#i'm finally starting to watch inside job (i'm on episode 2) and i saw a store in the background parodying 7-11 and it got me thinking

[spydertrans]

what butterfly do i have to go back in time for to steer in the right direction in order for 7-11 to crank that 7 up two digits higher

[bronx-bomber87]

Hi! just want to say really love The Rookie episode breakdown that you do.

So assuming you have watch all of them, do you have any list / ranking of best Chenford related episodes? Or can you give us your ranking of best Chenford related episodes? Really want to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you!

Hi @xiaozhen16! First off thank you for your lovely comment on my reviews. Means a lot I'm so glad you enjoy them. :) Also appreciate you wanting my thoughts on this. Let's see I have been with The Rookie since day one, actually pre-green light. I followed Nathan after Castle and his next project and saw The Rookie get its green light. So i've been with since the literal jump. Seen all eps for sure more than once haha Think I've rewatched it least 5 times since it started. Thank you for being patient while I took the time to answer this. Life is hard to fit stuff in so thank you. It'll be a long reply lol In order to answer this properly I'm going to do top 5 with an honorable mentions that could span up to 5 cause this is hard LOL Those will be in no particular order. I'll do it for each season. Except S5. I just can't choose S5 down to a top ten.

I love that entire season. But I can do 1-4. Someday I can rank S5 on its own ranking the entire season if you like but for now it'll be this. Let me know if you'd like me to do that in the comments. But for this one Each season has something different to offer for them. So it'll be easier to break it down by season but only going up to S4. Hopefully you enjoy this detailed reply. Anyone is welcome to comment and such too.

Season 1.

1x14 Plain Clothes Day

Hands down this is my favorite episode of S1 for them. It's a very telling episode for them both. Lots of growth as well. Lucy is hell bent to prove herself to Tim. She is nervous but driven to prove to Tim she is worth investing his time in. Her day is a plethora of jitters and mistakes. Tim consistently getting under her skin and rattling her cage. Then at the last minute like a phoenix rising from the ashes Lucy makes the right call. Such a clutch moment that impresses Tim more than he'll ever let on. Doesn't hesitate for one moment checking that man's garage out.

This is a huge step towards her growth as a cop and a person really. Its seminal episode for Lucy. A stepping stone to her confidence and learning to trust her instincts and not second guess herself. For Tim it's realizing as much as he loves to mess with Lucy he wants her to succeed more. He states in the very beginning of the episode how he's had 11 rookies wash out on this day. ELEVEN. He hasn't cared if his rookies have washed out 11 times. Then Lucy Chen walked into his life. Disrupted his life in the best way.

With her incredibly driven sunshine ways he REFUSES to let her be his 12th. Does everything in his ability to keep her from being fired. They have a lot of lovely moments in this episode ranging from messing with her to fiercely protecting her from that tool-bag trying to take her job. The scene outside the captain's office where he has to re-write her eval gah so very good. Overall just an amazing episode of moments and growth for them as characters and as a ship. Another step towards their rock-solid bond.

2. 1x20 Free Fall

What's not to love about this finale? It's the culmination of everything they've been through to this point in the season. We watch how Tim instantly protects Lucy from being infected. At first he's in control of the situation (or so he thinks..) Trying to keep Lucy calm while on the inside he is panicking. Attempting to keep up his tough T.O. act with her. Determined to show Lucy he's bulletproof no matter the situation. That quickly begins the devolve the longer he is in that room.

The more he has to deal with this disease alone the worse it gets. We get a front row seat into protective Lucy. The way she is losing it for Tim on the outside. Doing anything and everything to get him out of there. This is the first time we get to see Tim trust Lucy emotionally and not hesitate. Not only that but so openly. She has been knocking on the door of this all season.

The scene above is her reward for all that work. The role reversal that happens here is wonderful. Where Lucy becomes the rock. The one to comfort him while Tim is battling with his dark thoughts of suicide if this goes sideways. Trusting her enough to tell her such deep thoughts. Lucy guiding him through those emotions best she can. It's a fantastic way to end the season for them. Lots of earned moments in this one.

3. 1x11 Redwood

Our first Iconic OTP Line Episode. This is where we start to see Tim soften for Lucy. Those sharp edges dulling a bit. We get to watch how he knows exactly how to calm her when she is in a panic. Tim commands this entire episode for her. Distracting her from the moment that needle goes in to chewing out the nurse for not prioritizing her. It was our first glimpse into protective Tim and I was here for it. Excellent introduction to this side of him regarding Lucy. Does the Tim Bradford special where he tells her like it is while showing empathy.

The first time we get to see him care truly care and let her know that he's there. Has her back in a way no one really has before. Lucy is watching her career go down the drain in her eyes. Changing her life forever and is in panic city. Tim doesn't let her be a resident there for very long. This ep showcases how amazing he is at his job and how good Tim is with Lucy. Knows exactly what to do in order to keep her sane.

He spends his entire day distracting her and showing empathy in the process. Ultimately stopping her from going off the razor's edge. It's these moments she has with Tim that shift her POV of him. Why she fights for him like she does. Lucy knows the good heart this man has. That he cares about her as person. That she is more than just his rookie. It's so very good. Producing the line above. *sigh*

4. 1x07 The Ride Along

These early episode are what I like to call building block eps. The foundation that is laid in these are so important. It's Lucy showing up for Tim when he needs it most. Their relationship is in its infancy in these episodes. Being molded into what we see in the finale and honestly the future. Lucy noticing a serious wrong (Isabel taking advantage of Tim's deep loyalty) Not only noticing but not letting him throw his life/career away for it. The line above is EVERYTHING. She refuses to let Tim cross an ocean and compromise his soul for someone who wouldn't cross a puddle for him. The bravery it took for her take a stand I'll always commend her for. How scary it must've been for her to confront him like this. When he was still in his radioactive insanely damaged phase. Tim already meant more to her at this point than she expected. She couldn't stand back and watch him self-destruct for someone who didn't deserve it. Tim is not even close to being used to someone showing up for him like this at this point. It's so very foreign to him.

Not only that but someone putting him in place and knocking sense back into him. Something he comes to learn and love about Lucy. Becomes the fabric of their dynamic really. In the moment he's so angry with her but long term forever grateful she stepped in like she did. That crack in his wall starting to grow a little more. A defining moment for them early on in this season. They had me hook line and sinker after this. I was already low-key shipping them but this added to it.

5. 1x03 The Good The Bad and the Ugly

Another building block episode. A crucial one for them really. I love how their early episodes set them up beautifully for the rest of the season. If not for these episodes you wouldn't see how wonderful the growth is for them both. The episodes that'll be in my honorable mentions are the fruit of these. Because without seeing where they came from how could we deeply appreciate how far they've come? Tim is imploding at a high velocity in this episode. Doesn't care about the collateral damage either. At this point that damage radius includes Lucy.

We truly see Tim as his very worst in the beginning. The beautiful thing is Lucy see's past his hurt into who he is as a person. He is worth getting through to. Also she also see's he is a god damn dumpster fire. One that if she doesn't put him out he's going to take her down with him. You know Tim respects the hell out of her for the scene above. (Not in the moment but in the long term of it all.)

For standing up to him and showing him how selfish he was being. It's what earns her that wonderful scene in the shop afterwards. Where he opens up and tells her about Isabel and a little bit of their history. His way of thanking her for getting his head on straight. Their early stuff is so raw but so good. They're learning how to function together. Usually one of them leading the other more depending on the situation. Start of their wonderful dynamic.

~~~

Honorable mentions-Ones I wanted to include cause they're amazing but can only gif the top 5 and one mention ha So it'll be my top ten for each season. They have so many good eps.

1x18 Home Front

So much to love about this one. Lucy busting his chops the entire ep. Get our first glimpse into their playful work flirts. Her challenging him on his personal life and not work for the first time. Standing her ground in that opinion. Like she does best with him. Telling Tim he needs something other than work. Naturally is defensive at first and eventually caves in. It results in the cute paintball moment above we all know and love.

1x19-Checklist-We get another glimpse into what Tim is willing to do to keep Lucy from washing out. I love this episode and how we start to see Tim trust in her decision making skills. Like the woman with the swapped plates. She lets her go and it ends up working out for her. The final scene is the best where he logs OT for her to continue on in the program. Lucy feeling so supported with this gesture. *heart clutch* So good.

1x16 Green light- Our first look into how protective Lucy can be about Tim. Their rank be damned in her opinion. The way she protects and defends him to Detective Murphy is glorious. Not caring she's her superior officer. She is kicking him when he is already down and Lucy won't stand for it. Then Tim returns the favor when she's upset about catching Cole. ‘Grief is grief. It’s a hole that can’t be filled. But over time, it’ll shrink enough so that you won’t fall in every time you take a step.’ His growth in this line is amazing to watch unfold. How he has grown since his whole debacle with Isabel.

1x15-Man Hunt.- We see some more fruit of Lucy's impact on Tim. Him wanting to do more with his career. He decides to go for Sergeant and we all know she is part of that reason. Also we get a glimpse into Tim and his rookie days through Deacon and his 54 connection. Lucy is delighted to get a birds eye view to his past. It's the scene where they're defending the escaped prisoner that's the best. Saying how he refuses to do something he will be ashamed in the light of day. This moment being proof Lucy's impact on him from 1x07. Its beautifully full circle.

1x01 Pilot-Gotta include the pilot. It's what set the table for them. "Officer Bradford gets our hot shot." He sure does. Getting a look into them as characters and where they start off from. It's what hooked me to this show to begin with. Other than just my love for Eric and Nathan at the time lol I saw deep characters with so much potential and I've been hooked ever since.

~~~

Season 2. Has an unreal amount of good eps for them did my best to keep it to ten.

2x11 Day of Death

Naturally this iconic episode is my favorite of S2. How could it not be? This is a massively seminal moment in their history. It's where they go from border-line friends to bonded in a way no one else will ever understand. We watch Lucy fight tooth and nail to stay alive. She is so resilient because she knows Tim is on his way. He won't let her die. Won't Let Caleb win. Her immense amount of faith is beautiful. Knowing that he will get to her in time. Not a doubt in her mind.

We watch Tim race against the clock to rescue her. The pressure and anxiety mounting through out the entire episode for him. Like a weight on his soul he refuses to put down until she is back. We get to witness how much Tim has come to care about Lucy. See the depth's he will go to get her back safely. Also get to see a darker side to him. Which I wasn't totally opposed to seeing in order to get to her. (and wouldn't mind seeing again. tbh) 'Today is your day of reckoning. I am responsible for a life that is in jeopardy, and I will do whatever I have to, to save her.' *fans self* That man is on edge from the moment she goes missing till she is in his arms above.

First actual relaxing breath he takes the entire ep. You see how his body slumps against her in relief as he holds her. How deeply worried he was and won't let her out of his sight afterwards. We all know that man slept at the hospital all night and didn't take his eyes off her until she woke up. To make sure he was the first face she saw. That final scene in the hospital a beautiful look into the deep bond they've formed at this point. I love them sfm. Where we get our next Iconic OTP Line. 'You know me so well. Too Well.' Amongst a flurry of heart eyes and emotions.

2. 2x12 Now and Then

What I love the most about this episode is how Tim steps back. Let's her get taken care of by someone other than himself. Control Freak Tim Bradford hands the reins over. Because her recovering is more important than his ego. The growth I can not. He see's a blind spot within himself that he can not help out with. So he heeds Nyla's words when she approaches him about taking her on. He watches anxiously from afar wanting not to over step the entire episode.

Lucy is hurt he doesn't let her ride with him right away. She is confused and her emotions are all over the place in this episode. Rightfully so. We get to see once again how much Tim cares about her. The way he's asking everyone around her how she is. Even asks Nolan how she is really doing. You know that was hard for him to do. We get to the end of the episode and this glorious scene above. Tim sharing a piece of his past to heal her present.

You can tell he so desperately wants to take on some of her pain. That if he could he would. Still shouldering the weight of her being taken being on him. Trying to give her some hard won perspective. This is his way of saying he's so proud of her, he misses her, hoping him sharing his past brings her back to him. Brings Lucy back to being his sunshine human. Not the angry resentful one he see's in front of him. It's a beautiful scene for the both of them. The sweet smiles when he tosses back the ring. My damn heart.

