#in the first few eps before they realize shes a girl anyway

[keithskogane]

klance mean girls au where lance is regina and keith is janis. you agree. reblog

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 14 Sleuthing and Scantrons

Welcome back to Fantasy High where we are back from winter break and hitting the ground running starting with our girl Kristen who just learned that the proselytizing patriarch of the Dawn clan–Bobby Dawn–is her new Cleric teacher. 

Kristen decides to not make waves and just vibe out the situation. Bobby isn’t doing anything obviously out of pocket like calling people heathens, but his vibe is way preacher-y than Yolanda’s more neutral academic style and Kristen can clock that he’s giving certain kids a harder time than others (likely based on their choice of deity). 

We’re still on downtime so let’s run through Kristen's tracks. 

She thinks about doing a Mystery roll to learn more about Ankarna but rolls Academics first for a 19. A+.

Next, she rolls Popularity and she specifically wants to hit up Gertie. She passes with room to spare on a 21 and, amidst some awkward flirting that at least Gertie seems super into, asks her some questions about the Devil’s Honey. Gertie says that she hasn’t made a ton–just a few bottles. The nectar you need to make it is pretty rare. Her client (the trucks and thus, presumably KP) ordered two bottles right after the new year which is twice as many as she got last time. Kristen tries to get Gertie to switch the honey with a placebo but Gertie isn’t willing to lie so she settles for Gertie reporting back on if they ask for any more (which is logged into the school records anyway). With the logs, Kristen can see that the first delivery of Devil's Nectar happened a week or two after spring break last year--this is before Lucy even died. 

After that she has a Relationship roll and wants to finally have that chat with her parents. On a 27 they have a reasonably cordial meeting at Krom’s Diner. Her whole fam is there–brothers and parents. Her parents are pretty happy that Bobby Dawn is the new cleric teacher (though the have a foot in mouth moment when they realize that Yolanda was murdered and not fired like they thought and that they were basically just celebrating a woman’s non-Helio sanctioned murder).Bucky’s happy to see his sister and a little bummed that he hasn’t been able to convert anyone in his party to Helioism. 

She asks how her parents feel about Gal and their vibe is like, “Shrug, she’s fine.” Not Helio but she’s not infernal or anything. Kristen floats the idea of her attending church one Sunday–not to come back to the church, just to observe and for her class–but her parents are practically salivating at the opportunity to bring her back into the fold. Her mom specifically points out that it seems kismet that she, as Helio’s chosen (even if she’s not currently in the church), was the one to bring back the sun. 

Bucky catches a glimpse of Kristen’s Cass shards and asks about them but, before she can tell him much, her parents cut her off and end the encounter. They tell Kristen they’ll pay for her bill so, naturally, she runs up a huge tab. 

Final roll is for her campaign and she gets a Nat 20! She is absolutely crushing it–and why wouldn’t she be? She’s a world saving, total stud who rides with the coolest kid at school, a literal rockstar, and the people’s dork. And her opponent is Kipperlilly, ultimate bad vibes generator. Kristen and KP have a tense standoff where Kristen asks her what’s she’s trying to forget with the devil’s honey and KP tells her to fuck herself. 

All of the Bad Kids square up, ready to throw hands on the spot but Oisin–wizard of the Rat Grinders–breaks it up. There is a long beat of the Bad Kids trying to recruit Mary Ann for reasons that are beyond me that you’ll just have to watch for yourself and the Bad Kids declare that all the RG’s are a lost cause except for her. Adaine, in an uncharacteristically un-aggro move for her–says that the wizard actually seems kind of cool and Brennan asks for a Perception check. 

She rolls like trash but everyone wants to know what the cute wizard thinks about her and social engineer some romance for their girl so they pile on the buffs to turn her four into a dirty 20. With them coaxing her to pay better attention, they see that Oisin is waiting to say something to her–he casts the Message cantrip and gives her a quick, “Sorry,” to apologize for her friends’ behavior. Then their whole crew heads out. Fig reveals that she’s the one behind the entire Complicated Women Podcast. Where does your web of deceit end Figueroth???

Next up to run through tracks is Gorgug. 

First track is Barb and he crushes it with a 26. Porter is so proud. A+!

Next is Artificer (Brennan only makes him roll once, not three times) and he gets a 31! He’s officially a Barbificer which means he can hold concentration on pre-cast spells while raging. Henry is super proud of him too! He gets some more cool gadgets so he’s all twins-y with Riz. Green guys with gadgets! 

His next track is Mystery and here’s where things get juicy. He wants to dig into Henry’s deal and, with Flash of Genius, gets a 20. He snoops around Henry's desk before his class one day and finds a note from Ruben asking for a ride home, nothing about the Cloud Rider engine, and some Grix parts along with his notes which seem to indicate that fixing Grix isn't his top priority and he's gonna leave it until Aguefort is back. Suddenly, Gorgug hears something from outside the door--a conversation between Henry and Jace. Jace says that he got Henry's letter about Ruben and he's just there to assure him that everything is fine. Henry doesn't sound super assured and wants to have a more in depth meeting but Jace gets pretty aggro pretty quick. He says he's too busy for that and they should meet at the school year when Aguefort is back and when Henry pushes back on that, Jace Misty Steps to be all up in his face and says he should keep his fucking nose out of other people's business. Henry walks into the class, clearly shaken, and Gorgug plays dumb effectively, slipping on his headphones like he didn’t hear anything. 

Finally, he rolls Owlbears and fails. Rather than push it (which would make him take his fifth token) he decides his heart isn’t in it and drops Owlbears. Fabian and Gorthalax are both disappointed, even though they understand. Riz gets promoted from off the bench to fill his spot, much to his glee. Fabian and Kristen both try to roll relaxation but they fail (which has no mechanical downside).

Speaking of Riz, let’s do his tracks next!

As always he does Academics first and rolls a 31. DC to find the Rogue Prof is 30 which means he’s right on her trail! We don’t resolve that this episode but Brennan says that he finds Eugenia Shadow’s (the teacher) death records which means that, as they suspected from episode 1 of this season, she’s almost certainly a ghost. 

Extracurriculars with disadvantage is a dirty 20 so he’s still on top of those. 

Third roll is a Mystery roll to try and figure out how the Rat Grinders became the Rat Grinder from the High 5 Heroes. A 23 is only enough for some basic clues which are as follows. From Gertie, he learns that part of what makes Devil’s Honey work to make you a good liar is it makes you in the moment believe what you’re saying which erases some of the tells of lying from your expression and body language. It also allows you to lie without speaking which is useful for Wizards speaking telepathically AND for its original purpose: lying in prayer. Fig thinks this could maybe be used to pray effectively through doubt. Riz also catches Jawbone (who just finished giving a muffin to a hard at work Adaine–cute!) and asks about Kipperlily and her finding the rogue teacher. Jawbone says it was all above board though she did find her crazy fast–8:01 on the first day, literally the first minute it was possible. (Adaine/Shiv remembers at this point that she has ethereal vision and can def help Riz find a ghost). Jawbone mentions that the people at the morgue are trying to do something about the runes on Lucy and Yolanda and racing the clock before rezzing them because borderline impossible--they're getting close to the one year limit with Lucy. Riz knows there’s more info he can get but it would mean stealing the file from Jawbone and listen. He’s a good guy rule follower but he’s also a Rogue baybee. Nat 20 to snatch it with Jawbone none the wiser. Brennan says that he’ll properly dig into it later but, for at a quick glance, he sees that she's been coming to the counselor since Freshman year for anger issues and that his name is in the file for some reason. Mysterious!

Fourth roll is Owlbears and, with a portent roll from Adaine, he manages to hang on and not totally flame out. I like to imagine she literally used her oracle magic to predict what was gonna happen and drilled the moves he needed to not get tackled into his head like DDR steps. 

Last up is our girl Fig!

She does her Work track first and actually works on her album properly for the first time in ages. With an insane plus 20 to Performance (????) she gets an ungodly 38 and writes the most metal song ever which is an 8 minute epic about gods and devils which requires Adaine to make a magical copy of Gorgug just so he can play the drum part. It’s called Dawn of Justice and it rocks so epically hard that she is able to inadvertently magically call dibs on Ankarna. No one can rez the goddess but her. She also casts Find Greater Steed and is able to summon the horse that Ankarna used the gifted wedding bridle on So, clearly Fig took those warnings about Ankarna finding worshippers super to heart! 

[Note: My notes say that the bridle was a gift from Ruvina to Cass actually, but hey. I guess when you're married what's mine is yours and all that.]

Next track is Paladin and she gets a 29. A+! While she’s working with Porter, she asks him about the Mountains of Chaos which she thinks is on another plane but he clarifies it’s just up north and parties go there to clear dungeons all the time–including the Rat Grinders many times. That���s news to me because this is the first we’re hearing of them doing anything besides stepping on rats. 

Next for Fig is Mystery and she wants to use her Dream spell to visit Lola. In Lola's dream, she's remembering a email between her and Ruben about the podcast (Fig realizes she never followed up on that) and also she sees that Lola was talking to Ruben with Jace CC'd. Fig appears as herself in the dream and tries to be like, “Hey, I talked to Jace, cut me in on the plan.” Lola wants to know if she wants to go back on tour because Ruben just canceled, which surprised both me and Fig. But Fig hides it well and is like, “Yeah, Ruben just canceled, that’s why I want in.” She gets a Nat 1 Insight so Lola seems pretty clueless about a plan. When Fig floats the idea of Jace being a part of a plan to summon a god, Lola says she has no idea what she's talking about and Jace isn't a planner, he just gets in her way. But what she sees as him being a nuisance looks a lot like clues. Apparently Jace doesn't want Ruben touring and he was the one who made Ruben get Frosty Folk moved to the Thislespring Tree. Fig stores away that info and then warps the dream into something normal (by dream standards) to cover her tracks as she gets out of there. 

Lastly, she wants to leave a note for Zara saying, “Hey not coming to class this week” but Brennan has her roll and apparently the note is an excellent example of attempting to get your way that Zara respects because it’s still a 34 and and A+! Our kids are doing really well!

