive side of the ball and continue to struggle to put points on the board.

And yet...

The Tigers are 2-1 with a legitimate chance to beat everyone on their schedule not named Alabama. They likely won’t but it’s a testament to the averageness of the SEC that the Tigers will be the favorite in at least all but two games left on their schedule. If Bo Nix can find any sort of consistency and this defense can get somewhat healthy, they could be a problem later this year. But this weekend is a must win for Gus Malzahn if he hopes to have any shot at challenging for the SEC West crown.

Next Game: @ South Carolina

#7.) Ole Miss 1-2 (+2)

SP+: 44 | FPI: 51

Last Game: 48-63 L vs Alabama

I was wrong on a lot of things this preseason but one team I absolutely nailed was Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin inherited an offense loaded with playmakers and he’s getting the most out of them every night. He also inherited a defense that legitimately might be the worst in the country.

He took the Tide the distance Saturday night in one of the most entertaining games of the year. Now he must travel to take on a pissed off Arkansas team that is proving they aren’t the pushovers of years past.

Next Game: @ Arkansas

#8.) Kentucky 1-2 (+3)

SP+: 33 | FPI: 38

Last Game: 24-2 W vs Mississippi State

I thought the UK-MSST game would have the oddest of box scores this past weekend and man was I right. Just look at this majestic piece of art.

The `Cats dominated a game in which they only had 157 yards of offense including 2.6 yards per carry. That happens when the other team throws 6 interceptions. Though per UK fan logic Mississippi State was clearly the better team...

Next Game: @ Tennessee

#9.) Missouri 1-2 (+4)

SP+: 60 | FPI: 47

Last Game: 45-41 W vs LSU

Ok I didn’t see this one coming...

Elijah Drinkwitz got his first win as head coach of Missouri by beating the defending champs on a 1 yard goal line stand. It was an incredible offensive performance as the Tigers picked apart Pelini’s defense all day long. I still don’t think this is a great team but they deserve the bump after a big time win

Next Game: vs Vanderbilt

#10.) Arkansas 1-2 (—)

SP+: 72 | FPI: 46

Last Game: 28-30 L @ Auburn

As if Arkansas fans needed anymore reasons to hate Auburn...

After falling behind 17-0, Arkansas outscored the Tigers 28-13 the rest of the way. Unfortunately for them, that was not enough to make up for the slow start and now Gus Malzahn is 6-1 against his alma mater.

It’s clear Sam Pittman is getting the most out of this team and I think it’s likely they get at least one more W before this season is over. Let’s see if Barry Odom’s defense can slow the Lane Train down.

Next Game: vs Ole Miss

#11.) South Carolina 1-2 (+1)

SP+: 42 | FPI: 32

Last Game: 41-7 W vs Vanderbilt

After some valiant but unsuccessful efforts to start the season, Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks took it to a bad Vanderbilt team in Nashville over the weekend. Kevin Harris averaged 8 yards a carry and scored two touchdowns. They get a vulnerable Auburn team this weekend inside Williams-Brice Stadium. Which boom will be the loudest this weekend?

Next Game: vs Auburn

#12.) Mississippi State 1-2 (-5)

SP+: 54 | FPI: 57

Last Game: 2-24 L @ Kentucky

Ok so it turns out I wasn’t wrong about Mississippi State. This is a bad team who was fortunate enough to draw a REALLY bad LSU defense week 1. K.J. Costello is a walking turnover and Mike Leach is already blaming everything on his players. Things are totally gonna go great in Starkville this year.

Next Game: vs Texas A&M

#13.) LSU 1-2 (-5)

SP+: 18 | FPI: 16

Last Game: 41-45 @ Missouri

I thought LSU would take a major step back this season. I did not expect that step to be “2nd worst team in the SEC” back but here we are.

Turns out that Bo Pelini is in fact NOT better than Dave Aranda. The LSU defense is a sieve and seemingly incapable of making any sort of in game adjustments. With all that said though it still wouldn’t shock me if they upset Dan Mullen this weekend....

Next Game: @ Florida

#14.) Vanderbilt 0-3 (—)

SP+: 117 | FPI: 112

Last Game: 7-41 L vs South Carolina

Every team that has beaten Vanderbilt this season has immediately lost the following game. Here’s to hoping that trend continues.

