#perhaps not as much as s1 that’s true

[serjaimelannister]

the blue-tinted shot of rust waking up in front of the crucifix. lived were changed

[bylertruther]

kind of want to try my hand at writing some kind of royal au... with, like .. soldier, poet, king vibes with el as the soldier, mike as the poet, n will as the king... smth fantasy with the party having to defeat a certain dark wizard if they want to save their kingdom... smth where el doesn't want to ever get married but the powers tht be want to betroth her to mike who also Does Not want to get married but not bc of a distaste for it it's just bc he already promised he'd ask will for his hand one day and he's not one to ever break an oath aka forbidden love / secret relationship vibes u kno... a story abt not being able to escape ur fate but being able to pave ur own path towards it.. a story abt ending the cycle of shame.. a story abt doing what's right and true even when it's hard... abt finding light where others see none.. hmmmmmmmm

[radiaking]

Reading this review of fallout that essentially says they think it’s “just okay” but not great, seeming to attribute its success mainly due to being an adaptation of a beloved game. As someone who never played before watching and thought it was a great tv show (not just a great adaptation since I had no basis for comparison), obvs I disagree. And they really had no clear basis for why they think it’s not that great and more that they just don’t get the hype. Like they enjoyed it, they want more of it, etc. but interestingly they did say they hope it’s success makes them improve not approach s2 with a “if it aint broke don’t fix it” mindset, and that I can agree with. But tbh I think this speaks to a larger problem with tv at all and not just fallout….

[missberrycake]

I’ve been thinking this morning about if Steve didn’t get back together with Nancy at the end of S1—I think there’s a lot of different ways that could go, but what if Steve ended up as one of Eddie’s lost little sheep?

Because even if Steve was popular enough to keep afloat in the choppy waters of high school, after his bust up with Tommy and Carole—and even when he’s seen talking with Nancy and Jonathan Byers of all people—he still doesn’t really have any true friends left. Sure, he has people he can chat to in class, but at lunch? After school? Nobody is really thinking about who ex-jock, ex-bully Steve Harrington is hanging around with. 

Perhaps he spends the rest of his junior year dreading lunch hour, because he knows he’s going to have to deploy some serious charm tactics—taking as long as he can in the queue, chatting to the students either side of him—and perhaps if he lingers long enough at one of the tables of his more social classmates, pretends he’s just catching up, carrying on a conversation from class, he can make it seem like it’s all still as easy as it was before. 

Sometimes, though, he doesn’t have the energy to pretend. On those days he’ll retreat quietly to his car and eat his lunch behind his wheel, wondering how different it might have been if he’d never gone back into the Byers’ house that day last fall.

It’s on one of those days that Eddie sees him. It’s not like Eddie hadn’t noticed him before, he’s always on the lookout, after all, and Steve Harrington is one of those people who always drew his eye. He’d seen him scouring the cafeteria while queueing up for his state-mandated mac ‘n’ cheese, searching for a space where he could fit. 

And, of course, he’d heard the whispers about Steve—that he’d punched Tommy H in the face, gotten his crown beaten from his head by Jonathan Byers (though he didn’t seem to hold a grudge). If there’s one thing to know about Eddie, it’s that he’s a bleeding heart, and so when he sees Steve sitting alone in his car, winter frost glittering against the metal, he lets out a heavy sigh and trundles over. 

“Hey, Harrington,” he says, pushing down a smirk when Steve jumps (he is easily startled these days, isn’t he?).

“Munson,” Steve replies with narrow eyes. He doesn’t trust Eddie yet, not entirely. 

“There’s more space in my van. If you wanted some company.”

Eddie leaves it like that, keeps it casual, knows that he might get it shoved right back in his face—expects it to be, even. And so he’s surprised at how quickly Steve nods back at him, a real smile breaking out on his face, if only for a moment, until Steve clears his throat and says, “Sure, yeah. That’d be cool, I guess.”

It’s the start of something big. A delicate balance where the two of them pretend that it’s not that important, but somehow they’re more honest with each other than they’ve ever been with anyone else. Steve tells Eddie all about how he doesn’t even really know who he is anymore, and in return Eddie shares just how worried he is that he knows exactly who he’s expected to be, and that he can’t change his fate even if he wanted to.

By the time the next school year starts, it’s well established with the school population that Steve Harrington has somehow landed himself with an honorary spot in the Hellfire Club. He doesn’t play—refuses to learn, even if it’s clear that he’d do pretty much anything else that Eddie Munson would ask of him—but he helps set up the meetings, sits with them at lunch, smiles stupidly whenever Eddie gets up onto the cafeteria tables to rant about the shallow-mindedness of his peers. 

And if Eddie’s diatribes are directed at the popular crowd with a little more venom than they used to be, and if he seems to take great pleasure whenever Tommy H, or Carole, or those posers on the basketball team frown and scoff and sneer at him, it’s no great secret to everyone else in the lunch hall exactly why. 

[Yeah, I'm scouring the archives and trying to salvage as many headcanons as I can from my old deleted account, but let's just pretend this is brand new content.]

[thesherrinfordfacility]

it was about the coffee

edit 24/11: rip miracle blocker theory, my love

but possibly not the way we thought it was. this is going to sound so convoluted but bear with me here (and big thanks to the anon that precipitated this theory, and major apologies that writing this theory is only going to delay my answer to your ask even further💕)

a major plot-point for me in s2 was this bad boy:

which i think we can safely say is a very op power for demons to possess for it not to come up again later on in the show? it's almost like a parallel to the book of life on that front - which is mentioned in the bookshop in ep6, but we've all agreed is pretty much going to be a major chekhov's gun in s3, right? well, what about the miracle blocker?

why wouldn't shax think of getting one either from furfur or from beelzebub when storming the bookshop? well, could be that shax didn't think of it. true - but i do wonder if something iffy was in fact going on in ep5/ep6 showdown, right up into the Final Fifteen.

let's start here: aziraphale has got some reality-bending bullshit going on, which i think is possibly just naturally emanating from aziraphale himself (im not wholly convinced it's entirely in-character for him to purposefully fuck with people's heads and autonomy) and perhaps the dancing/outfits/emotions etc is just the image he wanted for the dance, and his magic (?) essentially made it happen, so much so that he was potentially taken in by it too... hence why he was so readily resistant to crowley's pleas to listen to him about the danger? idk, getting sidetracked.

but anyway, then the demons come, and we see the below where... randomly, aziraphale's miracles/magic doesn't work. and there's no given reason for it:

soon after this, aziraphale opens the portal; one thing on reflection? that portal opens damn fucking fast. sure, the peril is high, certainly higher than s1 when he had to pray and practically beg to speak to someone... but if the portal is more or less for metatron's direct use, and the metatron is so damn busy, being the voice of god... why would he be sat there waiting for a call?

