#working with WE is a cop out and it’s very intentional because i think he knows that too

[mangoisms]

weird question. but in ur opinion, what major would tim do at college? I was thinking comp sci but making him a business major would be so funny

good question! to be honest.. i want to say it’s difficult to pin down any one major he’d choose, especially because i feel like he’s not exactly academically inclined, at least if he’s doing vigilante stuff? school was always a big issue for him hence him dropping out to focus on The Mission and that seems like All He Is Doing right now thank you dc editorial. but if he isn’t… comp sci is a good choice but for me, i lean towards maybe something like mechanical engineering? or electrical engineering? kinda feel like he has comp sci in the bag already from having to learn it/having learned it in his time as a vigilante (largely due to babs im sure!)

but mechanical or electrical engineering just because of how much stuff he created for his suit when he was robin and how he was always reconfiguring redbird and messing with all of it. although where those skills and that degree could be applied is Another Question Entirely. my best guess is — and this is probably super basic — with WE? or maybe if we want to have a little fun. somewhere like kord industries. or even STAR labs. or maybe a teaching position? could see him being down for that as he gets older

a little more indulgent would be photography but even if not a major i would like to think he at least minors in it or something!

business major would be SO funny because he would be miserable the entire time. i think.

but yeah! he’s just. idk. probably hates prerequisites. probably wants to take ten classes at once. he’d really need to slow down i think which is the goal. ultimately. for me. in any case This got very long my bad <3 i’m just. fascinated by him and his mysterious future

[alwaysshallow]

prompt: You’re a retired S-tier supervillain. After you retired, you married a B-tier hero. You are forced back onto the stage when an A-tier villain attempts to kill your spouse. Ghost x reader

A/N: i don't know if i hate this or i like, so. it's yours to decide lmfao. especially that's a tiiiiny part that i decided to wrote bc i was bored.

Everyone wants to live happily ever after.

Not exactly a quiet life, but not too loud either. A perfect balance, where you have all the things (or almost all of them) to be happy, fulfilled in life.

Life that wanted your mother for you, before it all went down. Before you turned evil, as she liked to say.

You try to tell yourself that you deserve every inch of it, but you still miss the thrill of the hunt, blood on your hands, the way you just ruled the city like you wanted. Unbothered.

When your husband doesn’t look, you take out your mask, hidden carefully behind all those unopened cartons from your wedding. He thinks you burned all of your past, and here you are. Hiding it like a precious possession, so carefully.

It took you long enough to earn it—you don’t think you quite deserve it, but it’s nice to be a wife that can greet her husband every time he comes home from work. Every time he mentions something about you joining him, but it could be quite a laugh, you say.

A retired villain turned superhero. You’d rather die than make it happen, but that’s what your husband doesn’t know.

Well, he doesn’t know a lot of things.

For example, he doesn’t know how conflicted you are. Unconsciously, you think that you sabotage all of those happy moments. Overthinking stuff, asking yourself if you’re really in a good place, if you made a right decision; if a man is worth giving up your career.

Your whole life, if you want to be petty enough. Your whole life changed because of him—hell, you even changed in some way. Less snarkier, more laid back, so you wouldn’t be degraded to trophy wife, burned out villain in front of his friends and family.

Make them proud, he said once, before a meeting with his friends. Meeting that turned to complete disaster, heading home way earlier than you were supposed to because superhero bullshit bored and annoyed you enough.

But you tried to put up with it. Convince yourself that it is your fate, not the villain route that you chose before.

Fate hits you right in the face, when you enter your apartment to see three significant changes.

Your husband is tied like a pig on the table. Tight.

The apartment looks like a tornado went through it.

And three—

“Took you long enough.”

Yeah. That’s three.

You almost want to laugh. A bandit-like balaclava could scare a lot of people, but not you—not when you know him inside out. Not when you basically competed with him your whole life before.

Yeah. Before. Before you met your husband, before you two got married, before you decided to retire. The taste of this decision is bitter on your tongue, just like the thought that you feel excited for the first time in months because there’s potential danger. Something breaking you out of the routine.

“Normal people do groceries around this hour.” You shrug casually, taking a few steps; the intention of untying your husband falters the moment Ghost blocks your way, amused. You raise your eyebrow. “Come on—”

“—What? Scared?”

“No. But he has probably nothing to do with your business,” you point out, harshly. He lets out a scoff.

“Said that he’s gonna call cops on me. Very unfriendly behavior from a superhero, won’t you agree?” He tilts his head with a theatrical manner.

“I’d do the same,” you murmur under your nose, taking out the material that Ghost gagged your husband with. Carefully, your hand lands on the ropes, until Simon stops you.

“We have better things to do,” he says, his voice low. “Gotta step out from that wife role for a moment, ‘m takin’ you. He’s gonna do fine.”

“You’re taking me?”

“I am, yeah. A problem?” He arches an eyebrow, his grip tight on your wrist. Attacking him is useless, especially when he knows how you want to do it; he’s quick to pin you down against the counter. His front is hot against your ass—he laughs, as he’s almost able to feel your humiliation. “Won’t do anythin’ right in front of your husband, don’t worry. Or, will I?” he looks down at you, expression mocking.

“I hate—”

“Mm. Yeah, won’t do me good.”

And then, you’re out.

[yzy-dragon]

I absolutely ADORED S2E9 "Three Stories" of Link Click and was a bit surprised to see the discontent here on Tumblr, and I totally understand the reasons why people didn't like it, especially in the context of the pacing of the rest of S2 (which I also have some opinions on but I won't talk about that here), but I also felt the need to just get my heart out why I love it so much. A bit of background, I'm Chinese American but have lived in and visited China numerous times.

Music and theater. As a western classical musician and an amateur Chinese opera singer enthusiast (I saw someone else post about the possible inspo this episode got from Chinese opera), I VIBED with the artistic direction of this episode SO much. The three-part structure was almost like a sonata/symphony (and remember that one scene where Qian Jin was air-conducting in a previous episode!!) or scene changes in a Chinese opera. Nothing needs to be said about the animation style that hasn't been said already, but I like how scenes from the three individual "stories" were interwoven and reused like leitmotifs. Especially that crazy, tortured laughter. Idk if any of the parallels were intentional on the part of the director, but it's what I got from it due to my personal experiences. I know that's a highly subjective takeaway though, which brings me to my next point....

Qian Jin's "tragic" backstory. I know a lot of people were upset that the extent of Qian Jin's tragic backstory was "oh his wife cheated on him", but I think the "basicness" of his struggles was the whole point (by the way, this segment displayed various attitudes towards work, family, marriage, individual pride, and life in mainland China so subtly but so well!). I also don't think sympathy was the main thing we were supposed to feel for him, although of course there is some. The whole "tragicomedy" aspect of Qian Jin's story is that it's not some horrible, terrible, rare thing that happened to him, but a common problem faced by so many hardworking but busy married men trying to provide for their families: infidelity. But Qian Jin sees himself as the main character of an elaborate play that rivals the great dramatic classics (which, funnily enough, often depicted very DRAMATIZED versions of a rather basic series of events). And his viewpoint is validated when....

Qian Jin meets the twins. That segment is still largely from Qian Jin's perspective, because we still don't really know how LTC and LTX even feel about him. But for Qian Jin, it's a stroke of fate and fortune that could only possibly happen in theater. He's very far removed from reality at this point. Reality is that a cop whose job it is to investigate violent crime comes across two kids who are the victims of a violent crime. Again, nothing particularly special or even coincidential. It's comical like that.

The fairy tale section.  Unlike the first two, I think this segment is from Xixi’s perspective, which not only justifies the cartoony artstyle but also makes it heartbreaking, due to her childlike innocence.  Like Qian Jin, she also perceives her reality as something it’s not, but unlike him, she doesn’t have delusions of grandeur of being a tragic protagonist.  It’s just a little fox trying to survive in a forest full of predators and hunters.  

All that tortured laughter. I’ve actually noticed in a lot of Chinese media that they like to use laughter as a way of signifying a person’s complete mental breakdown due to the tragedies they’ve suffered.  It’s a very internal thing that has people on the outside going, “WTF?”  In this episode we have a lot of characters crazily laughing together at the same time and it seems like they’re relating to each other, but in reality they’re all trapped in their own nightmarish hells and motivated by selfish purposes. 

Back to the topic of Qian Jin, even though he (innaccurately) may see himself as the hero of his own story, it's not enough for him. He wants to use Cheng Xiaoshi to change the past. He wants to become the director of the play.

I know a lot of people were disappointed this episode didn't advance the plot, especially in regard to Cheng Xioashi and Lu Guang's storylines, but I was actually prepared for a backstory episode and couldn't have been more satisfied. Again, I have other opinions on the rest of S2 but at least standalone, I think this episode was nearly perfect. And I really wasn't expecting this, but it's really elevated Qian Jin to one of my top characters.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Monday Fandom :) This episode is all kinds of cute. I love it so much. We get to see the depth of what Lucy would do for Tim. After he just showed up what he’d do for her in 5x12. It’s so good. Let us get started.

5x13 Daddy Cop

We start with Lucy in roll call. I would like to point out Lucy picking a spot in the back of the room. She’s never once done that before. Doing it so she can check in on her husband. Lucy is somewhat subtle about it. But she can’t help but check on him. Knowing the bullet he took for them. She literally can’t help but look back on her man. Such lingering glances too. *heart clutch.* You can see in the second one he’s looking back at her too. How can these two kill me so much with such subtle glances? Damnit I love them so much.