Next Game: @ Missouri

War Eagle!

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/10/12/21511196/sec-power-rankings-week-4

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 4

The game of the week screams off the page but there are plenty of actually decent footballs happening on this here beautiful final Saturday of the summer.

Let’s see if I have the mental fortitude to write even a single word for each game, good or not. What the hell does good have to do with degeneracy, anyway?

Times are Eastern, schedule is stolen from FBSchedules and odds are ripped from Vegas Insider.

Saturday, September 21

Matchup                                                          Time (ET)          TV/Mobile

11 Michigan at 13 Wisconsin                         12:00pm              FOX

You can throw out the rankings when these teams play because neither one of them has any business being ranked this highly! One of these teams will be basically out of the running for the playoffs by the time this is over. Everybody expects Michigan because Wisconsin hasn’t allowed a point this year and Michigan has mostly sucked so far in both of their games but this is the perfect place for a shitty Wolverines team to start tricking people. Wisconsin is up 110-0 on teams that are made of sawdust. Michigan is at least particle board, if not sterner. Wolverines +3, under 44.5.

Michigan State at Northwestern                    12:00pm               ABC

With an o/u a hilarious 36.5 I wouldn’t turn to this piece of shit if every single person on twitter were cryptically sending out tweets like “MICHIGAN!” and “nooooooooo” and “asdjseskrjhjsdbf” and “THERE’S STILL A WHOLE QUARTER LEFT!” You aren’t fooling me.

Western Michigan at Syracuse                       12:00pm             ACCN

What the hell is this ACCN thing, anyway? It’s just an ESPN skin but it’s got like 2% market penetration. At times like noon, September 21st, 2019, we can all be thankful for the unlikelihood of accidentally switching to ACCN while searching for football to gamble on.

ULM at Iowa State                                            12:00pm               FS1

Louisiana-Monroe is a real dark horse contender for the Big XII title.

UConn at Indiana                                              12:00pm               BTN

Webster’s dictionary defines the word “torture” as...

Tennessee at 9 Florida                                     12:00pm             ESPN

I’ve had this weird premonition all week that Florida is totally going to fuck this up. On the one hand, the Gators should score more than 14 on defense. On the other hand, they should give up some points on offense. On the third hand, Tennessee is in a very bad place as a football program. Vols +14, under 49. But don’t put more than $1.50 on any of it.

Southern Miss at 2 Alabama                            12:00pm              ESPN2

Do people bet a lot on Bama games? Nick Saban seems to willfully undercut gamblers every week. The Tide are easily 39 points better than Southern Miss but they could realistically sit on a 24-0 lead for the entire second half.

Boston College at Rutgers                               12:00pm                BTN

BC just lost to Kansas by 24 and here they are favored by 8 the next week. Rutgers is probably really that bad but that still seems impossible. 32 points worse than Kansas? NAIA schools aren’t 32 points worse than Kansas.

23 California at Mississippi                              12:00pm              ESPNU

Don’t look now but 6 Pac teams were ranked in the top 25 this week. Rather, go look now. No way that lasts. Never trust a west coast team heading east for an early kickoff.

Elon at Wake Forest                                           12:00pm               RSN

Wake Forest sucks but nobody sucks more than Elon Musk.

4 LSU at Vanderbilt                                             12:00pm             SECN

Some things you can count on. One of them is LSU’s football team never making a goddamn lick of sense in any context.

Morgan State at Army                                         12:00pm            CBSSN

The Troops have a -49 point line as I write this but apparently every other betting option is off the books? Not sure how that works but it’s probably illegal.

 Coastal Carolina at UMass                                1:00pm       FloSports / NESN

There needs to be better vetting before allowing teams to just move up to FBS status. This is horrible.

Louisiana at Ohio                                                 2:00pm            ESPN+

This is a very tiny step up from the 1pm game. Ohio has been a mess so take the Ragin Cajuns on the road +3.

CCSU at Eastern Michigan                                 3:00pm             ESPN3

There is no watchin this one up, either, so find other things to amuse you. Like gambling or day drinking.

Troy at Akron                                                        3:00pm            ESPN+

Finally we get that magical intersection of stupid, useless, and entertaining and it’s a goddamn ESPN+ game. For shame. SHAAAAAAME!!!!