3. 2x13 Follow Up Day

Another Iconic moment in S2. This season is full of them. Ground breaking moments that drive them forward as a ship. He's passed his Sergeants exam. Hooray. Lucy is SO DAMN PROUD when they get the news. It's the thing he's been working toward since the beginning of S2. He's offered a Hollywood post. One that he can have quickly. A prominent position for him right out the gate and yet he hesitates. Why you ask? Well he's a little too attached to his current rookie that he pretends he isn't attached to. (While dating her best friend might I add. Something I would forget regularly in this season)

Lucy reminds him why he wants to stay around and not leave yet. She challenges him, supports him and believes in Tim in a way he's never had before. Has unwavering faith in him. He says he's not done training her yet. When really he's not ready to let go of the influence she's had on his life. Heart eyes galore. She is more important than moving up atm. I love it.

4. 2x02 The Night General

The beginning of Tim's quest to study for being a Sergeant. It starts off as Tim torturing Lucy with reading his out of print book to him. What starts out as him enjoying making her read it turns into so much more. Lucy quickly turns it around on him. Because well Lucy. Decides on specific segments to have him recite back. Quickly annoying him and he loses this game fairly quickly. It's during this studying we find out Tim learns a certain way. That he must be in motion to absorb the material. (Me too love) He doesn't take this news in stride very well because it's Tim.

Lucy goes above and beyond to apologize for upsetting him. She spends what I assume is any free time between shifts recording the book for him. Not only does she do this she reassures him that it's ok to learn this way. There is no shame in it even compliments him because of it. Telling him its why he excels at being a cop. I

I just adore this moment so much because she builds him up and encourages him. Never once letting him feel shame for how he learns. Lucy taking care of him in ways Tim can't even comprehend atm. He is overwhelmed by her support and empathy. Can only muster a really loaded 'Thanks.' Such a lovely building block for them. Also welcome to the sweaty gun show above *fans self*

5. 2x08 Clean Cut

Ahh the protective Lucy episode. We get to see how far Tim will go for Lucy in this season. The audience also gets to see how far Lucy is willing to go to protect and defend Tim. Just like in 1x16 she charges head long at a superior to defend Tim. Refusing to let anyone sully his name or character. From the moment their shop hits that woman's car she goes into 'Protect Tim mode.' at all costs.

Hell raining down on anyone who gets in the way of her clearing his name. Eating anyone trying to stop her from righting this wrong she KNOWS is a wrong against him. Tim is so defeated and resigned after it happens. He's not going to defend himself so Lucy takes it on herself to do this. The ferocity is noticed by Tim. Why he lets her lead the questioning against the shady BF.

Lucy breathes life back into him that they could overturn this. That unshakeable faith she has in him. Refusing to let him give up on himself. It's the way she builds him up and won't let him think any less of himself I adore so much. After it's reversed and he gets his award she's a proud wifey. Even throwing back his own words at him when he thanks her. Eyes full of love. It's fantastic full circle moment for them.

~~~

Honorable Mentions

2x19-Q Word

As I've said earlier S2 is chock full of goodies. Tim learning the place he still holds in Lucy's life. He is her GO TO. A place he thought he had lost in 2x11. He gave up having that spot in her life because he no longer felt worthy of it. That he was given his shot and he blew it. Lucy not for one damn second thought he forfeited that. She was more upset he wasn't engaging with her about this than anything else.

Lucy does her best to relieve him of his burden. Of the guilt he continues to feel. To let him know it was NOT his fault. That his opinion is one of most value to her. The very opposite of what Tim thought of his place in her world. It's a good episode. One of the best parts above. Lucy applying some salve to his guilty soul.

2x06 Fallout

Lots to love in this ep. Tim trying and failing at 'being nice' to Lucy while she goes through her emotions about her ex. To him tapping into his actual soft side for her. The genuine side. Them facing a bomb threat and Lucy getting to unleash all her anger about her ex's wedding Such a good scene.. With a little of Lucy throwing his words back like no one else can. Lastly ending with them deciding to spend their last moments on earth together drinking booze. Damn good ep.

2x10-The Dark Side

Ahhh the pre-DOD episode. Where Tim spends the entire episode being over protective of Lucy and not sure why he is. All he knows is he doesn't like this guy sniffing around her. His cop gut screaming at him with a mixture of jealously and actual worry. The whole episode is one giant foreshadowing for the following episode.

2x14 Casualties

Tim background eps are always my jam. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this man and learning of his history. Getting a little look into his life in the service with Mitch. Also the intro of their fur-baby Kojo and how very unready Lucy is to care for him. We get our next Iconic OTP line 'Some things matter more.' A moment which is such a prominent scene for them. Good precursor to the moment they share in 2x19 as well.

2x01 impact

The premiere got some real good stuff. We see how Tim reacts so very poorly to Lucy protecting him. Regressing them both with his flour bomb moment. HIs anger coming out in everything he does with her in this episode. Lucy taking it at first then reaches her boiling point towards the end. Basically hands him his ass in a way only Lucy Chen can. It's glorious. Turns him around so much he brags on her to Grey later on about her jump after a suspect. 'Of course she did. I trained her.'

~~~

Season 3

3x09 Amber

Ahh my fav ep of the season. This episode has so many good moments. Lucy with her list for a 'healthy parting.' How she is determined to make her last day a big deal with Tim. Where as Tim is also determined, just in the opposite direction. Because if he talks about it he's going to have to face her leaving. Which we all know he does not want to do. Fights her on it most of the episode. Until something serious happens. Then Tim finally gives in to distract Lucy from the stressful baby scenario they're currently in.

Takes care of her by letting her do the bloody list he's trying to avoid. They have a lovely moment of reminiscing over Plain Clothes Day. How far Lucy has come since that moment. The amount of confidence she had gained. Learning to trust her instincts fully. Something Tim saw in her day one and wanted her to hone in on. Lucy then brings up UC and Tim saying she doesn't have what it takes. it leads into the most iconic moment of the episode. Where she "pretends" to have feelings for Tim.

Sending Tim into an ABSOLUTE panic till she can't take it anymore and breaks into pure laughter. Wounding his pride severely in the process of proving her point. We get two epic moments in this episode. The parking garage scene is lovely. A culmination of the last year of so. How far they've both come. His last eval being one that brings them full circle. Lucy's flour bomb finishing off the nostalgia. The heart eyes galore in this scene and its topped off with them calling each other by their first names. Starting a new chapter with this wonderful moment.

2. 3x14 Threshold

I LOVE this episode so much. It's why it's number 2. This episode is the culmination of Lucy's fast track UC training with Harper. Lucy chomping at the bit to prove herself. A VERY anxious Tim observing from the outside. The flirty flirt we get in the car makes me squee every time. Little bit of Tim and Lucy truly coming out in that moment. The touching is everything as she communicates silently with him about what's going on.

Then we get this moment above. Where they are blatantly flirting and checking each other out. Especially Tim. Man could not be more transparent in his attraction to Lucy at this point. The elevator gaze before they even talk. *fans self* Shameless flirting, praise from Tim and to top it off Tim is the one to ask Lucy to save him a dance. I remember going out of my mind with excitement when I saw this episode. Look at them above. My god the UST in immense and I love it so very much.

3. 3x06 Revelations

The episode where Lucy begins her interest in UC. It's a ROUGH episode for Tim for a lot of reasons. From his PTSD about Isabel with Mack showing up to seeing Lucy put in harms way. We see the protective side come out fiercely in this one. He doesn't even try to tamp it down. Especially in front of others. i.e. the entire OP room LOL Tim battling past demons and losing terribly. Seeing his favorite human put at risk isn't sitting well with him. His panic at losing her or possibly getting hurt making him lose his mind.

Lucy just wanting him to be proud of her. For showing an interest outside of patrol. To be excited she got put on an OP because she kicked ass on the fly. Impressed Harper enough to green light her. His approval and opinion meaning the entire world to her. When he doesn't she is so very discouraged. That's what makes the moment above so important and amazing. Tim putting aside those demons and letting her have that approval and praise she earned ten times over. Because at the end of the day this OP was about her and not him. So he puts her first with the lovely moment above.

4. 3x11 New Blood

Where we see Lucy be utterly CONSUMED by jealously and insecurities. Tim gets his new rookie and Lucy is excited at first. Then see's Tim isn't treating her anywhere near how she was treated in the beginning. He's being nice, letting her drive, buying her coffee, being soft and empathetic. All things she had to drag out of him kicking and screaming. I've said this before but Tim was her first real 'puppy' with massive success. It was a lot of work though for her to have the relationship she has with him now.

Then this Katie Barnes comes in and gets it all in one shift. Lucy is losing her damn mind most of the ep. Watching from afar with massive jealously. Poor Jackson has to listen to it most of his shift LOL Comes with the bestie territory though. By the end of the episode she see's Tim filling out her paperwork and lets Tim have it. What I love is he doesn't get mad at her for it.

Doesn't reprimand her just quell's her insecurities. Explaining why he was training Barnes the way he was. Then seals the scene with the lovely line above. Lucy is absolutely beaming when he walks away. Full of so much joy and happiness she can't contain herself. He thinks she is one of the best rookie's he's trained and lets her know it. Saying maybe one day Katie could be as good as her. *sigh* So good.

5. 3x01 Consequences

Their first marriage episode of the season. Where Lucy is on Tim like white on rice. Her confidence and self esteem shines through out this season and this is the starter episode of it all. The way they go through Nolan's house together is fantastic. She challenges Tim the entire time with her own cop gut. It's so fun to watch the back and forth.

They go from cute banter to Tim being a fierce protector when they have to go see Rosalind. Tim tries to prevent her from going in. Wanting to shield her from this monster. Lucy refuses says she can handle it. Rosalind just see's someone she can play with. Tim attempts to hold back. Not interfere and tries to keep Lucy steady. Then loses it when she taunts Lucy with her barrel song. The official title of 'Fierce protector.' is born in this moment. Such a good episode for them beginning to end.

~~~

Honorable Mentions

3x02 In-Justice

I adore this ep because it is one giant flirting session. The scene above alone is proof of that. Tim just sitting back and enjoying the Lucy show. Setting up a game he knows she is going to absolutely crush. (and does) They're legit flirting in front of their call for like two minutes before they disengage and Lucy works her magic. Also we get to see how soft Tim is for Lucy and gone for her with her car. Telling her to get over until Caleb PTSD in brought into the picture. It's then he caves instantly. Also the introduction of their pseudo daughter Tamara. Lucy's 'puppy.'

3x04-Sabotage

The fruit of the last couple eps coming to fruition. Lucy having Tim revisit something he did on her first shift. Confronting him about how he treated those gardeners. Not only that but the impact he had on them through his actions. This brings Tim's defenses immediately up and he snaps at her. Trying to defend his actions because he is feeling defensive. He does a poor job of it and shuts down completely. Reason being he's ashamed of who he was then and Lucy bringing it up hurts in a way he wasn't expecting.

We get to see our boy go through some serious growth. MASSIVE growth really. I could not be prouder of him for it. For not shutting down for the rest of the day. Letting Lucy know he was wrong and what he can do so it never happens again. Love this ep for the Tim growth, Lucy calling him out and letting him know how proud she is of him. It's such a good moment/ep for them.

3x07 True Crime

I personally LOVE the documentary episodes so much. The reason being their banter is the best part. Their chemistry is on full display for all to see. Lucy owns Tim's ass in this one. Shoots down all his cocky comments. He is also all heart eyes whenever she isn't crushing him with her words ahha. Light hearted fun ep for them.

3x08 Bad Blood

Good ep for Tim telling her like it is when he's trying to avoid it like the plague haha Emmett breaking up with her over text. Lucy doesn't handle it well. She self destructs till Tim does what he does best and gives her some solid perspective. Helping her finally solve the 'Why' behind her break up.

3x05 Lockdown

Tim and Lucy being a united front against Doug is the absolute best. How Tim comes tearing into the station after Stanton and Lucy has to stop him. Then Stanton is an extra ass and Tim then has to prevent Lucy from hurting him. The way they have each other's backs always gets to me. They spend the entire episode this kick ass duo determined to protect Jackson. I love it sfm.

~~~~

Season 4 another super hard one for me but top ten helped.

4x09 Breakdown

I'm sure some of you thought I would choose 4x22. It follows this one pretty closely but I ADORE this episode. It's my favorite for so many reasons. Lucy has a day off and how does she spend it? With Tim and his sister redoing his childhood home. Totally normal 'Friend' status there. Nothing soulmate level about that at all....Then they spend the episode chasing down his father's sordid past. This is due to a gun they find in the wall. Not only that but how heavily Tim leans on Lucy during the process.

