#if season 2 makes me as angry as season 1 i may give up on the mcu finally | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

moonstruckme · 7 months

Text

On Thin Ice

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

This was requested by anon, but I'm not including the request because I'm going to write at least one more part and I don't want to spoil anything. But thanks so much for requesting, anon my love! I'm really having fun with it :) Also, just a disclaimer that I know next to nothing about figure skating, so while I tried to look most things up, there may be some inaccuracies

summary: when your usual figure skating partner Regulus is injured, you're forced to prepare the most romantic routine you've ever done with Sirius Black. You've known Sirius since you were little and have always found him irritating, but as you spend more and more time together, your feelings towards him start to change

cw: mention of injury (no details), Sirius Black is a relentless flirt

Figure Skater!Sirius Black x fem!reader ♡ 3.3k words

You want to be kinder to your friend, but you’re a bit angry with him. You’re not great at hiding it, either.

“It’s not like I can fucking help it.” Regulus rolls his eyes, and you do your best to undo the petulant pout of your lips.

“I know,” you sigh. “I know that. I’m sorry, it’s just, seriously? Why can’t Coach give me someone else?”

“You know why.”

You blow out another huffy breath, because you do know, but that doesn’t make you like it any better. Sirius is our best bet, your coach had told you, firm and impassive to your protests. He’s great on the ice, he always scores well, and Reg can teach him the routine while they’re at home. If we used anyone else, we’d lose time while they learned it. You’d sulked, and he’d given you a stern look. So suck it up.

And you’re trying. Kind of. You wouldn’t ordinarily consider yourself an ill-tempered person, but Sirius Black brings out the worst in you. Always has. He’s Regulus’ irritating older brother, always around to pull your pigtails when you were little and make fun of everything you and Reg enjoyed as you got older. And in everything you love about your best friend, Sirius is the opposite. Where Regulus is restrained, Sirius is brash; where Regulus is content with a few close friends, Sirius needs an entire posse around him at all times; where Regulus has a quick, quiet wit, Sirius seems to feel a joke isn’t worth telling if everyone can’t hear it. He’s loud and facetious and insufferable, and now he’s your partner in the most intimate routine you’ve ever done.

“I know,” you groan again, falling back onto Regulus’ bed. “I just wish I could change it. Who do I have to bribe to get you a miracle recovery?”

Regulus scoffs, but he lies down beside you sympathetically. “The doctor said it should be better by next season, but a fractured ankle doesn’t fix itself in a couple weeks.” His voice turns bitter. “Trust me, I asked.”

You wince guiltily. You’re not the only one suffering from Regulus’ incapacity. You’d both been practicing this routine for weeks. It was one of the most challenging and showy either of you have ever done. You were both supposed to have the chance to really shine, showing off your skills with complicated jumps and throws, some of which you’d never attempted before. But now Reg wouldn’t get the change.

Ironically, it had been a fairly simple routine that had taken him down. One of your go-tos. You’d been performing it together for years, but maybe that sense of security was dangerous too. It’s too easy to land wrong, and one tiny slip had fractured Regulus’ ankle right in the middle of competition, forcing your coach to come help you get him off the ice.

You’d cried more than he had as the on-site medics had inspected it, completely unhelpful but unable to bear seeing your best friend’s features twisted in agony. It turned out that was nothing compared to the look on his face when they’d told him he wouldn’t be able to skate on it for months.

“How does it feel?” you ask, more gently now, and Regulus’ scowl softens in response. “Does it still hurt all of the time?”

“Not really, only when I walk on it. And they said I should be able to do that without much pain soon, just no jumping or anything.”

Your heart aches with sympathy, and you have to resist the urge to reach over and touch his hand, his hair. Regulus has never much liked being touched, which you understand, but it makes him a difficult person to comfort. You resort to your method with the highest success rate: distraction.

“Well, at least the cast is a fun accessory,” you say, forcing levity into your voice. “We could draw on it, it’ll be like having tattoos.”

“Pass,” Reg replies disinterestedly. “Tattoos are more my brother’s aesthetic than mine.”

“Ugh.” You roll your eyes, unable to stopper your irritation at the return of the conversation to Sirius. “Do you think Coach will let me have a new partner if I kneecap him?”

“If you’re going to kneecap someone,” comes a cool voice from the open doorway, “it’s probably best not to ponder your scheme so loudly in their house.”

You raise your head to find Sirius leaning against the door frame, arms crossed insouciantly in front of his chest. He looks at you with the eyes he shares with his brother, but where Regulus’ tend towards cool grayness, Sirius’ always seem to waver between gray and blue, like the sky during a storm. They’re flashing now, amusement mingled with cunning, as you meet them with a glare.

“Maybe I’m just giving you a red herring,” you say smoothly, “so you’ll never see my actual plan coming.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you, shortcake,” Sirius replies, grinning when your face goes hot at the nickname, “but I think I’ll start wearing protective gear just in case. Reg, think you could revoke this one’s key until after the competition?”

Regulus pretends to contemplate this, staring up at the ceiling. “No, she’ll only start coming in through my window again.” You grin at him, and the corner of his mouth twitches in response, remembering all the cuts and bruises you used to have when you were younger from climbing the old tree outside his window, late at night when you were both supposed to be asleep. The first few times you’d tried, rotting branches had broken and fallen from beneath you, but you’d kept at it until you’d plotted a safe course. You’re sure Reg would have snuck downstairs to let you in the front door if you’d ask him, but better you get in trouble than him. “Anyway, it’ll be entertaining to watch.”

“Whatever happened to brotherly loyalty?” Sirius feigns hurt, but gets past it quickly. “Well, I suppose you’ll just have to keep in mind that if I can’t perform, there won’t be a performance. I’ve already learnt half the routine, and I think you might struggle to find someone else skilled enough to catch up in time.” He winks at you, and you scoff, pointedly unaffected. “So I’ll see you at practice on Monday, sunshine,” he gloats, and disappears down the hallway.

You wait until you hear the click of his door to lay back down, passing a hand over your face exhaustedly. “I can’t believe I’m going to have to deal with that all of the time,” you moan.

Regulus chuckles wryly. “Welcome to my world.”

☆ ☆ ☆

“Y/N,” Coach calls frustratedly. “You have to let him throw you, not jump.”

You’ve almost just followed in Regulus’ footsteps for the upteenth time today, which isn’t exactly in line with your plan of getting Sirius injured, but you figure will do in a pinch. The truth is, your focus has been off all day. Switching to a new partner is always hard; you’re used to Regulus, you’ve spent years learning how to skate together, to anticipate the other’s movements, and finding that rhythm with another person takes work. But learning how to skate with Sirius is more challenging than even you had expected. He’s distracting, for one thing. He keeps smiling at you, making faces when you mess up, and whispering obnoxious little pointers when you’re in the middle of a complicated move. And his own movements are bigger and more elaborate than you’re used to, lacking Regulus’ control. You can see, objectively, how it works for him. It gives his performance that extra bit of artistry that Regulus has often been accused of needing, but it makes him more difficult to anticipate. He’s stronger than Reg, too, so he throws you higher, flings you farther, grips you tighter. It’s a lot to learn, but your coach doesn’t seem very sympathetic to your plight. As far as he’s concerned, you’ve wasted almost an entire day of practice and are undoing weeks of hard work learning the choreography with your repeated mistakes.

You nod at him again, moving to reset, but Sirius slides in front of you.

“Hey,” he says, “I can feel you tensing when I go to throw you. Is something wrong?”

You cross your arms in front of your chest, breath still puffing into the air between you from the exertion of your leap. “No,” you reply shortly. “I’ll fix it.”

And really, you should have been able to fix it a dozen tries ago. You’ve practiced throws with Regulus for years now. You’re supposed to push down on Sirius’ shoulders, use the momentum of your spin to give you a little boost, and let him do the rest. But you can’t seem to manage the last part. Sirius’ hands on your waist had discomposed you from the first try, and you keep finding yourself trying to jump off the ground before he has a chance to lift you. It doesn’t work, you know it’s never going to work, but it’s like some fight-or-flight instinct takes over every time Sirius’ hands get close to you. You suspect it’s because you’re so used to Regulus’ touch aversion; this routine is meant to seem romantic, but between the two of you, it had always felt chaste, more about the mechanics of the movements than the meanings behind them. Sirius loves to be touched, though, probably too much. He teases you about how cold your hand is in his, the tentative way you touch his shoulder when you’re supposed to grip it, how you jolt a little when he rests his hand on the small of your back. You’re on edge every second he’s around you, which by the very nature of the routine, is often.

And so you keep jumping, which causes Sirius’s throw to be stunted when he can’t get a good grip on you, which causes you to fumble your landing. Every. Time.

“You can trust me, you know,” Sirius persists, looking half earnest for once in his life. “I’m not going to launch you too high or anything. Just let me do the work.”

“I’ve got it,” you growl, and Sirius raises his hands in mocking surrender, moving out of your way. You glide back into position, taking a deep breath to steady yourself. You don’t need his advice, you’ve been doing just fine without it for years. You’ll get it on your own.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Why is it,” Regulus drawls, coming into your room, “that when you mess up at practice, it’s still my problem to solve?” He sits on the edge of your bed, careful not to disturb the open bottle of nail polish you’re using. “I’m not even your partner right now, but both Coach and Sirius are complaining to me that you can’t sync up with him.”

You keep your eyes on your fingertips, sweeping the brush across your nails in careful, measured strokes. “I’m working on it.”

“What’s the problem?” He sounds more puzzled than frustrated. “Sirius is annoying, but he’s not actually an asshole. He won’t sabotage you.”

“I’m not accusing him of anything,” you say. “I just…I can’t get it right. I don’t know. He’s so different to you, and I can’t figure out how to make it work.”

“Well, you’d better figure it out soon,” Regulus replies, not without sympathy. “There’s only a couple of weeks until comp, and it seems like the both of you will need all the practice you can get together.”

You know he’s right, and that’s exactly what you’re dreading.

☆ ☆ ☆

The next practice goes about the same, the only difference being your coach’s mounting exasperation. Actually, no, there is one other change: Sirius’ movements become smoother, more sure, as he grows increasingly familiar with the choreography.

So basically, he’s getting better while you’re getting worse.

Though you all know there’s no time to waste with the competition coming up, Coach ends practice early in his irritation, letting you go with strict instructions to get your shit together before you meet again tomorrow. You promise him you’ll try, though you’re both coming to know that won’t be enough.

You take your time unlacing your skates, shrugging on your jacket and stopping to buy a hot chocolate from the vendor up front before going out into the brisk autumn air. You’d started this new routine after your first practice with Sirius, stalling so that he’d have a head start and you wouldn’t have to walk home in the same direction, but you take two steps outside before you realize your plan has been foiled.

“Coach will kill you if he catches you with one of those,” you say, and the cherry of Sirius’ cigarette burns orange as he takes a drag, eyes lighting with playful defiance.

He blows the smoke away from you. “You won’t tattle on me though, will you, sunshine?”

“Reg won’t like it either.”

“He knows,” Sirius says, as though Regulus’ opinion is of little concern to him. “You took your time in there. Ready to go?”