Except, here’s the thing. They’re not actually. Or at least, Kristen isn’t. It’s mid April now, just like IRL, and grades have come out. Kristen is failing Cleric classes again. She’s expelled. 

Everyone is outraged. She’s been working so hard under insanely difficult circumstances! They march to Jawbone’s office to get answers and he sees the problem. Yolanda made allowances that let her be a cleric with a dead god but Bobby got rid of that. He said no god is an automatic failure. Riz is so stressed that he elects to take a fourth stress token. Gotta respect Murph for the move but that’s crazy. 

[Note: This doesn’t become relevant in this ep but it’s mentioned around here so I just wanna say, Riz hasn’t had a chance to dig into KP’s file yet but there’s something about her going to a cemetery in Ashgrove which he connects to the ghost Rogue teacher. Also, they all share the info they learned in downtime.]

ANYWAY, the Bad Kids are ready to throw hands once again and head for Bobby Dawn’s classroom, but Kristen has them all wait in the hall while she confronts him and she tries a novel tactic. She goes in crying. She claims that her Cass shards have been destroyed and that she’s lost and directionless. She gets a 26 on her Deception and Adaine, with all the quiet confidence of the elven Oracle, says that Bobby gets a 1 on his Insight roll. Kristen says she’s ready to come back to the fold and allows Bobby to pray with her but when she asks about the paperwork to get her reinstated at school, he’s not interested in that. He believes that she’s sincere but he’s not gonna break rules or make allowances for her. Kristen gets the sense that he actively wants her to be expelled for some reason and he got what he wanted. 

Her friends are outside, practically salivating as they get ready to kick some Foghorn Leghorn ass, but Jawbone shows up and says that they qualify for The Last Standard–aka the Last Stand Exam–and they all decide that that’s a better first option than murdering ANOTHER faculty member. As Kristen leaves, Bobby Dawn gives her a bit of advice that seems to point to her falling in line and being Helio’s chosen again and Kristen calls him a control freak and says he’ll never win–which is a satisfying way to leave a room but a waste of a great Deception roll! The other kids cast various spells on him so he smells like shit the rest of the day because they’re all loyal, petty gremlins. 

Jawbone explains what exactly the Last Stand is. It’s an endurance test that replicates the conditions of a desperate last stand. They’ll have to answer questions while waves and waves of monsters try to kill them. Adaine and Riz are the only ones excited about the questions. There will be 12 questions (two for each of them) and a proctor. They lose 30 points (Out of 100)  if the proctor (who is some rando named Gavin Pundle) dies. There will be a cleric on hand to rez them if they die but it’s more like when they die. We don’t learn this until later but this isn’t an exam where you’re not expected to TPK. But hypothetically you could stay up the whole time because there’s a limited amount of monsters. Also, it’s not like you die, you're out. Kristen can still rez her friends. It’s just a TPK that ends it all. And one more piece of info I’m gonna give you early to keep the rules together. The questions they have to answer are not rolls. They are timed questions/challenges that the actual at the table players have to answer in real life. But they do have a lifetime. Remember how Gorgug won a mysterious academic resource for getting double Nat 20s in his classes earlier in the year? Well that gets the party a stamp that they can use on two of their questions before the time runs out to skip it without penalty. OK, that’s everything! Got it? Good. The Bad Kids get a good night’s sleep and the next day, it’s time for the Last Stand! 

The Last Stand is held in some kind of extra dimensional pocket dimension full of illusory, cheering Agueforts. Buddy Dawn is the volunteer cleric on duty and the group seems wary of him even though he’s taken a divine oath that will strip him of his magic if he fails to rez them.

Because the Bad Kids are doing so well in school, they get a grace period to set up a bunch of buffs and readied actions and stuff. You already know the drill–I’m not gonna do a play by play of every single spell, buff, and attack for this fight but I’ll give highlights. Kristen casts Death Ward on the proctor (great forethought) and Adaine summons Moggy the Doggy to protect him. Fabian has the Hangman and summons some rats (Adaine is happy that Fabian is using her present). Adaine summons the Dry Guys and does Mirror Image. Fig disguises herself as the Proctor, summons Ankarna’s fiery steed as well as spirit guardians, and does Armor of Ayda on herself and her mount. Riz has his Mage Hand out. I’m sure I’m missing stuff but the point is, they’re buffed as hell and ready to go. They pump themselves up with a Hoot Growl chant and then it’s off to the races!

The first wave of monsters includes an otyugh, a gorgon, a steel bull, a hydra, skeletons, and three ochre jellies. Brennan tells them that they’re literally at adventuring school so it’s not meta gaming to know things like you have to cauterize a Hyrdra’s neck lest two more heads grow in its place or that jellies are weak to fire. 

Highlights!

Riz does CRAZY damage with all his rogue stuff. Adaine and Gorgug do a cool tag team where he cuts a Hydra head off by boomeranging its head off with an ax before she cauterizes it with a Chromatic Orb. Emily/Fig throws away her dice cause she’s rolling SO BAD.

At the top of the next round, Riz gets the first folder with a test question. There is one marked Investigation and one marked History. He grabs the Investigation and Brennan hands him an actual Scantron (everyone hated that) with the phrase “Bony Girth” written on it before turning over an hourglass. They’re allowed to work together on these and we get to see some teamwork in action. Ally and Murph both realize right away that it’s an anagram. Murph gets the word Night and Ally hits him and says, “Night Yorb!” A “Correct” stamp graphic hits the dome. They got one! 

Fabian goes for a folder as well and his choices are Athletics and Common. He goes for Athletics but the desk turns out to be a mimic and attacks him. He just tanks the damage because he doesn’t have the time to fight it. This is a multiple choice question about who the Owlbears’ rival team is. They're between the Buccaneers and the Hellions. Siobhan thinks it’s the Buccaneers since Bastion City is right nearby but realizes that Lou is correct when he says that that’s actually the professional team that Ragh is trying out for, not their high school team. Lou says Hudol Hellions and that’s another one in the bag! 

More highlights!

Fabian makes quick work of the Hydra, doing a ton of fancy Fighter moves to cleave the rest of its heads and then sending in the Hangman in dog form to fire breath all the neck stumps. Fig Fireballs the otyugh and two of the jellies! Gorgug gets TWO NAT 20s in a row plus another hit to get the bull from 100% to bloodied. 

And to close out the episode, Kristen sends a quick prayer up to Cass and then does Turn Undead, destroying all the skeletons on the field. Whatever else happens in this fight, you can’t deny that the Bad Kids are off to an amazing start. Let’s hope they can keep the momentum going as we head into the second half of the Last Stand, next week!

Detention

Bobby Dawn for Failing Kristen

I knew I wouldn’t need to wait long to put him on my shit list. He can absolutely go to hell for saying that letting Kristen remain in class was “against the rules” somehow. That’s a simple exercise of discretion! And if anything, isn’t it more impressive that Kristen is still running circles around other clerics with a dead(ish) god? That her god is still able to communicate with her in this state? ALSO, if we’re getting technical, Cass isn’t actually dead! We've established that. She’s, as Miracle Max said, only mostly dead which is still partially alive! I know this needed to happen to force the Last Stand but he can still jump into a lake. I hate that, even when she's actually earnestly and effectively applying herself, Kristen is getting smacked down by the system.

(Also, I have to assume Helio died for three days at some point and came back since he’s basically frat bro corn Jesus. Gods die and come back! It’s a thing! It’s a thing that they do!)

Honor Roll

All of the Bad Kids for Loyalty and Badassery

I really couldn’t pick this week so I decided to just give it to all of them. I tried to do a more in depth recap this week to really highlight the coolness of everyone. I think they have especially good team synergy this week from trying to help Adaine get her kisses in to being ready to throw down for Kristen. And everyone got at least one major piece of Mystery info in their downtime rolls. Not to mention how strong they came out for the first part of the Last Stand. I’m just super impressed and I love them individually and as a unit!

Random Thoughts

OK so obviously the biggest red flag right now is Jace. As I pointed out in the last recap, he was there talking to Kalina in the conversation Ragh saw and now we have two more suspicious actions from him. Now I’m questioning his other actions too. Like, making Riz a part of the interim staff. Was that in order to make sure he fell under the staff category for an ulterior motive bylaws related reason? And is he fully working with The Rat Grinders? He’s a sorc but what origin? What if he’s divine soul and wrapped into this god stuff somehow?

(This could be nothing but the other big loose end besides the above that’s been stuck in my craw in Soph year is Sandra-Lynn talking about a couple that made things hard for her and I’ve always wondered if Jace was involved there.)   

Handing a Nat 1 portent roll to your DM must feel like doing drugs. 

Kipperlily had had rage issues since Freshman year, huh? Does that mean she’s been in league with the corrupted Ankarna since then or just a really easy target? And why would Riz’s name be in her file? I so badly want to know what else is in that file. Brennan, I know you need to control the pacing of the story to some degree but in no world does Riz see his name in that file and go, “Welp I’ll check that out later.” Absolutely not. 

Also, two more Rat Grinder points. KP ordered the honey BEFORE Lucy died? That’s suspicious. And Porter confirmed that they’ve been to the Mountains of Chaos many times which means our understanding of their activities has been off. Like, I suppose it’s obvious that they must have been doing more than literally just stepping on rats because we know they’re making moves, but this seems a bit out of left field. Though it does answer the question of what they likely did for their Sophomore Year quest because that’s been incongruent. Multiple times is also pretty suspicious. That points to going there for a specific reason. Also, that’s where the celestial gods were traveling en route to Cass’s wedding. Maybe there’s a connection there. Were they searching for Ankarna’s name?

Maybe I’m just being paranoid and I know Riz literally tattooed Night Yorb stuff onto his body of his own free will but a part of me wonders whether a part of that wasn’t a bit of Sol/Helio manipulation trying to get Kristen back as a cleric. Like, her mom is right. Her bringing back the sun could have been a dramatic prodigal daughter moment. 

