#remind me to do the scruff from every other scene in this episode later

[waitimcomingtoo]

Bagels and Bites

Pairing: Sebastian Stan x Reader

Synopsis: Sebastian likes to flirt with you in interviews

Masterlist

It all started when you met him on The Late Late Show.

“How are you all feeling tonight?” James asked you and Sebastian Stan as you sat on the guest couch.

“I’m excited.” You beamed as Sebastian rested his arm on the couch behind you.

“So am I. We should probably talk about this later,” Sebastian smiled directly at you, “but we’ve been wanting to meet each other for a long time.”

“Have you?” James chuckled.

“No.” You laughed and playfully hit Sebastian in the chest. “We had one interaction on Twitter and he thinks there’s something between us.”

“It was a very flirty interaction.” Sebastian clarified. “There were sparks flying all over those tweets.”

“So this is your first time actually meeting?” James asked. “Even though you’re in the marvel movies together?”

“It’s weird. I haven’t met half the cast.” You shrugged. “I’ll meet everyone else once the press tour starts but so far I’ve only met the people I’ve filmed with. Just Chris, and Chris, and um, oh yeah. Chris.”

You looked down and smiled to yourself when you heard Sebastian laughing at your joke. Even though you’d never met him, you’d always liked him. It was a well known secret on the Internet that you were his celebrity crush, since he was so inclined on bringing it up in almost every interview of his. Being face to face for the first time now, you were feeling a little intoxicated from his charm. Well, his charm and the white wine you’d been sipping on.

“I hope they stop putting me with Mackie and start putting me with Y/n once this press tour starts.” Sebastian said after taking a sip of his wine. “I love him but I can’t keep babysitting him at 8 in the morning. I’d like to wake up to someone who looks a little more like this one.”

“I know what you mean.” You agreed. “He would show up to set every morning all ready to go and I’m like dude, give me a few hours for my personality to arrive.”

“I was so mad that he got to film with you and I didn’t.” Sebastian shook his head. “We finally get cast in a movie together and we’re never in the same scene.”

“Well,” you put your hand on his knee and patted it, “we’re meeting now. Lucky you.”

“Yeah.” He smirked at you. “Lucky me.”

“Now, Sebastian.” James reminded you both that he was there. “I heard a rumor that you have a little crush on Y/n.”

“Well, I try not to pay attention to rumors.” Sebastian waved his hand. “But that ones pretty accurate.”

“Oh my God.” You put your hand over your heart, which was about to beat out of your chest, and laughed.

“It’s true. I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while, but I feel like I’ve seen you all my life. And here you are in person and you look so great.” Sebastian said through a shy smile. You laughed in shock at his compliment and looked down at your lap.

“You’re fully going for it.” James laughed at how bold Sebastian was being.

“You’re not being a very good wingman.” You teased James as you took a long sip of your drink. The more alcohol you had in you, the easier it would be to flirt with the incredible attractive man next to you.

“I was never known for that.” James agreed. “But I heard your brother is a pretty good one, isn’t he?”

“Oh My God.” You groaned, knowing exactly what James was referring to. “He’s not.”

“What happened?” Sebastian wondered, never taking his eyes off you.

“I took my brother to the Oscars with me last year and we happened to be sitting next to Jake Gyllenhaal.” You explained. “And the whole night, he’s telling Jake about how I used to be in love with him when I was a kid. If there weren’t a bunch of cameras around us, I would’ve rung his neck.”

“So I’m assuming you and Jake aren’t the next celebrity power couple?” James teased.

“We are not.” You shook your head. “I can confidently say that I was still single.”

“I was just gonna and say, there’s still hope for us.” Sebastian gestured between the two of you. You opened your mouth in shock before biting down on your tongue. You playfully hit Sebastian again, signally that you were just as interested as he was.

“You’re really going for it.” James pointed out. “I must say, wow.”

“Why not?” Sebastian grinned. “This is the time.”

“You are pretty cute, I just wanna say.” You flirted back for the hell of it. Sebastian laughed in surprise before covering his face with his hands. You laughed as well as he hunched over to hide his face.

“He’s actually gone red now!” James pointed at him. “He was so sure of himself and now he’s all red.”

“Leave him alone.” You pouted as you rubbed Sebastians back. Sebastian sat back up and rubbed his face with his hands.

“Yeah.” Sebastian said assertively as he wrapped an arm around you. “Leave me alone. I’m trying to flirt here.”

“How would you ask her on a date, then?” James asked. “Since you’re so in love with her.”

“Like this.” Sebastian said as he turned to you “Ce faci?”

“Would you bite me in the neck?” You asked, catching him completely off guard. He took his arm away and laughed in shock at your words.

“Oh my God.” He chuckled as he looked around in embarrassment. Suddenly, he turned back to you and cupped one side of your face, tilting your neck slightly with his hand. He bit down on your exposed neck, making the audience erupt in a series of laughter and gasps. You giggled when you felt his scruff tickling your neck and made no effort to push him off.

“He actually did it.” James looked at the audience to see if they were seeing what he was.

“She asked me to.” Sebastian rolled his eyes playfully. His arm was still around you and neither of you wanted it off.

“It was a hypothetical but I guess I know my answer.” You shrugged as you leaned back on the couch.

“Why would you ask him that?” James wondered.

“Like a vampire.” You explained. “Aren’t vampires from Romania?”

“That’s Transylvania.” Sebastian smiled fondly at you.

“Oh.” You realized. “I still liked it.”

“I’ll do it again later.” Sebastian shrugged, making your hide your face in embarrassment.

“Promise?” You said suddenly as you put your hand back on his knee. It was Sebastians turn to be baffled as he put his free hand on tops of yours.

“Darling.” He choked out, too stunned to form a full sentence.

“This has been an intense experience.” James fans himself with his cards. “What will the two of you do after the show?”

“I’ll probably go home, order a pizza, and pass out while watching all of Sebastian’s episodes of Once Upon a Time.” You joked.

“I was going to do the exact same thing.” Sebastian nodded. “Right after I got a job as a pizza delivery boy so I can go to Y/n’s house.”

“Or you could just come over.” You shrugged, making Sebastian blush.

“I like that idea too.” Sebastian replied.

“I’m trying to imagine what the poor pizza delivery boy is gonna see when he arrives at Y/n’s house later.” James grimaced, making the audience laugh.

“I know, right? They open the door and this is what the get.” Sebastian gestured to you. “It’s you. How lucky they are.”

You leaned into him as you laughed, the alcohol making you feel bolder than usual. You’d never be this flirty with a man you’d just met, but he made it too easy.

The rest of the interview continued in a similar fashion, with you and Sebastian unapologetically flirting with each other every chance you got. By the end of the interview, you were so close that your knees were touching. When it came time to say goodbye, you felt an unexpected pane of sadness.

“Well, thank you both for coming on the show tonight.” James smiled. “I hope I’ll be invited to the wedding.”

“You will. And I wanted to thank you. For this.” Sebastian said as he slipped his fingers through yours and held up your hands. You beamed and squeezed his hand, fully tipsy now the the interview was over.

After thanking James and drinking another glass of wine, you drunkenly pulled Sebastian off the couch.

“Come in the photo booth with me.” You giggled as you tugged him by the hand towards the booth.

“Okay.” He grinned as he climbed inside. He pulled you into his lap and pressed the button before wrapping his arms around your waist. The pictures began to snap away and you posed for all of them. For the first, you just held each other close and smiled. For the second, he leaned up to kiss your cheek. And for the third, he took another bite of your neck.

“That tickles.” You giggled as the camera flashed.

“Good.” He smirked against your skin before pressing a kiss there.

“Stick your tongue out.” You told him, and he obliged. You licked his tongue as the fourth picture was taken, capturing the drunken moment. The fifth flash went off right as Sebastian connected your lips to his. You continued to kiss him, tasting the alcohol on his lips and tongue.

“Oh my God.” You pulled away suddenly. “I have to pee.”

You got off his lap and ran to the restroom, leaving him alone in the photo booth.

The next time you saw Sebastian, neither of you brought the kiss up. Whether you thought the other was too drunk to remember or you were simply too embarrassed to bring it up, it was not mentioned.

The flirting, however, the flirting continued.

~

“What would you like to see for your characters in the next movies?” The journalist asked you and Sebastian as you sat together in a press junket.

“For our characters specifically, I’d like to see some graphic love making.” Sebastian said seriously. “I think that that’s something the movies have been lacking.”

“Oh my God.” You laughed and shook your head. “Me too, actually. I think it would be really in character and important to the plot.”

“How would that benefit the plot?” The journalist asked.

“It’s simple. I would just change my name to “the plot” and bam.” Sebastian clapped his hands. “I’m benefited.”