Let's her take the lead and trusts her to handle portions of it for him. Like interrogating his dad's former mistress. Then we get this GLORIOUS scene above. Hands down my favorite hug of their's. Tim confronting his father and walking out feeling nuclear in his emotions. He is radioactive from that interaction and so very hurt. He explains what his father did to Lucy. He's so disgusted and hurt.

Then he is NEEDING Lucy to know he isn't his father. That the Tim tests don't make him like his dad. He is on the verge of tears as he says this to her. The most vulnerable we have ever seen Tim in general but especially with her. Lucy jumping into action and gathering him up in her arms. Comforting him, letting him know he is NOTHING like him. Tim sinks into the hug. Wraps himself entirely around her. Letting her hold him up emotionally. It's here we see the last of his wall crumble to the ground never to be rebuilt again. This was the ep I knew we were headed towards them getting together. All time fav ep.

2. 4x22 Day in The Hole

So much to love in this episode. From their daughter getting her ‘first’ car to finding Tim's bizzaro world double 'Dim' LOL Also the introduction of Juicy aha It's so good I can not. Lucy getting beyond excited to get Tim all dressed up for his UC mission. Especially with the tattoo's. Then when Juicy gets involved so does Lucy. It's AU Tim and Lucy and I was dying. Lucy breaks his brain in more ways than one above. The way she stuns him with her UC background for their characters LMAO He stumbles on his words and shifts like his pants are getting little tight for him heh. They haven't even kissed yet.

It will forever crack me up his reaction. Also the hilarious lead up to the kiss. How nervous and awkward they are. 'Well that's romantic....I wasn't trying to be romantic.' LMFAO. Clearly Timothy.... Eric and Melissa's chemistry on full display in this moment. Then the way Lucy just grabs his face and the kiss above happens. How they instantly melt into each other. Like why haven't we been doing this the entire time? You can see Tim ready to seriously deepen the kiss above. The pre-tongue action going on. Hot damn. I remember having to rewind it making sure what I was seeing was real.

The hilarity that ensures when Tamara walks in is so so funny. Never not cackle at this. Lucy's 'Oh!' and Tim is stumbling over himself to get out of there. Makes me laugh just writing it. The awkward 'Good jobs' and pointing. I'm dying. Tim's epiphany in the hallway is the best. Can no longer run from how he feels anymore. That kiss unlocking why he's felt the way he does. The awkward way they interact at the station. Both hiding in their vehicles waiting to find the courage to come out. Gah such a good finale leading to an incredible season 5.

3. 4x12 The Knock

Another episode on the road to them ending up together. They are at soulmate level territory in the scene above alone. The entire episode is fantastic. 'Personal space I don't know her' is the theme of this episode for them. From this 'date' to their case. Where Tim lets her take the lead. They're right on top of each other in that hallway scene when Tim is asking her POV on what they should do.

The beach date is one of the best parts. I don't know how both Ashley and Chris didn't just get up and leave. It's so obvious Tim and Lucy are the ones on a date. Chris and Ashley just happen to be there. The way they flirt the entire time, the inside jokes, the way they know each other so deeply. Their intimate connection on full display.

It's the lack of space I adore so much. That magnetic pull of their's. Never be over Gerald the goat. The way they lovingly stare at each other after he's told the story. The only ones laughing are them. To think either of them (Chris and Ashley) actually thought they had a chance against their bond. Such fools. I would've been highly threatened after that display. Something so intimate about knowing someone on an emotional level like they do. Height of their soulmate moments in this one.

4. 4x18-Backstabbers

Gah this episode be still my damn shipper heart. Lucy getting annoyed she isn't getting any recognition as Tim's aide. Naturally at first Tim pushes against it. Gives her crap for asking for it. Little bit of Old school Tim coming out in this scenario. But we see by the end of the episode him cracking for her. Like he always does. Tim cashing in on the dance he owed her from 3x14. How these two don't know they're in love at this point I couldn't tell you. Blows my damn mind.

The fact that he gives up recognition for her to have it. To further her career and telling her he wants her to be successful? Gah not to mention the heart eyes in this moment. Lucy is beaming brightly like a Christmas tree at this gesture. Tim is so so gone for her by this point it's oozing out of him. If you watched these two above with no context you'd think they were together. Everything about them says how in love they are. The entire scene is one giant I love you/in love with you moment. Tim I don't do weddings Bradford tearing up the dance floor with his girl. Gah I can not.

5. 4x01-Life and Death

The premiere is so very very good. Tim offering her a safe space the moment they get some time alone. Especially after hearing how heartbroken she is. How she can't go back to her apt without Jackson right now. The way he gives her a safe place to crash land into. I love it sfm. Then we get the gloriously intimate and beautiful hug above. The one that sparks the flame between them. One they've been trying to keep at a low flame roaring into an inferno. Their emotions and closeness ramping it up to a level neither is ready for.

The chemistry in this moment is out of this world good. Both being smacked in the face with the growing UST between them. Lucy going for it but it being shot down by Wesley's call. Gah such a good way to start an amazing season. Then Lucy spends the rest of the episode worrying about him from the other side of the world. Letting him know that worry until he makes it back. Such a good premiere.

Honorable Mentions

4x07 Fire Fight

This scene alone is why it's my first honorable mention. Phew lord. The fiery UST in this scene. HOT DAMN. The brazen way they're both looking at each other. This is totally platonic friendship right here....The intense gaze gets me in my shipper feels. Then Tim gets his wits about him a bit before sassing her. Telling her the mic is too high. Her ripping it right off and his face LOL They're so married it kills me. I do love the way she bosses him around in this scene and afterwards when he's in the car. She's projecting jealously entire time.

4x06 Poetic Justice

Oh you know just another episode where all they do is compete and flirt. Not caring about anyone else around them while they do so. Because they can't handle their emotions yet. So they intensely channel it into flirting and competitive things instead. I love these idiots so much.

4x08 -Hit and Run

I LOVE this episode for the Tim background alone. We get the introduction of his sister Genny. Who I love sfm. Lucy of course eats up her being there. She THRIVES on any morsel of info she can get on his background. Lucy is enjoying herself till his dark childhood is brought up. His sister is there to sell their childhood home and he doesn't want to be apart of it. ""Wha-what do you want? Some other family to just cuddle up under the broken plaster where dad slammed my head against the wall?" Ugh my heart. My boy. But it's such a good episode in full for Tim. Also for Lucy getting to meet his sister.

4x14-The Long Shot

This is a great episode for Lucy. We get to see more about her background as well. Finally finding out why her mother is the way she is with her. Her deep digging revealing her father isn't her real father. How much she struggles in this episode emotionally. We get to see how natural it is for Tim to be there for her. Not an ounce of fight left in him to stay out of her personal life. This is just part of who they are now and it's such growth I can not stand it.

4x16-Real Crime

Another gem for the documentary series. If you think they were married in this last one they double down on this one. The amount of cuteness, sass and marriage moments is primo in this one. 'Can I be interviewed alone?' LMAO The epitome of Grumpy x Sunshine. Lucy having the time of her life while Tim is a grumpsaurous. Their dynamic gives me life haha I adore this entire episode for them.

S5 I adore all it's own. If you want a ranking from 1-22 I can do that but I can not choose. Hurts me too much to do that LOL but here are my picks for 1-4. Once again thank you for being so patient on my reply. This was a hefty ask to answer thank you for asking me :) I hope you enjoy the answer.

[product05]

My thoughts/reactions while watching The Owl House S2 Ep13 "Any Sport in a Storm"

Forgive my grammar- Long post in coming!!!

So we're starting the episode with Hunter, cool!

Is that the Gravesfield symbol? Why do Hunter have that? And why is he stitching it to his not really in good condition cape?

Hunter really fell for "Consider this a test." easily. C'mon Belos, don't do this to him!

Raine! ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

The DISRESPECT

Darius teasing Hunter lol

"The old golden guard sigil"??? Wait hold on a minute-

Darius knew Hunter is Belos' nephew. He also knew his predecessor. So there's a golden guard before Hunter?? Previous golden guard is Darius' mentor, but where is he now? You know what? Here's what I was thinking:

We saw Phillip (Belos) already creating the grimwalker way back a hundred years ago, see? And in "Hunting Palismen" we also saw the grimwalker instructions inside Belos' portal room or whatever, which is the first appearance of that instructions, see? And why does he still have that book lying down somewhere when in fact he already (probably) succeeded? What if!

Case 1. Belos' brother died back then, he created some sort of a clone or whatever, and that clone helped him and became his right-hand man. There could be more previous golden guard, but whenever they fail, Belos "punish" them or whatever. Or they might had reached their limits, so Belos creates a new one. Now, remember when he said to Hunter that it'll be hard to find a replacement? Maybe Belos just couldn't get more of those ingredients in making a grimwalker, so he couldn't risk losing Hunter.

Case 2. Belos' brother didn't actually died. He might be the previous golden guard (remember the sigil?). "But he's a human, he couldn't do magic." Belos is a human, and he's doing magic like a pro. He probably uses some sort of artificial magic or whatever like Belos. Then he vanished, or died (because Belos killed him), I dunno... Then Belos...cloned him...or whatever...

Case 3. The previous golden guard is probably some random guy Belos picked.

Or I could be wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I might have overthought it! Anyway...

"How do I earn it?" Hunter....

"I'll do it." "Of course you will. You're good at doing exactly what you're told." Yikes Darius, don't call him out like that jeez... 😬

Short Intro!!??

WILLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The animation-

Wait, is Willow no longer using boots-

The smell of the pages lmao

Boscha being donowalled (ignored) by Lumity lmao

I don't know about you, but I'm glad Boscha finally have more lines to say in an episode again lol

"You guys aren't cute!" you're right Boscha... They're the cutest!!

No they're not Hunter... They're not into the same thing as you...

LMAO "leave your home, friends, and family"

Y'know, I'm not surprised Hunter is desperate again, and also the fact that he probably stay up till 6am.

Everybody just relates with Hunter. First, powerless no magic and a magic nerd, then feeling that everything is an opportunity to justify existing, and now being a half-a-witch, or so what they (Willow and Hunter) think about themselves.

I'm also glad that we get to see Jerbo and Viney again!

Hunter do really had fun playing with hexside kids but....Eh, his job always ruins it.

Also, Skara crying after what Hunter said lmaoooo

Hunter being desperate, part 2

The "I can wear this proudly now, right?" "Can you?" Oooooohhhhhh... Darius... don't call him out like that part 2

"Steve is beginning to regret his choices." Awww...

"I think Hunter is too." Awwwjwwjdjdjsjsjsj Hunter character development lessgoo

Darius just scrolling through penstagram is so relatable looool

Chilly.Lily and other posts/comments had me laughing, except for that one post and comment 😶

Willow and the gang friendship with Hunter lesssssgooooooooooo

Wait, 52 weeks till next year?

EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!!!! UNCLE DARIUS OHMYNSJSBSBSBSSBJSJXSJ

Oof, I almost forgot Luz and Amity are here too lol

Those two had been calling out theorists this whole episode tbh lol

[angsty-nerd]

Max + Identity in Season 2

In the pilot, when Max self-identifies who he is to Liz, he tells her, "I'm a son, I'm a brother, I'm a cop...I'm just a guy from Roswell." All of those pieces of his self identity are systematically destroyed in Season 2, to the point where in the season finale he's grasping onto the last thing he feels like might be real about himself -- his role as the savior. A role that he scoffed at before his death, that he didn't really seem to believe, until all of the things he did believe about himself were gone. And then he loses that too, upon the discovery that he's not the only one, that he lacks any form of individuality. That Jones is just like him.

We get our first hint that this is coming in 2x05 when Rosa and Isobel get a glimpse inside Max's mindscape. They are literally traveling through the dying remnants of Max's mind, watching as these pieces of him are slowly fading away. There are three key visual clues in these scenes that give us insight into how he sees himself.

Most obviously, in his mindscape he is fully dressed in his Sheriff's Department uniform. This is the self-identity that he projects to the outside world in Season 1. There are many good metas out there about the layers behind that. How he takes his hat off when he's not on the job because he doesn't feel he deserves it. But all in all, his internal self image is the deputy that the public sees. I’ll add a link below to one where Mo and I were discussing this.

