#seeing the title after their scenes was devastating but ok

[anderwater]

Dominique Fishback and Kiersey Clemons as TONY & RASHIDA SWARM 1.07 “Only God Makes Happy Ending”

[idealisticrealism]

TCL 3x01 thoughts

I think it's clear that I will never not have thoughts about this show (even if my days of wordvomiting 10k words per episode were over the moment we lost Arman) so here's some short(ish) notes about 3x01, which include heavy spoilers.

The main things:

The title of the ep is Arman which is both accurate and devastating

Adan is credited at the start with the rest of the cast, and don't think about how this is likely the last time we’ll see that or you'll cry

Where's Arman? is the catchprase of this ep. Everyone’s asking it; Thony, Nadia, Arman’s mother, Fi, Russo and the FBI, Ramona and Jorge…. 

Okay, I expected the use of the body double, but oh man when he turned around and had Arman's (CGI'd) face? God that hit me right in the chest. Overall it was done unexpectedly well for a show of this budget, even if the facial expression was more neutral than how Adan would have acted it in that scene. Honestly though, it was not getting to hear Arman's real voice that was the hardest part to bear

The Nadia & Thony of this ep was honestly everything I dreamed of. Nadia (unintentionally) saving Thony's life. Both of them escaping together and therefore being complicit in 'abandoning' the man they both love. Thony going to check on Nadia and looking after her like an older sister. The two of them bonded by their fear and desperation. Nadia hearing Thony’s sincerity when she told Arman’s parents that she owes Arman everything (proving that she wasn’t just using him like Nadia had previously accused her of). Them trying to come up with a plan in the office at La Habana, a place where they were both so connected to Arman. Thony stealing the cartel medallion so she could make the risky search for Arman without Nadia being endangered too. Like seriously, I’m hoping like hell this alliance continues for the whole season (and even beyond) because I’m legit so here for it

Wanna cry again? Think about how Arman technically saved Thony’s life twice in this ep, first by drawing the gunfire at the hangar to allow her to escape, and then by saving her from Sin Cara through her association with him. Which means that saving her was both his first (aka the night in the warehouse with Theo) and last acts towards her, and if that doesn’t capture just how deep their connection was, I don’t know what does 

“This season is dedicated to our beloved friend Adan Canto” it’s fine I was already crying anyway

Ok but seriously, the main takeaway here: I don’t think it is possible for anyone to watch this ep and not believe that Thony truly loves Arman. Not after seeing her sitting on the floor, half-drunk and ugly crying about losing him and leaving him behind. Or after she left Luca to spend hours searching for him. Or after she stood up to Arman’s father about the kind of man he was. Or after she literally lied to Jorge, even under threat of death, to protect him. Or after she told Ramona that she and Arman are “not exactly” together, while making it clear how important he is to her?? Other than the Thony & Nadia alliance, my only other desperate hope for this season was for it to show us even more evidence of Thony’s love for Arman (because both S1 and S2 already gave us plenty of proof, imo), and this episode already gave me that in spades.

Some other stuff:

Nadia definitely has access to RK's money despite it not making any legal sense, and it sounded like she was planning on leaving Arman, since she was buying a house just for herself

The Manila flashback where Fi and Thony are demonstrated as being 17ish years younger (aka in their mid 20s) purely by having different haircuts? Hilarious lol

"You're still protecting him? Even though his interests lie with another woman?" wow Russo calling it as she sees it re Thony/Arman

The re-use of the motel from when Arman and Nadia were in hiding in 1x09 was a really cool throwback (especially for me, as I've literally been in that room). Also, Arman's fake passport being under the name Eduardo Sanchez? Aka his father's birth name (as it seems his father took on his mother’s surname maybe?). Anyway help I'm crying again

Speaking of his parents, damn they haven’t seen him in 23 years? Since he was literally like 17 or 18?? Jeez. Also his dad’s eyes and mouth actually do remind me of him; definitely well-chosen casting

But tbh this family tree makes no sense. Arman’s dad has an older sister who’s 70 (as mentioned in S1) and yet apparently also has a younger brother (Jorge) who is maybe 45 at most???  Only a handful of years older than his own son?? It’s possible of course, but it would have made much more sense for the writers to have them be Arman’s mother’s siblings, yet Ramona refers to Eduardo specifically as their brother… anyway, ngl the whole idea of Arman being Jorge’s nephew (and so Jorge’s kid being Arman's cousin) feels weird to me. Why couldn’t they have just made Ramona & Jorge be Arman’s cousins????? 

Ohhh so the price on Thony’s head is in The Philippines, not the US. That changes some things with the cartel situation. Also looks like Thony is definitely never going back there then lol

The warehouse place where Thony meets the guys from the first cartel looks a lot like the crime scene Thony has to clean up in the trailers… maybe some gang war stuff happens?

I totally called it weeks ago that Paolo is Chris’ dad. The timeframe is weird though bc they make it sound like they were actually together right before she left, though he surely would have noticed her being very pregnant, since she gave birth to Chris while still in The Philippines… plus Fi told Chris he was the result of a one night stand, so who knows what’s going on with this continuity lol

I also called it about Ramona being Sin Cara. (Well, I had thought it might be Jorge until finding out the other week that she was the older sibling, but after that i called it lol)

Ngl I did not see Chris going to The Philippines coming but I should have haha. Makes sense that he’s now going to do the Mexico crossing with Fi, which is why we see him in the desert in one of the trailers.

Well, good thing the child protective services lady didn’t show up while Luca was there for hours alone lol. Looks like this season’s Luca drama is going to be less medical and more custody related, though tbh I’m hoping the Luca stuff will be kept to a minimum in general… 

Anyway the TLDR is that I thought the ep was really good, and was a fitting tribute to both Arman and Adan. I'm interested to see where S3 goes, and I just hope that they manage to keep Arman feeling ~present~ in the storyline of the season even now that he's gone.

[subskz]

YAUR RIN OH MY GOD

I just saw thee most DEVASTATING NSFW CLIP EVER

Okay okay okay

So basically it's this guy sitting on a couch without pants on and then (who i presume to be his gf or something) comes over, fully naked, and goes "do i have to do everything myself, hmm?" and he is just so entranced by her.

Then she starts to ride him and he just rests his hands on her hips and she gently guides it up to her chest and but like he is so absolutely just ***out of it*** like just so taken by her; defo an inexperienced & experienced scene

AND THEN SHE ,, SHE- she goes "yk you can touch me" and he just goes "im just shy" and she just: "well, don't be shy :)"