s1, the time between aziraphale starting to pray/dial 9-1-heaven, and the portal opening (excluding where he shouts to shadwell that the shop is closed) is just over 31 seconds. s2, from "hello, is there anybody there" to portal opening is just over 5. a very short cut-down for a retired, traitorous angel, regardless of whether they're under attack (which, tbh, would be in heaven's interests, right? for aziraphale to get Got?). the explanation for that can only be, in my book, that metatron has been watching... and possibly has been since the first time the portal opened.

anyway, we then move on to metatron arriving at the bookshop, and offering aziraphale the coffee. others have reported a miracle chime, and tbh i too can hear at least a faint, high strong, that sounds out of place in the ambient sound of the scene. video below, where ive marked out where i can hear it:

we know that aziraphale doesn't drink coffee. tea, hot chocolate, wine... but he's never, as far as we've seen, canonically drunk coffee. he must have tried it at some point, crowley likes it/drinks it, so why wouldn't aziraphale have tried it at some point? well, i think he probably has, and didn't like it. i think he tried to change it, in front of the metatron, so he could take a sip and not be offensive. but... it doesn't work. aziraphale's reaction is awkward. and metatron's reaction is smug. i think metatron has a miracle blocker.

aziraphale is not stupid. i think he knows possibly from that moment, or very soon after, that metatron has been up to something. i think he knows that metatron might have eyes and ears everywhere. i think aziraphale has worked out that metatron is not in fact A Nice Old Man, and knows it right through until he gets in the lift (which im going to talk about more in the aforementioned anon ask). i don't think aziraphale has been overtly threatened, because the metatron has worked so hard in this scene to be non-threatening. but he has underestimated how smart aziraphale actually is.

making the offer to reform heaven appeals to aziraphale, there is no doubt on that. and aziraphale is desperate for crowley to be with him - not only on the layer of wanting to be together, or another layer of crowley deserving to have heaven make amends to him, or even the layer wanting to protect crowley under his status as supreme archangel... but because if aziraphale walks away, without crowley, crowley has nowhere safe to go. the bookshop has been compromised, and it is no longer safe. metatron with his almond syrup has Eyes and Ears everywhere. when crowley refuses, aziraphale has to get to heaven, and to metatron, before they get to him.

i do completely believe that aziraphale wants to help heaven, and possibly seek any way in which he can return it to what he thinks or believes was god's original purpose for it - to return or make it into the place that was always meant to stand for good and justice and love. but i also believe that now, more than ever, aziraphale teeters on the edge of giving heaven a chance - or being burnt to ashes, literally or figuratively. idk about you, but i have a gut feeling on what option he, in this moment, would be inclined to take.

[maxphilippa]

My Bomb gijinka redesign!

Small data about him:

- He's a deer hybrid!

- He has self-healing properties (just like Knife) but unlike his, Bomb's pretty much work on his skin as well. Whenever they explode, they get new scars, but the skin itself gets back with time.

- He used to have trinkets on his antlers from OJ and Taco. They threw those away after the accusations of betrayal (OJ) and Taco running away.

- They knew Taco before the game started, they were friends, but not close friends the way Pickle and Taco were. He wasn't as "attached" to her the way Pickle was, but he was pretty disappointed once she revealed her true colors. But not surprised. Perhaps he knows something nobody else knows.

- In my headcanons, Bomb and OJ pretty much talked properly about what happened on s1, and Bomb spoke his mind about how hurt he was regarding OJ's behaviour towards him, since Bomb genuinely did consider OJ a friend. OJ feels bad about it, but they're on neutral terms as of now. Regarding Paper on these terms, Bomb and him are friends.

- They're bisexual (fem pref), nonbinary (he/they), and polyamorous.

- The light brown hair strand works as the bomb string he has!

- His general color palette changes to red-orange-yellow when he's going to blow up.

- He has his own garden, courtesy of OJ (as a way to try to make up for what he did, not that Bomb minds), and usually gifts flowers/potted plants to others, and sells them to the people on the city as well. They're very passionate about it, and is considering to start growing food-based plants.

- His bandana is from Soap and the necklace is from Pepper!

- Pretty much gets along with everyone at the hotel.

Art tags:

@cookieseals @lucidd-the-weirdo @tdutb @trophantics @kp-does-suff @knightobreath @bobateablue @chuckchuck228 @mintpopz @sillys0nicfan33 @darkstalkers-scroll @moththejeebweezer @spiritmander13 @thesillyroy @no-romance-for-me-please @dragoncryptid-beeps @devycolamy @koroaa @salachy-part-two @facelessthefreak @ch0cocrave @ballercollective @chur00 @slimebottlesilly @verycooltwist @kittyyoutuber1234

[dumblucksers]

II 15 SPOILERS

here is my taco recap + analysis that I wrote after someone mischaracterized her in front of me:

just a disclaimer I have no idea what I'm talking about half of the time so sorry if some bits don't rlly make sense :P

ok so starting with her in season 1, literally all we see her as is this insane little cray say thing who has an iq of 7, apparently speaks French, spits lemons, screams randomly and says things that make no sense LMAO

she gets close to pickle and they stick together for basically the entire season

obviously we know now that her motivation this time was to become the fan favorite and get to the end so she can win the million (for reasons we don't know honestly, maybe find out in 16)

there are also moments in s1 where she'll slip up the act (but they play off as comedic effect) example when she calculated her fall in ep 12 or in 11 where she revealed her arms and was speaking full sentences to pickle for a second and a half

but anyway right at the end when she loses is where she reveals her true self and tried to steal the million after losing (and also severing her relationship with pickle)

one thing to point out before moving on is that taco is an analyzer, her act of being dumb gave her time to observe all of the contestants and pick the right allies and whatevs

n e way moving on to s2

taco has been stalking the entirety of s2 up until she reveals herself in 9, where she still wants the million (or rather half of it, and for reasons we still don't know) and she takes interest in the grand slams team, particularly microphone, who ironically doesn't exactly have a strong voice in the game and is, in tacos eyes, an easy target. So she reveals herself to mic and offers to help her advance in the game in exchange for 50/50 of the million

at this point taco only rlly sees mic as a pawn, and easily controlled. mic is unsure as all she's hearing is how useless and sad she is from a tiny British taco KSJSJSK

however mic is lowkey desperate herself bc she feels as though she isn't pulling her weight on her team, doesn't have much of a voice in the competition, she just lost soap aswell. so she accepts tacos help in the maze challenge using her gain setting.

now in 11 we see more of tacos strategies play out, as she further analyzes the grand slams, as it's categorized as: the alliance (baseball, nickel, suitcase) the friendship (suitcase and balloon) and the other ppl (knife and mic). Taco is more focused on the alliance and their relation to balloon, and she urges mic to get more involved in the pushing away of balloon to get him eliminated (and to further progress mic in the game) but rather than using the approach of attempting to make allies with baseball and nickel, we learn of tacos more violent tendencies. she wants to use a temporary paralyzer (courtesy of test tubes lab) to decapitate balloon. this is where mic draws the line, and also the episode where she proves herself to taco by instead of using violence, she substitutes subtle verbal and emotional manipulation instead. Taco is greatly impressed by this, and it's at this point where taco realizes that mic may not be as helpless as she originally thought.

