#then season 5 has proven that to me long ago

[aflame4goinghome]

‘Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?’

d.r.w. x reader

summary: on your day off, you come across a handsome stranger at the park, reading a book. some force seems to gravitate you toward him, something that you cannot explain or control. perhaps fate?

word count: 3.5k

warnings: just some adorable meet-cute fluff for today, be prepared to be blushing and kicking your feet. smut may happen in part two if you guys enjoy this, so stay tuned xo

a/n: this idea came to me at 3 am while drifting off to sleep thinking about danny. i’m not much of a writer but i wanted to share the inspiration i had with you all. it's proofread but it might not be perfect. i hope that you enjoy it :)

You’re jolted awake by the sound of your blaring alarm clock, which was intentionally set that way in order to combat your bad habit of oversleeping. Choosing a job that required such early mornings was certainly not your preference, but it paid well and you actually quite enjoyed it. You never expected to find such joy in teaching, but starting to teach music lessons has become the best decision that you’ve ever made.

You had decided to move to Nashville 3 months ago from your hometown of Knoxville on the other side of the state, as it was still relatively close to home so you could easily go home for the holidays and visit your family. You stayed in your hometown to go to college there after high school, so these last few months have been your first experience with living on your own.

When you first moved here, you had picked up a waitressing job to pay your rent while you looked for more long-term jobs. Given that you had a bachelor’s degree in music theory, you knew that it wouldn’t be very hard to find a job that suited you in Nashville. This proved to be true, as you had found a flyer in a local coffee shop two weeks ago advertising that a music center close to your apartment was hiring a full-time guitar instructor.

Today, however, you actually got to sleep in. It’s finally the weekend and you can’t wait to finally relax and get some things done after a long first week at your new job. They had you teaching lessons from 9 am to 5 pm every day, Monday through Friday, with an hour lunch break halfway through. That isn’t typically seen as a very difficult shift, but this is the longest workday that you’ve ever had, given that you’ve only just graduated from college this past May.

You feel grateful for the opportunity to gain more work experience in your field, but you can’t deny that it’s been an exhausting first week. You plan to use your weekend off to get your errands done and have some much-deserved downtime.

You roll out of bed after scrolling on social media for a while and finally start to get ready for your day. You take a quick shower, brush your teeth, put on some makeup to make it look like you didn’t just wake up, and then tie your back into a long braid, leaving some front pieces out to frame your face. You return to your bedroom and change into some baggy jeans and a t-shirt, throw on your high-top Chuck Taylors, grab your keys, and head out for the day.

Early autumn in Nashville has proven to still be on the warmer side, but it’s just started to cool down a bit with a nice fall breeze, so you’ve been able to bring out a bit of a cozier wardrobe lately. Fall is your favorite season and you plan to take full advantage of your weekend off by spending it outside.

Your first stop for the day is your favorite coffee shop in Nashville, a little locally-owned café in Midtown. You say hello to your favorite barista and order a hot dirty chai and a chocolate croissant. You sit down at your favorite table outside and enjoy the surroundings and your coffee. After you’re finished, you decide that it’s such a nice day that it wouldn’t hurt to delay your errands in favor of a nice walk through Centennial Park. The wind is blowing lightly and it’s actually quite cool outside, so you stop by your car to grab your cardigan before heading into the park.

You walk up to the park and start walking down a beautiful, winding trail past the small lake. The wind is still blowing subtly, making tiny waves along the surface of the water. You continue, taking a deep breath as you smile to yourself about how lovely the atmosphere is.

As you approach a fork in the path and take the one on the right, you pass a small patch of grass where you find a man lounging underneath a large oak tree. He has laid out a blanket and is lying down on his side, holding himself up with one arm while reading a book.

The man is seemingly tall, which you can tell even while he is lying down just by looking at his long legs and torso. He has dark, shoulder-length curly hair and deep chestnut eyes. He’s wearing a tight, mock-neck tee and dark black jeans with rips on the knees, paired with a simple small chain around his neck and a pair of Nike blazers. You can’t help but find yourself staying to watch him read for a moment. You see him smile as something in his book makes him laugh to himself.

It feels as if something is pulling you toward him, some unknown force making you unable to look away or continue on your path. You’re unsure of what it is, but you decide that you should act on it. As you start to approach him, he notices your presence and looks up at you. He studies you for a few seconds as you near closer to him.

“Hi,” he says, smiling. “Hi,” you reply. You just look at him for a moment, unsure of what to say next that will justify your approaching him, before asking, “What are you reading?” His face lights up at the question like he had been waiting for someone to ask. It seems to be something that he’s passionate about, which interests you.

He slides his bookmark inside onto the page that he was reading, closes the book, and turns the cover toward you to show it to you. “It’s ‘As You Like It,” he says, looking up at you as you tower above him just a few feet away. “Ah, Shakespeare…” you answer awkwardly, looking down as your eyes move from him to the empty spot on the blanket next to him, “May I sit?” He nods, grinning and looking at you with a look that you can’t quite decipher.

You sit cross-legged on the blanket across from him and smile back at him. “Danny,” he says, reaching out his hand to shake yours. You take his hand and answer. “Y/N,” you reply. “I read that one not long ago,” you continue, “I really enjoyed it. The love that those two share is different from many other plays of his. I like that about it.”

“Yeah! That’s what I like about it too. There are so many plays about love at first sight but this one is different. Most of his plays portray it as only physical attraction that causes love at first sight, but Orlando’s love for Rosalind is so much more than that.” His smile has grown now, happy to be talking to someone who understands his love for this type of literature. He continues, saying “There’s a lot of plays that involve disguising oneself as the opposite sex, but in this play, it proves that their connection goes beyond the idea of physical appearance. Orlando bonds with Rosalind even when she is disguised as Ganymede because he loves more than just her beauty.” You nod your head, agreeing with him.

“What act are you in now?” you ask. “Act Three,” he says, opening the book back up and handing it to you to show you his place. “Oh, this is when it starts to get good! This is my favorite part of the play, in Act Three Scene Two.” You turn back a few pages to find the excerpt that you love, pointing to it and reading it aloud to him:

Nature presently distilled Helen’s cheek, but not her heart; Cleopatra’s majesty; Atalanta’s better part; Sad Lucretia’s modesty. Thus Rosalind of many parts by heavenly synod was devised; Of many faces, eyes, and hearts, to have the touches dearest prized. Heaven would that she these gifts should have, and I to live and die her slave.

After you finish, you look up from the book to find Danny’s eyes trained on you. You feel your cheeks flush and you know that you must be a shade of pink by now. You continue, trying not to let it get to you, saying “Orlando’s poems contain so much more meaning than any other confessions of love in other plays, in my opinion. He feels as though God himself crafted Rosalind with the best features a woman could possess, not only beauty but also a pure heart. He believes that fate has brought them together, that he is destined to be with her and will do anything for her.”

He nods in agreement and chimes in, asking “Do you believe in that kind of stuff? Fate? Destiny?” while gazing at you, looking like he’s trying to read your mind. He doesn’t need to, though. You feel compelled to be open with him, although you’re unsure why. He’s a stranger, whom you’ve just not long ago, but something makes you want to talk to him for hours.

You gaze down at your hands in your lap, fidgeting with your fingers to distract yourself from how nervous you suddenly feel. “Yeah, I think so. I try to be in tune with the universe and its intentions for me as much as I can. If I feel like it’s trying to tell me something, I’ll always listen to it.” You pause for a moment before deciding to follow through with your next thought. “That’s kind of why I’m here, actually,” you say, glancing up from your lap to look at him.

He looks slightly confused by this answer, so you continue, saying “I was just walking through the park when I saw you sitting here and, I’m not sure why, but something made me feel like I had to approach you. It was like I was led here for a reason or something like that. I know that might sound crazy…,” feeling slightly embarrassed by your confession. “No! No, not at all! I understand what you mean. I had this feeling in my chest from the second you walked up to me. Seeing you felt almost natural. Like I already knew you somehow, but I didn’t,” he reassures you. The idea still perplexed you, however. You’ve trusted the universe every time before, but you still can’t place why it wanted you to come and talk to Danny.

“Do you?” you ask, meeting his eyes with yours, “Y’know, believe in fate and all that stuff?” He smiles, “Yes, I do. I like the idea of being able to trust that there’s someone out there that’s meant for me. It might be a bit silly or naïve, but it’s comforting for me. I think that when you find that person, you just… know.”

There’s some comfortable silence for a moment as you start to study his face. Danny truly was beautiful. His face was sun-kissed, his cheeks peppered with freckles, and a smile that could brighten up a whole room. You’re lost in thought as he breaks the silence. “What do you think the reason is?” he asks, slightly bashfully. “Why do you think the universe pulled you over to me?” He looks at you longingly, as though your answer will be life or death. You’re not sure what to say, but you try to answer him, nonetheless.

“I’m not sure,” you start. “I think that’s for us to decide. Fate is a force that holds us all together, but it can’t answer everything. I do know that I’m really happy I listened… What do you think?” You blush slightly after you finish and then look at him, waiting for his answer. You’re not sure what you’re expecting, but you have a feeling of hope in your chest.

“I think…” he says, tucking some of your hair that’s fallen out of your braid behind your ear, “that the universe decided to introduce me to an intelligent and breathtakingly beautiful girl.” He brings his hand down from your hair and places his hand on your knee, stroking his thumb ever so slightly intermittently. “And I think that I’d be an idiot to not take that as some sort of sign.”

You look up at him and smile, feeling flattered by his honesty. You place your hand on top of his, in the same spot on your knee. “I think so too,” you say. He takes your hand in his and brings it up to his mouth, softly kissing your knuckles. You sit there in silence once again, with an aura of contentment filling it.

He speaks again, still holding your hand in his. “This really made my day, in more ways than one. I’ve never had anyone to talk about Shakespeare with before. As much as I love my friends and enjoy talking to them about our common interests, like music, they all think that Shakespeare is boring. But Sam hasn’t opened a single book since we graduated high school, Josh only reads books on meditation, and all Jake ever wants to read is pirate novels, so what the hell do they know anyway?” he says, laughing to himself about the joke he just made. His laughter makes you smile wide.

“Well, I’m glad I could help. It’s been great talking to you. I’m gonna be honest, I haven’t really made any friends since moving here three months ago, so this felt nice. Since July, the only people I’ve talked to are the barista at the coffee shop down the road, my mailman, and my mom on Facetime.” You laugh to yourself, realizing how pathetic that might sound after saying it out loud.

He doesn’t care, though, and says “Hey, that’s okay! If I hadn’t moved here with my buddies, I’m sure it would’ve taken me a while to make some friends too. I lucked out there. You just have to put yourself out there, like you did today. Now you can say that you have one friend in Nashville.” This made you feel a bit better.

“So, friend, tell me about yourself. What brought you to Nashville?” he asks.  You smile at the way he says “friend;” his charm is certainly not lost on you. You’re sitting closer now, unintentionally. Ever since Danny had made the first move to touch you, all bets were off and you practically melted into his touch.

Your knees fell on top of his legs as he held your hand, rubbing slow circles on the top of it. “Well, I just graduated from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville this past May. I studied music theory, so I thought that Nashville would be the perfect place for me. So far, it seems like it is. So I think I’m finally starting to find my way.” He smiles at you; it seems like something you said struck a chord with him.

“A music lover? Another thing we seem to have in common. Do you play any instruments?” he asks. “Yeah, I play guitar the most, I just started a job teaching guitar lessons to kids. I also sometimes play piano, but I’m not as good at it,” you laugh. He replies, “That’s fantastic. I play guitar too, but I mostly stick to the drums. I can play a bit of piano as well, but not nearly as well as my best friend Sam. He’s a fucking prodigy.” He smiles at that statement; he clearly admires his best friend a lot. “We’ll have to take more about guitar, then. I’d love to show you my baby,” you say with a smile. “How about you, Mr. Mystery? What are you doing in Nashville?”

“Well, I grew up in Michigan, not far from Detroit. I met my friends while in school: Sam, Josh, and Jake. They’re brothers, Josh and Jake are twins, two years older than me, and Sam and I were in the same year. Sam has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. They’re all practically brothers to me,” he says. You can tell how much he cares for them by the way he talks about them, making you want to meet them someday.

“They always liked to make music, especially Jake, but one day in high school they asked me to play the drums in their band. I really didn’t think we would take off the way we did, but somehow our local gigs became bigger ones, then they turned into opening gigs, our EP won a Grammy and the rest is history. We stayed in Michigan for a while and we tried LA, but a few years ago we decided on Nash and we’ve been here ever since.”

You’re completely in awe. What are the chances that you’d stumble upon a handsome rockstar while on your walk through the park? It really shouldn’t surprise you; now that you think about it, he very much gave off the cool rockstar vibe. “So, what, are you like, famous?” you say with a smirk, teasing him a bit. You can tell that the confession made him nervous, unsure of what you might think of him after finding out what he does for a living.

“Maybe I am,” he answers, dripping in charm once again. “Well, rockstar, if you’re so famous, then what are you doing here, reading Shakespeare in a park and talking to a nobody like me on a Saturday afternoon?” This makes him laugh, which was your goal. Despite only having just met him, you want him to feel comfortable with you. “We’re on a break in our tour right now before our European leg, so I’m just trying to enjoy the downtime while I still can,” he explains. There’s some comfortable silence once again.