JUST AGGHHHH [dies.]

~~~

Just thinking abt, in general, inexperienced!sub!skz with experienced!dom and just those lil aspects

(as The Pink Yenie Enthusiast; liking corruption aspects and inexperienced&experienced aspects just come with the title)

But like thinking abt any of the members just being so entranced by you while having sex for the first time???

the way i know exactly which video ur talking abt 😭😭😭 it is so so painfully cute the way he watches her w such awe and adoration…n her gentle teasing and confidence in comparison to him looking like a lovestruck puppy…truly devastating

literally picturing any of the members in that scenario is so good 😵‍💫 i can esp see it for jisung…he just fits that vibe of adorably entranced, looking up w parted lips and starry doe eyes like “i cant believe this is really happening” and being so unsure of himself that he doesn’t know where to put his hands even though he wants to touch so bad hehe. the innocent aspect makes me think of lix too bc he just has that natural quality to him…like he’d paw at your chest only after u give permission and even then he’s still gazing up w such a pleading look in his eyes to make sure it’s ok <3 and the amount of shyness ofc makes me think of channie and jeongin~

[chromes-corner]

so ive been thinking about this scene

thinkpost + TLDR under the cut

(TL;DR: white lily is dead and pure vanilla is finally coming to his senses about it)

its just. god. i wish more people talked about this. this scene is the pivoting point for pure vanilla and i need more people to understand the devastating importance of this tiny scene that isnt even VOICED (which is a literal crime against god but also probably for the better because i dont think id survive if i had to hear pv speak this out loud)

to preface

pure vanilla knows dark enchantress’s identity. hes always known, and hes chosen to keep it a secret from the others -- perhaps for her protection, as he doesnt want to sully the name of his, quote, “dearest friend.” pure vanilla wanted the memory of their friend to remain untouched, he wanted them to believe that she was still around, but just missing in action. he didnt want them to know that she has been their enemy all along, as he knew the fond times they shared would be forever stained with the crimes of dark enchantress and the blood she now has on her hands

i have absolutely no idea how to segue this into my next point but whatever

youd think it wouldnt matter, though -- white lily fundamentally changed on the night of the witches and became dark enchantress. why would the crimes of basically an entirely different entity whos very ingredients were altered (even though they dont know what happened that night surely theyd assume it was out of white lilys control what happened to her) suddenly be transferred onto the albeit not entirely innocent but still saintly (its her title after all) white lily cookie? should they not consider the two entirely different beings?

well, pure vanilla didnt, and maybe thats why he kept everyone in the dark.

dark enchantress is white lily, and vice versa, but pure vanilla saw that in the most literal sense. he believed that, when confronted in the ruins of his kingdom, the person under the dark robes and maleficent magic was still his best friend.

hell, upon finally meeting her, he literally addresses her as white lily

but dark enchantress refutes that

she denies any trace of her past life (even though she clearly still retains bits and pieces of her past)

pure vanilla corrects himself, and yet he still ponders memories about him and white lily by saying how it was “our (speaking to DE) secret garden” and how “we (still referring to DE) used to walk.”

despite the fact that the cookie before him is clearly not the friend he once knew, he still sees her beneath the crimson surface. despite her straight up renouncing that she has anything to do with white lily anymore, pure vanilla refuses to fall to that facade and chooses to believe that his friend is still there, if not a little different than before. to him, dark enchantress is still the timid yet kind and ambitious scientist that he once studied with. she never went away. she only underwent a metamorphosis, even if for the worse.

its after this encounter, though, that this mindset of pure vanillas -- where his friend is alive, just “trapped” in a way -- begins to crumble.

in the aftermath of the final battle in chapter 10, pure vanilla swoops in and saves the day.

ok i had a point here but i couldnt actually find the piece of evidence i was looking for -- im PRETTY SURE it says somewhere that every denizen of the vanilla kingdom made it out before the final battle of the dark flour war but i dont remember where that information comes from

so assuming this is true, its pretty odd that pure vanilla says this, considering everyone made it out alive -- including his friends, since despite the vision pom gave him, he knows his friends are also still living, if not just MIA. so why does he imply that he wasnt able to protect everyone? there were no casualties (except for maybe those caused by the scattering of soul jam but thats a different topic entirely)

there was one person he couldnt save. pure vanilla is a healer through and through, and the most powerful one in the entirety of the game’s universe at that, and he still couldnt save his best friend. pure vanilla heals wounds, not tragic fates. he tried to bring white lily back to the surface by speaking of the past with dark enchantress in the dialogue leading up to the conclusion of chapter 10. he tried reasoning with her, telling her that there were times before when she was happy. she did not have to make a violent conquest out of a now-defunct destiny. she could still make a difference to all the lives around her -- her self-proclaimed purpose -- without bloodshed or destruction, and yet, she refuses, dead-set in her ways based solely on the traumatic images burned forever into her rebaked soul.

hell, pure vanilla even showed mercy on her during the dark flour war. he used crescent moon magic, supposedly the most dangerous magic of them all -- surely he couldve killed her with that (but then again we dont know the exact parameters of what each magic can and cannot do), but he instead simply trapped her. did he not have it in him to put an end to her destruction? surely a truly benevolent and altruistic being would destroy the greatest enemy of the peace and prosperity of the entire world, right? well, that would be a little hard to do if said enemy is your best friend.

he could not save her, nor could he end it all -- one of which, he had the power to do, but he chose not to.

finally, i am brought to my point.

the morning before the final meeting that will change the world forever, pure vanilla wanders into his precious garden where he would spend hours with white lily, whispering among the flowers. days from another life entirely (and literally, in white lilys case). the truth has been spilled about dark enchantress’s identity. plans are finally moving forward to bring forth an attack in her domain. her, being someone he had once believed to be his best friend.

it is there where the realization finally hits him. white lily, the quiet but passionate girl he once knew and adventured with, is gone. she has been since that fateful night. the vengeful woman he fought against and confronted in his own ruined kingdom was not white lily. he may have hoped against hope that he would be able to find his dear friend clinging to life beneath whatever horrible thing had happened to her that night, that he’d be able to once again share laughs and talk amidst the fronds and petals of their garden, but ultimately, pure vanilla finally has to face the truth that he has been hiding himself away from:

even the world’s greatest healer cant bring back the dead.

[pandoricpies]

SSO Horrors

A post diving into how dark this franchise’s storyline gets and ideas for a horror game that will never actually be created. SPOILERS for the SL books and SSO storyline.

This idea originally came to me after reading the second book of the SL trilogy, The Legend Awakens. Props to Helena Dahlgren for the Pine Hill Manor scenes in that book; I was completely left on the edge of my seat the entire time. Linda’s whole experience was definitely an unexpected thriller for the children’s genre; cutting her leg on a broken window, exploring an old creepy mansion owned by the centuries-old psychopath that was targeting her, her friends, and their horses, being chased down halls and having to barricade herself in rooms to be protected from the apparent non-human dark riders (not to mention the way Dahlgren describes the animal sounds and scratching that they made, chills), and, to top it all off, nearly dying from sepsis due to her cut becoming infected.... if that’s not horror game material, I don’t know what is.

If you can’t already tell from the title of this post, I am a huge fan of the horror genre. The suspense-packed and often deep moral stories are always a fun watch/read. I personally am currently making my way through some classic Stephen King books that I haven’t read yet which was sort of what inspired this post.

Taking a look at SSO’s storyline on the surface level, we see a classic dark vs. light story, with horses and female heroines as the main points. However, there are quite a few darker elements hidden among the story quests, most of which would only be noticeable to the eye of the older audience of the game. The potential for this plot to be upped to a more mature level as far as darker themes go is definitely there. Regardless, the already existing underlying themes have some heavy themes...

- Teenagers, around the ages of 15-19, have been tasked with saving the world from a demonic entity. They have been granted special powers to do this with. These powers however can be extremely dangerous, as we see with both Alex and Catherine with their Lightning Circle incidents, in which they almost killed living beings. These factors combined would no doubt take some sort of psychological toll on the Soul Riders, as they are so named.

- Brainwashing and cult-mindset was a huge theme brought up with Justin’s kidnapping. He was abruptly cut off from the outside world, had his memories removed, and his mind artificially filled with thoughts of Garnok and world domination. It’s clear when he is rescued and goes back to his home that he’s depressed; his Midsummer dialogue a year back was “My dad thought it would be good for me to get out. I don’t do that much anymore” (not exact but close enough). When he talks to his mother during the memories quests the first thing he jumps to seeing her pregnant with him is “I wonder if she’d would be so excited if she knew all the terrible things I did”. To add to that, upon getting Justin back home, Thomas tells our character “If he keeps having these dark thoughts, I’ll have to turn to the druids.” That in itself was pretty unsettling. All this dialogue was put there to draw attention to the mental affects of literally having your brain tampered with.

- Elizabeth’s story was probably one of the saddest in my opinion. She had to stand by while her friend group fell apart, one going on to die, one going missing, and the other two continuing to split away from her. She then felt it was her responsibility to make up for her sisterhood’s failures, staying with the druids and eventually helping recruit new Soul Riders. Seriously though, imagine that. She saw what pain the magical war brought to her and her friends; knowing that she was pushing four more kids into a situation like that would’ve been devastating (here comes the morals vs. duty idea). Our character must have been a whole other level of that feeling. She saw what Catherine went through with her magic - the fear, the near madness. Then of course she goes on to imprison her close friend’s son (it appeared from the quests that she was closest to Catherine so that just adds to the pain). And to end it all, she sacrifices herself to save a girl who she considered a daughter.... jeez. - Catherine is another issue here for obvious reasons. A teenage girl is entrusted with goddess-level powers, then nearly goes psycho from the inability to control them. You can clearly tell from her last few diary entries how exhausting that was and how happy she was to finally have a somewhat normal life with her husband and son.

- And finally of course we have the DC gang. Mr. Sands is a basket case all on his own, a man who has used mind control (arguably in my opinion one of the creepiest forms of dark magic out there) on numerous victims including his own grandson, a man who legitimately worships a demon, and not to mention has it out for a bunch of teenagers. His whole backstory with Rosalinda made me feel some sort of sympathy for his character (he watched her nearly be drowned to death), and I’m actually quite curious as to where they’re going to take that. Also, The Nightmare Institute? That could be a horror game within itself. All we know so far about that place is that humans and animals are tested on with dangerous materials (ex. Mr. Anwir). Let’s not forget to mention the dark riders who apparently have animal qualities now? (as it was described in the SL books) Ok so we can clearly see that SSO’s storyline gets a bit dark. But just imagine; a Pine Hill Mansion first-person POV game, where you’re in a situation similar to Linda’s, or even one in DC or the Nightmare Institute. Honestly this entire storyline could be turned into some Resident Evil plot lol.

But that being said, as much as it’s fun to speculate these types of things, I enjoy SSO’s storyline just the way it is. It’s enjoyable for me as an older player, but it’s also filled with great moral stories and motivation for young children, especially girls. I love the atmosphere of female empowerment, and it’s especially unique to SSO because around the time of it’s initial release, that wasn’t seen much in video games.

Might start during these ‘chat’ or ‘random things that come to my mind’ posts more often.

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

just because you’re afraid it doesn’t mean you’re broken.

Titans 3.05

once more into the cold dark void of the internet with my stream-of-consciousness take on a superhero tv show...

spoilers ahead.

1. i cannot believe that among the first things i get to hear in this episode with my own two ears is the line 'eluded our overdudes'. why must you give me such pain along with so much joy, show?

1.5. scarecrow stringing jason along on this path to red-hood-dom is not something i would’ve ever expected, but does kind of make sense. 

1.55. i don’t know all the details of the original resurrection arc in the comics but i like that jason, weirdly, has a greater role to play in his own demise and rebirth? i think it makes it easier to draw a line between his past trauma, the demonstrably shitty and terrifying responsibility of being robin, the ways bruce and the titans wronged him, his responses to that, the reasons he turns to scarecrow, and his final evolution to red hood. it makes for a smoother character arc rather than a one that was interrupted for two decades before somebody went oh hey let’s resurrect that kid that the audience once voted to kill and make him an anti-hero!

1.75. what’s crane giving him? anti fear toxin? anyway, crane is a fucking creep and i’m not sure i want to see a whole lot of him on my screen.

2. oh, um, heads up: there’s a long sequence of unsteady cam + flickering lights right after the title card upto the 3:16 mark. it’s a bit headache-inducing so if you want to skip, you can go ahead and do that. 

2.45. that’s... weird... why would he dream about... donna...

ok, who am i kidding. i’m going to jump right into my theory about Why Titans Makes Sense Actually because the show itself is apparently not interested in explaining itself:

a) it makes no sense for jason to be conjuring up donna--who famously did not care much for him!--in his dreams. (he wasn’t even there when she died.) or for her to be telling him don’t go or there’s still time.

b) this leads me to think that that’s actually donna, in some sort of limbo between life and death, the kind of place where jericho used to be

c) rachel has demonstrated that she has the power to link the minds of the titans across great distances--she called jason and hank/dawn for help in 2.01, she linked up everybody later in the season, projected dick’s hallucination of his father into their brains without even realising she was doing it, and in the finale, she managed to get dick into conner’s brain. she’s in themyscira now. is this how she gets donna back to life? but reaching out to her in that non-space between life and death?

d) the next obvious question is: why isn’t donna appearing in the dreams of the other titans? she probably is, but they have better reason to be dreaming about her since they were actually close to her, unlike jason.

e) but why would she warn jason in particular? does she foresee jason entering the afterlife--however briefly? does she have an idea of what jason plans to do and what he will become?

f) anyway, more trippy mindscapes and weird psychic powers, yay!

2.5. my heart clenched when bruce comforted jason post-nightmare: clearly i’ve been reading way too much batfam fic. this is a side of bruce we haven’t really been told to expect by all the characters on the show calling him a ‘psychopath’ (*cough*unreliablenarrators*cough*) and him getting jason to speak to a professional speaks volumes about the kind of self-reflection he’s done post dick’s departure, and maybe some of the regrets he has with regards to how he dealt with dick’s traumas.

i mean, just look at him when jason dismisses his concerns! BRUCE IS TRYING JASON

anyway, i have a whole lot more i want to say about this, but i’ll save it for later. 

also: LESLIE THOMPKINS!!!!

3. i really like molly--and i love that she’s a friend from before jason got taken in by bruce, the implication that they meet up regularly and that she’s a grounding influence on him (tho clearly not grounding enough to not go along with his dumbass idea about confronting a child trafficker alone). 

3.5. aw, jason. robin was his armour against everything in the world that would throw him down and chew him to bits, but san francisco proved that even robin wasn’t enough to protect him. it’s really interesting how ‘disillusionment with the idea of robin’ is so integral to the traumas of both dick and jason but in such different ways. 

4. LESLIE!!!!!!! i even forgive her office being so goddamn blue because leslie! 

4.5. it makes so much sense for titans!verse leslie to be a therapist, because this show is so inward looking anyway, and therapist sessions are a useful tool to showcase this character work in a story. besides, at least in fanfic, leslie often seems to double up as a counsellor anyway. 

4.6. oh man. i’m not terribly convinced by walters’ red hood (tho i think that may be the point--argh. i’ll come back to this thought later. have to stop getting distracted!) but he plays the asshole kid that’s trying not to let any real emotion seep through really well.

“you’d like me to punch you, wouldn’t you”

5. not sure what to think of batman’s little trophy case other than the show winking unsubtly at us and going look look - catwoman! the riddler! two face! you excited yet?! it’s like the scene from the end of amazing spiderman 2 when they were trying to drum up excitement for a sinister six spinoff by having harry osborne walk by a bunch of display cases with stuff from iconic villains in them.