now taco and mic are starting to reach equal ground, as in 12 they are more casual with each other and just chilling. it's also where the TIME TRAVEL STUFFF HAPPENS WHWOAOOAOAOAOOWOWOWOWOWOW

basically when they're down in test tubes lab and lightbulb activates the Time Machine portal thing, mic sees taco reach towards the portal, before it closes. this is (I think) the first time mic and the audience has seen taco look built a k o my god how tf do you spell vulnerable. ok there we go anyway this is the first time we see taco look vulnerable, and *possibly* regret towards her past actions. she reaches while saying "another chance, perhaps." and while at the time it could have been taken as another chance at stealing the million, ii 15 adds more context that she wants another chance with her relationships in the past, particularly with pickle, and she clearly regrets what she did.

now after this point mic is now a bit sus of what just happened, seeing taco reach for the portal. we also get to see another silly side of taco (not the cray say silly, just normal silly) as she tries to distract mic from the portal And from the fact that test tube and lightbulb are now in the time stuff.

oh yeah also at the end the episode knife finds out about mic and taco oh nooooo well go into that in a second

in 13 yknow they're trying to get knife to join them cuz now he knows and yeah yeah whatever. also taco and mic are getting closer as equals and as friends too so yeah

mic also brings up the portal and taco ignores, as per usual.

now let's get to the interesting stuff. Taco and mic are following knife around in the minecarts, and taco says smth like "is this you holding a grudge over my true self? For why? Everyone knows who I am now!" And mic says "doooo we thooooo????" this is like. 99% attached to the whole portal thing, bc mic saw that vulnerability and now she knows there's a teeeeeny bit more to the evil lil British Mexican food than what meets the eye

also there's another instance of taco and mics violence is bad bit, where knife is about to fall off, and while taco is like YIPPEEEE mic is like erm. No. And then saves knife

now here's where it gets even MORE interesting, where knife calls out tacos first alliance with pickle. Taco obviously gets mad at this, but mic doesn't rlly have a huge reaction except to tell knife that "she's(tacos) changing", which shows that she prolly put two and two together about the portal thing (prolly isss bc she stops pestering about it at this point)

now at this moment in 14 it's clear that taco and mic are partners in crime (well crime might be stretching it. Or not considering what happens), taco goes to shut down mepad so she and mic can teleport freely (and, to the prime shimmer spaceship) where the last violence is bad instance comes up. mic says PROMISE NO VIOLENCE and taco teeechnically doesn't promise, but yaknoww

now cut to when taco uses violence, she kills test tube and paralyzes fan to mics horror. she won immunity but at the expense of others , and that wasn't smth she was comfortable with, and that was her breaking point. she drops taco AND the entire show and eliminates herself

this is also tacos breaking point, in a way. where she realizes how much the game has shaped her into doing heinous acts, and for what, a chance at a cash prize? And now that she's completely out of luck for that prize, her work was for nothing. and it was at the expense of her two closest friends.

she pinpoints where she screwed up, and it was at the finale of season 1, where she broke her ties completely with her best friend just for a chance to steal the prize money. It was the game that fucked up her mentality, that every horrible thing that is done is for the greater good, and to use the rules of the game and the people you meet to advance for a extremely low chance of winning it all. Realizing all of this, taco doesn't want a repeat of this cycle, since the competition is so close to completion. She requests the challenge information from Mepad, and uses him as an incentive to Mephone.

But before we go there time to talk about her BANGER MUSICAL NUMBER YESSSS MY LIL THEATRE KID

anyway in the song id like to point out the banger lines "and we choose, to feel this pain, and we lose, more than we gain" which is basically everything I mentioned before about using the rules of the game and pushing away friends and whatever, and then eventually losing more than you get

next part "if I can't win the prize, I'll play my last reprisal, just to bring their lies all to an end" and then mepad is all like welll you gotta regenerate and tacos like, yeah that's prolly not gonna happen. And mepad points out how she believes she can't start on a clean slate. taco is like bro. with my track record? dawg there's no slate to begin with LMAO

but seriously with everything tacos done she believes it's too late to restart and that everything she did is irreparable (which ngl, kinda true maybe? but also not cuz she hasn't even apologized just yet) and mepad tries to convince her that yes you can change!!! youuu can make a difference...you can make it right... but taco doesn't rlllly listen

ok long story short she takes over the next part of the challenge which is truth or flare, where platforms rise if the contestants tell the truth and falls if they lie, and their fire has to reach the top and burn their rope. Taco, using her extended stalker knowledge of s2, quizzes the contestants on their interpersonal relationships and ngl as Mephone put it it's just a twisted group therapy session lmao

fast forward to nearing the end and the last question taco asks is to suitcase about what she thought she saw when she was being a floating bow tie. suitcase brings up her hallucinations, to which everyone, including taco, is horrified by. Taco sees how the game has affected suitcase, by making her so anxious that she literally HALLUCINATES, and that is yet another breaking point for her. She urges the remaining 4 to leave the competition before they go in too deep. She admits to her not caring about the cash prize anymore, as she "saw the desire took her to extremes" (the violence thing between her and mic) and how the game changes people based on how deep they get into it. She calls out Mephone for getting too deep aswell, as she brings up his challenges that clean up his messes, using tactics such as surprise double eliminations to add drama that mentally fucks with everyone involved in it. Her lil spiel is interrupted by a bush shake, since lightbulbs lil pen she's been clicking actually calls out a signal, and that anyone nearby could answer the call. Taco starts cracking out of fear? nervousness? Pressure idk anxiety any of those, because as knife points out, anyone could meannnn pickleeeee orrrr miccccc oh nooooo. knife says that she has to face her truths too, And then taco cracks completely and dies. annnnd everyone is horrified and sad, except for Mephone obviously, who is now threatened by taco since everything she said was true ngl jdhdjs

but also goes to show how mentally fucked taco is aswell, which while yes it is her fault that her relationships ended the way they did, the common denominator AND motivator is and was always the game.

anyway mepad and the other contestants force Mephone into reviving taco, and mepad formally resigns from the show convinced by tacos speech about leaving the game before it fucks them up. Mepad teleports away and stays with taco, urging her to stop hiding away from her truths and face pickle and mic, if for the last time. Aaand taco agrees

OK THATS IT WOW so tldr taco did some no no things But her unhealthy obsession with Winning a constantly (and unrightfully) changing game was the main factor, and her realization of this is leading her to a redemption arc that she and the people she hurt will (hopefully) heal from

weeee

[princessbrunette]

rafe x pogue!reader: how that relationship came to be + the pogues finding out?