Buddy mentioned Bucky being “led astray” a few eps ago and I’m really curious to know exactly what that means because he seemed to be mostly in good little paladin mode this ep besides some slight curiosity about Kristen’s shards. 

In addition to the moment with Bobby Dawn, Kristen tipped her hand AGAIN In this ep to when she revealed that she knew about the Devil’s Honey. Like, girl. I know you love a dramatic mic drop but keep some secrets, damn!

Curious about what was written on the physical note that Emily gave Brennan when she said she was skipping Zara’s class.

Where did Ally’s “girl Winnie the Pooh” bit come from? It was so confident and out of nowhere that I burst out laughing. 

Brennan has been doing such a great job with battle eps this season. We’ve had back to back bangers with really creative mechanics. I can’t wait to see what the other questions are! (This is why I always say I identify with Adaine and Riz most of the BKs)

“The Last Stand” and “Dawn of Justice” are both subtitles of superhero movies. That doesn’t mean anything. It’s just weird that it happened twice. Two nickels and all. 

Saved this for last–yessssss Oisin. Be apologetic about your friends being weird. Take the extra time to personally apologize to Adaine and only Adaine while her friends to air traffic control signals to get her to pay attention to you. Very happy that everyone at the table seems to be as invested in making this happen as I am (and that Adaine volunteered that she thought Oisin could maybe be cool even when she could have demurred or said nothing or been really harsh like she usually is with the Ratgrinders). I especially love Fig being like, “We’re trying to make this romance happen!” Like, hey girl I got me my wizard paramour, let’s get you yours. Get you a ride or die friend like that. 

One last thing! It’s my birthday on Friday and, to celebrate, I made my thesis visual novel free on itch.io for the weekend. It’s called A Tale of Two Sisters and it’s very meta and fairy tale-y and sincere. I put a lot of hard work into it and, if you enjoy my recaps, I’d appreciate you checking it out and leaving a review. Again, it’s totally free for the weekend! I have another game on there that you can check out but that one's free all the time. 

[buddiebeginz]

In the beginning of this season we had Chris talking about Shannon and how it didn't matter if he wasn't being serious about the girls he's dating because all people did was leave anyway. They kind of wrapped all that up in that episode but I feel like there was a lot more to that scene than just the surface stuff.

This could have been just a convo with Eddie and Chris or even just Chris and Buck but instead it was all three of them. They put Eddie in that scene for a reason. Because it's not just Chris that's afraid of everyone leaving it's Eddie too.

More accurately Eddie is scared to lose the one person who knows him better than anyone else (think about who was there during the worst parts of Eddie's ptsd) and who was not only there but saved Eddie during the shooting. Buck is who knows him and who he depends on not just as a friend and partner but as a co parent. Just look at when he was worried about Chris this season he went straight to Buck to talk about it and ask for help.

What if Eddie has known about his feelings for Buck since he almost died in that well. If you watch that ep what he sees in his flashes of memory are predominately Buck and Chris. And what did he do after that? He added Buck to his will. Sure it was to make sure Chris was safe and looked after but if you watch and listen to Eddie when he tells Buck about the will it's clear that he was trying to say I love you to him in the only way he felt he could. Also if the will wasn't that big of a deal why did it take him a whole year to even tell Buck about it?

We've been so focused on Buck and his jealousy and insecurities (rightfully so given his past) we haven't been talking about how Eddie has a lot of those himself. What happened with Shannon scarred him a lot especially where Chris is concerned. She hadn't even been back in their lives all that long before she died and it clearly still impacts them both.

If you look at how few relationships Eddie has had since then and how he always seems hesitant to be vulnerable or invest much of himself in them this is why. I also think it's because his heart already belongs to Buck. These relationships to me have all feel very hollow like we're watching a guy just go through the motions. I mean look at how he broke up with Ana.

I think it's very likely that Eddie knows how he feels about Buck is more than just friendship but 1. He doesn't think those feelings would be reciprocated. 2. Even if they are I think Eddie is going to be scared at first to risk their friendship and change things. To lose the one person who has been a constant since he came into it. But I think Eddie's biggest hesitation will be Chris. He knows the kind of bond Chris and Buck have had so I think he would be worried about doing something to fuck that up. He still likely blames himself over Shannon's death and blames himself for why his son doesn't have a mom, so he'll likely be scared to risk losing the only other parent Chris has known.

Ultimately I do think we're going to get canon Buddie (probably not until season 8) but I do think this is one way they could drag the story out for a little bit. Like we could have Buck with his whole jealousy thing which leads him into figuring out his sexuality and at some point during all this in season 7 he'll have his Oh moment.

Eventually Eddie either finds out about Buck's feelings for him or Buck tells him and maybe we even get a kiss between them but then Eddie stops it and says he can't do it he can't risk what they have for something they might have and lose.

So into season 8 they're a little weird around each other until Buck decides to start dating a guy and we get to see Eddie being jealous and realizing he doesn't want to be without Buck anymore (and can't stand the thought of him with someone else). And this forces him to have to deal with a lot of the stuff he's never really dealt with from Shannon's death. Maybe we get some Frank scenes. Or maybe some Eddie and Maddie scenes because despite what the show would have a us believe I do think they hang out sometimes. But at some point maybe towards the end of season 8 we get one of those big sappy romantic gestures where Eddie tells Buck he loves him and he's always been his person. I'd also love it if season 8 ended up with Buck moving into Eddie and Chris' place. Buck has always been searching for where he belongs when his home is right there with his boys.

[sixhours]

Harborage

Rating: PG Word count: 2.1k

Notes: Post-ep one-shot for Irrisistible.

Originally posted at ao3 01/02/2017

~*~

When the ties are loosened and the gag removed, she doesn’t know what to do. Adrenaline tells her to fight or run, but her partner is holding her by the arms, looking at her with wide-eyed concern.

“Scully?”

“I’m fine,” she says automatically, but there’s a traitorous tremor in her voice. His finger comes up under her chin, tipping her face toward his, and she has the insane thought that he’s going to try to kiss her. She jerks away.

“I said I’m fine,” she whispers, but the words waver, and her chin trembles. Her whole body is shaking. He pulls her into his arms before anyone else can see, offering shelter from her own storm.

“It’s alright. It’s alright,” he murmurs, the words brushing the fine hair at her temple. She lets him pull her closer, wraps her arms around him until she can muster the strength to push him away.

“Thank you,” she sniffs, unable to meet his eye.

He gently takes her wrists, examining the damage. Chafing, but nothing deep. He takes her hand in his—warm and solid, she has a fleeting memory of walking with her father as a little girl—and leads her outside where an ambulance is waiting.

“I’ll be right back,” he says, gesturing for her to sit on the tailgate as he goes to look for Bocks. She hates how her heart begins to pound when he ducks out of sight and holds tight to the edge of her seat to stop from running after him like a lost child.

A paramedic approaches from behind and Scully starts, whirling around and reaching for her gun in one fluid motion. Mulder is suddenly by her side, holding her shoulders until she’s steady on her feet.

“Whoa,” the paramedic says, holding up her hands in mock surrender.

Scully flushes with shame when she realizes her error. “I thought you were…” she swallows hard in an effort to hold back tears. “I’m sorry. You startled me.”

“Good thing you weren’t carrying or we’d need another medic,” Mulder says mildly. His hand on her back is reassuring; he won’t leave her side again.

The woman is quick, applying salve to Scully’s chafed wrists, looking at her bruises with a critical eye. “These cuts are superficial, but I’d recommend a trip to the hospital to be—“

“No,” Scully cuts her off. “It’s a few bruises. I can take care of it.”

The paramedic looks at Mulder as if to ask for help, but he shrugs. “You heard her.”

She signs the medical waiver, then follows Mulder to the warmth of the rental car, tucking herself into the safety of the passenger’s seat. She breathes a sigh of relief as he closes the door, shrouding them from the chaos of the crime scene.

“I have a room at a motel near the airport. I’ll get us on the first flight out.”

She’s grateful when he doesn’t press her for information, just puts the car in gear and drives. She closes her eyes, forcing herself to relax each muscle in turn to take her mind off the burning sensation at her wrists, the taste of dirty cloth on the back of her tongue.

At the motel, Mulder grabs two bags from the trunk, one of which she recognizes as her carryon.

“Found this in your car, figured you might want it,” he says, handing her the bag. She takes it, surprised at the way her throat tightens at the gesture.

Mulder is already heading for the office. “I’ll get a second room—“

“No!” she says, her voice echoing too loudly in the near-empty parking lot. “No, I’d…rather not be alone.”

Mulder blinks, hesitating at the curb. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she says. “If it’s OK with you…I probably won’t be able to sleep, anyway. I’ll take a chair.”

“That’s not necessary, Scully. The bed’s big enough for two…if you promise you won’t take advantage of me.”

Her lips curl at the edges. “I promise.”

The motel room boasts the same drab furnishings and dingy carpet as any other, but to Scully, it feels like a homecoming. Three hours ago, she thought the last thing she’d see was the musty floor of a closet. This room is warm and bright and safe, her partner’s tall frame filling the doorway like a barricade.

Mulder locks and chains the door, walking around her to toss his jacket and bag in a chair. Only in the light does she notice the circles under his eyes, his rumpled dress shirt with the rolled-up sleeves, the deepening five-o’clock shadow across his cheeks.

“I’m going to shower,” she says, throwing off her heavy coat, suddenly desperate to get clean.

“Go for it,” Mulder says. “Are you hungry? I’m going to book our flight and get something to eat.”

The thought of food turns her stomach, but she nods. “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” she says, gathering fresh clothes from her recovered luggage.

When the bathroom door is closed and locked, she strips and kicks her ripped, bloodied clothing into the corner. The water is blessedly hot, and soon the room is filled with steam. She opens the body wash, but quickly closes it again. The floral scent makes her dizzy, conjuring images of cold baths and severed fingers. She grabs the plain white soap instead, scrubbing at her skin until it glows an angry red, until the water stings every inch of her body.