... but then again, bruce does like to display a lot of shit in his batcave, including his dead robin’s bloodstained costume, so.

5.5. bruce is so soft with jason it’s killing me. beyond just trying to learn from his mistakes with dick, it speaks to his own genuine desire to balance his dedication to gotham with doing the best by his sons, although he’s often not successful with that. 

i love that titans is really playing the long game with bruce wayne, with each season and character-perspective sliding in fresh pieces of a bigger puzzle. titans’ bruce has always been a phantom of other peoples’ making, but now we’re getting the idea that he’s a whole lot more complicated than other people make it seem.

5.75. it really recontextualises some of his actions from previous seasons: the fact that he locked dick out of his security systems in 1.06 is likely his way of respecting dick’s independence and his desire not to be associated with batman/gotham anymore. jason knowing about bruce’s tracker while dick doesn’t is probably bruce trying to be more honest and upfront with his charges. bruce sending jason packing off to sanfran to spend time with the titans is probably not him passing on a big responsibility to dick (as i first uncharitably thought) but him trying to get jason out of the toxic influence of gotham for a while and a sign of his trust in dick as a leader and a mentor,

5.8. i mean, bruce is a prick, but he’s also human.

6. i think leslie is doing some good work with jason here, though she may have overstepped the line with her line about robin as a construct being projected by a man with BPD. her speculations about bruce’s diagnosis have no place in her session with jason, and if bruce confides in her, an egregious violation of patient-therapist confidentiality. 

(about the diagnosis itself... i don’t know. i can’t really confirm or refute this without a whole lot more information, and i’m not sure if the writer of this episode means BPD in the same way an actual professional might.)

6.5. i think a huge thing that gets missed out in a lot of recent comics as well as movies/shows is that bruce didn’t create the robin persona out of whole cloth. dick did. he’s the starting point of that legacy and to call it entirely bruce’s creation is blatant erasure of that. in fact, i’m surprised that dick doesn’t feature more in the conversations they’re having about the pressures of being robin. after all, the guy had been robin--bruce’s partner--for such a long time before jason. 

6.8. (and here’s the primal part of me that resonates the deepest with dick grayson--the Eldest Daughter part--that’s sort of resentful: that jason gets the therapy and softness and the learning from mistakes when it took years and years for bruce to reach out in any meaningful way to dick.)

7. oooh that was a great scene!

it’s fun to do these stream-of-consciousness live reactions, because the moment you step down from your soapbox, the episode goes right into tackling what you were just complaining about. bruce means well, he’s learning, but he goes about exactly the wrong way to help jason: taking away robin now can’t be read by jason as anything but a devastating judgment call from bruce. and iain glen really sells the moment that bruce realises this--too late--and his helplessness in trying to get jason to see that it isn’t jason’s fault that he’s trying to do this. he loves jason enough that jason is enough. 

7.5. aaaah so jason brings up the elephant in the room at last. dick got everything makes sense from his perspective, where getting to put on a costume and fight crime means approval, means being something stronger and better than you are. dick got to be robin, then nightwing, and a leader of a whole team of other costume-clad heroes. 

8. ... how did jason just walk into arkham????? this is ridiculous.

8.3. i mean, clearly jason’s not thinking straight, but betraying batman like this puts his possibilities of being robin again even further away. 

8.5. watching that chemistry experiment montage was strangely funny. this guy is looking for an antidote to fear? well, constantly mixing up and inhaling gases concocted by a mad-scientist supervillain is something only the very fearless--reckless to the point of foolishness!--would do. what’s to say crane’s not given you a formula for a drug that will keep you tethered to his every will and whim? hmmmm?

8.7. so he sought out the joker to... test the formula??? 

9. wow the “loud and clear... boss” hits different after a whole episode of them referring to each other as father and son.

9.3. waitwaitwait HOLD UP. wait a DANG MINUTE. you’re telling me that scarecrow had enough resources that he could not only have folks on the outside steal jason away and dunk him in a lazarus pit (i TOLD you that this show would bring up and dismiss ra’s al ghul in a ten second aside! I TOLD YOU) but also have his own little chemistry lab in the basement, AND have enough resources for jason to build his red hood persona???????? all of this in barely twenty four hours?

well there goes my ‘jason orchestrated his death’ theory. it was nice while it lasted. *cups hands to the sky* fly away, my baby.

9.6. a part of me is gleeful at the rushed nature of such an iconic transformation though, especially when compared to all the character work that went before it. we’re so used to getting the opposite that it’s fucking delightful to have a show that’s more interested in exploring its characters’ minds rather than battle scenes or recreating transformations from the comics. that’s taken such bold and exciting steps to fully convey all the nuances of its most recognisable character, bruce wayne, from casting an older actor to play him to unflinchingly showing just how damaging the vigilante lifestyle has been to him and the people he loves. BRILLIANT

*sporfle*

10. again, heads up: a whole lot of flashing lights between 40:28 and 42:00. 

10.3. i guess it’s the super-compressed timeline that’s really throwing me off. where did he have the time to get/develop the mind control thing from? or is it something that he got from the cabal of villains that he intimidated at the beginning of 3.02? very messy.

10.5. i love molly, i hope she shows up again this season.

11. aaaand that’s it! that was a solid episode as flashback episodes go, but now i can’t wait to return to the present.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About the First Season of--

Salutations random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When I first saw the sneak peek of--

...I...didn't...think it would be anything all that special. I love animation, and I love superheroes, so it would go without saying that I would love an animated series about superheroes. But the animation looked a little too stiff for my liking, and aside from featuring J.K. Simmons, there wasn't anything grabbing me when it comes to this show.

Then I heard some s**t goes down at the end of episode one. So, letting my curiosity get the better of me, I binged the entire series in a day to see what the fuss was about. And, um...Yeah. Holy s**t.

This is a series that will very much make you uncomfortable in all the right ways. However, it is a gigantic gorefest at times, so if you get queasy after a single drop of blood, DON'T WATCH THIS SHOW! Trust me, you will not be prepared for what this series has to offer.

At the same time, I highly recommend you watch this series before reading this review. I'm going to spoil major plot points and characters so I can appropriately discuss what I think about the season, so trust me when I say you should click away if you haven't watched it yet. It's one of those series that are better to go in as blind as possible. You can call it a cheap way to appeal to shock value, but I call it one of the best reasons why--

...Is a contender for best-animated series of the decade--That bit with the title card isn't going away anytime soon, is it?

WHAT I LIKE

The Guardians of the Globe vs. The Mauler Twins: This is the best possible way for the series to begin. The first fight scene is bright, colorful, and kinda fun. Thus setting the ultimate expectation subversion in making audiences think that will be the series staple. However, just because it has the energy of a harmless superhero fight, there is a sense of intensity as the Guardians give their all in saving others. Like that moment with Darkwing (Not the duck) as he rescues that woman without hesitation, despite knowing he might die because of it. Or Green Ghost, who just barely rescues all those civilians from that falling debris. It shows that you don't need intense scenes of violence to make a fight scene thrilling to watch.

Diversity Wins: I don't know how diverse the comics are compared to the show, but I'm impressed with how inclusive this series is. So many members of the main cast are people of color, with the main lead being half-Korean. And it's not just different races that the series shines a light on, as we also get the rare, but very much welcomed, animated male gay character. Who's thankfully isn't cliched in ten ways to Sunday...for the most part. It really does seem like writers are starting to grow up and that it's better to be as inclusive as possible instead of pretending certain people don't exist for the sake of "convenience." It might not solve oppression in general, but it certainly makes certain people feel better, even if it is briefly.

Mark Grayson: Mark is a pretty solid super-protagonist if you ask me. Sure, at first, he comes across as whiney...and even more so in later episodes, but he's really an endearing character at times. Mark nails the role of the relatable everyman that's also inspirational with his determination since he never gives up until beaten to the inch of his life. Seriously, while he might not entirely be--

...I guess that bit with the title card really isn't going away.

Anyways, while he might not entirely be invulnerable in the literal sense, he is very much so in the figurative sense. Mark, in so many ways, refuses to call quits once he finally gets the hang of being a superhero, which is what makes him so inspirational. Plus, it's funny seeing how much of a rookie he can be to the gig at times. Mark is far from a perfect lead but is still charming to a fault, and it's nice seeing him grow more heroic each episode. I hope to see him develop more in future seasons, as he has the potential to be ranked higher up as one of my favorite superheroes (it's hard to compete with Spider-Man and Batman, but he'll make me consider it).

Debbie Grayson: This is almost what I expect a mother and wife of superheroes would be. 

Your son is constantly crash landing in your yard? Tell him to knock it off because he's past his curfew. 

Your husband disappeared into another dimension to fight off invaders? Shrug it off and expect that he'll be late for dinner.

It's a ton of fun to watch, and I adore how supportive she is of Mark, despite how much danger he could be in as a superhero. But, what really endears me with Debbie is her complicated feelings with Omni-Man. There's not a doubt in my mind that she loved him with her whole heart, but she also isn't an idiot. She is quick to pick up how unheroic her husband can be at times, often scolding him for it when necessary. And when she finally starts investigating if he really did kill the Guardians, I love that she instantly comes up with every single plausible excuse she can, despite knowing the truth. Because she believes that she knows who Omni-Man is and refuses any possibility that he might be a supervillain. So when she finds out that there really is no other explanation and hearing him call her a pet (big ouch when that happened), you wanna know what she does? She cries. Not because the man she loved is gone forever, but because the idea of him is. And it's that level of emotional devastation that comes from those complicated emotions that make me think Debbie Grayson is the most complex and endearing character on the show. And I. Will. Stand by that.

Seeing the Guardians of the Globe on their down time: Wow, what a cute collection of scenes that are charming as much as they are heartwarming! A set of scenes that show how human these characters are with their close relationships with friends and family! I sure hope it's not followed up with a brutal emotional gut-punch of a scene that will be even more devastating after thinking back on these! Especially with that bit with Martian Man and the little girl, cause OOO-WEE, would THAT tear me up inside!

Omni Man destroying the Guardians of the Globe:...I'd follow through on my joke here, but holy s**t.

That's really the best way I can describe all of this. It is a brutal, I repeat, BRUTAL scene that will stick with you hours after watching it. Not only that, but it's one of the few instances when I was damn near speechless because I couldn't think of anything else to say other than, "Holy s**t." The only time another superhero property did that was Avengers: Infinity War, except with that, the only difference is that the characters come back. Here, except for The Immortal, the Guardians stay dead! There's no magic amulet or alternate versions from another dimension. No, they die and never come back. Thus setting up how serious the show can be. Because if these superheroes can stay dead, then so can others.

Plus, what makes it more impactful is how throughout the entire fight, there was a glimpse of hope that the Guardians can beat Omni-Man. I heard he got nerfed for the sake of drama, and I approve of that decision. Because if he was really--

...If he was really unbeatable, then the fight doesn't have weight to it. There wouldn't be a point in rooting for these characters to win when we already know they're going to lose. But, by showing there's a chance that they could win, it becomes all the more intense watching the fight and even more tragic seeing them lose. It is a masterpiece of a battle that proves once and for all: Batman is right. You need contingency plans.

Omni Man: J. Jonah Jameson has become the one thing he hates the most: A masked MENACE...Ok, I know Omni-Man doesn't wear a mask, so the joke doesn't work as well as it could. But it was served to me on a silver platter, damn it! I had to take it!

In all seriousness, though, Omni-Man might give Homelander a run for his money on best evil Superman. Because while Homelander might be terrifying in his own right with his style of evil, Omni-Man takes it a step up a notch with the mystery behind WHY he killed the Guardians of the Globe. We know right away that there's something off with him, but up until that point, we see multiple instances of Omni-Man doing the right thing rather than the wrong. Sure, he might come off as cold when interacting with people, but so does Batman and other great superheroes in comics. That doesn't mean he's evil. So when he does do something so incredibly heinous, we're left with this mystery as to why. Because there has to be a reason for it all, right? Like, maybe mind control or his family was threatened. Something and anything that means he was forced into killing the noblest of people. So when it turns out that his actions were intentional, it is already pretty devastating. But when we find out why he does these things, it paints how truly evil Omni-Man is, given how little respect he has for human life.

Plus, as terrifying as Homelander is, Omni-Man is ten times more of an engaging villain. With Homelander, what you see is what you get: A narcissist with a god complex. For Omni-Man, it's more or less the same thing, but it's something fed to him because of the conditioning from his planet. There is a tiny, molecule-sized part of him that genuinely cares about others. It doesn't change what he does, nor does it mean he deserves forgiveness (far from it), but it hints that maybe he's not evil because of his own ego. It's because of how he's trained to be. And judging by his pained expressions from Mark's words and the single tear he sheds when leaving everything behind, there's a chance that he might be willing to fight back that mentality.

Or he will stay evil, and that he'll return to do worse things in the future. I don't know. I haven't read the comics. But I feel like I don't need to read anything to tell you all that Omni-Man is up there as one of the most intriguing comic book villains of all time, and I can't wait to see what happens with him next.

This show is f**king Violent: I mean, I refer you back to that scene where Omni-Man destroys the Guardians of the Globe. But, unlike other shows that use violence to force that mature rating, I feel as though In--

...Title card. You were cute the first time, but now your novelty has quickly worn thin.

Anyways, I feel as though this show...uses gore more appropriately. More often than not, death and carnage get treated as a literal joke in adult cartoons because people are sick bastards, I guess. But with...the current series I'm talking about, it all has an impact. No one dies or gets mangled for the sake of shock value or for a laugh. Instead, every instance of this type of violence is to either make a point, set the tone, or prove just how dangerous a specific character is. It makes...the series more mature than most adult cartoons you'll find because it actually brings a worthy discussion for its violence rather than milking it to give the illusion of maturity. And I gotta respect the writers for doing that.

Cecil: This man is basically Nick Fury if he was overpowered but in a good way. There is just something about a man who knows superheroes are needed in the world but also trusts a "hero" like Omni-Man as far as he can throw him. Not only does Cecil have contingency plans for his contingency plans, but the guy also knows to send the right heroes out for the exact missions that require them. Plus, a man is an instant badass when he's stone-faced about a demon saying he'll go somewhere worse than hell and is calm when being face-to-face with an angry Omni-Man.

I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

The title card gets bloodier with each episode: This is just a really cool gimmick. It proves how intense this show can really be and how the stakes get higher and higher with each installment. Also, I like to think the amount of blood that splashes over the title card reflects how brutal the episode will be, especially with episode eight, 'cause holy hell.

The plot structure: The way the story works is very similar to how a comic book series handles its overarching narrative. Even though the writers begin a new arc that continues for a handful of issues, the overall main plot still develops in the background of the current adventure the hero goes through. That's basically how--

>Intense inhale<

>Calm exhale<

That's basically how THIS SHOW operates. Each episode can be seen as its own story that's given a ton of room to develop with its forty-five-minute runtime (which blew my f**king mind when I started binging it). Despite that, there's still a great sense of continuity. Everything involving Omni-Man and the mystery behind his murder of the Guardians gets fleshed out throughout the season, even when it takes the background of Mark's escapades. It really does feel like sitting down and taking the time to read an entire volume of comics, which I like to believe is the intention. After all, what's the point of making a series about superheroes if you don't make it feel like a comic book at least once?