“Do you wanna know my favorite line from As You Like It?” Danny asks. You nod, and he continues. “Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?” He looks at you with what you think is a spark of desire in his eyes, though you shake that thought off immediately. You giggle and ask, “And why is that?”

“Because it reinforces the idea of fate. She’s saying that the truest kind of love is love at first sight. And I think I’m starting to understand why,” he says, leaning in toward you a little more and donning a smirk that makes you feel like you could just melt into a puddle right there. “Yeah, I think I understand too…” you reply.

He looks into your eyes and you stare back into the glow of his, almost amber in the light of the sun. I could stay here forever, you think to yourself. He shifts his gaze from your eyes down to your lips, then returns his eyes to you and asks, “Can I kiss you?” You nod and his hand cups your cheek, finally leaning in to close the space between you.

His lips are soft and warm, making you feel safe. The kiss is soft at first, you can feel the amount of love and kindness that his soul emits as if he’s passing it over to you and soothing any anxiety you might feel. You place your hand on the back of his head, deepening the kiss. You can feel the lust and passion flowing out of him through you, making you start to feel slightly light-headed. It was unlike any kiss you’d ever experienced before.

Danny pulls away from the kiss and caresses your cheek, holding his forehead to yours. “You are… everything I’ve been waiting for,” he says. You smile, running your fingers through his curls. You’re in awe of how beautiful he truly is. Destiny had been kind to you, it seems. You can already feel as though you were fated to meet here, today.

He looks up to see the impending sunset and checks his watch, realizing that the two of you had been sitting there talking much longer than he had thought. You watch him as he stands up and reaches out his hand to help you up. He picks up the blanket and folds it over itself a few times then tucks it under his arm.

He cups both of your cheeks with his hands and places another small peck on your lips, smiles, and says “Can I take you out? Tonight?” You laugh, “Hmm, let me check my schedule…” you joke, knowing that you have nowhere else to be, but still wanting to keep him on his toes. I guess my errands will have to wait, you think to yourself.

You both start to head out of the park toward where you parked your car, as he takes your hand in his and squeezes it tight. “Oh, shut up, you know you want nothing more than for me to take you out to dinner,” he jokes back, laughing. “You might be right,” you say, “And I might want more than just dinner…” You look up at him with a smirk, and he looks back at you with that look of lust that you’ve already seemed to make yourself familiar with.

It’s going to be a long night, isn’t it?

The End

[canonicallyobserving911]

Hi how's your day going? Just wanted to vent and say I'm pissed at what sounds like Ryan being sidelined and casually belittled in the latest cast interview/promo 😑 i.e. apparently zero mention of Eddie's storyline for s7, Tim once again making the tired joke about eddie being "too pretty to kill off" (kind of insulting considering how much Eddie and Chris have brought to the show since s2), seems like the only thing Ryan got to say was something incredibly sweet and complimentary about working with Gavin 🥺😍 and fandom just thinks it's funny "well he IS pretty". If that's all Eddie is to buddie fandom...that just confirms everything I've been complaining about the last couple of years 🙃

Thank you @blutterlie for the ask. I'm doing well and I hope you're doing well too.

I read through the snippets that were posted on 911blr from the panel interview that was done a couple of nights ago with the main cast and the showrunner and... I really don't have words. But to say I was disappointed is an understatement.

I was really hoping things would be different for Eddie and Chris, the characters and RG and GM, the actors this season since it seems like KR got the boot and is no longer sitting in the showrunner's chair. Hopefully she is gone and if so, maybe someone other than Buck (Eddie, Chris, Chimney and Bobby because they were all sidelined in the last two years while the other half of their ships got good storylines) can get a storyline or two but I can't say I'm surprised with the outcome.

Apparently TM cares about the big emergencies which is great and all but it would be better IMO if they stopped trying to recreate scenes from movies (Speed, Poseidon and whatever other movies they've copied) and focus on growth of the main characters. I've mentioned this before in my Constructive Criticisms posts but none of the first responders have been promoted. How long are they going to remain in their same roles? For me, the show has lost something and I'm not sure a cruise disaster that puts Bobby and Athena in danger again for the umpteenth time is going to make people watch... but I digress.

I'm saddened because RG and GM the actors and the characters they play, Eddie and Chris have been sidelined and given minimal screentime for a while but the little amount they do get is always solid gold because both RG and GM are superb actors. They work very well together and I had hope for season 7 that they would finally be given the screentime they deserve especially since they barely got any in seasons 5 and 6 but it looks like another wash, rinse and repeat season with Buck still looking for answers (which I figured would be the case after I completed a post about his attire in the still of him and Chris). I was really hoping it wasn't going to be another season 4 with Eddie and Chris suffering with another recurring character (all they did was replace AF with M) while they wait for Buck to finally "get it" but apparently some people think it's fun and cute for Buck to be in the words of OS, "stuck on a hamster wheel" but I don't and honestly, unless he's headed for a massive breakdown SO he can finally DEAL AND COPE with all his issues, they can keep it.

The comment TM made about RG being pretty was just... 🙄. IMO, it was disrespectful, disgusting, disingenuous and completely discrediting. If it's true and he was initially hired for his looks for whatever reason, shouldn't they be past that by now? It's been six years and RG has proven time and time again that he's a fantastic actor. For those who forgot, EDDIE carried the ENTIRETY OF SEASON 5 on his back while KR was stumbling around as showrunner with most of the "top billed" cast (that's two-thirds of those who are paid the most) out of pocket. AB was working on A LOT of other projects and that's no hate to her but it's true, JLH was on maternity leave, RD and MR left the show and instead of giving more screentime to Eddie, Bobby and Chimney, they forced TK into the spotlight just to show how bad she was for Buck. They could have done that in episode 1 without giving her a back story so they could have dedicated more time to Eddie’s PTSD and therapy. Buck got two whole seasons and he still hasn't figured anything out but they rushed Eddie’s story and wouldn't even let him say he was going back to the 118🤔.

How many times will the audience have to watch these repetitive storylines? Also, how many times will RG, AH, GM, KC, CM and PK be sidelined for the other mains? It's supposed to be an ensemble cast but someone keeps forgetting that and pushing certain characters out front while they push the others to the side. In season 5, Chimney was sent on a road trip to drive across America with a 6-month-old instead of him staying in L.A. so Buck and Albert could help him with Jee-Yun. In season 6, Bobby was given a sponsor (Wendell) no one had ever heard of before and he appeared out of thin air. Hen's medical school storyline went absolutely nowhere and May disappeared after 6x11. And Eddie and Chris were once again sidelined and then pushed into another "Eddie has to date" because "Chris needs a mother" storyline with another bland and ridiculous recurring character because they keep dragging out whatever the "F" they're doing.

Now with the comment about RG being "too pretty to die", it made me wonder if Eddie and Chris being left out of the promos was a mistake after all🤷‍♀️.

I hope RG and GM can find a show that will appreciate their contributions and give them the screentime they deserve and it be based on how great they are as actors because they deserve so much better.

Anyway, this got longer than I expected and I didn't mean for it to but I'm disappointed in how they're treated and I'm tired of watching the same ole same old.

[puckthedrama]

pt 2.

as well, he needs to rehab as hard as a recovering movie star and bulk up like a bear before hibernation in order to truly advance to his true potential and it will take tremendous mental and physical strength and dedication to do so. now, if i had a gf, a long distance one at that, does that not become a distraction? if sammy is as toxic as people say, is that not mentally draining? truthfully, if im jack hughes, ofc id want to have fun and enjoy myself and he should, but does having her around bring support or will she be an anchor to what, frankly, needs to be a career year for him. and before anyone cries jealousy, note that none of his exes once encountered an aota of the amount of bad things said about them, im not a disgruntled fan girl who thinks he’s gonna date me. ofc superstars do this all of the time and some ppl do take longer to develop, but most of the leagues best had all proven themselves more at the same age then jack (think mcdavid, crosby, ovi, pasta, mackinnon, matthews) it’s one thing if this was a one off disappointing year , but if i had only 1/5 seasons with over 65 games played and only one playoff win and 1 year ish of true superstar caliber play, the last thing i would need, whether i liked it or not, was a relationship where you both engage in some pretty toxic behaviour (ie. sammy’s personality and actions + jacks liking other girls pics) might prove to be costly, as it would to anyone. now u might say, but quinn had a gf last summer and he had a career year! well i’d point out that a.) olivia is a much better person than sammy b.) quinn has always been stronger/more durable and less injury prone (and more dependable) than jack and c.) he is 10x a more complete player (hello norris trophy, meet my 92 league leading for dmen points!! ) so a lot less pressure is on him as he has already proven he’s a superstar and an arguably top 2 defence men in the league. ryan whitney on spitting chiclets made a bet with pasha two years ago that jack hughes wouldn’t score 100 + points in three years, and he and everyone listening knew it was stupid. but it’s year 3 next year and i guess what im saying is, ofc jack could prove me wrong and drop 130 next year but until he can finally put on the weight and muscle this summer while being in what seems like a toxic relationship to overcome not playing scared and with the physical and mental fortitude required to be a superstar and make playoffs, then im sorry , he will never have the discipline nor self respect to become a true force in the league. but that’s just me 🤷🏽‍♀️

pt 2 to the most recent post!

[herwrittenuniverse]

My Honest (and long AF) Review of The Dragon Prince: Season 4

So - after coming hot off the press (literally just watched the last episode no less than 5 minutes ago), I have some thoughts on this season.

This is a long recap, just FYI.

*SOME SMALL SPOILERS BELOW*

First...I didn't think this season was as good as Seasons 2 and 3. I understand the objective was different, and it didn't have the same 'feel.' That's fine - I actually felt like it was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows all over again...going around, finding clues about Aaravos...are horcruxes next? (IYKYK) In any event, the promo for this season was excellent, but I don't think it lived up to the hype.

But here's the thing.

They are going up to Season 7. I feel like this season was a filler for what's to come...the show is definitely in a transition phase right now and it needs to develop the plot. The creators have only 9 episodes a season to work with. Up until this season, I felt like everything was spaced out fairly, and the pacing felt right. The arc of Seasons 1-3 was about the war, and it was linear. This season has a lot more to develop and resolve.

On that note...this season seemed a little rushed, but I understand why it seemed so. None of us (including the creators) were sure that it would get renewed, and when it did, the nine episode timeline per season was the standard. I can forgive that - the show has already proven that it is amazing and I have no doubt that I will enjoy the 2nd half of the series.

*MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW*

Having said this, there were moments where I truly held my breath. I felt like the first two episodes were S L O W, but it picked up with the duel between Ibis and Claudia. Someone DID predict that Ibis would die (I saw in the comments section on Instagram and I can't remember who, sorry) because Callum was seen with his staff in some promo images. Keen eye and good call...I just didn't think it would actually happen, and a bit graphically for a straight-up kids show, too. The cinematography with Ezan's speech and the duel, along with Corvus' piece...'twas very beautiful and poignant. And the tension created when Ibis uses Claudia's own fang against her...only to have Terry kill him...really, an epic moment for TDP.

From there on, I felt the material turned a bit twisted and dark, and I am here for it. While this season was slower, action-wise, it really focused on the dialogue and character development. Seeing Callum be controlled by Aaravos was really gut-wrenching, and then having him request that Rayla kill him if anything goes wrong...'tis a very mature request for a character to make for a child's show. (Also...it was cool that they featured Callum as the statue for the opening of that episode, but was confused when he was featured in only one. I hope they switch it up from time to time.)

I feel like Claudia is truly following in her dad's footsteps and will probably meet a terrible demise eventually...but maybe there's hope for her in Terry. Holy shit, I STAN Terry. He is like Claudia's conscience. He's so good and goofy...the discussion with Viren about what he did to protect Claudia was a standout moment for me. Another one was in the last few minutes of episode 9, when Terry tells Claudia how terrible it was to deceive Rayla - again, another great moment for TDP writers. The fact that they are so clearly discussing hard feelings (or 'big feelings,' and the brothers affectionately call them) really makes me applaud this show. This is the kind of stuff kids (and adults, tbh) need to see. (Also, do we think someone bad is going to happen to Terry, which will ultimately turn Claudia either completely good or completely evil?) [Edit: I seemed to have completely missed the dialogue and parts where Terry comes out as trans, and it just makes me love this character and TDP writers even more.]

Along that note, I'm SO GLAD the Moonshadow Elf coins showed up in this season, even if it was for a few minutes. I'm hoping that we see some resolution with them in Season 5. (I'm sure this was an easy prediction, but I did figure out that Runaan and Rayla's parents were inside the coins back in Season 2.)

Another comment about the writing...I always felt like the writing was strong for this show, but at moments, it felt a bit disjointed. I understand this is a kids show and all, but when I think of ATLA (my favorite show of all time) and Steven Universe, the humor and story were always interwoven seamlessly. The juvenile humor (especially in the first three episodes or so) kind of missed the mark for me. Like, why are you talking about Terry's farts when Viren is straight up having a panic attack and about to fall off a cliff? Just...no.

In addition...I DO want Viren to have a redemption arc, but I'm not sure if it's possible. It can go either way, and I'm curious about what the writers will decide. Viren stated in Episode 1 of season 4 that perhaps he should enjoy his thirty days and live the rest of his life in peace. So there's a bit of hope in that. But...will evil shine through? (Also, did you notice in the animations at the end, that Viren visibly fainted and needed assistance upon using his magic? Interesting...)