“He’s such a flirt.” You said as you rested your elbow on his shoulder. “Can you believe him?”

“I can’t.” The journalist chuckled.

“You know what I’d like to see? Some method acting. Why can’t you be as quiet as Bucky?” You teased Sebastian as you flicked his ear.

“How would I tell you how pretty you are if I wasn’t speaking?” He flirted back.

“This is what I have to put up with.” You shook your head as looked at the camera. “What about you? What do you want to see from our characters?”

“I would like to see Bucky do the knife trick some more.” The journalist answered you.

“What knife trick?” You wondered.

“It’s the thing he does when he flips his knife around and stabs people.” Sebastian explained as he moved his hand in a circle. “It took me forever to learn.”

“Wait, I wanna see it.” You smiled excitedly and turned to him.

“No, no.” He wagged his finger at you. “I’m not doing the knife trick.”

“Please?” You pouted. “For me?”

“All right, all right.” Sebastian broke into a grin. “I’m only doing this because you asked nicely.”

The journalist handed him a pen and he easily flipped it around and caught it before making a stabbing motion. You let out a gasp and stared at him in shock for a long time.

“What’s wrong?” He asked you.

“I wanna to fuck you, that’s what’s wrong.” You replied. “Can you do it again?”

Sebastian laughed at your joke as his face heated up. He knew that was just the way you two liked to tease each other, but it didn’t mean it didn’t make him smile.

“I’ll do it again.” He nodded as picked the pen back up. “Anything for you.”

~

On a day where the interviews ended early, you spent the night in Sebastians hotel room, getting drunk on his balcony.

“What about you?” Sebastian asked as he took a sip of his beer. “What was your best kissing scene? I know you’ve kissed some pretty great actors. Might be hard to pick.”

“It’s not. I hate kissing actors.” You grimaced. “It’s not even kissing. It’s just like, limp lips on limp lips. There’s no passion when it’s for a scene. I hate it.”

“Maybe you’re just kissing the wrong actors.” Sebastian shrugged playfully as he gazed at you.

“I don’t think so.” You shook your head. “I’ve never felt anything when kissing another actor. You can’t tell me you do.”

“I do.” He shrugged again. “Its not much, but I wouldn’t say it’s nothing.”

“What? How?” You wondered. “If you kissed me right now, you wouldn’t feel anything. I guarantee it.”

“I think I would.” Sebastian disagreed.

“All right.” You turned your chair a little to face him. “Prove me wrong.”

Sebastian tweaked an eyebrow up before leaning in to kiss you. You kissed him back for a few seconds before pulling away. You looked past him for a minute as you mulled the moment over in your head.

“What’s the matter?” He asked quietly.

“I was incorrect.” You chuckled a little. “I guess I did feel something.”

“I told you you would.” He said smugly. “I knew you’d feel something.”

“How’d you know?” You whined as he basked in the glory of being right.

“Because I felt something the last time we kissed.” He said simply. “And I knew you did too.”

“I didn’t realize you remembered that.” You smirked before talking a sip from his beer.

“Course I do.” He replied. “I think about that night all the time. It was the start of a beautiful, sexually frustrating friendship.”

“Oh, I’m sexually frustrating?” You laughed. “Try being your friend. It’s hard to look at you, really.”

“That’s not how I feel about you.” He smiled a little. “I really, really like looking at you.”

“I like you too.” You smiled back.

“That’s not what I said.” He teased. You dropped your jaw and stole his beer again, taking a long sip as you held eye contact.

“It’s what you meant.” You stuck your tongue out at him. You sat in comfortable silence for a minute, listening to the chirps of the crickets as a warm breeze wafted through the air.

“The press tour is ending soon.” You said quietly as you adverted your eyes. “Tomorrow’s the premier. Then, it’s all over.”

“I know.” He said softly. You looked at him and gave him a sad smile, to which he returned.

“We won’t get to see each other every day anymore.” You pointed out.

“Then we better make tomorrow count.” He said simply. He knew what you were implying, that there was no point in starting something when you’d both been going home soon, but he didn’t want to think about that. He just wanted to enjoy his last few days with you.

“Yeah.” You smiled sadly and looked away again. “We better.”

~

The following night at the premier, you felt an overwhelming sadness knowing that it was all ending. You loved the weeks you’d spent goofing off with Sebastian, even if it never led to a real relationship. It still meant something to you, and you hoped it meant something to him.

To counteract your sadness, you sat with Chris Evans at the bar and let him distract you. After spending a minute with him, you were feeling drunk and ready to find Sebastian. You spotted him on the red carpet, fixed your dress, and went up to him.

“Hi.” You giggled as you wrapped your arms around his torso. You smiled up at him as he wrapped an arm around you, taking an usually loud whiff of his cologne.

“Hey.” He chuckled as he patted your back. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good.” You said as you swayed a little. “Question, is there alcohol in a Shirley Temple? Because I feel like I’ve had alcohol.”

“There is.” He laughed again and steadied you. “Did you know that?”

“Nope.” You sniffed him again. “You smell good.”

“Oh no.” He smiled as your behavior. “How many did you have?”

“I was having a contest with Evans to see who could drink more. I had like 5.” You bragged as you almost fell over.

“Oh dear.” He quickly caught you. “You’re staying with me tonight. I don’t trust drunk you.”

“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to babysit me.” You waved your hand and tried to walk away. You instantly stumbled and neatly fell, but Sebastian wrapped his arms around you and caught you.

“I think I do.” He chuckled as you put you on your feet. “Come on. You’re sticking with me.”

~

The next morning, you woke up with a throbbing headache. Not feeling the strength to sit up, you opened a single eye and looked around. You were definitely not in your own room, but you recognized who’s room you were in.

“Good morning.” Sebastians voice was usually loud, making you wince.

“Oh God.” You groaned as you sat up. You groggily opened your eyes as Sebastian handed you a cup of coffee.

“Here.” He smiled shyly. “How’s the head?”

“The head is in pain.” You groaned. “So is the rest of the body.”

“Here. Drink this.” He held out a glass of water and some Advil. “And take these.”

“Thanks.” You smiled sheepishly as you accepted his offerings.

“Did you at least win the drinking contest?” He asked as he took a seat on the bed. You took a long sip of water and swallowed the pills before answering his questions.

“I did.” You nodded. “But at what cost?”

“You’ll start to feel better once you get some food in you.” Sebastian said as he rubbed your shoulder. You put your hand over his and stared at him, feeling the guilt set in.

“I’m sorry I got drunk.” You mumbled. “I didn’t mean to ruin the last night.”

“You didn’t ruin anything.” Sebastian shook his head. “Trust me, we still had fun. I’m not sure how much you remember though.”

“I remember sitting with you at the premier.” You recalled. “And eating many, many bagels.”

“Yeah, we stopped at a bakery.” He chuckled. “You ate a dozen. I watched it all.”

“Oh God.” You covered your face with your hands. “That’s not how I wanted to spend our last night together.”

“How did you want to spend it together?” He asked quietly.

“Probably in a way that still ended with me waking up in your bed.” You joked like you usually did. “But I could do without the part where you watched me eat 12 bagels.”

“What do you mean?” He grinned. “That was the best part.”

“How’d I end up in your bed anyway?” You asked before taking another sip of coffee.

“You threw your key card at a seagull who was eyeing your bagel.” He explained. “You couldn’t get into your room so I let your crash in mine.”

You looked around the room and saw his pull out couch was topped with pillows and sheets, evidence of him sleeping there.

“Did you sleep on the pull out?” You pointed to it in disbelief.

“Of course I did.” He shrugged.

“Such a gentleman.” You scrunched your nose at him before finishing the coffee.

“Basic human decency is not exactly being a gentleman.” He pointed out.

“Maybe not.” You agreed. “But you still are one. You prove that to me everyday.”

“That must be why you like me so much.” He teased.

“Must be.” You dished it right back. Sebastians smile fell suddenly as he got a serious look on his face.

“I think you and I need to have a talk.” He said softly.

“Oh God.” You feared. “Did I puke on you last night?”

“No.” He chuckled. “It’s not about last night.”

“Then what’s it about?”

“As much as I love flirting with you, and I do, I think you should know it’s not just a joke to me.” He began. “And I wanted to know if it was just a joke to you or if-“

“It’s not.” You said a little too quickly, which made him smile. “I...I like you. A lot, actually. One might even call it love.”

Upon hearing this, Sebastian leaned forward to kiss you. You held a hand to stop him and gave him an apologetic look.

“I wouldn’t.” You grimaced. “My morning breath is-“

“-something I could get used to.” He cut you off before going in for the kiss. You immediately kissed him back, pulling him by his shirt to have him closer. He climbed over you as you tangled your fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.