Lucy could not be cuter running up to see Tim before her shift. Physically turning his chair around. He couldn’t be happier to see her. First time we’ve seen him light up today. You guys are so loud and I love it. Little work flirt before her shift. Lucy saying looks like he has a lot to uh....Liaise LOL Tim straight lying to his person like he thinks he can get away with that nonsense. Lucy replying she thought they would never lie to each other.

Tim shooting back 'That was a lie.' Lmao I’m dying their banter on point as usual. The sassy face she gives him. Be more married you two please. Love these idiots in love. Lucy can’t stand it and says he’s miserable. Tim with a very unconvincing ‘No…’ Lucy isn’t buying what you’re selling....Babe your girlfriend sees right through you. Always has. She has the book of Tim locked away in her head.

Tim trying to convince her it’s not that bad. 'Nice people…Low stress….'The more you speak the more she knows you’re dying Tim. A subtle cry for help. Or not so subtle really lol He doesn’t regret doing this for her at all. But she can’t stand him doing this when he’s so clearly miserable. Lucy knows this man. He will suffer in silence if it makes her happy and they get to be together. A decision I know he would make again. Because she is his person also as we saw last ep his blindspot. So he would do anything even at his own detriment.

Her big friggin dork of a man giving her a thumbs up and telling her to 'Be safe out there.' LMAO I love this man so much. Dork Tim has been activated. She loves this goober in front of her nonetheless. Lucy’s cute head tilt knowing he’s putting on an act for her. Then he lights up like a Christmas tree saying he’ll see her at the end of shift. He can’t wait because he has someone to go home to now and I love this.

The most genuine he is the entire scene. Knowing he will get to see her end of shift. The best part of his day will be seeing her and I love that. It’s written all over his beautiful face. Lucy however isn’t smiling as she walks away. Knowing this job is making him miserable and she can’t stand it. His intentions being the best and purest. But also knowing she needs to fix this for him somehow. She just doesn’t know how just yet…

Lucy sees Metro piling in and immediately thinks of her man. How well he would do there. How good he would fit in. I just adore her conferring with Harper one this. Also her spending the entire episode trying to find him a better position. Earlier in the episode they had a convo about a 5 player trade. Trying to create an opening so one could open up for Tim.

Metro has now become a potential option for Tim. She wants to start her trade. Harper warns her this could come with consequences. For her and Tim. To Lucy that’s worth it though. Tim blocked her making a sacrifice in 5x12. He is WORTH the risk of her ruffling some feathers to get him a better position. Never be over them consistently doing whatever for each other. Makes my soul happy.

So much to love about this next scene. I adore Lucy seizing the opportunity to solve Tim’s job problem with the group. They’re all gonna be at Nolan’s anyways... Might as well be one giant brain to save her man from his desk job. Super brains assemble and you know Nolan lol Their sticky note game is strong as they try to figure out an opening. Just as they crack it Tim shows up at the door.

John says his name loudly so they all hear him. Which causes them all to scramble to disassemble their brain storm session. So funny to watch them get the post it’s down as fast as they can. Then trying to get back to their seats as John does horribly at stalling Tim. I mean it's so horrible and awkward. Tim's face when Nolan is speaking is too funny. Wondering if he made a mistake in coming over here... LOL

I love him pointing out Lucy’s car and no one else’s. Could care less there are other cars out there. He points out his girl's car only and asks about it. This makes me giddy on so many levels. The minute he enters the room they could not be more obvious. The looks say everything. Also all these scenes just hit differently knowing they’re together. Makes me so happy. Look at Lucy above she couldn't be more obvious if she tried. You're a UC Lucy you can do better LMAO Being under pressure is the name of the name and you fall like a cheap house of cards here haha. It's too cute though especially with her little eyebrow pump.

Let’s not gloss over how delicious Tim looks in this scene. I always love me some street clothes Tim. But hot damn that tight t-shirt and those jeans. His hands in his pockets showing off those biceps.*fans self* Angela’s face when he talks to Lucy I’m dying. If she didn't know at this point she sure did now. Look at her in that first gif. So telling it's hysterical. Tim sensing something is off but he isn't sure why. Like did you think your man wouldn’t notice this?

So he zero's in on his girl and asks if she's ok? Not anyone else in the room just her. I LOVE how softly he asks if she’s ok? Looking right at her. Tim lights up when he speaks to her. Which gives me all the feels. His Lucy demeanor on full display in this scene. Seriously be more obvious you two. Lucy looking smug as hell and trying to keep it under wraps. Angela continues to crack me up with her expressions. Angela Lopez you are a treasure.

Lucy comes to Smitty he is the final piece in this 5 player trade of hers. They figured out how to get it done but he is sadly an essential piece. Lucy goes into this scene prepped and ready to go because well it's Lucy. This scene is hilarious because Smitty already knows the plan if Fuji retires. Flooring Lucy completely. I commend Melissa and her facial expression here it’s so funny. She gets Smitty to agree to help her in getting his friend to retire. He wants a favor though. Lucy immediately says 'Nothing weird.' LMFAO. Oh the things we do for love.

Tim eagerly comes to find Lucy end of shift. He’s so excited he’s going to come out of his skin. He heard about Lauren Fuji retiring. He's so excited as he explains this all to her. Look at that man. Bursting with joy to share this news with her. I love the pre-excitement on her face as he speaks. Saying she doesn't know how he keeps its all straight. Well played Lucy hehe

I adore him running to his person the moment he has news for her. Lucy is his safe place. One he goes to for all things good and bad. What I love most about this is Tim allowing himself to be this excited and keyed up around her. The man is glowing most of this conversation. Not holding back one emotion from her. Being as genuine as we’ve ever seen him. It does my heart good to watch him thrive in this relationship with her.

I’ll probably say this multiple times in this season. But this is what it looks like to be truly and unconditionally loved. The background this man came from, the relationships he had before her. It's hard to express emotions when they're always suppressed like his have been in the past. It's a joy to watch him like this. He's never experienced what he's had with her before. We’re watching this new Tim come out and it glorious to watch unfold. To see what it looks like when he properly loved on. To be put first and built up.

We watch as Tim tells her his tale. Explaining what all this means. Getting more excited by the minute. The way he leans into her as he tells her everything. Lucy pretending she doesn't know any of this. Playing dumb about it all and damn well at that. He has no idea. Lucy acting like this is all "new" to her. Tim getting all amped up letting her know there's an opening in Metro now. Well that there was.... Alluding to his reply down below.

What is getting her all smiley and excited is his excitement in this moment. It’s infectious and she is beaming with happiness for him. Knowing all the effort she put in was so worth it to get this reaction. She knew he would be a good fit and this proved it. He is BEAMING with excitement when he tells her he got the Metro Job. No one else he would rather share this with. This whole relationship is such a good look on him it’s insane.

Lucy's affectionate hit is everything. He loves it and is it's only adding to his already insane amount of excitement. All his other work achievements she had to regulate herself. Now she can fully be herself and be excited for him. Hence this cute reaction of hers. Loud and proud wifey right here. She is so damn excited and proud of him. No one has been a bigger cheerleader for this man than her. it’s only amplified now that they’re together.

Tim tells her he got a rock star review from Grey. Then we get some massive heart eyes from Lucy. Look at her above. If you wanted to see what being in love look it's her expression. What I love about this is Lucy getting to tell him he’s amazing. To his face. For years she’s told everyone around her about this amazing man. Gushed about him. This is the first we get to see her say it to his face. For him to hear her say it. Not only that but to hear it with so much love, pride, and affection in her voice. Love in her eyes for him. *squee* Building him up once again in a way only Lucy can. This is so precious I cannot.

Tim is feeding off her positivity and love. That nose crinkle might be the death of me. He’s SOOO amped and being this excited in front of his girl has me feeling things. He is so bright and happy it’s making me a puddle of giddy goo. Lucy brought this man back to life in so many ways. She is bringing out this new side of him and I’m so here for it. I’m so giddy for him and Lucy is feeding off it as well. I continually ask. Have we ever seen this man this excited? This happy?

We can thank that beautiful powerhouse standing in front of him. All he wants to do now is go out and celebrate with his girl. Which is massive growth btw. He’s not one to be excited outwardly about promotions or awards. But this is post-in love with Lucy Tim Bradford. He is bouncing off the walls he’s so excited. He gets to have his cake and eat it too. See his person every day and have a new exciting position. Love this first thought being he wants to celebrate with her. This man has changed and grown so much. It's glorious to behold. Truly.

Lucy wants to go out and celebrate with him so badly. If it was up to her they would leave that station right now and do that. Sadly her favor still needs to be cashed in…I love his little puppy face when she says she can't. He wasn't expecting to be spending tonight without her and it shows. All over his handsome face. You can see it's killing her to say no to him right now. But sadly Smitty and his favor can not wait. Even if she doesn't know what the hell it is yet LOL

I adore him immediately asking if she needs any help? I love this man so very much. Such a soft puppy for her. Only ever see him like this with her. He is thinking they may going out but least he can be with and help her with whatever this favor is. Ever the sweet supportive boyfriend and I love it sfm. Man really would do whatever for that woman in front of him. They could watch paint dry and Tim would be in cause he would be with her. Lucy tells him it’s something she has to do solo.