Dark Blood: I desire a series based on this character alone. I know it's probably just Hellboy, but I want it. 

The idea of a demon solving murder crimes to work off his debt in Hell is too much of a remarkable concept to strictly be a c-plot in one series. Give Dark Blood a spin-off, damn it!

The Realistic Portrayal of a Superhero world: Unlike certain superhero properties--*cough* DC *cough*--it's--

>Huff<

>Puff<

>HUFF<

>PUFF<

>HUFF<

It's. This. F**KING. SHOW! That really does an excellent job at portraying how much it would suck to live in a world of superheroes. Sure, you got the cool battles and awe-inspiring heroes with incredible powers, but do you know what else you get? Hundreds upon thousands of people dying from the very threats those heroes fight against. Not to mention all the realistic physics that come from people like Mark trying to save others. Just look at how mangled that old woman looked when he attempted to help her. It, uh...It sure did not look great. Don't get me wrong, I love superheroes and the worlds they live in. But when watching a show like...this one, it really makes me appreciate how I don't live in those worlds with them.

It’s Still Funny: This is something I appreciate the most. When most superhero shows go for the realistic approach, they go with the doom and gloom route, making everything so melodramatic about how serious the world is. But here's the thing: Superheroes are f**king stupid.

Don't tell me they're not because they are. Superheroes have cornball hero names, bright costumes, and logos on their foreheads, chests, belts, and what-have-you. Taking a superhero too seriously is the worst mistake you could make, which is why I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Say what you want about Marvel having "too many jokes," but at least they know it's for the best to laugh at themselves and embrace the weirdness. It's something similar with...you know what. Because while the series tells a serious and realistic story about superheroes, it's still a story about superheroes. So it tells some jokes and some pretty funny ones at that. Because while it's essential to include some drama in a story such as the one in...you know what, it's just as important to never forget to have some fun.

“Earth is not yours to conquer.”: Such a great line that gains an even greater meaning once we fully know who Omni-Man is. The main creditor for how effective it is goes to J.K. Simmons for making the line sound explicit yet implicit at the same time.

Allen the Alien: ...It is an absolute crime that this character only has about six minutes of screentime. Allen is such a bro, partially because of Seth Rogan's performance, that I would honestly be upset if he doesn't show up more often in later seasons. Seriously, bring him back for more.

The Mauler Twins: Thankfully, these characters get as much attention as they deserve. The banter between the Mauler Twins is always entertaining, often being the comedic highlights at times. On top of being funny, they also work as efficient villains who can come across as threatening at times.

But what I love most of all about these two is the explanation behind the cloning process. The reasoning of why neither character remembers which one is the cone is a brilliant idea that I'm surprised no one else did in the past (to my knowledge). It also provides some excellent fruit for thought in wondering if it really is better to live your life not knowing if you're a clone or not. The whole thing is great to watch, and it makes me really glad for their inclusion...too bad they had to be forced into a story that makes a character look like a reckless superhero and an inconsiderate jackass to his friend. Seriously, what was up with that?

“That Actually Hurt”: This just might be my favorite episode of the first season. Machine Head is both equally hilarious and devious, Titan might just be my favorite character due to how intriguing his allegiances and motivations are, that final fight was the perfect amount of brutal, and we get the biggest hint of the man Omni-Man really is. Having him simply watching Mark instead of flying in to help him actually shocked me the first time seeing it. It's not until we learn what a Viltrumite really is that it becomes clear as to why. He doesn't care about saving his son but instead seeing Mark reach the same potential Omni-Man did during that smash fest the planet went through to reach perfection. And something tells me he felt more disappointment than sadness after seeing his son get nearly killed by Tony the Tiger (I know he has an actual name...but this is funnier to me). It's such a solid moment with great implications that just so happens to exist in an even greater episode.

Eve deciding to just help people for the heck of it: I actually love this idea more for the potential it has rather than what actually happens so far. Because the main reason why heroes don't fly around and solve every little minute problem people have is that they need to learn how to act without help. If you suddenly make food appear out of thin air or stopping forest fires, you're doing good, but there's also potential harm that comes from it. I think back to that episode of The Powerpuff Girls, where the townspeople are so idiotic and complacent with having their heroes solve every problem that they really can't think or act for themselves. A similar thing can happen with Eve if she's not careful. Even worse, if she keeps trying to end famine for farmers, because she might get into a Supergirl situation with people building a cult around her. And, you know, that's not going to be fun.

But again, that's just the potential that this presents. We--Or the people who haven't read the comics--don't know if Eve will actually face this issue. Regardless, we still get some solid moments that proves just how much Eve is a true hero in this series as she has no other motive to help people other than she just wants to. And I actually think that's pretty cool.

The Immortal’s rematch: I gotta hand it to the guy. Not a second after being brought back to life, and The Immortal's already flying off to get revenge on the bastard who killed his closest friends in the world. Or, globe, I guess.

I respect that, to be honest.

(As a bonus, The Immortal causing Omni-Man's eyes to become bloodshot adds to how evil he'll be in the last episode)

Mark trying to snap his dad out of mind-control: Oh, I felt that.

I'm pretty sure we all felt that.

Ow...Big ow.

The Train Scene: ...This is the most horrific thing I have seen in entertainment. Seriously, while Omni-Man annihilating the Guardians left me speechless, this is another level. Because him using Mark's body to kill a train full of people ramming into them, leaving Mark all the more helpless to stop it, makes a scene that is so...so hard for me to describe how effectively f**ked up it is. It's one of those moments where just by seeing it, you know why it's awful in all the right ways. And I will never forget the look of shock and horror on my face when it reflected onto my laptop's screen after the scene briefly cut to black soon after the carnage. Because if that doesn't explain how unmerciful this moment is, I don't know what will.

Saving Mark after the fight: I really love this because as it flashes between still images of people carrying Mark away after his brutal fight with Omni-Man, it really feels like you're reading a comic from panel to panel. It’s pretty neat. I won’t lie.

WHAT I DISLIKE

The Animation isn’t that great: Now, in terms of action, the animation is fantastic. You feel the impact of each attack, there are some creative uses of powers, and the gore is better implemented because it's all animated. As for everything else...yeah, it kinda sucks. Movements are a little stiff at times, the CGI backgrounds could use a bit more polish, and don't get me started on the CGI crowds of people. I understand the shortcuts that need to be taken to make everything else more effective, but man, this series needed a little more time in the oven before being shown to everyone. It's never too bad, but it can be pretty distracting at times.

Amber: F**k Amber. Just f**k her. Everything people tell you that is wrong with her is one-hundred percent on point. She is easily one of the worst love interests, and to me, it has everything to do with the fact that she knows Mark is--

...That she knows Mark is--

...

...

...ThatsheknowsMarkisInvinci--

--BECAUSE IT INVALIDATES ANY POINT SHE HAS, GOSH DANGIT! I don't give a single S**T if she's upset that he's late all the time! If Amber was always unaware of it, then I would understand. But having her know means that she thinks her issues are more important than Mark, oh, I don't know, SAVING THE PLANET! I mean, the girl helps feed the homeless! You would think she would understand.

But fine. Maybe Amber's just upset that Mark's lying to her. Sure. That's understandable...BUT WHAT THE F**K IS UP WITH HER BLOWING UP IN HIS FACE FOR NOT HELPING ANYBODY AT THE COLLEGE WHEN SHE KNOWS HE'S HELPING EVERYBODY!? Even if it's her giving Mark one last chance to tell her the truth (which is a mile of a stretch, and you know it), did she really expect him to reveal his secret with tons of people watching? That is a crazy expectation that no one should live up to!

Amber is quite possibly the worst thing about this show. She was fine at first, and her chemistry with Mark was on point, but MAN, did she get worse later on.

And if I see one mother f**ker calling me a racist because I don't like this character who just so happens to be black...I'm going to be upset, not gonna lie. Because that is a cheap shot to dismiss any criticism, especially since her race has NOTHING to do with why people hate her...Or, at least, most people.

Edit (5/27/2021): Disregard the above. The long and short is that I don’t like Amber. She just doesn’t sit right with me for the reasons that her anger towards Mark just never felt entertaining to me in comparision to everything else. But saying her thoughts and arguements are invalid is not cool, and I’m sorry to both any readers who are black or especially female who would be upset by this.

Rex-splode: I understand the point behind Rex. He's a character who we're supposed to hate, so it becomes so much more satisfying seeing others s**t on him. But those characters are hard to get right if you’re not careful. Make them too irritating, then any suffering they go through will seem too little. Make them not annoying enough, and their punishments can be too harsh. Rex fits into the "too irritating" category. It's satisfying to see Monster Girl wreck his s**t after he started commenting how ineffective she might be, but with what he pulled with Dupli-Kate, I feel as though he might deserve worse. Although I will admit Rex gets slightly better in later episodes, showing at least a smidgen of character development. But I don't think it's enough to make his a**holeness worth it. Still, I hope he at least becomes above decent in the next few seasons, which is way more than what I can say for Amber.

(Seriously, writers, if she just disappears without an ounce of an explanation in the season premiere, I won't question it. You have my word.)

Edit: I no longer agree with what I crossed out, but I won’t delete it either. I want people to know the mistake I made so I can prove that I changed in the future.

Robot cloning himself to be with Monster Girl: ...Nope! 

Nope!

Changed my mind.

I am NOT touching that.

I will touch a lot of things, but I will not touch--That came out wrong.

Please forget you read anything.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Let’s move on

Transitioning to the title card: Here it is! The nitpickiest of all nitpicks! But, seeing how it happens in every episode, meaning that the writers have no choice but to commit to it, means it's one of those things that viewers are forced to get used to. And boy, is the transition to the title card hard to get used to! Oh, you thought it was annoying how it kept happening in this review? Well...fair enough. But trust me when I say it's much more aggravating in the show.

The funny thing is, I had no problem the first time it happened. It was a cute way to introduce the character as well as the title of the series. But having that be the basis for transitioning to the title card every time was a gimmick that got old real quick. Especially since every time that a character says the word--

--it always feels forced. What's even more annoying is that sometimes it interrupts characters as they're saying invin--

LIKE! F**KING! THAT! Because interrupting someone before they say something is one thing, but doing so as they're saying it shows a sense of bad timing. Not even that, because this is something that I feel like could have been the easiest to change in the series by having someone go, "Hey, maybe we should edit out this single second."

It's laziness that doesn't happen often, but it still grinds my gears a bit. Plus, is there really no other smoother transition the writers could come up with? Did they really believe this is the best way to do it?

Think, writers! THINK!

It's fine to have a gimmick, but this is one that really shouldn't have any follow-through on.

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

That's about all the issues I have with the show. It's far from perfect, but still, an A- is pretty impressive work. The stuff that this series does right not only outnumbers the mistakes but also heavily outweighs them. Besides, no show in the history of creativity has ever been perfect in its first season. There are always dents that need to get buffed out and improve upon for the subsequent seasons to come. Only then can a series truly be Invincible from all criticism.

...

...Oh, sure. 

SURE!

NOW it lets me say it!

GOSH, DANGIT, I HATE THAT TITLE CARD!

[ryanhamiltonwalsh]

“Hammond” - The Roches

File Under: But What Is The Song Actually About?

Released by Warner Brothers in 1979, the song features stunning sisterly blood harmonies and the most perfectly out-of-place Fripp guitar solo of all time. Lyrically, the song seems to present a parental warning to their (mostly) grown children & the children’s rebuke, but the specifics of the song are never quite explained. Where is Hammond and why is it a path to the wrong track? Here’s what I found:

In 1970, Maggie and Terre attended Paul Simon’s songwriting seminar at NYU. Two years later, they called him up and asked to audition for him. Simon was impressed enough to have them sing backup on There Goes Rhymin’ Simon, and he also introduced them to his lawyer, who negotiated an album deal with Columbia. Seductive Reasoning, an interesting, uneven record, which had four producers, was released in 1975 to resounding public indifference.

Devastated, Maggie and Terre retreated for several months to a friend’s kung-fu temple in Hammond, Louisiana, where, in Maggie’s words, “a lot of people went to learn how to beat people up.” When the temple dissolved, they drifted back north and into performing again. - Rolling Stone

Huh. Well, that’s unexpected, right? Louisiana? A Kung Fu Temple?

Suzzy Roche to Slate in 2020:

I mean, the song is a story, but, well, imagine Terre had met this guy who had a Kung Fu temple, as you do in Hammond, Louisiana.

And by the time I was was down there, when I arrived in the middle of the night by Greyhound bus, I realized quickly it was an abandoned telephone company building. And there were all these guys there who were studying Kung Fu. And us and Maggie and I had jobs at a truck stop and Terry was working at the Magnolia Diner. And I really cannot tell you how strange it was, is very extreme. But needless to say, my parents were not terribly thrilled about the whole thing. And I think that that song, the Hammond song, has to do with that.

Terre weighs in:

“We were humiliated,” Terre added. “We wanted to get out of the whole situation. We had a friend in Hammond, Louisiana, who was running a Kung Fu school. We gave up our apartment and told the record company, ‘We’re not going to promote the record anymore; we’re going away for a while.’ This was two weeks after the record came out. Maggie wrote the ‘Hammond Song’ about the whole experience.”

Cursory searches for more information about this Kung Fu temple in an abandoned telephone company building yielded nothing. Same with Magnolia Diner. So what about the town itself? Hammond highlights from its Wikipedia entry:

The city is named for Peter Hammond (1798–1870), the surname anglicized from Peter av Hammerdal (Peter of Hammerdal) — a Swedish immigrant who first settled the area around 1818.

During the Civil War, the city was a shoe-making center for the Confederate States Army.

The city later became a shipping point for strawberries, so a plaque downtown gave it the title of "Strawberry Capital of America."

During World War II, the Hammond Airport (now Hammond Northshore Regional Airport) served as a detention camp for prisoners of war from Nazi Germany.

The city was the home base for production of the first season of the NBC television series In the Heat of the Night, starring Carroll O'Connor.

Shoes, strawberries, and Nazis. Got it. Ok, so how did Fripp get involved? His own account from August, 1979:

RF: Originally, I'd been in..., I visited The Kitchen Arts and Video Center in Soho and John Rockwell was there, the critic from The New York Times. He introduced himself and I said... would he recommend anyone I should go and see? And he said, "Go and see The Roches." So I went to see The Roches at The Bottom Line not long aftrewards, they were there a few days later. Fell in love immediately, remarkably impressed. Since they were obviously so talented and seemed to be fairly innocent, I sensed that they were good canidates for being ripped, so I made one or two phone calls to make sure their affairs were being taken care of, which they were, and expressed interest in producing them should this arise. The Roches, for their part, felt that they needn't look for a producer, that when the producer came along, he would look for them. So eventually, I was interviewed by them for the job. They really gave me a grueling two hours, in which they said nothing. They simply said nothing.

RG: Just drilling you with questions?

RF: No, they said nothing. They just sat there and said nothing.

Delightfully strange. Terre says some King Crimson fans didn’t appreciate Fripp producing a folk act:

We were at that point every music career gets to where the honeymoon was over. The Roches had burst onto the music scene in 1979 with a shower of press infatuation rarely accorded a folk group. The unlikely pairing of King Crimson’s Robert Fripp, with his hard-driving English art rock, and the three singing sisters from New Jersey had caught the attention of music writers even before the album was released. Liz Rosenberg, our publicist at Warner Brothers, told us the press was calling her for interviews. She told us this was extremely unusual.

When the actual record came out, the momentum accelerated. The sound of three fairly soft voices and three acoustic guitars, with songs about waitress jobs, commuter trains and longing to be accepted by your parents,                    issued forth into the 1970s climate of disco fever like a drop of powerful medicine into a compromised bloodstream. Fripp, in an interview, put forth that people don’t realize gentle music can be revolutionary.      