You don’t try to keep the suspicion from your face. “You were waiting on me?”

“I figure we could use some extra practice.” He drops his cigarette, stamping it out half smoked. “If you’re not too tired, I mean.” You give him an indignant look, and Sirius grins. “C’mon, it’s too cold out here for those leggings.”

You follow him reluctantly, sipping at your hot chocolate because damn it, he’s right. The wind had been cool when you’d gone into practice, but nightfall has stolen the little bit of warmth the sun provided. You wouldn’t be surprised if you woke tomorrow to find the trees prematurely bare of their leaves.

The Blacks’ house isn’t far, and your eager pace gets you there in a hurry. You’re thinking you’ll go to Regulus’ room as soon as you get inside, ditching Sirius and whatever humiliation he has planned for you, but when you approach the house, every window is dark.

“They’re at my aunt’s for dinner,” Sirius answers your unasked question, unlocking the door. “I begged off because of practice.” He laughs as you follow him inside. “Try not to look so happy about it, shortcake.”

You roll your eyes, starting up the stairs that go to the bedrooms. “When will Reg be home?”

“Late.” Sirius’ voice is close behind you. “You’re welcome to wait for him, of course, but we may as well make use of the time.” On the top step, you whirl, relishing the opportunity to look down on him for once.

“Fine. What are we doing here?”

You don’t know if you’d hoped he’d be intimidated, but Sirius appears as unbothered as always. “Like I said. Practice.” He brushes past you, leading the way into his bedroom. After a moment, you follow grudgingly.

Like everything about Sirius, his room is loud. Almost every inch of wall space is covered in band posters, medals from competitions, pictures of his friends. There are clothes strewn across the bed and shoes scattered about the floor, but if Sirius is even conscious of the mess, he doesn’t mention it.

“What did you have in mind?” you ask.

Sirius turns, and when his eyes meet yours, they’re surprisingly determined. “We need to figure out whatever it is that’s been holding you up,” he says. “We’ve gotta get past it.”

You feel like stomping your foot, but very maturely refrain. You’re about done with the subject of your failures for the day. “I don’t know what it is.”

“I think you do,” Sirius says cooly. “Wanna know how I know?”

“How?”

He grins. “Because you just admitted it.”

“You—I just asked how,” you splutter angrily.

Sirius gives you a knowing look. “Right, so it has nothing to do with you being afraid of me touching you?”

Your face heats. How could he know that? You look at him for a moment, and he looks back at you with that cool, even gaze, like he thinks he’s got you all figured out. As much as you resent him for it, he’s right. You’ve got no shot at a decent score in this competition if you can’t get past your mental block around Sirius. “I’m not afraid.” You roll your eyes, downplaying the admission. “I’m just not used to it, okay? I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but you’re not exactly a carbon copy of my usual partner.”

Sirius grins again, and for the first time you get the sense that he’s laughing with you instead of at you. “I have been made aware of that a few times over our lives, yes. But okay, you’re not used to it. Let’s get you used to it.”

You cross your arms over your chest, not sure where he’s going with this but fairly sure you won’t like it. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m going to throw you until you can handle it without flinching. Sound good?”

You look at him like he’s stupid. “The rink is closed, and there’s nowhere for me to land here.”

“Sure there is.” Sirius pats his bed cheerfully. You stay right where you are. Something changes in his expression, and you think you might detect a bit of kindness behind his teasing tone. “C’mon, sweetheart. I don’t know what Reggie’s told you, but I don’t actually bite.”

You huff, but go to stand in front of him. He’s shed his coat, revealing the plain black shirt underneath, and the sleeves grip his biceps. Even in the poor lamplight, you can see his eyes changing colors like schools of fish as they swim. Now blue, now gray.

“Alright.” Sirius sets his hands on your waist, and you tense automatically. “See, that’s the habit we have to break. Relax for me, shortcake.”

His words certainly don’t help, but you do your best, unclenching the muscles in your stomach and legs.

“Perfect,” he says, then launches you into the air. You barely have time to gasp before you’re landing on his bed, springs squealing in protest. “Okay, next time, try to spin or something.”

“I wasn’t ready,” you protest.

Sirius laughs. “I know. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Let’s try to do it like practice this time, yeah? So you go over there,” he motions to the door, “and run towards me. When I throw you, try to spin if you can, but don’t try to stick the landing or anything. Just land on your butt.”

You roll your eyes, moving to the door. “Yeah, I’m in no hurry to break my ankle like Reg, thanks.”

He winks. “Just making sure.” He spreads his feet a bit, bracing himself. “Alright, let’s give it a try.”

It’s easy to remember Sirius is an older brother when he gets all bossy like this, but you comply, gaining as much speed as you can on the way to him before he’s gripping you around the waist, tossing you into the air. You manage a half-turn before your back end hits the bed.

“Better!” Sirius exclaims, beaming at you. “You still seemed a bit tense, but at least you didn’t try to jump by yourself. Again?”

You can’t help a little smile of your own as you nod, pushing up off the bed and repositioning yourself at the door.

☆ ☆ ☆

When Regulus gets home, he finds you sprawled on Sirius’ bed with his brother sitting beside you, both thoroughly worn out.

“Did you fix it?” he asks.

You grin at the ceiling, wondering if it’s your pride or Sirius’ you’re feeling in the air, or both. “I think so.”

“Coach might get the chance to be mad at me instead, tomorrow,” Sirius laments. “My arms are fucking dead. Too many throws and I might drop you on the ice.”

“Don’t break my partner,” Regulus says warningly.

“Yeah,” you second, hauling yourself into a sitting position and going to meet Regulus at the door, “please don’t.”

You can hear Sirius’ eyes rolling as he says, “I won’t. See you at practice tomorrow, shortcake?”

It’s harder than usual to muster up annoyance for the teasing nickname. “See you tomorrow.”

416 notes · View notes

takeme-totheworld · 4 months

Text

Aziraphale and Forgiveness, Pt. 4: Do Unto Others

This is the last part of this series of posts! Thank you all for coming on this ride with me.

Part 1 here. Part 2 here. Part 3 here.

If you’re just tuning in: everything I write in these is me pulling from a combination of stuff in the show and my own past with the evangelical church/some of its particularly toxic ways, to talk about why I think Aziraphale is the way he is.

Now that I’ve written many many words about what I think Aziraphale’s general damage is around forgiveness, I’m going to look at some more specific examples of his behavior and attempt to answer the question, "What is going through his mind when he does that?"

In Aziraphale’s world, God (speaking through Heaven/the Metatron) holds all the cards. She casts angels and humans alike down into Hell for eternity for various transgressions, and forgiveness is the only way out. How any part of this system works is totally unclear to everyone but God. Despite all of this, Aziraphale is strongly attached to the idea of God and Heaven being The Good Guys and himself as someone who is on the side of good.

So, what does he do?

He seldom admits wrongdoing and never asks to be forgiven.

This may seem like a weird place to start, but stick with me for a minute: Aziraphale behaves like someone who does not trust that his own mistakes will be forgiven. Which makes total sense. Not everyone's sins get forgiven, and the consequences of that are horrific. Given that, how could he possibly feel safe enough to own up to any wrongdoing, ever? So he lies to God about giving the flaming sword away, and he lies to the archangels constantly to cover his ass whenever he messes up. (This part is not just Aziraphale, by the way. Look at the constant lying and backbiting among the archangels.)

In situations not directly involving Heaven, his response to seeing his own screw-ups is generally to rush to fix them. The Edinburgh minisode provides the best examples of this, I think: he fucks up a lot in this episode but he is eager to try to rectify his mistakes as soon as he becomes aware of them. He has his view changed on bodysnatching, and he immediately goes to Elspeth and offers to help her dig up a new body. He realizes his culpability in Wee Morag getting shot, and in the next breath declares his intention to go against Heaven's rules to heal her. He wants to fix his mistakes. But what he doesn't do at any point in the minisode is apologize to the people he's harmed or ask for their forgiveness. And when Wee Morag dies before he can save her, he basically freezes up until Crowley pulls the laudanum stunt. He's screwed something up that he can't fix, and he doesn’t know what to do with that.

Rationally, this makes no sense. Elspeth does not have the power to cast him into hell, she only has the power to be angry at him. But emotionally it makes all the sense in the world. Asking for forgiveness is a vulnerable position. The other party is under no obligation to grant it. That's normal and healthy and as it should be in the real world, but when your baseline concept of forgiveness is as a divine pardon that saves you from being cast out forever, the terror of having it withheld is bound to bleed over into other situations whether it’s rational or not.

He extends unasked-for forgiveness to others, often to his own detriment, theirs, or both.

He forgives Crowley for calling him stupid in season one. He forgives Maggie her rent at the beginning of season two. He forgives Crowley for…calling him an idiot? for the argument in general? (that question is a whole post on its own, obviously) in the final fifteen. In none of these instances did the other person ask to be forgiven. It’s easy to see a lot of this as rather condescending at best. But to Aziraphale, withholding forgiveness has implications far more dire than simply harboring a grudge. I see these unasked for statements of forgiveness more like a promise—I am not going to hold this against you. “This” could be money he is owed or harsh words or anything, really, because it’s not about the specifics. And it’s also not about his personal feelings, which is why he can still muster up the words even when he’s visibly radiating anger and hurt. Forgiveness means freedom from punishment, and he’s saying whatever may have happened between us, I’m not going to punish you for it. (Obviously this is not at all how it lands with Crowley, but that’s a different topic altogether.)

This also extends into his actions, which consistently show willingness to extend grace even to those who have seriously harmed him, or committed other deeply immoral acts. Aziraphale’s tendency to quickly soften when someone appears to show a kinder or more vulnerable side has a lot of possible interpretations, but here’s mine: I think he is deeply committed, for better and for worse (and we see plenty of both!) to the idea that people should always be extended forgiveness and an opportunity to change and redeem themselves. He can’t help it. The association of forgiveness with safety and freedom from punishment is so embedded in his psyche that withholding forgiveness feels unreasonably cruel.

He doesn’t actually have the power to send anyone to hell, of course, but again, this behavior is emotional, not rational. He takes in Jimbriel and protects him despite the clear danger to both himself and Crowley. He willingly paves the way for Gabriel and Beelzebub to go off and be happy together. He’s well aware of their previous harms, but his rigid personal code around this will not let him deny someone else the possibility of positive change and redemption, because he would never want to be denied that same possibility for himself. Or to put it another way, he's doing unto others as he would want them to do unto him.

Almost-definitely-controversial opinion time: I think this exact same compulsion is at work in Aziraphale when the Metatron shows up. The job was not the draw here, Aziraphale doesn’t even want it. But the Metatron shows up and does two extremely significant things: he saves Aziraphale from punishment by telling off the other archangels and sending them away, and he offers to release Crowley from his punishment of being fallen. (I’ll come back to this in a second, I promise.) Aziraphale has so many extremely good reasons not to trust the Metatron, but the Metatron knew exactly what emotional buttons to push around punishment and forgiveness to get him thinking, "Maybe he's better than I thought. Maybe he's changed. Maybe I should give him another chance."