Lucy follows up she wants to celebrate him tomorrow. I love her saying celebrate 'You.' Not his job but to celebrate YOU. Look at this man above as she says this. He is legit basking in her praise, excitement, and love right now. What I really love is as she continues to congratulate him he leans closer to her. Looks like he wants to kiss her. Once again forgetting they’re in the bullpen. Their magnetic pull activating in the final moments of this scene.

Lucy saying her line above with so much love and affection. Her words having an effect on him. It shows in this next mini moment. We can see him grab her hands and pull her towards him gently in that second gif. The amount of squeeing I'm doing. Tim friggin Bradford grabbing for her girl. Pulling her closer at work out of instinct. In the bullpen of all places. Not caring they are in public. He is high off her excitement and this new job. Looks like he just wants to kiss her in this moment. Pick her up and spin her around he’s so happy.

She has to break the spell sadly. Remembering they are at work and she has to go do her favor.. but not before telling him 'Good job!' Look at this man's face as she departs. That’s a ‘I’m going to marry that woman someday.’ face. He is glowing with love and it makes me so happy to see him loved right. He is a different man since they got together. He is exuding so much love for her and pure joy. Just looking and being happier in general since 5x10.

Gah Eric killing me softly good sir. Happiness looks SOOO good on you my love. He’s earned every ounce of what he’s getting from Lucy. Just love this character so much. To finally see him be treated right getting me all in my feels. Best girlfriend ever and he has no idea what’s she done for him. She didn’t want credit. She just wanted him to be happy at work. Once again putting that beautiful man first.

I saw someone posted watching this scene was like ship crack cocaine lmao it’s so accurate I can’t haha. I’m getting high off their happiness in this scene. Tim is bouncing off the walls and Lucy is absorbing it all. The only payment she needed was knowing he was happy. Ugh they’re so cute I love it sfm. I’m so gone for these two. I haven’t loved a ship like this in a long time. I knew when I started this show they were going to be something special. Proven me right so many times over. This season truly is a gift.

We see what the favor is. Smitty wants her to deep clean his RV. Says he hasn’t in years. Telling Lucy since the Bush administration. Lucy’s eyes bulge out. Asking 'Which Bush?' LMFAO. She finds out she’s doing it solo. We then get this great shot of her in a hazmat suit. Chemicals and cleaning supplies at the ready. Knowing it won’t be great. Her ‘Oh dear god.’ Hahaha things we do for the ones we love. Her cleaning his nasty as RV so her man could be happy ❤️❤️

~~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

I love the Cold Open for this one. Daddy Cop is hilarious. If this didn’t get stuck in your head you're lying lmao

I loved Tim helping Celina out with her mom. Also what is about this man saying Spanish words with that inflection that gets me every time? Ovary explosion for me. When her says Celina’s mom’s birds names. Lorca and Neruda does it with inflection and I’m a damn puddle.

Also her asking if she single LMFAO He very is not Mrs. Juarez haha Also the way he says Juarez does thing to me lmao I have no shame in how i feel haha

[sirianasims]

After the main course, Paul went to the kitchen to get the dessert ready before midnight. I excused myself and said I needed some fresh air.

I had been to Del Sol Valley a few times when I was little, visiting my grandparents, but I didn’t remember much about the city itself.

The back of Paul’s mansion was the only thing not surrounded by fences, and the view was both breathtaking and terrifying. Bright lights as far as the eye could see, occasional premature fireworks going off, faint background noise from traffic that never stopped.

It felt like we were gilded birds in a cage up here, always on display yet forever out of reach.

I couldn’t imagine anything further from Copperdale and the quiet, snow-covered forests around it.

I wondered if Paul would expect me to move in with him at some point. I didn’t see how he’d be able to work from anywhere else. I could work wherever, but could I live here? Surrounded by fences and cameras and security guards in a huge, empty house?

I pushed the thought away as I heard the clacking of heels behind me.

“Julia, can I talk to you for a moment?”, Sierra asked softly. “I would really like to apologise for what I said earlier. It was never my intention to insult you.”

“I know you didn’t mean it like that, but I still can’t help feeling that you don’t like me very much. Or maybe you just don’t think I’m good enough for Paul?”

Sierra bit her lip.

“I shouldn’t have brought up his exes, especially not in front of you. The thing is, they rarely lasted long enough for the media to catch on – half the time I didn’t even get to meet them before he ended things. So when Paul first told us about you, I got worried. I saw him falling harder and faster than ever before, but you’re so much younger than him and I was struggling to see how it could possibly end well.”

“Right. Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“I’m just being honest with you. I tend to be, perhaps, overly protective of Paul. He was even younger than you when we met, we shared a shitty apartment with a few other aspiring actors, all trying to break through. We cheered each other on, audition after audition, practicing lines, commiserating over rejection letters… And then he got the call for Llama Man, and I ended up as an extra in a cop series which later got me the lead in Cop & Llama, but I’ve fought hard to escape that, branch out to other roles, and Paul just… didn’t even try.”

“But he says he prefers the voice acting, though. If you’re his friend, why do you keep pushing him if he’s perfectly happy?”

“Because I’m his friend. Sure, he says he’s happy. Maybe he even believes it. But Paul was always the best of us, and he never took his talent seriously. He’s a great voice actor, but it always felt like he secretly wanted more, he’s just scared. What if he sucked? The media would have a field day, writing about how he should just stick to his cartoons. You’ve seen what they’re like, you just had your first front page. Which, by the way, must be rough. I’m sorry for adding to the stress you must be under right now. Can we maybe start over?”

“Apology accepted, I’m too much of a fangirl to be mad at you anyway. And I’m managing, but I must say, being on the cover of a magazine is a lot less fun than advertised.”

“Trust me, it depends heavily on the kind of magazine. But being hung out to dry by some gossip rag is a rite of passage in this business. You should have seen the frenzy when rumours about me and Dave started circulating. It was wild. I once walked out of an interview because they asked me if the llama costume stayed on during sex!”

“Well? Did it ever?”

Sierra grinned.

“No way – do you have any idea how heavy and warm that costume is? It’s not exactly a sexy superhero muscle suit, it’s a full size sports mascot.”

“True. Although I’m not sure I’d appreciate it if Paul kept his costume on either.”

We both laughed, and I barely registered the steps behind me before I felt Pauls arms around me, his warm hands covering my eyes.

“Guess who.”

I heard Sierra chuckle. “Actually, Paul, we were kinda busy out here, bonding over the trials of dating men in llama costumes. It’s a very exclusive club.”

“I guess Dave and I have to start our own club then. But it's almost midnight and I would like to borrow my girlfriend, if you don’t mind.”

“Fine, you can have her back. I’ll just go get myself one of those fruit tarts before Lee and Dave eat them all.”

She walked back inside without waiting for a response.

She wouldn’t have gotten one anyway.

beginning / previous / next

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

DFF - Character Reveals and Why Some Work and Some Don't

I have been thinking about Phee and Tan and why the Tan reveal was so amazing while the Phee character reveal post episode 9 destroyed the character for a big chunk of the audience.

It all started with a post from @mikuni14 here is the link with a couple of additions and back and forths, from me, op and @leconcombrerit and the comments in the notes by @kerrikins which I just say today and accidently helped me figure out why I don't like post episode 9 Phee.

Set Up to The Reveal

I think most of us can agree that Tan and Phee have been suspicious since episode 1. The key to the later reveals was for Phee to appear the one in charage as highlighten in this excellent post episode 9 post from @lurkingshan

So for 8 weeks of real world time, everyone who watched live spend that time with this image of Phee: A loyal, smart, leader oriented teen that made a mistake in anger and betrayal and is now trying to make up for it. Someone who is charge and on top of this revenge plan. Someone who is willing to get their hands dirty.

While Tan came across as someone who wants answears, who likes to get high with these people but is only for real close to Phee, and fades into the background unleass you are specifically analyzing his character.

Speaking from me only, even while I was obsessing over Mio's microexpression I was skeptical over the Tan is the brother reveal, I was coinvinced that I wasn't going to suspend my disbelief over Mio's age and that it didn't make any sense because Phee looked to be so much more in charge.

Writers don't know what the audience is going to like about the character before the reveal happens. And with every character you ran the risk of that reveal destroying the audience's attachment by changing the wrong things.

The Reveals in Ep 9

While DFF had other reveals, specifically with Phee, all those revealed only served to strengthen the audience initial perception of Phee.

Then came episode 9. And while the Tan is New reveal blew everyone including me out of the water over how good it was, seriously Mio was amazing in this role and the writing for him was insanly good, Phee's episode 9 reveals didn't work as much.

Why?

It's simple because Tan was very much non entity pre-reveal. If you weren't obssessing over everything like myself you barely payed attention to him.

There was no character for the reveal to assinate, Tan never came across as someone who was especially close to any of the others except for Phee, at the most he Fluke and Top were his weed buddies and that is the extent of the friendships you saw between Tan and the group.

The reveal strengthents the character, they make it better, they make you go back and appriciate everything you didn't notice. All the little moments of barely concealed disdain.

While with Phee it's the opposite. Phee was a strong character already, and everything that we saw seem to reinforced that.

But episode 9 changed that. Episode 9 destroyed all of it, and while it worked fine at the time, the cracks started to appear as soon as episode 10 rolled around.

Because everything we learn from episode 9 destroyes everything we know about Phee as a character.