“I don’t care if its our last day.” He mumbled against your lips. “I want to do this for real. I wanna be with you.”

You kissed him back to tell him you felt the same way, not trusting yourself to say something smooth in the heat of the moment.

“Wait.” You pushed him back suddenly and held him away from you.

“Whats wrong?” He asked as he hovered over you.

“Can we get bagels after this?” You asked seriously before breaking into a smile.

“I seriously can’t stand you.” He said before leaning down to kiss you again. “You’re lucky I love you because I don’t like you at all.”

“12 wasn’t enough.” You giggled between kisses. “I need more. I crave them. I crave the yeast.”

Sebastian stopped kissing you for a moment and looked at you with a fond expression. You stared back at him as a content smile tugged at your lips. The flirting had finally lead to something more and neither of you could be happier.

“You know, you might actually be more annoying than Mackie.” He teased you before leaning down to kiss your neck.

“Shut up.” You laughed. “Shut up and bite me in the neck.”

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[the-awkward-outlaw]

A New Adventure - Pt. 15

Merry Christmas cowpokes! (for those of you who celebrate it.) For the first time, someone sent in a request for a scenario in this piece. I’m happy to say it fit in perfectly for this. Their request was: some cookie making with playful fighting that ends with both covered in sugar, dough, and of course frosting! With a sweet kiss ;) 

Anyways, hope y’all enjoy it. And yes, if you’re wondering, I am open to ideas for future scenarios. 

Masterlist 

Read on AO3

An Eve to Remember 

Christmas is rapidly approaching 

You’re getting nervous about it, even though you’re prepared for the most part

You’ve bought a couple of gifts for Arthur, nothing too big or expensive. Not because you don’t have the money, but you have a feeling he wouldn’t really appreciate it. Arthur is not a material man

You’re pretty sure Arthur has gotten a couple of things for you as well. Mostly because you taught him how to do some online shopping some time ago and you’ve seen the empty shipping boxes in your recycling bin

Once in a store, Arthur saw stockings. You didn’t have any of course, having not celebrated Christmas in a long time. He insisted that you should both get some as he wanted to celebrate it properly. 

You’ve both got stockings as well as things to fill them with. 

For Arthur, you’ve gotten him some of his favorite candies that he’s explored so far (he really likes chocolate covered almonds). 

But he’s also a pretty big fan of jerky. 

All your presents for him are wrapped and under the tree. There’s a few under there for you. 

For the first time since your father died, you’re feeling excited for the day. Not as much as when you were a kid of course, but there’s still some anticipation there. 

You can tell Arthur is excited too. He tries to hide it, but it’s obvious. 

The two of you are still having lots of sex. 

He’s the best partner you’ve ever had in the bedroom. Sure, he doesn’t know a lot of the modern day tricks or toys, but he’s a fast learner. 

The best part about him is he never leaves you half baked during a session. He always makes sure you get your satisfaction.

Your relationship with him has grown stronger the more you’ve made love. Arthur seems to be more crazy about you as well. 

It’s a few days before Christmas and you’ve just come home from work. Arthur greets you with a kiss as he’s more prone to doing. 

As you take off your shoes, Arthur asks if you know how to make cookies. 

“Depends. What kind?” you ask. 

Arthur is a bit surprised to find out there’s multiple kinds of cookies. He shrugs his shoulders. “Just the ones with that frosting.”

He admits he saw a photo on your computer of some sugar cookies and he wanted to try them. 

Of course, you can’t resist his eagerness. So after dinner, you pull up a fairly simple recipe. Luckily you have all the ingredients at hand. 

Arthur does his best to help you, but he’s still pretty new to baking. Sometimes he can be a bit more of a nuisance than a help, but you don’t mind. You know he doesn’t do it on purpose. 

When the first batch of cookies go in the oven and you begin preparing the frosting, Arthur dips his finger in it to taste it. 

“Hey! No tasting before it’s done!” you playfully scold. 

Arthur winks at you and moves to dip his finger back in. You slap his hand. 

Things quickly escalate and you’re both flicking flour and sugar at one another. Normally you’d never let your kitchen get this dirty, but you’re having too much fun to really care. 

Arthur’s much better at smacking you with the powders than you are. Probably thanks to his good aim. 

The oven timer dings, signalling that the first batch of cookies are done. Shit, you never got around to cutting out your second batch because you were fighting with Arthur. 

He pulls them out, appreciatively sniffing as the smell hits him in the face. 

“Mm, shame we gotta wait.” 

“Come on, big guy. Let’s finish this frosting so we can eat them sooner.” 

When he puts the cookies down, he comes over to you. 

“You got some sugar on your cheek,” he says. Instead of brushing it away with his hand, he bends down and kisses your cheek. 

He’s got you trapped between him and the counter, which you don’t mind. 

His lips move from your cheek to your lips. With his hands on your hips, you drape your arms across his firm shoulders. You rub the scruff of his chin and he sighs. 

Already it’s easy to see where things will lead. You almost want to grab the frosting and use it on your bodies, but you end up not. 

When you’re both done in the bedroom, Arthur comes out with you to help clean up the kitchen. 

The cookies turn out pretty good. 

Christmas Eve comes. You have to work, but you’ll be done by mid afternoon. Luckily you’re also working from home, so it’ll make your evening a little easier. 

Despite how boring it will be for him, Arthur insists on staying with you while you work. He just wants to keep you company. 

Over the last couple of weeks, you’ve been introducing Arthur to some simpler video games you’ve been able to get for free on your console (you have not introduced him to Red Dead yet and you probably won’t for a long time). 

He’s pretty shabby at them, mostly because he still hasn’t quite figured out how to use the controller without looking at it. 

He never plays without you being home, but seeing as you’re working, you encourage him to play in order to keep him busy. 

He tries not to ask a lot of questions as to not interrupt your work, but he ends up asking frequently, which you don’t mind. 

Finally your shift ends and you can quit for the rest of the holiday. Arthur’s ecstatic about it. 

For dinner, you do what your family used to do, in that you make a cheese fondue, some marinated steak, french bread and some vegetables. 

Arthur’s never had a cheese dip before, but he ends up rather liking it. 

After dinner, the two of you end up opening your stocking gifts. 

You gave Arthur a new swiss knife which he ends up finding quite impressive. 

He managed to get you a few small gifts that you never would have thought of. None of them are the typical necklaces or jewelry most guys get. 

One of them is a rather unique tree decoration of your favorite animal. It’s your favorite gift by far. 

After stockings, you decide to introduce Arthur to Mr. Bean. You only watch the Christmas episode for now, but you’ll introduce the other ones to him later. 

At first, Arthur thinks it’s overly silly, but once you get to the scene with the nativity, he’s roaring with laughter (although he doesn’t fully understand some of the props like the dalek). 

After that, Arthur’s sold on Mr. Bean, especially after you explain that he’s supposed to be stupid and odd. 

His favorite scene ends up being the one where Bean gets his head stuck in the turkey, mostly because it reminds him of the year Pearson was stuffing a huge turkey Arthur had brought into camp and managed to somehow get it stuck around his arm. 

When Mr. Bean is done, you don’t have any other Christmas movies to watch (except for the best one which you’ll watch tomorrow). 

Instead you and Arthur decide to trade stories of some of your best Christmas memories. 

You don’t have a whole lot as they make you sad, seeing as most of them revolve around your father. 

Arthur has some good ones though. Especially involving Sean and Lenny. 

He does tell one about John when he was a teenager that has you in stitches. 

John had been trying to level up to Arthur’s hunting skill and so he’d tried to go and hunt an elk on his own. Of course, things had not gone well for him as the elk, being unafraid and just coming out of the rut season, had chased John. 

He’d gotten stuck in a tree and been trapped there by the elk for hours until Arthur, sent out by Dutch, found him. 

John had lied about getting trapped and said he was coming up with a strategy to jump onto the elk’s back and ride it like a bronco. 

“Well then, show me your plan,” Arthur had said, leaning on the horn of his saddle. 

John tried jumping off the tree and onto the still furious elk’s back, but fell out of the tree. 

Arthur ended up having to shoot the elk so it didn’t gore John. He was unhurt, aside from a couple of scrapes and a bruised pride. 

“John still insists to this day that he could have ridden that elk,” Arthur finishes with a chuckle. “He’s tried telling it from his perspective every year.” 

He grows somber after this, clearly still stung by losing so much of his family. You can’t blame him. After all, he could go back, but it would mean his death. Plus the gang’s being torn apart by Dutch and Micah. 

Of course, Arthur doesn’t know about Micah, seeing as the last time he was there he was only in the beginning of chapter 6 and just been diagnosed with TB. You don’t have the heart yet to tell him the end results of Dutch’s actions, driven by Micah. 