When it’s time to wash her hair, she finds herself staring at the tiny bottle of shampoo with dread. The sensation of her own fingers scraping at her scalp makes her heart thump hard against her ribs.

She turns off the water when her skin is raw and her muscles feel like softened clay. Her reflection is a ruddy smear in the mirror, begging to be examined for traces of evidence. There are bruises on her torso, arms, and legs. Her hair hangs limp and dark around her face.

The steam slowly dissipates as the air cools, until goosebumps dance across her skin, until she no longer recognizes the woman in front of her. She traces the scab on her chin with one finger, watches as the woman in the mirror does the same.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Scully? Pizza’s here.”

“Be right out,” she calls, forcing her gaze away from her unfamiliar self. She dresses in sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt, twisting her wet hair into a ponytail before opening the door. The smell of peppers and onions makes her mouth water; the shower has worked some small magic, at least.

“Got your favorite,” he says from across the room, a case file in one hand and a piece of pizza in the other. He’s sitting at the table wearing a clean gray t-shirt and jeans. “Hope you don’t mind, I started without you.”

“It’s fine,” she says, reaching for a napkin and a slice, taking a seat on the corner of the bed across from him. “I’m starving.”

They eat in silence. She catches him sneaking glances when he thinks she’s not looking, probably assessing her condition, perhaps thinking he should have insisted they go to the hospital. Eventually she clears her throat, tired of pretending to ignore him.

“How did you know where to find me?”

Mulder hesitates. “Pfaster’s mother had an old property…the house used to belong to her, was willed to one of his sisters. We traced the car back to her and I followed a hunch.”

A hunch, she thinks, stomach churning. It should be reassuring, but the relief in his eyes and the stubble at his jaw tells a longer, more complicated story.

As if reading her mind, he leans forward, touching her wrist. “It wasn’t as far out as it sounds. It would have seemed fitting to perform these acts of brutality in his mother’s space, as a kind of posthumous revenge. The profile was accurate. It was only a matter of time before we made the connection.”

Scully swallows hard, her mouth dry, the pizza threatening to come back up.

“Scully?”

“Hmm?” she looks up, realizes she’s been staring at her lap. “I’m sorry, I…I think I’m going to turn in.”

His brow furrows. “You haven’t finished your pizza.”

“I’m full,” she says, setting the half-eaten slice aside. “It’s been a long night.”

“Oh. Sure,” he says faintly.

She crawls to the head of the bed and slides under the covers, facing away from him, willing her stomach to settle.

“I’m going to start on the report,” Mulder says after a pause. “I’ll, uh, try not to keep you up.”

“It’s fine,” she lies. “I just need to rest.”

She doesn’t expect to sleep, so she’s surprised when her eyes close without her consent, when her body grows heavy after only a few minutes. She slips down into the dream, grasping at consciousness with frantic hands before finally sinking beyond its reach.

His cold hands in her hair, his breath in her ear, hissing like a snake. She struggles against invisible bonds as he pushes her under the water and holds her there. She tries to scream but everything is muted. His demonic face hovers over hers, twisted and deformed by the ripples on the surface.

There’s no way out, girly girl.

She gasps awake to Mulder shaking her by the shoulder.

“Scully, wake up. You’re dreaming.”

He’s propped up in bed next to her, legs stretched out on top of the covers. The television is on mute, casting a faint, flickering glow in the dark. She can feel the warmth of him through the blanket, has to stop herself from curling toward it like a paper touched by flame.

“Just a dream,” he repeats.

She jerks her head in a nod, blinking back tears. “I was back at the house. He was holding me under, I couldn’t breathe…“ she shudders, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself.

Mulder reaches over, pushes a strand of hair from her forehead in a gesture that’s both comforting and too intimate. “Wanna talk about it?”

Something about his presence in the low light reminds her of a confessional, and the words come tumbling out before she can stop them.

“I was tied up in a closet…it felt like hours. I know what to do in these situations, it’s what we’ve trained for, but I panicked. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe…I would have pleaded for my life if I thought it would help—” she stops, taking a deep breath, holding it for a moment to ground herself until she can go on.

“I couldn’t even look at him. I’ve been afraid, of course, it’s part of the job, but…I’ve never been in a situation where I couldn’t face that fear. I couldn’t face him.”

“But you did,” Mulder says, grazing her chin with a fingertip. “You could have stayed in D.C. No one would have blamed you if you had, but you came back. You fought him off, Scully. You lived.”

He pauses before continuing, shifting his gaze to his lap. “I just wish you’d told me. I know you’re used to hiding it for the boys’ club, but I’m not them. I mean, I am,” he says, frowning. “But I’m your partner first, and I want you to—need you—to be honest with me.”

“I didn’t want you to have to protect me,” she says thickly.

He chuckles. “That’s my job, Scully. God knows you’ve saved my ass more times than I can count. Let me return the favor once in a while.”

She sniffs and nods, his fingers tracing a circle on her lower back in silent forgiveness.

“Your strength isn’t measured by your ability to face everything alone,” he murmurs. “If anyone taught me that, it’s you.”

There’s a long silence as he pulls his hand away, and she thinks about the other fears she has yet to confront. He shifts on the bed, long legs stretching as he settles back against the headboard. There’s the rustle of cellophane, the sound of a sunflower seed cracking between his teeth.

“Thank you,” she says after a moment. “I…feel better.”

He gives her a sidelong glance. “Would you tell me if you didn’t?”

His tone is light, but the question weighs on her conscience.

“I would,” she answers truthfully. She reaches for his hand, squeezing it. “I would, Mulder.”

He bites his lip and nods. In the dim light, his profile is softened, and she resists the urge to reach out and ruffle the boyish tuft of hair at his brow. “I know. Get some rest, Scully.”

She turns over, aware of the dip in the mattress where his weight subtly pulls her closer, and she lets it. There’s the sound of her partner’s steady breathing at her back, a comforting lilt.

This time, she does not dream.

[darlenicy]

Some thoughts on DRIVEN in 1x19

I announced this before. And now it's time to face the alleged end of driven. I will talk first about how this scene is done and show you some screenshots of the scene one doesn't notice while watching at normal speed. And yes, I will interpret tons of things in tiny details. And secondly, I'll tell you how this scene could have been done better.

I The scene how it is in detail (like DETAIL detail)

So, as shown in the last post, Riven went straight to cloud tower. This means, that Darcy never told him, that she got expelled. We don't exactly know how much time went by from episode 16 to episode 19. It might only be a few days and Riven could have been busy with the party at Red Fountain in episode 17. But it's still a bit strange and shows again that the show is too centered around Bloom and that all other characters aren't thought of very well. But however, he arrived and Darcy shows Riven where they are.

And now look at these screenshots that happen right after this shot:

Everything's still alright and he jumps off to get to his gf

and now look, Darcy looks like she wanted to embrace him or something. But he keeps moving as he realizes that they are in Griffin's office

Let's get deep: There are still trust issues. I think it takes really long to heal Riven from these and it looks like he and Darcy hadn't been at this point in their relationship yet. He still stays with his guts and is confused. Darcy on the other hand notices that. His behavior must cut her into her heart somehow and now listen: I think Stormy and Icy already talked with Darcy about her relationship and that she and Riven might have reached a dead end. After all, Stormy and Icy saw Riven as a pawn, as something useful, a tool. A tool, that is not important anymore. To Darcy, Riven was obviously more. We can see how she is worried in 1x8 on the Day of Roses. There is something between them. So Darcy would totally be like: "but we can still profit from him just let me tell him and get him fully on our side." Icy and Stormy would've been yeah yeah whatever, knowing that it would not work out but still let Darcy have that chance. However, the chance was gone after Riven behaved like he did: ignoring Darcy and wondering what was going on, expecting the worst, and showing the Trix, that he is indeed not on their side. So Darcy had to act quickly. I will say in II what could have saved this scene but as for now we only look at how it is. So she sees, ah he doesn't trust me and won't let me explain, so then that's it I guess. And then she betrays him with the thought in mind that he would leave her anyway now. So why not be the one who breaks up then? Maybe that reduces the pain of a breakup. After all, Darcy is a girl of the mind. She knows herself very well and therefore also how to fool herself in order to make herself feel better. Tragic but I think that is what she does here.

Ok let's get to part II: How this scene could be fixed

Unfortunately, it's necessary for Riven's character arc to break up with Darcy. But the way it is done in the show is very poor. For the watcher who doesn't pay much attention to other characters than Bloom or the Winx, it looks like Darcy just ditched Riven like an old tool that isn't useful anymore. Rainbow totally misses the chance to let both confront their feelings and see how a breakup would be best for both. In Darcy's case, there should have been shown the talk with her sisters who tell her that she had no future with Riven. We should have seen her struggle with this decision and having still a little hope that Riven might stay with her. OR Rainbow should've shown us, that she lost interest in him very quickly which would make this scene as it is more comprehensible. But they did not show that to us. They build up worried, bb girl Darcy in ep 1x7 and 1x8 and did NOTHING with it and I can't express how much that angers me. This villain x anti-hero romance could have been done so well even in a sideline of the normal Bloom-centered story. But they did nothing with it and seriously, Rainbow, WHY?

So how should it have been done? They should have had a proper conversation about this topic. Alone. Without Stormy and Icy. Darcy should have told him about the situation calmly without her sisters disturbing her. Riven then could come to 2 decisions: The first one would be to still stay with her. It would have gone completely against Icy's and Stormy's will but if he had truly proven, that he was on their side, they couldn't do very much against it. Or he could have come to the conclusion, that he had to leave Darcy. He would feel betrayed by Darcy not telling him their plans earlier and simply for her going too far. And Darcy on the other hand would feel betrayed by Riven for not sticking with her. Both would be deeply hurt and that is how a good relationship like this should end. Both broken, both sad. Rainbow showed us with Brella how good and deep they could portray relationships (also those that are not from the main character). But they totally left this part of the story out. A part, that they OWED to all the fans that shipped them.