Louisville at Florida State                                    3:30pm            ESPN

Did FSU’s big comeback last week wake the ghosts and get Willie Taggert on track in Tallahassee? Probably not. What little I’ve watched of these two has me thinking Louisville is a straight up better team than FSU so my advice would be to take the Cardinals +6.5 but that’s right there on the line. Don’t think twice.

South Alabama at UAB                                        3:30pm            NFLN

The Iron Bowl, Jr.! UAB -11 seems like pretty good value but you CAN THROW OUT THE RECORDS WHEN THESE TWO PLAY! A fun game to play if you watch this one is to see what fanbase is best represented in the crowd: UAB, USA, Bama or Auburn. Roll damn Tide.

Temple at Buffalo                                                  3:30pm          ESPNU

This seems like a conference rivalry but it isn’t. That’s all.

15 UCF at Pitt                                                       3:30pm   ABC/ESPN2 (RM)

I saw UCF mentioned as a legitimate top 5 team this week so I’m expecting them to lose. If Pitt wears their sweet yellow helmets I especially expect UCF to lose. So load up on UCF -11 because I am a fucking idiot. Book it.

22 Washington at BYU                                        3:30pm    ABC/ESPN2 (RM)

Poor, sweet UDub. What might have been? Probably nothing but what will be is definitely nothing. BYU is sure to follow up their big upset of USC with a belly flop.

Wyoming at Tulsa                                                 3:30pm         CBSSN

O/u has moved up to 46.5 but that still seems low to me. Very appropriate CBS SN fare here. This is just good watchin’.

Miami (Ohio) at 6 Ohio State                                3:30pm            BTN

I don’t want to be a true believer in Chase Young or Justin Fields. I need to stick to my traditional hate Ohio State stance because any time I’ve flirted with liking a player on their team it has ended in heart break.

SMU at 25 TCU                                                       3:30pm            FS1

SMU has looked better than a dead fish so far this year. I’m kind of intrigued in this game as entertainment. I don’t want to pin expectations on it but I might hang around for a quarter or so.

Bowling Green at Kent State                                 3:30pm          ESPN3

Here comes the MAC to ruin my good mood.

Appalachian State at North Carolina                     3:30pm          RSN

And here’s Mack to ruin my good mood even more.

8 Auburn at 17 Texas A&M                                      3:30pm          CBS

Just the words Auburn and Texas A&M next to each other promises a level of psychosis that will be tough to live up to. I hope you’ve got a defibrillator nearby if you take it upon yourself to place bets on this game.

Kentucky at Mississippi State                                 4:00pm        SECN

I think this is the entertaining side of S!E!C!

South Carolina at Missouri                                      4:00pm       SECN Alt.

And this is dark, depressing, unwatchable side of S!E!C!

Central Michigan at Miami (FL)                                4:00pm         ACCN

Once upon a time there was a small, slow, relatively unathletic wide receiver from Miami who went to Central Michigan and became a huge star, one of the best in the NFL, a Madden cover boy, probably a serial rapist who is now unemployable even though he’s still one of the best football players on the planet. Where am I going with this? Oh, yeah, don’t move to Pittsburgh.

West Virginia at Kansas                                            4:30pm          ESPN+

What if Kansas wins again? Does Les Miles sign a fully guaranteed 25-year extension and then immediately retire?

New Mexico State at New Mexico                             4:30pm         ATTSN

That’s some rivalry game you’ve got there. Would be a shame if it happened at the end of the season instead of the middle of September. What the fuck is this game doing on September 20th? What are these two teams planning that’s so important at the end of November?

William & Mary at East Carolina                                6:00pm         ESPN3

Has William & Mary always used “Tribe” for their team monikers? I definitely should have noticed that before now. That’s really kind of gross and weird. Anyway, I don’t see any betting info for this game but if you’re looking for a FCS -over-FBS upset for this week, this is the one for you.

Hampton at Liberty                                                      6:00pm         ESPN+

Liberty’s football team only went to FBS because Jerry Falwell, Jr. made a promise to a young man in a locker room and the younger Falwell is a man of his word when it comes to young men in locker rooms. Allegedly.