Some of his fans were upset that he’d traded in bombastic male music for lily-white warbling so delicate you had to turn up the dial to hear it. “The Roches” was No. 1 on The New York Times’s list of the year’s best albums. We were on our way.

Cristgau loved it. Marcus hated it.

And that represents the bulk of relevant information I could find on “Hammond.”

I’ll add that I appreciate how the song is aware that it’s a song (a sub-genre I try to keep a running list of) and how it seems to serve as direct communication to The Roches’ actual parents. I wonder if they ever gave their daughters an answer or told them they were ok?

Do your eyes have an answer To this song of mine They say we meet again On down the line Where is on down the line How far away? Tell me I'm okay

The combination of a folk song structure, three part harmony, and a prog-rock guitar solo suggests a new kind of musical genre that never quite got off the ground. I wish there was more music that could live comfortably next to this song.

Please reach out to me if you ran the Kung Fu temple in an abandoned telephone company in Hammond, Louisiana. I have questions.

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine Advent Drabble 2020 - “Wanky” (NC17)

Summary: An unfortunate find in a secret drawer leads poor Tracy to believe that she's getting a dog for Christmas, and leaves Kurt stuck between a rock and a hard place: does he stick to his guns, or does he traumatize his sweet, innocent daughter for life? (1918 words)

Notes: Written for the @klaineadvent Drabble Challenge 2020 prompt 'learn'.

Read on AO3.

“Hey, guys!" Kurt sings from the front door, brushing snow off the shoulders of his coat before he crosses the threshold. "We’re back!”

"Sorry we took so long," Blaine says, "but we had a heck of a time finding ..."

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” Tracy squeals, leaping into Blaine’s arms the second he comes to a stop in their living room. "Both of you! Thank you so much!"

“Thank us?” He wraps his daughter in a bear hug, confused as all get out but in no way stupid enough to turn down a hug. “Thank us for what? Kurt?” 

Kurt shrugs, making a don’t know noise as he sheds his coat and hangs it, returning quickly for a turn in the hug rotation. "Brittany? Santana?" He looks expectantly at the ladies who have been watching their daughter all afternoon. "Do you know what's going on?"

Brittany, hands behind her back, shifts her weight anxiously from foot to foot, while Santana, arms crossed over her chest, looks nearly gleeful. It’s Santana's glee more than Brittany’s anxiety that makes Kurt’s back start to sweat. 

“It seems Tracy here was poking around in your naughty bits and found herself a little treat.”

Kurt and Blaine shoot her confused looks, though Kurt’s leans more towards annoyed.

“Can you be any less vague?” Kurt asks.

Santana grins. “No.”

Brittany carefully enters the conversation. “Tracy may have accidentally figured out what you guys are getting her for Christmas.”

"And what are we getting her for Christmas?" Blaine asks.

Brittany swallows hard. "A ... a dog."

Tracy dislodges herself from Blaine's torso and latches on to Kurt’s.

"What?" Kurt says, dumbfounded.

“Didn’t we specifically say no to a dog?” Blaine whispers. 

Kurt hugs his daughter tight, stealthily covering her ears with his hand. “We did."

"So how did she come to that conclusion?” 

“She found this.” A guilty smile flickers across Brittany’s lips as she brings a hand out from behind her back and shows Kurt something that makes his face turn paper white. He doesn't have to look at his husband to know that Blaine is wearing the same dropped-jaw, mushroom pale expression of horror that he is.

Brittany is handing him a black leather collar with a row of rhinestones across the front.

When Kurt comes to his senses, he reaches for the collar, eager to tuck it out of sight. 

Mortifyingly, Tracy intercepts it. 

She eyes it reverently. But then she sighs, her expression slipping from overjoyed smile to apologetic frown. 

“I’m sorry I snooped in your special drawer.”

“Didn’t we make it perfectly clear that drawer is off-limits?” Blaine asks, crouching to talk to her.

“You did.” Tracy hugs the collar to her chest, afraid the dog she has wanted for so long might be slipping away from her.

“Then why did you look in there?”

“It seems a little birdie told her it’s only off-limits because that's where you hide her presents,” Santana explains, maneuvering her shrinking wife behind the protection of her body. “Poor, impatient Tracy couldn’t resist.”

Kurt glares over Santana’s shoulder at Brittany, who completely disappears behind her wife. 

Blaine stands, ruffles his daughter’s hair, then takes his husband by the elbow and gives him a tug in the direction of the kitchen. “Excuse us, Peanut. I need to talk to your Papa alone for a minute.”

“Ok, Daddy.” Tracy releases Kurt and walks glumly towards Santana, sighing significantly as she slips into her arms, still hugging that collar to her chest.

That’s the scene that kills Kurt.

Tracy hugging that collar.

The collar he wears on his and Blaine’s "special" nights out.

The kind where they pretend they don’t know one another, and they flirt in a bar like strangers. Blaine picks him up with a proposition, money exchanges hands, and they spend all night in a room at a no-tell motel with Blaine riding him, pulling his hair hard, calling him his "good little bitch".

Yup. His nine-year-old daughter is hugging that collar.

“Oh my God!” Blaine says the second they're behind closed doors, a hint of amusement in his tone that gives Kurt an urge to flick him on the forehead. “What do we do? What do we do?”

“I hope we’re agreed that she doesn’t deserve a thing if she’s invading our privacy!”

“Yeah … well … hmmm …” Blaine waffles. 

Kurt’s eyes go wide. “Blaine!”

“To be honest, Kurt, I don’t know what you have against the family having a dog. Tracy has wanted one forever. It would be a good companion for her. Besides …” He looks down at his hands, twiddles his thumbs “… I … kinda … want one.”

“That’s great!” Kurt snaps, frustrated since he thought they were a unified front on this issue. “But tell me this - who’s going to take care of it? Huh? Who's going to feed it and walk it and clean up after it when it vomits on the floor at three in the morning? I’ll tell you exactly who’s going to do all of that! I will!”

“We can teach her to be responsible! She’s at that age!”

“This isn’t the way things like this are supposed to work! If she wants a dog, she needs to earn it! Not commit a misdemeanor! That proves she’s not mature enough! And if we give in, we'll be perpetuating that behavior!”

“Technically, it’s not her fault. You heard what Santana said.”

“Yeah, well, that only proves someone else is culpable. It doesn’t change the fact that Tracy broke the rules. In fact, if she thought her Christmas presents were in that drawer, that makes things worse!”

“This one indiscretion aside, she deserves a dog! She’s a straight-A student. She keeps her room clean without being told. She helps out with dinner, the laundry, the dusting. And let’s face it, between your trophies, my trophies, and all the other knick-knacks in this house, she deserves a dog for that alone!”

“I am not going to make this decision on the spur of the moment! We need to talk about boundaries, hash out rules!”

“Fair enough."

“Which we will do after the holidays!”

“And what do we do until then?” Blaine asks, his eyes brimming with the same disappointment Tracy’s had. He'd started getting excited when he thought Kurt might cave. Now Kurt's pulling a "we'll see". “She already found the collar. How are you going to explain owning that if we aren’t getting her a dog for Christmas? Which is in about a week, by the way.”

“We’ll be honest with her,” Kurt decides. “We’ll explain, in age-appropriate terms, why we have that collar.”

Blaine jerks back, the fringes of a chuckle tickling his throat. “So … she’s mature enough to know about your collar kink, but not old enough to own a dog?”

“I’ll … cross that bridge when I get to it, all right?” Kurt mumbles, his face turning bright red. "But for now, that's my final decision! End of discussion! Take it or leave it!"

Kurt turns on his heel and heads for the living room. He will not be manipulated into giving in, even if this whole thing did start with a misunderstanding.

He opens the door and spots Tracy rocking in Blaine’s recliner, looking at pictures on Brittany’s phone, while Brittany and Santana sit beside her, making encouraging comments. 

Tracy, still hugging that Godforsaken collar, looks like she’s been crying. 

Brittany looks positively devastated, as if she didn’t just ruin Tracy’s chance for happiness, but helped her get the dog of her dreams, then ran it over with her car.

Santana leads the conversation, which Kurt assumes is about clothes - one of Tracy’s favorite things to window shop. But as Kurt walks closer, he catches a peek at the screen, and his heart deflates. During his and Blaine’s conversation, Tracy had started a Pinterest board titled ‘My Favorite Dogs in the World’. Brittany and Santana are helping her add to it – teacup poodles, Pomeranians, Chihuahuas, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel ...

'That one's cute,' Kurt thinks when he spots the silky thing. 'That fur would be fun to style. We could do it together! A bright pink bow, maybe a sparkly barrette ...'

The sparkly barrette brings his mind back to his collar, and he gives himself a hard, mental shake.

'No. Don't waver. Stay the course.'

He approaches his daughter slowly, preparing himself for the worst conversation of his life so far. 

Kurt swallows hard. “Tracy?”

Tracy looks up at him with watery eyes. “Yes, Papa?”

Her bottom lip wobbles.

Ugh! This is going to be impossible!

“There’s something I need to explain to you … about that collar.”

“Yes?”

Kurt crouches down in front of Tracy, meeting her eye to eye. “You see, sometimes when you buy a collar, it’s for a dog.”

“A-ha …” Tracy says, hopeful ... and mildly confused.

“And sometimes, two people … two grown adults who don’t own a dog ... might buy a collar to …”

Brittany and Santana both gasp when they realize what he’s doing. 

Brittany stares like a deer in headlights.

Santana, on the verge of a laughing fit, gets up and leaves the room.

“Yes, Papa?”

“Well, they might buy a collar because …”

“Because …”

"Because ..." Kurt looks at Tracy, silently wishing she'd catch on without him having to say another word. Not catch on to what they use the collar for, but catch on to the fact that no, they will not be getting a dog right now. He looks into her huge, brown eyes, so much like Blaine’s, her hopeful expression dimming with every second of this asinine explanation. 

Is he really going to do this? 

Is he really going to tell his beloved daughter that she's not getting a dog because that collar she found is one of her fathers’ favorite sex toys? That the last time they used it, Kurt was wearing it, and Blaine was riding him like a bronco, growling obscenities and smacking his ass?

No! He can’t do that! 

What responsible parent would!?

When Kurt first found out he was going to be a father, his own father gave him some valuable life advice. 

“When you become a parent, you sort of fool yourself into believing that you’re in charge. You're the teacher," his dad had said. "But in reality, parenting will put you on your ass over and over until you realize you know nothing. But you learn. And one of the most important lessons you’ll ever learn is to pick your battles. Because situations will come up that you’ll never dream of, things that you hope to never handle. But, in the end, when you’re debating right and wrong, you have to decide – are you doing what’s best for your child? Or what’s best for you? Because, surprisingly, the two aren’t always the same.”

In short, Kurt has to choose between psychological trauma, pet dog, or sticking to a rule that's rigid simply because bending it would hurt his ego.

When he thinks of it in those terms, the answer is simple.

His father, as always, is right - mostly.

The most important lesson Kurt will learn from this particular situation is that he needs to get a lock on that damned drawer!

Because watching their new pet tromp through the house wearing that collar is going to burn his eyes every day of his life until he dies.

[oh-theatre]

Objection!: Chapter 30

Chapter title: Everything Will Be Alright

A/n: Ahahahaah IM SO SORRY im so sorry that its been months im so sorry that this chapter is awful im so sorry im so sorry that i call this awful piece of work anything im so sorry im sorry im sorry bad chapters short chapter ohmygod how dare i call this anything im so sorry im sorry

First | Previous | Next

words: 2142

summary: They must act quickly when the tiny hospital room tenses up

pairings: Eventual logicality, prinxiety, platonic demus, romantic remile

warnings: Murder mention, child murder, Law and Courtroom, swearing, blood, hospital, crime scene,  murder, gun mention, guns, swearing abuse, graphic descriptions, alcohol, shooting, crying

Ao3 Link  

Logan begs, nay he prays Patton would remain blissfully asleep. Through the past few months the poor father had been thrown into obstacle after obstacle after obstacle. Constantly finding himself in trouble, and danger. He knows how hopeless Patton felt, how broken. He just wanted to help his partner find the pieces and put them back together, not lose more vital ones.

“You're not really about to kill a man, in a hospital, surrounded by witnesses, are you?” Roman proposes. To give the judge props, he was handling this with much more patience than expected after finding out your boyfriend was a conspiring murderer trying to rid the world of you and your best friend.

Eh, Virgil was a better option anyway.

Not the time Roman. He should be devastated but of course he isn't. Of course...he's relieved.

Because he's in love with Virgil.

“Don't shoot, be rational James” Logan tries, he knows his efforts are meaningless. The man had been hot on Patton's trails for months. He wasn't Jeff Winger, one charmed speech wasn't going to make this all better. “You wont be leaving the hospital without your hands in cuffs”

“Yeah well at least i'll be leaving with one man…” He eyes Roman and Logan “Or however many dead”

“Mm hydrangeas” Patton mumbles, Logan squeezes his temples so hard hoping his partner stays sleeping. “Log..an” He mutters, tossing over, pulling the blanket closer but remains gentle and soothingly asleep.

“Aw look, he calls for you” James mocks.

“Dude, that's so low” Roman huffs. He looks to Logan but the man's eyes remain planted on his fiancee. Stall, that's all he remembers from Virgil's ramblings. “James...please dont do this” He pulls out his tears, it felt off faking his feelings but James was a murderer so eh. “I thought...was it all a lie?” He questions, fighting back a smirk as the gun lowers slightly. James falters, he looks back with soft eyes to Roman, suddenly in the blink of an eye someone pushes past Roman, grabs James and tackles him to the ground. His gun slides across the room crashing into metal.

“Roman the gun” He hears an exasperated Virgil request. Roman moves in unison with Logan who rushes to a newly awakened Patton.

“What's going on?” He yawns, gladly accepting Logan's embrace. James pops up into his view with Virgil behind him. “James?” He wonders, Roman hands Virgil the gun and the pieces fall into place. His “Oh” was ever so small. Logan only held tighter as their eyes trailed Virgil and James walking away, listening to the detective read off James’s rights. Logan remains right where he stands, glaring out the door. “Lo?”

“Hm?” He snaps looking at his partner.

“Hi, I'm here” Patton comforts, he takes Logan's cheek bringing him in for a gentle kiss. “Alive, and well, and no extra gunshot wounds” He teases, Logan snorts feeling embarrassed as the nose escapes his mouth. “Oh my god, adorable” Patton giggles pulling Logan on to his bed. The lawyers arm drape over him and they hold one another close.

“Please quit scaring me” Logan begs, whispering affectionately into Patton's ears. Patton interlaces his fingers with Logans, kissing his hand lightly.

“Pinky promise”

“Dont make promises you cant fucking keep” Remy storms in. The lawyers sit up, a protective Logan stands, still upset at the detectives for what they had done. Patton fiddles uncomfortably with the blanket. “God are you ok? What the hell happened?” He rushes

“I don't think you're entitled to that information anymore Remy” Logan sighs, his arms folded. “You see that is reserved for Patton's friends” Logan scowls, Patton gasps and wants to speak but a mis-directed glare from Logan quiets him quickly.

“Fuck you Logan” Are the last angered words from the caffeinated detective before he slams the door. The sound shaking Patton. As soon as Logan looks to him he breaks. His tears fall faster than Logan could realize what he had done.

“Patton” He goes, but a sobbing Patton shakes his head begging for a moment alone. “I love you” He says before taking his exit.

Why, why did he leave?

Patton knew what panic attacks felt like, he had plenty. But everytime the shock hit him and it hurt, it scared him with a fear mightier than death. He wanted to call out for Logan but he couldn't speak. A pathetic squeak was all he managed. He pounded at the bedside but couldn't breathe, he clutched hard but couldn't remember any of his usual tricks. When the door opened he had hoped for Logan to be his usual stubborn self.

“Pat I jus-” Virgil begins but sees the pure fear in his friends eyes. He rushes to his side, instantly taking his friends hands. “Stop hitting yourself” he commands, the stern but safe voice sent something over Patton. “I'm going to hold you now” he warns, Patton nods through his shakes. He holds his friend, tightly applying pressure to Pattons nervous system. After a few minutes of pure silence and gentle touch, Patton can breathe steadily once more. “Roman had the goofiest smile while we walked back” Virgil tells, Pattons ears perk up and listen. Something to focus on. “He said he was almost glad he had an excuse to get out of a relationship with James... he said he missed me” Virgil shouldn't have blushed

“H-he does” Patton manages.

“I missed him to…” After a hesitation Virgil looks to Patton who had now cozied himself into Virgil's embrace. “I miss you” He whispers. Like a small child Patton tugs the opening of the detective's jacket.

“I missed you so much” He sighs with a yawn

“Get some rest you dork” He strokes gently watching Patton feel safe as he let himself join the world of rest. Virgil remained comfortable with Patton, he watched the TV on mute with subtitles. After about an hour the door opened, Logan's face morphed through a million emotions as he examined the scene before him.

“Get out” He whispers viciously.

“Logan, specs, i love you but you're being an idiot” He rolls his eyes. “I'm not moving, Patton had a panic attack so i'm staying until he tells me he's ok, not because you're an angry calculator” Virgil stands his ground, he doesn't wait for Logan's reaction he looks back to the tv. Of course this causes him to miss Logan's shoulders falling, and his face softening.

“A panic attack” he breathes, he moves to Pattons other side, serving him a glass of water for when he awakens. “Sleep well sunshine” He delivers a gentle kiss to Pattons forehead before leaving. Virgil smiles at the couple once Logans out of sight.

“God hes so whipped” Virgil laughs to himself.  