Ngl I'm thinking of a one-shot ff about exactly that matter. But I don't know yet if I will write it soon or write it later in my Winx Rewrite that I planned. But be sure, no matter when and where I publish it, it will be more satisfying than this scene in the show.

[randomartsideblog]

Thinking about that one ep in Sailor Moon Stars where Rei had taken up a part time fortune telling job and Sieya walks in not recognizing her, she gives advice, blah blah, then Usagi who she ends up revealing herself to but anyways. What if. The other 3 inners went in.

Ami walks in all nervous and shy and goes,"I'm not very good with romance, I've never been, but I think I like a girl? I mean, I just find her so wonderful and..." And Rei freezes because A) Oh my gosh it's AMI and B) Oh my gosh AMI LIKES SOMEONE? Ami prattles on about how she wants to know if it's romance/will it go somewhere and Rei catches on its about MAKOTO and because fortune tellers r pretty much counselors at this point, at least for Rei, so our underpaid girl stares into the crystal ball, trying to figure out a response, looking through memories to figure out if this is unrequited love.

"I can't tell you for sure if that's romantic feelings, or if she likes you back or not." Rei finally responds, and Ami slumps down in her seat. "BUT, I can tell you this: you seem to deeply care for your friend in a way that others may not, and it can be viewed as romantic or platonic. Its up to you if you want to pursue this potential path, if you want to try to be more than what you already are. You won't get anywhere, though, unless you do something about it." Rei smiles at Ami who is surprised, but also quite thoughtful.

"At first, I was quite hesitant to try and see a fortune teller. I believe that they're scams. But... you gave me what I know is good advice, and you've helped clear things up for me.... even if you didn't seem to use a lot of magic." Ami gives a soft smile before her fave is pulled back into a thoughtful look. "Say, you remind me of my friend, Rei. She's more of a magic person, and she'd probably tell me what you've told me. You even look like her..."

"WELL HAHA LETS GET GOING NOW I HAVE ORHER CUSTOMERS (I HOPE) TO ATTEND TO."

And Rei ushers Ami out, narrowly avoiding being revealed. A sigh, and she now has to greet ANOTHER customer who happens to be...

"Uh, hi. I was hoping you could look into my love life?"

My goodness.

Makoto.

Mako explains that she's confident she has a crush on a notably nerdy, cute, shy and blue-haired friend of hers, and asks if she'll like her back, if she ever has a chance.

Rei almost passes out on the spot.

"Well, let me confide in my crystal ball." And now Rei is thinking in her head, so Ami likes Mako, Mako likes Ami, they're oblivious to each other... it wouldn't hurt to give them a push because they'll get nowhere by themselves probably.

"This girl you speak of... I cannot garuntee you'll end up together, but if you try your hardest to make her understand you care for her... then that might lead to good things."

Mako thanks Rei and leaves without blowing Rei's cover.

Success.

Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this, Rei thinks tiredly, maybe I'd be a GREAT fortune teller.

I'm a fortune teller, Rei thinks, not an all seeing maiden or whatever

And Minako walks in

Finally, Minako walks in and Rei's so tired and guikty; she knows her friends secrets, things they probably don't even want her to know, and Reis about to confess to Mina who she is when Minako slams her hands down on the tabke and demands: "HOW DO I WOO MY FRIEND HINO REI?"

So now Rei has to help Mina somehow, when what Mina wants to do is woo her. Okay. Yeah.

Rei's face is burning and she quickly regains her composure. "Y-you want me to advise you on how to... get a date with your friend, Rei?" She manages to choke out.

"Yes." Mina's face is flushed, but determined. "I need to know how to win her over."

Rei shakily requests a few while she stares I to the crystal ball and contemplates. Everything.

Okay. So I'll just... tell her it's not likely they'll end up togehter? Yeah, yeah that'll work! Just. Whoops, sorry, there's actually nothing I can do, give up! But... it feels wrong. It... it doesn't feel right... OH.

And Rei realizes she may have romantic feelings towards her friend.

So Rei clears her throat and tells Minako, "I th- I mean you should, you should try taking it slow. I know you want to try and get your uh... Rei quickly- but spending quality time together and slowly having her come to love you in that way seems to be the best course of action." Rei finishes, hoping that will buy herself time to sort her own feelings out.

Mina seems a bit gloomier, but quickly bounced back with determination. "Well, as long as I can have her..." the grin softens into a gentler smile. "Then I don't mind waiting a bit."

And Mina leaves and Rei requests a break and reminds herself to talk to her grandfather about signing her up for jobs.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 8 Ep. 162: Baby Envy

Peachy and Jack spent a good amount of time visiting other happy new parents in their close family circle, starting with Tori and Miguel.

As they watched Luigi and Olive babble on together in the play tent Tori mentioned that her little girl was going to be a big sister soon. Peachy was surprised, as she too had a May/December romance and Miguel was even older than Jack, likely to have even less time to watch his kids grow.

Miguel admitted it turned out he was quite enjoying fatherhood. Being isolated as they were on the farm, they both had agreed they’d like Olive to have a sibling to keep her company. Miguel had already taken one potion of youth and would take as many as he needed to see his babies age up well.

---------------------------------------------

The sad contrast to his own very limited time with Jack weighed on Peachy on their way home, but he avoided starting another fight over it.

He didn’t have long to dwell on it, as Paul invited the boys to the ranch for a visit before they even got settled. It was a lot of travel, but enriching Luigi’s life with cousin time was worth it. Peachy was always happy to have the chance to cook for his family again anyway.

---------------------------------------------

During the meal Paul and Nikita excitedly announced that they too were expecting not just one but two new bundles of joy. It seemed non-twin Paul had been the one to be blessed with twins of his own!

After the meal Jack convinced his boy to join him by the barn. He introduced Luigi to all the furry residents, including their old friend Taz the cat who had left his mother Luna to travel to the ranch when Paul and Nikita had moved out, and was now a graceful elder cat himself.

---------------------------------------------

Peachy completed the whole set of first cousin visits by meeting Toni in the Magic Realm for a quick duel a few days later.

Her little Hunter was doing well, and she had found the perfect venue for their next get together with him and Luigi. A new “rugged adventures” campground had opened at the base of the volcano in Sulani, and she thought it would be the perfect lure for Papa Jack.

Peachy agreed that it sounded fantastic and would be an easy sell as the place to celebrate Luigi and Hunter’s next birthdays.

---------------------------------------------

Before they left Toni asked him what he thought about her and Manny trying for a sibling for Hunter. After all he hadn’t steered her wrong the last time.

Peachy did his best not to show how much all this talk of new babies bothered him just then. It wasn’t Toni’s fault that Jack wouldn’t have time to raise another baby with him while everyone else was gleefully expanding their family. He tried to put on a happy face as he urged her to decide for herself this time around. He really couldn’t advise her on having a second child when he had no plans to have one of his own.

---------------------------------------------

That night after putting his little man to bed Peachy settled in the rocker to think, doing his best to keep it from becoming a sulk.

When he’d chosen to get pregnant and before he’d offered the magical mermaid kelp to Jack, his thoughts on more children had been centered as much or more on his spouse than on himself. Now he realized that he had a desire to have another child, regardless of how Jack felt. However, he didn’t think he could share those thoughts without re-igniting their argument about Jack’s lifespan and wasn’t sure if he’d want to raise a second child on his own.

Peachy promised himself that he wouldn’t cause another fight on their upcoming Sulani camping adventure with Toni. He still held out hope though, that the islands and their inhabitants would help Jack realize how perfect him becoming a merman would be for the whole family.

-----------------------------------------

Want To See More? View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[dbphantom]

Watched the first 2 episodes of the Fallout show and was pleasantly surprised. I have a few complaints but I actually did enjoy the first episode a lot and the 2nd was pretty decent too

I really really enjoyed the sets, especially the Vault. Really well done and the vibes are perfect. The scene in the farm where the film of the projector burns and looks like bombs going off around them during the raid was great. A touch cheesy but I appreciated it bc I am a cheesy media connoisseur

I really like Lucy and the ghoul (don't remember his name). Maximus is on thin ice cuz dude is... a bit unhinged in the first 2 episodes. But he was raised by the brotherhood so I'm wishing him the best character arc. I am hoping he realizes how shitty the brotherhood is and defects by the end of the season... I'm convinced that's what's going to happen, but we will see what they do.

One scene that made me roll my eyes was the raider husband coming back to life after Lucy cut his jugular so that the dad could get the kill on him. Like why not let that moment impact her more?? Why did the dad have to be the one to kill him? Was it supposed to foreshadow that the dad was a raider or something? Cuz honestly I'm mostly suspect due to the raiders taking him with them, it's classic to have the father be a criminal but he's reformed because of his dead wife and kid... Would be awesome if they twisted it so it's the mother who was the raider, but didn't they already say she was from this Vault and the dad was the one transferred over? Regardless, that totally ripped away a character moment for Lucy. That man stole her kill...

Another thing I didn't like was the appearance of the Brotherhood so soon in episode 1. They appear before the viewer even knows what the wasteland looks like for everyone else. You see the Prydwen before you see your first established settlement and that kind of ruins the idea imo. People are struggling to live, but the brotherhood is hoarding tech. Show the people struggling first, THEN have the Brotherhood appear.

Maybe they're doing it this way because you're supposed to be viewing things like Maximus (loosing his faith in the brotherhood as the season goes on because he was raised by them and was indoctrinated, please, it would be a nice parallel to Lucy), but it still makes the pacing feel off. The friend I watched it with (hi @bautistawithadrive) agreed w/ that and he isn't even a Fallout fanatic. It just feels weird. I get that pacing is gonna be wack cuz it's an 8 (?) episode season, but it just isn't working for me.

The ghoul is fine. His intro scene at the start was cute. I found it interesting the shot of the bombs going off around them, but I'm 90% sure it's canon in lore that the Fallout nukes are less powerful than ours so I have no real complaints. If it's not canon, then it's a widely accepted fanon. I was just confused why the little girl wasn't blinded by the flash because I'm pretty sure there are logs in the games of people who were blinded when they saw the flashes? I could be misremembering tho I don't have enough room for all the Fallout lore in my brain. Anyway it's an insignificant detail overall afaik, so I'm being fussy, I think.