He is surrounded by Liz. And slowly losing her. This could be (and is) a meta all on its own about his psyche in general. He said it himself in 1x03 when he told her that he loves her. "That's what everything is about for me!" And this is the visual embodiment of it. His internal identity completely encompassed and consumed by his memories of Liz and all the things that represent her for him. And yes, their slow degredation are a literal representation. Of his memories of her slowly disappearing, but I also definitely would argue that it's exposing his deepest fear as well - that she'll leave him again.

And of course, he is chained to the floor. We are still, at this point in the season, just getting a glimpse at the layers of trauma hidden within his subconscious, but this is a direct look inside of him and his trauma is right there staring him in the face. These are hidden scars that he hasn't even begun yet to discover, but slowly begin to reveal themselves throughout Season 2b. And I expect will be prevalent in Season 3 as well.

The progression of Max's identity crisis started from the moment he woke up, with a portion of his self literally erased through the loss of his memories of Liz. A lot was made of the sweetness of him telling her at the end of the episode "I am not whole without you." But in a sense that statement could have been almost a thesis for his character arc in Season 2. He spends the entire season not whole, losing little pieces of himself one by one until he's not sure who he is at the end of 2x13.

Once his memory returned in 2x06, it briefly seemed like Max was back to normal, but that quickly got undercut in the opening scene of the next episode when it was first hinted at that he shouldn't be using his powers anymore. In 2x07 it was suggested that Liz was just being overly cautious, but her fears were proved to be accurate in 2x08 when Max does use his powers and immediately suffers chest pain. Its a physical reaction to his powers that's further emphasized in 2x12 when he almost dies trying to kill Flint. Nothing was explicitly stated, but I still speculate he had a full on heart attack in that moment, or that the pacemaker briefly failed, given how hard it was to resuscitate him. But without his powers, he's not complete as an alien anymore.

In 2x09 he loses what he thought he understood about his own origin story. Sheriff Valenti's version of the incident in the group home not only undercut certain facts about himself that he always had believed to be true - that he was the solid, stable one. That he was the strong one. Suddenly he's being told that he's the traumatized one, that he's the one with the behavioral pattern of being a loose cannon.

He loses his job. Okay, officially he quit in 2x07 to search for Jenna, but let's be honest here...if he hadn't quit, then he certainly would have lost his job when Sheriff Valenti arrested him in 2x09. We saw in his mindscape and heard from his lips in the pilot how strongly he identifies as a cop. But now that uniform, and that identity, have literally been stripped away from him...and replaced with a new uniform, sexy Wild Pony bartender man!

So, we have him stripped of his identity as an alien with powers, stripped of his identity as a cop. And in 2x10 he gets stripped of his identity within his family, when he learns that he and Isobel are not related. All of those self-identified aspects of himself have disintegrated, and he's left floundering to figure out who he is without those things. Which is why he begins to throw himself into trying to regain his memories, potentially even at the expense of his health through the use of the serum. Because he is so desperate to find a truth about himself to hold on to.

But that journey is also doomed to undercut him. One of my favorite musical moments of Season 2 is the second time he experiences a memory flash triggered by his own reflection, at the end of 2x10, with the cover of Bullet With Butterfly Wings playing over the scene. @echoapothecary did a great set on this scene right after the episode aired... link below.

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Someone will say what is lost can never be saved

Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage

Tell me I'm the only one

Tell me there's no other one

Jesus was the only son, yeah

Tell me I’m the chosen one

I think in the moment we were supposed to take the visual flash at face value and assume that this was about Max's trauma from being imprisoned as a child, but on rewatch (and frankly, listening to the song over and over and over…) I really think the choice was more about identity, and foreshadowing the reveal of Jones as a mirror, clone, relative, something….to Max?

While in the middle of the S2 experience, one of my favorite gif sets that @maxortecho made for me was this idea of Max, and people constantly cutting him down, while Liz loved him regardless of those things (linked below). At the time I was really focusing on him and his reaction to being constantly told he was a let down. Add to that the appearance of Diego in 2x10, and Max isn’t even trying to hide his low self esteem and feelings of insecurity anymore. But take those constant undercuts and add to it the tidal wave of an identity crisis as all of the things you believe to be true about yourself fall apart, and we're left with the Max we see in the last couple episodes of Season 2. A man on a mission, manic and desperate to figure out who he is now, exacerbated by the fact that he's literally on drugs (the serum).

Only then, in his desperate, manic state, does he find himself willing to believe the implausible (to him) reveal at the end of Season 1 that he might be the Savior. Because it's the last thing that makes him unique, that makes him feel like he has a role, a purpose…until he loses that too at the end of the episode when they release Jones, a literal copy of himself, from his prison.

All of these gifs were gratefully borrowed from @maxortecho, with two exceptions. Wild Pony Max 🔥 is @rosaortecho’s work, and Howdy 🧔🏻 is (I think) @darlingnotso’s. (Please correct me if I’m wrong).

[ooohyou]

Submitted to r/nosleep by u/NemesisLuce

Please support the original author.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job. Cute little bookstore in a quaint little town. I love helping customers find the right book for their mood. I love showing cute children’s books to curious kids. I love talking with sales reps and figuring out exactly which new releases to order from them.

I also fucking hate my job.

It was ten minutes past closing time, and I had my brightest, fakest smile on while trying to get the last customer out of my store. No sir, I cannot look up a book on the computer if all you know is the cover was red when you saw a poster for it 5 years ago. No sir, “I think it was about the cold war and a detective who drank too much but maybe it was something else” does not help me at all. Look sir, all my historical thrillers are on this shelf. Does anything ring a bell? No? Was it made into a movie? You don’t know? Oooookaaaay then, I’m sorry to inform you that we are already past closing time, here’s the store number, if you remember the title give us a call and we’ll order it for you if it’s still available. Thank you, good evening to you too sir, goodbye. Yes you have your umbrella, it’s right here in your hand sir. Okay bye bye.

I sighed and gave my cashier the biggest eyeroll I could manage before locking the door and turning over the sign that previously said ‘come in, we’re open!’. I heard the coins clanking in the coin counting machine (do these have a name? I don’t know. Coin counting machine is pretty self-explanatory and I’ve never bothered to check if they were actually called that), signifying that Alice had started to sort her cash drawer. I would only need to take out the profits of the day, make sure she had enough cash for tomorrow, and send her home. I went through the motions mechanically, only thinking about the nap I was about to have in the breakroom. It was going to be glorious. I really needed it if I wanted to be alert for the night shift.

Oh, yeah. We’ve got a night shift here. It’s my store’s most… peculiar aspect. We close at 6pm, but we open again at 11, up until 5am. Then we open again at 10am. So when I said ‘nap’ earlier, I actually meant the first half of my night, since I am working both shifts. Yes, I live in my store. Please buy books instead of reading stuff on the Internet, I would really love to be able to afford another employee.

So there I was, counting money fully on autopilot, daydreaming about drinking a nice cup of herbal tea and hugging my pillow, when Alice said something that ruined my plans.

“I forgot to tell you, something weird happened when you were on break.”

I snapped out of my daydream instantly and shot her a questioning glare.

“Yeah, this old lady came in, looking for something about fairy tales. I showed her the section but she didn’t want to have a look there apparently, and she asked me about something from the back. And I was like ‘do you think we’re hiding books from our customers or something’ so I just told her everything we had was on display in the store but we could order any book we didn’t have if she wanted. And she just shook her head and mumbled something and then she handed me this pamphlet and I was like ‘okay feel free to look around’ and didn’t even look at the pamphlet before shoving it in my pocket because a kid entered the store holding an open juice box and that was a disaster waiting to happen so yeah but that was weird right?”

She had actually run out of breath by the end of her sentence, and I wasn’t surprised. I was pissed though.

“Alice for FUCKS sake. Give me the pamphlet, don’t look at it. I’ll write that you were fired because of the store’s financial situation and give you a glowing recommendation.”

All color drained from the young girl’s face. I wasn’t mad at her, but I was still mad. She was supposed to know the rules. Hell, I even had her train the temps we hired to help around Christmas time. In retrospect, it was a miracle nothing bad had happened.

Okay, I was slightly mad at her. But I really didn’t want to be.

I saw in her eyes that it had finally clicked. She understood the gravity of what she had done, and handed me a crumpled pamphlet from her pocket, making sure to avert her gaze. God damn it. She had one momentary lapse, and it cost me a good cashier. Fucking hell.

“I’m sorry…” she started.

“It’s okay Alice, you didn’t mean to. You were alone on the floor, she was an old bat, it could’ve happened to anyone. You’ll be missed around here, but please don’t visit.”

She nodded. She finally remembered the rules, and she understood that there was no other way.

I put the cash drawer in the safe while she gathered the stuff she had left in the break room. I opened the back door to light a cigarette. She had tears in her eyes as she exited the store. I gave her a smile and clasped her hands in mine.

“You were a good employee, Alice. You’ll do great in a regular bookstore. Don’t doubt yourself and avoid this street for a few weeks. Call me if you run into any trouble, okay?”

“Thank you for the opportunity, boss. I really loved working here.”

“I know you did. Now hurry home. Don’t answer to anyone knocking on your door. Be safe.”

She nodded and scurried away, her backpack bouncing with her steps. I crammed my half-finished cigarette into the already-full-but-I-keep-forgetting-to-empty-it ashtray and went back inside.

The pamphlet was sitting on top of the safe, and as I grabbed it I felt the urge to read it. Nope. In the bin you go. I was accustomed to those old tricks. First rule of working with my clientele is to know when you can’t trust your instincts because something’s fucking with them. Second rule is to trust your instincts. Confusing? Welcome to my life.

So I ended up sitting at my desk typing furiously on my computer instead of napping. I still had a few hours until night shift, but I absolutely had to start interviewing prospective employees in the next couple days – in the meantime I just had to hope one of my part-time employees would like to work a few extra hours. I just have too much work to spend all my time manning the register and keeping the tables neat. While the store isn’t that big, it still is a lot for one person.

I obviously had to update the employee rulebook as well. Just emphasize that you can’t take chances with crazy old people. You never know if they’re truly crazy or something else.

“Never accept anything a customer hands you directly if it’s not (real) money. If they’re promoting something, make them leave any cards, pamphlets, posters at the register. If you end up accepting whatever they gave you, don’t look at it, and come to me immediately.”

Yes, it’s weird. I know it’s weird. Look, I pay my employees a fair enough wage that they make sure to follow the rules. I don’t care if they think I’m crazy. I probably am. It doesn’t matter.

I pressed enter and added:

“If a customer asks if they can see what we have in the back, politely decline and offer them to order whatever book they need. If they persist, come get me.”

God damn it, Alice actually handled this part well. But she grabbed the pamphlet, and I had to protect her.

I don’t write the rules to make my employees better workers. I write them to make sure they survive. The main reason any infraction is cause for termination is that, well, it could be the cause for the actual termination of their existence on Earth. Getting fired from a job is a way better alternative.

Alice accepted the old lady’s pamphlet. It could’ve been anything else. A tissue, a cigarette, a glass of water. She unknowingly made a bargain with whatever the woman was. ‘I gave you something, now I’m free to take something’. Entities like the old lady abide by archaic rules. In a store, this is what applies. I lost a regular day customer that way. The poor lady was watching over her kid, who was merrily making a mess looking through the 3-5 years old section, when a young girl came up to her. “Look miss, look I made a drawing”, she said. My customer grabbed the piece of paper and the girl ran off. A couple days later, posters popped up everywhere in town for a missing toddler.

I was obviously pissed. I’d been waiting to see that little girl again and tell her that business rules applied only between merchant and customers and she had no right to force an innocent, unaware person into a contract. My night clientele is well aware of that, and treasure having a place to find literature enough to not risk jeopardizing the fragile balance between both worlds. Nonhumans can be facetious little shits though, and I’ve never seen that girl again. Some entities enjoy chaos just for the sake of it. This one just danced around the rules, grabbed what she wanted, and ruined two lives. My customer sank into a deep depression and ended up gouging her eyes out during a manic episode. Her toddler was never found, but I don’t think he will grow up to be a respectable, human adult.

I checked the time and decided I could get 2 hours of sleep before having to get the store ready for night shift. So obviously I went to check out who – or what – was knocking on the glass window near the entrance because who needs sleep anyway.

It was an old lady, her wrinkled bloated nose pressed against the glass, her skeletal fingers tapping against it in a rhythmical fashion that was getting on my nerves. She had piercing, blood-injected eyes that were fixed on me and a grin so large it couldn’t possibly be natural.