~~~

“You take yours and Ill take mine” Logan jokes as he and Roman quietly enter the room. Virgil and Patton lay fast asleep cuddled with one another.

“Hes not mine...I mean” Roman sighs, he strokes away the faded purple streaks of Virgil's hair while he situates him into his arms. He looks with a gentle smile as Virgil cuddles into his arms. Roman cant help but place a quick kiss on his forehead.

“Mm?” Patton hums once the comfortable warmth had been left cold and empty. “V?” He manages

“I'm here, Virgils, gonna go home and rest” Logan whispers, cuddling up as he waves Roman goodbye. Patton giggles turning around and kissing Logan as he readjusts his position. “I love you so much, i'm sorry I wasn't here”

“You're here now, and thats all that matters..all thats ever gonna matter” Patton replies, he kisses him once more, Logan feels his face flush with heat so halting. “How are the twins?” He wonders fiddling with Logans fingers.

“Good, Emile is having plenty of fun with them”  Logan assures, a breathy sigh on Pattons neck sending a tickle down his spine. “They miss you though,” Logan adds, knowing Patton misses them just the same.

“Well shucks!” Patton grumbles, he sits up allowing himself to still embrace Logan. “Im all rested up!” He laughs, Logan smiles watching the man he loves flood through. “Will you get me my wheelchair! I wanna get out of this bed!” He jumps, Logan chuckles wearily but nods. He takes his stand helping Patton into the chair.

“Where to?” He asks, holding to the chair.

“Anywhere!” Patton giggles pointing forward. “Oo! Let's head to the cafeteria for some food, i'm starving” Patton jumps, Logan leans down giving him a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Anything you for you” He whispers, the serious tone was not missed and Patton took his hand quickly. He squeezed it gently promising he would do anything for Logan. The walk out the rolling of the wheels was smooth across the minted floor. They passed by many rooms, Pattons excitement faltered listening to the sounds of pain, loss...but then…

“Oh Logan stop wait” Patton halts the wheels as they pass the nursery. “Oh look! Twins” He recognizes instantly, they lay next to each other, both girls, both beautiful. “Oh they are gorgeous” He swoons

“Not as gorgeous as your twins” Logan reminds Patton, blushes as he did watching Logan grow with his kids. He didn't have to do it alone anymore. “I love you”

“I love you more than anything Logan” He replies.

“I scared you earlier, didn't I?” He blurts, kneeling in front of his fiancee. “I saw the look, the fear behind your eyes...I reminded you of...him” Logan laments. Patton fiddles with his hospital gown, averting any gaze from Logan.

“I want to make up my own mind, i want to set my own boundaries, and i want to talk to my friends” Patton rushes

“I'm so sorry, i got too defensive and didnt think about you, just about protecting you. I just want you to be safe” Logan defends, still Patton fiddles apprehensive. “I'm not him, and i'm so sorry. There are no excuses for what I did and it will never happen again.” He takes Patton's cheek ever so gently. “Your words and thoughts...they matter Patton. They always will my love.”

“You needn't be so sorry, I know you're not Liam. You never have been. I'm just cautious and…” He looks back to the children, parents fawning over them. “I want this to work” He takes Logans hands kissing them sweetly.  “I want this to work more than I have wanted anything in my entire life” Logan lets out a quiet breath. “I love you Logan Tolentino”

“And i love you Patton Hart”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife!” Emile giggles holding Valerie and Remus' hands. They bounce before charging towards the couple hugging them happily.

“Can I be the flower girl?” Valerie questions sitting on Patton's lap. Remus struggles in logan's hold wanting to examine his father's wheelchair.

“I wanna be the flower girl!” Remus argues, Logan takes the back of the boys head gently. “Hi” He smiles happily. He wraps his pudgy arms around Logans neck hugging him. “Im hungry” He ponders instantly pulling away “Dada-” he pauses “Mister Lolo can I still call you that?” He asks. Logans heart tugs just a tad. With no words available in his vernacular he simply nods. “Food time please” Valerie nods in agreement still snuggled up to Patton.

“What the twins want-” Patton begins meeting Logans eyes across the way. Logan returns a gentle smile.

“The twins shall get” He finishes standing up with Remus tight and safe in his hold. Valerie claps in excitement while Remus practically falls over himself laughing. “Im going to put you both into your fathers lap now so i can push his chair” He informs, the kids oblige only thinking of the chair as a new fun toy.

After goodbyes to Emile and gratitude of course for looking after them, they set off to the cafeteria. Though they know that most of the food wouldnt appetize them the children were able to ravish the entirety of their meals.

Ive got to teach these children what taste it, Logan thinks sighing. He looks to Patton whos hand was held in his the entire time, watching as his fiance's eyes grow droopy in the cold saddened room of the hospital. It had been a lot today, the adrenaline had dissipated and the exhausted would set in. But even so tired Patton looked elated, staring and listening intently as the twins rambled away.  Even in these dark hours where nothing was certain, there was light. Logan never understood that, he thought that no person could ever bring this type of joy or emotion out of him. Love never made sense, and it didn't have to for him, but right now..it made all the sense...and he loved nothing more.

[chevrolangels]

!!!!!!!!!! On The Head of a Pin is probably one of my top 5 favorite eps of all fkn time dude. just. UGH. It’s on another L E V E L. god I gotta watch it again. if u feel so inclined maybe u wanna wax poetic about it??????? 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

did i pull up this ep up on Netflix so i could appropriately respond to this ask? U BETTER beliEVE

buckle up kiddos, cuz we’re going INTO IT

-Okay but the opening scene? cas looking hella gorgeous and badass and then the slow pan out to reveal the wings??? *chef’s kiss*

-THE WINGS TITLE CARD

-also the episode title. spn fully was like ‘yeah we have angels now so we’re gonna make pun titles and u can’t stop us’

-impala goes nyoooooom

-SAM DRIVING!!!!

-’i’m tired of burying friends, sam’ 🥺 

-a completely done ‘oh c’mon!’ being dean’s immediate reaction to seeing another all-powerful supernatural being in his motel room

[side note, i just finished watching the wire and when this actor popped up i was like OMG URIEL and my parents were like ‘wtf are you talking about’]

-dean calling cas ‘cas’

-cas’s ridiculously gravelly voice

-uriel snapping at cas when he tries to empathize with them and dean clocking it right away

-dean’s face when he realizes they’re asking him to torture alastair

-sam’s ‘DAMMIT’ after the angels whoosh dean away

AND THEY EXPECT US NOT TO SHIP IT????? 

-alastair being genuinely the creepiest villain spn has ever had

-alastair telling dean he left part of himself back in the pit aka confirming his worst fear

-the reveal alastair also tortured john

-jared/gen content!!!!

PAIN PAIN PAIN ™ 

-dean still being able to dream but his dreaming turned to how he could get revenge on alastair 🥺 

-cas being visibly Shooketh hearing dean start the torture

-alastair still being a Sassy Mofo while under torture (remember when spn had good demon villains?)

-this hot as hell sam/ruby scene 🥵 

-that one quote that i can’t find right now where jensen was like ‘christopher heyerdahl as alastair truly terrified me’

-TEH BREKAING OF THE SEAL

-THE SHATTERING OF THE LIGHT

-ANNA

[second side note, i wrote a reverse!verse fic where cas and anna were the hunter brother and sister and i based a lot of their scenes off this ep 💕]

‘what you’re feeling...it’s called doubt.’

-ANNA HOLDING CAS’S HAND

-cas looking devastated when he sends anna away

-THE REVELATION DEAN BROKE THE FIRST SEAL THEREFORE KICKSTARTING THE APOCALYPSE AND DEAN WANTING TO BELIEVE ITS A LIE

-‘AS HE BREAKS, SO SHALL IT BREAK’

-CAS TO THE RESCUE

-i literally want to add all the gifs possible of cas’s badassery in this ensuing fight but imma limit myself to one

-spn forgetting its own canon that there’s a random latin spell to expel angels from their vessels?????? ok

-SAM THE MOTHEREFFIN BADASS (but yikes demonblood!sammy)

sam: now i can kill

cas: *is shook*

-THIS SHOT

“i’m considering disobedience....for the first time....I feel....”

“Tell me what to do.” “Like the old days? No. It’s time to think for yourself.”

-CAS SEEING THE PIPE AND IMMEDIATELY CONNECTING IT MY BOY IS A GENIUS

-“strange how a leaky pipe can undo the work of angels, when we ourselves, are supposed to be the agents of fate”

AN ICONICALLY SAVAGE LINE THANK U BEN EDLUND

-uriel realizing o shit he done fucked up

-the first reveal of an angel blade??? i think yes!!!! [dramatic commercial break]

-uriel having some legit points about god 👀👀👀 

-uriel having some not so legit points about lucifer 🤢🤢🤢

-this absolutely fucking gorgeous shot of cas

-again, i just wanna post every single gif of this fight scene but this’ll do

-ANNA SAVING THE MOTHERFUCKIN DAY

CATCH ME CRYIN IN THE CLUB

-AND OF COURSE

-DESTIEL HUNTER HUSBANDS IN THE HOSPITAL

[aplogies for the pinterest screencap but i couldn’t find these scenes on my blog bc tumblr’s search function sucks dick]

-dean tearfully asking if he really started the apocalypse and castiel having to tell him yes

-castiel assuring dean it wasn’t his fault, but fate

-and that he is the righteous man who is the only one who can also save the world 😭🥺😫 

-dean sharing that’s he’s completely overwhelmed and frightened and out of his depth 

-cas acknowledging he’s just a pawn and isn’t told much

-overall them just being completely open and honest with each other about their insecurities and fears

-and of course

CUE END CREDITS AND ALSO ME DYING

in conclusion, bless you for reminding me of why this is one of my favorite spn episodes, thank u and goodnight

[fullregalia]

quar on the floor.

I wrote this last year for my friend’s website--reposting here because I am so excited for season three. 

A few years ago, I was using someone else’s HBO password, streaming on borrowed time. I had exhausted my appetite for the platform’s comedic offerings of Veep, Curb, and Silicon Valley—stories of narcissists and egomaniacs in DC, LA, and SF—when I started to hear about a show called Succession. Created by Jesse Armstrong (a former writer in Veep creator Armando Iannucci’s room for The Thick of It), the show is ostensibly about the machinations of the Murdoch-inspired Roy family to retain their conglomerate’s dominance in media’s evolving landscape, and the infighting that arises from the children jockeying for patriarch Logan’s love, approval, and, most importantly, title. Think Arrested Development meets a Shakespearean tragedy. It is a story of narcissists and egomaniacs in NYC. The Roys and their courtiers are mean, extravagant, brash, and delusional—stereotypically obnoxious 0.01%-ers, that is—characters who do nothing to earn neither your affection nor trust, yet somehow that hasn’t stopped me from loving this show and the messy family at the center of it. 

Succession is a rich text. One could write numerous essays on what makes this show something to appreciate: its liberal use of “fuck off” while having practically zero on-screen sex, its clever signaling through nouveau riche clothing, its wry sendup of the Bancroft family (former family owners of the Wall Street Journal) as WASP-y hypocrites, its glee at lampooning the media industry, its theme song that is, canonically, the most important song of all time, its penchant for scenes at a formal dining table, its shrewd depiction of the ways capital exploits labor, its ability to make you fully dissociate when a grown man cringe raps about his dad.

Eventually, my erstwhile HBO password was changed, and finally I caved: I couldn’t live without on-demand access to this family’s particular brand of garbage-language trauma bonding. Revisiting it during quarantine became an escape and a balm. Look at these horrible people, gallivanting across the globe, carefree thanks to deep pockets and complete disregard for anyone but themselves! Am I talking about lockdown rule-breakers, our last administration, or the Roys? Who can tell! While our lives have become myopic in scope—a routine of bed, desk, kitchen, desk, bed for most—we can still live vicariously through this “viper’s nest” of a family that find themselves not only being out and about in the world, but also shaping it. A family whose primary concerns include fretting over cold butter at gala dinners (“The butter’s all fucked! You fuckwads, there’s dinner rolls out there ripping as we speak!”) and complaining about syphilitic rivals at thought leadership convenings (“You don’t hear much about syphilis these days… very much the MySpace of STDs”).

Instead of, I don’t know, traveling to see my family in England this past summer, I got to watch Roman and Shiv have an excruciating dinner of pigeon—watch out for the shot!—with their horrible mother in London. Instead of finding a new apartment after grad school, I moved back home, but I watched cousin Greg jump for joy in his new Soho loft, a gift from Kendall because “developers overestimated demand, so I bought all five units.” Instead of dinner parties with friends, I got to watch the world’s most sentient puffer vest Tom Wambsgans get humiliated by his wife and brother-in-law for wearing suits that make him “look like a divorce attorney from the Twin Cities,” a trait exacerbated by his “agricultural walk.”

In the second season the audience, ensconced in the warm embrace of Loro Piana knits and lulled by crass familial scheming, is reminded that cruelty has consequences. Logan’s paranoia leads to a humiliating round of “boar on the floor” during an executive retreat, and a plotline regarding a coverup of corporate malfeasance in the cruise division comes to a crescendo. (Cruises, the canary in the coal mine of this pandemic, seem to be good vehicles for Problematic Moments in general.) It is revealed that internally, Waystar Royco executives would refer to the victims of one executive’s lascivious (and, in fact, criminal) behavior as “NRPI”—no real person involved. Despite living in the rarified air where the hoi polloi are disposable, the rot is exposed. A piece of shit covered in cashmere is still essentially a piece of shit.