hmmmmm so

i think rafe would see a girl as beautiful as yourself and be like wow what a waste for her to be slumming it with those losers !! he feels kinda frustrated with himself bc like, you’re a pogue and that goes against his whole thing completely…. so he kinda deludes himself into believing he actually wants to turn up to these beach parties and bonfires he doesn’t usually bother going to. he sips his beer and just watches you from afar, super super intrigued by you to the point where it becomes a little obsessive.

and you’re just like, a ray of sunshine. your world is so simple, all you wanna do is play around on the beach and laugh with your friends and he knows he can give you so much more than that. so, he introduces himself— and presents himself not like his usual stuck up, intimidating, arrogant self— but smilier, softer spoken, kinder. (think rafe in s1 when he approaches kie at the outdoor movie theatre like ‘hey, how are you?’ or wtv) you’re instantly giving him the big heart eyes and he knows he’s got you. by this point, rafe is still convincing himself that he’s just doing this to prove to himself how much better the kooks live.

as soon as you start spending time at his house, building your relationship with him you start to see his true colours but you’ve fallen for him by this point :( he is in denial that you’re a pogue now, telling you “i—i created this life for you, okay? you’re not a pogue anymore. this is who you are now.” and you’re just so 🥺 for him that u just agree

i think the pogues would try and ‘save’ you, try and talk some sense into you that he’s not a good guy — but he’s been so generous and caring with you they must be wrong right??? perhaps you tell them they have no idea what they’re talking about and accuse them of not wanting you to be happy. of course, this isn’t true— and i think you’d use your charms (rafe being head over heels for you) to force him to cooperate in a compromise, being that they all need to learn to tolerate eachother ATLEAST yk ???

[colossalcriminal]

One for the Money, Two for the Show - a.h

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader

Summary: The title of father looms on Aaron, and he can’t seem to let go of his mistress, and she wants nothing but for him to provide her with release.

Content warnings: cheating, swearing, takes place in s1 episode 1. angst??

Aaron Hotchner’s lifelong tenure as a family man begins now.

He’s got his wife, his baby’s on the way, a nice house and a big car, a true family man.

It was inevitable for him, he wasn’t the kind to doubt marriage or children, life would take its course and he would let it, and he was sure he’d never have the chance of interacting with anything that would change that.

This odd, perhaps even life-altering, wonder had arrived in 2004, in the form of a new team member, a pretty girl. Mankind's greatest enemy would be a pretty girl. One singular woman could be so captivating she could tear down industries and destroy the world's infrastructure, and he was sure he had met her.

He himself was fresh in Quantico, just in from Seattle.

"Do you need any help?"

He wanted to decline her offer, he really did, but the intoxicating scent of strawberries had taken over his brain, and he could not produce the word 'No'. "You don't need to."

Y/N waved him off, sitting down across from him, picking up half the stack of his papers. "No worries, I like helping. I'm also trying to make a good impression."

“Don’t worry, I think you’ve made a good one.” He reassured.

Several hours passed them by, the sun had risen in their hours of work, light was peeking through the closed blinds and it was finally Saturday morning. They were much quieter now, and she had moved to sit beside him rather than across. "Take a coffee break?"

The older agent shook his head. "If I drink any more coffee, I'm never going to sleep again." She giggled, pouring herself a mug before leaning on the desk, looking down at him. "You can go now, really, I can finish this off."

She didn't budge. "I'm not leaving you behind, Hotchner." Her tone was teasing, a smirk accompanying her words. “What was it like in Seattle?”

“Rainy.”

“Oh, I love the rain.” His eyebrow is raised. “It’s romantic.”

Their faces are close together, she can smell the remnants of his aftershave and it’s nearly intoxicating. “This is not ideal.” She whispered to herself, and he pushed his lips onto hers, and despite her initial internal debate, she kissed back with equal ferocity.

He still doesn’t know what possessed his body, nor does he recognise the electricity flowing through his veins when he touches her.

In the distance, heavy shoes hit the cold floor of the BAU as the pair sprung apart in fear of the new presence in their office. "What the hell are you guys doing here? It's Saturday."

Y/N downed the last of her coffee. "We could say the same for you, Gideon." She quirked a brow at her unit chief and the unknown man beside him. "We've been here since yesterday, literally."

"Since Friday evening, yesterday?"

"Yeah."

Gideon shook his head, turning to gesture to his counterpart. "Well, while we're here. This is Dr Spencer Reid, he'll be joining the team. Dr Reid, this is SSA Aaron Hotchner," Aaron nodded in acknowledgement, offering his hand to shake.

"I don't really do handshakes." Spencer said, sheepish, relieved when no one was offended.

"And this is Special Agent Y/N L/N." She merely smiled. "I just wanted to show Dr Reid around on a weekend so the office is empty." It was smart to avoid Monday morning's usual rush in the bullpen.

“It’s good to meet you, Spencer.”

"You both should go home."

"It's too early, the subway doesn't start up for another hour." She interjected.

Aaron looked at her with a softness in his eyes that would be difficult to decipher unless you were at the receiving end. "I could drive you home."

The woman couldn't get a word out before Gideon snapped his fingers. "There you go. Now get some sleep and stop wasting your weekend away."

It has been determined, every family man needs his young, alluring mistress.

She was on medical leave in 2005, Adrien Bale’s warehouse bombing had done a number on her. He payed her visits, like any good lover. "How have you been?"

Y/N got up, moving to straddle his waist, he welcomed the intimacy, his fingertips drumming along her waist. "I've been okay." They joined in a kiss, him smiling against her lips. "How are you, Unit Chief of the BAU?"

His smile did not cease as she praised him with his new title. It was nice of her, too kind, as his own wife didn't celebrate such promotions. The higher the rank, the longer his working hours. "Better."

"You want something to eat?" Her hands travelled up his arms, soon to rest on his chest as he shook his head.

"I need to tell you something."

The seriousness dripping from his words, tinged with regret, had her pushing off of him and sitting on the other end of the small sofa. "What is it?"

His eyes narrowed from pure stress. "Haley's pregnant."

"Oh." Her mouth was left agape, just a little, until she regained the will to close it. "Congratulations, I'm happy for you."

"Y/N."

"I hope it's a happy, healthy baby."

Aaron attempted to take her hand, only for it to be snatched away. "Don't react like this."

"Act like what? I'm just happy for you."

“Don’t go quiet on me.”

It’s sounded like an order, and she was never one to disobey. Y/N scoffed. “What, you want me to scream and cry like a crazy mistress? Do you think I like knowing that you're going to bed with her every night? That you spend Christmas, New Year's, every fucking holiday, all with her!" He was quiet, and she stood, chest heaving. "All I get is office quickies and sneaking around on cases, because I'm the other woman! That's what I deserve."

“You deserve better than that.”

Her hands ran through her hair, clutching at the roots. “I’m the other woman,” She repeated to herself in disbelief. “This has been the biggest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.”