Loyal = He flipped on the boys as soon as they were nice to him and Tan [Read: OUR FRIENDS NEED HELP - I haven't forgotten, OUR FRIENDS I wanted to kill him]. Falls in love with Jin in three scenes (and yeah I know that it might have been weeks of real world time, BUT FOR US it was 3 scenes, in 3 scenes he was over Non and totally lovey dovey with Jin.), Enables New's revenge and pretends to be on his side still all the while not doing anything to help or not even wanting to do anything that doesn't help his guilt anymore.

Smart = Are we really supposed to believe that Phee had no idea that New had the intention of seeing the boys die? Am I really supposed to believe that the son of a cop, saw New totally loose everything, ask to die, profess revenge [the flashback scene I'll Make Them Pay in episode 12] and then heard "This won't killed them" in that tone and not made 2 + 2??? Are we for real right now??????

Leader Oriented = Not in charge of their mission, taking New's lead

Teen who made a mistake and said something in anger = This one is still valid, but it lessened by knowing he never actually confronted that what happened to Non was predatory and a little more complicated then actual cheating. Or the fact that he dismissed Non's call or explanations. The fact that he seemingly gets over Non and totally falls for Jin within a week of meeting him fits with stupid teen boy, but really doesn't help.

In charged and on top of this revenge plan = Again, not in charge of the plan seemingly just going along for the ride.

Someone who is willing to get their hands dirty = He has ethics about muder completely OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE!! It is valid to not want to kill people but I'm sorry where the fuck were this boy ethics before? An incompelte lists of things Phee did that he was somehow totally fine with despite his so called "ethics":

Sleeps with Jin under false pretenses

Lied to his father and implicated himself in a crime just to help Non.

Ok with drugging people with a dangerous experimental drugs that causes fear and paranoia after New's reassurance that it tots won't kill them trust me bro.

Sleeping with Jin while he was definately 100% under the influence of New's drugs (the fail blow job in episode one) [We know they were still influenced because if the hand groping Tee was an hallucination then all the characters were still drugged]

Enabled New's revenge quest for three years whithout ever trying to get New to go back to his family (we didn't see it or have it mention so it didn't happen within the text)

Totally ok with sending Top with New post Uncle Dang getting his head chopped off while under the impression that New is responsible for said head chopping

Under the impression that New caused Por getting impaled but still not saying anything (we know that he could have said something because that is what he does later)

Learns that Jin filmed Non and posted the video and reacts with: So we were both hurting him and is fine with it in 5 minutes.

Apparently never fucking interrogated or contronted what happened to Non with Keng, never calls it grooming or abuse. Never recognizes that there were deeper motivations. In three years he manged to do 0 internal searching on it. Despite the fact that Por (who is a dick and the same age as the other boys and Phee) managed to come that conclusion right away.

There's probably more. His ethics come out of nowhere and feel like he is betraying New and being a dysloyal dick, because this character doesn't and has never come across as someone who gives a shit about ethics.

Like ok none of those things are muder fair enough, but a story needs to set up a character internal conflict over murder on a revenge quest a little better then a simple "This won't kill them right?"

Phee post episode 9 character falls apart because it is simply not the same character we thought we were getting for the previous 8 episodes. If you are not a PheeJin shipper there is not much post episode 9 to like about Phee. In the most charitable of read he comes across as bellyflopping follower who couldn't make a decision about what he wanted for 3 years.

I think somewhere along the lines something from the original idea got lost in the writing. To the writers who know this character inside and out and created him, Phee probably comes across as someone who struggled for years and was very conflicted and tourtured, unfortunatly the structure the chose for the plot doesn't have much time to show that to us.

Character reveals should always feel like they make sense, you should be able to go back and fit what you previously knew about the character with the new reveal. The reveal should feel like something that re-orients the puzzle, or helps you to put something in a different prospective. Not something that totally breaks everything that came before.

Reveals that are meant to make you feel like everything you knew about that character was a lie are much trickier to writer and balance, and crucially YOU MUST TREAT THEM LIKE THEY DO.

I never got the sense that the show wanted me to see Phee's betrayal and flipping on New as a bad thing, as something that goes against what the audience believed the character to be.

It just comes across that he is going from sympathic villain to tourtured anti-hero. At least that is what it feels like the writer wanted to show with that. Not that I see Tan or Post episode 9 Phee as sympathic villains. It feels like the writers saw them like that.

[hakugreenfinch]

Abbacchio's salvation because I can't stop thinking about him

Hi I don't usually write theory/character analysis posts but Abbacchio is the guy ever and I cannot get over how subtle and heavy his character arc is.

I feel like the most widely accepted conclusion is that Abbacchio was saved by Bruno when he took him in and offered him to join his gang and while I do agree that this was an important moment for Abba, I would argue he wasn't "saved" at that time. The thing is, Bruno couldn't save him, nobody could.

The reason Abbacchio became a cop was because he wanted to do what's right, we all know that, and he fell from grace when he decided the world was rotten and nothing he did really mattered, we also know that. I believe that this is the key to his entire arc - "doing what's right". Throughout the canon present timeline, the Abbacchio we see isn't trying very hard to do that. He's loyal to Passione, he's even more loyal to Bruno (because even if not salvation, he does find comfort in him) but he even says so in Pompeii: he doesn't want to think, he wants orders he can carry out without questioning anything. Abbacchio has given up on doing the right thing because he tried and failed and it was his own fault. All he does now is what he's told.

It's actually quite ironic how this indifference is what makes him work so well. He engages in chitchat with Mista sometimes, he clearly has a soft spot for Narancia but he's not necessarily talkative and it's not like he takes the initiative on his own a lot. But, again, how else would the man who once served the very system that ruined everyone around him behave? Society failed Bruno, Fugo, Mista, Narancia, even Giorno and Abbacchio himself is a symbol of everything that enabled these children to end up playing gangster on the streets. (This is why I greatly prefer Fugo's anime backstory but that's an essay for another time.)

Abbacchio doesn't think for himself. Abbacchio just follows orders, he doesn't do favours or anything he doesn't get something out of, he's been let down and doesn't care for "what's right" anymore. That is, until his very last moments in Sardinia.

Abbacchio sees some kids with their ball stuck on a tree and thinks they're loud and annoying but still decides to help them out. Nobody asks him to do it, and he doesn't get anything out of it. For the first time in the series he's doing something selfless just for the sake of being kind, and this costs him his life. And in the end, Abbacchio is saved not because Bruno saved him, not because he helped the gang on the way to defeating the boss. Abbacchio is saved by this tiny act of pure kindness, finding his way back to the righteous road, finally doing the very thing he swore to become a cop for. It wasn't about any greater good or anything grandiose, it was about making the world just a little better without personally getting anything out of it.

In the end, Bruno couldn't save Abbacchio because nobody could save him but himself. His salvation wasn't dependent on saving the world, it was dependent simply on whether he does something that helps him realize he was never too far gone from the right path he left when he accepted his first bribe. His partner wasn't proud of him for seeing Diavolo's face, he was proud because finally Abbacchio was doing what he always wanted to do, something for the people around him in a world that might not care how good his intentions are. Something that proved the world he lived in couldn't really corrupt him, no matter how deep he's fallen.

[makeitastrength]

Throughout season 4, I feel like there was a lot of confusion about Lucy’s character development (or lack thereof). It’s something I’ve been trying to make sense of, too. Initially, I thought maybe the writers just didn’t know what to do with her. And maybe that was the case. But now that we’re seeing her be a total badass in season 5, I’m wondering if maybe it wasn’t. What if Lucy’s seemingly random and sometimes out-of-character behaviors and her lack of professional progression throughout season 4 was intentional?

Between the barrel, the fallout with her parents, and the loss of Jackson, Lucy had a year from absolute hell. It’s completely understandable that she’d be struggling to come to terms with everything and to find her place in this world where she’s basically estranged from her parents and her best friend is dead. For as much as we know that Tim is closed off, Lucy is actually very much the same. Yes, she’s bubbly and friendly and empathetic and she likes to talk things out, but she doesn’t truly open up to just anyone. And she’d just lost one of the few people she felt comfortable opening up to.

I’ve always felt like part of the reason she fought so hard to be Tim’s aide was because he was the one remaining constant in her life and she really craved that security and feeling of safety. She needed someone she could talk to. She needed support. She needed a reminder of the more confident and capable woman she’s become. Once she was riding with him again, I think she was content to just cruise along in the comfort and familiarity, and to find little moments of joy wherever she could (making bets, teasing him, etc).

And then Chris happened, and although I don’t think she ever truly opened up to him, he certainly helped with the loneliness part (which is probably also why she was often too eager to forgive him for certain things). Between Chris and Tim, Lucy found some semblance of normalcy and happiness, and given how much upheaval she’s faced, I think she spent season 4 living within the confines of that stability. I think she wasn’t ready to challenge herself, professionally or personally.

Don’t get me wrong. Lucy deserves a promotion. She’s an absolute badass and a damn good cop, and I hope we see her move up by the end of this season. But she’s also always been a person who struggles to commit. (Which, by the way, makes sense for her character. When you grow up with parents who force you into a certain mold, it takes time to break out of that and figure out who you actually are and what you actually want to do with your life.) From what we know of her backstory, Lucy flailed around for a few years before finding this job she loves. And then after losing Jackson, she (justifiably) fell into the routine of riding with Tim, which didn’t really allow her to stretch her wings. Now that she’s riding solo - which has been so good for her - she’s having the chance to expand her skills and find her own path.