Season two ended four months before the pandemic began, and returning to it felt timely. Throughout this fuzzy, uncertain year, I’ve indulged in bad habits to numb existential dread: I can have two cookies for breakfast, as a treat. The Roys can have a little megayacht R&R, as a treat. To really grapple with the collateral damage of COVID and derelict leadership is devastating. Feeling powerless, locked down, and waiting for stimulus checks, one gets the revolutionary urge. In lieu of liberté and égalité, I eat cake and revel in the Roy’s twisted fraternité.

In those uncanny ways that life imitates art, I found myself working on contract for an international media conglomerate, one that is not unlike Waystar Royco, during the pandemic. There are indeed cheerful brand videos that tout inclusivity, boldly progressive values that encourage treating women as equals, and all-staff emails congratulating everybody on their hard work for “delivering highest quarterly EBITDA” and “record-breaking revenue year-over-year” (productivity in a pandemic, boy, I don’t know….). All these people, myself included, get paid ok-to-decent wages to put a human face on a corporation with the sole purpose of churning out content on market data and celebrity gossip. 99% of the company completely divorced from the handful of executives that get to make Important Decisions. Complicity creeps up on you that way, stuck on your couch finding yourself in a land where the border between disdain and aspiration is blurred. Not having an office to commute to or colleagues to complain with, I must be getting some sort of vicarious thrill from watching the Roy clan et. al. infight behind the glass walls of corner offices and bicker over the dull roar of a cocktail party. If this is the price of admission, maybe it’s fine I can’t afford it.

Perhaps that’s why I keep returning to this wretched family, enjoying its chaos and laughing at its bond so acerbic it can only charitably be called affection. Perhaps, in bingeing Succession intermittently, I am absolving myself of the frustration I feel for my inability to hold power to account, or my lack of tangible accomplishment. For what these sociopaths have in money and influence, they lack in emotional intelligence and a moral compass. After all, who really gets hurt when I delight in the tragedy and farce that is the Roy family’s saga? When it comes to the fate of the Waystar Royco empire, there are no real people involved.

[velociraptoraddict]

So why the velociraptor love? (Raptors are my fave too)

Buckle up cause we're about to down memory lane!

It allllll started years ago, with a movie called Jurassic Park, which I watched way too young. Lol, actually, wait no, I can trace it back further than that

It allllll started with a movie called Godzilla (98) (I think that's the year it came out? It was the american version set in Nyc with the babies). I was literally obsessed with that movie. You know how little kids can watch the same movie day in and day out, day after day? Yeah. Godzilla was that movie for me...when I was three-four!!! Like, I hadn't even started kindergarten yet!

But man, did I love that movie.

I had a 4-5 foot inflatable Godzilla that I used to wrestle and play imaginary games with and have tea parties (until it got a hole and deflated very slowly over time...my parents tried to find the leak and tape it but we're unsuccessful...I was devastated)

I also (still) have this plastic baby Godzilla. It was part of one of those "action" playsets I think? It's supposed to have a part of its side that clips on and off to show an injury but I lost that part in kindergarten sand box cause I brought it to school with me a lot. Also, at one point my dogs got a hold of it and chewed it's hand off...I glued it back on. Here's a picture

Now, oddly enough, despite everything I just said, my first imaginary friend (that I can remember) was a Triceratops lol! And for a long time there if you asked me what my favorite dinosaur was, that would be my answer, and here's why:

Around the age of 6, I discovered The Land Before Time. And that became my new everyday movie (specifically 6: I forget the official title but it's the one with the baby three horns that speak baby talk going up to three horn mountain). I would rent a Land Before Time movie every time we went to the video rental store (I think the only reason my parents never actually bought at of the movies for me was cause they didn't want a Godzilla repeat (seriously, I remember bringing that movie to my mom's work office and watching it on a TV in a conference room cause she couldn't get a babysitter or something that day 😂))

During that video rental phase, there were a few other dinosaur movies I remember watching (specifically one that I Can Not Find because I can't remember the name, but it was practical effect baby dinosaurs that these kids find (like a long neck, a pteronodon, a Triceratops and I think a t rex if I remember correctly) I remember the kids keeping the dinosaurs a secret and they gave them names and little dog collars and if you know what movie I'm describing please let me know cause I've been wanting to watch it again for almost 20 years lol)

Ok...where was I?

Ah, yes, so. Jurassic Park. I actually saw The Lost World first and many more times than I have the actual original movie lol

Oddly enough, I remember after the first time watching it, I had a nightmare where the Velociraptors were hunting me through the tall grass like in one scene of the movie. So...I was actually scared of Velociraptors for a little bit there! Crazy, right!?

🤔 I... actually don't remember what caused the shift though? At some point, I remember swopping out my imaginary triceratop for a t rex run along (those things that run along side you when you're in a movie vehicle) then eventually the t rex shrunk to a Velociraptor cause I was literally only seeing the legs of the rex as it ran (🤣 child logic y'all)

I can also trace that same shift using my online usernames lol, my first email was Rex102092 (I remember that but not it's password or domain 😂). Somewhere around 5th or 6th grade, I joined this one website that had a site wide to group chat that was just, chaos (child friendly) role playing. There was this unspoken rule that were were all in this giant mountain bowl landscape, and everyone interacted with everyone else and I could seriously describe all on it still but couldn't find the site itself if you asked lol. My username there was Raptor102092 (I remember I wanted to make it Velociraptor102092 but I couldn't spell Velociraptor. One of my more vivid memories from that chat (other than being taught *is an action indication*) was something saying they thought my username was a reference to a video game monster and didn't realize it was a dinosaur. And for some reason that upset me enough that, I actually went to google to learn how to spell Velociraptor. I started looking up pictures every day as a way to practice spelling it too XD then, going forward all my usernames were Velociraptor102092.

Even when I first joined Tumblr, that was my url

Until

One day, while on tumblr, I realized no one else had numbers in their name (not really, unless they were a bit or something. So I realized I had to come up with something else.

And at that point in my life, I was obsessed with Velociraptors. I had a replica claw necklace, dozens of toys, a plushie I (still) sleep with. I've watched several documentaries where Velociraptors were either the focus, or featured. I googled pictures of them all the time, even had my own character that I drew constantly.

Thus, VelociraptorAddict.

Now, more recently (within the past 5 years), I made a friend who is big into the whole furry thing. And as a result I've kinda been dragged into it as well? Lol

I've been to a few conventions and a few local meet ups but I would exactly considered myself as invested in the whole thing as most people are. But the symptoms are definitely there XD just, very subdued.

But, yeah, if I had the motivation I'd probably build myself at least the wings. But there is No Way I'm spending the kind of money some people do to commission a suite, it's ridiculous! Like, 2-5k ridiculous! No thank you lol

Anyway

I'm sorry I couldn't answer your question.

I don't know where the love for Velociraptors came from?? Cause, The Lost World gave me nightmares...then suddenly, Velociraptors are an intricate part of my online life?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[all-pacas]

ok, three much ado about nothing aus that attempt to deal with the hero/claudio problem in different ways:

it’s ww1 and claudio is about to be deployed. while drinking with his friends, benedict spots his crush ex beatrice and her cousin hero; claudio and hero are immediately smitten and decide that since he’s going off to  fight they should get married right now. this is hero’s idea: she’s really into the idea that they should just elope, and so the story takes place over the week of their hastily-planned elopement. claudio and hero both have doubts, because they really don’t know one another and are scared for the future; beatrice doesn’t think hero should get married because this is super wild, claudio is really into hero but also panicking because this is moving very quickly, benedick is just like “lol dump her then” and also would really like it if beatrice paid attention to him, thanks, don pedro is trying to get the marriage over with to calm claudio down, and john sees pedro matchmaking and decides he wants to mess up his brother’s plans, because pedro is always sticking his hands into other people’s business and just once it would be nice to see it blow up in his face. claudio dumps hero the morning of their elopement, claiming she cheated; most of the rest of act two is spaced out over the next couple of hours, not days, with beatrice calling claudio out directly and benedict defending her/maybe punching claudio or something (and she’s like I HAD IT HANDLED THANK YOU); hero is devastated because she liked claudio and was worried for him and just thought marrying him would help, and in the end the two have a heart to heart and claudio admits he’s terrified of going to fight and the very concept of the future is scaring the shit out of him and he took it out on her, and hero admits that she meant well but might have just been pitying him — this poor man is going off to fight and maybe die and wouldn’t it be so nice of her to marry him so he has someone waiting for him at home? they break up but part on good terms with a promise to meet up for drinks after claudio is back for good; meanwhile benedik and beatrice actually do fucking elope like assholes while everyone’s backs are turned.

it’s 1648 in the holy roman empire and the 30 year’s war has just ended. don pedro, trying to shore up his loses, travels with his half brother and company to leonato, who has lands and minor titles but only a daughter for an heir. pedro is hoping to  arrange a marriage between hero and john, but leonato will not have his daughter marrying a bastard and hero falls for claudio on sight. pedro decides to focus on this marriage instead, as claudio is loyal and true and the real point is to gather up allies for the future, regardless of who leonato’s land goes to. pedro, feeling both snubbed and resentful of his bastard status interfering, works to sabotage the upcoming wedding: if he is not good enough for this maid, he will ensure that she, too, is below the notice of even a count. he orders his man to assault her as he spreads rumors about her affair and leads his brother and claudio to the scene; hero is not actually assaulted because yikes, but it’s enough to look bad at a glance, and when claudio accuses her of being spoiled she, because it’s the 17th century, hesitates because she isn’t sure if she is. beatrice meanwhile refuses to believe it and rails against literally everyone — but benedick, who is willing to hear her out and then believe her. the two of them together uncover john’s plot, there’s a rousing speech, and claudio and hero make up.

 it’s 1950 and the korean war is going on. hero and claudio marry before he is deployed; beatrice and benedick were together but had a misunderstanding about their own engagement — benedick too afraid to ask and beatrice taking it as a rejection — and broke up. while the boys are away fighting, hero keeps house and joins a book club and tries to look forward to her married life when her husband returns, and beatrice goes off and protests and listens to modern music and wears a lot of really nice pants; she tells her cousin that she should not  have married, but to be free as she is, in this modern time. john, a peripheral member of their friend group (being the half brother of claudio and benedick’s mentor/friend) wasn’t drafted and didn’t enlist due to a medical condition; he and hero strike up an unlikely, but platonic, friendship. when the men return home, in a fit of petty anger at pedro and claudio, john announces he and hero were having an affair; claudio goes home and confronts hero, betrayed and also back from a fucking war and with all sorts of ptsd that does not excuse his actions  but does give him a hair-thin reaction time. hero has a panic attack and faints/is hospitalized; beatrice doesn’t leave her bedside. hero doesn’t want to go home, and so beatrice tells claudio et all that hero died, and fuck off, her family will take care of the funeral, don’t show your face; claudio has a breakdown of his own and gets help! meanwhile, hero hides out in beatrice’s apartment for a few weeks. as all this has been happening, beatrice and benedick have been arguing, because that’s how they communicate, but also because beatrice has become very anti war and not because she was partially terrified about losing him shut up and benedick would prefer to pretend to not care but actually is kind of fucked up about it too, and they bond. he discovers hero is alive and at beatrice’s place after, idk, a really inopportune makeout session, and even though the women are scared he’ll tell claudio and pedro he immediately is like “oh, ok, what’s the next step? is hero living here forever or what?” hero decides she doesn’t want to go back to claudio, and enrolls in university, and is the maid of honor at beatrice and benedick’s wedding soon after.

[oscars-wifeyyy]

Chapter 7 (The Innocent)

Now it was Thanksgiving break that was filled with nights with Monse and days with Oscar then the crew. Thanksgiving was obviously spent with family until the sun went down and everyone met at Ruby's place. Everyone was walking and having a good time, but Elizabeth knew that Monse and Ruby were still hurting from seeing their loved one with another person.

"Where's Mario? I was hoping to see him," Jamal asked.

Ruby smirked, "he went with his new bougie girlfriend to Nevada,"

"Instead of coming home?" Monse asked.

"Monse, he is in the bone zone with his new girl," Elizabeth chuckled.

"True,"

"Can you pass the tres leches?" Olivia asked, "my mom makes the best tres leches for my birthday. Guess not this year,"

"Don't say that," Monse comforted, "maybe your folks will be home before your birthday,"

"In a week? I don't think so," Olivia looked down.

"Wait," Ruby paused, "your quince is in a week? And you didn't tell us?! Mom, dad! Olivia's quince is in a week!"

"It's not a big deal," Olivia tried to tell Ruby.

Ruby's family came to the main room and surrounded the girl, "is this true?"

"Olivia, don't you worry about a thing. I can get my shift covered next weekend and we can have it here next Saturday," Ruby's dad said.

There were cheers coming from everyone except for Olivia, who went to hide in her room. Elizabeth nudged Cesar, pointing towards her room. The two went to the room to look inside and saw Olivia crying, but she quickly wiped them away when she heard them coming in. They moved to sit next to her when Monse opened the door again to join them, but soon after all three pulled each other in a hug.

"You don't have to do this," Olivia sniffled.

"We're not doing anything. This is for me," Monse smiled at the crying girl.

"And me," Cesar and Elizabeth said in sync.

"We felt the need to hug. Now accept the hug, damn it," Elizabeth chuckled with everyone.

"I can't believe I'm about to have my first birthday without my parents and it's my quince," Olivia wiped under her nose, "it's so ironic. I mean, since I was able to walk, my mother has driven me crazy talking about my quinceañera. Trying recipes, cutting magazines, making playlists. My dad, practicing our waltz so he'd have it down on the day. He's been practicing for years. Years!"

"That's a lot of dancing," Monse said.

"Yeah. He has no rhythm. Like none. So, my feet are shredded, all in the name of my mother's obsession, which I used to pray to stop. But now it has...I miss it," Olivia finished.