She was stumbling, grabbing her bag, she left the apartment and slammed the door behind her.

Aaron remained seated for a moment, his head in his hands. Her declarations of hate were loud, and clear as day, yet he found it difficult to breathe when she wasn't in the room.

Y/N hadn’t been around since then, not even at the grocery store, until Spencer’s faithful call.

"They want both of you back in the saddle. Medical leave's over."

Her and Gideon exchange tentative looks. “You're sure?"

Aaron smiles, just a little, at the hint of excitement in her eyes. "Order came from the director."

"Well, we better get started."

They each file out of the room, all except for two. Y/N intends to stay just to read the case file a little more, while his objective is to catch her alone for only a minute. "I came to your place a few weeks ago."

Her voice is monotoned. "You shouldn't have."

He seems unaffected by her response. "You weren't there, no one knew where you were." Her head tilts upward a little, flattered by his efforts to find her.

"I’ll send out a national announcement next time I go on holiday." The man plucks the manila folder from her grasp, just about softly catching her left hand in his grip. "Aaron."

"I didn't know if you were coming back to me."

"Don't do this because you know I'll give in." He comes closer, and closer, with every half second that passes.

Her hand is flat on his chest, halting him. “I was so attached to you, Aaron. My life depended on you,” She dares not look up at him, her gaze fixates on his tie. “Our affair had made me jealous, and I don’t want to hate your marriage, and I really don’t want to hate Haley,”

Y/N peers up at him through thick, wet lashes. “so please, don’t make me.”

His actions have a mind of their own, encouraging him to lean down and just kiss her like he’s been itching to for several months, and so he does. Because Aaron Hotchner can’t always do what he wants, but when it came to her, his Y/N, she’s putty in his hands, and vice versa.

"I miss you." He murmurs after they part.

"I know, but we can't do this anymore."

He steps away, and she’s the first to leave the tiny office.

When they’re alone there’s a potential to hurt a lot of people, it’s dangerous, and so they don’t catch themselves making that mistake until they’re outside Richard Slessman’s house, towards the back.

She’s on a call. “I love you.” The affections he hears pang at his heart. “Bye, mom.” He can breathe, she tucks her phone away.

"Everything alright back home?"

Y/N shrugs. "Yeah, she just gets worried.” She looks down at her shoes, and his eyes flicker to it for a second. "I didn't ask, earlier, how's Haley? And the baby?"

"They're good. It's a boy." Her chest inflates a little, he notices, and his eyes tear away from her silky blouse.. "I'm sorry, I don't want to-"

"You're having a baby, Aaron, you're allowed to boast." The grin that envelopes her lips was one that should been photographed, but he can’t ignore the way the corners of her eyes don’t crinkle like they usually would, or how her eyebrows knit together ever so slightly. "That's amazing, though. I'm happy for you. A boy."

Her actions contradict her words, she looks away, a way of avoiding the obligation to smile any longer. "Thank you."

"By the way," She grabs her handbag from the nearby ledge of the house, pausing at the sight of it before rummaging through. He recognises it, he bought it. A small stuffed animal is outstretched to him. "I got this for him when I was away. In the future, maybe he could look at it and think of his Aunt Y/N."

He chuckles, looking down at the toy in his hands, a little plushie of a dog. "Of course. Haley and I really appreciate this." She nods, unsure of what to say.

“I have something for you, too.” His is smaller than hers, it’s in a small velvet box and it makes her breath hitch in her throat. “I wanted to give it to you a while ago, I wanted to tell you that I was finally leaving Haley, that we could be together properly in the way that you deserve.”

She opens the box, and the ring inside is nothing short of exquisite. “Fuck, Aaron.” 

"But things didn't go the way we, I, had planned."

Her head is slowly shaking in incredulity. “This is crazy.”

"A good kind of crazy?" His features are hopeful.

Her breathy laugh is pained. "This is a crazy kind of crazy, border-lining insane."

A smile plays on Aaron’s lips anyways.  "This is it, my final, grand gesture. I love you, Y/N, I always will and I would give up everything I have for you right now if you asked me to."

She takes a single step towards him. "You don't mean that, because I won't let you. I won't let you do it." She places her right hand on his cheek, the other still holds the open ring box. "You love Haley."

"But I'm in love with you."

"It'll go away eventually, and I'm telling you this because I know you. You'll hold that beautiful little boy in your arms, and you'll forget about all of it."

The older man shakes his head, but not necessarily in denial as the surface of his eyes become glassy. "I'll never forget."

"I won't either, but we have to let this go."

“The ring is yours, you deserve it.”

Y/N shuts the box, and it makes that satisfying sound, and she drops it into her purse with a smile, and the wrinkle at the corners of her eyes makes him grin like a boy. 

And although she wants nothing more than to shout her love for him from rooftops and kiss him while August heat slips away as September looms on them, she readjusts her handbag on her arm and turns the corner around Slessman’s house.

[darklinaforever]

"If you love the character for their personality their assigned sex or gender doesn't matter."

Except that a character's personality and story can be tied to their gender. Let's take an example of GOT. With some modifications, you could have a story where Bran was a girl, because his path doesn't tie in with his gender much (except at the very beginning). However, you can't have Dany or Sansa or Cersei being men since their arcs and personalities are very much dependent on them being women. This goes the other way round too, it wouldn't make sense for Robb Stark to be a woman (since his role is the Heir of Winterfell).

People like to behave as if gender/sex of a character doesn't matter, and that's true only in certain conditions- mostly modern stories (for instance if Bridgerton was a modern story), or stories set in some world where men and women have a similar upbringing and freedoms (something like the Grisha side of the Grishaverse, for instance- Alina is raised the same as Mal, and Zoya is raised similarly to the men). This idea falls apart in historical scenarios where men and women have different roles in the society and their roles affect their personality. Bridgerton is no exception, since we have already seen how different the expectations were from Anthony and Daphne in S1.

Plus, as I said before, part of me is happy to have a central romance coming between two women.

Like I already said, representation is always nice when you're part of the LGBTQ+ community.

But I'm still mainly disappointed not to have Michael Stirling and Franchael as I had more or less imagined.

If there is one book from which I expected the adaptation with the most fidelity / nod to the original book, it was for When he was Wicked.

And I don't think Bridgerton is the show made for central lgbtq+ romances since there are the central couples of each book to adapt who are all, well, a man and a woman.

They can create excellent subplots for queer couples (like with Reynold & Brimsley in Queen Chaotte who were great for me, but for Bridgerton. Or they can even invent spin-offs if they absolutely want central LGBTQ+ romances for this universe.

Frankly, since the Bridgerton books aren't crazy, I agree with Netflix's free adaptation.

But the adaptation still has problems in itself with too much boring subplot sometimes instead of spending more time on the central couple and... well just the Bridgerton family dynamic ?

But there were still things that were good in the books. (for example, if we could have kept the intelligent Edwina of the books instead of going too far into the delirium of the engagement and marriage with Anthony in season 2...)