Along those lines, I actually don’t find it to be bad writing or out of character for her to be stepping into so many different roles in season 5 - not just UC, but also helping the feds, acting as watch commander for a day, teaching citizen’s academy, etc. Lucy has always had a diverse skill set and she’s a quick learner, and I think it’s great that she’s getting to try on all these hats and decide which will be the one she ultimately wants to pursue.

I also think the heartbreak of losing Jackson coupled with the stability provided by her friendship and working relationship with Tim is part of the reason Lucy was so afraid for them to become anything more than friends. There’s so much for her to lose if it doesn’t work out. I know I’m not the only one who was surprised that Tim was the one to push things forward, but in retrospect it makes so much sense. It had to be him. I think he was scared too. But what Tim has that Lucy doesn’t - because he’s been in love before and she hasn’t - is an understanding of how much they have to gain from being together, and that was enough to push him to take the leap. Because he knows they’re worth the risk.

Anyway. This is just my thought process. I’m interested to hear what anyone else thinks!

[its-been-rose]

Honestly, i always love myself a good messed up slasher. Especially when they work in pairs (Scream, anyone?)

But when it gets to the story of Killer Frequency, I always just keep wanting to pull Marie aside and go "Yoooooou! Put that boy through so much trauma! And then JUMPED?!"

And like in your art, I doubt this is just a spur of the moment thing, like she's been training for this! Imagine as a young child waking up and your mother teaches you to whistle, not because it's a fun little skill but bc you're gonna use it to terrorize then murder people with.

You are compared to a father you've never even met and somewhat care but also don't care for because it's an image presented to you via your mother who you love so much you'd do anything for.

You are taught to use a knife, probably. Something just tells me this isn't their first instance of killing someone, especially Marie. I mean do you remember Mrs. Loomis in Scream 2 when Randy is talking shit and she MAIMS him? That's Marie all the way.

There's just... so much to say about Marie. Like what was she even planning to do after this fact?

THISSS!!! ALL OF THIS!!!!

I don’t think this was the intention, but her jumping off Whistling Point at the end seemed to me like it was something she’d planned the entire time, like she’d planned it to be a murder-suicide from the get go. I think in reality it was probably just a very serendipitous coincidence that’s where her running from the cops took her and she took the easy way out due to the convenience. I’m just a sucker for drama and having her basically planning a 20-year long suicide plan is pretty dark.

But either way, she completely threw Henry to the wolves. Obviously she told him to run but what parent wouldn’t be like “don’t go after him he had nothing to do with it it’s me you want”??? Like girl you’re just gonna orphan your son?? Who looked up to you so?

I do not doubt for a single second that she raised Henry for that night and that night alone. Literally nothing else mattered. She absolutely screwed him over and let herself believe she was doing the right thing. If you think about the game for more than five seconds the real tragedy becomes obvious.

I totally agree with you that Henry did it less because he loved his father and wanted revenge for his death but more because he loved his mother who loved his father and wanted to do right by her. Like some of my own relatives passed away before I was born, and I was told stories about them, but I don’t feel a connection to them at all. I feel connected to how my parents felt about them. Like one of my parents lost their brother (my uncle) but i feel worse for them losing their sibling than i do for myself losing an uncle, if that makes sense. I can definitely see Henry thinking something along the lines of “yeah my dad was killed and it sucks and it’s not fair I never got to meet him, but look what his death did to my mom, it destroyed her, and it’s all their fault she’s been miserable for 19 years”

Yeah, Marie taught him, raised him, to be this. It should be a parent’s worst nightmare for their kid to turn into a monster, but she encouraged it. Completely unfair. And yeah I mean we know from Clive’s tapes that Whistling Night wasn’t their first foray into murder. They’d been chasing down stragglers for a while before then, could have been anywhere from months to weeks to days before.

As for what her plan was after the fact… I don’t think she had one, to be perfectly honest. This was all that mattered. I mean like- she even revealed her identity and the identity of her son ON AIR, so it would be way harder to go into hiding anyway. To me that says she didn’t really plan ahead. Just be perpetually on the run?

[ceilingfan5]

Setting Z would be really funny for Barry Bluejeans

“Hurry up and figure things out, before I get fired from a second morgue. Please?” Barry Bluejeans is near tears, or violence. Or maybe just sitting on the floor. The buttons are all very close to each other on his mental keyboard.

“The please is a nice touch,” Kravitz acknowledges pleasantly. “I don’t think it’ll work, but I appreciated it.” 

“Hush your vibes,” Taako says, putting his hands to his temples and cocking an eyebrow intensely. “I’m getting a message from the afterlife.”

“Taako, you don’t have to do the act for us,” Barry complains. “We know you aren’t psychic.” 

“Says who! I’m offended. Let me at ‘em. I’ll prove it with my hands tied behind my back!”

“Use your hands to solve the murder, maybe,” Kravitz suggests wryly. He leans against the metal of the Fridge and jumps, probably because it’s cold as fuck. Barry makes that mistake like three times a day. 

“Or don’t, don’t touch the body, I swan to John, Taako, I know I owe Lup a favor but-”

“More than just a favor, mon ami!” 

“Not bad enough to get fired and arrested in the same day!” Barry starts pacing again, you know, so he doesn’t have to spin that violence/tears/floor roulette wheel. What a variety of options he has for himself! “Your stupid act may have the cops fooled, but I’m-”

“What, a genius?” Taako puts his hands on his hips. “Look at this man.”

“Ex-man,” Kravitz suggests.  

“Oh yeah? Good for h- oh you mean dead.”

“Taako, Robbie is going to be back any minute. I can’t just have people in here! Especially,” he gives Taako a Very Serious Look Tee Em. “If they aren’t being helpful.” 

“I’m so helpful. Notice, in fact,” he gestures like he’s about to do some woo-woo psychic bullshit, but thinks better of it. “That he has been frozen.” 

“Like a corpsicle,” Kravitz suggests. 

“Kravitz,” Barry says, strained. “You’ve gotta stop. I’m going to get an ulcer.”

“Fuck you man, Kravitz is patently amusing.” Taako points a finger with intent at Barry. 

“Well, I’m about to be hilarious. Find out why our corpsicle is freezer burnt, or you’re fucking out of here.” 

“Ooh, he said fucking,” Taako whispers behind his hand to Kravitz. Kravitz snickers. Barry grips the table and gets ready to lose it, it either being his patience or his livelihood, when Taako gasps. 

“What,” Barry asks, so tersely it doesn’t deserve a question mark. 

“Peas!”

“Peas?”

“Peas.” Kravitz nods like he knows about the peas. In fact it appears that the only guy out of the legume loop. 

“E-lab-or-ate.” 

“This guy worked for the frozen food factory,” Taako says, all in a rush, bouncing now that he’s figured it out. “Oh my god, call that bitch of a cop, I’ve figured it out.”

“Tell me now! You can do your goddamn Sherlock reveal later!” 

“Oh my god,” Kravitz says. “He worked in the chicken nugget area, but he was found in the frozen peas.”

“So this could only mean one thing!”

Barry glowers at these two idiots, not least because he very much wants to be in on their Sherlock Bullcrap. 

“What?” Taako snickers. “You didn’t figure it out?” 

“You know, I do a lot for you two wingdings,” Barry starts. “After all this time, you’d think- Wait. Hang on.”

“He’s getting it,” Taako whispers to Kravitz. 

“This is great,” Kravitz says behind his hand, entirely audible. “Way better than pharmaceuticals.” 

“Hang on, fuck, hang on. This isn’t the chicken nugget guy. This man is a twin.”

“Bingo.” 

“The banker twin?”

“The banker twin.” 

“Oh my god.”

“Bingo bango, even.” 

“He froze the peas guy’s assets–”

“And the peas guy froze him.” 

“Jesus fursuit wearing Christ,” Barry says, deciding to finally sit on the floor. He can’t control the words that start streaming out of him. “You- you guys know that most deaths that come in here aren’t like, fun little mysteries? Like you’re aware it’s mostly heart attacks and shit? Like, this is entirely unrealistic, and honestly since you two have started doing this-”

“Shh, Barry,” Taako says, getting out his phone. “We’ve got a scene to pull. For fame and glory.” 

“And about a hundred fifty bucks each,” Kravitz adds. 

“Oh, it’s one hundred now,” Barry says, pulling it together enough to flash them a bitchy smile. “You want my help, you’re paying for it.” 

“Aw, damn it,” Taako mumbles. “You were right, Krav.” 

[scotianostra]

Happy 76th Birthday the excellent Scottish actor David Hayman.

Hayman, one of Scotland’s most acclaimed actors of stage and screen was born in Bridgeton, Glasgow on February 9th 1948.

David Hayman grew up as one of three children in a working class family in Drumchapel, Glasgow. Leaving school without any academic qualifications he started work as a would-be engineer at 16. One day, wearing his grease stained boiler suit, he marched into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and announced his intention to become an actor. He still has no idea where this came from, he is basically a shy person and there was no family history of acting. He took advice and joined an amateur dramatics group and a year later was accepted to study drama and has never been out of work since.

His film and television credits are, frankly, much too numerous to list but include his superb portrayal of hard man Jimmy Boyle in “Sense of Freedom” and, of course, he is recognisable everywhere as Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Walker in Linda La Plante’s long running Trial and Retribution series.He has also starred in the hit Scottish cop drama Shetland as well as Scottish comedy shows Scotch & Wry, Rab C Nesbitt and Still Game.