Ruby walked in, "what's going on?"

"Nothing. You just totally and completely devastated Olivia by suggesting she have a quince," Monse said.

The short friend walked over to the hug pile and joined in, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rub salt on the wound,"

"It's not your fault. I haven't seen my parents in months and I've barely talked to them. It's just a nightmare situation,"

Ruby stood up, "which is why you should have a party!"

"Ruby, she doesn't want to celebrate. Are you even listening?" Monse looked at Ruby in disbelief.

"I am," Ruby rolled his eyes, "what I'm hearing is how important this party is to her mom,"

"I can't do this without her," Olivia said.

"But that's why you have to. You're not betraying your mom to have a quince if she's not here, but you would be betraying her to not have one because she's not here," Ruby stood in front of his friends' eyes, "not after all her planning,"

"I side with Ruby on this one," Elizabeth shrugged.

"I never thought of it that way,"

"Because I'm good at making people understand the right side of an argument," Ruby gloated.

"Or annoying them to submission," Monse retorted, high-fiving Elizabeth.

"Do you have any idea about what you want?" Ruby asked Olivia.

The next day came around and there was a squad meeting at Ruby's, but Ruby said to bring a computer or a phone so Elizabeth just brought her phone. Everyone was present except for Olivia and Ruby, but Ruby walked into the dining room with a headset and a huge binder, slammed it onto the table.

"Everyone please open your e-devices and find the email I sent titled 'winning'. Find it? Good. after copious hours of searching through Olivia's quincespirations, I've compiled the best ideas on a Pinterest page on the link below her head shot," Ruby informed.

"Where's Olivia?" Cesar asked.

"The princesa doesn't need to be bothered by details. Now, anyone else have a dumb question? Huh? Good. before we really get going, I'd like to remind you that we're not just friends and family, we're damas and chambelanes in Olivia's court of honor, which means being honorable and dedicated," Ruby looked at everyone, "take a look at our mandatory rehearsal schedule and..." his phone began ringing, "excuse me, I have to take this. Ruby's Fancy Festivities,"

Elizabeth had gotten a call so she looked at her phone and saw Oscar's contact name. Quickly excusing herself, she went to the backyard and accepted the call.

"Wassup? Everything ok?" Elizabeth asked.

"Whatchu doing right now?" Oscar disregarded her questions.

"At Ruby's for a meeting for Olivia's quince. Look like I'm a dama too," Elizabeth sighed.

Oscar started laughing so Elizabeth hung up the phone and went back inside to go back to the group to see Ruby done with his call and contemplating something.

"...think the twins can pull it?" Ruby asked.

"No," Cesar looked at Ruby weird.

"Fine. Moving on. The following are individual responsibilities," Ruby said.

"I'll handle music," Cesar said.

"I'll handle the baking," Elizabeth said.

"Great minds think alike, compas. Monse, given your expert penmanship, you're gonna do the invitations,"

"No," Monse rolled her eyes.

"Use cardstock," Ruby turned to Jamal, "Jamal, you can cater. And by you, I mean your dad,"

"How many people?" Jamal asked.

"Well, there's us, and then the whole block, and...300," Ruby said nonchalantly.

"300 people?!?" Jamal raised his voice.

"You're right. Better make that 350,"

"Jamal will do the flowers. I will do the food," Abuelita said from the kitchen.

Elizabeth fell asleep on the table, but it was interrupted when Ruby woke her up and told her to go to the living room for dance practice. She stood from her seat and made her way to Monse and Olivia, staring at Ruby.

"He's eccentric," Olivia tried to give Ruby the benefit of the doubt.

"Not eccentric," Elizabeth yawned, "more like quincecabra. Anyways, I'm out, I gotta go to the restaurant,"

She walked out of the house and into the red Impala that was waiting with the guy that was so hung up on her without even realizing it. She greeted him with a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek as they began their short drive to the restaurant. Once they got there, Oscar walked her in and went back out to waste four hours since the things that had to be done were done.

Oscar walked around the area and noticed the looks of fear directed towards him because of his appearance, but he reveled in the fear-filled eyes. A store caught his eye so he went inside and looked around, not caring about the security guards that watched him closely. Something shined in his eye so he turned his attention and saw a simple necklace with an O dangling on it so he called one salesman over and pointed at the necklace.

"How much for that?" Oscar asked.

"Oh," the salesman looked dumbfounded because of the simplicity of it, "that's 300, sir,"

Oscar nodded and took out the three hundreds from his wallet, handing it over to the guy, "that cover it?"

"Y-yes, sir," he fumbled with the box and put in the necklace before pushing it into the cholo's hand, "h-have a good d-day, sir,"

"You too," Oscar walked out and smirked as he went out of the store and back to Elizabeth's job.

He waited for another twenty minutes until the familiar girl came walking out with a huge smile on her face. She jumped into the Impala and they went off to go back to Freeridge, but Oscar had felt his stomach drop nervously. The usually hard cholo had taken glances towards the younger girl who was humming to the music playing on the radio so he just went for it.

"Elizabeth, be my ruca. For real like be official, baby," Oscar cleared his throat while facing the freeway, "I don't care about my strikes, I just want you to be mine,"

"Oscar..." Elizabeth sighed, "you might be fine with the risk of getting caught, but I'm not. I won't be the reason Cesar doesn't have you with him again. I want to be with you, but I gotta turn eighteen first. I'm about to turn seventeen and that's not even close to legal age, Oscar,"

"It's my choice too, Eli," Oscar flared his nose in anger, "I want to take that chance to be with you! We can be careful and keep it under wraps,"

"Then are you willing to not be able to go on dates and just stay in?" Elizabeth stared at the older man, "I mean it, Scar. You can't flaunt me around at least not publicly."

Oscar nodded, "done. I can do that,"

"Then yeah, I'll be yours," Elizabeth had a small smile.

Oscar grinned and grabbed her hand to kiss her knuckles, causing Elizabeth to blush. She also moved to their joined hands to repeat the action and rest their hands on her thigh. Their moment was interrupted by Oscar's phone ringing.

"Hermanito," Oscar answered the phone.

"Oscar! I just got pulled up on by LaTrelle. Monse's with me right now," Cesar freaked out on the phone.

"Where are you?" Oscar seethed.

"At the bodega,"

"Be there in 10. Stay there," Oscar hung up with a tight face, but slightly relaxed when Elizabeth took his hand with both of hers and kissed the top of his hand.

10 minutes later, Oscar and Elizabeth were at the bodega and Elizabeth immediately got out to hug Cesar and Monse, glad that they were alright. Everybody was too scared to even notice that the two unlikely friends came to the scene together.

[emekaemy]

I used to look down on Mikasa Eren shippers, as I found the ship so cliche and sister brotherly. But strangely, it was this infamous chapter, 112 which made me rethink about their relationship. This chapter has showed that their supposedly sibling-like (?) relationship is more complicated than it seems.

The emotional density of Eren's speech in 112 made me doubt about him seeing Mikasa as a sister. Whether the feelings are positive or negative- I believe a person can not hold those strong feelings towards someone in his sister's position. During the talk, Eren seemed to experience too much tension to be platonic. This way of talk can be adressed to an ex- girlfriend when you know she has feelings for you but somehow she hurt you and you want her to be hurt as well. Because you know that she loves you and she will be hurt.

If Eren really thought that their relationship was only the Ackerbond, he wouldn't tell all these to break her heart. And Mikasa wouldn't be deeply hurt. He well knows that what Mikasa feels for him is more than a robotic tie and she is a young lady who has feelings for him. Eren sure knows this.

Especially one part of 112 drew my attention:

Mikasa: It was all because of you Eren. You saved my life and put this scarf around me-

Eren: I TOLD you to put your hands on the table!!

I think her sentence about the SCARF hit the very soft spot of Eren, her talk was getting too intense for him to handle the situation, he was scared of showing emotion and changed the talk about their memories by cutting her off harshly. I think the harshness of his reaction to Mikasa's sentence gives him away. (Please read ch 121, Eren's fragility while he's watching the scarf memory.)

His hate confrontation was quite passionate. To me, Eren had never looked like some rude opposite gender as he did in chapter 112. I thought I was not reading a seinen, it looked like a scene from a different genre of manga.

It's possible that after Mikasa's almost kiss&confession, Eren's puberty started (LOL) and it could be the very first moment he saw her in a newlight. But later on he was shocked and disappointed because of the Ackerman past. So, his intention was to break her heart as a revenge. (Some say he was just acting in order to break the Ackerman curse but nobody can act that well and Eren was overwhelmed with emotion, he was glaring!) Still, deep inside, he's aware that Mikasa loves him. There's no way Eren forgot what happened between him and Mikasa in ch 50, Dina Fritz scene.

During his absence, though his mind was busy, Eren still must have contemplated on Mikasa and the nature of his relationship with Mikasa.

We don't know if he will show his real motive and apologize, or he is just telling the truth. We know nothing yet. But the moment itself appeared to me that Eren has (or one time had) feelings for Mikasa. The dialogue didn't seem to me like two siblings' bickering. This chapter is the turning point (though it consists of insult and supposedly negative feelings) where I perceived Eren a male and Mikasa as female. (I know this may sound weird.)

They grew up together as play friends (age 9–10) and after the Colossus they bonded for 6 years. Although they had been bickering and bitter sweet there hadn't occured any big change in their relationship for many years. Except ch 50, It had been stable. (Their fans were frustrated because not much happened in 3 seasons yet, they were too young: 9–15 years old, two orphans, especially Eren with PTSD - too immature to feel that way) So I claim that there had to be a huge earthquake moment between them. (Sadly, not leading to a positive way, instead, to a seemingly negative direction for their shippers)

We can be sure that chapter 112 won't be their final interaction. Even if Eren's harshness may continue for a while, they need to face with each other more openly, before Eren dies. (Hopefully he doesn't)

Nobody who can feel wants such a terrible goodbye to the girl he cared.

If this notorious moment is explained and solved in a good way, I have a hunch that their relationship won't be the same. In other words, their bond may deepen into another aspect. Only something reversely positive and heavier can change this, that red scarf has to be rewrapped around her neck by the same person, if you know what I mean. But I'm really curious how Eren will react to the absence of the scarf when they come face to face, if they ever make up.

The- hate you - moment may lead to a change of their long time undefined relationship. They seem to have entered into a different path. In season 4 (and in the flashbacks where Mikasa learns she is royal and when in railway Eren is talking about whom to hand over his power) Eren really behaves like a young man and acts emotional about or around Mikasa. Especially the railway flashback: They stare at each other and blush! There is no need to mention what kind of emotions do cause blushing…

When season 4 is animated, adult Mikasa and Eren's chemistry will be even more distinguishable.

I like the chapter 107, when Historia laughs at Mikasa: Why did you show your wristband only to Eren? And Eren is almost sneering : So what? Eren must have felt that Historia is the embodiment of the audience shipping them. She may have looked like a giggling high school girl. He and Mikasa have given a big piece of gossip to her. Eren's amused expression continues even in the next panel.

Some people shipping Historia and Eren may think Eren is annoyed at Historia for pairing him with Mikasa. But I perceived it a funny moment where Eren was amused at the fact that because of a girly instinct, Historia knew there was something going on between him and Mikasa.

With the commotion in 112, the author has also created some material and reached to a path to make a drastic change in the relationship. I know he hates cliche romances, but with 112, their relationship is now far from being cliche. It has become rather complicated.

I'm almost glad to read 112. Though it was harsh, Eren and Mikasa had their moment. He is sure to have gained emotional depth. To feel something (love or hate) requires emotional depth. Between the ages of 9 - 15, Eren was neutral to all the girls in the series but only Mikasa, a caring, sibling-like figure, was different.

However, she is still different from other girls in his perspective: this time being the figure he supposedly hates, the figure whose heart he intentionally breaks. Gosh, these are very strong vibes, hinting to a reverse position in which his love could be very strong just the same.

In the 4th season when they are drawn side to side, one can feel the chemistry. Mikasa and Eren do not resemble to siblings anymore.

Their shippers must be devastated after 112. I, who despised the ship must admit that I'm now on the verge of shipping. I believe that we will be seeing the red scarf one more time. Its role hasn't finished yet. 

Besides, I can't imagine a situation in which Mikasa is in love with another guy and Eren is OK with this. He can not handle being the second important man in her life.

From the interviews, I get that the author respects Mikasa so much that he does not feel like setting her as the hero's girl. And this is one of the reasons he opened the way for her independence. But being independent doesn't necessarily mean abandoning your beloved ones.

Besides, If Mikasa was his love interest in the beginning, her character would be ruined. But the manga is coming to an end. So, if something gets real, it won't ruin Mikasa. Her character depth and her charisma have already been confirmed in many chapters.

They love each other very much. She is clearly shown to have romantic feelings for him. They are not siblings. So I believe, one day Eren will be more open to her and assuming he survives, they will be together.

From now on, we will have an independent young woman and a young man. He had already announced his independency, then she threw away her collar as a sign of her independency. Hopefully, we won't be seeing Mikasa protecting and sticking to him like a mother or an older sister.

I don't want to sound too optimistic. The title question is: does Eren have feelings for Mikasa? And my answer is yes, he does.

Unfortunately, they probably won't kiss or confess, contrary to how the shippers expect. I think it will only be implied to the reader that their feelings are more than platonic and it's all. This could be the best scenario. Still, one can not blame the shippers. It was the same author who created the characters, their bond and wrote their beautiful moments.

As a conclusion; the look on his face, especially his narrowed eyes in ch 121 show whatever Eren feels for Mikasa is rather strong.

Although the chapter showed his eyes generally large with wildness, in this image he is stuck between a sad smile and a cry.

Yes, he is overwhelmed with emotion, again. Whether he says he hates her or sees himself wrapping the scarf around her, he is overwhelmed. When our subject is Mikasa, he is just too overwhelmed with strong feelings.

Everybody says Eren went through so much character development and became very mature in the 4th season. Just the same, this Eren can feel deep love towards a young woman who has always been there when he needed. And her name probably starts with M.