And if there is one Bridgerton book that is really objectively good it was When he was Wicked. So I still find it a shame.

And then, yes, even if the books are not crazy they have a community of fans and these books are the reason why the Netflix show exists.

So the least we could do would perhaps be not to touch the central couples ?

The heart of Bridgerton is the Bridgerton family and their romances.

So for me the show should not touch on the genders of the original couples and also have more moments within the Bridgerton family.

[enkephallic]

LCB Sinner Analysis: The Original Sins

I think the original LCB sinners' sin affinities for their skills are definitely related to them as people. My current theory is that S1 represents a surface level read of their personality, and their S3 is the true sin embedded deeper into themselves.

Gregor: His S1 is gloom, which is how he initially appears to be. He's carrying a lot and it seeps put. But his S3 is sloth. In Limbus Company, sloth seems to be tied in with giving up on taking action and making things better.

Rodya: S1 gluttony, which makes sense considering her want for money and good food. Her S3 is wrath, which was what drove her to axe the old hag who had been exploiting people.

Sinclair: S1 is pride, I guess this is how he comes off rich and privileged to some others. S3 is jealousy which confuses me a little, but I think it's related to the behaviour he exhibited in class that ultimately led to the tragedy.

Yi Sang: S1 is gloom - he's quiet and reserved, but is hinted not to have been. S3 is sloth, which definitely is the sin that fits him the most pre-limbus. He admits himself he simply observed without taking control.

Ishmael: S1 is wrath. She seems annoyed at perceived stupidity and often shows exasperation. S3 is gloom. She's scared of losing people and is hurting, which makes her extremely unstable and difficult for Dante to work with.

Heathcliff: S1 is jealousy. He's jealous on the surface level and is written to have an inferiority complex on his file, but his S3 is lust. He wants to relentlessly pursue something/transform himself, which will most likely hurt him along the way. also maybe hes horny

Don Quixote: S1 is lust. She has lots of things she wants to become and accomplish. S3 is gluttony, which I'm assuming was her wanting too many things that potentially conflicted (maybe her idea of justice involved two things clashing - eg. is it justice to steal when you're desperate? is it justice to stop the thief?).

Hong Lu: S1 is pride, much like Sinclair. His innocent curiosity comes off as arrogant to others. His S3 is lust - I speculate that he really wanted to become something, or change his own self in some way.

Ryoshu: S1 is gluttony. This does confuse me a little, but I'm guessing it's her obvious desire to create/observe Art and beauty. S3 is pride. She perhaps overestimated herself and fucked over someone she cared for

Meursalt: S1 is sloth. Yeah. Sinclair having a panic attack? Well he wasn't told to report on it so. S3 is ... gloom? Oh he must be carrying a lot. I have not read his novel yet so I won't make rash assumptions, but I guess it's something to do with grief.

Outis: S1 is sloth. I'm guessing this is her paper thin veneer of sucking up to Dante and treating his word as absolute, though it's clear it's not sincere. More suprisingly her S3 is gloom. I think this makes a lot more sense after reading her Schutz ID story - she has someone she loves, even at her absolute lowest.

Faust: S1 is pride. Yea. Yeah. yeah. yea. S3 is also gluttony. It's difficult to know much about her, but I'm guessing she really wanted to accomplish something, which would involve a lot of resources and potentially cause a lot of danger due to it.

[fansplaining]

IWTV is the best show on TV. In today’s media environment, it is singular to be able to enjoy a show without the toxicity of the large fandoms. I have found that a majority of the show’s fans are hardcore Anne Rice fans making conversations about the show far more interesting. I am concerned of how this will change once S1 premiers on Netflix. The show deserves a larger audience and it will get it after it premiers on Netflix, but I hope the show runners remain true to the source material and continue on the path they have laid. Looking forward to future IWTV episodes.

Hello! Apologies for the delay in answering this, which I believe was in response to this article I wrote about the show and its audiences. With the official announcement this week that the AMC slate of shows are coming to Netflix on August 19th—

(also: lol Netflix, thank u)

—I was reminded to come back to it!

I totally agree with you re: the show itself, of course—but I also think you've curated your feeds very well haha. I've been observing many corners of the fandom throughout s2, partly because I was reporting on the fan/creator stuff, partly because I'm in the fandom, too. Fandoms are multifarious, and I'm not trying to paint with an overly broad brush—I've seen a ton of creativity and plenty of smart analysis etc. But I have also seen *so* much toxicity and *so* many willfully bad readings over the past few weeks, it's been shocking. Twitter in particular seems to have a literal Discourse of the Day and I don't understand how this is going to be sustainable over the year+ until s3 (lord help us all when s3 arrives lol).

There's a running joke—made so many times I'm not even thinking of a specific post—that people fear ~the Netflix masses~ will bring Bad Takes, but it seems highly likely a casual viewer will go, "Wow! Entertaining!" and move on with their lives, whereas existing fans of this show are already rocket-launching The Worst Takes at each other like clockwork (and even at random viewers who love the show but aren't a part of fandom conversations—because they don't like a person's phrasing, or the picture they chose for a post, etc etc etc).

As far as the idea that Rolin Jones or AMC will waver from their plans, I absolutely don't see that happening. AMC has long licensed their shows to large-audience platforms (Netflix in particular), but they're not making TV *for* those platforms. Jones and (IWTV EP) Mark Johnson have been pretty explicit about how they only could have made this show at AMC. I also found these post-finale comments from Jones very interesting:

I’m confident that we made the best vampire show we could make. I’m proud of the adaptation. There’s the element of second windows, how these things are going to be disseminated going forward. There does seem to be a lot of legwork done by fans. I look at 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and part of me is like, Ugh, that’s way too high. If the intention here is to make something that will haunt you and that will work 15, 20 years from now, did we piss off enough people?

There was another interview I cannot find now about how a larger viewing audience in those "second windows" means more chances for the people who really connect to the show to find it. I've loved seeing that this season, even—people who hadn't checked it out for whatever reason and have now been changed by it. When I wrote that article, fans were kind of cycling in an information vacuum, with minimal signals from AMC/the creators that the metrics for success weren't a pure numbers game. But in the final press run, they hit that message hard—they are in it for the long run, they want to make the best show they can, and they understand this is a sustained partnership with fans. I think they're going to continue taking the biggest creative swings they can, and I can't wait to see what's next.

(BTW, IWTV folks: I pulled @flourish away from their baby for 90 minutes and despite their combined total of perhaps 10 hours of sleep over the past 4 weeks lol we managed to finally record a season 2 special episode. It should be out for patrons early next week!)

[naanima]

Something I don't know if people caught on during S1 of JoL or realised the implications of IRT the Fan Family. Bcos the drama was careful about not being explicit about it ... Or perhaps didn't want to delve into it too much.

A few things:

There's a reason why Chen Pingping tells FX to be good to Fan Jian, that the man sacrificed the most for Fan Xian.