I am kinda bummed the ghoul doesn't look worse tho. Weird complaint probably but I was hoping he'd be a bit more idk... Ragged? Given all the other gore in the show, I was interested to see how they'd do the makeup for the ghouls, but just like nexus modders, they took the cowards way out. He looks (and sounds, oof) like a generic bald dude with some liquid latex on his cheeks and a missing nose.

The best friend of Lucy is another fave, I really.enjoyed every time she was on screen. Good actress, I hope she either becomes a villain (that eyepatch in the end credits bit of ep 2 is throwing me haha) or follows Lucy out of the Vault (or both).

I'm also curious to see where the brother's character is going to go because they could do a lot with him since he was pretty bland at the start. He could follow Lucy out (maybe with the best friend) or start some kind of political change in the people of the Vault so it will cause conflict when (if) Lucy returns, or he could convince them all to leave the Vault. It'd be cool if he found what their specific Vault experiment was meant to be, then either put it in action or made sure no other Overseer would be able to continue it. Maybe I have too much hope for such a short season... But it would be a fun way to introduce Vault experiments to the audience.

One thing I am VERY nervous about is if they're going to make Lucy pregnannte. I could see them doing it bc that sex scene with the raider felt like a Chekov's gun situation (plus the BFF being like "I can't wait to raise our kids together!" which initially had me like 'wait what are they a lesbian couple forced to get with dudes to make babies? That'd be an awesome storyline!' but thinking abt it I'm wondering if it is foreshadowing for the bestie to also leave the Vault and track her down. Which I want to happen, I loved her character). Idk they could have just included a sex scene for the sake of having one... But I'm also thinking about all the morning sickness vs radiation sickness jokes they could be making, so if there is a scene of her puking in the next few episodes (beyond the gore-fest), I am SO calling it

But like to be clear I don't WANT it to happen, usually that kind of thing in shows makes me turn it off immediately because I'm so not interested in watching a character slowly become 2D for a wailing potato we're just supposed to like because it's a kid, so I hope they surprise me, but I also wouldn't be shocked if it did because all the set-up is there 😬

[akkpipitphattana]

tell me about he/she ayan

i was hoping someone that had actually finished the show would ask me 🙄 but if you're the only one who will, i'mma take what i'm given

so aye talks about how when he was first realizing he was gay, it was hard for him too, and it's easy to assume that the reason dika took him to the cafe for all the first time was after aye first came out to him, but despite that aye kind of gives the energy of someone that has just always knew they were gay, which i feel like doesn't necessarily contradict what canon tells us. i feel like he's always had an inkling, especially because he's always had dika, but because he always had dika, there had to be a time when he realized that being gay wasn't widely accepted, especially in thailand, so i kind of feel like that's what he meant when he talked about it being hard for him. and then when he did come to terms with that and understand it, that's when he came out to dika and dika took him to cafe for all etc etc

anyways, despite that, i feel like aye never looked too closely at her gender. like we all know aye is a very pretty man, so i'm sure she was told her whole life that kind of thing and while most men would take offense, she always liked it and just never questioned why. that is until she goes to cafe for all and meets p'golf

because p'golf is played by the director, who is trans non-binary, it's easy to assume the in-universe p'golf is also trans non-binary, so going to cafe for all and meeting them allowed aye to start to understand there were other options beyond being cis or even binary trans

however, he didn't exactly have a chance to think about it a whole lot because dika died and then he put his whole focus into finding out what happened to him. so, he put the gender crisis on the back burner (we've all been there)

so, i think when she really started to think about it was post-canon, probably even post os2 eps bc i think those only happen a few weeks after the end of the show, so after they officially lay dika to rest.

now in thai, it doesn't seem like they have gendered pronouns in the same way that we do, but they DO have pronouns based on your gender when speaking to someone else apparently? don't quote me on this i did some very minor googling, and i do know they have other gendered words like hia/je, etc etc. but basically whatever the thai equivalent of using he/she pronouns in english is, i think she'd consider experimenting with before eventually realizing she's genderfluid

she'd bring it up with akk first, and while i'd love to say akk would be 100% loving and supportive and i'm not saying he WOULDN'T be, i also think he'd be confused tbh JDHJDF like he's only been to cafe for all a handful of times and while he knows p'golf and that they’re non-binary, i feel like he still doesn't know enough about the whole gender spectrum to understand fully. i also feel like he'd get a little tripped up on the she part because it took akk so long to be comfortable with the idea of being gay and aye is definitely his soulmate, but aye? wants to be referred to like a girl? does that make him NOT gay? but basically it'd be a conversation, and by the end of it once akk understands better and knows that aye being genderfluid doesn't effect his sexuality at all, he'd be fully on board and supportive and refer to aye however she wants to be referred to

the others are also a little confused at first, but they catch on pretty quickly. especially when aye starts experimenting with presentation, starting to wear makeup and occasionally dresses or skirts. akk nearly passes out the first time he sees her in a mini skirt that exposes her thigh tattoo and aye saves that in the back of her mind for later

[besidesitstoowarm]

"The Waters of Mars" thoughts

hey y'all it's been a minute. i'm going to knuckle through the last few eps of the davies era before i leave the country. anyway this one was good

this feels like the clearest throughline so far from s4. the doctor is experiencing the same emotions as many a greek protagonist– he has been touched by fate and destiny so profoundly, so inarguably, that he lashes out powerlessly. some of this is a reaction to being alone, deeply alone, having lost all the friends he has made since the time war ended, but some of it is about HOW he lost them. he was destined to meet donna, travel with her, he was actually a pawn in HER destiny, her journey. "journey's end" that was HER journey, he was HER companion in a sense. for someone so accustomed to having the upper hand, especially someone like ten, i can imagine how bad that shook him

cause like, this is ten, you know? i remember nine's last story, i remember "a coward, any day." i remember how he chose suicide, not because it would destroy the daleks but bc it meant he didn't have to live to see them kill everyone. coward, absolutely. the time lord victorious is the polar opposite. time lord victorious is glorious, violent arrogance. what was the change? what happened in the meantime? a lot, but primarily, rose tyler. rose-badwolf forced the regeneration, ten absorbed some of her into him, and time lord victorious is PURE rose tyler. her audacity, her confidence, her arrogance, all wrapped up with a fragile doctor who has lost all and has suddenly realized there are no rules, no rulemakers

the doctor has always been the "teenage rebel" but that implies youth, obedience, an authority figure to defy. it implies a kind of harmless messiness. but that authority figure is gone, before the war he was a father and a grandfather and now he is neither, he is an orphan, he is a widower, he is the very last of the time lords and he is completely lost as a rebel in a universe that suddenly has given him nothing to rebel against

i'm not going to recap the episode. go watch it if you don't remember it, it's really good. a few points: "name, rank, and intention" "the doctor, doctor, and... fun" that's a good one. adelaide was born in 1999 which makes sense for this being 2059 but hello??? adelaide brooke is gen z?? it's 2024 is she on tik tok rn?? girl. so the doctor notes that they have the first flower to bloom on mars in 10,000 years, not sure if that's referencing anything. we get several ice warriors mentions tho, respect

this whole episode has kind of a "the thing" vibe, i like it. viral life form in the glacier, can't tell who's infected. wish this episode had a fucked up dog. uniquely this episode has ten trying to leave, repeatedly. it was pretty common in classic who for the doctor to land somewhere randomly and then go "hm. i don't care much for this. goodbye" and be thwarted, cause he was messy back then. nowadays tho he's not like that, this is unique, this is notable. he finally admits it's a fixed point, a thing i think means nothing except whatever any particular episode writer wants it to mean. which is fine, this is doctor who after all. he takes it back at the end, decides he's above the law bc there are no lawmakers anymore, but forgets that other people have agency. adelaide killing herself got a gasp from my bf

a bit of the "bad wolf" theme plays during the time lord victorious speech which proves my point imo. this is rose, this is rose's influence. she did this, she made him this way, and i don't think that's even a bad thing! in so many ways she made him better. but she also took this fragile war-torn survivor of genocide and made him angry, hard, fanatically right about everything. we also got a bit of "vale decem" at the end around adelaide's suicide cause like yeah this is very distinctly leading to his death

i know this has been extremely rambly but i truly think this episode (which is mostly "the impossible planet" meets "the thing" until the last 15 minutes) is deeply rich thematically and ties into threads i've been picking up on since "the parting of the ways" like ten's era has SO MUCH going on in it!! it's a commentary on nine, on rose, on the time war, on destiny, on classic who, on new who's forward direction. and it'll lead so elegantly into eleven's era, who lives in extreme opposition to having once been ten (as is pointed out directly in "day of the doctor") i think we lose the plot a bit after that. but that's quite a ways away in my recapping. anyway this story is really good and this era is so rich

also this episode was in memory of barry letts. pour one out

[confusedspaceotter]

Daily avatrice analysis (day 5)

day1 day2 day3 day4 day5 day6 day7 day8 day9

Oh analyzing ep 8 is going to get personal because of the coming out scene 

I’ve already decided to split Ep 8 into 2 parts because there is just too much to cover 

today i’ll mainly focus on the first half of ep 8

and I’ll talk about the rest tmr

So

Ep 8

we start with the beginning of the episode where the gang is reading the warrior nun journal 

got nothing deep about the scene but I do believe part of ava is this vine:

At least I am(the way kty say Et defunctis requiem IM WEAK)

anyway moving on 

I think there are a few reasons why Ava seems so eager to proof herself here

One

As someone who was quadriplegic, she knows what it’s like to be powerless and weak, since she spent most of her life receiving help from others

Makes perfect sense she’s she will jump into action the moment she got a chance to proof to herself that she is useful 

Two

She wanted to fulfill her job/destiny as the halo bearer 

Leaning from the journal, she realized how serious this is and she is the only one that can stop it

(You know things are serious when Mary said oh shit

Third

She wanted to protect her new found family(mainly Beatrice 

“If we get rid of Duretti, we can get the OCS back together.”