What were the very first words he said to Crowley when he was trying to explain the offer? "I don't think he's as bad a fellow—well, I think I might have misjudged him." His forgiveness compulsion has kicked in, hard, and suddenly he's extending grace to someone who does not deserve it at all, to everyone's extreme misfortune.

He wishes (prays?) for God to forgive Crowley.

"May you be forgiven" at the bandstand and "Then God forgive you" during the Job minisode fall under this category. He's not expressing his own forgiveness at these moments, he's wishing for God's forgiveness for Crowley.

Falling is a punishment for angels. I talked about that in part 2, but I just want to reiterate it here. However any particular demon may eventually come to feel about their demon status, it starts out as a punishment and it inflicts a lot of suffering. Fallen angels don't choose to leave Heaven, they are forcibly kicked out. It's physically painful. They are banished to Hell, a place that is ostensibly a place of punishment for humans but is obviously pretty miserable for demons, too. And reading between the lines of a number of things said in the show, it's pretty clear that the punishment of falling is understood to be permanent.

So, from Aziraphale's point of view, his best friend, the being he loves more than anything, is serving an eternal punishment with no possibility of release. I think he knows deep down that being cast out forever to a place of constant suffering is an obscenely disproportionate punishment to any offense Crowley might have committed. He clearly knows that Crowley is a good person inside. He knows that God's ineffable plan sometimes includes forgiveness, at least for the souls of some humans. And I think he's been hoping against hope for a long time that God will one day forgive Crowley.

For people who have a totally different emotional context around forgiveness, the immediate (and understandable) reaction is no doubt to bristle at this. Forgive him for what? What did he even do? Even if he did actually do something, falling is an outrageously cruel punishment. Heaven should be the ones begging for Crowley's forgiveness for doing this to him.

And all of that is absolutely true. But it's not the context Aziraphale is operating from. When he hopes God will forgive Crowley, what he's hoping for is that Crowley will finally be released from punishment. So when Crowley says something that he finds morally abhorrent ("I long to destroy the blameless children of blameless Job") or something that stirs up his anxiety that God is watching and taking offense ("great pustulent mangled bollocks to the great blasted plan!"), he counters by once again wishing for forgiveness for Crowley. It's his way of expressing some confused and anxious combination of "I know you're better than this" and "I don't want to see even more punishment heaped on you" and "I want you to be free of this life sentence one day." It comes from a place of wanting to help and protect, however misguided.

Which sums up a lot about Aziraphale's attitude around this, really. Most of Aziraphale's ideas about forgiveness, and the actions that stem from them, come from a combination of longstanding fear and trauma, plus a severely distorted worldview that he's been indoctrinated into his whole life. There's a lot he doesn't understand, and there are definitely some areas of his life where he needs to learn better and make amends. But I think there's also a big case of different exactlys going on, when it comes to what Aziraphale actually means when he says certain things about forgiveness, and what Crowley (and much of the fandom) thinks he means.

These are all just my thoughts, as someone who spent the first twenty-ish years of my life being personally victimized by certain toxic and fucked up views of Christian forgiveness, and who sees a lot of my younger self in Aziraphale's words and actions around this topic. If you've read all this (1) you deserve a gold star, and (2) I would love to hear your thoughts as well!

#good omens #good omens meta #good omens 2 spoilers #character analysis #religious indoctrination #aziraphale #religious trauma #forgiveness #i forgive you

103 notes · View notes

graendoll · 8 days

Text

I'm almost through season 6 of the queer EMT show and I have a couple of thoughts I really need to get off my chest.

Before I dive in I want to share an observation. It feels like there are two tiers of main ensemble cast and I'm basing this on the character development of each of them. Tier 1 feels like its Bobby, Buck and Maddie who have gone through the most dramatic character arcs, while tier 2 is Athena, Hen, and Eddie. I can't decide which group Chim is in tbh and this is hardly scientific so...

The point of all that is that everything else I'm going to say is based off my observation that Buck is more fleshed out and developed as a character than Eddie.

So now to the point!

First, Buck absolutely adores Eddie. Like is definitely 100% in love with the man. I'm only on episode 14 of season 6 so I haven't even gotten to the onscreen bi realization or the coming out scene outside of gifs on this here hell site. But currently, the way Buck looks at Eddie is so fucking heart eyed its ridiculous.

The hysteria when Eddie is in danger - the screaming at the mudslide, the absolute hard reboot at the shooting? Buck is completely beside himself at the idea of losing Eddie. He literally cries on Christopher's shoulder at the thought of losing him and Chris losing his dad.

This is not standard BFF behavior, I'm sorry.

And don't even get me started on the couch metaphor...I have too much to say about that to include it here.

But what I do want to talk about is the coma episode. Because I feel like that episode was a purposeful "no-homo" episode and here's why:

Buck is in an alternate universe and runs to Hen and Chim, sees Maddie and Bobby. But Eddie is literally just referenced once as "the angry guy" and his contribution to the entire episode is to bring Christopher to see Buck while hes unconscious. Which is weird!

Yes, Eddie rescued Buck and yes he tells the medical team to do better than their best, but compared to Buck literally hauling Eddie's limp body into an ambulance? It's a pretty vanilla response.

And then he doesn't show up in alternate Bucks reality. This is, i believe, one part writers trying to no homo the thing and one part writers implying that Eddie and Chris are a replacement for Bucks "real family" which undermines the entire guardian arc in a very weird way. So it definitely seems, during s6 at least, that Buddie was flat out not happening (again...I'm on e14 only).

So if Buck is in love with Eddie through narrative and acting choices (based on recent PR from Oliver S implying hes lowkey played Buck queer) where is Eddie at? What gives?

I'll tell you what gives.

Eddie is the most repressed motherfucker on the planet. Eddie goes to a call involving a vibrator getting stuck in a woman and he barely clocks that's what's happening.

This man has only had missionary sex for the purpose of baby making and it shows. I have definitely HC'd that Eddie is demi but he's also just locked down so tight. No wonder he spent a whole season beating the crap out of random strangers in illegal fights!

So, what's my point?

My POINT is this. Eddie may be queer underneath all that repression, but he has no idea. None. Zero. Zip. Eddie thinks he can't find a wife and mother for Christopher because he's BROKEN, not because he's maybe just not that into women.

And yes, Buck coming out might give him a clue. Tommy being gay might show him something he hasn't really seen in terms of what a gay man looks like. But that Catholic guilt ridden man has a LONG way to go before he will confess to the fact that he wifed up his bisexual BFF because of non-platonic reasons.

We'll see how the story pans out. But anyone who thinks season 7 is going to end in a Buddie romance is likely incredibly wrong. I mean I haven't seen the episodes yet. So give me a week. But it seems unlikely. Eddie's character is in a very different place than Buck.

Doesn't mean these two don't live together in marital bliss rent free in my head though 😜

#911 #911 show #eddie diaz #evan buckley #buddie #meta #kind of #more like ranting #911 season 7 #911 season seven

38 notes · View notes

goosebarnacle · 3 months

Text

I've been catching up with the penumbra podcast and Juno Steel story, so now I've been reading through the tags and ????? Are we listening to the same show, Tumblr?

In particular, I am outraged about end of the show predictions in the line of "Juno ends up in the same position he was at the beginning of the show". Really? That's really where you think this is going? Because, you know, season 2 (and season 3 and 4) happened?

Juno may be, arguably, the same person at the end of season 1 that he was at the very beginning of season 1. Ok. Not really but yeah, his actions put him in a pretty similar place to the one he was at the beginning of that season, but more bruised, lonelier, sadder, a hopeless cynic. Come on, we were all angry at Juno after those last minutes, he broke our collective hearts a little. But then, all through the next season, Juno changed. At his own pace. Choosing to move forward, willing to change, facing his own demons. Learning he has people he can trust. Promised Land, Time Gone By, Monster's reflection. And then his return to Hyperion City, his reunion with Rita. Juno is absolutely a different person by the end of season 2 that he was at the beginning of that season. And the Juno in season 3 wouldn't have been possible without all that personal growth. Season 3 is not (so much) about his individual personal growth as it is about relationships: growth in the context of a community, getting comfortable in his trust to others. Again, the Juno we see in season 4 is a very different Juno that the one we have at the beginning of the previous season. And yeah, season 4 Juno is dealing with a lot of feelings because of Sascha's and Nureyev's betrayals. There is a lot of hurt there, and he does what he can and it's not perfect at all but by this pint Juno is handling his emotions in a very different way he was doing in season 1. Juno still wants an answer to all his questions, wants to know all the why's but if there is something he learns by the end of season 4 is to let go.

And so far season 5 has been a lot of "I want to help, please let me help", that might sound a bit naive, but is very Juno (if you want to disregard other examples, Time Gone By is very much this same theme). And it's going... Not great, let's be honest. Juno's intentions are good, and I think that, romantic feelings aside, Juno is seeing a lot of his own past struggles in Nureyev and he genuinely wants to help. And regarding the romantic feelings I totally get the "dude, tell me that to my face". Juno's feelings are messy and he does not handle the reunion particularly smoothly (and he totally acknowledges he did not want to think about the 'and then what'). He then forces his hand so Nureyev's shows he still is giving a shit about Juno (and yeah, not cool). The important thing here? Juno is aware of this. And I have no idea where the story is going to go in the next episodes but I think that, no matter where it goes, Juno will still be aware of his feelings and how these feelings condition his actions. I am sure he will make some bad choices, but I am also sure he will realise quite soon about that. My point here is: I don't know if Juno and Nureyev will get anything close to a happy ending. But wherever the story goes, Juno has changed. A lot. And even if by the end of the series he's back to being a single PI in Hyperion City, we will feel the abyss between season 1 Juno and end of season 5 Juno. And we will be very proud of him.

TL;DR: If you think Juno storyline will end up in the same place it begun, you do not understand the main theme of the series.

#juno steel #tpp spoilers #the penumbra podcast

53 notes · View notes

love-little-lotte · 26 days

Text

A Look Into My New Guilty Pleasure: Poldark (2015 Series)

My biggest weakness is period dramas — especially period dramas with a talented cast, sweeping romance, terrific scenes (preferably set in some kind of country/provincial side), and lots and lots and lots of just sitting around and talking.

That's probably why Poldark has captured my heart. As a big fan of Outlander, it's no surprise that I fell in love with this show. Outlander and Poldark have so many similarities that I may make a lengthy post about it, but for today, let me just rant about my new guilty pleasure. I'm so obsessed with this show that I actually finished watching the entire five seasons in one week!

Poldark is based on Winston Graham's novels and adapted by Debbie Horsfield. I was so excited to start this show, with a male protagonist originally written by a man, created and written for a series by a woman. I haven't read Graham's novels (I'm going to one of these days, I swear!), so I'm not sure how well Debbie's adaption worked. I've read many Reddit threads, though, and some fans of the novel are not that impressed with how she omitted and added details to the show (will get back to this once I've read the books or at least the seven ones that were used in the show). The show has also been adapted in the 70s, so this was not the first time Graham's novels were seen onscreen!