When the two of you decide to turn in for the night, Arthur surprises you by telling you he doesn’t want to have sex. Instead he just wants to cuddle with you. 

He turns out to be just as good at cuddling as he is at sex. He just holds your head to his chest, his thumb tracing along your shoulder and back. 

You’re just starting to drift off when he kisses your head. “I love you, sweetheart,” he says quietly. 

You smile into his chest, but you fall asleep before you manage to say anything to him. 

In the morning, you wake up to Arthur spooning you. 

Unlike last night, he pulls some moves that lets you know he wants to make love. 

Seeing as it’s Christmas morning, you give in. Arthur really pulls out some of his best moves, making it the best session you’ve had so far. It’s so good you almost don’t want to get out of bed. 

Too soon though, it’s Arthur who insists on getting out in order to unwrap presents. 

Before unwrapping presents though, you decide to cook a big breakfast first. 

When your father was still alive, he’d always cook a big breakfast, with all your favorite foods. 

Arthur is ecstatic to do the same, saying he’d love nothing more than to give you something to add to those memories. 

After stuffing yourself, you and Arthur head into the living room and open presents. 

You got him a beautiful pair of white deer antlers you found in a funny little store a few weeks ago. You like this gift because the antlers were dropped and the animal is likely still alive. 

Arthur hands you a rather heavy gift and when you open it, you gasp. It’s a block of wood that’s carved into a beautiful eagle. Then Arthur says something that brings tears to your eyes. 

“You said your pa loved eagles. So I bought a wood carvin’ set on that Amazon sight and watched some of them Youtube videos.” 

“You… you made this, Arthur?” 

He blushes and looks down, but his smile says it all. 

You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him. “Arthur, I couldn’t ask for anything so incredible. Thank you.” 

Arthur hugs you right back, but he squeezes so tight it’s almost like he doesn’t want to let you go.

After gifts, you tell Arthur to sit down and you turn on the best Christmas movie (in your opinion): Christmas Vacation. 

Arthur’s laughing by just the cartoon in the beginning. 

He absolutely loves Eddie, even though he’s a complete dumbass. He has to admire him for his drive to try and give his kids a good Christmas (even if he isn’t very good at it). 

When the movie ends, Arthur says he really likes it and he can see why you save it for last. 

As you smile at him, you suddenly recall what he’d said last night in bed. 

“By the way, I love you too,” you say. 

“Huh?” he says, but he’s blushing. 

“You said you loved me last night. I just… wanted to tell you I feel the same.” 

Arthur smiles. The kiss he gives you in return is one you will never forget.

[seeksstaronmewni]

Samurai Jack Season 5 in Review: EPISODE XCII

Here is my absolute favorite Samurai Jack episode, because it’s not the end. It’s only the beginning of the end.

I was on the hype train for the return of @cartoonnetwork​’s Samurai Jack after I saw the Season 5 trailer on February 8th, 2017 A.D. (I made a recent post to celebrate it) One reason was that I became obsessed about The Powerpuff Girls during the nostalgically incorrect Season 7 (the first “reboot” season) due to a liking for the Season 5-6 designs and animation, a part of the "Cartoon Cartoons” I grew up watching... and I was right to expect former PPG creatives on it! This post highlights the events of the episode and why it’s one of the best Samurai Jack episodes ever--and how much I binged on it at first! You can check the episode out here (Season 5 reran Sunday mornings at 3:30A on Adult Swim), and soon on HBO Max. Also, if you’re on Twitter, check the links to my tweets in the underlined text! They’re old tweets and need some love!

If you saw not this episode yet, be aware of SPOILERS!

/!\ SAMURAI JACK This Program is rated TV-14-V. Intense Violence.

X

The day of the season’s premiere, March 11th, 2017 A.D., too late found I that [as] was doing a streaming of Season 1-4 (I came in during EPISODE XXXIII’s “Wild Ride”). Following was a Q&A livestream with Genndy Tartakovsky, during which I tried again and again to call, but the line was always busy. Luckily Season 5′s premiere was going to be for free--online--via the stream at 10:40P! I was so there for it! Of course I watched the televised premiere on @adultswim​, but the stream first!

While I began ceasing from trying to get Genndy on the PPGs again, all of a sudden...

...it began, and I was totally there for it.

A view of a distant town (not Townsville) appeared. All quiet.

That is until an explosion or 2 set off (and not with the stereotypical H-B/Universal “powah-wahh” explosion sounds either). There goes the giant windmill.

Partially and slowly revealed is that some aliens are on the run from the town...

...from those “beetle bots”. GIANT beetle bots, I might add.

There is this precious little moment where, being surrounded by the giant beetle bots, the mother and daughter visually--not by speech--exchange “I love you!” to each other with hearts in place of “love”. Oh, and there’s a baby too.

As the beetle bots come to a stop, the sound grows quiet. A motorcycle is heard approaching. When the motorcycle is revealed close-up, Tyler Bates’ bass-filled music is sparked: a warrior with a serious, menacing face is riding on these hot wheels...

...and he aims his machine gun out... only to launch a projectile at these familiar foes...

...resulting in the first explosion Jack caused in this glorious 5th season.

He slowly circles around with his gun. Is he a threat to the aliens?

Nope. Just pwning more evil scrap metal.

Once I heard the Looney Tunes-esq “pshhh...” of smoke from his guns, I became more certain that Joel Valentine was back on the show... unlike the PPG “reboot”.

As the Season 5 sneak revealed late in February 2017 shows, the warrior’s motorcycle is packed with punk tires that can scrap these pests up! All of his guns are just as lethal... with all of those cool action shots and poses and all.

The warrior then reveals another weapon: not a sword, exactly, but some manner of pitchfork on one tip and a taser on the other. Graphically, he destroys one beetle bot by twisting the wires inside, and proceeds to scrap the rest until one of them knocks... the mask off?

That warrior is none other than the samurai called...

“...?”

Just another day in the life of the samurai! Shouting a charging yell, Jack continues smashing the wires out of the beetle bots with a front scruff that fits perfectly with the mane... a look that is very appropriate, new and fitting for Jack.

The daughter gives a symbol of either “Is it dead?” or disgust. Because of the emoticons that are a major part of their visual language, I suppose that these aliens should be called... emoji-fawns?

“50 years have passed, but I do not age.”

As the samurai continues onward into the sunset, a new intro is revealed for Jack to explain how much worse things are become. The former intro started with Aku’s prologue before the theme song, but Season 5′s intro is pretty much a prologue. This feels true to the nature of of The Powerpuff Girls’ former intro which also started with a prologue, but PPG Season 7-9 has a shorter, different intro (although the extended version has an updated version of the prologue with most of its original Tom Kenny narration, “DJ Avalanche” score, and few of Joel’s SFX).

Regarding Jack’s opening statement, creator Genndy Tartakovsky said that 50 years were passed apparently between the events of EPISODE LII, “Jack and the Baby”, and EPISODE XCII. I think, however, that Jack meant that 50 year passed since he ended up in the future in EPISODE II, “The Samurai Called Jack”. There could be more seasons of this show to explore more adventures of Jack, regardless of the time that passed; if anything, turn those comic books into episodes!

Anyway, for some reason, the rip in time Aku created to send Jack into the future caused Jack’s body to supposedly not grow old, though I believe that, slowly, he still aged to a point. Aku’s still the bad guy (with a new voice, but I talk about this in XCIII’s post), and hope seems lost unless Jack can return to the past.

The intro ends with a slow reveal of the shows title, burning red in the dark, sporting an epic, exciting, modernly cinematic feel to the show. What follows, of course, is a scene just as cinematic...

A quiet, eerie chant of the name “Aku” subtly fills the dark, fire-lit room. This reveals the worship of a great evil which reminds us of how dangerous and powerful Aku truly is... given that “Jack vs. Aku” is the previous episode where Aku has a speaking role (you know... “EXTRA THICK!”), though he vocalizes in a following episode “Seasons of Death”.

The episode’s opening credits reveal that Bryan Andrews and Genndy Tartakovsky are the main board artists for this season, still directed by Tartakovsky himself with art direction by Scott Wills. Apparently, character design was very crucial to this season, so the main character designer of the season, Craig Kellman, is listed at the beginning on all of these episodes. This’s rare for cartoon shows, but this isn’t much different from old CN shows of the 1990′s like Dexter’s Laboratory crediting the model/character designers on the episode’s opening credits.

“They will succeed where so many others have failed, and we will find favor in your glory.”

Seven daughters?! Is that kind of physical labor even possible?! That explains all of Grey Delisle-Griffin’s screams, but she’s soon back on her feet... to raise her children to serve pure evil.