Some positive notes...

I absolutely loved seeing Amaya and Janai full on experience their love. The conversation with Kareem about their symbolism of marriage was so prevalent, especially in the light of a LGBTQ+ conversation. While I don't identify as being part of the community, I identify as an ally, and I know what the importance of marriage is to my LGBTQ+ friends. (Also, "just have two cakes" was such excellent advice.)

Seeing more of Zubia was excellent too, and although her humor was a bit juvenile as well, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the personality of the archdragons. Rex Igneous was an WONDERFUL addition to the family. So much more complex and likeable then Sol Regem. And the gift being a chocolate tart? Go Ezran! I hope we see more of Rex in following seasons.

AND! Soren and his little dragon friend! Calling on "YIP YIP" to have her go! I actually screamed. I hope we see our angry she-dragon again. I just want Soren to have a dragon friend, ok??? (Also, no bonus sketch of Appa in the credits??? Missed opportunity!)

One last important note before I wrap up...the tension between Rayla and Callum upon her return...while it drove me crazy to no end, I absolutely dig and respect the choices that the writers made. And it's true...when someone abandons your for two years, you can't just expect to pick right up when they come back. It's going to take time to heal. In the last episode, when Callum thought Rayla was gone, and he began openly sobbing...ugh, my heart. I'm glad they ended the season with them embracing. You know they still love each other. And really, I just want them to make out. Let's go, Season 5!

Last thought - do we think Ezran will be related to the human girl who discovered Aaravos' secret? I think so. Rex even said, "You remind me so much of her." Or something like that.

Also, a bonus thought...could Aaravos somehow be working through Kareem? It would explain why he turned so quickly on his sister. Or...he could just be at odds with her.

Well, it better not be three years until we see Season 5. Internet rumors tell me the season will come out in July 2023, and I hope that's true.

Feel free to sound off in the comments. If you made it this far through my ramblings, I applaud you.

And yet another bonus thought - the creators said we would see more LBGTQ+ characters. I have my bets on who they are. I'm curious if we have the same thoughts.

Thanks for reading!

[jdgo51]

Jehoshaphat, Isaiah, and Job: Prayers for a Time Such As This

Today's inspiration comes from:

100 Favorite Bible Prayers

by Stacy Edwards

"For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." — 2 Chronicles 20:12

"Jehoshaphat and his people were about to face a great enemy, and they were afraid. Armies were on their way to drive them out of the land God had given them, and Jehoshaphat did the only thing he could think to do: he prayed. In his prayer, Jehoshaphat admitted that the people were powerless to stop what was coming at them, and they simply did not know what to do.

Haven’t we all, at some point in our lives, prayed a similar prayer? We’ve all faced a scary situation, an uncertain outcome, or a devastating diagnosis. Just like Jehoshaphat, we’ve experienced times when — on our own — we were powerless against what was coming at us. Hasn’t each of us prayerfully uttered the words, “I don’t know what to do”?

The beauty of this prayer is that, while the people didn’t know what to do, they did know where to look. To focus their gaze on the enemy or themselves would have served only to heighten the people’s fear and despair. They knew their only hope was to fix their eyes on God.

There will be times in our lives when we feel powerless, fearful, and uncertain as to what to do. In those moments, however, we can choose to fix our eyes on the One who can calm any storm, defeat any foe, and lead us through any valley.

Father, I fix my eyes on You as You fill me with Your certainty.

Suffering allowed him to see with his own eyes what he had always heard to be true of God.

O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. — Isaiah 25:1 ESV

God is the One who knows the end from the beginning. He is never caught off guard by our circumstances or bewildered by our behavior. He never feels pressured by the passing of time. God has always been — and will always be — in complete control of His creation.

Isaiah’s acceptance of God’s eternal nature, sovereignty, and faithfulness was evident in the way he prayed. He knew that God had a plan — a faithful and sure one formed long ago. Isaiah knew what Jeremiah knew: God’s plans for us have been prepared in advance (Jeremiah 1:5), and they are plans to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11).

When we understand that God has a plan and that nothing about our existence is haphazard or out of control, it changes the way we pray. And when we understand that we were made on purpose and with a purpose, it changes the way we live. Each of us is intentionally and uniquely handmade by a holy God who has a plan for us.

God has proven time and again that He is able 'to rescue the godly from trials' (2 Peter 2:9 ESV). He led His followers out of lions’ dens, fiery furnaces, and prisons because He still had plans for those individuals. If there’s still breath in your body, He isn’t finished with you. Trust Him to be as He has always been: faithful and sure.

Only You, God, are worthy of my trust. You know the plans You have made for me, and I can rest assured in Your promise.

I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You.

— Job 42:5

When have you felt the closest to God? For many of us, it is during seasons of sorrow and suffering that we sense the nearness of Him the most. God has promised us that He will never leave us. We can always be assured of His presence, but it is often in those moments of agony that He chooses to reveal Himself in a whole new way.

Job was a man of great faith. He was described as a man who was 'blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil' (Job 1:1 ESV). He made it his practice to rise early and offer prayers and sacrifices for his entire family. By all accounts, Job was a good and godly man. Yet, in his prayer, Job acknowledged that his suffering allowed him to see with his own eyes what he had always heard to be true of God.

We can all think of times when we’ve seen God at work with our own eyes. Maybe it was in the form of physical protection from an accident or illness that should have had a worse outcome. Or perhaps it looked like provision from an unexpected source in a time of great need. Or it may have been a person who came along at just the right moment to comfort, guide, or assist us.

We have heard of You, Lord, but now our eyes see You."

Excerpted with permission from 100 Favorite Bible Prayers by Stacy Edwards, copyright Thomas Nelson.

[zodiacrant]

🍩My experiences with each Moon sign🍩

(Cause yall are messy)

I have done this a few times before but for Sun signs and did rank placements but never shared my thoughts and experiences with the Moon signs.

Now I know how this goes, so if you get mad or sad then go off I guess. Aint the first time I get cursed out or attacked in this bitch. Plus, I am a Cap moon so naturally I won’t do well with some Moons and I will be nitpicking everything about everyone.

🍩Aries Moon🍩

My dad’s moon. Yup, that tells you alot without me even starting. Having our Moons in Square shit was hard to say the least. It took a long time for us to be on middle grounds and because I don’t feel comfortable talking about my problems here I will continue on. The Aries Moon that I really like and can think of is Rihanna, so I would say it’s unfair to make a whole judgment but from what I saw and heard they’re not exactly the best to be around. So I give them a 3/10 for being bold and having nerve.

🍩Taurus Moon🍩

Now this Moon right here I know people from ( a close friend and my sister, plus some others) and I don’t have many strong opinions about it. As a Taurus Sun, it can be a challenge to work with a Taurus Moon. I am stubborn at my core and they’re stubborn with their heart, so everytime we disagree it’s like a rope pulling contest. Way too stagnant for me but I think that’s because of my other placements and they don’t take any advice or open up no matter what. On to the good, I never disliked someone with this placement. No matter how much of an asshole they can be, to me it is difficult to hate them or stay mad at them. They’re warm, kind, and sweet but a bit aloof and naive, also they don’t like to touch and hug as some people might think. I will give them a 8/10

🍩Gemini Moon🍩

(⚠️TW⚠️ mention of rape and erratic behavior)

I only had one best friend with this placement and I don’t I want to meet any more, and I am at peace with that if they resemble her in any way. She was a maniac. She loved to lie, create drama, blow shit up, act crazy and basically be shocking. I do find similarities with Gemini Sun where they do shit for reactions but with her, she will take it to the next level. Lie about being raped, act possessed, or pretend that she is being followed. It’s not fair to associate her with people who share the same Moon as her but that was y’all’s representation in my life. She was erratic so it’s difficult to see where her Moon was in effect and where she was just off. I’ll give them a 1/10, would not recommend until proven otherwise.

🍩Cancer Moon🍩

The first that comes to my mind is Taylor Swift and to me she is the ultimate Cancer Moon. It juat makes sense how fast she takes it to the next level with people. Whether getting serious quickly with someone or throwing down and feuding. She just always at a 100. Personally, I never got close with someone who has this placement, maybe it’s because I am a Capricorn Moon myself, but I would say the ones that I have met were nice. I’ll give them a 5/10

🍩Leo Moon🍩

I only had one best friend with this placement but the people I have met with this Moon I still remember. They all had one thing in common and that was being emotionally traumatized and have lost one parent. My best friend was super loyal, very confident in what they believed in and represented, were always there for me and had an amazing ability in motivating others. But they were also super prideful and there’s no coming back with them. Fight once and it’s over. (Yes I am looking at you Jonnie). One of the other people was with me in uni and always had the to urge won up me and my friend. He had scars all over and he doesn’t remember how he got them. But he was super proud of himself and his home country, which I respect and admire. I’ll give them a 6/10

🍩Virgo Moon🍩

I know two people with this placement, my mom and a professor at uni, and oh boy it makes sense that they’re a Virgo Moon. Me and my mom are too alike that we clash strongly at times. She thinks she can do it better and I think I can do it better and we just have like a competition on who done it better basically. From cooking, to how you light the stove, to how you put on clothes, to how you lay down on bed. Both my mom and my professor are super critical and precise, althogh my professor is a double Virgo (Sun and Moon) so she will go even further. They have to do everything as it arises and act like there’s no time and everything is about to go wrong. Like damn sis chill the fuck out for a sec and this is coming from a Cap moon so you know it’s bad. But I really like Virgo Moon, even though people might hate such a personality but I can relate to them in some ways. I’ll give them 7/10

🍩Libra Moon🍩

My only online friend that I talk to all the time got this Moon. Other than her I met only two people and they were something. Okay so for my friend, because I never actually have seen her physically with my own eyes I can’t say how she acts all the time, but she is one of the best listeners I had in my life. She likes to hear me ramble for an hour about a dumb encounter that lasted a second, talking about astrology and some nerdy things and then not so nerdy things. I believe that it’s a Libra Moon quality to be emotionally versatile and attentive. I think because she is a Leo dominant she acts much fiery and fiercely than a Libra would. As for the other people I just thought they were fake. One acted as a friend but then would just disappear so I was over it quickly and the other was super passive and pretentious that I think she shits out plastic. All in all I think it’s a great Moon. I’ll give them a 7/10

🍩Scorpio Moon🍩

One of the hardest Moons I ever delt with but I find that I love them too. My oldest sister had this Moon and she is such a mystery. Because I am a Taurus Sun, it is only natural for me to have a hard time with a Scorpio Moon. Even though she is an extrovert, she rarely talks about herself and her feelings, you will never catch her slipping or show vulnerability. I can see how difficult it may be for her being a Cancer with a Scorpio Moon and have Gemini dominance. But she’s a bitch at heart and I am cool with it. I’ll give them 5/10 cause I am not a big fan of paradoxical people

🍩Sagittarius Moon🍩

A moon that I always babysat. I had two best friends with this Moon and if I was born a second earlier, it would mine too. I don’t know if it’s because of my Gemini Venus or my 0 degree Capricorn Moon but I love Sagittarius Moons. I was fortunate to see some of their weaknesses and for them to trust me enough to be vulnerable. But boy do they get themselves into the dumbest situation because they wanted to see what would happen. I had to babysit them and help them do everything like shopping, cooking, cleaning, assembling furniture, be their body guard when buying weed. (Shhhh it’s a secret). They’re in many ways immature cause they run from things and everytime you try to be real with them, they say “stop being negative”. I’ll give them a 9/10

🍩Capricorn Moon🍩

The grande dame of the Moon signs, sitting at it’s opposite planet. I have met many Cap Moons and honestly we are bitches 😂. The energy of sitting next to a Capricorn Moon is too fucking much like I never knew it’s like that. I noticed the way they stare, talk, walk and sit can be so aggressive and intimidating. I see why people might label us as bullies, cause the energy is definitely there and I myself was such a cunt (still a little but I am more aware of myself now) that I get where both are coming from. Life as a Capricorn Moon is emotionally flat. If wasn’t for my other placements you will never see me even flinch. I think we just take everything and let it process in our head before we let it into our hearts. So to me, we’re not mean, we just don’t see how something might be hurtful. But also that tone and that blank face, goddam! That’s why I try to smile cause bitch no, I didn’t know I was walking with a death stare this whole time. Anyways, I will give us 10/10 cause I am self appreciative like that 😂✌️

🍩Aquarius Moon🍩

I have always tried to understand Aquarius Moon and it was only a month ago that I have realized they themselves are not sure of who they’re. I had one best friend with this placement and three cousins (all siblings). First, my cousins are super competitive with each other on who gets to do what and if it happens that they’re similar in something they will get pissed. The person that was my best friend was like that as well. Only he would drop a an entire hobby, interest, something close to his heart, shit even a personality trait. I find them to be constantly changing and trying, so they shift between one end of extreme to the other until they center themselves. I’ll give them a 4/10

🍩Pisces Moon🍩

Now let’s talk about a depressing placement, in my opinion of course 😅. I don’t know if it’s the influence of Neptune on the Moon or is it the just the demeanor of Pisces, but good god girl get a grip (they call this the five G’s). My youngest sister is a Pisces Moon, and as creative as she is, she is pessimistic and overly cynical. I mean I am all for being critical and real but looking at everything with jacked up black sprayed glasses is just too much for me. Other than my sister I don’t know any Pisces Moon very well but I had a few acquaintances. I noticed that they talked about a specific thing and that’s it. I have found them to be amazing at drawing, painting and have an incredible artistic sense. At times twisted and dark, but I love the art that comes with it. I’ll give them a 5/10

Here’s the tea. It’s Pisces season so remember I am sensitive right now, and also it’s my life and I wish I met someone as amazing as you might think you’re. (Maybe that was a little too aggressive)

Okay love you ❤️

[fanficmaniatic]

The "Anti-Chat" Theory.