Despite not having read the books, I fell in love with the story, the characters, and the cast! The show follows Ross Poldark returning to Cornwall after fighting in the American War in the 1780s. He looks forward to marrying his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth but, believing him to be dead, is now engaged to his cousin Francis. He then tries to resurrect his family's mining business and hires a young girl Demelza to be his kitchen maid (whom he eventually marries) while also crossing paths with the villain George Warleggan, a corrupted banker who stops at nothing to ruin Ross's prospects and personal life. As the show progresses, we also meet other characters, including Prudie and Jud, Ross's servants, Verity, Ross's cousin and Francis's sister; Ross's friend Dr. Dwight Enys and his love interest Caroline Penvenen; Sam and Drake Carne, Demelza's brothers, and Morwenna Chynoweth, Drake's love interest.

Yes, this show has a large ensemble cast, and trust me, there always comes a point when you hate or love them. Especially our protagonist Ross Poldark. Ross... is an interesting character. He's terribly, terribly flawed and many times times, I'm so infuriated with him to the point that I want him to suffer. I swear, you cannot go through this series without screaming at Ross. (When that moment came up in Season 2, I swear I had my middle finger ready every time Ross showed up on my screen from then on.)

But my favorite character in the show is Demelza, Ross's wife who started as his kitchen maid. She's the heart of the show, the voice of reason, and even though she makes questionable decisions along the way, you can't help but get on her side no matter what. She's the perfect fiery yet gentle match to Ross's stubbornness. He treats her like shit many times in this show, which makes me angry to no end, but they eventually grow to be understanding, loving partners.

And it also helps that Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson have one of the best romantic chemistries I've ever seen. They're terrific actors as well and they bring the characters to life so effortlessly. They just seem like they have the best time shooting this show. I kind of want to rewatch Loving Vincent now just because they're in that movie, even just in supporting roles.

Poldark is a roller coaster, with so many ups and downs (mostly downs, to be honest, please give Demelza a break!) My favorite season has got to be Season 1. Season 1 had the best Ross and I loved the early stages of his relationship with Demelza. It also has my favorite episode: Season 1, Episode 8. That episode broke me so much, thanks to Aidan and Eleanor's perfect performances. It's the only time I ever cried watching this show. I usually cry in period dramas (I've cried countless times in Outlander and Downton Abbey), but for some reason, I only cried once in Poldark. Most of the time, I'm annoyed and infuriated (hahaha but I still love it!)

The romance in Poldark is also quite unique, something I haven't seen before. Ross and Demelza emotionally hurt each other many times in this show, and they don't have the best communication. It's not an ideal marriage, but that's what makes it so raw and real. It hurts when Ross sleeps with his first love Elizabeth or when Demelza falls for the much-sensitive Hugh Armitage, but these are challenges people face all the time, and it's interesting to view it in characters and circumstances through 18th-century lenses. Plus, it can be very tiring to see perfect couples onscreen all the time. So watching Ross and Demelza's relationship thrive, suffer, and reconcile is very refreshing to me.

Nevertheless, Ross and Demelza are still able to work together. Seasons 2 and 3 showcase the worst moments of their marriage, from infidelities to insecurity, but the love between them still perseveres and they learn to forgive. In the end, they realize that they belong together.

And despite the unconventional marriage, Poldark is not a stranger to grand romantic gestures. Two of my favorite Ross and Demelza moments occur in Season 2:

A real funny, old-married-couple type of bicker in The Beach Scene:

And of course, showing all intimacy in The Stocking Scene:

(Let's just not talk about what happened 2 episodes after this!)

The romance in Poldark not only ends with Ross and Demelza. We also got two really good couples in the series: Dwight and Caroline and Drake and Morwenna.

And these love stories don't just happen! They're fleshed-out characters with proper backgrounds and their own problems, especially Drake and Morwenna's relationship. Morwenna is one of my favorite characters, and she doesn't deserve all the shit thrown at her. The last season of Poldark is not the best (bordering on bad, actually, especially the last two episodes), but watching Drake and Morwenna get their happy ending is worth it.

Finishing all five seasons is bittersweet. I enjoyed most of the story and fell in love with different characters. I kind of regret watching everything in one week haha. But what can I say? As soon as I finish each episode, I'm so tempted to start another episode. I think the last time I stayed up until 5 AM the next morning to watch TV shows was Yellowjackets. Poldark's just too good to binge! It's one of my favorite TV shows now. Maybe I'll watch Sanditon next...

I want to write more about Poldark soon, maybe a comparison with Outlander or maybe just a post about each character. I realized I hadn't talked much about Elizabeth, Francis, and George in this post; I was too preoccupied with the love story aspects and Ross and Demelza. We'll see!

#poldark #poldark 2015 #ross poldark #demelza poldark #aidan turner #eleanor tomlinson #period drama #tv shows #a bit of a rant #current obsession!!!!

25 notes · View notes

jpmarvel90 · 8 months

Text

Don't let me down - Part 9

Y/n's POV:

Masterlist Scarlett Masterlist

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Relationship: MamaScarlett x 16 yr old Reader

Summary: Whilst Y/n tries to distract herself from the impending court case with Mr Woodstock. She ends up having to face another hurdle she wasn't expecting.

Word count: 6993

Trying to focus on my schoolwork and soccer has been really hard since Danny came around and dropped the bomb that I'm likely going to have to testify against Mr Woodstock. Scarlett and Colin have been great and are supporting me more than I could ask. They're not pushing me, but they are there when I have my moments. I'm glad that I have them to go through this with.

When I told Laura, I've never seen her more angry. She started ranting about how unfair it is to make, not just me, but the other kids have to relive what we went through. She's spent a lot of time with me after school and I'm sure that her and Scarlett have been texting about me. Part of me is a little annoyed as I feel like I'm being watched, but then I'm grateful they care about me enough to check in with each other.

We had a meeting with the DA who is leading the case and he has confirmed that I will be asked a number of questions by himself and then the defence lawyer will have a chance to also question me. The thought of that terrifies me as I know that they are just going to try and prove me wrong or discredit my testimony. I've seen enough Law & Order SUV to know how it goes.

However, both Danny and the DA have assured me that they'll coach me in responding to the questions. I'll already know what they plan to ask me, so I'll be prepared from that point of view. However, we'll have no idea what the defence may say. So, we're going to do some sessions together where they'll prepare me as best they can.

Scarlett has tried to suggest that I do it via video link to give me an extra layer of protection, but I know that I want to be there. I can't bring my parents to justice for the years I spent being abused by them, but I can to Mr Woodstock. It's not just me he hurt and if I had the balls to do this earlier, I could have stopped the other kids getting hurt too.

When we left the DA's office, I felt dread over the upcoming court case. We have a month to prepare before I'll need to testify. Thankfully, I don't need to be there for anything else. It's one day and then hopefully they'll find him guilty, and I'll be able to move on and put my past firmly behind me. Allow me to focus on how my life is going to be better moving forward.

The sessions with Danny have been ok. He's predicted what he believes the defence may ask and then poses the question to me. We then work on how I can approach different elements. He also helps me to control my emotions and focus on breathing. Taking a breather is not a bad thing and will only reflect badly on the defence lawyer if he tries to move me on.

I think the sessions are helping, but I feel drained after every one. I cry in each one and I hate it. Reliving what happened is bad enough, but having to prepare to defend that I'm telling the truth is horrible. I just hope that this is all worth it.

Thankfully, we have our next soccer games this week and it's providing me with something to focus on. It's still hard to give me full attention, but I owe it to the team to still be the best player and captain that I can be. This week, Lizzie is joining Scarlett and Rose to watch. Unfortunately, Colin is working today so can't make it. Scarlett decided to leave Cosmo with Melanie so the three of them can enjoy the afternoon before coming to school to watch the game.

We're so far unbeaten this season. We had two preseason games that gave us a good platform to work from. But we've only play 5 league games. We're playing well and hopefully we'll be able to make it into the playoffs at the end of the year. But today's game will be the biggest test that we've had yet. Rochford High are a tough team and they are aggressive.

I use the warmup to get my mind completely on the game and make sure that I don't let it drift off to everything that is happening in my personal life. Laura is great at keeping me smiling as she jokes around, and we make sure our pre-game warm up doesn't change even though we're playing a tough team.

As we're taking on water, my eyes scan the bleachers, which are bursting tonight. It's like the whole local town has turned up. My eyes quickly land on my little sister who is jumping up and down and waving at me when she sees me looking. I wave back and pull a face at her whilst Lizzie and Scarlett wave to me also.

It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to see them in the stands. I never thought I would have people here to support me. Scarlett has been to every one of my home games. She even rearranged work to come to the one of them. It makes me feel wanted and loved and it's a strange feeling for me. But I like it and I couldn't be more grateful to see them in the crowd.

Coach Saunders calls us into a huddle and gives us an inspiring team talk. I gulp when I have to follow him up, but I make sure to be confident and re-enforce our teamwork and we win together and lose together. With our huddle over, I make my way over to the referee for the coin toss. I shake their captain's hand and internally fist pump when we win the coin toss. I decide to kick off first and we take our places on the pitch waiting for the whistle to blow.

The game is frantic from the first whistle. As expected, they play hard and are hitting us off the ball a lot. We change our tactic to have quick and accurate passing, which works and starts to frustrate them. They end up fouling us a lot more and the ref warns them about their actions.

We take advantage of this when Laura is on the receiving end of a beautiful freekick from Bella. Even though she's tasselling with the defender, she's able to get up higher than her and her head meets the ball. I watch as it flies past the keeper and into the back of the net.

The crowd go wild as we rush around Laura and Bella, cheering the perfect set piece. "I'm proud of you babe." I tell her as we walk back to our side of the pitch for the restart, my arm draped over her shoulder. "I need to keep impressing you." She smirks, nudging me. "Consider me impressed." I return, moving to take my spot.

We manage to dominate the first half but don't get any more goals. We've been able to adapt our play to make their efforts ineffective. We can see that it's just frustrating them more and that carries on into the second half. We're getting so many shots on goal but we're just not getting it in the net.

They manage to catch us on the counterattack, and I rush back to provide support in defence, with a well time sliding tackle I dispossess their striker as she's about to take her shot on goal. I quickly jump to my feet and sprint down the pitch to get myself into an open position.

Seeing I'm in open space, I call for the ball and trap it with my foot. Looking up I see it's just me against two defenders, my team still getting back into position from the counterattack. Not wasting anytime, I take on the first defender, getting around her with ease.

I look up hoping to see someone in the box, but I'm still the furthest up the field. With a swift nudge to the ball, I megs the final defender and run around her, despite her efforts to stop me getting to the ball. Just as she tugs my t-shirt, I manage to get a good connection with the ball and watch as it sails into the top corner. Though I'm now on the floor as a result of the shirt tug.

This doesn't stop the team celebrating with me, bundling on me on the floor. With our celebration over, Laura holds her hand out to me to help me back to my feet. "You just had to one up me didn't you." She teases. "Maybe I want to impress you too." I wink at her as she shakes her head at my antics. As I'm moving back for the restart, I look to the crown and wave to Rose who's still cheering. She really is my biggest fan, and she looks adorable in our team jersey.