Fan Jian had a wife that birthed Fan Ruoruo. The Main Wife, mother of the household etc. We don't know what happened to her though we can guess she passed away. In fact Ruoruo even said at one point she had another brother.

The reason NO one questions Fan Xian's true identity, i.e. son of Fan Jian instead of the Emperor is that Rourou's mother gave birth to a son the same day as Fan Xian was born. The assassins DID kill a baby boy with Ye Qingmei, and yes it was Fan Jian's son.

Let that sink in a bit. In order to save Fan Xian, Ye Qingmei's son (and the emperor's), Fan Jian sacrificed his own new born son. And instead of any lingering resentment FJ has treated FX like his own son.

[poisonedfate]

I love 2 pls drabble me 😊

okay. hi. hello. it took me SO long (too long, one might say) to write this, but i started thinking about young s1 merthur and ended up writing 1.9k words - very much not just a drabble. hope you don't mind. here it is, under the cut or on ao3:

2. “Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t hurt you anymore.” (merthur)

ao3

The first time it happened, Merlin had only been Arthur's servant for a handful of days. He was still getting used to the pace of the day and the customs of all that was now his responsibility - and all that wasn't. There's a lot to figure out once you've been thrown into a situation such as this without much warning, which is how Merlin ended up in Arthur's chambers after the prince himself had already gone to sleep. 

It wasn't exactly unusual, after all, he was the one waking Arthur up in the mornings, however, the darkness, the quiet hum of Arthur's breathing, audible, but not at all visible, the stillness of the chambers and the world outside, and the knowledge that Arthur will continue sleeping after he has left the room - that made it different. It was slightly unnerving back then, doing it for the first time, all of it new and yet unlearnt. He had forgotten to take something or put something back - he doesn't quite remember it anymore. Merlin never really strived to be the perfect servant and he figured out fairly quickly that Arthur never truly minded it either, even if he often acted as if the opposite were true. 

Nonetheless, back then he had time to worry about more mundane things, so he had snuck into Arthur's chambers, never intending for the other to find out. Perhaps if he had just been a couple of steps quicker it would've all gone to plan, or perhaps he simply would've come to know of it later, but just as his fingertips had almost reached the door on his way out, Arthur began stirring, freezing Merlin in his tracks. 

He should've kept walking, he would later think, though at the time it seemed as if any slight movement of his would be the thing that gave him away if the prince was to rouse for just a split moment. However, Arthur had been very much asleep then, the very edges of his nightmares seeping through, piercing the silence. His stirs grew more uneasy, whisperspoured from his lips and turned into louder gasps and yells. Merlin knew he had been there for too long, if not by the knots in his stomach, then by his vision adjusting, suddenly colouring Arthur's features just enough so that he could make them out from where he was standing. Arthur's voice continued to grow sharper, but just as it had finally ripped Merlin from his frozen state, the same had surely happened to Arthur's nightmare. They stared at each other for a moment, the prince's eye finding his immediately, gaze weighing him down and marking Merlin still for just one more breath before he could finally move, making his escape. 

Neither of them mentioned it, not the morning after, not the evening that followed, not in the days that kept moving relentlessly. All of it felt helplessly real regardless - Merlin making sure to never enter Arthur's chambers in the cloak of such darkness again, Arthur refusing to so much as rest his eyes when Merlin was still completing his last tasks of the day. For a while, each morning that came Merlin would be met with an already half-woken Arthur. It concerned him, made him restless all on its own, though eventually, much to Merlin's relief, it regressed into a mere memory. 

The other new ways of being seemed less willing to go, but soon Arthur had become so used to Merlin's presence that his refusal to sleep around him, especially after a long day, proved to be more difficult. And so the second time it happened, Merlin had failed to even notice Arthur falling asleep until the others' unsteady breaths prompted him to turn around. He stepped closer, not sure what to do, before realising he should probably leave instead if his previous experience was anything to go by. There must've been some hesitation in his movement, clearly not having learnt his lesson to its full extent, giving Arthur the opportunity to grab at his wrist. Merlin almost jumped out of his skin at that, his fight or flight kicking in at full speed, but the breaking point never came, he stayed where he was, how he was. Arthur's eyes didn't shoot open like he expected them to either, there was no pull and no push, only a slight tightening of Arthur's fingers around his wrist. Merlin had been ready to swear he saw the prince open his eyes just so, as he stared at his twisted features, not that it would've mattered, he had already decided to stay until Arthur's grasp on him weakened and the furrow of his brow moulded into something peaceful once more. And so he had. 

From that point on, it became somewhat routine for them - Arthur would fall asleep (or pretend to, Merlin never was quite sure) and he would move closer, just within reach, a wordless offer trapped between them. It wouldn't happen every day, Arthur accepting said offer, but often enough that Merlin expected it, even grew to know the different intensities of the other's nightmares, when they were tame and when they were less so - though none of them entirely as bad as that very first one. 

He never gave much thought as to if it would ever change and perhaps it would've been a waste of time to do so, the two of them not yet fully settled, not yet known and familiar in full, still shifting and changing. A rainy day had come then, some time later, and Merlin knew the nightmares would be on the worse side of things, so much so that he had hung around for longer than needed after Arthur's expression had already settled. Clearly, it hadn't been enough, though, the hold on his wrist tightening once more as he bid Arthur a final good night, his fingers of the same hand Arthur held grazing the prince's, something he had mindlessly begun doing right before leaving, something Arthur had perhaps noticed. 

"Stay," Arthur whispered, quiet and barely there and only for the two of them, not even reaching all corners of his chambers. 

Merlin had been unsure of what more he could do besides offer up his wrist, standing there, letting time pass slower, letting himself simply remain there for longer until his legs grew as heavy as his eyelids. A pull on his wrist, not quite strong enough to move him anywhere, gave him a clue, and he placed himself on the edge of the bed. Arthur moved to rest his forehead against his leg and Merlin could only judge by his breathing then, whether or not he had escaped the worst of it, whether he had finally fallen asleep. Good thing it was a part of Arthur he knew almost better than all else. 

A lot changed and a lot stayed the same thereafter, but Merlin could never keep from wondering, could never stop the imaginings of what happens after he leaves. He did his best to give Arthur back his rest, too familiar with his own haunted nights, ones that seemed to lessen, too, since their little version of existing through them had changed. But what then? One does not simply expel all ghosts just by being lulled to sleep. As with all else, Merlin could feel certain shifts, could swear on certain truths being as real as the look he and Arthur had exchanged that first night. The feelings were rare and few, even more so than the moments spent with Arthur at the shore of long nights, but the phantom fingers round his wrist felt heavy even from his own corner of promised solitude. And he just knew it had to be bad, that some nights were filled with bad dreams, no matter how long Merlin had stayed. 