(Which is also why Chat Blanc 2.0 wont work and why Ladybug needs to be akumatized).

This is a turducken on my thoughts for S4 and the future of the show so just roll with it.

So, Season 4 has been wild so far, and if clues given by the writers and people involved in show are any indication, this is only the beginning, we are in for a bumpy ride and things are just going to keep getting worse.

In all the discourse revolving season 4 something that we are all mentioning is how “Chat Blanc” is still a thing and there is no guarantee it won’t happen again. If anything it now seems more likely Chat Noir will get akumatized considering the imminent Ladynoir fallout, and how Adrien is still living with his Father, as his isolation keeps getting worse. And though I am always In for some good Character angst, and I feel like it is necessary for Adrien to know about Chat Blanc, and/or for Chat Blanc to reappear, I don’t think Chat Blanc 2.0 is something Adrien nor the show needs right know.

This theory has many parts, I promise it all ties neatly at the end.

First things first, I may be a little biased, Chat Blanc is an episode I really enjoy. I love Time Travel shenanigans, and I was dying to see Adrien finally find out about his father. The heavy consequences of the episode were obviously erased, but the impact of it all still remains trough Marinette, whom we see in the episode ‘Sentibbubler’ is having nightmares about the whole thing. But still, I love the episode, and I really don’t want an “Stormy Weather 2”… which is an episode I heavily dislike, compared to THE BEST formulaic episode of the Whole show, a.k.a “Stormy Weather” a.k.a My favorite episode. So yeah, this whole first point is just me REALLY not wanting an episode called “Chat Blanc 2.0” But there is more to it, and is the fact that I don’t see how it could work out.

“Chat Blanc 2.0” is unnecessary, and the reason why is that bringing him back wouldn’t actually do anything besides perhaps bringing Ladynoir further apart. Ladybug still CAN’T know Chat noir’s identity, (Let’s be honest and admit that’s prolly s4 finale OR happening during s5) so the show would go out of its way to make his dialogue as plain as possible without mentioning his father being hawkmoth. And yes, I do realize that Chat has been bottling his emotions and it all is likely to come out during THE ladynoir fall out… But people are ignoring the elephant in the room which is that Chat Noir DOES NOT fight Ladybug.

I promise this is relevant.

Chat Noir, unless mind controlled, would never attack Ladybug. The most clear example of this is in “Gamer 2.0” when he straight up says “I could never bring myself to fight you” as he sacrifices himself for her, that added to their classic “Is us against the world, My Lady” every season finale, and Marinette’s “In case something happens to me” In ‘Optygami’, it all could pretty well be a foreshadowing of a Ladynoir fight, where Ladybug is akumatized, and Chat has to willingly fight her. Yes, one could argue that he did fight her during ‘Chat Blanc’, but it could also be read as more of him trying to make her listen.

Where am I going with this? Chat Blanc 2.0 would be unable to bring the nuance the story needs right now. Chat Blanc still wouldn’t fight his father, because I doubt they won’t leave that for season 5. Chat Blanc still doesn’t have a motive to actually fight Ladybug. But the most important part is… What would happen at the end? What would be the change? What conversation are we having? What would be different than what we got in the original Chat Blanc?

To be fair, maybe I am wrong, maybe it can work out, this is just a theory. Maybe all the things I crossed out as impossible will actually happen, but I have been watching the show for 6 years, and If I have learned something about it, is that it is a slow burn, in ALL the aspects.

So yes, I believe Ladybug/Marinette needs to be akumatized, but I also think that Adrien has to learn about Chat Blanc, and that Chat Blanc needs to reappear, having a bigger Role than just a nightmare. So… how does that tie with everything I just said? Easy, the “Anti- Chat” Theory’

So you probably remember “Anti-Bug”, one of the best episodes from season 1, where Chole tries to help Ladybug, she doesn’t listen, and Chloe ends up being akumatized into “Ladybug but evil” … In theory, that is the deal, and is no wonder I am picking Felix Graham De Vanily to fill this role.

From an animation perspective, Felix is the obvious choice, he is identical to Adrien, and if following Anti-bug’s logic in costume desing, that would mean they can reuse Chat Blanc model with no alteration needed.

Now, How would this work? By giving Ladybug a jump scare. She thinks she has to live one of her worst nightmares again, to then find out “Oh… This is not Chat Noir” while still creating enough tension, by looking scared and distraught, that she HAS to tell him that she is scared of him being akumatized WITHOUT actually needing to mention the alternative timeline. This gives Chat noir the chance to lash out, once he realizes this is part of why ladybug is keeping him away, which can lead to Ladybug’s future akumatization.

Why this way? And please hear me out. Chat Noir NEEDS to let his emotions out, and I don’t think lashing out at ladybug is the best way but I see it as necessary. Adrien needs to take on more responsibility while being Chat, but he also needs to learn how to healthy express his emotions, because he is not allowed to do that in his current situation. Ladybug being akumatized because she feels guilty about Chat Noir allows Adrien to do BOTH. Because to save Ladybug he would have to realize “My emotions are valid, and is okey to let them out, but the way I did it was not the right one”, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir would have to apologize because this whole thing is not miscommunication… is a misunderstanding of their partners character. Ladybug needs to relay more on Chat and Chat needs to take on more responsibility… it won’t happen if Ladybug is the one that needs to save Chat Noir.

Adrien needs to realize that he needs to save himself, and that there’s people outside of his father that care for him. Ladybug is this figure that he looks up to and Admires, and is from a side of his life that his father has no control over, (At least from his perspective). So if she forgives him, if they are able to fix their relationship he will realize that things can get better.

Now, going back to Anti-Chat… his deal is way bigger than just bringing The Ladynoir fight… Is about setting up seasons 6 and 7.

What do we know so far? The Love Square and Gabriel’s Hawkmoth is going to come to an end by season 5. Which has left many fans wondering “Then what is happening on seasons 6 and 7?” And the best answer we have so far is in the episode “Timetagger” where Bunnix reveals that there is a whole team of miraculous holders fighting the Hawkmoth of the future, which is by the same episode confirmed to not be Gabriel Agreste. Besides this, I think it is safe to assume that the specials are quietly setting up themes that could come back In seasons 6 and 7.

Now, when speaking about characters that could be future villains the fandom seems to have its collective mind set on two individuals: Lila Rossi, and Felix Graham De Vanily.

Besides ‘Rocketear’, (E17), ‘Wishmaker’ (E18), and the special ’Shadow Moth’s last attack’ (Eps 25&26) we don’t know the names of the episodes of the second half of the season, which is really uncommon for miraculous ladybug, and the reason they gave us as to why is “You would know who is akumatized based on the names”… Which AGAIN, is really uncommon for ML. If you have been in this fandom for a long time you’ll realize that most people working in the show don’t really seem to care about spoilers. Now, this is kinda a conspiracy theory, but If you saw that there was an episode called “Anti-Chat” would you have assume it was any one other than Felix?…. No, right? That’s what I though. Miraculous has proven that it is good at subverting expectations, so when they are pointing at something (like a Chat Blanc 2.0 episode) it may not be as we want or suspected it to be. So I think an Anti-Chat episode makes a lot of sense.

Now, Why am I saying that this can set up future season? Buckle up, pals, here we go. What do we know about Felix?

He is evil, or at the very least seems to be ill-intentioned, if his attitude and look at the end of his episode is anything to go by.

He is after jewelry. Which, yeah, was only shown in that one episode he appeared, but this could pretty much be a foreshadowing of him later on going after the miraculous.

We know that he is bound to appear 3 more times

For this theory to work, I need it to happen in episode 22… Yes, the feared 100th episode of the show. It is not as important why Felix is akumatized, but what is happening WHILE he is akumatized.

Besides what has already been discussed, with Ladybug being scared, Ladynoir should not be able to work together. They are tumbling on each other because Chat Noir feels like she doesn’t trust him, but Ladybug NEEDS his reassurance right now, which he wont give.

This, is directly parallel with what is happening between Anti-Chat and Shadow Moth. Because Felix, even though he wants the miraculous, he won’t let himself be bossed around. He is demanding things from SM, and like in Robustus, Anti-Chat tries to, not just take Ladybug’s and Chat noir’s Miraculous, he wants to destroy Hawkmoth too. Which will lead to Shadow Moth being the reason he gets de-akumatized, instead Ladybug and Chat Noir saving him... bringing more fuel to the Ladynoir fire.

Now, Why should Felix have an attitude with Shadow Moth? Well, my friends… Do you remember, years ago, when the producers of the show said “The peacock miraculous holder will make Hawkmoth look like a baby”…. That’s not Mayura. Nathalie is a great miraculous holder, and she is really clever. But instead of making Gabriel look like a baby, she makes him look smart because he has someone like her on his team. What I am saying with this is that Felix, will suspect/ figure out Gabriel is Hawkmoth at the en of Anti-Chat, and that he will get the peacock miraculous during “The Last attack of Shadow Moth.” Thus, setting up a villain for future seasons.

This makes Felix 3 appearances be: In episode 22 (Anti-Chat), In episode 26 (SM last attack, part 2), and during S5’s finale. Felix situation will be much like Lila’s during s1 and s2 where she was introduced at the end of the first but not used until the end of the second.

Conclusion:

Felix Graham de Vanily has the potential to be a future villain and bring the Ladynoir conflict to finally surface.

And to clarify, The Ladynoir conflict, just like this Felix theory, is not something that will, nor can get resolved in one episode. If anything the fight will be around the end of season 4, and it will get resolved during season 5.

But again, this is just a theory, and I will probably be death wrong, but who knows?

[thenativetank]

Virginia Native Aquarium

So 9 months ago, I started up an aquarium to keep some of the fish, plants, and inverts I can find in my local area. Partly it was because I’ve always wanted a tank with North American Native Fish (NANF) but also because I didn’t know what was around here and wanted to learn more. It’s a very low-tech tank, but I thought you guys might want to hear about my experiences. If you do, click the read more!

Fish

The Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) have been the darlings of my tank. They are boisterous and a little territorial, but not really aggressive - though I have seen them nip at the Blacknose Daces that entered their turf. They are the first ones to greet me and beg for food and at 3 inches they are the largest fish in the tank. At a maximum size of 5-6 inches, they still have some ways to grow! I’d love to collect some more, but finding them has proven to be a bit of a challenge.

Most people who keep native fish have tried or at least encountered Gambusia (Mosquitofish) species. They are common and invasive, meaning you can find them just about anywhere. I have about 11 Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) currently - 9 females and 2 males. I was a little hesitant to try them because I hear the horror stories of aggressive mosquitofish, but in all honesty these guys have been pretty inoffensive. Is it because this G. holbrooki is less aggressive than the more well known G. affinis, because of the size of the tank (55 gallons), because of the sex ratio, or something else? I have no idea! But they are doing well for me.

I recently collected some Blacknose Daces (Rhinichthys atratulus) from a local stream - funny enough, the 2004 study I found in the area said that species wasn’t present there, but I managed to catch 7 around the 1 inch size. They didn’t take to captivity well and over the course of a week I got down to 1 specimen, who is still alive. Looking it up after, I read that adults are hardy but the young don’t take the transition to captivity well. With that in mind, my plan is to go back soon and capture a few of the adults and give it another shot.

Snails

I’ve found a few local species and added them to the tank - clockwise:

Heliosoma anceps. I’ve never actually tried Ramshorns before, but I’ve heard a lot of horror stories. These guys were to slow to reproduce but are in good numbers these days. They also get pretty hefty! My biggest gal is shown below.

Physa acuta. Pond Snails are some of my favorite snails - they stay small, are inoffensive, and are great little algae eaters and clean up crew. I add them to just about every freshwater tank I have, so of course they are here too!

Pleurocera virginica. These snails never really did great for me. They didn’t reproduce (that I could tell) and their numbers have been declining steadily from the 12 or so I started with to maybe 3 or 4 now. Inoffensive for sure, but not super exciting.

Bithynia tentaculata (not native!). I didn’t find out that these were an invasive species until after I collected them - I initially assumed they were some sort of Pond/Bladder or Apple Snail species. It took half a year or more for them to start reproducing and I’ve only recently seen young ones. Visually appealing with little yellow outlines and seem to be pretty harmless.

Plants

If I have a superstar plant, it’s the Inflated Bladderwort (Utricularia inflata). What started off as two smallish strands I picked up at a local lake has exploded into several feet of plants. If you look in the main picture, all the fuzzy, algae looking stuff is actually Bladderwort. A carnivorous plant, the bladders they use to trap prey can’t hurt anything bigger than Mosquitofish fry but they also take in nutrients through photosynthesis. They have done so well - I hate having to trim and throw it out!

Vallisneria has been weird for me. I collected specimens with long leaves, but they have almost exclusively decided to use energy putting out daughter plants rather than growing the main plant. Some of them have grown a dozen daughters 18 inches from the main plant. But they’ve all stayed small. I’ve also collected some Spikerush (Eleocharis spp) from the local pond. It’s doing well but staying small - I like the contrast with the thicker val leaves particularly.