With our energy up, we just seem to get better. With our third goal, the pressure seems to disappear and we're playing more freely. When we win a freekick near the corner flag, I'm on the hunt for a second goal. I'm stood on the edge of the box and hold my hands in the air to indicate the play we should go for.

As the ball is crossed into the box, I run in and go to jump to try and get my head on the ball. Their defender goes up with me, but I see her elbow wind back as she jumps. She's not looking at the ball and I'm helpless as I watch her elbow move towards my face. For a split second I feel pain as she makes a connection, but it soon disappears as I fade into darkness.

Scarlett's POV:

This is the best that I've seen the team play. They're working as a cohesive group and seem to be able to counter anything the other team throw at them. I'm so proud when Y/n scores and the three of us cheer along with the rest of the crowd as the team celebrate.

Y/n had talked about how difficult this game was going to be. The opposition are probably one of the only teams that can match their ability, but they just don't seem to be able to break the team down. Instead of regrouping they're just getting more frustrated.

It's great seeing the smile on Y/n's face. I've not seen her smile like that in a while since we learnt about the court case. Soccer has always brought her happiness and I'm glad it's giving her an outlet today.

The team get ready for another freekick, and it seems certain that it's only a matter of time before they score again. My eyes are on my daughter as the anticipation builds. However, when I see an elbow collide with her face, I'm instantly out of my seat shouting for a foul.

However, I instantly freeze when I see Y/n on the floor not moving, her leg bent in an awkward angle. "Lizzie, watch Rose." I call out as I rush down the stairs of the bleachers and jump over the railing. Coach Saunders sees me and waves me over as he's knelt down next to my unconscious daughter.

As I reach her, I can hear the team arguing with the ref and a couple of them scuffling with the other team, mainly the defender that hit her. "Is she ok?" I ask, panic filling my voice as I kneel down next to her. Laura on one side holding her hand tightly. My eyes look over her and I see blood on her face from her nose. My eyes then move down to her leg, and I have to fight back tears. "She fell awkwardly and landed on her leg as she didn't have control over her body." Coach Saunders explains, moving so I can get in closer.

Fear overrides me as I'm desperate for my daughter to wake up. "We've called 911 and they should be here shortly." One of the assistant coaches calls out. "Y/n baby, wake up for me please." I beg her, my hands gently cupping her face. "Come on sweetheart." I encourage her, hoping that she might start to stir. My eyes flick to Laura who's watching on with teary eyes.

I move my hand and place it over hers that is already holding Y/n's. "She's going to be ok right?" Laura asks, looking up to me hopefully. "Of course she is. She's strong." I reassure her, though I'm scared myself. Thankfully, we don't have to wait for long for the ambulance to arrive and almost simultaneously, Y/n starts to stir awake. "Y/n, sweetie. It's Scarlett are you ok?" I ask her as her eyes fill with fear. "Mom?" She whispers, making my heart clench at the name. I don't let it get to me and focus on her. "I'm here baby. You're ok. The paramedics are here." I tell her and she nods.

She obviously starts to feel the pain and she starts to cry out. "It's ok babe. You're going to be fine. They'll get you some good stuff soon." Laura tries to joke through her own tears. The paramedics soon join us, and we reluctantly have to move out of the way as they treat her.

I take a moment to breathe and notice the referee brandish a red card to the defender that hit her. I have to fight from going over to the kid and giving her a piece of my mind. But I have to remember she is just that. A kid. "Mommy! Is Y/n, ok?" Rose calls out to me. I glance to Y/n and see she's being looked after and right now I need to comfort my other daughter.

I walk over to her and pick her up instantly. "She's hurt, but she's being looked after. She's going to have to go the hospital, but she'll be ok." I reassure her as she nods in my neck. "I can take Rose home whilst you're with Y/n." Lizzie offers but Rose instantly argues with that idea. "I don't want to leave Y/n. Please!" She begs. "I can bring her to the hospital?" Lizzie offers and I think for a moment. "You have to understand that it's going to be boring." I explain to Rose, and she nods. "I want to be there to protect Y/n." She responds, making my heart warm at her cuteness.

"How about we go home and grab some things for you both and then we'll come to the hospital." Lizzie suggests. "If you wouldn't mind that would be great." I agree, looking back towards Y/n. "Go, text me where you are, and we'll see you later." Lizzie says when she sees my concern. "Thank you, Lizzie. I love you Rose, and we'll see you later." I say before rushing back to be with Y/n.

They're currently giving her some gas and air when I return, and the paramedic looks to me. "Are you mom?" She asks and I nod. "We're just stabilising her leg and then we'll get her to the hospital. They'll assess her there and give her some additional pain relief." She explains and I nod along, my eyes fixated on Y/n.

Seeing where my eyes are the paramedic continues to reassure me. "This may look scary at the moment, but we need to also to stabilise her head just in case there are any injuries to her neck. We're making sure we take every precaution to prevent further injury." I continue to nod along. Understanding why they're doing what they're doing. It just doesn't make it any easier to watch.

I take my place next to Y/n and provide her any comfort I can whilst she is being seen too. "Can I come with you?" Laura asks, looking from Y/n to me. "No." Y/n jumps in taking Laura by surprise, her eyes showing the hurt. "You need to finish the game." Y/n clarifies. "But..." Laura goes to defend but Y/n cuts her off. "I'll still be broken when the game is over. I'm ok and not going anywhere. Quite literally." She jokes, making us both chuckle. "Please, you need to make sure we win this game and then you can come and see me." She requests. Laura reluctantly agrees but doesn't leave her side until she's guided on to the gurney and moved toward the ambulance. "I'll keep you updated." I promise Laura who nods, reluctant to let go. "I'll see you shortly babe." She smiles, placing a gentle kiss on Y/n's lips, who gives a giddy smile.

I climb in the back of the ambulance and take a seat next to Y/n, reaching out to hold her hand. The paramedics get in and we start on our journey to the hospital. "It hurts mom." Y/n looks to me, tears in her eyes. My heart skips a beat again when she calls me mom. "I know. I'm sorry you're hurt. But I'm here for you." I try to comfort her. "The doctors will be able to get you some morphine when you're in the ER." The paramedic tells Y/n, which seems to appease her for now.

Thankfully, it's not long until we're at the hospital and we're being taking through to the ER where a doctor and some nurses are waiting for us. The potential injury to her neck is their biggest concern right now and they want to confirm there isn't any further injury before properly addressing her leg.

I stand to the side feeling completely helpless as I watch the doctors and nurses move around Y/n, calling out stats and information as they go. The whimpers from Y/n make my heart break. I wish I could take the pain away from here. "Let's get a canula set up and we'll get some pain relief." One of the doctors orders.

Thankfully, the morphine seems to start working quite quickly and Y/n's whimpers start to peter out as the medicine does its job. "Mrs Johansson?" The call of my name tears my eyes away from my daughter and to the doctor who is stood next to me with a kind smile on his face. "Hi, I'm Dr Greenwood. I'm the primary physician for your daughter." He greets me. "On initial examination, it's clear that Y/n has a broken leg and potentially a facial fracture too. We're confident there is no damage to her neck, but we want to be sure before removing the brace. So, we'll be sending her down for some x-rays and scans so we can get a full assessment of her injuries." He explains and I nod along.

"We've given her pain relief and that seems to be working and she's much more comfortable now. I know it's hard to see your kid in pain, but I can assure you we're doing everything that we can to make sure she is comfortable." He assures me, making smile. "Thank you. I appreciate everything you're doing." I respond. "I can get one of the nurses to show you to a private waiting room whilst Y/n is taken for imagery, and we'll come and get you as soon as she's settled in a room." He offers. "Can I see her first?" I request. "Of course. We're just waiting for the porters now." He responds and moves out of the way for me to see Y/n.

The madness around her has died down now and she's just got a couple of nurses monitoring different things. "Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?" I ask Y/n as I take her hand and gently run my hands through her hair. "Tired and sore." She responds with a croaky voice. Her eye is already starting to swell and bruise, a reminder of the harsh act that led to her being in the hospital. "They're going to take you to get some scans of your leg and neck in a minute. I'll be waiting for you to come back." I explain. "Does that mean I can get this thing off?" She asks, tugging a little at the neck brace. "As long as the scans come back clear you'll be free of the prison." I respond with a smirk, happy that there is a smile on her face.

"We're ready to take her now." One of the nurses tells us. "I'll be right here waiting. I love you ok." I tell her firmly. "I love you too." She responds, taking me by surprise. I don't think she's ever said that to me before. It causes a tear to fall down my cheek as I smile at her lovingly. "Mom, you've got to let me go." She chuckles, just adding to my happiness. I try not to think to much of it, before she was in pain and now, she's on drugs. When she's more with it, we may be going back to Scarlett, but I'll take it for now!

I watch as they roll Y/n away down the corridor, taking a deep breath. I'm then guided to a private waiting room, which I'm very grateful for. I'd rather this not be how news of Y/n gets out. I want it to be on our terms and when she's comfortable. I quickly text Lizzie an update and she confirms they're packing a bag for Y/n as it's likely she'll be in overnight.

Now I just need to call my husband. He's at work today preparing for filming tonight. I hesitate in calling him, but I know that he'd want to be told that she was in the hospital. I hit his contact name and wait for him to answer.

Colin: Hi babe. How was the game? Did they win?

He asks instantly, excitement in his voice. I love how invested he is in Y/n's soccer games.

Scarlett: Uh I'm not actually sure. Y/n got hurt during the game and we're currently at the hospital.

Colin: WHAT?! Is she ok? What happened? How badly is she hurt?

He rambles down the phone, panic lacing his voice.

Scarlett: She was elbowed in the face by a defender when she jumped to head a ball. It knocked her out and as she fell, she landed on her leg awkwardly.

Colin: Oh my God. Was it deliberate? Actually, never mind. I'm leaving work now and I'm coming to the hospital. What did the doctor say?

Scarlett: Col, you don't need to do that. Y/n understands you're working and she's doing ok? She's currently having scans to see how badly her leg is broken and to rule out a neck injury.

Colin: Of course, I'm coming. She's my daughter. Family always comes first, you know that.

I smile down the phone when he refers to Y/n as his daughter. He did it so easily. I really need to bring up the whole adoption thing again. I don't think I can go much longer without having her legal be my daughter. I want her to know that she has a loving mom and dad who will be there for her no matter what.

As he's on the phone I can hear him explaining the situation to someone, I'm assuming the director, who easily agrees for him to leave. He then starts to rush around to get to the car.

Colin: "Ok. I'm about to drive. I'll see you in about 30 minutes. I love you.

Scarlett: I love you too. Drive safely.

And with that he hangs up. I wait nervously to hear that Y/n is back. I'm still worried she's going to have further damage to her neck. I know they said they don't think there is anything to untoward about it, but I can't get the worrying sick feeling out of my stomach.

"Mrs Johansson?" I look up and see Laura waiting hesitantly in the doorway. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Scarlett." I smile at her, opening my arms to her. She instantly moves forward and melts into my hug. "How is she?" She questions as we move to sit. I fill her in on everything the doctor said, and she listens intently.