Wagner at Florida Atlantic                                           6:00pm        ESPN+

Wagner “Seahawks” is a missed opportunity so obvious I don’t think it needs to be spelled out. Prove me wrong.

Ball State at NC State                                                    7:00pm       ESPNU

I always think of Marvin Gaye when I see Ball State. And for the last couple of years every time I think of Marvin Gaye I think about rumors that he was a serial killer. I don’t believe every rumor I hear about rich and/or famous people but I do believe most of them. NC State -19.5 is a pretty solid bet if I get to use your money for it.

16 Oregon at Stanford                                                   7:00pm        ESPN

I don’t want to sell myself as some kind of Pac-12 expert but I absolutely expect Stanford to win this game by 30 because it is exactly the kind of thing that happens in Pac-12 football.

Baylor at Rice                                                                 7:00pm       CBSSN

Baylor out here sullying the good name of CBS Sports. It’s like finding out Matt Groening was a passenger on the Lolita Express.

Old Dominion at 21 Virginia                                          7:00pm        ESPN2

I know it’s ODU but Virginia winning by 27 seems like a dodgy concept against literally any team in the country. UVA has a decent shot at going 12-0 and losing the ACCCG by 100.

Southern Illinois at Arkansas State                              7:00pm        ESPN3

If you asked me once a week every week for the next 52 weeks if Southern Illinois is a D-1A school or not I would be wrong more often than not. It turns out they aren’t in the MAC at all.

Georgia State at Texas State                                         7:00pm         ESPN+

Get rid of FCS and make a real college football playoffs, you cowards! Isn’t a game like this between two FBS level programs mockery enough? How much more degradation can the product withstand before you have to give up the ruse and pay the players?

Charlotte at 1 Clemson                                                  7:30pm         ACCN

Charlotte’s odds of winning the Coastal are as good as anybody’s.

UTSA at North Texas                                                      7:30pm     Facebook

utsa-unt utsa-unt utsa-unt. There! Now you’re beatboxing!

San Jose State at Arkansas                                           7:30pm        SECN

Bad west coast team going east to play a bad SEC team in the evening. Hmm. Not sure the rules here.

Oklahoma State at 12 Texas                                           7:30pm          ABC

Chuba Hubbard is gonna get his Heisman moment tonight. I can feel it.

Nevada at UTEP                                                               8:00pm      ESPN3

The dark heart of football degeneracy is still beating. MWC and CUSA linking back up for a game only the most stupid among us can love. And I am as stupid as they come.

Nebraska at Illinois                                                           8:00pm       BTN

I told you ranking Nebraska was a mistake. I don’t think I needed to but it’s still worth noting that I did.

7 Notre Dame at 3 Georgia                                               8:00pm       CBS

This is only the third all time meeting between Notre Dame and UGA. The line for this one is up to 14.5 but both previous meetings were decided by one score or less. That’s not necessarily relevant to this matchup but Georgia -14.5 still seems crazy to me even though I hope they win by 58.

Colorado at 24 Arizona State                                     10:00pm     Pac-12N

The first rule of Pac-12 after dark is betting on a Pac-12 after dark game is a terrible idea. That’s probably the only rule.

Sacramento State at Fresno State                             10:00pm     Facebook

A game that belongs on facebook. Maybe only on facebook. Why waste money on upkeep for stands and press boxes?

Toledo at Colorado State                                             10:15pm       ESPN2

I will for sure be torn away from the TV but this late run of weird matchups in style and uniforms is exactly what I love about college football and it will just keep getting better the deeper we get into the night.

Utah State at San Diego State                                     10:30pm      CBSSN

This is my entire brand explicated. A potential first round QB playing against San Diego State until 2am east coast time on CBS Sports? Be still my heart.

UCLA at 19 Washington State                                     10:30pm       ESPN

And the marquee late game is Mike Leach and Chip Kelly in a seemingly very lopsided matchup. Run it up, you stupid boomer pirate.

Central Arkansas at Hawaii                              11:59pm  Spectrum / Facebook

A great night of degenerate football only truly ends with a Hawaii home game. On facebook? Sure. Facebook should make one of those stupid little handheld black & white TVs that only receives facebook sports broadcasts. I would probably buy one just to watch Hawaii on the smallest screen possible.