I didn’t have time to be scared, but I still felt the fear creeping up on my stomach, slowly making its way through my body. No matter how hard I tried to reject it, I couldn’t. Stupid human nature. I adorned my best customer service smile and walked up to the old lady.

“My apologies, you seem to be a bit early. We will be open for business at eleven.”

I didn’t need to yell. I knew she could hear me clearly in spite of the glass separating us.

One… two… three taps on the window. Her already impossibly wide grin grew even wider, revealing rotten teeth sticking out of black, putrid gums. Thick, yellowish saliva was dripping down in strands from her non-existent lips. By the time the corners of her mouth reached her temples, I was sure I would lose my fake confidence and run in the opposite direction. No matter how many times you deal with unnatural entities, being mere centimeters away from a nightmarish mouth full of rot and decay will shake you to your core. I tried to breathe calmly, being secretly thankful for the glass that separated me from what was probably the foulest smell I’d ever submitted my nose to, hoping the old lady would see me standing my ground and respect the rules of business. I could deal with her inside my bookstore, where she would be a customer. I just needed to stay brave and meet her transfixed, unwavering gaze. Her eyes were more blood vessels than pupils, and I found myself focusing on those instead of whatever was moving in her mouth. I did not want to see her tongue, not after seeing the state of her teeth. And I sure as hell did not want to see whatever I clearly caught moving around her mouth if it wasn’t her tongue. No, her eyes were scary but I could deal with them, no matter how unsettling it was to see them bulge in and out of her head in a slow motion, almost as if they were breathing. The glass became foggier and foggier on her side due to her heavy, animalistic panting, but I kept my gaze straight, only catching glimpses of fog and movement in my peripheral visions. If I were to treat her like an animal, I needed to assert myself as the alpha. I don’t yield to rude, entitled customers, and I wouldn’t yield to rude, entitled nonhumans breaching the unspoken contract that allowed them to enjoy my store.

After what felt like forever, she stopped tapping on the window. Her grin reverted back to a normal, almost friendly smile. She blinked, soggy wrinkled eyelids covering those eyes I had stared at for far too long.

“I guess I’ll see you when you’re open, then”. In spite of the glass panel separating us, I felt her putrid breath against my ear as she whispered her parting words.

Just like that, she turned and left.

Understandably, I was not looking forward to seeing her during the night shift. My regular customers were unsettling enough, I did not want to add the batshit-insane-nightmarish-grandma to the list.

I’m a business owner. The customer may not be always right, but they are always my priority. I will have to open tonight, because while some may not consider books to be a necessity, I guarantee you that it is vital not only for my business, but for some of my night customers that I open every night. I complain about my life a lot, but some of them face issues they can’t simply look up on the internet nor ask a friend or even a therapist. They may urgently need something from the night inventory, and I will do my best to provide it for them. I’ve always loved being a bookseller, but helping nonhumans find whatever fits their very specific needs has given me a sense of purpose I’m not ready to give up just yet.

I will open tonight. And I will protect my business and its rules, to ensure that I can open tomorrow night.

(Note: edited some words to fit in with the location LOL)

[drshojo]

The World, My Childhood And My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Hello friends!  

Its Dr. Shojo coming at you with a post that will be divided into three parts!

Part One: The world as we know it! 

The world has changed a lot since we last connected. For starters, TOILET BOUND HANAKO KUN HAS NOT ONLY A PHYSICAL RELEASE BUT A GORGEOUS ANIME! And not only that, but MY NEXT LIFE AS A VILLAINESS: ALL ROUTES LEAD TO DOOM! IS GETTING AN ANIME AS WELL! The last time I wrote about Katerina there wasn’t even an official English translation of that long-ass light-novel-title. And now?

A WHOLE ANIME. A BISEXUAL HAREM AWAITS! I am JAZZED!

Do you think it’s my fault? No matter, I’ll take all the credit. All the manga I talk about are getting anime adaptations. I’LL DO MY DUTY AND TALK ABOUT SOME MORE!

But first. Let us address the Covid-19 shaped elephant in the room

I deeply regret that it took a whole-ass pandemic to get me back to writing. In my defense, I bought an iPad and started drawing like 900 kokichi oumas. I was really busy with that. And then I started reading fanfiction. Then that got me thinking about how fanfiction such an interesting look into how people interpret fandom, use it for wish fulfillment and escapism, and good god is everyone OK cause that bulimia fan fic was super detailed....and I am officially on a tangent. Off track. Ahem.

We are all staying inside a whole lot more which means y’all probably need some reading material and Dr. Shojo has your back! Go read “Horimiya”! It’s amazing! Ahhhh, my work here is done! I'm serious, if you’re here for a Shojo rec, that’s it! There's also like 8 million more Otome Isekais to check out now. It’s like they’re multiplying like rabbits..............

As a Doctor, I must advise you to stay inside and read some manga and practice social distancing. Embrace your inner hikikomori. 

Allright? All good? Okay now one final disclaimer:

This post is going to be talking about something a little different than usual and I want to start by giving you some context about who Dr. Shojo is in real life. 

Part Two: Dr. Shojo Exposed 

You see, when I was little I was obsessed with Japanese media. This doesn't surprise you at all I can tell. Probably because I walk around calling myself Dr. Shojo and shout about manga that you should read.

Anyways, the reason why I was obsessed wasn’t because of the big eyes or the spikey hair or the interesting new culture. It was because it tended to have more character development and overarching plotlines than the media I was used to in Canada. Dexter’s Lab, Magic School Bus, pretty much everything I saw on TV was episodic in nature, so imagine how much my mind was blown when I saw Naruto and Card Captor Sakura, heck, even Pokémon had the Indigo Plateau! Here were kids that were learning more and more each day and got to see enemies become friends and vice versa. They lived and grew older just like me. Except they were cooler than me. And had more interesting lives than me. I gotta tell you, I was so sad when I was 12 and Kero didn’t tell me I had latent magical powers. But there was magic in my life and it was the magic of a complex narrative story. And not only that, it had a sense of movement and had cool costumes. I was hooked immediately.

Also, fun fact, at that age I happened to be a complete and utter tomboy! I loved pretending to fight my friends in the playground and was really worried that puberty would ruin my life because being a girl sounded so CUMBERSOME.

Which leads me up to my confession. Before I became Dr. Shojo, I was in fact......Dr. Shonen.

Bleach? Naruto? One Piece? I've read every single chapter there is.  

Hundreds of hours of watching fight sequences. Another fun fact, I only got into shojo because my aunt bought me volume 7 and 8 of Fruits Basket thinking “all mangas like the same right? Kids love comics?” It’s a tribute to how episodic western media was back then that she thought buying volume SEVEN and EIGHT was a REASONABLE PLACE TO START READING.

Now you might also say, Hey! Dr Shojo! Cardcaptors was a shojo! And you are right! but back then the anime was marketed to boys over here in the west and they actualy like, edited out episodes that they thought wouldn't interest boys?! Second fun fact, Once when I was in Grade 3 I was told I was not allowed to join a club under the stairs cause I was a girl and it was BOYS ONLY. The point of the club? To talk about how great Cardcaptors was! I Kid you not!

So anyways, your pall Dr. Shojo loves Shonen manga to this day!

The only reason I made this Dr. Shojo blog specifically about shojo is because, being a tomboy with no female friends, reading shojo manga was the first time I really thought about what it meant to be a girl and fall in love. And y i k e s. Shojo manga, like most media, fails miserably most of the time in displaying real world relationships. Or at least, it  doesn't prepare you for how disappointing everything can be. When I had my first kiss, I was thinking about how it didn’t feel at all like how I felt reading Zen and Shirayukis kiss in Akagame No Shirayuki Hime. Those were formative years, and shojo was one of the only places I saw romance being talked about for younger audiences. I liked reading romances where no one had any sexual experiences and were figuring out what love meant to them. But let’s shelve this topic for now.

The point is that gender roles are dumb and if you have an open mind there's a world of stories out there for you. Take this time inside to read something you wouldn’t normally. Critically think about the ways that the worlds you see in stories and how you experience the world differ. What are the messages a story is trying to tell you? And why do you like the stories you do? Reflect on how the stories you tell yourself color your view of the world. Even mindless entertainment leaves an impression on us. Anyways.

Whilst you're doing that, I'm going to absolutely lose my hecking mind over the Shonen Jump series MY HERO ACADEMIA: Vigilantes!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Part Three: I downloaded the one month free trial of the Shonen Jump app and made you read all that, so I can tell you that today Dr. Shojo is going to rant about a spin-off of a shonen manga

THAT’S RIGHT, OF COURSE I READ HERO ACA AND YES I DID PICK UP THE SPIN OFF SERIES. SHONEN JUMP LETS YOU READ ALL THE NEW CHAPTERS FOR FREE ON THEIR APP. KIDS, IF YOU LIKE SHONEN AND YOU’RE PIRATING ON A SCANLATION SITE STILL GET OUT BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED TO SEE THOSE WEIRD PLASTIC SURGERY AND DENTISTRY ADDS ANY MORE.

SHONEN IS HERE AND ITS LEGAL AND ITS FREE FOR YOU. GET OFF MANGA FOX OR MANGA ROCK OR WHATEVER THE KIDS ARE USING THESE DAYS.

OK, so by this point in the article you have learned two very important things about me: 1) I love Shonen manga and 2) I read a lot of fanfiction.

Specifically, I read an absolutely biblical amount of My Hero Academia fan fiction and let me tell you, A solid chunk of it is vigilante/ Deadpool / criminal with a heart of gold themed.

So when I saw Hero Aca had a spin off, and it was about vigilantes, I was NOT SURPRISED IN THE SLIGHTEST. Ao3 sure is powerful.

Now, if you will permit me a tangent in a post full of tangents—HOLY CRAP, THERE ARE TOO MANY VIGILANTE AUS. I CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF EM. IT’S THE ISEKAI PROBLEM ALL OVER AGAIN. I GET AN EMAIL A FIC HAS UPDATED AND I’M LIKE IS THIS THE FIC WHERE DEKU HAS AN ABUSIVE MOM OR THE ONE WHERE HE HAS SPLIT PERSONALITY DISORDER OR THE ONE WHERE HE’S VIGILANTES WITH HITOSHI. OH WAIT, nvm, it’s the one where deku has a healing quirk.

OH WAIT WHICH OF THE 6 DEKU WITH HEALING QUIRK VIGILATE AU FICS IS THIS ONE?! ARGH WHY DIDN’T I WRITE A DESCRIPTION IN THE BOOKMARK FOR THIS!

My gripes aside, there's a reason why there's such an abundance of vigilante story telling—

Deadpool made like an absolute buttload of money and people love sass and memes.

People have a desire for a story in which they see themselves. Or, how they think of themselves.They like a story about someone who maybe came from nothing. Someone who has less money, maybe someone who is unlucky and had some bad breaks. Someone who never learned they had magic, never got their Hogwarts letter, never saw Kero, someone who never got that God-level quirk from All Might. And if your on Ao3 They want someone who also has seen a lot of memes and kind of wants taco bell and is also questioning their sexuality a bit?

Enter our new hero VIGILANTE DEKU.  

But the cannon can't do this, cause hey, Deku is the chosen one. Albeit, chosen by All Might, He’s got his own thing to do. But how can we still cash in on a vigilante story?

And thus enter our New-New hero KOICHI HAIMAWARI—code name Nice Guy and then later The Crawler. True to his relatable roots. He’s just a dude in an hoodie who can go about as fast as a bike.

First off, I love Koichi. He wants to be a hero and fight crime, but most of the time he has to run away because at the end of the day he's just a dude.

He’s cute but not wildly good-looking, A bit of a nerd but not like an extreme okaku. He’s got a part time job and hates violence.

And this is where Koichi really shines—in every day stuff. He helps out wherever he can. Often, that just means listening to people complain and maybe helping his friends out with whatever they’re going through. He’s the kind of guy who smiles, not because he's especially brave, but because he just takes things one at a time and doesn't sweat the past. I think it’s really telling that he missed getting into hero high-school because he skipped the entrance exam to help someone. He’s the kind of person who lets us experience the superpower of human decency and empathy. And you know what? That’s something the world need desperately.  

This theme of human decency is really the driving force of Vigilantes—it’s a manga about how the laws are there for a reason but sometimes they unfairly impact the poor and vulnerable. It's about how a lot of criminals are just people who fell into bad social circles or on bad times. People have the capacity for cruelty and violence but that’s never all they are.  