"Do you know how hard it was not to go and punch that bitch in the face." She fumes after I explain the extent of her injuries. "I probably shouldn't admit this as the adult in this situation, but I feel the same." I admit to chuckles. "Did you win?" I ask and a smile grows on her face. "We scored two more goals. It was 4-0 in the end." She responds proudly. "Y/n will be happy." I say and Laura nods. "Turns out playing for a teammate helped us to play even better. We wanted to do our best for our captain." She explains.

Not too long later, Colin comes bursting through the door, giving both Laura and I a heart attack. "Jeeze Colin!" I scold, my hand clutching my chest as my racing heart starts to calm. "S-sorry. I was just worried." He apologises. "How is she?" He asks. "We've not heard anything more since I called you. They said it could be a little while whilst she has the different scans and x-rays." I reply.

"Where's Rose?" Colin asks when he notices it's just me and Laura in the waiting room. "With Lizzie. They're getting a bag together, so Y/n has some things with her. Rose is adamant about being here for her big sister." I explain, earning an aw from Laura. "I can ask your mom to come and collect her later and keep the kids over night until we know more." Colin suggests. "I think that'll be wise. Rose can see how Y/n is doing and head to mom's before bedtime." I agree.

Colin places a kiss to my head and moves to the other side of the room to call my mom and explain what has happened. She already has Cosmo today, so she's happy to take Rose too. Though she's concerned for her granddaughter too. I think Y/n is going to be spoilt when she's home.

When Colin joins us again, he takes the seat next to me and wraps a supportive arm around me. I move to rest my head on his shoulder, taking in his comfort. "She called me mom." I say quietly. "What was that?" Colin asks. "She called me mom. When she was on the field, she called me mom and then again in the ambulance and here in the hospital." I explain in more detail. "I'm sure it's just because she's in pain and on drugs but hearing her call me that, it made my heart almost burst." I share, my emotions building once again.

"She means it." Laura speaks up from beside me. Both Colin and I turn to look at her. "Yes, she's in pain and high right now. But she means it. This has just given her the outlet to be able to say it. You've given her a safe and loving environment. Yes, it's taken her a while to be able get to this point. But you never pushed her. I don't think you realise how much that means to her." She explains with a soft smile on her face.

"All I have wanted is to be the mother she deserves. I never thought that she would forgive me, let alone get to a point she could call me mom." I admit, tears welling up in my eyes. "Family of Miss Y/l/n?" A nurse enters the room and calls for us. The sound of Y/n's surname bringing me down for a moment. "You need to work on changing her name." Laura smirks at me as we stand and follow the nurse.

She takes us to a private ward where Y/n is laid in bed, her neck brace off. I breath a sigh of relief knowing there is no injury there. Laura rushes in first and carefully hugs Y/n, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I'm so glad you're ok. It was horrible seeing you out cold." She tells her, cupping her cheeks and gently rubbing her thumb over her cheek. "Did you win?" Y/n asks, making us laugh. "I see you have your priorities right." Laura chuckles. "And yes, we won 4-0." She adds on. "See you don't need me on the team." Y/n responds with a sad smile.

We all get comfortable and wait for the doctor to come in and tell us the severity of Y/n's injury. Laura sits on one side, holding Y/n's hand tightly, whilst Colin and I flank her on the other side. "Aren't you filming tonight?" Y/n asks Colin. "Not anymore, I have to been here for my daughter." He responds, his words causing a wide smile to appear on Y/n's face. "Thanks dad." Y/n responds, her eyes glossed over. "D-did you. Did you just..." Colin stutters in shock. Y/n nods, smiling nervously. "I hope you both don't mind me calling your mom and dad. My experience of parents hasn't a good one. I don't really know what a good mom and dad looks like. But I'm pretty sure it's the both of you. I've not been easy yet you've both been there for me, supporting me and loving me. Especially these last couple of weeks with the court case. To me you are my mom and dad." Y/n shares, making both Colin and I cry.

"Oh, my sweet girl. I have been waiting, hoping, you may one day see me as your mother. Hearing you call me mom, it's everything I could ask for." I reassure her as I hug her gently, placing a kiss to her head. Y/n then looks to Colin who's a blubbering mess, making us all laugh. "Like I said, I've seen you as my daughter from the beginning. Being your dad is an honour I'm glad you've allowed me to have." He expresses, getting up and hugging her also.

A clearing of a voice gets all of our attention, and our heads snap to see the doctor in the doorway a file in his hand. "Sorry to interrupt this moment, but I have Y/n's results." He explains. "Please come on in." Colin composes himself and moves back to his seat as the doctor enters the room.

"Ok, Y/n, having examined your scans, I'm happy to say there is no injury to your neck. Though you probably know that as we removed your brace." He starts off. "However, you do have a fractured eye socket, so that is going to look pretty nasty for a few weeks. There's not much we can do other than provide you pain relief and wait for it to heal." He explains and Y/n nods in understanding.

"Now, on to your leg." I feel Y/n's hand tense in my own as we wait to hear the damage. "You have a displaced transverse fracture to your tibia. This means that it's a complete break of the bone and the two parts are not aligned. In this instance, we will need to surgically realign your leg and put in some pins to secure the fracture, allowing it to heal effectively." The doctor explains, showing us the x-rays of Y/n's clearly broken leg.

Y/n's breath hitches at the news, tears filling her eyes. "Will I be able to play soccer again?" She asks, fear lacing her voice. At the vocalisation of her worries, Laura sits forward and holds her other hand tightly. "I have every confidence that with a successful surgery and physio, you'll be playing again." He responds with a smile. Y/n's whole body relaxes at the confirmation, but I know there is still one question on her mind. "How long until I can play again?" She asks him.

"You'll be in a cast for about 6 weeks and from there you'll start physio. I would guess that you could be back into light training within 8 weeks and playing within 10." He replies. "Wow, that's a long time." Y/n whispers, her head dropping. "You'd be back in time for playoffs." Laura tries to comfort her. "And we'll still need our captain. You're more than the player on the pitch Y/n." Laura reassures her, placing a kiss to her hand. She nods unsurely before the doctor goes into more detail about surgery and recovery.

She'll be going in for surgery in the morning as it's already late this evening. She has a temporary brace on her leg which will stop any more damage happening before they're able to surgically fix her leg. We thank the doctor who leaves us to it. "How are you feeling kiddo?" Colin asks, placing a hand on her uninjured leg. "10 weeks is a long time." She replies emotionlessly.

Soccer has been her saving grace these last two years. It's been an outlet whilst she's been going through so much, and it's suddenly taken away from her. I just hope that now she has a stable home, a loving girlfriend and family, that she won't lose herself.

A knock on the door gains our attention as we all giggle as we see Rose on her tiptoes trying to look through the window. I wave them in and Rose rushes to her sister's side. "Sissy! Are you ok?" Rose asks worriedly, trying to climb up onto the bed. Y/n leans forward to pick her up, but I tap her hand away and do it for her.

Rose is really careful as she sits next to Y/n staring at her now closed up eye. "I'm much better now my sister is here." She responds happily, a smile plastered on her face to hide her pain. "Auntie Lizzie told me that we can't bring your flowers, so I brought you chocolate instead. It's you're favourite." Rose shares, turning to Lizzie holding her hand out expectantly.

Lizzie chuckles and pulls out the chocolate bar from her bag and hands it's to Rose. "Yummy. Thank you, Rosie." Y/n responds, placing a kiss to her head. "That girl was mean. I hope she got told off and grounded for hurting you." Rose huffs snuggling into her sister. "Well, she was sent off and I can't imagine she'll get away without the ban being extended." Laura explains with an angry look on her face. I notice that Y/n reaches out and squeezes her hand in comfort, instantly calming down her fuming girlfriend.

"When can you come home?" Rose now asks as Lizzie makes herself comfortable. "We're not sure yet sweetie. Y/n has to have surgery tomorrow so probably a couple of nights." I explain, making Rose pout. "But I have school tomorrow." She complains. "That's ok Rosie. When I'm home we can have a movie day. Mom, dad, and Cosmo could join us too. What do you think?" Y/n suggests to help placate the 7 year old. "Can Laura come too?" Rose asks shyly. "Of course!" Y/n replies happily.

Lizzie's eyes go wide when she hears what Y/n called us as both Colin and I smile. Lizzie looks to me and I nod to confirm she heard correctly. "I'm happy for you." She mouths to me, not wanting to disturb the kids who are rambling about what movies to watch.

We spend the evening together, chatting and laughing. It's really nice, considering we're sat in a hospital room with my injured daughter laid up in bed. But as it hits 8pm, the nurse comes in and tells us that visiting hours are over. "Are you sure you're going to be ok on your own?" I ask Y/n, worried to leave her. "I can always talk to them about letting me stay." I offer but she shakes her head. "I'll be ok mom. I'm pretty tired so I'll probably get some sleep." She reassures me. "Ok, I'll have my phone on loud so if you need anything, just call or text ok. I can be here in 20 minutes." I tell her and she nods.

I bid her goodnight, leaving a soft kiss to her head, reminding her how much I love her. Colin does the same before picking up a sleepy Rose. We leave Y/n and Laura to have a moment before we all leave together. "Do you want me to drop Rose at your moms?" Lizzie offers, but I shake my head. "Thanks, but we'll go. I'd like to see Cosmo." I respond and she nods. "How about I drive you home. That way this lot can get back." Lizzie suggests turning to Laura.

She blushes at the attention making me smirk. She's totally fangirling right now! "Oh, you don't need to do that Ms Olsen." She declines. "Don't me stupid, come on. Besides it gives me a chance to get to know my niece's girlfriend." Lizzie insists, making Laura gulp a little. "Oh, and don't call me Ms Olsen. I'm not old. Please just call me Lizzie." She adds on, earning a slow nod from the teenager. We all walk out to the car park together and say our goodbyes before heading home.

__________

The next morning, Colin and I are at the hospital as soon as we're allowed so we can be with Y/n before she heads into surgery. She's in a lot of pain this morning and had a bad night sleep, which is horrible to see. I think she's grateful that she's going to be unconscious for a few hours whilst they fix her leg.

The surgeon comes in and talks through the procedure, though most of it goes over my head. I'm just grateful that it seems to be helping Y/n. The nurses are then in to prepare her before we walk with them as they wheel her to the operating floor. "We'll be right here when you wake. Rose and Laura will be here after school too, so you've got that to look forward to." I tell Y/n, hoping to comfort her when I see worry in her eyes. "We both love you very much. Everything is going to be just fine." Colin says, pressing a kiss to Y/n's head. "I love you both too. See you in a few hours." She smiles. I hold her close one last time and watch as they take her away. Colin wraps his arm around me to comfort me as we begin waiting for her to return.

Instead of waiting around in a cold room, we head to the cafeteria and have some breakfast. We both skipped it this morning, worried about Y/n. We talk about what we can do to make things easier for Y/n when she gets home. She's going to be reliant on us for a while and I want everything to be as easy as possible for her.