BTW, it’s a good thing that the baby vocals that Joel used are not the common Sound Ideas Series 6000 cries, since that recording is far more annoying. Anyway, I find the scene very intriguing and exciting because it’s all really dark, and that’s something that “kids” shows often weren’t in the past. It all just feels so epic that it sucks you in; am I right?

Back to Jack: the score revs up quickly in this montage of Jack riding around the country, wherever he is, as if he’s on some epic quest. Is he looking for a time portal or Aku’s place?

It’s Fall at this point and Jack’s in a pretty forest. The lighting is beautiful, cinematic and very realistic in this shot--one of my favorites from this episode. The paintings are still by art director Scott Wills; they’re just digital.

Such scenes as this are long periods of no dialogue, where music and sound can help to set the mood--sometimes, a very peaceful mood...

...until, slowly but surely, Jack’s mind is hauntingly messed up. This’s where Tyler Bates’ music hits on the slow, hardcore, eerie, electronic percussion that subtly drives the intense situation that’s not like what kid’s action shows used to be. This would be frightening to younger children, but the sheer terror of this scene is awesome, and the music is hardcore hot!

Some days later, we go to another sequence that occurs at night, where we focus first on a cute little owl hooting (and not the cliche, classic H-B/Valentino SFX Library owl hoot that many cartoons use, including past episodes of Samurai Jack). This goes to show just how realistic Joel’s sound design can be, and I admire him greatly for that attention to detail.

Jack endured another vision that night, where his father claims that he never came back, though Jack revealed that “Aku destroyed the way home!”

The way? How many time portals or such were there?

“He destroyed everything! Everything is burning!”

Woah. Was it something that Jack ate? It may be that that rat was under-cooked...

Anyway, every time Jack was haunted by the visions, a mysterious figure appeared afterward. Now Jack was motivated to find the village that he previously noticed was under attack. Time for a commercial break... and a breather for us fans of this nostalgic series!

As we return from commercial, we see the progression of the 7 daughters in training. They kind of remind me of Pokey Oaks Kindergarten’s students... but taller.

Training is tough on these little munchkins, though--but Ashi is distracted by a light that comes from the outdoors... to which her mother slowly objects. Her strength endures some real testing over time with her mother’s harsh treatment!

“Are you weak?!”

I mean... I felt like it was almost all over for Ashi at this point.

Luckily for her, “Aku’s fire stirs inside”. The art direction on the following scene is very interesting in terms of lighting: black, white and some red. It helps for the simply-detailed designs to stand out more. Since I saw very little of Sym-Bionic Titan at this point, Ashi’s hairstyle reminded me somewhat of Ilana (who has the same hairstyle and same voice actress, Tara Strong).

Meanwhile, Jack walked through the village to find whoever caused the destruction. He comes to a shady figure in the smoke, revealed to be a hot-shot assassin robot who goes by many names...

“Scaramouch the merciless! The Pied Piper of Ruination! The Crooner of Carnage! The Ambassador of Annihilation! The Eradicator of All, baby!”

The chipper, upbeat, overly positive attitude of “Aku’s most favorite assassin” made him instantly lovable. I loved this tin man from pretty much the very beginning. I immediately tweeted about this guy during the online premiere. I took a little while to know who voiced this guy (kind of sounded like Jimmy Gourd to me for some reason), but it was certainly familiar. Tom Kenny is the groovin’ voice of Scaramouche--another iconic voice from the man who narrated The Powerpuff Girls and voiced the Mayor of Townsville, Spongebob, Bon Bon the Birthday Clown and so many other great voices!

“Wait. Back off, beardsly. Where... is... your sword?”

You were probably wondering about that... so was I.

“You... lost... your sword!”

Well, the coloring on the handle of the sword is reversed in this shot, and it was just brown for the previous shot of the sword, but... yeah. Flashback to an episode that appeared not in Season 4. Destined to become an episode in the next season if CN makes any to explore the pre-Season 5 events.

Jack’s new pitchfork/taser thingy still makes the same “ching” sounds that his sword makes (and not the cliche Hollywood Edge recordings), though.

Anyway, Scaramouch was about to tell Aku the news (Aku apparently forgot about Scaramouch ‘cause he’s all like “Who is this?” First line since “Jack vs. Aku”!) when Jack and Scaramouch dance in a duel of musical magic.

“Ooh, nice choreography, baby!” Scaramouch replied. In a tweet I made of that line, I was thinking of cinematography instead and noted this to art director Scott Wills. I probably meant to note this to board artists Bryan Andrews & Genndy Tartakovsky.

Oh I just LOVE that “fffwwwhOOMP!” sound there on the ease-in. Joel Valentine packs the perfect punch into the sound of an object’s weight with those big whoosh sounds.

More important, perhaps: how can Scaramouch play the flute when he’s just a robot? He hasn’t any lungs or lips... that I know of... though he apparently has teeth and a tongue, and I can hear breath sounds during his lines... and his voice sounds not at all robotic!

Jack can really throw some real weight around as he battles against a monster made by music and of building parts...

“That samurai has gone beaucoup cuckoo!”

...but his haunting visions distract him from his heroic efforts...

...once again seemingly attributed to that shadowy figure. This is a “CinemaScope” ratio for this shot, while the show is in standard widescreen (1.78:1 “matted”/”flat”). Those ratios can change a lot, kind of like IMAX (in movies in IMAX, one often sees certain shots of a 2.39:1 movie turning into 1.78:1 on a large screen, and the ratio goes back and forth). Still, ultimately the show is not in “letterbox” widescreen / “scope” format, like most Cartoon Network DVDs say; perhaps Warner Bros. Home Entertainment says this because Star Wars: The Clone Wars (the Dave Filoni series, only produced for Turner networks) was in 2.39:1; this caught on to some [as] shows like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal and Tigtone (the logos are 1.78:1, however), but most CN shows are just in 1.78:1.

Anyway, knocked out of his mentally overwhelmed state, Jack was back into the fight, but, even though he sliced the flute in half, Scaramouch was the real “musical magic”. He just goes all “Scatman John” on Jack and can control wherever his sword goes, striking it right at Jack!

This is definitely one of my favorite shots from the episode... a slow-mo shot.

Jack seems to be fighting the sword itself until he comes closer to Scaramouch, who soon pulls another cold blade out...

“Dig that beautiful sound, baby!”

...a split blade whose very tone of ring when clashed against an object can cause the clashed object to explode!

Luckily, Jack has good aim for his sword... so good, that it just blows Scaramouch away.

“Looks like you’re the headliner now; huh?”

Was...

...is...

...and always will be.

Before the end of the episode, we see the last of the 7 daughters’ training. The music here just rocks. Its long, harsh percussion and bass-blowing beats really drive all of the action in this sequence.

This shot has great animation and angles, where Ashi shows an opponent who’s boss as she grabs the 3rd arrow shot and kills her with it.

For more sensitive viewers, first note that this and the following shot are violent/bloody enough to earn the episode its “TV-14-V” rating “for some intense violence” (I’d think that “TV-PG-V” might fit it, since it’s not as strong as it could be). However, CN aired some “TV-14-V” rated movies on their “Action Flicks” block back in early 2009 (i.e. Batman: Gotham Night). That’s right: CN, not [adult swim]! Since, like, 2007 or 2008, they aired a lot of TV-PG rated cartoons like Teletoon’s edgy Total Drama franchise, Regular Show, MAD, Teen Titans Go!, and even The Tom and Jerry Show (though that one seems overrated). I can understand why they often rated certain programs TV-PG-V: even a kick or punch could be a bad influence if a kid was prone to imitating action (The G-rated Garfield’s Pet Force strangely earned this rating too). The point is that CN needs to air Samurai Jack Season 5 on, even if some of the episodes are bloody (only few deserve the TV-14-V rating IMHO). They might be able to cut EPISODE XCII down to a TV-Y7-FV, perhaps.

It’s nice to see that Darrick Bachman from Paul Rudish’s Mickey Mouse still served on this lovely season. He’s the head writer for the 5th season... and the upcoming video game Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time.

As a devote fan of “Cartoon Cartoons”, I personally point the sheet timers out since CN’s traditionally animated shows have lesser animation these days, namely SMIP-animated shows. I mean, that Robert Alvarez and Randy Myers did the “Sheet Timing” on this episode of Samurai Jack (animated by Digital eMation) and animation direction on Seasons 7-9 of The Powerpuff Girls (the “reboot” episodes, animated by SMIP). Compare the action sequences of both shows, and the animation/timing will stand out; unlike Samurai Jack, the 2016-2019 PPG episodes (like SMIP’s work on Infinity Train & Ben 10) usually lack weight in their rather gentle, slow-paced animation. Those PPG episodes animate not at all like The Powerpuff Girls Movie or any PPG episode where Genndy Tartakovsky directed.