The sense of it nagged at him more and more, until it had him waking from his own dreams, sitting up between the mess of his sheets, Arthur's cries echoing through his head. Merlin decided it was enough, that they had moved way past the "do not enter his chambers in the middle of the night again" thing by now. 

There was no number or count he could assign to this particular night, he thought, so many of them had come and gone,he lost track. But although he couldn't pinpoint the time, it didn't really matter, as it felt more like that first encounter rather than all the rest. As soon as he entered Arthur's chambers memories came flooding in - it was worse, it was louder, it was darker. They never talked of the dreams and so Merlin never knew what chased Arthur once his eyes fell shut and what clawed at his insides once his body grew still. He didn't know, yet he knew enough. 

Merlin didn't freeze this time, heading straight for Arthur. The prince had curled into himself on the right side of his bed, so Merlin sat on the left, crosslegged and facing the other. He usually let Arthur do as he pleased - he had quickly learnt that the blond avoided anything that could be seen as more personal or emotional if he could help it, all except their quiet late-night agreements. Merlin wasn't as bothered himself and so he let Arthur choose the way it would go, but now it was his turn - Arthur wasn't going to latch on to him, saving himself for deep waters, he was already drowning, Merlin needed to pull him out. 

In the interest of caution, he placed his hand softly on Arthur's shoulder first, shaking him slightly once there was no reaction, though nothing came of it regardless. The sweat-sticky hair on Arthur's forehead distracted him for one breath in and one breath out. Merlin's eyes felt foggy, with not a trace of tears, somewhat scarlet, too far, too close. He grabbed atArthur's shoulder more forcefully, rolling him over so that his head was in Merlin's lap. The hope was to wake him before the nightmare could do it, but the flutter of his eyelids was accompanied by staggering gasps anyway. Arthur's eyes rounded the room twice before landing on Merlin, unmoving, still, and as dark as he could imagine them getting. For a moment, it didn't even seem as if he was breathing anymore.

"You're here."

"I am."

"You," Arthur tried, chocked and not at all like him, "they-,"

“Hey, hey, calm down. They can’t hurt you anymore.”

The other closed his eyes, squeezing them so tight it almost made Merlin flinch. He didn't dare to move once they were open again, searching for something in Merlin's features, unsure if Arthur was hoping to find something or rather dreading it. He calmed then, gaze no longer as feverish, before muttering a soundless my...

"You don't have to tell me," Merlin interrupted in a whisper. Arthur only nodded. 

Although the other's body had stilled, his breathing had yet to settle so Merlin leaned down, placing his forehead against Arthur's, hoping he would follow his inhales and exhales. 

Eventually, they mirrored each other enough, reflecting the ease and shield of nights rather than their darkness. Merlin moved and Arthur did, too, lying down and facing each other. 

"Thank you."

"Any time."

Neither could convince themselves to let their eyes wander away from the other's gaze even as the tiredness laid its heavy hand on them. Merlin was the first to break away from it, giving a small nod, just one. Arthur blinked at him before giving a nod of his own, both of them closing their eyes at once, tangled in the warmth, safe. 

[profoundtrashninja]

unnecessarily long and biased character analysis of osomatsu

will have spoilers from season 1-3. If you haven’t seen the show this is your chance to catch up o(｀ω´ )o (first two seasons are on YT legit upload from Viz Media) (all episodes also on crunchyroll)

Just dumping what’s been on my mind. Several people reached similar conclusions/speculations so this isn’t anything new. I’m definitely very biased so don’t judge me too hard lol

So I’ve been thinking about oso’s character evolution from season 1-3, and especially in 2 and 3. I think since the end of S1 he exhibited some signs of fearing change and rejection, especially when it comes to relationship with his siblings.

S2 Cherry Blossom episode especially showed that even when he really did things “properly” the outcome he feared (his siblings all became distant) came true and that really shook him. I think that fear or insecurity continued to linger in season 3. Like he freaked out at the beginning of S3 episode 2 when put on the spot on a talk show alone that he didn’t know what to expect, or when he briefly became seriously worried when his brothers fought amongst each other in the Werewolf episode.

Someone also pointed out to me that in S1 episode 2 The Melancholy of Osomatsu he was trying to get closer to his brothers but failed (he was being stupid for sure too), and he totally flipped out when he found that his brothers found a replacement of him. While it was the punchline of the skit, it also maybe showed that he was afraid of being separated from his brothers since the beginning.

Taking a page from therapy: our nervous system always chooses a familiar hell over an unfamiliar improvement—for him, being drunk and playing pachinko being looked down as a neet virgin sucks, but things at least stay familiar, which is preferred over any improvement that is scary and unfamiliar

S3 E15 Cosplaymatsu one of the segments “Mister” the 5 matsuno bros as kids visiting Oso as a disillusioned middle aged guy talking about the tortoise and the hare story. Basically said there’s always someone faster than you and there’s someone even faster, so what’s the point of trying anything.

Now that I think of it, he’s the eldest brother who’s seen as a complete piece of shit without any particular talent, but he’s able to keep his siblings together in key moments. But perhaps he doesn’t feel appreciated or seen by his brothers that much as they can’t really recall anything special about him besides being a complete piece of shit (as seen in the Super Detergent episode).

At times he might seem perfectly contend being a complete shameless piece of shit that he’s glad that nobody expects anything from him, but he also seems to grapples with fear of change and rejection, insecurity, or depression in subtle or obvious ways. He doesn’t really know how to deal with his fear other than anger (kicking Jyushi in S1 E 24), changing the topic (S3 E5 The Way Home interrupting Jyushi who was trying to ask serious questions), not responding/stonewalling (most of S1 E24), or distracting himself with coping behaviors (alcohol, gambling, porno, etc).

my poor little jyushimatsu T_T

I wonder what direction they will take his character in season 4. I personally like some of the more serious or nuanced character development in previous seasons so I hope season 4 will have that mixed in with humor as well as slice of life.

[haastera]

Now that UZI is in space she might be out of commission for much of Ep8 until the others arrive in J's ship to rescue her, as UZI never learned how to teleport like Doll could.

I don't see what she can do in this situation beyond wait for rescue.

The current situation is as follows.

-UZI (and possibly Nori) are in space.

-Thad, Lizzy, Khan, and J are fighting over J's ship.

-N is in Cabin Fever Labs but has the keys to J's ship.

-The A.S is at the core

This disposition makes me wonder if they aren't going to defeat the Solver in this season. My old idea about Copper 9 being destroyed at the end of S1 might come true.

Their victory would be escape, and perhaps UZI being patched somehow or achieving the same thing on her own. Going into S2 with the ability to control her powers like Nori and Yeva could without risk of possession.

Where would they go? Not sure. The ruins of Earth? One final human exoplanet where humans and drone would have to work together to defeat the Solver? Cliché, but I could see it.

Alternatively they might take the ship, rescue UZI, and fly straight into the core for a final battle, yet if they win and defeat the Absolute Solver + its primary host I don't see an avenue for a S2.