"Shit, we need to call Danny?" I suddenly say. "Why? You're not planning on suing the kid are you?" Colin jokes, making me roll my eyes. "No. But it's the court case in 9 days." I point out and he lets out a quiet "oh." I know she'll still be able to testify, but she's not exactly going to be very mobile and it's just something else to add on to a stressful period for her. "Danny will know what to do. He's always got Y/n's interests at heart. I'll call him when Y/n is out of surgery, and we'll leave him to deal with anything that needs doing." Colin reassures me.

After about three hours, we move back to Y/n's room to wait. They said surgery will be around 4 hours, and I we don't want to miss her coming back. We settle in and I makes sure her pyjamas are out as I know she'll want to change as soon as she can.

Half an our later a nurse comes by to say that surgery went well and she's just in post op now before they bring her back. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that everything is ok. We can focus on recovery.

Colin and I both crowd around Y/n when they bring her back in. She's still unconscious but the doctor said she should wake shortly. We take our seats either side of our daughter, holding her hands and taking comfort that she's back with us. When she starts to stir, I move to gently run my hands through her hair. "M-mom." She stutters at a whisper. "I'm here sweetheart. Colin is too." I greet her as her eyes flutter open.

I give her the biggest smile I can which she tries to return. Her head then flops to the side to see Colin. "Hey kiddo. Glad you're awake." Colin smiles to her. "Hi dad." She returns. I don't think either Colin or I are going to get used to that, but I will love hearing it every time. I will never take for granted any of my kids calling me mom.

The doctor comes in when Y/n is more with it, confirming that surgery went really well and that he's confident of a full and complete recovery. This relaxes Y/n and I notice that she's become determined to get fit so she can be ready for playoffs when they come around.

That afternoon Laura and Rose come to visit. Laura kindly picked Rose up from school for us. Mom is going to bring Cosmo around dinner time so we can have some family time together. But thankfully, the doctor confirmed that Y/n can come home with us tomorrow. I'm grateful that she won't be in this hospital for longer. I want my daughter home with us so we can all look after her. She's got a stressful few weeks ahead and we want to be by her side, supporting her, through all of it.

Part 10

#scarlett johansson x y/n #scarlett johansson x reader #scarlett johansson fanfiction #scarlett johansson #celebrity fanfic #celebrity fanfiction

67 notes · View notes

jbuffyangel · 3 months

Text

No Turning Back: Arrow 1x16 Review (Dead to Rights)

“Dead to Rights” otherwise known as the episode Tommy was right about everything.

Let’s dig in…

Oliver and Tommy

A great deal of Season 1 is focused on Oliver’s relationship with his father Robert Queen. The promise Oliver made his father is the force that drives his mission, but there is a flip to that coin. There is an adversary pushing back against Oliver’s mission with equal, if not more, force.

There is no saving Starling City if there is no one to save it from and this episode finally reveals the identity of that adversary. If Oliver had only listened to Tommy, or remotely paid attention to ANYTHING he said in this episode, then so much could have been different. I’m speaking with hindsight, given that this is a Season 1 rewatch, but I don’t believe the writers were trying to hide this point.

It’s Tommy’s birthday and his father Malcolm Merlyn crashes his party. He’s receiving a humanitarian award (HA!) and would like Tommy to attend. Things are pretty chilly with these two since Malcolm shut off the money faucet, but honestly it’s been a good for Tommy.

He’s realized he can stand on his own two feet which gives him the confidence to tell his father to go to hell.

Malcolm takes narcissism to a new level to show up on Tommy’s birthday and make the event about HIM. It’s always about him, which is exactly what Tommy tells Oliver when they have lunch the next day. Oliver’s heart is in the right place. He encourages Tommy to give his dad another chance because Oliver knows what it’s like losing a father.

Oliver: My dad made mistakes. We haven’t talked about this, but I have a lot of anger towards him. But still I would give anything to have him back because at the end of the day your dad is your dad.

This is the first time Oliver has expressed anger towards Robert in anyway, so I want to be sure to note it and give him credit for naming the feeling & expressing it.

This speech also addresses the complexity of Robert’s death. If you’ve been wondering how can Oliver just pick up this enormous responsibility Robert dumped on him, which is essentially cleaning up HIS mess, and not feel resentful in anyway – then you can stop wondering. He is resentful and angry as any human being would be.

Oliver can’t express that anger because Robert is dead. His grief and overwhelming guilt overshadows his anger. This is why Oliver is encouraging Tommy to give his father another chance because he would give anything to have that opportunity with Robert.

But the thing is - Tommy also knows what it’s like to lose a parent. His mother died when he was just a little boy. Oliver is literally preaching to the choir. Yes, his father is alive but appearances can be deceiving. Merlyn disappeared for TWO YEARS after his mother died. Malcolm may not have been physically absent when he returned, but he was emotionally absent. Tommy is telling Oliver he felt abandoned by his father when he needed him most. He feels like an orphan. It was Oliver’s family that gave Tommy the love he needed.

I’m a little surprised Oliver doesn’t remember Malcolm disappearing for such a long time, but he was a little boy so I’ll give him a pass. What’s astounding to me is Oliver does not put these clues together.

Let’s run it down:

1. The List is comprised of one percenters destroying Starling City with their illegal activity. Malcolm Merlyn is one of Starling City’s wealthiest citizens.

2. He was a friend of the Queens. Maybe not every rich person is on the List but his proximity to Robert means he deserves a hard look. He also floats in close proximity to Moira (another person Oliver stubbornly refuses to see any connection to the List even though SHE HAS HER OWN DAMN COPY).

3. Merlyn disappeared for TWO YEARS. Oliver came back a trained ninja/Russian spy with exceptional archery skills after five years. He doesn’t pause for even a second to wonder if Malcolm could have also acquired a similar skill set like, oh I don’t know, the DARK ARCHER!!!!

4. MOTIVE. Malcolm’s wife Rebecca was murdered. A super villain is always the dark reflection of the superhero. (Read a book Oliver). Robert’s death spurred Oliver’s mission to save the city. Maybe the Dark Archer’s mission to destroy the city is centered on a similar pain.

5. The Triad hired contract killer Floyd Lawton to kill Malcolm Merlyn. Why are world’s worst criminals trying to kill Tommy’s dad? These people typically don't associate with Disney princes.

6. Oliver has personal knowledge Malcolm Merlyn is a world class dick.

Oliver can’t ask Felicity to find out where Merlyn went for those two years? You know who does finally ask? TOMMY. Swipe the passport Oliver. Look for a Nanda Parbat stamp. Mystery solved my dude. This is like watching E.T. miss all the Reese’s Pieces. WHAT AN ENORMOUS OAK TREE!!!

Rather than read between any of these lines, Oliver pushes Tommy to make up with Satan.

Moira is intimately aware of how evil Malcolm is after he murdered one husband and kidnapped another, so she’s the one who wants him dead. She wisely puts a couple layers between Floyd Lawton and her – hence hiring the Triad to hire the assassin.

Unfortunately, Tommy listens to Oliver’s terrible advice and goes to the humanitarian event which throws a kink in Moira’s plan to kill Merlyn. She doesn’t want to kill Tommy’s only living parent in front of him, but that’s how the cookie crumbles kid. Moira is resolved. This is going down – Tommy or no Tommy.

Malcolm does give a damn about his son and breaks out his super ninja skills to save Tommy from Triad thugs. He shoots one in the head at point blank range, which makes a lasting impression on Tommy.

He leads Tommy to his safe room upstairs because he’s always prepared for anything.

Malcolm is just about to reveal the Dark Archer suit to his son, but the bullet proof windows get blown out by a rocket launcher of some kind? I’m not sure on the weaponry, but Lawton is always prepared too. Malcolm is wearing a bullet proof vest, but it doesn’t stop the bullet in his shoulder from poisoning him.

Source: @fogsblue

And guess who arrives just in time to help? UGH.

Source: @olliequeengifs

Oliver explains Malcolm needs a blood transfusion to survive. Tommy’s experiences with the Hood haven’t all been positive, so he is skeptical to say the least and keeps a gun on this loon. Oliver realizes the only way Tommy will listen is to take off the hood.

Source: @olliequeengifs

Tommy has a lot of WTF questions, but it all has to wait as Oliver prepares the blood transfusion. DAMN IT OLIVER!!! JUST. LET. MACOLM. DIE.

Detective Lance questions Tommy about the vigilante’s identity, since he was saved AGAIN by the Hood, but Tommy answers honestly, “I don’t know who the hell he is.”

Even though Tommy feels betrayed by Oliver he is loyal and still loves him. So, he protects Oliver’s secret. In return, he wants Oliver to answer one question:

Source: @olivergifs

This answer endlessly fascinates me. Oliver will not tell his family, his girlfriend or his lifelong friends but trusts his most intimate secrets with two people he hasn’t known for more than a year. I think there are two main reasons.

He provided the first in Episode 5. Moira, Thea, L*urel and Tommy know who Oliver was before the island. If they truly knew who he is now, if they really see the rage and darkness he keeps simmering underneath that carefully crafted robotic surface, then they will know the full extent of his trauma. They will see him as broken, as less than. Maybe they will hate him like Oliver hates himself.

And Tommy’s reaction to Oliver’s secret identity is a confirmation of his worst fears.

The second reason is Oliver believes his mission will end, so there’s no need to tell anyone. He cannot see the full picture yet, but either Oliver will succeed in his mission or die trying. Given Oliver’s fatalistic outlook on life, the latter is the far likelier scenario he anticipates. In fact, he may believe the only way for his mission to succeed is to die.

This is the moment it could have all been different. Now the mission is on a collision course with the Merlyn family. If only Oliver put the clues together sooner, if only he didn’t reveal his identity to Tommy, if only he didn’t save Malcolm, if only, if only, if only…

But none of those things happened and now the consequences will play out. There's no turning back.

Merlance

This episode is the high point for L*urel and Tommy, so let’s just savor the moment.

L*urel throws Tommy a little birthday party and invites Oliver and McKenna over for dinner because everyone is so mature and the best of friends.

Tommy: I have finally figured out why poets have been in business the last thousand years.

Oh my Merlance. Can’t we just stay this way? This is so close to an “I love you” but we’re still so very far away, which is really sad because Tommy and L*urel are happy and stable. They are opposites in almost every way, but that’s why they work. We can see the humor, ease and joy in their relationship as Tommy is getting ready for his father’s award ceremony.

Source: @arrowsource

Small moments can mean just as much, if not more, than the big ones in a relationship. In the immortal words of Pacey Witter, “Oh I could do this. The salty and the sweet.”

I don’t doubt for one second that Tommy loves L*urel. The X factor is L*urel. It’s always been her. I believe she loves Tommy. I also believe she’s IN love with Tommy. I just don’t think L*urel knows that yet because she’s still hung up on all her Oliver crap. The fact she doesn’t know really pisses me off because TOMMY MERLYN IS EVERYTHING.

Tommy knowing Oliver’s identity is obviously going to impact his relationship with L*urel; particularly since I’m sure he will remember discussing with Oliver her obsession with the Hood. AWKWARD. Oliver being a friggin superhero is also going to hit Tommy right in the gonads.

Tommy and L*urel are on a collision course with Oliver now that two thirds of this love triangle has the full truth between them. This collision was probably always going to happen. L*urel deserves the truth from Oliver too and if she finds out it will open a very big can of worms with Tommy.