Now, speaking of crime, the entirety of Hero Aca falls into some murky water when it comes to its evil doers. Much of the fandom has a huuuuuge problem with how much the franchise is willing to sweep under the rug in the name of redeeming their baddies. RE: people getting mad about forgiving Endeavor’s child abuse, or Bakugo’s suicide baiting. Or Mineta’s blatant sexual harassment.

But this theme is in Vigilantes even more than it ever was in the main series. To start off with, there’s this guy who tries to rape Pop Step early on, and the later he later winds up befriending everybody. It becomes a running gag that each new villain winds up befriending the other villain guys and then they all open a cat café together.

Using jobs as a way to lift people out of lives of crime is great and all but in the story there is no nuance or consequences for past wrong and well.....it feels very weird.  It's like Vigilantes plays at having an opinion about moral ambiguity and the complexity of human existence and then just.......lets everyone get along because who has time to get into all that. Make of that what you will but it sits weird for me personally.

Anyway, let's move on and talk about POP STEP our main girl!

I love pop stars and I love vigilantes and a guerrilla performer is defiantly a character I could get behind. And I think they do a good job with Pop. She is actually kind of shy, but has this secret edgy persona she puts on when she performs. She is every girl on tumbler in the early 2000s. I also looooove that they make her not that great a singer. SHE’S GOT PASSION AND CHARISMA and maybe not born talent but like why should that stop you! Talent can be earned through practice and this is a great lesson to show people.

Unfortunately, Pop is also a great example of everything wrong with romance in Shonen.

It’s established early on that Pop loves Koichi because she is the girl he rescued all those years ago and yada yada yikes we’ve heard this one before. Many times before.

Sure, it's fine that they’ve met before, but gosh am I sick of damsels in distress. It's like she can't love him just because she respects what a great guy he is in her life and in the community at large, no no, she just needs to be rescued on top of that. And LOLOLOL isn't it funny he never noticed she was a girl because she was a child with short hair?! Once he realizes she has boobs now they will for sure fall in love! That’s how love works!

She's just with him all the time—nothing romantic ever happens she just gets a little tsundere.

I am never ever going to believe Koichi likes Pop because he spends like sooooo much time with her and they never have like, a moment. The first time he considers her is when Makoto is like, ‘hey I would love to get together with you, but have you thought about if you are crushing on Pop’. (Also this entire plot point is suspect—she's arbitrarily falling for Koichi cause he.......is the protagonist?)  

Say what you will about shojo, they give you the emotional conversations, the moments where you think.....ahhh I can see why she is falling for him. They give you context! Shonen likes to just say HERE’S A GIRL YOUR AGE. YOU CAN DATE LATER WHEN THE ADVENTURE IS DONE.

Just when they might get together, Pop suddenly turns evilllllll. The evilllll beeeees made her eeeevilllll (and more sexy).

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

Because why on earth would they get together if Koichi didn’t get to rescue Pop one more time?

I’m tired. These troupes are tired. I’m sure you are too. HOWEVER! If your still with me, Let’s move into why I'm really writing this post. Let’s get to the part that got me screaming to my friends, who by the way, don’t even care bout Hero Aca….but listened anyways. May you all find nakama like these my friends.

Anyways,

HOLY FUCK ERASERHEAD’S ENTIRE BACK STORY IS IN THIS AROUND CHAPTER 60 AND IT IS WONDERFUL AND ABSOLUTLY HEARTBREAKING AND IS ONE OF THE BEST CHARACTER BACKSTORIES I HAVE EVER SEEN AND IS THE REASON WHY THIS SERIES IS A MUST-READ FOR MAIN SERIES FANS.

AND BY ALMIGHT.  

WHY. IS. IT HERE.  

I present to you my late night text messages to my friends

ALSO, AIZAWAS TEACHER IS PRINCE?!?!?!

AHEM, so as you can see, I kinda lost my shit.

And now, I would like to formally defend my claim that DESPITE HOW AMAZING IT WAS, ERASERHEAD’S BACKSTORY HAD NO BUISSNESS BEING IN THE VIGILANTES SPIN-OFF MANGA.

Eraserhead, aka Aizawa Shouta, is a side character who is working with the police on some crime stuff. He is not a main cast member in this spin off. He’s a guest character that fans of the main series will be like OH COOL. GRUMPY CAT MAN LIKES CATS ON HIS OFF HOURS TOO. LOVE THAT FOR HIM.

So, my imagine my absolute surprise when Aizawa runs into Koichi and the following happens:

It starts to rain, so, like in any good manga, this means some great FORCED BONDING TIME

Except no. It doesn't because rather than start talking, Aizawa JUST STARTS REMEMBERING—ABSOLUTLY SILENTLY TO HIS OWN PRIVETE SELF—HIS ENTIRE TRAGIC BACKSTORY.

AND THIS GOES ON FOR CHAPTERS.

THIS GOES ON LONGER THEN ARC ONE IT FEELS LIKE.

I LOVE IT, BUT KOICHI IS ABOUT TO JOIN ATSUSHI NAKAJIMA IN THE DUBIOUS CATEGORY OF “PROTAGONISTS THE SERIES FORGOT ABOUT IN LIEU OF COOLER SIDE CHARACTERS”.

AND LO IT HAS NO BEARING ON THE REST OF THE PLOT, CHARACTERS, OR STORY

What the ever-loving-just WHY?

WHY?

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

SURE, IT’S A COOL TIE-IN.

YES, OF COURSE I LOVED IT. I SHIP ERASER MIC, I DREW THIS FOR HECK’S SAKE:

AND YET I AM ANGRY.

I AM ANGRY BECAUSE MY FRIDAY WAS RUINED BECAUSE VIGILATES SUCKER PUNCHED ME WITH AN AMAZING STORY THAT REALLY WASN’T PLOT RELEVANT AND PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN THERE.  

IS THIS WHY THEY TOOK LIKE NEXT-TO-NO CARE WITH POPS ARC?!?

I mean its ongoing, so it’s too early to say but—

In conclusion—

Excuse me one more,

AIZAWA WAS TAUGHT BY PRINCE!?!??!?!?!?!? PURPLE RAIN PRINCE!?!??!?!?!? WHAT!??!?!?!

It’s so ABSURD that I HAD TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I HAD TO WRITE PARAGRAPHS TO JUSTIFY YELLING ABOUT THIS ONE THING. WHAT THE ABSOLUTE—

Ahem,

Anyways, I hope you liked this weird rant/personal-story/random-diatribe in three parts.

If you’re reading this, thank you, stay safe, and I’ll be back with more shojo manga next time.  

Ciao!

Dr. Shojo

(aka Dr. Shonen)

[purplerose244]

MY THOUGHTS ON SEASON 11 EPISODE 4!!!

SPOILERS!!!

Okay this one, I really REALLY enjoyed 👌 I can't wait to watch it in my language because it's super fun and there are some scenes I squeaked at because I'm a long time fan and this is amazing 😍😍

First of all, the dynamics of the team are always the same: Zane and Nya are doing the work, Lloyd checking the situation and cheering the team, Kai and Cole waiting ready to help and Jay

Pulling a Jay 😂😂 Man did I miss him and his overly pessimistic side whenever he complains, it's so him it's unbelievable 💙

This reminds me of the first episodes of Hunted, when they were stranded in another realm with no one but themselves. I mean, I guess this is a little less stressful since it's still Ninjago, and that's probably why Jay acts differently. While he went completely mad and hopeless in the First Realm, in this one I guess he kinda have a closer grasp of what he wants to leave 😂😂😂

If you still didn't notice yes, Jay was my absolute favorite thing about the episode 💙👌 I love him so much!

Jay almost getting eaten, now that's hysterical 😂 Cue to my flame babe for saving him with fire ❤❤❤

From the title it was clear what was coming, I'm kinda surprised Zane was the one. Kinda bet on Lloyd, but it makes sense anyway 🤷‍♀️ So many hilarious things, starting from Kai's tendency of having bad plans 😂😂 I love that it's a gag now

My poor flame babe looks so offended 😅 I love him, but it's 100% the truth

Besides Kai's sick burn on Jay 😂 (I'M SORRY FOR THE JOKE IT GOT STUCK INTO MY HEAD AS SOON AS I SAW THE SCENE), the situation was indeed fun but I appreciated a lot the fact that they were going rock paper scissors and the WINNER was gonna go into the beast. Like they were all into this, even if they didn't want to, and the losers were genuinely upset about not going instead of another

... and yeah THE FREAKING ADULT METHOD IS BACK OMG I'M SO HAPPY AAAAHHHH!!!!

Not only this is from freaking season 2, and it was Lloyd that brought it up (the one that wasn't even allowed at first, he grew up 💚), we finally get to see how the freak does a Lego minifigure play rock paper scissors

THIS made my day, I'm not kidding. I love this show and always will. Thanks 😍

So Zane gets inside the beast and BOOM, another vision. I'm starting to think Zane will get an important role into all the situation, and I kinda hope so, been a while since the attention was on him (also I want Brent to be happy 😊)

I was kinda on the edge about the situation? Of course he wasn't going to dissapear so soon, but I guess I just wanted Zane out as soon as possible, too many tears I poured on this nindroid in the past 😅

JAYA STILL BEING A COUPLE OF CUTIES ❤💙❤💙

This is how I imagine them entering their new house right after marriage 😂

And at the end everything went well. Besides what's coming, for now it seems that the quest is really helping them. I see some good skills from the good old days, and hopefully there will be more 👍👍

For now, this is my favorite episode, but this until we get to the story 💪💪

Thanks for reading my thoughts! I think season 11 is doing a pretty nice job so far, hope It will kick in soon!!

See ya!! Byee!!

P.S. I don't know who's cuter, Cole happy his hat is back, Jay unamused with green goo over him or Lloyd giggling 🖤💙💚🖤💙💚

[theirondragonrants]

8 Thoughts on GOT 8X03 THE BATTLE OF HELMS DEEP THRONES STYLE

I have no God darned clue what the episode name is so I'm gonna call it Helm's Deep, no I will not accept criticism. That being said here we go.

1. The most Heroic thing

Can we give it up for the true heroes of this shit. Lyanna Mormont going out like a champ. She told men they were idiots and proved it in the end by taking out a fucking GIANT. Arya knew Sansa had no chance out there and if they were going to fight to the last man, Sansa would be what the survivors would need so she sent her to the crypts. (it also gave me flashbacks to Jon saying if he didn't Keep Sansa safe Eddard Stark would climb out of his grave to kill him). Melisandre fucking giving fire left and right like a boss, and GIVING THOSE WAR ENDING TIPS. Brienne holding the line with Jamie, Pod and everyone else fighting under her. Beric and the Hound hauling ass to save Arya. Greyworm protecting the retreat with the unsullied and then wrecking face inside the gates. So many great moments and people.

2. Everything that happened led you where you belong

It was definitely a line for Theon, and by the drowned God did he deliver, but it was also for everyone else. Everything they've been through, everyone they've lost, all they've endured led them to this battle, and every one of them was crucial for every moment whether we saw it or not.

And now to the man it was spoken to. Theon Greyjoy who betrayed the Stark family, drove Bran and Rickon from their home, saved Sansa and brought Daenerys to Westeros died protecting his little brother and I love that. Good men are forged in fire and like Bran said, Theon is a good man.

3. You were the best of them

For obvious reasons we couldn't let a lot of out the no combatants. Tyrion, Sansa, Varys, Missandei, they're all better at games that don't involve swords and fighting. That being said, I loved the little tidbits we did get. I really think that, if Daenerys didn't exist, Tyrion would probably give a thought to Sansa ruling the seven kingdoms. She's got the right name, she's stronger than Robert but gentler than Stannis, and she's been ruling despite everyone's doubts and doing a kickass job out of it.

Tyrion really was the best of her husband's and while I don't ship it, I think they would be a pair to be reckoned with. Sansa and Tyrion also knowing that they'd be useless in a fight but when the fight comes to you you've gotta get it together.

4. And now their watch is ended

I'm surprised we didn't get as many deaths? Granted I know there's piles of corpses that are a few stories tall, but main cast deaths were few and far in between. That being said let's have a few moments of silence for the good people we lost.

Edd, homie died doing what he had been doing for a long time, taking care of Sam who keeps freezing at the worst moments.

Jorah, he did just take Jamie's wish to die in the arms of the woman he loves. Fucking Jorah hauled ass out of Winterfell to save Daenerys, who had already done her fair share of fighting, and went out like a champ.