Hayman has also directed numerous films and TV shows as well as regularly treading the boards in the Theatres.

Away from acting, David established his Glasgow-based charity Spirit Aid in 2001. It has gone on to become one of Scotland’s most successful small scale humanitarian organisations. He started Spirit Aid because he wanted to do a Scottish Live Aid at Hampden, but his rock stars let him down. “They were all, ‘Oh, man, I’m burned out,’ and I was thinking, ‘You’re sitting on your fat arse on your sofa with £40 million in the bank. Go and sit in a refugee camp in Afghanistan and tell me you’re burned out’. But I thought, I believe in this, I’ve got to keep going.”

He spends several months every year visiting his charity’s relief projects where he employs indigenous workers wherever possible. His fundraising operations include Operation Loo Roll, a project selling toilet paper that raised £100,000 in 2007. The charity undertakes humanitarian relief projects from Kosovo to Guinea-Bissau, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Malawi and South Africa.

Hayman is a big campaigner for a Scottish film studio, which is looking like happening soon, he says “It takes the Americans to come in and build a shed where they shoot Outlander and that’s the nearest thing we have to a film studio, think of all the movies that we’ve lost, all the money that we’ve lost all the way back to Braveheart.”

David was recently in the fab comedy from Scottish director Michael Caton-Jones, Our Ladies, “set mainly in Edinburgh a group of Catholic school girls get an opportunity to go to the capital for a choir competition, but they’re more interested in drinking, partying and hooking up than winning the competition” it is an adaptation of Scottish author, Alan Warner, of Morvern Callar fame’s third novel Sopranos, I read the book in the late 90’s it is a laugh out loud book, and the film is also very good.

Hayman was in an interesting film, My Neighbor Adolf, last year, which I haven’t got round to watching yet, set in 1960;s Brazil he plays a “lonely and grumpy” Holocaust survivor convinces himself that his new neighbour is none other than Adolf Hitler. We also saw him in the sequel Fisherman's Friends: One and All, both films get ratings of 6.2, and 6.4 on IMDB . I have just started a binge watch of Chemistry of Death, a Brit crime thriller series which is on Paramount plus. Last year David played a Chieftain in the Disney Star Wars prequal series Andor.

David won a top theatre award for his portrayal of northern Irishman, Eric, in the acclaimed play Cyprus Avenue last year, he has a couple of projects lined up, Jailbroken, an action crime thriller described as "the day before a violent criminal is due to be released from prison he receives a threatening call. Armed only with a mobile phone he must somehow save his family - and himself."And at the other end of the spectrumis a fantasy called Assassins Guild, "After the Mermaid Wars, Iliad's city is attacked by dark forces. With the city full of rancor and corruption, Death herself forms an alliance and offers Atticus, an elite fighter, the chance to return to life. This gift comes at a price."

[beautifulhigh]

Tenderness and rot share a border (AO3 link) -- Chapter 1/5 -- 7k -- rated M

When Carlos was a rookie cop he played a part in bringing down a major crime syndicate. Attention to detail, finding the connections others miss? He helped make the case which had roots all the way through the system.

Newlyweds Carlos and TK are returning from their honeymoon, looking forward to starting their married lives together. Any ideas they had for what that would look like disappear when they are met at airport arrivals by their fathers, APD, and Texas Rangers.

Carlos' past is crashing into his present and now the whole future they had planned is under threat.

With love and thanks to my girls, @bubblesandroses8 and @wtfuckevenknows  who basically got really excited when I said "so I have an idea for Carlos being the target of a hit" and encouraged me to not let it go. You held my hand through this, worked as my sounding board, and yelled at me when I dropped plot points in various inboxes. Thank you and sorry and let's do it again with the next idea, yeah?

Content warnings throughout: this does talk about gun death, death by suicide, and extended threat to life. I promise there no graphic detail throughout but the imagery is there. If you need any specific detail to help you make the right choice for you then please drop me a line.

My very first LS fic had Gwyn in a major role, and I finished it just before 3x07 aired. I finished this just before we got the finale double bill. All I can say is I'm sorry and I promise to not write extensively about any other beloved peripheral character in the future.

New chapters will be posted on Saturdays.

----

"We will shortly be commencing our descent into Austin Bergstrom airport where the local time is—"

TK turned away from the window and laid his head on Carlos' shoulder. "Do we really have to go back to normal?"

"It's called real life for a reason, babe," Carlos laughed softly, pressing a kiss to the top of TK's head.

"Well I think I prefer this life. The one with no work and no responsibility and no alarms."

"Lies in and morning sex?" Carlos asked softly.

"That too," TK laughed.

"The honeymoon isn't actually real life, you know that?"

"I know that honeymoons generally lasted about a month," TK pointed out, "not ten days."

"We had eleven."

"Only because of the freak storm delaying our flight home," TK pointed out, "but historically people had a whole month."

"Yeah, with the intention of focusing on a pregnancy."

"I mean—"

"Do not finish that sentence," Carlos laughed. "There are kids on this flight."

"We could have kids at home too," TK murmured. "I mean…"

Carlos pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "I know."

"I'm not pushing, I just… Just forget I said anything. If you're never there then it's OK. Really."

"Can we just enjoy being married first before we start thinking about life-altering decisions?" Carlos asked. "Just… take a moment for this, for us first? Before we throw our lives into chaos?"

"Sounds good," TK said, as the fasten seatbelt sign clicked on and the announcement began. "I'll take a moment for us if that's all I'm going to get."

          They didn't get that moment.

Keep reading

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Miami Vice S1E8: No Exit

Bruce Willis plays one of the sleaziest villains in all of Vice, directed by David Soul.

One of my favorite early episodes-- this is definitely a good candidate for trying to convince someone to watch Miami Vice. Fair warning that it’s fairly upsetting!

While Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) directs 3 episodes of Vice, David Soul (Hutch) only did this one. PMG’s episodes are brisk, sarcastic, and laden with visual metaphor. This episode from Soul is dark, contemplative, and artistically spare. Both directors, however, use music absolutely beautifully, and seem to understand the almost visceral connection between Sonny and Rico, even this early in the series. It’s a shame we never got another Soul episode, but this one is damn good.

I love that Tubbs mentions that he is scared of machine guns, because it’s something that sets him apart from the other men in the department. He’s willing to admit his weaknesses and fear and isn’t as wrapped up in the I’m-the-toughest-cop-here machismo bullshit. His ability to be a little more honest with himself is almost certainly a protective factor in terms of why he doesn’t crash and burn quite as badly as the other characters over the course of the show.

Poor Lester the bug man. Lester is one of those early Vice characters who was clearly intended to be recurring, but he mostly spends the beginning of this episode trying to explain how his tools work while Tubbs is like “shut up I’m creepily looking at ladies through a telescope” again. Jesus, Tubbs.

Sonny and Rico are so fucking mean to Paul, the FBI agent who is supposed to be going undercover. Sonny jokes that the guy “must’ve taken drama in high school” and Rico patronizingly says that he “thinks they’ll handle it.” Then they proceed to send Rico, who has like 3 months of inconsistent undercover work under his belt, and whose Jamaican accent occasionally sounds Transylvanian, to do the job instead. Great work, boys.

God. Just-- the way Sonny is simultaneously truly, genuinely, and deeply concerned about Rita and wants to get her out of Tony’s grasp, and yet in the next breath he’s utterly manipulating her so Vice can use her. “Can you do that, Rita?,” he asks her, looking desperate and mournful, “Can you buy us some time?” It’s so goddamn bald-faced. You wonder if he justifies it to himself-- he has to make her do this to save her-- or if he just goes home hating himself that night because he knows what a bastard he was for even asking.

The sequence that follows is utterly wrenching. Tony offers Rita earrings, and when she doesn’t react with the level of excitement (fawning?) he was hoping for, he slowly stalks her down the spare, white hall and then slaps her so hard she falls to the ground. It’s a repetition of the same slow, white-backgrounded violence from the interrogation scene in Calderone’s Return pt. 2; it’s shot and framed like Tony is a horror movie monster; it’s set to the tinkly, synthy, shmaltzy strains of Stay with Me by Teddy Pendergrass. The intentional musical mismatch makes it all the more painful to watch; the age-old excuse that abuse comes from love or the fear of losing the victim’s affection falls apart when a love song is juxtaposed with such stark violence.

I think it’s very telling that Sonny’s call to Rita after he witnesses this (and, rightly, blames himself for it happening) is shot with him standing in almost exactly the same way at the exact same kind of payphone as when he calls Caroline in the pilot. In both cases, he’s calling theoretically to offer some kind of support or reassurance, but in actuality appears to need reassurance himself. He wants Caroline’s confirmation that she did love him once; he wants Rita’s forgiveness. Sonny’s ongoing issue with women comes from the same place as his issues with his self-esteem; he sees himself as a hired weapon at worst and a protector of the innocent at best. When he fails to protect someone, especially a woman or a child, his self-image starts to collapse. He doesn’t believe he’s good for anything else-- so in S1, he asks those he’s failed for reassurance that he is still a good protector. In later seasons, he just believes he really isn’t good for anything.