I’ve collected various Pondweeds (Potamogeton spp) while keeping this tank, some native and some introduced. The only one that’s done well for me (sort of) is P. spirillus. Once it gets to the top of the tank, I give it a few days, cut it back, and re-plant the cut piece. Voila, two plants! One weird quirk - when I changed lighting from florescent to (cheapo) LEDs, they basically all died back. It wasn’t until I bought a Stingray fixture and set up CO2 that it decided to come back.

Yellow Floating Heart (Nymphoides peltata) grows in my local pond... an invasive species but hey I figured I’d give it a shot. It’s not doing very well at all - my experience is that it has a quick burst of growth to get to the top, stagnates, and then starts to die back. That makes sense; I really only see it near the shore of the lake and it avoids deeper water. The 55 and even an earlier attempt in a 10 gallon are too deep for it. It might be fun in the future for a shallow vivarium but it’s unimpressive here. Worth noting, I actually have some in a drainage ditch at my house too. Even in the dry seasons, it grows great there. Go figure.

This Potamogeton robbinsii is a total unknown for me. I never purposefully collected it, I can’t say I’ve even seen it locally. But two strands of it are growing in my tank. It’s not growing very well right now, not sure if the lighting is off or it doesn’t like the substrate, but it’s not dying. It’s just... there. I guess the fact it’s there at all is kinda neat but I don’t really recommend it.

[beatricethecat2]

"No joy," Myka says, peeking into the static bag.

"That was the correct part, was it not?" Helena enlarges the photo on Myka's phone of a nineteenth-century elevator car housed at the Warehouse.

"I'm pretty sure. But that picture's not great." Myka slides the handle out and plops it back in to the tune of no sparks.

Helena noses around the storage space as The Dakota building's manager walks in.

"Maybe what you're looking for's in here," he says, plunking down a milk crate full of parts. "When they renovate, they save anything original."

"It's an elevator handle. From the original manual ones. Just not this one." Myka slips the part from the bag and holds it up.

"Might be in Ms. Shiva's apartment then. Parents took two cars and made them into a bar. Or could be from the one that went missing, the mysterious fourth car."

Myka and Helena share a concerned look, knowing the Warehouse took it without permission.

"Can we see the other two?" Myka asks.

"Look just like that one." The man points toward the ornately carved wooden car on the other side of the room. "Handle's that important to you, huh?"

"As architectural historians? Yes," Helena snips in a clipped, scholarly tone.

"Alright. Gimme a minute." He slips his phone out of its belt clip and walks out of the room.

Helena picks through dust-covered items in the crate. "This may be a lost cause."

"It must be upstairs. The walls are so thick, the ping could have come from anywhere."

"You said 'pickup,' not 'ping.'"

"Claudia called it a pickup yesterday! Today she called it a ping."

Helena huffs a disgruntled breath.

The manager waves a hand from the doorway. "She said it's ok to come up."

Myka follows the man, but Helena hangs back.

"Aren't you coming?" 

"I...should look through this crate."

"You know more about this stuff than me. You should come with."

"Myka, I...."

Myka steps closer and lowers her voice. "I know you're not happy about being here, but I really need your help."

Helena holds Myka's gaze but doesn't move.

"Please."

Helena nods an apprehensive yes.

"You'll tell me what's going on with you later, right?"

Helena nods again, with equal apprehension.

Myka grimaces. "Come on."

They follow the manager out of the room and into the elevator to the fourth floor.

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

The Adventures of Wells and Bering ("Warehouse 13" Season 5 replacement) Season 1: Episode 3 Title: New York City: I'm buggin' out!

Summary: After three blissful days holed up in their Philadelphia hotel room, Myka receives a call from the Warehouse asking for help. Helena proclaims New York "a cesspool" when told the pickup is in the city. Myka laughs when told Helena was last there in 1893. Told she can stay behind, Helena follows anyway, the pair taking the train to avoid driving. Helena tells tales of city adventures with her partner Wolcott as she and Myka make their way uptown. Helena tenses upon arrival at their destination, so much so, Myka can tell something is off.  Later that day, Helena reveals a long buried secret.

Previously: Episode 1, Episode 2

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

***BONUS SCENES***

After a less than jovial dinner (pictured above), Myka and Helena settle into their hotel room. Myka lounges in bed, already showered, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, nose buried in a book. Helena searches through her luggage after emerging from a shower swathed only in a robe.

"I know dinner wasn't great," Myka says, setting her book on the nightstand, "but something else's off. You've been weirdly touchy all day."

"I apologize for not being, as Claudia might say, 'all sunshine and rainbows.'" Helena yanks a t-shirt out of her suitcase. "Perhaps we should call the whole thing off." 

"What 'thing'?"

"This trip."

"Why?" Myka sits up.

"Because me being sullen is not an anomaly." 

"I know."

"Then why on earth would you subject yourself to that again?" Helena turns to face Myka and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Because you promised when you got like this you'd talk to me and I believed you."

"Fool," Helena says, the word filled with fondness rather than bite.

"Come here," Myka says, patting a spot next to her.

Helena stares at the bed but doesn't move.

"Come here..."

Helena's eyes lift to meet Myka's; the longer they stay locked, the less defiance they hold. She huffs a disgruntled breath but does as she's told. She sits stiffly, arms folded over her chest, back propped up against the headboard.

"Now, tell me what happened in that building," Myka says, laying back, turning to face Helena, head propped up by a hand. "Remember, I said I wouldn't judge you."

"You say that now..." Helena says, glancing at Myka.

"I won't," Myka says, slipping her hand over Helena's and squeezing, dragging it down to her lap, breaking her protective arm-fold.

"Where to begin," Helena grumbles, pressing her eyes closed, head falling back against the wall.

"How about..." Myka scoots up, aligning herself with Helena, all the while keeping hold of her hand. "The first time you were there, finding that artifact."

Helena rolls her head to the side and meets Myka's gaze.

Myka raises her brow and grins expectantly.

"Oh, alright," Helena grumps, sighing deeply, then lifting her head from the headboard.

"Wolly posed as an investor, and I, his wife. He and I were given guest accommodations, courtesy of Gustav Schirmer, a music publisher. We had a vague idea of what the curiosity was but needed time and access to suss out its location."

"I bet you and Wolly made a better couple than Pete and I ever did," Myka quips.

Helena huffs a short laugh. "People like us 'acted the part' on a daily basis. Anything beyond that was an extension of those fabricated selves. One had to switch 'on' any number of personas just to keep safe. It was difficult at times to remember our true selves."

"I'm sorry. That sucks."

"Easier for me than others. Though in that regard, I'm glad society seems to have changed for the better." Helena meets Myka's gaze, her eyes falling to her lips.

"Me too," Myka says as Helena cups her jaw, guiding their mouths together.

Their kiss lingers but as Helena's hand slides to the nape of Myka's neck, Myka pulls away.

"Story first," Myka says, slipping her hand over Helena's, lifting it away.

Helena pouts.

"After." Myka caresses Helena's cheek, then places a soft, brief kiss there. "I promise."

"I shall hold you to that."

"Oh, I know," Myka says, smiling. She settles back and waits as Helena collects her thoughts.

"The Dakota was unique,' Helena begins, "its design, the first of its kind in the world. A playground for 'new money,' miles away from 'civilization' further downtown. Few dared travel that far north, so their soirees were rather insular."

"That's good, right? Easier to find the artifact?" Myka says.

"Indeed. Gustav adored hosting events, along with the Steinways. Guests chased tunes all over the building as engagements spilled between apartments. Wolly and I snooped around gratuitously."

"Steinways...as in the grand-piano-maker Steinways?"

"The very same," Helena mumbles. Her eyes turn distant, a thumb rubbing idly over a knuckle, her hands linked primly on her lap. 

"Did you find the artifact?" Myka asks.

"Hmm? Oh...yes. But it took quite some time," Helena answers. "And along the way, I found something far more profound." She looks down at her lap, her hands pulling away from each other, tensing. 

"What was it?"

"I found my One."

"Y-You had a One?" Myka says, stiffening.

"All too briefly," Helena says, then glances at Myka. "To have found another is a kindness beyond anything I'd ever imagined. I'm sorry it took so long for me to believe it possible."

"You mean me?"

"I do." Helena brings Myka's hand up to her lips and kisses its palm.

"I, um, guess it's silly to be jealous of someone who lived over a hundred years ago. Especially since I know nothing about them." Myka scoots closer, cozying up to Helena. "Will you tell me?"

"Would you like to know?"

"I want to know everything about you."

"That may take some time."

"We have time, don't we?"

"Time has never been my ally. Especially with the ones I love."

"Let's change that." Myka tugs on Helena's sleeve, and the pair slip down to lie prone on the bed. She turns and snuggles up, head pillowed on Helena's shoulder, arm resting across her middle. Helena relaxes into Myka's hold and wraps an arm over Myka's.

"Tell me about your One," Myka says. "Or, your 'first' One."

"She...was an extraordinary woman," Helena answers. "Unlike any I'd ever known. We bonded instantly, which was unusual."

"How did you meet?"

"I caught her hiding from the merriment during a soiree, nose tucked in a book. One Mrs. Elizabeth Westcott." Helena smiles, obviously warmed by the memory.

"Mrs.?"

"A marriage for appearances; personal gain for two up-and-coming families. Residing at The Dakota allowed her husband to carry on extramarital affairs with less scrutiny. He cared little about her own."

"So you and she..."

"If those walls could talk," Helena says, her smile bordering on devilish. "We had several glorious years together before she..." Her smile fades in an instant.

"I'm afraid to ask."

"She died, as one does when one's husband's mistress plots to kill you."

"S-She was murdered?"

"Freak carriage accident. Never proven, but everyone knew. To ensure Elizabeth never gave him an heir, after Christina. The irony being we'd planned on running away to California soon enough--"

"Wait, Christina was Elizabeth's?" Myka lifts her head to look Helena in the eye.

"I loved her as if she were my own," Helena snaps, "spirited her away to England as soon as I could, with the housekeeper's help."

"You stole her?" Myka pushes away, falling back on her elbows, mouth agape.

"I rescued her," Helena barks, jerking upright. "That monstrous woman still had talons in her father. There was no doubt Christina wasn't safe. It's what Elizabeth would have wanted." 

Helena moves to leave, but Myka grabs her arm.

"Don't go," Myka pleads. "I'm sorry. I said I wouldn't judge you."

Helena freezes in place, her heart pounding wildly. A few moments later, she returns to Myka's side.

"Did anyone come looking for her?" Myka asks, pushing forward so as not to leave Helena stewing.

"I don't know. I doubt they could find me as only Elizabeth knew my true identity. And I never set foot in New York again."

"So literally 1893."

Helena nods, the sour look on her face softening. "I'd thought to visit her grave but haven't found the courage."

"You should go. We could go together. It'll give you closure."

"You sound so certain."

"I know it will help. I've loved and lost, too, you know."

"Indeed, you have, my love," Helena says, then sighs heavy-heartedly. "What a pair we make."

"I think we're a good match," Myka says, tugging Helena back to lie flat again. "We could take our minds off it. Make some new, pleasant memories." She slips a hand under the tie of Helena's robe.

"You did make a promise earlier," Helena replies.

"And I always make good on my promises," Myka says, drawing the tie free, brushing a fingertip over newly exposed skin. Helena quivers and relaxes back, offering no resistance as Myka fulfills her word.

End of Episode 3

-TBC-

NOTES: According to the internet, the term "buggin'" was coined in New York City. The fourth elevator really did go missing during The Dakota renovations in the 1960's (pre-landmarking). Thank you to the library for being open so I could borrow books and down some facts as this got way more involved than I meant it to become (but that's part of the fun).

This story format is...in my head, I'm calling it "TV POV." If we were watching the show, we'd see things but not hear the character's thoughts, so that's what I'm going for, I think? Broad strokes and quicker resolutions due to the 45 minute-ish run time (or would this show be a 25 minute one? Hmm.) Let me know if that's not working at all. I mean these are obviously pastiches of content - the images come first then the stories materialize afterwards. They are supposed to be short and clippy - plenty of room for the reader to fill in the blanks - but this one got away from me! Also Tumblr keeps making the second image blurry and I can't figure out why...

[writhingcreature]

Character ask game, sweet pea!

Sorry this took me so long I got emotionally wiped out from the one I did for Bobby and the reactions I got from it and was hesitant to do more. I had to for my main baby though so here is this, based off of this post

1. Favorite thing about them

Okay I have to say, his willingness to get fucking GOING is my single most favorite thing about this boy. Like Jughead may be able to stop him, but that's only because he lowkey is in love with Jughead. You can't convince me otherwise. This boy will bulldoze anyone else, and even goes toe to toe with Archie without hesitation. The best part is: he's so ready to fight not because he's proud or arrogant or any of those usual "hot headed teenage boy" traits but because he's protective of his friends and family. His people. Because he refuses to be walked on anymore, or let anyone he cares about be walked on. He makes me feel so safe ugh.