Beric, god dammit so I have a LOT to say about his death, but he went out doing the literal Lord's work and I appreciate him so.

Lyanna, she decided that the women wouldn't be left behind and she did her duty. She manned the gate, and held the line, and went out buying them precious time and instead of dealing with all those dead AND a giant, they just had to fight all the dead.

Melisandre, her fire went out but she fucking saved them. Like Beric I've got a lot of stuff to say about her, so catch that in number 8.

5. DRAGONS

No fancy title for this one because DRAGONS.

Daenerys and Drogon buying everyone time and doing the best they fucking could to make everything easier. But only Daenerys and Drogon. Jon on the other hand is a useless schmuck and I feel vindicated in how much I don't like him.

Even Viserion fucking wrecking face with his blue fire, and dog-fighting with Drogon in mid-air and still continuing to wreck face even after the Night King fell off? Amazing.

6. Jon Snow, not the prince that was promised

BITCH AM I HAPPY ABOUT THIS.

Jon Snow has repeatedly made stupid ass decisions, and been irredeemably useless on more than one occasion. Letting him be the prince that was promised would've been some utter bullshit, and honestly I'm so happy it wasn't him at the end.

He sat on his ass, on the walls of Winterfell, with full visibility of the trenches while the archers were desperately trying to light them and did nothing. He screamed at a dragon while Arya wrecked the Night King's face.

I am however very curious about why he got brought back? If he wasn't the prince that was promised then what's his mission?

7. Jaime and Brienne, a power couple

This is more my own fan service than nothing else, but God damn everytime the camera went back to then I felt my heart drop. Brienne saving Jaime and Jaime saving her right back? Amazing, iconic, I love them. And even in the thick of it they were still watching each other's 6s, protecting Pod, doing what they do and looking fabulous while doing it. Honestly I'm so happy to see they'll live another day.

8. Arya Stark, she-wolf of Winterfell, protector of the realm and slayer of ice zombies

HONESTLY I DIDNT SEE THIS COMING!?

What do we say to the God of death??? NOT TODAY BITCHES. Much like everyone else, everything they've lived has led to this moment. Every moment of training, all the names on the list, even that little training montage with Brienne when she did that dagger drop, everything led up to this iconic fucking moment. Beric being brought back to save her. Melisandre coming back from Volantis to save their assess. The Hound snapping out of his panic for her. Everything came down to that moment.

I'm really going to have to go back and see every clue that said Arya was supposed to do this, but God damn!

AND IN THIS MOMENT THE NIGHT KING KNEW, HE FUCKED UP

Final thoughts:

I know to a lot of casual viewers who came in for the fantasy, the show has led up to this fight and it's a question of now what? But really, the show is going to do a full circle. This all started with the Dragons, the Stags, the Wolves and the Lions going at eachother, and that's exactly how it's going to end. Be it as it may, this show is about the Game of Thrones, and it's time to play.

Episode Score: 9/10

[xononx]

All Hell Breaks Loose (rewrite) part 2

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Warnings: Some light swearing

Word count: 3272

Description: All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2 rewrite! I decided I would split the season finale into 2 parts cos a lot happens in this ep and I’m already at 3000 words so I’ll do another part to finish this episode off! Enjoy ☺️

You helped Dean and Bobby pull Sam’s lifeless body into one of the houses in the town and onto an old mattress. The last hour or so after was a blur, you waited with Bobby outside the room while Dean was alone with Sam. It didn’t look like he was leaving the room anytime soon so Bobby decided to go get you all some food since it had been almost 24 hours since any of you had slept or ate. “Watch him” Bobby said, pointing towards the door, you just nodded. After another hour or so you decided it would be a good idea to check on Dean, you tapped on the door quietly and opened it. Dean didn’t even look up to you from where he sat, he just stared at Sam lying on that mattress. “Dean?” You asked but he didn’t reply “do you need anything?” Again nothing it’s like he couldn’t hear you. “I’ll just be outside ok” you placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder but it was no use, Dean didn’t want you or need you right now, he just wanted to be alone.

-

You hated this feeling inside, feeling helpless to do anything to make this better for Dean. The one thing that you had always been good at, the reason why you had stuck around with the Winchester boys for so long. It was easy to feel like a third wheel with the brothers, they had a relationship that you had never seen between anyone else before. But even with their co-dependence you still had you place. Dean was the saviour, the muscle. He was head strong and ressilent. Sam was obviously the brains, smart and resourceful. But the boys shared one important thing in common, they had been hurt. They both shared experiences so painful that most people would just lie down and give up but they had you to turn to, to talk to when they couldn’t talk to each other. Sam would come to you when he was frustrated with his older brother, you two would complain about Dean and his bad habits or you would talk about Jess and how hard it had really been on Sam after her death. You and Sam shared a lot in common and it was always such a weight of each other’s shoulders that there was someone else that you could relate to. And Dean, well your relationship with him was different to say the least. You and Dean didn’t talk about your feelings or your depressing childhoods, that’s just not the way he was. Instead you shared a love of music, food and each other’s company, He would never admit it but it was your presence that would calm his nerves or distract him from the nightmares. You didn’t need words and long conversations to understand each other, you could ride for hours in the Impala in comfortable silence and be the happiest you had ever been. You and Sam were close but it didn’t compare to you and Dean. The way you had felt about him had started to impeach on your friendship more than you had cared to admit, it kept you awake at night and it was always the first thing on your mind when you woke up but you could never admit it to Dean, you could barley admit it to yourself. You played it off, you would call it a crush and try to forget about it but you could never grasp the scale of your feelings towards Dean. You thought maybe it was because you were scared that he would never share those feelings back or that sometimes you honestly believed that you didn’t deserve to be happy with anyone. Sometimes you thought how much easier it could be going it alone, not having to look out for anyone but yourself but you stayed with the boys because they are what gave your life meaning, hunting and saving lives that was all part of the job but caring for the boys, looking after them is what you really wanted, it’s what meant the most to you. So what were you good for now? You would do anything for Dean but he didn’t want you or need you, he needed Sam but that’s the one thing you couldn’t do for him, you couldn’t bring him back no matter how much you wanted to. All you could do is sit and wait, just be there for Dean and hope that he would come back to you threw all of this crap.

-

Bobby came back with some food and you were pretty grateful to not be alone again. Bobby handed you a sandwich and bottle of water, “Dean? Brought you this back.” Bobby said holding out a bucket of fried chicken for him. “No, thanks. I'm fine.” You don’t think you had ever seen Dean turn down food in your life. “You should eat something.” You said “I said I'm fine.” Dean snapped back at you, his voice made you cower slightly and immedetaly felt guilty for trying to push him to eat. Dean picked up a bottle of whisky from the table and took a swig, you sat down on one of the chairs and ate your sandwich in silence, you’d be damned if you weren’t going to eat something. You watched Bobby look around awkwardly to Dean, “Dean... I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time... we bury Sam?” You didn’t look up from your sandwich, knowing that Bobby’s words were going to turn this into a heated moment, “No.” Dean replied bluntly. “We could, maybe...” Bobby started but was interrupted “What? Torch his corpse? Not yet.” You chewed faster, feeling extremely uncomfortable, feeling as if you were stuck between the two men, you would be forced to take sides and you had no clue who’s you would take. “I want you to come with me.” Bobby Pleaded “I'm not going anywhere.” Bobby looked at you for some support but you didn’t want to get between the two of them. “Dean, please.” Dean paced around the room to let out some of his tension “Would you cut me some slack?” You stopped eating and put down your sandwich, you could feel that this fight was starting to get serious. “I just don't think you should be alone, that's all. I gotta admit, I could use your help.” Dean snorts “Something big is going down – end-of-the world big.” “Well, then let it end!” You stood up from the table ready to intervene. “You don't mean that.” Bobby asks “You don't think so? Huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, you'd turn around, and get the hell out of here.” You move over to the men “ok guys let’s calm down” Bobby just stands there, shaking his head. Dean shoves Bobby all of a sudden “Go!” You put yourself between them and hold Dean back, you knew that if he really wanted to he could easily push you aside but you doubted Dean would ever really hurt you or Bobby no matter how hurt he felt. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, just go.” Bobby looked to you “I’ll stay ok” Bobby nodded knowing you would look after Dean while he was gone “You know where I'll be.” He said as he walked out. You looked at Dean, you didn’t say anything, you didn’t need to your face had said it all. “What?” Dean asked, “You know what” you replied, you gave him another long glare and he returned back to the room where Sam laid. You were fighting sleep, it had been around 30 hours since the last time you slept. You knew you had to keep and eye on Dean and make sure he didn’t do something stupid but he hadn’t left that room in hours and your eyelids began to betray you. You had sat down on an old, dirty and torn couch, you rested your head on the side of the chair. You didn’t mean to but you slowly drifted away, letting all your troubles slip away while you fell into a dreamless sleep.

-

It had felt like you had only fallen asleep for a few minutes but you could tell by the rising sun in the window that you must have managed a few hours. Your eyes were heavy and you could kill for a shower. You looked around you and noticed the keys of the Impala had dissapeared from the table where they had been last night. A panic set over you and you cursed yourself for falling asleep, you had one job and that was to watch Dean and make sure he didn’t drive off somewhere and do something reckless. You raced out the door and tried to get your bearings, everything looked extremely different in the day light and you weren’t sure which way you had come into the town until you saw the Black Impala driving down the dirt road towards you. You were relieved to see Dean but you were ready to give him a piece of your mind for making you worry like this. As he pulled the Impala up you stood next to his door so he would have to confront you when he got out. As he got out he refused to look you in the eye and you knew that something was wrong. Dean went to move past you but you grabbed him and pushed him back “what did you do Dean?” You asked him, he just looked at you with honest desperation. “He’s my brother Y/N” he said, his voice all but defeated. You went to stop him from walking away but this time he pushed passed you and you couldn’t stop him. You followed behind him into the house and you almost dropped dead from disbelief. Standing in front of you was Sam, as alive as you and Dean, a rush of emotions flowed over you and you were elated to see Sam again but confused about how he was alive. You looked at Dean and knew immediately he had something to do with this. “Sammy? Thank god.” Dean pulled his brother into a hug “Hey, Owwww. Uh, Dean...” Dean let go of his brother and you both stand there, wide eyed staring at him. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man. I'm just... I'm just happy to see you up and around, that's all.” Sam nods slightly and then looked to you still confused. You tried to hide your emotions from your face, not wanting to alert Sam of the event that had unfolded last night but you could feel your anger starting to rise just thinking about Dean medealling in things that neither of you understood. “Dean... what happened to me?” You looked to Dean, eager to hear how he would explain himself, you almost had to stop yourself from crossing your arms and tapping your foot waiting for an explanation. “Well, what do you remember?” Dean asked his brother. “I-I saw you and Y/N and... I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like... white-hot, you know, and then you started running at me, and... that's about it.” Dean hesitated for a moment, “Yeah, that— that kid, stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood, you know.... It was pretty touch and go for awhile.” Dean’s words were an understatement to say the least “But Dean, you can't— you can't patch up a wound that bad.” You looked back to Dean again, he seemed to digging himself a deeper hole with each question. “No, but Y/N could.” Dean turned to you, it was the first time he had looked at you properly today. You thought for a moment about the consequences of being implicated in all of this, you could just tell Sam the truth and work something out or you could go with Dean’s and be forced to lie to Sam for who knows how long. You looked at Dean and he looked you dead in the eye, you could tell what he was thinking, he was begging with you not to say anything. You tried your hardest to do the right thing in the moment, you hated lieing and being lied to and felt strongly that it be best to tell Sam the gods honest truth , but you went against it all for the sake of Dean, you couldn’t let him down like this. You didn’t try to speak, convinced that your words might betray you and give you away so you just nodded. “Thank you” Sam added and hugged you tight, as he did you noticed Dean’s eyes dart away from your’s and you could sense the guilt he was so desperately trying to hide.