Sonny: Well, time for you to go to jail / Tony: No one can ever make me go to jail / Random government agent: Yeah uhh so we use him for proxy wars in the Southern Hemisphere, you know how it is with the US government and guns and cocaine and something something contras, so uh, yeah, he can go free

....but Miami Vice definitely is just about speedboats, right

I consider the ending of this to be the most classic/the “ur” Miami Vice Freeze Frame ending. It’s perfect, because like. Yeah, sure, there could be a denouement, but... why bother? There’s nothing that can be said that hasn’t already been said, and nothing that can fix what has happened that wouldn’t utterly undermine the themes of the story. It just sucks! The system is corrupt! They failed because they were set up to fail! You can’t fix the justice system from inside the justice system! This is the theme of the series in one abrupt freeze!

Okay. Okay. So. If Don Johnson is to be believed, he got Bruce Willis either the role or the audition for the role here. And he knew him because Bruce Willis was a waiter at a restaurant he liked. Not to put my tinfoil hat on or anything, but I find it utterly hilarious that Phillip Michael Thomas and not Don “hey boss, I need you to give a job to this hot talented waiter I know” Johnson has a scene here where he and Bruce Willis feel each other up in a men’s room. Look up photos of DJ and Bruce Willis from the 80′s. Look at DJ’s face and tell me I’m wrong.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Friday everyone! We are in the final 5 episodes of S1. Can't believe it. Thank you to everyone who's been on this ride with me.

1x16 Greenlight

Let me start with this. This is the episode I always dread watching for s1. Not cause it isn’t good. Its very good. Heartbreaking but well done. Always makes me cry with Capt Anderson... Well off we go. FYI This episode was sadly a gif desert. Which is sad since it's Zoe Anderson's Swan Song. So I'm going to be using a lot of screen shots I took with my phone to fill the gaps ha.

Episode starts off with Capt Anderson telling them all about doing reversals this week. Having undercover cops making sure everyone is on the up and up. Reporting back to IA what they discover. Tim isn’t a fan of these. Feels it’s just cops ratting out other cops. Think's its a waste of time and resources.

Lucy needless to say has an opinion on the matter. She thinks if it helps their image to the public she doesn’t see the problem. That it even sounds like its worth doing. Tim being the deeply loyal person he is doesn’t see it that way. (He also has some past issues with IA) He sees it as a betrayal not something that will help them in the long run internally. Tim goes on to say it has to do with trust. How can they trust one another if they’re trying to get each other to screw up?

Lucy makes a crack about his Tim tests in her rebuttal. You can see it rubs him the wrong way when she does. Always challenging him. I do love that about her. Makes him think about why he does what he does. His heart is in the right place when it comes to those tests. Especially with Lucy. I think whenever she gives him crap for his tests it unintentionally brings up his dad issues. Its why he's so defensive. That's far in the future those being addressed but I think it still holds true. Clearly she has no idea she's doing that. He sure as hell doesn't realize thats the reason yet either. But that's a discussion to be had in the distant future.

To Tim he’s building her up to be the best cop she can be. Doing it to protect her for when she’s on her own someday. To have Lucy reach the potential he see's in her. If he didn’t do that he would fail her as her T.O. So once again his intentions are good natured when to comes to that. To her. For Tim its giving her the best tools he can. Lucy knows this but can’t help but give him a hard time about it. She wouldn't be her if she didn’t do this. Hehe it’s written all over her face in that last gif above.

First off I love me some wet Tim Bradford. A+ visual right here. Second Lucy is so cute being all star struck by Mario Lopez. It is funny to watch Tim be rude to him. Because Mario and Eric are close in real life. Sure they both had a blast filming this scene. That cute little smile on her face dissipates when Tim hands her back his stuff.

She knows it’s right back to business. Mario takes the worst tactic he could with them. Honestly its what gives him away. By trying to bribe his way out of his ticket. Tim is already on edge due to these reversals and this sets him off. As he is reading Mario the riot act he realizes this is a reversal. Then he looks over and see’s Murphy from IA in her car across the street. He sets off to talk with her.

She makes a bitchy comment right off the bat. That if she knew it was going to be him, she would’ve put a strung out cop behind the wheel. He would let them get away with it then. I want to punch her in the damn face. He’s worked so hard to get past all that and she’s drudging it up like it’s nothing. There is a history there we don't know about just yet as the viewer. All I do know is I do NOT like her.

After this Tim goes fully off and lists a million different ways to write him up. Lucy just stands there not sure if he’s serious or not. Poor Tim…Murphy pulling at the sutures of his emotional wound so he’s lashing out. Lucy has no idea what she said to him or why he's going off. Mario's reaction to the laundry list of offenses is too funny.

They later respond to a break in at a grow house. Guy who broke in is stuck in a bear trap. Tim was already on edge before but after his talk with Murphy he’s off the charts. Guy says he’ll split half the crop with them if they let him go. Lucy laughs and Tim says ‘Ok’ her reaction is hilarious LOL

He mentions Detective Murphy and reporting back to her. See if she would like that deal. The guy is confused af as is Lucy. It’s shortly after that she realizes Tim thinks this is another reversal. Murphy got in his head so quickly makes me sad. Has Tim all turned around and he's convinced this is a second reversal. He tries to remove the bear trap from the guys legs thinking its a fake. Tim quickly realizes it’s real...and the guy passes out.

They get back to the station and Lucy says he’s lucky that guy gonna keep his leg. It's clear he isn't in the moods for jokes. Tim is agitated and replies it’s the reversals not him. That Murphy has gotten in his head. (To say the least love) Otherwise he would've realized that guys injury was real. Lucy can sense there is more going on here than he’s saying. No one has ever been able to read Tim Bradford the way she does. She knows its more than just the reversals that is under his skin.

Lucy asks what went down between him and Detective Murphy? She's trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Wondering what is at the root of his anger today. She asks if he was investigated by her or something. He tries to be vague and say ‘Indirectly...’ It’s then Lucy puts two and two together and realizes it’s about Isabel. She voices this thought. Tim freezes and takes a deep breath before he explains the connection she suspects.

Lucy is confused why this detective is giving him a hard time still. She doesn't understand why she's coming at him so hard. Lucy mentions he’s not Isabel so what’s her beef with him? She's coming off a little protective of him in the process. (which I love) Its her natural instinct to try and work this out with him.

Their relationship is in a weird limbo at this point. Where they aren’t friends yet, but it’s clear what they have is more than the standard T.O./Rookie relationship. They’re still establishing what’s going on between them. So things are bound to still be a little rocky especially when his personal life is involved. Regardless of this fact her concern for him and his well being is evident and she voices as such.

Sadly Tim isn’t in the headspace to receive it and snaps at her. His reply is reminiscent of his early days with her. Her reaching out only to get her head bit off. Only this time she walks away dejected, retreating to lick her emotional wounds. No retort for her. It feels like he's regressing in this moment. Tim has grown a lot but also still has a long way to go. This is showing that Isabel is still such a sore spot for him. Not only that but Murphy has gone after something dear to him. His integrity and character.

The way she popped off about Isabel was her shot at that. Tim isn’t ready to open up to Lucy right now. This a wound that has only just begun to scab over. He’s currently in his head raging and fighting demons he thought he had put to rest. Makes me more agitated with Murphy tbh. The fact that she's brought this angry insecurity out in him.

I do love Tim being the first to stand up for Nolan when he shows up after being Green-lit. Him coming back to work was a big decision. Everyone follows suit after Tim. Something sexy about him doing that to me. Probably one of the very rare times he actually admires Nolan as a cop LOL

Tim see’s the detective as they’re gearing up to go out and engages her. Asking why she’s here. The way Murphy misjudges Tim makes my blood boil. Her POV of him is so skewed. She is trying to get him to crack under pressure. She is goading him in order to get him to snap like Isabel did. Having this vendetta against him because of what happened before. It's so wrong. Like she’s never had someone she loved enough to be blind when they’ve messed up. The hurt in his eyes makes me wanna cry. You can see the shift in them from anger to shame in that first gif. Damnit Eric you’re killing me. Goes on to say she’s gonna file a conduct unbecoming complaint against him. Tim instantly gets defensive. Tells her what a Busch League move that is.

Lucy spots the way she is riling him up. Baiting him. Steps in and distracts him away from her. Such a good wifey. What I love about this scene other than the obvious protective Lucy we get to see. Its the fact she is using the same mechanisms on him that he does for her when she’s highly emotional. Tim knows she doesn’t actually need his help. That Lucy is using it as diversion but he listens. She gets him to disengage and walk away. Which is HUGE. She knows him so well and is protecting him from further battle with this woman.

The look on Lucy’s face when she basically tells a superior officer to F-off is glorious. She does this in the most Lucy way ever. Meaning business but respectful by tacking ‘ma’am ‘ on at the end haha F U with a cushion. Lucy isn’t going to let this woman throw Tim off balance anymore than she already has. She takes a stand and makes her back the hell off him. I love seeing protective Lucy. She’s watched Murphy rattle his cage all damn episode. This anger she is invoking in Tim is making him go crazy and regress.

I know his short fuse earlier with Lucy was due to this. He hasn't snapped at her like that in awhile. The detective has no idea the emotional wounds she’s re-opening. The way she’s split his focus since their first convo earlier. Or maybe she does.. Either way Lucy isn’t going to stand for it any longer. That's what this scene represents. Her shoving back best she can to give him breathing room. She has his back 100 % and will protect Tim from her. So proud of her. Standing up for him when he was too muddled to do it for himself.