2. Least favorite thing about them

How stubborn he is. I will never say he's a proud person, but he does have a pride streak and I think it really hurts him when he needs to admit he's wrong. He's just very slow to change his mind once he makes up his mind, and while it's probably a defensive thing when it comes to Northsiders and one that has been proven to be necessary several times, it always breaks my heart when he makes fun of Betty or talks about flaying Archie or smirks as Jughead squirms or Veronica blows a gasket. Sometimes it's kind of funny but most of the time I wish he could just get along with people and make friends lmao

3. Favorite line

“You think you can come to my house, stick a gun in my face, in front of my boys, and there wouldn’t be any payback?” This line is everything actually and it is NOT talked about enough oh my god fuuuuuuck season 2 canon Archie. Smh. I felt this on such a deep level

4. BroTP

I know everyone ships Swangs and I love it too, but I honestly much prefer them as a brother dynamic. I'm a sucker for childhood friends to lovers and ship Sweetpea with happiness as much as the next person but I just really love these two as a sibling dyanmic duo. I have an oc named Talon who's Fangs' older brother and I have a LOT of hc's about how Talon has just. Adopted Sweetpea and how they talk about everything... god yeah I love them.

5. NoTP

Toni and Sweetpea. I don't know if this is one of those popular rarepairs or not but Toni needs herself a girlfriend. Like yes she's bi but also Sweetpea with a boyfriend makes my heart swell and Toni's stated she prefers girls, so I just prefer ships that include mlm rep for Sweets and Toni with a gf. I don't hate the ship it's just not my cup of tea

6. OTP

Okay at this point I think it's pretty clear that I'm a multishipper because I just want my kiddos to be happy lmao but here goes. When it comes to ULTIMATE loves, Jugpea hands down. I am also a mess for Reggie/Jughead/Sweetpea. Oh my god I am obsessed with them. I ship Sweetpea with just about anyone as long as it's done correctly (catch me reading Swarchie and Swosie despite hating those ships a month ago lmao) but these are my main and the ones I obsess over while watching the show.

7. Unpopular opinion

Huh I don't know. I guess I think that Archie is more scary and unhinged than Sweetpea is which I think might not be a popular take. I feel like any other hc I have most Sweetpea fans would agree with so I'll just leave that there.

8. Random headcanon

Sweetpea gives me middle child energy no I cannot explain this it will take two million years to get through all of it I will say I think he has two older sisters and also a younger one. Yes they're all girls, yes one is trans, yes I have names and hc's for all of them and they're all oc's because I am obsessed with the Serpents' families. Sweetpea's older sisters are about a year or two of a gap, but his youngest sister is like five when he's sixteen and you can't convince me otherwise. He babysits her constantly and they are best friends. He will literally ask to babysit her and send his mom to go have a day off from responsibilities. She literally just gets Pop and reads in a booth because there is nothing she wants to do badly enough to keep herself busy every time he wants to babysit his little girl lmao. He is a MUSHBALL with her and anyone who watches them interact is in actual tears. She steals his phone constantly and takes pictures and videos on it and sends them to Toni and Fangs who are in tears over how adorable is. Jughead hangs out once when Sweets is babysitting and never looks at Sweetpea the same after. This man is a PUDDLE for this little girl that is all.

9. Song I associate them with

I have a whole playlist hold on time to shuffle again LMAO: "

10. Favorite picture of them

These are both technically Jordan but like. Listen I am obsessed with the non gelled hair look and I can’t find a good one in character so you get these instead because I am OBSESSED with these imagine lmao.

[fandomscombine]

TUA SERIES PART 4: Diego

The Hargreeves Kerfuffle Part 4:Diego

The Hargreeves siblings x Hargreeves!Reader (Familial Relationship)

BG: The Reader is Number Eight. It follows how you fit into the structure of Season 1 and the family dynamic of the siblings.  

This part follows y/n blowing off some steam with Diego being a supportive brother.

You don’t have to read every single part as each focuses on the reader’s relationship with each of her sibings.

But of course to get most of the story, read the whole thing. Besides why would you want to miss out on Hargreeves Siblings content?

A/n: sorry if this took long to update, I lost the master copy of the fic document- well technically, I was and am typing this on an auto-save document but it had glich somehow and when I searched and open the file it was only the first 2 parts. It took a while to find back the most updated document.

WC:1028

DISCLAIMER: I DON’T OWN THE TUA SERIES. THIS IS JUST BY A FAN WOULD REALLY ENJOYED THE SERIES AND WAS INSPIRED TO WRITE.

*ALSO NOT PROOFREAD

>>GENERAL MASTERLIST<<

>>THE HARGREEVES KERFUFFLE SERIES MASTERLIST<<

READ: [PART 1]   [PART 2] [PART 3]

>>JOIN MY WRITING CHALLENGE!<<

Your blood was boiling.

How dare Luther, your own brother accuse you of killing your own father.

Sure, your childhood wasn’t exactly the healthiest and emotionally suitable for a child but in a weird way your father had shape and trained the 7 of you to be at least somewhat in control of your powers.

Raising superpowered children is no small task.

Lost in your thoughts, you hadn’t realized how far from the academy you had walked.

You stared at the city Harborview, imaging how your life would be different if you hadn’t had these powers.

Peace. That’s what you think you would have. A sense of peace, living a normal daily life- get up, go to work, hang out with friends, sleep in a nice cosy apartment and repeat. No powers.

The final words of Sir Reginald replays in your mind.

‘The end is near, get the others ……and save…..the…..tttiiiimmm’

The end is near, get the others and save the tim- whatever or whoever tim is.

You assumed that it meant his time was up and had wanted the family back together. You had done just that but what had that got you? Indictment for one. A family reunion consisting of 5 emotionally incompetent adults and one trapped in a kid’s body.

Leaning across the railing you shouted. ‘Cosplaying as batman at aged 6 was cute but as a grown ass adult lurking in the shadows is definitely a red flag!’

A chuckle sounded from the corner. ‘Noted m’mam. Will not do it again’ said a deep voice.

To an untrained ear, no sounds of footsteps could be heard.

You, however can as do your siblings. All of who can also identify who is coming based on the sound- each ever have a slight variation, a unique touch.

Luther has the heaviest, loudest footsteps out of everyone.

Allison- quiet and delicate.

Diego has a sense of purpose in his walk- no doubt like the secret agent and superheroes he had always wanted to be.

Klaus is a bit unpredictable; it is either too fast and energetic or soft and slow pace.

Five. He cheats, mostly blipping in and out of places. But if need be, he usually takes leaps or huge steps, always ready to teleport out of any situation in midstep.

Ben. The master of stealth. He always manages to take the least steps, the most effective route between hiding points.

Vanya though without training is actually very good. At times you wouldn’t even notice her near as proven in her countless times secretly watching the rest of you training.

‘I doubt that.’ Turning to face the new arrival. ‘You are the literally embodiment of Vigilante Hero Complex.’

The city lights illuminating his face.

‘Ah! Case in point!’ You pointed at his outfit. ‘You’re even wearing a spandex suit, Diego!’

Diego shook his head, brushing off your teasing aside. He was happy to at least help bring a smile onto your face- even if it was at his expense.

‘How you feeling?’ Even though you all were the same age, Diego can’t deny that the numbering hadn’t had an older sibling protectiveness to come over him- especially when Luther was being a total dick. If only he was in charge, he thought.

‘Better… better now that you’re here.’ You admitted, bothering your brother never gets old. ‘Thanks by the way-for the cheer up.’

You both stayed in comfortable silence it was not until 20 mins later did Diego break it by apologising.

‘Sorry for what?’

He didn’t reply instead he lifted something out of his pocket. It shone against the deep blue waves.

You gasped. ‘Dad’s monocle.’

‘I know Luther believes you took it.’ He let out an exasperated sigh. ‘I’m sorry. I should’ve have confessed instead you took blame for me….’

Wrapping his fist around it he continued, voice getting harsher. ‘I …I just couldn’t you know? After all he did to us? How he treated us? We were just kids!’

He clutched it tighter shattering the glass. ‘He was gone. This was the most valuable things he had- never let it out of his sight….so I thought that this….that by taking this, it would be the closest thing in ever hurting him.’

‘Oh Diego…’ You didn’t know how to comfort someone who is going through the same scenario, a same situation that you yourself need help on.  ‘Dad is gone and…yes he wasn’t the most caring father. But the past is in the past, the only thing we can do now to move forward. Don’t let that define us. Strive to do better.’

‘We tried that once remember? And where did it get us?’ He countered.

‘Better than if we were to have stayed.’ You rebutted. ‘C’mon Diegs. Think about mom. Think about how she constantly reminds us to put our best foot forward, no matter what life throws at us..’

Diego’s face softens, he was always a momma’s boy.

Closing his eyes, he mutters an okay. Then he tosses the bloody cracked monocle into the water. ‘Now, why don’t we go stuff our faces full of donuts.’ You offered. ‘I can handle your typical brooding self but the 2 of us sulking? No can do, what we need is to eat our feelings.’

‘Giddy’s it is.’ Replied Diego, offering you his arm.

‘So I assume you parked 2 blocks from here?’

His eyes went wide. ‘How’d you-‘

‘PPPPlease!’ Rolling your eyes. ‘I might have subconsciously wander to this part of town, but I was conscious about a car not so subtly tailing me for 6 blocks.’

‘So you knew I was watching you from the very beginning.’

‘YUPPPP’ Popping the p. ‘At first I wasn’t sure who- nice car by the way, new?

‘A month ago.’

‘Anyway is wasn’t until you started following on foot til I knew.’

Elaborating when you saw his confused look. ‘You walk as if you’re the protagonist in an action film.’

‘I do not!’ He said defensively.

‘DO too!- Thanks.’ Settling down onto the passenger seat as Diego closed the door.

The debate lasted until you reach Giddy’s or so what was left of the store.

‘WHAT THE-‘

END OF PART 4

READ: [PART 1]   [PART 2] [PART 3]

Taglist [All]: @gruffle1

Taglist [TUA]:@herecomesthesun1969 @alabaster1223 @ultraviolet-m @winterierwriter @lordofthunderthr @grapesauze @xbarrjallenx @white-wolf-buckaroo @yoheyyosup @infinitystones2018 @94seun @buckynatlarry @thegirlwholikestomanythings @just-some-stars @97yrm @2cuteforyourlies @e-bendy @criminallyhamilton @aqarath @change-the-world-someday @sambucky8 @spankin-soda @big-galaxy-chaos @neenieweenie @okimreadynow @weird-pale-blonde-person @thebloodrobin @vicassa​@tkdcnlettuce @alexander-hamilhoe​

Feel free to tell me to you want to be tagged for the series or for all/any other of my fics.

Would love to hear your opinion on the series so far too!

 -Posting this a 2nd time, cause the 1st Tumblr error-ed out and deleted it.

also a bit of self plug here, i have a writing challenge going on and I’d love for you to join!

[themightyaliendwarf]

TPN s02e07

Whaaat...? An episode with an actually good pacing? How is that even possible? Oh, I know, that’s because the previous 6 were put on 10x speed, so the last 5 can slow down. But that doesn’t mean that this episode is without any flaws. Unfortunately, most of them are the result of the rest of this season. But let’s start from the beginning: 

1. I’m once again asking, when did Norman have time to research all of this. Also, how did he do it. I know that in the manga, he also just drops the lore on us, but because he had double the time to find out about it, I’m more likely to buy it. 

2. When Emma said that she wants to escape with all the children, I realized this one thing: if they do escape with everybody, this plan would have the same result as Norman’s. Sure, Emma probably wouldn’t care about the mass production farms (because anime clearly doesn’t) and the “Evil-Blood is still out there”, but as far as she knows, if humans escape, demons don’t have meat. So they devolve. Once again, we are proven that skipping important content can only harm you.

3. Okay, so the exit IS in Grace Field House. I honestly have no idea why they weren’t told it before. In the manga they did find out about it before they met Norman, so it literally wouldn’t change anything. But anyway, I’m happy they changed the location of the exit. 

4. Do you know why Norman should look older? Because when a literal baby tells you about genocide, it looks ridiculous. But! I have to admit, the lighting in this scene was phenomenal and Maaya Uchida absolutely killed those lines.

5. And here is where this episode suffers because skipping content. How will finding Mujika help Emma? I mean, they are looking for her in the manga (because Norman ‘tricks’ Don and Gilda), but finding her isn’t helping the main goal. We just found out that she failed to help her fellow demons 700 years ago, so why exactly Emma wants to find her. We know why Norman wants it and as for Emma... I guess she has nothing better to do? In the manga, she and Ray are going to reach the Seven Walls and forge the new promise which is an actual alternative to Norman’s plan. 

6. But then again, I like the little back-and-forth that Emma and Norman had. But I’m sad that Ray was just... there. Although, he doesn’t do anything in the manga as well, so I shouldn’t be too mad. 

7. So, the lambda disease is still a thing. Don’t know what we are going to do about it, since Adam isn’t there. And based on what I’ve seen thus fair, I don’t believe that CloverWorks would have courage to kill Norman. And here is where I will once again complain about the animation - the seizures are quite underwhelming, in my opinion. You know how when you stand up too fast, you get a bit dizzy and your vision gets cloudy - yeah, they remind me of that, not a deadly disease. Take a look at those pages from the manga:

I’m just going to say: it looks much worse in here. 

8. Friends, they robbed us out of this scene:

9. I’m happy that Don and Gilda will be included in the Mujika search, but, uhm... should they? They were the ones who were looking for her in the manga - sure - but the situation is different now. You literally left Nat and Anna with a bunch of younger kids who, as far as we know, don’t know how to gather food. I mean, Norman won’t take care of them (for some reason). In the manga they were safe in the Paradise Hideout, but here they live in an abandoned temple near the town where two demons has just been killed by Zazie. I don’t think I would feel comfortable with just leaving them there. Besides, they don’t have more demon disguises. This point might be a nitpick, but it bothers me a lot. 