Will Ep 1-5 Ava cared about the OCS?

Probably not 

This is why ep 6 is so important to Ava’s character 

She needed to see the good that OCS is doing 

And not just some high trained nuns who’s after the thing on her back

That’s why she came back to the Cat’s Cradle

To help innocent people by accepting that she IS the warrior nun now

And it’s what happening here as well

Before we get into the training scene 

Two thing i wanna point out 

One

Absolutely love the way this guard go "oh shit she’s here again she better not break my table this time"

Two

Who the fuck give permission to Ava/Alba to look this good in that leather jacket????

Since the jacket is a tad bit oversize I’m guessing that’s Mary’s?

I would like to headcanon this happened:

Ava: *visible shivers from the cold*

Mary: *yeets the jacket to ava* 

Or it could go like this as well:

Ava:*visible shivers from the cold*

Beatrice: *notices Ava shivering* Mary? Do you have a spare jacket?

(either way i love this jacket i want it)

Now moving on to the actual training scene

say it with me ava silva is not only a genius but also a comedic genius 

(we love traumatized character who use humor as a coping mechanism) 

look at how precious Ava is 

her little whoo baby girl is so proud of herself

and so is Bea apparently 

love this genre of Avatrice where Bea smiling because of Ava’s smile ughhhh

Moving on to the next training scene

we can see supportive gf Beatrice

even when Ava is panicking all she did was to remain her composure and give her clear directions on how to get out 

even though she is probably worried sick on the inside as well

If avatrice have a timeline 

here is where Bea knows she definitely cares about Ava a tad bit much 

but she still trying to convince herself is platonic and she is just doing her job by taking care of Ava

I mean do friends cup each other's faces as gently as Bea did here???

Also the way Ava eyes lingers on Bea is something so personal to me

after she rushed towards Ava the first things she does is to touch her face

physical touch is definitely an Avatrice thing

and is such a vital part of their relationship because is how they communicate with each other

is them subtly asking: "hey you good?" and answering "yeah im good"

which we will see a lot more in season 2

Here we can see bea hesitates to help Ava up/touch her

feels like Bea was so worried about Ava after she cupped her face she panicked a little 

I think she is like “oh wait that's a little fruity in it”

and that's why she retracted her hand here

imo once you repressed you emotions it doesn't just go away in an instance 

it takes time to open yourself up again

which i think she did in season 2

but for now, Bea probably still views her feelings towards Ava as something she shouldn't have

Still doesn’t stop her from calming Ava down though putting her hand on her back tho

what can I say Avatrice is endgame from the beginning 

After Jillian said that she had been able to amp up the halo’s output 

notice how Bea was gonna say something?

she look almost hopeful for a second 

like she is glad they had found a solution to their problem 

truly live up to the name “the strategist of the group”(which i just decided to call her that)

btw side note

I love how Bea talks slower compared to other characters

because she really did think it though about what she is going to say

and we can see that in scenes where the gang is grouped up together to discuss something

you can tell she is always trying to find the best solution and consider all the possible angles

compared to Ava "punch first ask questions later" Silva

Avatrice is such endgame material because they fit so well

today feels like me fangirling over avatrice then an analysis but oh well

tmr we are going to get emotional and talk about possibly my favorite coming out scene in media 

stay tuned :)

day6

[unlikely-course]

D’you think the attempted tooth-pulling is the closest we’ll get to a sex scene? <-THIS is the dumbass sentence I was writing when it finally hit me. It’s like pulling teeth. with them. To get them to admit what they feel for each other. Literally, Allison is having her teeth pulled rather than have an honest emotional conversation with Patty. Get it? Good. Let’s get into it.

Lord but the show does love its little metaphors. This week’s even more so than usual. Pickup from last season’s Allison is fast food and this one’s Allison is cigarettes, Allison is now liquor. In fact we get so direct that it seems less for us and more like the universe is trying its damnedest to spell it for her: you both drink the same amount, but Patty gets stuck with the hangover, Allison. You do not because “Kevin is rubbing off” on you.

And it works! We see real time she has a “my actions…affect Patty negatively….especially if I leave” realization complete with flashback montage. Beautiful! We love to see it. Now if only she could have another reflective flashback montage to realize a few other things! Including the fact that you maybe should not sic your terrible husband on Patty’s girlfriend! Even if it would solve one problem it would create like three new ones at least. God but it’s wild that we only have two episodes left. There’s no time for anything! Especially everything happening with Neil and Diane and whatnot. I’m not even sure what exactly is happening with Neil and I’m in no mood to guess. Diane however I’m much more concerned about. That convo in the diner with her and Allison—“I always felt like I had a girl.” I had to go like stare into the back patio for a while. My heart.

Tammy was funny—I truly think she was so hoping Allison would be able to give some dumb explanation for the footage, she just wants this to not be a thing so badly but she’s also incapable of dropping it. Still, Allison almost certainly confirmed to Tammy that she was involved. And I thought the guilty little way Allison straightened up when Tammy came in was great—she’d been so oriented to Patty before. You ever think about how much more they’d touch if Patty would allow it?

Anyway I do agree with Tammy that Patty’s been weird lately. I think the end of 2x03, when Patty tells Allison to be Gertrude, it kind of…took all the fight out of her, almost? There’s such an air about her of “this might as well be happening.” She’s resigned to losing her. I think it’s made her much more likely to openly be fond of Allison (why pretend she doesn’t enjoy her, at this point?) while at the same time made honest conversation about certain things much less likely. I’ve also been mulling like…the haircut and that new coat she has in 2x05. They’re not very big changes but all I can think is “she’s moving from moxie-filled sitcom sidekick to police procedural girlfriend.” Patricia do you know what happens to girlfriends on those shows?? Especially gay ones???

Anyway next ep looks dicey for sure. At least we know kitchen scene is in there? And like…it’ll probably work out for them because it’s the second to last episode? I must admit I never considered the bad ending route but the chance I suppose is never zero. It would be weird. The season as a whole is much more diffuse than the first, not as tight or precise—makes sense, given there must have been some pivoting with the cancellation. Still good though, and definitely with many things to say and saying them well. Have no blessed idea what it’s going to do with two hours on the clock though.

[tuiyla]

How do you headcanon brittana in 5x20 had santana actually been in the episode lol like scenes etc., do you see Brittany's scenes going any differently etc.?

Anon! Sweet Anon. When I got this I thought this ask was very interesting but, unfortunately, it was the day I had a 10 hour-flight and went on hiatus so, oops, my bad on replying three weeks later. Hope you're reading this, let's go.

I think there are two main versions of this, one where we actually explain the confusion around Brittana in s5B and what was with Santana returning without Britt, and one (more likely would have happened) where we don't mind that and Brittany returns without acknowledging all that.

To do the latter first, I suppose this is what we could have gotten realistically. I'm not sure about the rumours surrounding 5x20 but IIRC there was a possibility of both Santana and Britt being in the ep, it wasn't an either/or. In which case, I don't see Brittany's scenes changing too much. She shows up the same way only instead of the Yeast-i-Stat line about Santana we have a throwaway meta joke about their Lesbos vacation and Troubletones scenes with Mercedes. I wish all people who robbed me of that a very step in shit, btw. And Santana is involved in at least some of the TV script scenes instead of Britt such as the ones that were obviously meant to be Kurtcheltana ones. Other than that, I can maybe see one or one and a half, if we're generous, actual Brittana scenes happening.

I headcanon that they would have reaffirmed moving to New York together after the tour, saving us the same dialogue from 6x03. Maybe a scene just before Pompeii where Santana's packing up to go on tour with Mercedes and Britt is helping her, Santana reminisces about New York and Britt having sent her there only for them to be in the city together this time around. Dare I say, even a throwback to the 4x04 laundry scene and a full circle moment now that they're together again? Just something soft and sweet with Mercedes coming in later and the three embarking on their adventure together. AS WE DESERVED. God, fucking Glee can pry my TT girls out of my dead cold hands. Anyway.

Now, the second version is more complicated and less likely for Glee to have done. In this version, there's some tension when Brittany shows up in Bushwick though we have some of the same jokes. But something happened, minor fallout during their holiday, maybe Santana acknowledges that Brittany came back later than expected. You know, anything to make sense of the s5 timeline and what went down with them after they got back together. It still makes zero sense to me that Santana missed a few episodes, came back later without explanation as to where Britt is and then Brittany showed up in 5x20 not knowing where Santana would be. What? No way. So here we explain it through a minor conflict moment and maybe it makes it into the first version of the pilot script. The exaggerated version of their fight (which was barely a fight, anyway) makes Santana realize that it didn't matter that much. What matters is that Brittany is there, much the same as in the other version. This scenario gets us more Brittana content and like a tiny bit of conflict but only to explain the confusion of s5B. Same TT content more or less, same conclusion, sets up their s6 arc where Santana decides on the proposal.

I'm sure that even if Santana was in the episode the Brittana content would have been minimal, but I think there was a way of smoothing over their story even in just one or two scenes. Either way, I headcanon an alternate version of 5x20 being like a missing puzzle piece. It connects where we left them in 5x13 to where they come back in 6x02 and especially 6x03. Even if we joke away Britt's extended vacation, we still could have had a moment of reflection between the two that leads smoothly into the Mercedes tour. God, I would fight someone, anyone, so hard for tour content.

All in all, 5x20 pisses me off so much but I like the one with Santana in it in my head. She deserved one last NY episode and we deserved a taste of NYC Brittana. Mostly though Naya as a person and professional deserved better but I digress.

[crazywolf828]

I get finding early Jaune annoying, but tag-lurking for that purpose ain't healthy. 'Sides, V6-8 made leaps & bounds WRT his screentime balance & watchability (loved the 'hoverbikes OK for a dude who might've never seen one before' parts).

Oh for sure, I hated Jaune until like v6 really. However, just because I didn't like him or his character, doesn't mean it wasn't a good direction for his growth.

Which like, mini tangent, you can hate a character while still understanding their actions/development. Like just saying.