Here’re some of the new people on Genndy’s team for Season 5: Susy Campos, Andy Flexner, Jackie Sheng and Dick Grunert. Production Assistants (or, in this case, maybe production coordinators) can turn into major creatives for the story or art of the show, so watch for those names in future CN Studios projects! Team Cartoon Network Studios rules!

This season’s prop design is in the hands of @heydusty​, who also contributed effects design and some character design / design clean-up. Dustin D’Arnault and others are new talent that live up to the work of Genndy Tartakovsky! The late and great Chris Reccardi returned, starting off with some prop designs as well. The design clean-up artists were also new to the team; these people clean the character, props and effects designs up after the respective designers did their designs, so they’re just as much designers as the designers listed. These “Clean Up” people are not to be confused for animation clean-up, however.

Next up are the background artists: “Layout Keys”/background designer Lou Romano (The Powerpuff Girls, Cats Don’t Dance, Ratatouille) and art director/Background Painter Scott Wills (The Ren & Stimpy Show, Quest for Camelot) bring the beautiful, colorful locations to life. Leticia Lacy, a former Spümcø member like Wills and Reccardi (and many other Cartoon Network Studios creatives), returned as a color stylist, who chooses the specific colors for the character, props and effects designed.

The voice credits are a bit lacking, since lesser characters are only listed as “ADDITIONAL VOICES”, compared to Seasons 1-4. This happened on Seasons 7-9 of The Powerpuff Girls too; i.e. Ms. Keane play supportive or minor roles in an episode, but Jennifer Hale is just credited as “ADDITIONAL VOICES”, though Keane is an important character to that series. Tara Strong is uncredited for voicing young Ashi since she only vocalizes--no lines. Greg Baldwin is in place of Mako as Mako passed away years before Season 5′s dialogue was recorded. Ultimately, though, Jack and his parents are still their respective voices, and it certainly is Phil LaMarr’s best.

Unlike Seasons 1-4, Genndy Tartakovsky himself served as the voice director; previously Colette Sunderman handled the voice direction. Aku may no longer be voiced by Mako, but Genndy was able to direct Greg Baldwin’s “Aku” voice himself. Robert Serda still served for engineering the dialogue recording equipment at CN Studios.

The score composers score with their super awesome hardcore score. Tyler Bates composed music for Genndy’s Sym-Bionic Titan (I can’t believe that I never watched that show when it aired). Joanne Higginbottom co-composes with Tyler on Primal. Dieter Hartman also contributed score on Samurai Jack Season 5. For this episode, no score mixer is listed. Music Editors are uncredited in this season.

The animation company on most episodes of Season 5 is Digital eMation, which looks much smoother than the designs in the digital animation of Rough Draft Studios (lines looks slightly blobby on close-ups). The animation directors credited on the series are generally the overseas animation directors; in Season 5 they’re listed on the end credits since they relate to the animation studio.

Regarding post-production, I was very happy to see Joel Valentine credited for “Sound Editing” (He used to prefer being credited by the name of his company “TWENTY FIRST CENTURY ENTERTAINMENT, INC.” AKA 21st CENTURY SOUND DESIGN CORP.). I was afraid that it would be like Dexter’s Laboratory Seasons 3-4 (or 5-6) and The Powerpuff Girls Seasons 7-9, where mixing studio Hacienda Post/Sabre Media would do the sound design, but luckily Joel was on it. This time, former Supervising Re-Recording Mixer Timothy J. Borquez, CAS is just a Re-Recording Mixer with Alex Borquez (former Hacienda mixer Eric Freeman moved to mixing and editing sound at Disney Television Animation in 2014); both Tim & Alex were Supervising Sound Editors and mixers on PPG’s reboot era. Also credited for the final mix is Taylor Pierce, then a Mix Assistant. Currently, Genndy’s shows credit Hacienda Post’s facility, Sabre Media Studios, Inc., as the “Audio Mixing Facility”, rather than referring to Hacienda/Sabre as Post-Production Sound Services (Joel Valentine/21st Century Entertainment is just as much a sound service, NOT just editing!). I’m not sure if any other editors are involved at Sabre/Hacienda, but someone was recording and performing foley for this show, and, due to time, they get no credit, which is a crime in my opinion since that brings the show to aural life. Paul Douglas remains as the Supervising Editor and Jim Hearn as the Dialogue Editor for CN.

The Cartoon Network Studios logo for this season was visually simple, as it was just the face reveal scene show inside the logo (CN tends to use episode clips more often than animatics these days). Joel Valentine fit the sound effects to this well, though, with the sounds of a sword (not the ones Joel tends to use) and an anime-like accent. As for the “reboot” PPG episodes, they just did something weird... (couldn’t they show, like, the Hanna-Barbera swirling star inside the CN Studios logo instead?! at least for nostalgia?)

The Williams Street logo ([adult swim]’s production company), complete with the Mark VII jingle, follows since it was produced for that often junky block of CN...

...but, on the digital copy prints, the 2016 Cartoon Network ID follows! Nostalgically, though, I prefer the 1999 “Cartoon Cartoons” ripple ID, which Samurai Jack and even PPG Seasons 7-8 used to show. I mind the 2016 ID on the PPG “reboot” episodes, but I mind it not on Samurai Jack because it proves that, while considered “Adult Swim”, the amazing Season 5 still remains a part of the “new new new new” era of Cartoon Network.

Any viewer of Samurai Jack could start with this episode as Jack’s adventures are just beetle bots here and Scaramouch there, occurring over few days. The other side of the episode, the youth of Ashi, occurs over probably years; this only sets the main events of Season 5 into action with the next episode.

As for me, I did all that I could with the streaming marathon of EPISODE XCII. It went on from, like, 10:48P or something until, like, 7:30A that morning. I couldn’t help but observe the episode again and again and again... I binged on it. I update the credits on IMDb. I tweet much about this episode and its team. By the end of over 8 hours of the episode’s stream, I felt that this was an appropriate response:

Before the end of this post, here’re reasons why EPISODE XCII is one of the best Samurai Jack episodes ever:

This “Cartoon Cartoon” returned after 12 years, 14 months and 5 days. According to Genndy’s forward on the Season 4 DVD, “The big question as we neared the end of production was, ‘Should we end the story and send Jack home?’ At the time, I felt that the proper way to end it would be to do a full-length movie - and still do. Hopefully, that movie is somewhere in the near future...” CN Asia-Pacific did this “Sayonara Samurai Jack” marathon for Season 4, but they were hasty, since the return came a dozen of years later, and Season 4 wasn’t the true end of the story. I feel the same about Disney Channel calling Star vs. the Forces of Evil Season 4′s finale “Cleaved!” the “series finale”, and both Daron Nefcy and fans look forward to more episodes in the future.

The nostalgic design and animation of Genndy’s Cartoon Network Studios team was something that the then-current Powerpuff Girls episodes were certainly lacking.

The action is just as intense and detailed as ever, with the right amount and style of music too. Perhaps even more wicked than before, though I miss “DJ Avalanche” James L. Venable, who wasn’t on it because he was busy with Clarence. Paul Rudish wasn’t on this season either, probably due to his hilarious vision of Mickey Mouse of course. Still, the stakes are high and handled well.

The precious moments of our little emoji-fawn family and the haunting fears of Samurai Jack are draaamaaa

The wonderful Scaramouch is our comic relief for the episode. Thanks, Tom Kenny!

“WATCH OUT!” There’s that classic closing to most of the episodes, just like we remembered it. The credits look just as simple as they looked before, too.

Next Episode’s Review

Tweet version here.

Tweet version as a shoutout to Tom Kenny & Greg Baldwin here.

[team-adults-blog]

4.06 We Will Rise

Broken up by characters. This was such an awesome Marcus Kane episode we don’t even need to talk about the Jasper quoting Dr. Seuss. It’s the longest one yet. buckle up. 

Jaha

[ Arkadia aftermath] Jaha playing with the cult coin piece. He’s probably going to go looking for another site or read into this cult leader dude. It’s clearly important if we keep having short call-backs to it. He’s also the dude that will literally join any cult, so...