10. Once again they mentioned radio - why? They literally haven’t done anything with it. I guess it will come in handy once they head to Grace Field, so I think they just don’t want us to forget about it.

11. And then we got the last scene... not gonna lie, it made me angry. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. But! It felt cheap. “Let’s show them an emotional scene from the last season, so they care more about this one”. They knew that this season lacks the truly emotional scenes, so they went for a cheap trick. Can I blame them? No, but I can have an opinion. Also, also, I think that the chose a good voice actor for Peter.

So! Best episode of the season by a long shot, but it suffers a lot because of the previous 6. I’m happy that we got something really good, but I’m sad that only now we are getting it. But if the next episodes are going to be similarly good, I will stop thinking that this season is a massive failure. For now, I’m not going to hope for anything and just wait.

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S6 Watchthrough Episodes 22-25

Suspicions: Crusher has been ousted as the CMO and doctor in general to the point that it sounds like she’s going to be court-martialed. Why? Well, the episode shows us as Crusher explains what happened to Guinan. She had been holding a scientific conference but during an experiment, a scientist dies. As more happens, Crusher decides to investigate on her own… which included performing an autopsy against orders when all else failed and against the family’s wishes. So… I love Crusher. She is nowhere near close to overthrowing McCoy as favorite CMO (or favorite ST character in general)… which since Pulaski is her only other competition ATM it’s not much, but still. She’s smart, determined, understanding, nurturing, a maternal figure, and while she may be shouty like her predecessor, she doens’t need to be to be an awesome doctor who will have her voice heard. Two people died under her watch and she will get to the bottom of it, knowing fully well that she’s risking her career by doing so. Seriously, McCoy would be proud! It’s a good episode that lets Crusher be plain awesome. She takes matters into her own hands, keeps investigating even after getting herself into hot water because it needs to be done, and she kicks the bad guys' ass and save herself at the end. Even Ogawa gets an awesome moment by giving Crusher access to autopsy files and endangering her own career to help her. Hell yeah, medical officer solidarity~! It’s not the most impactful episode, but if you love Dr. Crusher, this is absolutely an episode to check out~! 4/5.

Rightful Heir: Ever since Birthright, Worf’s been having a crisis of faith. He goes to reflect on this and has a vision of Kahless, a Klingon spiritual leader and he has returned. Yep, we have us a religious episode folks. Kahless causes Worf to find his faith again and view him as the savior that he is hailed as… too bad that Gowran isn’t convinced. Thos episode actually raises a lot of interesting questions to me. What happens when a spiritual figure returns? How do we explain things despite them making no logical sense? How can we be for sure that they are being truthful? And what happens when it all comes crashing down? Do you maintain the facade to keep up morale and allow the teachings to continue their intent? Or do you tellt he truth and cause who knows what kind of chaos? I can relate to Worf here. Especially in recent years, I’ve been having a major crisis of faith and in such a vulnerable state, it’s so easy to fall into something like this. Klingon episodes really like to delve into the complicated politics, huh? Also really liked the talk between Data and Worf near the end about faith. I agree with the sentiment that even if a claimed diety is proven a fraud or fake, the teachings still matter… but the fact that they ultimateley maintain the facade of Kahless kind of muddies it up. The Klingons get guidance… by a fake. Now to be fair the problems of this and what’ll happen if Kahless ever gets found out and Worf wants the truth known to the people, so at the very least it’s ackowledged. I feel like the realizations should have impacted Worf more than it did, but ah well. Overall it was fine. 3.5/5.

Second Chances: While on a mission led by Riker, the crew stumbles upon… Riker. Another one. Okay, long story short, Riker has stranded eight years ago, got rescued, but transporter hijinks created a clone who was left alone. I S2G, transporters are freakin’ horrifying. I actually thought that this was going to go down like TOS’ The Enemy Within, but they avoid that. This Riker, who we’ll call Thomas, has the memories of the Riker from eight years before. So he hasn’t undergone any of the six-season-long development that Riker has so he hasn’t done things such as reconcile with his father, become the First Officer, and he still has romantic feelings for Troi. Major praise to Johnathan Frakes here. Acting against yourself is never easy. We have gotten it a couple of times, Brent Spiner’s done it plenty at this point. But Frakes did a fantastic job as both Riker’s, the one we’ve come to know and the man that he used to be/would have become had he remained stranded. Thomas and Troi’s interactions are sweet and really give us a nice glimpse of what Riker and Troi’s past relationship had to be like… although it is kinda awkward considering the older Riker’s presence and all. What would it be like to interact with an alternate past version of yourself? Riker is much more collected and in charge than he was then but also plays it safe more, while Thomas has more of the cockiness and immaturity that he did back in the early days but is also far more daring. In the end, things don’t work out with Thomas and Troi as Thomas chooses his career just as he did in the past and Troi’s not willing to thro the life she has away to marry him. Poor Troi cannot catch a break. This was an interesting one. I feel like Thomas should have been more affected by the fact that he was alone for eight years, but I also like that we don’t go for the whole evil/insane plot either. It was really cool to see the older Riker against a version of himself who didn’t end up on the Enterprise, the mature take on Riker and Troi’s relationship and how we’ve avoided every standard pitfall they couldhave fallen into, and we even avoid killing anyone! Hooray~! 3.5/5.

Timescape: As Picard, Data, Geordi, and Troi are returning from a science conference… but find the Enterprise and a Romulan ship frozen in place. There are some weird time distortions going on and after rigging up some bands to keep themselves un-frozen, they try to get to the bottom of it. This was a fun one! It’s cool yet creepy to see Picard, Troi, and Data going through the Enterprise (Geordi’s manning the shuttle, he gets to go on the Romulan ship though) and seeing all the insanity that was going on, including Crusher being shot at point-blank range… okay that’s on the horrifying end of the scale, but still. Don’t worry, they avert her dying for realsies! Picard also loses it and his mental breakdown is just plain freaky. Troi was freakin’ awesome in this one, getting to do actual Starfleet officer things, be actively involved, and they bring back up Face of the Enemy and Troi’s experience with the Romulans and their tech prove very beneficial! Yes, let’s keep the awesome Troi train running! It was just a fun episode and for the penultimate one of the season, it serves its purpose well~! Also Riker does not get along with cats haha. 4/5.

Alright, one more for S6 to go and along with it we start S7. The beginning of the end is nearing folks. I’m so excited~!

[jdgo51]

Jehoshaphat, Isaiah, and Job: Prayers for a Time Such As This

Today's inspiration comes from:

100 Favorite Bible Prayers

"'For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. — 2 Chronicles 20:12

Jehoshaphat and his people were about to face a great enemy, and they were afraid. Armies were on their way to drive them out of the land God had given them, and Jehoshaphat did the only thing he could think to do: he prayed. In his prayer, Jehoshaphat admitted that the people were powerless to stop what was coming at them, and they simply did not know what to do.

Haven’t we all, at some point in our lives, prayed a similar prayer? We’ve all faced a scary situation, an uncertain outcome, or a devastating diagnosis. Just like Jehoshaphat, we’ve experienced times when — on our own — we were powerless against what was coming at us. Hasn’t each of us prayerfully uttered the words, “I don’t know what to do”?

The beauty of this prayer is that, while the people didn’t know what to do, they did know where to look. To focus their gaze on the enemy or themselves would have served only to heighten the people’s fear and despair. They knew their only hope was to fix their eyes on God.

There will be times in our lives when we feel powerless, fearful, and uncertain as to what to do. In those moments, however, we can choose to fix our eyes on the One who can calm any storm, defeat any foe, and lead us through any valley.

Father, I fix my eyes on You as You fill me with Your certainty.

It is during seasons of sorrow and suffering that we sense the nearness of Him the most.

O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You; I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. — Isaiah 25:1 ESV

God is the One who knows the end from the beginning. He is never caught off guard by our circumstances or bewildered by our behavior. He never feels pressured by the passing of time. God has always been — and will always be — in complete control of His creation.

Isaiah’s acceptance of God’s eternal nature, sovereignty, and faithfulness was evident in the way he prayed. He knew that God had a plan — a faithful and sure one formed long ago. Isaiah knew what Jeremiah knew: God’s plans for us have been prepared in advance (Jeremiah 1:5), and they are plans to prosper us (Jeremiah 29:11).

When we understand that God has a plan and that nothing about our existence is haphazard or out of control, it changes the way we pray. And when we understand that we were made on purpose and with a purpose, it changes the way we live. Each of us is intentionally and uniquely handmade by a holy God who has a plan for us.

God has proven time and again that He is able “to rescue the godly from trials” (2 Peter 2:9 ESV). He led His followers out of lions’ dens, fiery furnaces, and prisons because He still had plans for those individuals. If there’s still breath in your body, He isn’t finished with you. Trust Him to be as He has always been: faithful and sure.

Only You, God, are worthy of my trust. You know the plans You have made for me, and I can rest assured in Your promise.

I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. — Job 42:5

When have you felt the closest to God? For many of us, it is during seasons of sorrow and suffering that we sense the nearness of Him the most. God has promised us that He will never leave us. We can always be assured of His presence, but it is often in those moments of agony that He chooses to reveal Himself in a whole new way.

Job was a man of great faith. He was described as a man who was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1 ESV). He made it his practice to rise early and offer prayers and sacrifices for his entire family. By all accounts, Job was a good and godly man. Yet, in his prayer, Job acknowledged that his suffering allowed him to see with his own eyes what he had always heard to be true of God.

We can all think of times when we’ve seen God at work with our own eyes. Maybe it was in the form of physical protection from an accident or illness that should have had a worse outcome. Or perhaps it looked like provision from an unexpected source in a time of great need. Or it may have been a person who came along at just the right moment to comfort, guide, or assist us.

We have heard of You, Lord, but now our eyes see You."'

Excerpted with permission from 100 Favorite Bible Prayers by Stacy Edwards, copyright Thomas Nelson.

[cadomoisspokenfor]

Legion Rewatch Notes,

Chapter 8:

The Revolution

Aw man, how unfortunate what’s happened to Clark. I feel soooooooo bad. I mean he was just humble div 3 agent, doing his job, gaslighting marginalized individuals, participating in a genocide. How cruel of those bad bad mutants to injure him so badly. He was only actively about to kill David. What could he possibly have done to deserve any of this?

In other words, the Clark propaganda is not working on me this time. At all.

Maybe don’t participate in a genocide? Idk :/

I normally hate when people type in the passive aggressive way I have been for the past few paragraphs, but goddamn, Clark deserves it.

He’s not quite as damaged... but he’s kind’ve like old David here, from the over-medicated living with Amy timeline. Again, not quite as damaged as that though.

Clark considers mutants a “threat to democracy.” 🙄 “Moral panic” I guess?

“The second I walk outta this room, i’m going to war.” There’s that word again. Clark could just... not, and they’d probably have more time to figure out how to safely eradicate Farouk. But because he doesn’t and David busies himself with peace treaties, Farouk escapes and continues to be a problem for the next year. Clark has a family. A husband and child who love him to death. And he chooses war over them. This pattern will repeat in other character. Technically this isn’t even the start of it.

Suit change, new cane, same Clark. This really doesn’t change anything, does it? He could go through the rest of the series in the suit he wore before and it wouldn’t make difference. The valiant hero dressing for an expected victory over their long time (relatively) rival, only to be stopped immediately by an unforeseen development. This pattern will repeat... tragically.

Considering Farouk!David woulda just dusted them, it’s probably nice for his friends to see the real him is much less violent. He just stacks em like a Jenga Tower, no need for anything more.

Also, Wilhelm scream from one of the soldiers.

He’s also talking strangely. In an almost too calm voice. Measured. He talks like this a few other times, but I think those times have sadder context. Maybe they reflect on this moment. He talks like how he talked when Farouk was mind-melded with him, but his intentions aren’t evil this time around. I guess this is just his “fully in control” voice.

Clark’s literally shaking where he stands.

The zoom in to Clark’s blind eye is reminiscent to previous zoom in’s to Walter’s foggy eye. I guess Clark has taken on the role of Walter, artificially. Makes sense since he’s now the main D3 representative/antagonist like Walter was before.

“I don’t care if you save me, or the world, if you don’t save yourself.” David will eventually choose himself over the world, and Syd. And Syd will hunt him for it. Goes to show how much things change in s2.

“You know the most dangerous thing about schizophrenia?”

“You’re not-“

“The most dangerous thing is believing... you don’t have it! That’s the trick, the mind killer, your disease convinces you you don’t have it. So, for example, one day in the hospital you meet a girl and she has some friends, and they tell you you’re not sick. You have superpowers. And more than anything you wanna believe it because that means you’re not crazy! That means you can fall in love and live happily ever after. But you know if you believe it, if you surrender to the hope and you’re wrong, then... you’re never coming back.”

“I’m here. I’m real. The power is real. You gotta accept it, otherwise we can’t move on.”

“I was in Clockworks for six years. Drugged, doing nothing. Contributing nothing. And now, finally I can be useful! I can help! Don’t you get it? I am so sick of myself. This only works if it’s not about me.”

“David...”