But yeah v1-v3 Jaune is this naive goofy dude who was told by his sister or dad or smth(I forget it was real early) that all he has to do is show confidence to get the girl. He tries that with Weiss, a lot, it doesn't work. It's a very irritating character trait, and then you see Pyrrha, a beloved character, pining after him while he doesn't notice her until near the end. Which is another mini gripe that was sorta forced in a sense but like time constraints I get it. So he finally gets more confident thanks to Pyrrha's training and reinforcement and then she's killed after he realizes his feelings.

I think v5-v6 is my favorite version of Jaune before I started liking him. He sort of stays strong in the first few eps we see, helps RNJR with plans, gets Pyrrha's head piece added to his shield and that moment of him, Nora, and Ren in the hotel room together, all their weapons against the wall, showing off her head piece for the first time like they're all back together? Fucking loved that scene. Anyway, then we see him training every night to the recording of Pyrrha, and y'know what they say about the definition of insanity.

But the real kicker is when Qrow comes in, when he starts saying more about the maidens, about all these things that were fairy tales. That's when Jaune really starts to get pissed off, all these adults they were supposed to trust have hidden all these things. Maybe if they told them, maybe if they knew they could have saved Pyrrha. So that's where we start getting serious angst Jaune.

Then we get to his sister's house. We see how he reacts to Oscar, slamming him against a wall, screaming at him because if only Oz had told them earlier maybe her destiny could have been different. He keeps blaming people for things that can't be changed anymore, he's got so much anger, so much rage about this.

There's also that moment he happens upon Pyrrha's statue, talks with her mom(or sister? I forget) then Ren and Nora round the corner and something clicks.

But nothings easy, because Then there's Haven. Cider's there, the person who killed Pyrrha and he lets that anger take over, he's sloppy, isn't thinking. Cider's the bad guy though, decides she could torture him just a bit more, stabs Weiss with that lance. It's like a repeat of beacon all over again and he can't. He can't handle doing that again. His desperation unlocks his semblance, saves Weiss.

There's more but like that's the gist, he accepts he can't change the past, but he can help now, he can keep his friends alive. (Well. Mostly. Rip penny)

Then we finally get v7-v8 and he gets his haircut (which I always liked better than the other one fight me)he's more at peace with himself, becomes that goofy dude again, but different. He's cracking good natured jokes, coming up with plans and just feels better about himself.

But then he watches one by one as his friends fall into, what he thinks is death, has to kill one of his friends (who's already died at the hands of his dead girlfriend so like at least they have that in common) and then he falls. That boy is going to be real fucked up during v9 and he's going to go backwards, that's a given, but I hope it's in a way that's... I dunno, he doesn't turn into a hated character again.

Anyway it's 2am there's more and I'm bad with words and rambled but like. Yeah.

[f-agagegea]

Coming next to the ranking is Scandal Vol 1&2. I’m not sure if there would be anyone who would object with me putting these two albums (ep?) together, but I count them as one era as they’re basically created around and released not that far from each other. And sonically, they’re not that different from each other to warrant separate a review, and I basically hear very similar thoughts about these two. (But if anyone is wondering, I do think the second half of the album is better.)

Anyways, in some ways, it does feel off to me to put these albums so high. They both quite messy albums, and I don’t agree with some of the musical choices being made. For example, there’s this piano note being played repeatedly at the introduction of The Beginning of the End; I understand what Marion was going for there, but it is overbearing and distracting. Or sometimes the mixing is off like the bridge in Running. There’s songs that definitely could have been removed and just have one album with the best songs that told a certain narrative. I did attempted to do my own revision of which songs made it to the tracklist and what order I would want it to go. I’m really happy with the first three order; I’d have to think about if I’m happy with the rest. But yeah…it’s a lot of songs, so that’s why Marion broke it up to two parts. To give some context, when Marion released Songs from a Blackbird, it had been about six years since she was able to release anything body of work. And she had a shelved another album because of record label issues. So with Scandal Vol. 1&2, it’s very easy to see that she was really excited to be able to release music. It does feel like she was making time that she lost. But like I mentioned before, this was a messy output with different genres kind of all over the place, and it could have been fine tuned a little more. If I had to put my “objective lens” on, I would rank these two last. But it’s high as it is because I really love some of these songs here. Scoundrels Like You is one of her best written songs she has ever written, if not THE best—it’s well structured and actually has a bit of a personality. The bass line is so good too. I did mentioned the production is messy through these albums, but this song has to be one of the tightest production. Just *chef’s kiss*. This song does not get enough recognition. Like a Moth and Goodbye My Love are the stand outs as they’re her few theatrical songs in her discography. Marion has said that she took inspiration from other people for this album, but something tells me that she was also inspired by her own personal life. This album was made before her divorce, and her ex-husband was still in the credits. But when you piece these two songs together in hindsight, along with a couple of others, you realize the album was basically signaling the end of the relationship. I think knowing this, it doesn’t made Goodbye My Love even sadder. But while it does cover the rocky relationships, it’s not all about relationships. Like for example, You Get Up Again is about being there for someone. While Never Gonna Get It is about how Marion is not the teenager girl that most people remember her as, meanwhile Better than This is about the fleeting moment of being on stage and enjoying a certain time of your life while also moving forward. These are songs are interesting in particular because you can tell if someone is an actual fan of Marion or not depending on how they talk about Better than This. More fans should listen to Never Gonna Get It for the message she wants to say.

Before I end this, I do want to talk a little bit about this time. I mentioned before that Marion has stopped updating specifically to the international fans about ten years ago. Well, this is the time where she ultimately stopped giving updates altogether. I believe it was during her time being an opening act for Lionel Richie. She had released a new version of Songs from a Blackbird with some of the songs being replaced with Scandal Vol 1&2 songs. And if I’m correct, she was trying to get an international deal, so she can release her music in other countries. But like you already know, it didn’t work out, so she mostly focuses releasing music in Norway. A sad story for us, but like you also know, she’s doing more than well for herself.

See you guys in the next post.

[mooralltach]

Okay hold on, hold on. This latest Lupin arc is making me go insane (in a good way). Let's see if I can put all this into coherent thoughts.

Since episode 19 I've been checking and rewatching some moments, and found out some... interesting details. Then after this weeks episode I noticed another thing, which had me rewatching everything again, and I'm now convinced things are even more connected than previously thought. If I'm right, this second arc is insanely good at leaving the smallest hints right under our nose that you wouldn't know were there unless you know what to look for. Even though yes, I also agree part 6 has its pacing problems and I'm not the biggest fan of interrupting the main arc with standalone episodes all the time either, but at least in this second part they do make use of that (yes I will elaborate).

Gonna continue under the cut, this post is long. Will probably end up continuing it too, since tumblr doesn't allow more than 10 images per post (grrr). In any case, spoilers for up to part 6 episode 20.

Anyway! I'm gonna go nuts for a moment

Alright. Let's start at this weeks episode. The thing with these filler episodes is that they are very much filler, but they also got slightly more in common with each other than simply being centered around a woman each time, as the arc implies. At first, I thought that was all there was to it, even if this arcs writer (Shigeru Murakoshi) said that the way all the individual women were shown in episode 14 was not a coincidence (or, to quote him: "Actually, this scene was not intended to make everyone appear unnecessarily. I would like you to look forward to how each and every character here appear in future episodes, and to see what position they form in the story and how they interact with Lupin and the gang."). I just thought that was an interesting extra, like oh cool, those are the women we're gonna be seeing this season, I love a little bit of foreshadowing like that (although, if he hadn't said so, I'm pretty sure I would've entirely missed that it was these exact women too until having a rewatch, since the designs don't really stand out save for one or two). However.

This doesn't seem such a remarkable quote in itself. They don't really make it a big scene either, it's just an inbetween sentence. But then we get Lupins reaction:

It's nothing more than a look, really, but it's peculiar enough that they make him have a reaction to it at all, and it also made me remember we've seen a scene like that before.

In episode 16, which is Goemons one:

I didn't remember what the girl said, but I did remember thinking it was odd to zoom in on Lupins reaction afterwards. After all, this is a Goemon episode, and Lupin has barely any interaction with her at all. There's no reason for them to focus on him reacting to a simple sentence. Until I rewatched it and realized that the sentence is eerily similar to Amelia's one. Which immediately made me wonder, does Jigens episode woman say something like this as well? And uh

And then, of course, what about all the other women?

(Ep. 18 and 17, respectively. I think the last one's particularly clever btw, because it's completely in character for her to say that!)

Episode 14's even got two in the same episode:

And of course:

It's gotta have something to do with Tomoe, even if I can't find a way how that would make sense yet. I don't think every one of these women are trained by her, even if some of them are, but then again, maybe they'll go into that in the last few episodes. I also haven't been able to find a sentence like this from Ari (yet), but I could've easily missed it.

Talking about Mattea, she's an interesting one in general of course, as we now know she's definitely bad news, but they actually gave us hints for that too (though very very vague ones)! Apart from the few visual hints, it's mostly in the things she says, but very inconspicuously hidden in the way that anyone would share stuff in some smalltalk:

(Ep. 13, about the flowershop obviously) Considering what she said here now, btw, for a second it had me thinking about the moment we see her first, delivering flowers on the street before the explosion almost gets her. Now I don't know much about flower shop business and delivering flowers, and I also couldn't find what time the auction and the chase scene afterwards happen, but isn't it a bit strange to be delivering flowers in the evening, in the dark? Then again, maybe it's like 18.00h/6pm and then it wouldn't be too weird, and I'm reading into this way too much. But what Ari said to her in ep. 19 ("What were you doing in front of that flower shop?") does have me thinking about it again...

Then ep. 18:

(Like yea girl we know you said you were joking. But also you're not.)

I have more thoughts (incoherent screaming), but I've got no space for more screenshots left, so that'll have to wait >:|

Now it's waiting for next week's episode to see if the next girl will say something along the same lines!

Also, if any of you guys have found more/other details I haven't caught yet, come yell at me!