-

“So who was that guy anyway?” Dean asked, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible. “His name's Jake. Did you get him?” Sam asked. “No, he disappeared into the woods.” You replied, finally regaining the ability to speak. “We got to find him, Dean. And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart.” Sam started for the door and you and Dean move to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Van Damme. You just woke up, all right? Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat?” Sam nods “I'm starving. Come on.” Dean goes to walk off but you grab his forearm, “we need to talk” you demand. “Can this wait?” Dean asks in a hushed voice, but you don’t let up, you need him to know that this is serious. Dean nods, he glances towards Sams direction who has gone to the bathroom, making sure he won’t hear you and you follow him outside. Once you step out to the fresh air all of your anger that has been building up inside you seems to rise to the top and you can’t keep it in anymore, you shove Dean hard in the chest and you do your best not to scream at him but the tone in your voice is nothing that you had ever used with him before. “What the fuck did you do Dean?” Dean looks away like a guilty puppy but your not having any of it and you shove him again. “What did you do!” This time your voice threatens to get louder, Dean tries to hush you but you push him away. “Was it a deal? Dean please tell me you didn’t make a deal!” Dean just nods, you raise your hands to your head and pull at your hair, it was the worst thing you could have thought off. You didn’t know what to think or how to feel in that moment, except one emotion stood out the most. The white hot anger you had for Dean was palpable, you had seen it time and time again. Dean’s little to no regard for his own life when it came to his brother drove you mad, you really couldn’t understand how he thought so little of himself to think that everyone would be better off without him. That he didn’t care that if he wasn’t here that you would have no reason to live, that Dean was the last tangible reason to you staying on this earth and he had gone and sold his soul. “How long did you get?” You asked trying to bring your emotions back under control. Dean took a moment to answer, worried about how you would react to the truth. “One year” all your effort to control yourself was futile, the tears that had been welling up had started to fall and you felt sick to your stomach. You were lost for words and you just didn’t have the energy to fight him anymore. “What could I do Y/N? He’s my little brother! I’ve got to look after him!” You were pacing infront of him, “so that means throwing away your own life Dean?” Dean didn’t respond, he didn’t have a good answer. “Dean what about Sam? How do you think he’s going to feel after he learns what you did? How did you feel when John did it for you?” You knew exactly how Dean felt, it had been eating away at him for the last year. “I’m not even suppose to be here! At least this way something good could come out of it, you know it’s like my life could mean something.” You couldn’t believe how little Dean really thought of himself and it tore you apart in the inside. “Dean your life does mean something! It means something to me! What the hell am I suppose to do?” Dean tried to move to touch you but you didn’t let him. “ you gotta look after Sammy when I’m gone, please” you hated hearing him talk like it was already over. You took a few deep breaths and composed yourself, you don’t think you had ever let Dean see you cry before and you felt so weak for doing so. “I’ll help you finish this, we will find the yellow eyed demon and I’ll do whatever it takes for you to kill him..” you pause for a moment, you weren’t sure if you were going to go threw with the rest of your sentence but you had to, it was the only way you would be able to move on from this in one piece.

“But after that I’m out, I’m not going to hang around to see you get dragged to hell Dean, I-I cant” you choked on your words and held back more tears. You wanted nothing more than to be with Dean right in this minute, to hold him close and tell him that it would be alright, that you could go on without him but that was far from the truth. Your instincts told you that the only way your coming out of this being ok is putting as much space between yourself and Dean as possible, you knew that if you stayed around you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from giving into your true feelings for Dean, you would let yourself be truly in love with him and you wouldn’t be able to stop yourself from telling him, you would need to feel him next to you every night and then you would have to watch him get torn to shreds, after that there would be nothing left for you, no reason to hang around. You thought it best to cut ties now before you let yourself get involved, it might hurt now but that didn’t compare to the hurt you would feel in a years time. Dean looked hurt by your words but nodded in agreement, “ok”. You wanted to keep screaming at him but there was nothing left in you, in a moment of weakness you let Dean move close and lay his hands on your cheek, his touch sent shivers threw you and you almost gave into your feelings then and there but this is exactly what you knew would happen and you pulled your cheek away from his touch, it was clear to Dean that you weren’t going to budge on your decision so he left you outside to rejoin his brother. You gave yourself a minute or so to process things and returned inside to the two brothers to decide your next move to find the yellow eyed demon.

-

To be continued..

-

Tagged friends:

@son-ova-bitch

@roonyxx

-

Part 1

[dukereviewstv]

Duke Reviews TV: Smallville 1x21 Tempest (Season Finale)

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Tv Where Today We Are Continuing Our Look At Smallville By Talking About The Season Finale Of Season 1, Tempest

This Episode Sees Clark And His Friends Getting Ready For The Spring Formal As Lionel Closes The Plant, Lex Attempts To Lead A Employee Buyout Of The Plant And Roger Nixon Finds Out Clark's Secret And Threatens To Expose Clark To The World...

How Will This All Work Out? Let's Find Out As We Watch Tempest...

The Episode Starts At The Luthorcorp Plant As Lex Awaits Lionel Who's Arriving By Helicopter To A Speech Of Some Kind...

(Start At 1:05, End At 2:45)

Meanwhile At Smallville High, Clark And Pete Get Ready For The Spring Formal Only For Chloe To Break The News To Them That The Luthorcorp Plant Is Closing...

After School, Clark Finds Jonathan And Martha Reading A Special Edition Of The Ledger That Talks About The Plant Closing. Despite Telling Them That Chloe And Her Dad Are Unhappy About This, Jonathan And Martha Are More Concerned About The Domino Effect It'll Have On The Community As Millions Of People Are Now Out Of Jobs...

But As Jonathan And Clark Debate Over Who's Fault It Really Is, Lana And Whitney Have A Picnic To Thank Her For Being With Him Throughout Everything He's Gone Through And To Break The News To Her That He Signed Up For The United States Marine Corp...

(Start At 1:14)

I Tried To Find Answers On The Smallville Wiki Over Why Whitney's Actor Eric Johnson Left The Series But There Wasn't Really Anything On The Subject...

Visiting Lex At The Mansion, Clark Asks Lex What Happened That Caused The Plant To Shut Down? Which Leads Lex To Tell Him The 2 Theories That Everyone Has, Either He Ran It Into The Ground Through Incompetence Or Did It Deliberately So He Could Go Back To Metropolis...

With Clark Telling Lex To Tell The Truth, He Doesn't Really Want To Because If He Does He'll Be Stuck With The Incompetence Rap And Instead Figures That Being Reviled Is Just The Lesser Of 2 Evils But Despite Lionel Doing This, Lex Swears It's Not Over And That He's Trying To Come Up With A Plan...

Stopping By The Torch Afterwards, Chloe Is Still Bummed About Her Dad Losing His Job To The Point That Clark Offers To Cancel The Spring Formal On Saturday For Her But She Doesn't Want To As It's The Only Thing She Has To Look Forward To As Her Dad Is Thinking About Moving Them Back To Metropolis Permanently Due To The Luthorcorp Thing...

Having Clark Promise Her Saturday Will Be Great, He Promises Saying That It'll Be A Night To Remember...

Oh, It'll Be A Night To Remember All Right....

Later That Evening, Lex Calls A Meeting With His Former Plant Managers Saying That He Has A Plan To Keep The Plant Running By Holding An Employee Buyout With Lex Raising 90% Of The Capital With The Rest Coming From Them And In Return They'll Become Minority Owners...

Knowing It's A Risk To The Point That They'll Have To Morgage Their Homes Along With Trying To Convince Members Of The Luthorcorp Board To Go Along With Their Plan, The Managers Are In

Visiting The Talon, Clark Tells Lana That Chloe May Be Leaving For Metropolis Only For Lana To Tell Clark That Whitney Is Joining The Marines And It Now Has Both Of Them Thinking What Their Lives Will Be Like Without Them...

The Next Day Clark Places Large Stakes In The Ground Only For The Car To Blow Up When He Starts It...

Surviving The Accident, It Was All Unfortunately Caught On Tape By Roger Nixon Who Has Been Monitoring Clark Since He Saved Lana From Watts...

Visited By Lionel At The Mansion, He Wonders Why Lex Hasn't Packed Only For Lex To Tell Him That He's Not Leaving And That He's Calling For An Employee Buyout Of The Plant...

(Start At 0:28, End At 1:30)

Talking With Chloe In The Hallway Of School, Clark Tells Chloe That He Can't Pick Her Up Because His Ride Went Up In Flames Which Leads Her To Offer To Pick Him Up Saying Cinderella Was Never Her Role Model Anyway...

(As Valley Girl) And Like, It's The 20th Century, Girls Rule The World...

Hearing About Whitney Leaving, Chloe Tells Clark About A Recurring Nightmare She's Been Having About Clark Rushing To The Bus Station When Whitney's Gone To Profess His Love To Lana And That She'll Be Waiting At The Gym All Alone...

Telling Clark That If He Does That, She'll Never Speak To Him Again, Clark Tells Chloe That He's Going With Her Because He Wants To And That He Didn't Choose Her As A Default...

Stopping By The Talon After School, Clark Runs Into Roger Nixon Who Introduces Himself Saying That He Wants To Do A Story About Him...

(Start At 0:15, End At 1:13)

Telling Jonathan And Martha About Nixon, They Tell Clark To Just Continue Living His Life Despite Clark Being Upset About This After What Happened With Phelan In Metropolis...

But Aside From That Clark Saw The Octagonal Disc That Lex Found And He Now Believes It To Be Part Of The Ship As It, Of Course, Matches The Missing Piece But Despite How Persistent Lex Can Be, Jonathan And Martha Know That It Won't Be Traced Back To Them So Again They Tell Clark To Just Do His Chores And Stay Away From The Storm Cellar...

But Unbeknownst To The Kents, Nixon Heard Everything With The Help Of Some Spy Gear He Has...

Visiting Lex The Next Day, Roger Steals The Disc As Lex Reminds Nixon That The Kents Are Off Limits But Not Worried About Lex Or His Threats, He Tells Lex To Be Nice Or He Won't Let Him In On His Discovery With Nixon Promising To Show Lex All The Evidence Tonight Telling Nixon To Pray That He's Not Wrong, Roger Leaves...

Later That Night At The Barn, Clark Is Getting Ready For The Spring Formal As Lex Enters To Help Clark With His Tie. Telling Clark That Whatever Happens In The Next Few Days, He's Still His Friend And That Won't Change It Has Clark Wondering What Lex Thinks Is Going To Happen? He Just Tells Clark That It's Just A Bad Feeling, Like It's The Calm Before The Storm..

Meanwhile At School, Lana And Whitney Take One Last Look Around School Before Whitney Ships Out For Training But Before They Get Ready To Leave, Whitney And Lana Have One Final Dance Before They Do...

Stopping By To Pick Up Clark At The Farm, He Gives Chloe Her Corsage And They Drive Off To The School As Nixon Sees Them Drive Away...

They Arrive At School As The Winds Start To Pick Up, Once Inside They Run Into Lana And Whitney And Pete And His Date...

With Chloe Taking A Pic Of Pete And His Date, Whitney Talks With Clark Asking Him To Look After Lana While He's Gone To Which He Promises To As Whitney Leaves...

Dropping Whitney Off At His Bus, Lana Says Goodbye...

Meanwhile On The Kent Farm, Nixon Enters The Storm Cellar And Gets Footage Of The Spaceship...

Back At School, The Spring Formal Goes On As Remy Zero Plays As The Band...

Because Who Better To Play At The Formal Than The Band That Sings Your Damn Theme Song...

Dancing With Chloe When The Band Plays Her Favorite Song We Eventually Cut To Lana As She's Coming Home Only To See That The Wind Has Picked Up To The Point That A Mailbox Hits Her Car Causing Her To Crash It...

Managing To Get Out Of The Car Lana Watches As Twisters Form In The Distance...

With The Kents Getting In The Storm Cellar Because Of The Twister They End Up Finding Nixon As He Places The Disc On The Ship...

(Start At 0:43, End At 1:41)

Back At The School, Clark And Chloe Kiss As The Vice Principal? Tells The Kids About The Tornadoes Which Are South Of Town And Knowing That Lana Is South Of Town, Clark Races Off To Save Her To Chloe's Dismay...

Meanwhile At The Luthor Mansion, Lex Discovers That Nixon Took The Disc As Lionel Enters As He Figured Out How Lex Is Funding The Buyout..

(Start At 1:48, End At 3:45)

Eventually Finding Lana, Clark Watches As Her Car Is Taken Up Into One Of The Twisters With Him Following To Save Her...

Where In All Honesty I Hope They Land In Oz...

And Yeah, This Is Where The Episode Ends Till Next Season And It Was A Good Episode...

The Story Was Good, The Characters Were Well Written, All In All It Was An Okay Episode And I Say See It..,

But What Do I Think About The Season In General Well, For That You'll Have To Tune In Next Week But Until Then This Is Duke, Signing Off...