So... that’s a lot. David believes being crazy means he’s not allowed to fall in love, or be happy. He said the same sentiment to Amy before Clockworks. This whole season and this episode especially push David into his full “I’m not insane, I won’t believe you if you tell me otherwise” mindset. At the very least that’s the stakes we’re playing with. If David fully gives into the hope, even for a moment, he believes there’s no possibility for recovery. No possibility for love or happiness. Why even try after that? It’s life or death for him. “If the choice is between life and death, I choose life.”

I know this is all already known and talked about and circulated 100’s of times over in various fan circles, but it’s probably the most important line for David’s character (the speech, not the Farouk quote). It’s very ableist, yes, but at least in the moment it’s coming from someone who’s just being too hard on themselves, and not ya know, being actively validated by the show.

2 episodes ago David talked about being worried about an “invincible” feeling. The dangers of mania.

We also know from that episode that David is more at peace in a calm, responsibilityless setting (with Syd) than he is out in the real world. David’s gonna take on a ton of responsibility, some of it’s gonna draw him away from Syd. At multiple moments throughout the show David has known his own mental health better than any of the others, and even warned them about potentially dangerous slopes he could fall down without their help. Despite this, David is pushed further down a path he tells them is dangerous and is still blamed for what happens in the end. I feel like Oliver’s line from ep4 is relevant here again, “We are the root of all our problems. Our anger, our confusion, our fear of things we don’t understand.” Everyone wants David to be something other than... David. A hero, a god, there projected image of a perfect partner. Not just... David.

Man, the more I realize about David’s self-awareness in s1 the madder I am at Syd for saying all that ableist stuff to him in s2 as if he wasn’t already down on himself 24/7. “It never occurred to you that you’re the problem not the solution?” It’s occurred to him like 5 times by now and has been shut down by you at least 3 of those times. I don’t understand.

What’s strange is... to my recollection David doesn’t believe he’s invincible at the end of s2. Or that he’s not sick.

“Saint David.”

“I’m not saying that. I make mistakes.”

“Say you’re gonna let them kill me if I don’t let them turn me into something different. Something easy. Something clean.” He sounds sinister here, but it is an indication that he knows he’s not perfect. In fact it sounds like he’s trying to appeal to Chap 1 Syd’s mentality. Your disorder is what “makes you you.”

So what’s the message here?

“We can’t just kill people. Or is that who we are now?”

“That’s who they are.”

The justification for killing here is that they’ll kill them if they don’t. Div 3 will kill Summerland if Summerland doesn’t kill Div 3, is what I meant. David has a similar justification for killing Shadow King in s2. Well, he has a LOT of justifications for it, but that’s one of them. Syd doesn’t hear it then either. She does attempt to kill David herself though. I don’t quite understand where the line is.

“He was gonna kill you, twice.”

“With that kind of thinking wars would never end.”

So... he shoulda just talked to The Shadow King when they were both powerless? Talking is what ultimately ends their fight in s3... hmm...

Cary is more humane to their POW than Melanie and Ptonomy are.

The show doesn’t necessarily say it was Cary’s fault for leaving Kerry. Either way though, Kerry needs some space.

Melanie calls David a “world breaker” and outright says now that he knows that’s what he is, div 3 doesn’t stand a chance. I suppose... knowing that... is why they so readily team with Farouk. They stood no chance otherwise. Even then, at least hide him away till after the intervention.

David’s floating meditation pose is seen more in s2 and A LOT more in s3.

He puts the onus of ending the war on Div 3. As if to say, “If things get violent again, it’ll be on you, not us.”

People keep talking about “gods” “waking up” and “realizing they don’t have to listen to us/them anymore.”

When Clark says it David’s first response is, “Isn’t that the history of the world?” But it’s a red herring (or something else) cause he follows it up with, “People of different nations, different languages, learning to live together?”

Clark is afraid if mutants gain power they won’t show humans mercy or equality. This is a common belief among fascist. The “they’ll treat us like we treat them” argument. Only it’s rarely self-aware, and it isn’t here either. Clark genuinely believes he’s not doing anything wrong. It’s all somehow in “self defense.”

Ah, so Farouk and Syd are connected psychically. He entered her mind whenever she entered David’s. He psychically affects her at multiple points throughout the series.

Syd here is convinced to help The Shadow King by The Shadow King. And while he’s wearing a mask at that. Yeah yeah, this pattern will repeat. But still, Syd gives in relatively quickly here. Perhaps she just... doesn’t fully trust Summerlands capabilities? They are legitimately trying to get rid of Farouk, but Farouk has proven time and time again how dangerous he is. Or maybe the “unmake soup” thing is just that convincing to Syd.

Clark’s still standoffish, but he’s slowly becoming more cooperative.

Syd rolled a 4 on that hero speech. She needed at least a 7.

I legitimately NEVER noticed before that Syd secretly turns on the lab camera feed for Clark to watch. They weren’t trying to show him that.

David gets a chance to look back at his whole life and recontextualize everything.

David straight up halts Farouk’s theme. If Clockworks Podcast is right and he can hear that whenever Farouk shows up, this would be evidence of it. Alternatively, he was halting Farouk, and the music halting was for the audience. A fun subversion of expectations.

David describes him and Farouk as, “The Sun and Moon.”

Division 3 sees it. The monster they saw on infrared. Clearly a separate entity from David Haller. Clearly of a different disposition than David Haller as David Haller has acted very differently and non-hostile compared to when they saw him roaming those HQ halls. The monster and David are not the same. They see who their real enemy is now.

It seems evident there was no chance of David beating Farouk on his own here. I wonder why? Was it true? Is Farouk just too ingrained in his mind? Cary said he was like a, “Computer virus. Learning his systems, bypassing his defenses.” Maybe Syd remembered that, and that’s why she believed Farouk. Cause Cary had already said something similar before.

Clark could've escaped, but he stayed, then tried to help fight Farouk.

I feel really sad Oliver got possessed. It never occurred to me before he could even tell Melanie he remembered her. Melanie’ll just go on thinking he never remembered her for a year.

And thus it’s established. There are “good mutants” and there are “bad mutants.”

No one checks on Ptonomy :(

The Lenny that’s talking to Oliver here is still just Farouk.

Did the orb go back as far as it could? Or was this time specifically chosen? If it was chosen, it was probably because it’s very soon after Farouk had been expelled from David’s head, and before the big race for his body starts.

[masterthespianduchovny]

Honestly, I don't understand what some GA supporters, Gillovny haters and David haters, which I believe are mixed groups, against David and a friendship, albeit at a distance and occasionally with Gillian. At SM, the haters draw him as if he were the same arrogant actor who was portrayed in the 90s, who didn't have a friendly off-screen relationship with Gillian (hello, they are both very introverted and worked 17 hours together. How much could they handle this work overload? (to be continued..)

 Are these followers afraid that GA is getting involved with a "rapist/misogynist", just because his have a relationship with a 27-years-old girl? Why did David write about incest is his last book? Why did he say that he wouldn't like to with Gillian on anything but The X Files? Why was he openly a sex addict? And this arguments being based entirely on facts and gossip from 15/20 /25 years ago?

People draw David as if he were a maniac who can attack Gillian at any time, and that she doesn't know his true nature, so he has a relationship. It's amazing how people make assumptions based on the past things and don't even bother to keep up with what they're doing today. And even worse: they think they can govern your personal lives. I saw it from Gillovnys in the past, and now i see it in these groups.

I read these anons earlier and spent some time thinking about your remarks and the larger implications of certain accusations and DD/GA’s relationship. This response way longer than I intended, but like I said, I spend some time thinking about your comments. And when I say it’s long, I mean it’s long.

Anti’s alleged issues with DD is a combination of things: misogyny, sexism, homophobia, pedophilia, and being friends with an alleged sex trafficker.

David has said some homophobic, misogynistic, and sexist remarks. It’s one of those things that, although a handful of people knew better, his views were ���normal” back then. This isn’t to excuse David, but rather, provide context. Because there’s problematic shit and beliefs from 10 and even 5 years ago. The question I ask myself is: has David unpacked these beliefs? Is he learning and growing?

The fact that they have to dig into shit from the 90s to find shit on him says A LOT. Maybe he’s learned to keep those views to himself OR maybe he realized that some of his beliefs were fucked up and left them in the past. I’m not saying that no one can’t be upset about what he said or even dislike him now because of it. However, I don’t think people who genuinely dislike him are sending hate anons to people because they like him.

I really don’t like talking about the pedophilia and him “knowing” he’s friends with a sex trafficker accusations because, even when accusations are proven to be false, someone will believe there's truth to them. It taints a person and that's generally speaking. The reason I’m addressing them now and with you is because I want to be transparent about what’s going on with Antis and my issues with them. I don’t want to be accused of bias or protecting DD because I’m “hiding” the truth.

This man in Hollywood accused David of being sexually inappropriate with a minor who later became his wife. Apparently, this happened in David’s trailer during the original run of the X-Files and was well known on set. This revelation occurred during the Me Too era, like when accusations were hot and took just about everyone accused of impropriety down. For reference, Harvey Weinstein, a powerful producer with more money and influence, was taken down. Louis CK, well respected before his victims came out. Pre Me Too: Bill Cosby. Aziz Ansari. Hell, even some of the faces of the movement were taken down.

So, this Hollywood dude claimed on twitter that David was touching on a minor while at work and EVERYONE on set knew, but somehow this story never caught on. Virtually no media outlets picked this up. And this accusation is worse than the Aziz accusation and he was torn to shreds as his career took a hit. But David can be accused of this horrendous thing and no one reacts to it??? Apparently, he must have better lawyers than Harvey, Louis, etc because the rumors never even took flight. AND, I believe the thread is still up too. Not even crazed right wingers or pizza gate fanatics were interested in this story. However, since David is involved with a significantly younger woman this means that that rumor is true. 

The thing is: there’s implications to this accusation that the antis didn’t think of and they got mad at me and others about it.

They said that Gillian hated David, didn't talk to him, and ignored him as much as she could because she knew about all of this. So, I asked, “If she knew David was a predator, why did she keep working with him? If you argue it was due to contract reasons, why did she work with him on IWTB and Seasons 10 and 11? Why didn’t she report him?”

Me and others were accused of holding women accountable for mens’ actions. But that still doesn’t answer the question, right? If Gillian hated David because he’s a predator, why did she still work with him? Her “hate” was supposed to be “proof” that he was morally corrupt. Since Gillian “hated” David, we’re supposed to hate David.

Another layer: David’s friends with a guy who allegedly is a sex trafficker, which to Antis mean that David knows and is okay with this. They’re friends, how could he not know???

This is important to note because they switch between Gillian knowing David is a “predator” and not knowing depending on the argument. So, when they swore up and down that she hated him, Gillian “knew.” Now that Gillian and David confirmed they are friends in some capacity, “just because she’s friends with him doesn’t mean she knows everything about him.”

Interesting, right?

They used examples of Harvey Weinstein and Ted Bundy to prove how someone can hide despicable acts after swearing up and down Gillian KNEW, which is why they weren’t friends. And, if you’re thinking...well what about David’s friend who allegedly is a sex trafficker, wouldn’t the same logic apply to him?

BINGO.

There are a million excuses and justifications when you apply their logic to Gillian, but they never give David the benefit of the doubt. They never critically examine any information they’re given if it paints David in a bad light. Then they put their heads in the sand if this info implicates Gillian. And the sad part is that I can go on a longer rant tearing their accusations apart.

There isn’t any consistency from Antis. I’d respect them if they’d dropped Gillian because she’s friends with the “predator” they hate. But no, their stance and justification changes so she's always in a good light.

You see how low they're willing to stoop to justify their hate. They aren’t content with disliking David, they need others to hate him too. They're too invested to admit they were wrong because then they’d have to face how foolish they looked hating David on the behalf of Gillian who doesn’t hate him at all. All that energy and hate for nothing.

Lastly, I genuinely do believe Antis are afraid that David and Gillian may be fucking or, at least, that casual fans will come to that conclusion. Think about it: who reacts like this to two people, who many thought hated each other, essentially announcing they are friends?

Who?

These are two adults with (an) adult kid(s). And they could literally become grandparents at any time. lol. These are two people who have known each other for damn near 30 years and Antis think they know David and Gillian better than they know each other.

But a simple photo got them rattled because they HAVE TO admit Gillian’s friends with David. She inadvertently put them in a corner and the only way out of it is to admit something they mocked others for believing. Their other options would fall into Gillovny thinking: they're fucking or dating.

And that’s what they’re really upset about.

They were left with options that fell into Gillovny thinking and had to choose the lesser of the evils. And they can’t say David and Gillian aren’t friends without looking delusional. Especially when they don’t have their handy dandy convenient excuses of “promo” for the x files or a charity. lol. Especially when they took a personal photo together and posted it online.

And I guess that’s the beauty of the picture: you’re only left with three options. Because, if you take friendship off the table, there is no other way to explain why David was there that doesn’t suggest them being intimately acquainted with each other.

I’ll say this: Antis don’t care about facts if the facts can’t be used as ammunition to shit on someone even if they have to distort it.

Now I know this is long and I’ve discussed things you didn’t intend, but I guess I needed this rant. LOL. Some Gillovnies and David fans may be upset that I discussed those topics, but most of the people on my blog either already heard about this OR have read me discuss it before.

Either way, Antis are hypocrites and shouldn’t be taken seriously.