We get to part of the episode I dread the most..but I have to say watching the balls on Anderson during this scene is amazing. Her and Nolan get captured by Cole and she shows no fear only confidence. Telling him what an idiot he was for capturing a police captain. She was such a BAMF till the very end. Took out his entire crew single handed. This was after she un-cuffed herself by breaking her thumb underwater.

God this scene is hard to watch every single time I have to do it. The only reason she died was an errant bullet from Cole. It’s as unfair as its gets and a very tragic end to her character. The look on her face as she falls back into the water. Ugh hurts to watch happen. If nothing else she went down like the bad ass we all know she was though. Nolan holding her as they all arrive kills me. The utter shock on all their faces when they see their captain lying there. Beyond heartbreaking.

If this scene right here doesn’t make you tear up I think you might be dead inside lol The reactions from everyone as they wheel her out. Especially Lucy and Angela. My heart. The way they’re all trying to keep it together and saluting her. That single tear Angela lets escape after she's loaded into the ambulance. Ugh hurts my heart. Such a gut punch from the writers. I remember being so shook when this first aired. Nolan telling her how sorry he is. It's all kinds of sad.

Grey comes in like a raging bull after Midas, he easily gives up his son when he finds out he’s killed their captain. Tells them where he's going to be. They all wait at a check point for him to arrive. Tim and Lucy are standing together readying themselves. Tim is trying to console her. He knows she and the Capt. were close. Had a bond.

Tim Tells her whether this guy lives or dies it won’t make things better. Lucy says she knows and he answers her you only think you do. She tells him she can’t handle him telling her that grief will make her better cop right now. His reply is perfection. ‘I'm not. Grief is grief. It’s a hole that can’t be filled. But over time, it’ll shrink enough so that you won’t fall in every time you take a step.’

You can see he reverts back to the Tim he was before his run ins with Murphy. He continues on tells her if she’s going to use anything to be a better cop it’ll be her life not her death. You can see its resonates with Lucy. The look on her face shows its hitting home. It's a damn shame this moment doesn't have a gif set. it’s a wonderful one between them.

Tim sees Detective Murphy after they arrest Cole and goes after her despite Lucy’s protests. He’s ready to throw down again when she says Grey wanted her to witness this. For IA to see how well they were going to handle it. She says she’s sorry about their Captain. That she really liked her. Also lets him know she wasn’t going forward with his conduct unbecoming complaint against him.

That he was right. It was Busch League. She turns to leave and Tim stops her. He then does something I don’t think Murphy expects. He tells her she was right too. Says Anderson would want him to say this. Which I adore so much. He's honoring her by doing this. Her impact was so profound on all of them.

I’m so damn proud of him in this scene. Look at my man continue to grow. He’s completely honest with her. Admits his part in her being an addict and not reporting it towards the end. He is so god damn sincere in the way he explains it. Gets me. Says at the end of the day she was his wife and all he wanted was to help her.

Murphy sees this and finally relents. Asking Tim how she’s doing now. He tells her she’s better. She’s clean. Murphy is also sincere and tells him she’s glad and walks away. Their conflict finally at rest. His strides forward as a character are still there. Just took a little backseat with his issues/demons being re-opened against his will. He’s not a perfect man and that's ok. Makes him so real He's a beautiful WIP. ❤️

~~~~

Non Chenford Notes-

The whole SL with Anderson kills me. She had a short stint on this show but such an impactful one. I always mourn her when she goes.

Sorry for the lack of gifs there wasn’t a ton to choose from. But it’s a damn good ep none the less. Emotional af for lot of reasons. Gets me every time I rewatch it.

Thank you all for your continued support through likes, reblogs and comments. They mean more to me than you know. Shall see you all in 1x17 :)

[theonlyadawong]

a lot of people tend to think leon is constantly very angry with, or at least frustrated by ada, on account of her lies and manipulation, and while i do believe that feeling of his applies to all of their interactions of re2, i believe this frustration is not that present post re2, and it is in fact is because so many players project their own anger, frustration and even hatred of ada onto leon in the later games, as the more time he spends as a government agent, the more he understands ada and the world she comes from.

leons core tenet is that he wants to help people, so what does he do? he becomes a police officer because he believes cops do the most good (a sentiment that shows he is wearing EXTREMELY rose colored glasses lol), and then he heads to Raccoon City, and while in RC he helps everyone he can. and he is SO good natured that the idea that ada could be lying to him is so far from his mind (NOTE: this is NOT a sign of him being the heavily infantilized man fans make him out to be, and more a sign of general ignorance of the world, as frankly, nobody besides annette has any reason to believe ada would be a spy) because the world of mercenaries and espionage are so far removed from what he believes to be his reality. this is a man who fully believed becoming a police officer was the right way to help people. (and yes im aware of his established backstory where a cop saved him when the rest of his family died due to some crime. this still doesnt make being a cop the right thing to do.)

and so ada strings him along for her own personal gain, and at the end leon learns of her deceit. and the biggest betrayal leon experiences is not from ada, its just that the confrontation scene is the 11 o'clock number for leons half of the game, thus making it stick with us longer, as we the player have also been fooled by her. but no, the biggest betrayal happens when the government decides to cover up the horrors of raccoon city and use sherry as collateral to get him to work for them. and, unfortunately, this is only shown for a few minutes in resident evil darkside chronicles and in the epilogue screens of the original resident evil 3 (re 4 remake might add more to this, but that game hasnt come out as of yet, but heres hoping lol), so we dont fully get to see how he reacted to that outside of these moments and a few other passing thoughts in the series.

but!!! leons entire worldview crumbles after the events of 2, and the next time leon and ada meet in 4, he is wise to the world, and he has seen firsthand the atrocities the united states government is willing to commit under the guise of helping people. and people like ada, people who lie and manipulate and work for evil, greedy organizations (well intentioned or not) are now everywhere. theyre a dime a dozen. they are annette. they are luis. they are krauser. they were his recruiter. they are his boss. they are the president. they are the entire government he was so excited to work for.

ada just has the benefit of being his first introduction to these kinds of people

to be clear, im not saying leon is suddenly okay with her half-truths, but i am saying after he is forced to work for the government, he understands her, or at least, understands people like her, so much more so he knows exactly what to expect. just not when to expect it.

[lavender-0-menace]

the people have spoken

so we start with light yagami. top of his school, great family, tons of friends right? well, it definitely looks that way. but if you look more in depth you start to see the cracks in his “perfect boy” persona. he goes to class, studies, and goes to cram school. we really don’t see him with any genuine friends and anyone he seems nice to he actually kinda hates in his inner monologue. the only time we see him hang out with people outside of school is during the bus jacking date and that one time he tried to find misa. it’s most likely intentional since he doesn’t think anyones as smart as him. he’s close with his family, but even then he’s playing the role as the golden child.for example, we are introduced to his mom via her asking him for his test scores, making small conversation, and then leaving him alone. she’s glad his scores are so high and compliments him, but doesn’t even ask about his day or anything. his dad works weird, late hours as a cop as well. he’s close to sayu, but pushes her away as the story goes on.

also, light is incredibly immature at the start of the story (and doesn’t really mature mainly because of the death note. as we all know, he developed a severe god complex and stop maturing mentally since he saw himself as this all powerful perfect diety who didn’t need to change his ideals and how he saw the world). in all fairness, he is around 16-17 when he received the death note. i think his beliefs are better summed up in Where Is The Justice than i could write. i fully believe that had he not received the death note he would have become a very respectable detective, but that is not his story.

to summarize, light is lonely, immature, and think he’s the smartest guy in the world.

until he meets L.

L Lawliet is a weird character. he doesn’t really trust anyone, is off putting to most people, and more importantly, knew light was kira even when evidence pointed otherwise.

it is a fucking delight to rewatch death note just to see L make light squirm. you realize all his weird tendencies were intentional. Light can’t take anything he says at word because L is always two steps ahead of him. i think it’s best shown in the phone scene, where light thinks he can get L’s true name (side note: i love how L’s real name is literally just L Lawliet. that’s so clever, he doesn’t have to worry about kira finding his true name, since he already knows it, kira just needs his last name but doesn’t think of asking because why would someone just be named L? it’s genius) and calls misa, then L reveals he has miss’s phone and fucking talks to light on it. then lights like “ok whatever he didn’t know misa has another.” AND L HAS THE SECOND PHONE TOO! he’s just an absolute genius.

additionally though, L is also very lonely. he doesn’t really have any friends and his only family is fucking watari, who i am sure kept him away from the other kids in the wammy house as a child so he could focus on detective work. he’s incredibly smart but he’s reached that level where nothing really satisfies his curiosity, which is why he takes on the kira case.

somehow along the way, kira and L become light and L, who are actually friends. they understand each other in a way no one has before. the yotsuba arc shows just how well they get along, even if they annoy each other. they aren’t lonely anymore. they have someone who understands thems.

once l dies, however, it’s clear just how much their relationship meant to light. even before they really became friends, their rivalry was amazing. L was the one thing keeping light in check and with him gone light goes completely off the rails. light does some things in the second half of the series (trusting people with the information that he is kira, falling for nears traps,killing takada, and letting mikami use the death note) that he wouldn’t have even considered in the beginning because of how risky it was.

and at the end of it all, it’s not misa or his father or ryuk he sees as he dies. it’s L.