(Overhearing speech against Ilian) You ok with all of this?-Monty. ­They’re just blowing off steam. Blowing off steam? Is that what we were doing when we strung up Murphy for killing Wells? HEAD SNAP. YOU NOW HAVE MY FULL ATTENTION. So Clarke tells Jaha that Wells didn’t make it when he asks about him S1. This is her way of protecting Jaha, her parents’ friend whom she also knows pretty well from her child hood, from the knowledge that Wells died as a result of being his son. The son of the chancellor who locked them all up. The one who was trying to get them to work together. The kids all know that he was murdered by Charlotte, but hate for Murphy was so great they wanted it to be him. This is news to Jaha because “killing Wells?” He didn’t know his son was murdered. The kids have kept much of their early days hush hush from the adults and rest of the Ark aside than fighting with the grounders. Not only was he murdered, but it was Murphy? My John? My sarcastic John that I traveled through the desert with and sacrificed people to a sea monster for before finding ALIE’s mansion and almost destroying everything? That John Murphy? Monty’s tone here implies that it was a mistake, that he didn’t actually do it, but that mob mentality can be dangerous. It’s interesting that Jaha never talks about Wells. Is that guilt for following the law and sending him down on the dropship? Is it grief for the loss of his son he’s still not been able to deal with because of all the other brouhaha going on (I’m home so you can thank my mom for that phrase)? I’m so amazed that after the shock of someone bringing up Wells to him, followed by the murrrrderrrr (which he may or may not have known, I’m saying he did not) results in Jaha turning and saying pour. to the bartender. He’d rather drink to forget his son? Alcohol is not a good coping mechanism for grief (just look at Jasper), you have to work through it and it fucking sucks. Alcohol hides it and temporarily can help you forget it, but it doesn’t make it disappear. Monty is only even bringing up Wells to get a reaction out of you so you’ll DO something to stop these people because they listen to you! And you repress your feelings instead. Say something. (Jaha turns away from Monty and drinks) With all due respect, Your son would be ashamed of you. Jaha stops. Ouch. Monty is 100% right. I really want to know more about Well’s mother because his moral compass is true North and he was a way better man than his father. Then Monty tells Niylah, I’ll go get Kane.

I’d like to take a minute and congratulate myself on predicting Wells would have another moment back after 4.02 -Lexa had her moment in 4.01 and Jake in 4.02, I thought Wells would be next in 4.03. It came later than I thought, which is a better pace. He’s brought up and will probably be a character we call back to every now and then (but less frequently than Lexa and Lincoln because they were around longer and knew/ interacted with more of the current characters) to remind us of our most moral character. Just now thinking of the fact that the most moral and good person didn’t survive and what the show is trying to say there- everyone has a breaking point and has to make compromises and sacrifices. I don’t think they’re saying you have to sacrifice your morals as much as they’re exploring the theme of at what point do you sacrifice them. food for thought. Back to the point: Wells can’t be laid to rest as long as Thelonious is refusing to acknowledge and work through his grief instead of trying to forget he ever had a son.

From the ashes we will rise. Cool. We’re going to join another cult under coo-coo-Jaha.

Kane

YA GIRL CALLED THE ILIAN SCENE WITH KANE PROTECTING HIM OK? It looks like Kane is all alone from the shot and I was like mmmmmm okay, there’s no way he just fought off a mob by himself, but then we see the rest of the guard so I’m cool. BAMF right here. I love him.

Clarke and Kane talk. Oh.My.Frail.Heart. Let’s break down this scene by the important lines that are jam packed with meaning. Go pick up some omega-3’s (because ya eyes are gon be burnin’ after you’re done cryin’ from all the heartwarming stuff here, and you need to replenish your tears for next week. If you don’t like fish oil I hear flaxseed also works).

I’m going with you. You can’t. I’m the chancellor, I do what I want. That’s why you can’t. have to stay here.

I know you’re worried about my mother- I like that Clarke 1) acknowledges this relationship past the 4.01 cheek caress. 2) tries to reassure him that Mom/Abby will be ok. This is important to me because Clarke hasn’t been around for the majority of Kabby’s development. She know’s their backstory of possible friendship turned enemies to mutual respect, but lil’ Clarkiepoo BOOKED IT after Mount Weather (hurting Abby and Bellamy the most). We get Kabby hand holding in the end of S2, but that didn’t necessarily mean relationship! for Clarke watching them on the journey back to Arkadia. So basically she’s been off doing her own thing/ avoiding her mother, hanging around the woods and then Polis while Kabby is growing and developing. feelings. This acknowledgement that yes, you and my mom are a thing, and I’m aware and not objecting to it is super important. Kane knows Clarke is #1 for Abbs, hence why he’s like “to Clarke” in 4.02 when Abby has to leave Polis.

She’s going into space. In a 100 (hundred) year old rocket. Do you have any idea how many things could go wrong? Marcus Kane is 110% right here. He has reason to worry about this plan, and even more to with it being his boo blasting off into space.

Clarke responds with faith™ in Raven followed by faith™ in her momma. She’s had to rely on Raven’s brilliance every season and she’s always pulled through. There’s a lil pause when Kane knows her arguments are right, but he still wants to find a way to convince her to let him go because how on earth do you protect someone if you’re not near them? THEN.

I’ll send her your love.

This 1) Firmly tells Kane there’s no point arguing anymore; he’s staying behind. Mom skills. 2) MEGA CONFIRMS CLARKE KNOWS THEY GENUINELY CARE FOR EACH OTHER TO THE POINT THAT SHE SAYS ***love*** Holy cow my heart broke. Kabby is so lost for each other I have so many feels for this scene especially when Marcus looks down and blinks a few times and says Yes. Please do that. And I’ll make sure there’s something left to save…When you get home. Clarke is the queen of no-chill and calls it like she sees it. She sees the love we all see and calls it by its name, even though Kabby hasn’t said it. Lil’

Marco thinks for a minute, like wow. She just said love. I haven’t said that to Abby yet. But yeah. This is love. I’m so frickin’ LOST (wink) for her. Love is an accurate word for my emotions. Am I willing to admit that aloud to another living soul, much less Clarke? Can I tell her daughter that? Will it be weird? We’ve got 6 months to live. Fuck it. I love Abby Griffin. Tell her that. Tell her you’re cool with it too. Your mom just validated you being bi and that you loved Lexa, validate adults ~50+ still having sexual feelings. The “when you get home part” is so nice because he’s saying he knows she’ll somehow make things work. And he’s hopeful that maybe they can be a fam? When you and my wife come home, that would make me really happy, essentially. And she gives him a little smile like, I’m worried but that would be nice. I’m glad you want me to come “home” to Arkadia because I don’t really feel like I have a home. Clarke’s been off in Polis for far too long before coming back to Arkadia. She needed someone other than Bellamy to tell her this is her home and she should come back and stay because everyone hates her because of the list stunt, even if it’s not an issue anymore. If Clarke skipped me on that list I’d remember.

HUG. AND HE INITIATED IT. CLARKE I CARE ABOUT YOU TOO PLEASE BE SAFE. At first Clake’s feeling... uh this strange to me..but…strangely…nice. She relaxes into it and hugs him back more than the reactionarly ”someone is embracing me I should lightly put my hands on their back and pat to show my discomfort after 3 seconds.” No. she closes her eyes and does a little shift down into his shoulder.

If later Clarke runs to him (upon return) and initiates it. UGHTRHFGHHUGHHHHH. Fetch the smelling salts, amiright. The last time I remember them having a GOOD/ long dialogue with just them was shortly after Clarke and Anya make it to Arkadia S2 and they’re sitting on the steps/ a bench? I recall them talking about leadership and/ or Abby (again! Cool) and Kane had the early scruff look. 10/10. Now I’m having all these flashbacks to earlier scenes where Clarke tells him what to do and he respects her and listens or debates. Throwback to that scene where she’s like hey, Kane I want to do this and my mom doesn’t want me to, help a girl out. He’s got that smug look and is all (step)dad!kane right before Abby comes in and has a fit. (also S2, but EARLY facial hair phase. Minimal scruff, but great hair and I love all phases of this beard who am I kidding. Current S4 hair could use a slight trim because I don’t see the show letting hic go shoulder length hair)

[Monty goes to get Kane after annihilating Jaha]

Kane gets some guards and puts medical on lock down.

MILLER SENIOR sir, maybe we should reconsider….On the Ark we floated people for this. Dude. I’ve loved you since you popped up on screen. What are you doing? Mob rule will not dictate us in this camp. Miller senior with the most annoyed eye roll and head turn. But still subdued, much like your son, not Murphy. Kane is waaaayyyyyyy past “if this happened on the Ark” arguments because. Hello? He’s already made those mistake S2 when he gets to the ground and maintains laws under the Exodus Charter. Abby taught him that the ground can be different. He still got strong-armed into shock lashing Abby, but he sure as hell regretted it. Where were you? Why didn’t you ALSO learn this lesson?

Kane puts the clip in his gun, David Miller starts to freak out and plead with him. These are his people and Miller sees why they’re upset, possibly sympathizes with them.  

Octavia lets the people in. MILLER SENIOR SHOCK BATTONS KANE. I actually screamed. Miller, I get it, but this is the chancellor and I THOUGHT. your friend. There are some serious consequences for this. He’s writhing on the frickin’ floor, everyone is staring at you and all you can do is say a super emotionless I’m sorry. With a shrug??? He lets them take Kane’s gun. The only redeeming thing he does is stay with Kane until he’s able to move.

It is wrong to talk about these awesome ladies on the show in the context of the men, but Octavia’s plotlines cross with Kane and Bellamy significantly, so she’s sorta mixed in both. Clarke is everywhere because she’s the main lady. I’m aware of my sin.

Monty can’t stop Octavia. Ilian: Get it over with.  OMG my friends and I were yelling about the Lincoln parallels. OH NOW JAHA DECIDEDS TO COME OUT. I wonder whose idea it was to yell black rain. It was a good one, but these two are secretly scheming together like nobody’s business. If Jaha suddenly has this idea, kudos. If they’re planning this the way they said “It worked” when they hugged in 4.01, I’m SUPER interested in their coconspirator relationship. Especially when Kane just wants Jaha to be on his side in the pilot. The fact that Kane says “I don’t know” makes me think Jaha did assess the situation and come up with this on the fly, but he’s got an ear piece in?

He put Lincoln on his knees too. FLASHBACKS. Ugh. The parallels are now blatantly in our faces. Pike stood right there.  Nice overlapping screen, good stuff. Right where you’re standing when they put a gun up against his head. I was there.You do this, you do this and you’re no better than he was. mmmmm. Showing Lincoln getting shot again was not fun and turned this interesting way to see into Octavia’s mind and have her reliving his death slightly tacky. Its alright its ok. Octavia, it’s alright. Come inside. My heart hurts. For Octavia reliving that and having to deal with that. For Kane trying to comfort her in the best dad!Kane way he knows how. She pushes him away. ANOTHER punch to my heart. Octavia, wait! Octavia. Hi, I am crying more and more and I don’t know if it’s because it’s 2:30am (whoopsies, I did half the ep and then went and had a real life (crazy I know), and wanted to finish it when I got home) or because I feel so bad that the Blakes can’t both be happy at the same moment. Kane’s barely able to keep one stable at a time. Bellamy was good, so he got to go off, but Octavia is still (understandably) a wreck. He’s chasing after herrrrrr.He stops because she’s runnin’ Wait! Where will you go…? HE SAYS BLINKING BACK TEARS. This man. This man guys. I am hurt. What a great actor such emotion and beauty. He just has to watch her leave, powerless to protect her. She doesn’t even have her sword.  I’m all alone with no one to hold me.

PREDICTION: Octavia goes to Indra. Gaia becomes part of the story again.

PREVIOUS PREDICTION: As I said in the 4.02 piece, I thought Wells would be next (and we’re working on that, hopefully), but it was too soon for Octavia to lay Lincoln to rest. I think Octavia will probably be working through her grief (for real, instead of murdering people)

FURTHER THOUGHT: Monty’s mom? He did have to “kill” her twice. If he already dealt with this let me know, but I remember her disappearing from the CoL in the S3 finale but no working through of the emotions. I trust Monty to be doing that off screen with Harper because he’s a good guy. Aaannnddddd he told Jasper that he was dealing with stuff too.

 Bellamy

Azgeda is burning trikru as they move through on their way back to Polis trying to keep peace. ½ deserted, Roan doesn’t blame them, it’s a sucky situation.

Bellamy: “do you blame them for burining trikru villages as they go?”

Roan: “that’s funny coming from you”

Kane: “Enough” once bickering’s number one fan. Now saving the day from pettiness and jabs. 

What a burn. What a hurtful call back to the mistakes in writing S3 where Bellamy has to spiral to drive a plot point. Due to editing/cutting/rushed storylines, we never got a satisfactory explanation for exactly why. The massacre is part of his character now, but I’m surprised they’re bringing it up again- the Riley scene was his acknowledgement of the massacre. He’s clearly going to be working on forgiving himself and this redemption ark all season.

Let me just go check on my sister before I roll out. She almost died the other day and we had a hug but things are still rocky…

Octavia is dead. She died when you killed Lincoln. Damn. He played a part in this, but definitely didn’t want him dead.

Clarke tells Bell Octavia’s forgiveness will take time. AKA: They talk about his feelings.

What is she doing? Being Clarke. No one else gets out. *proceeds to get out too* classic.

ICE MELT THERE’S A NEW RIVER CREATING A COMPLICATION. What a real thing that could happen with climate change.  

They’ve taken the truck. fuel. Clarke. Yep. Clarke. mention the truck and fuel first so Roan thinks you have your priorities sorted, but casually slip in #3. 

Bell races ahead to cut Clarke off in the untimate game of chicken with this grounder. He’s such a good shot that he can hit the grounder (and not Clarke) from at least 20 yards away? I guess that’s the magic of tv. “I’ve got this gun, and girl, it don’t miss. It makes baaaabiiieeessss”- J Roddy Walston & The Business. Look it up.

Good job Clarke for braking that quickly. I didn’t.

I’m going to take the Rover back to camp. Clarke: Octavia? Nod. Bellarke with knowing each other so well.

Clarke: She’s your sister, she’s blood. She’ll come around and see how special you are. Incredible look from Bell. ALSO. I’m not sure if this was an intentional word choice (probs because look at the Kane and Clarke Scene. Actually go rewatch it, it was really good.) and if I’m supposed to pick up on “Special” parallels with Clexa where Lexa describes Clarke as “different” and “special.” I’m seeing more and more parallels for Clarke and Bellamy with cannon relationships, namely Kabby and Clexa, so it’s looking like they could go down a romantic path, but not anytime soon. They’ve both got so much crap going on plus trying to save the planet that I don’t think the writers would want to explore that yet. To caution/ dissuade excited bellarke shippers, Niylah is probs more present in the plot right now than she would be (and here in this ep, still nakey for this important conversation about Lexa Lexa would be proud of you) + Niylah stays because Clarke wants her to stay alive. So, naturally, I have to predict her dying. Not because she’s gay, but because Clarke is Wanheda. I don’t actually think she’ll die. I’d rather see her take over the Nyko grounder-medicine knowledge void (RIP. I had so much hope for your character. May Niylah carry on your legacy).

Clarke. If I don’t see you again… // No. You Will. See what I mean? Kabby parallels from the 3.09 Kiss. (also Lincoln died in that ep). She’s doing exactly what her mother did. Stubborn Griffin love is great. 

Roan

High School Musical has ruined the phrase “we’re all in this together” for my generation. I can’t not start singing it. And doing the overhead clap.

License plate man doesn’t want Roan to drive behind Clarke because he follows no one. I’m laughing at his license plate armour, but honestly it’s probably really effective.

What could possibly go wrong? Understatement of the year.

License plate man stays behind with Clarke. Trikru killed ‘em.

The whole jumping from one truck to another is crazy hard, but of course Roan would have no problem.

Once we’re all nightbloods do we go back to killing each other?

Thanks for killing the bellarke mood with a problem. Just what they need.

Becca’s Lab: Raven x Murphy x Luna

Raven head bothering her. Murphy annoying her.

Rips him apart. At least I’m not a mental patient like you. Not cool. Raven and the meditation. How does Luna hear but Jackson and Abby stay asleep?

She doesn’t apologize. Harsh. He provokes, but it comes from a place of being insecure and not

Luna is great. She’s saving everyone’s mental health. Murphy is trying to meditate, but he’s got the words wrong. Humorously wrong.

Swim away. Murphy and Luna come up with this idea and tell raven to screw the computer. Murphy! Thanks. Good, Raven. That’s what he needed. It works. Well duh. Did the Ark not have Apollo 13 on their space drive? This is how we land on Earth now (to my knowledge), we only need the fuel for soft other planet landings. 0% cargo destruction! But wait. We are short a barrel. SIEZING GO GET MOM.

It would be awesome if we could get more emotionally invested in some of these plot lines? You know, so they actually hit us and we feel the pain of the characters when things don’t work out? First, Octavia not actually being dead and Bellamy immediately figuring it out. We saw one scene of grief. We know she’s alive, but 12 min later do does he. Now we get a rocket! In the next episode, the rocket solution may not work because of the punctured barrel. High stakes, but low stakes presentation, so what’s the point?

Overall, I liked this episode. Obviously for Kane, but Jaha, Monty, and Luna had interesting things working for them as well. The next episode is called “gimme shelter” so I’m feeling a black rain coming on as well as Clarke and Roan reaching Doctor-Tech Squad.

 I also went from writing ~1 pg to this, which is ~6 pgs, single spaced. Half of it was Kane. Shocker. I didn’t need to do a line-by-line breakdown, but they were just so packed and I had so many feelings. Sorry. No editing whatsoever was done past MS Word’s spellcheck as I wrote it. 

[sunglassesmish]

bloody and scruffy 👀