But why should it? Oliver being a vigilante should not be the driving force for L*urel wanting to be with him. It does not change the fact that Oliver SLEPT WITH HER SISTER. I’m sorry, but there are just relationship deal breakers and that’s one of them. She can forgive him, but that doesn’t mean she has to BE with him.

Stray Thoughts

Felicity has adorable workout clothes. This is not a surprise. I also love that Diggle feels protecting Felicity means teaching her to protect herself. I love this friendship.

“I’m more of a runner.” Stephen Amell pretending to be in terrible shape is hilarious.

Robert Queen was a pilot. So that’s how Oliver learned to fly.

Sara had a pet black canary. This show has the subtly of a jack hammer.

“Code breaker is my middle name. Actually it’s Meghan.” We were spoon-fed Felicity tidbits like this for a solid three seasons and each one left us craving for more.

Oliver fixed a radio in the flashbacks. It was riveting.

Listen to the @watchover-podcast reaction to 1x16!!!

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me.

#arrow #arrow 1x16 #arrow reviews #arrow season 1 #arrow season 1 reviews #oliver queen #tommy merlyn #merlance #tommy and oliver #laurel and tommy #anti laurel lance #john diggle #felicity smoak #season 1 episode reviews #season 1 episode review #dead to rights

36 notes · View notes

hezuart · 11 months

Note

im really glad people are finally talking about their critiques of helluva boss on youtube instead of just praising so i wanted to say thank you for being honest!! i know some people are afraid to critique the show cuz of the fanbase n that sucks :( oh btw!! what were your thoughts on Western Energy :0?

Yeah the fandom (and the critics too honestly) have all gotten really out of hand. The fandom is very very toxic.

Since I announced in my comments section that I'm probably gonna wait until the end of Helluva Boss season 2 to review the remaining episodes for it in succession, I may as well schpeel my thoughts on Western Energy. And boy howdy do I have... a lot of them ~~~

What the f_ck. WHAT did they do to my boy Striker

Striker in Harvest Moon: A secret assassin working as a farmhand who knew Stolas was going to appear conveniently in his own isolated ring of Wrath for the Harvest Moon. (where there are imps aplenty participating in the pain games; who hate the Goetia so there would be too many people to investigate for Stolas' murder so he could get off scot-free) Striker hides in a room with an angelic sniper rifle set up a street down, where he can make a quick getaway and no one will even see him. A quick, easy, clean kill.

Striker in f_cking Western Energy: CRASHES THROUGH A WINDOW OF A PUBLIC UPSTANDING CAFE WHERE OTHER GOETIA ARE DINING and starts FIRING ANGELIC BULLETS AT RANDOM; EVERYONE CAN SEE HIS FACE, THERE ARE SEVERAL WITNESSES. He even manages to capture Stolas via rope. AND THEN FUCKING DRAGS HIM VIA HORSEBACK ALL THE WAY TO THE RING OF WRATH TO TORTURE HIM BEFORE K_LLING HIM????? FUCKING EXCUSE ME? WHO IS THIS??!!! This was completely pointless. It was padding. Time wasting. In season one, Stella was pissed that Striker didn't shoot Stolas on sight. She wanted him dead and she wanted him dead NOW for cheating on her. She was ANGRY. She was out for blood.

In this episode, Striker says Stella asked him to give Stolas the "royal treatment" which goes against what she wanted in season 1. It actually goes against what she wanted at the start of this episode too! Striker literally busts into the cafe and starts firing bullets, nearly insta-killing Stolas right then and there had he not dodged. Striker tying him up and hauling him away is so illogical. It makes no sense. Stolas should have been shot dead in that alleyway. This was pathetic. At the end of the episode, there's a huge media circus for Stolas being hospitalized which is really weird because how they hell did they know? I guess Moxie and Millie called the hospital ahead of time, but I don't think the news would spread THAT fast. If anything, its ridiculous for Stolas to call Blitz and request help. Dude wtf did these two learn nothing? Stolas has gone right back to taking advantage of the situation for his fckin knight in shining armor fantasy play. and then like, after the call, Stolas is all "Oh shit, am I in danger?" LIKE HELLO? FCKING ??? YOU JSUT DODGED ANGELIC BULLETS AT THE CAFE?! YOU KNEW IT WOULD KILL YOU! BRUH?! OF COURSE YOU'RE IN DANGER YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN DANGER WHTKASFHKRDGJLlkdg Anyway, as CONSEQUENCES for Striker attacking a high-class Goetia in a public cafe with several witnesses, the news reporters should have swarmed the place. Striker's identity should have been revealed to the world as a prime suspect for the attempted murder and kidnapping of a Goetia. Stolas would be missing and Striker would be wanted. Blitz should have seen this on tv at the hospital with Loona. That would make the most sense. It would keep the drama going. The serious tone of the episode. The news station reporters wouldn't have appeared out of nowhere at the end of the episode; we would have expected them because they've been following this story all day now.

Striker getting this whole song about he's a cruel conniving almost well-known assassin with an evil lair in the mountains as though this is a folk tale song like everyone knows about him... when he was so secretive and Millie's family didn't know he was an assassin before they hired him.... and his ........... statue of himself what the actual f_ck Striker isn't Chazz. Striker is arrogant, but he's not promiscuously arrogant. He only takes pride in his farmhand work and assassin work. Not whatever the hell.... this is. This is a gross misrepresentation of his character.

Stella in season 1 was pissed Stolas cheated on her and was so angry with rage she wanted him killed immediately. In this episode, she's like teehee yeah I hired an assassin :P like its a fcking joke? Like its a silly game to her? This wasn't a game. Andre (shortening her brother's name) talks to her about inheritance and says she will get nothing if Stolas dies; which I thought he was convincing Stella to call off the assassination because otherwise it would all go to Octavia (who apparently is of legal age to inherit everything over her mother) Because of Stella and Stolas divorced, typically, its supposed to be 50/50 regardless of inheritance of the children. Andre says Stolas' duties, possessions, and his legions will all pass to Octavia. What? Stella has never been interested in the book. Octavia is the one who seems like she was taught by her father the star spells, so yeah, probably gonna inherit the book duties. Stella apparently throws parties... she's never been seen doing actual Goetia duties though. So she probably wouldn't want his duties anyway; they'd be inconvenient for this "childish spoiled brat" Viv is ... sigh, currently trying to portray of her. Stolas already gave away most of his possessions to Blitzo 25 years ago. Granted, he probably accumulated more. But still. And legions? Excuse me? Does Stolas have an army, or are you talking about imp butlers? Those guys are cheap and aplenty. and Stella has money. She even offers Striker more money to bring Stolas back alive. As for negotiations, the only way Stella could get anything out of Stolas is if she threatened Octavia or Blitz, and I don't see her actually doing that. So I don't know wtf they think was gonna happen if Striker brought Stolas back alive. He wasn't gonna budge on shit. The Goetia inc*st is disgustingly unnecessary. Especially because Stella is treated like a dumb whining child while Andre is the one comforting and coaching her like ...... he even calls her a stupid cow....and she seems uncomfortable with his advances like what the actual hell is this. Why did we need inc*st here

Loona's voice actor lost her boyfriend to cancer... (really upsetting so sorry this happened) so Loona's voice has been missing for the past two episodes (respectfully), but you know, I actually laughed really hard at Loona this episode. It's great that she's dead quiet throughout, it wouldn't have been as funny otherwise. So hey, fun simple B plot! That being said though... while this Loona gets her shot is a funny B plot, it does not belong in this episode. We go from serious torture and fight scenes to Loona and Blitz shenanigans. The tone shifts are very wrong. This B plot should have been in a different episode. Not this one. The B plot though isn't without its nonsense, though. The lady at the desk is like "I can't read or spell" and then literally a few seconds later she CAN suddenly read. Like what? What is this dialogue? Its unfunny padding, stick to a joke. What's even more frustrating to me is that the potential social commentary is a complete miss. The hospital is in sloth and the shot wait list is 5 years. Is Viv making fun of hospitals for being slow? For why appointments have to be made several months in the future? What??? Doctors aren't lazy?! They're LITERALLY OVERWHELMED WITH CLIENTS. THEY ARE BUSTING THEIR ASSES EVERY DAY WITH PEOPLE! THEY DO NOTHING BUT WORK WORK WORK!!! Hospitals belong in the greed ring!!!!????? for the sheer ridiculous amount of charges and expenses! Especially because the medicine industry is PRIVATIZED! AND HEAVILY CAPITALIZED! Huge missed opportunity on social commentary. Disappointing.

Millie and Moxie I guess go deal with Striker because they have unfinished business which you know I guess is nice but... I feel like Blitz is usually the one to save Stolas... Moxie and Millie should have had a different set up to confront Striker, because them being put in charge defeating an assassin that almost killed not only them both but also Stolas... like why would Blitz trust them? They failed last time. He seems so unconcerned.

Also Millie puts a random hat on Moxie's head at the beginning. It's apparently a point of contention. Some random fckin guy comes up to Moxie and gets mad they're wearing the "same hat". Why the hell is the hat a point of contention?! Why isn't it just a random fashion choice for the "western energy" aesthetic the episode was going for? And Moxie actually beats the hell out of this gang?! Excuse me what? He was a damsel in distress last episode!? Moxie is a twink! It's been established he can't wrestle or fight with his fists!? Since when is he suddenly a strong badass????? What is this inconsistency!?

The tiny imp mariachi band, they're actually adorable. Love their designs despite their poor story-written Striker song. Wish I could see more of those fellas!

ALso forgot to mention, Striker has a new voice actor. Bosco does a great job. I'll miss his previous voice actor, he was so good, but you know... word is, Viv completely blew her budget on hiring him. Viv can no longer, or rather, was never really able to afford Norman Reedus. Sad to see him go, but you know... Striker isn't the same Striker from season 1 anyway. All the characters have changed in season 2. So I think its nice Norman Reedus got to voice act for the good episode time period.

Striker torturing Stolas and Stolas turning it s_xual... this is a trend Viv is doing and I don't know if she even realizes it. "Characters get tortured and make it sexual to try and weird out their captor" and "Character gets sad looking at pictures full of context that slide by the screen way too fast" are some of her favorite tropes apparently. That being said though I'm lowkey concerned. Striker breaks his fcking leg and Stolas says "Blitz is rougher in bed"? Excuse me? I know maybe there's pain play or Stolas has healing abilities and pain tolerance but like???? Is Blitz?? Fucking breaking his bones and stabbing him in bed?! JFC? What is this relationship????? I've grown very concerned. Speaking of that fav trope of Viv's, when Moxie shows up and gets choked by Striker, he smiles and says "harder" like Angel Dust did in the pilot of Hazbin. Striker recoils in disgust, LETTING HIM GO? That doesn't warrant Striker letting go?! Striker has a giant b_ner statue of himself, his entire pain game competition with Blitz- them rough housing and enjoying it-, and Stolas was talking dirty the entire time he was getting tortured. I know Moxie of all people saying this is supposed to be shocking since he's not the type to say this, but like?? Striker shouldn't have been as weirded out by this ?!

Anyway oH MY

GOD I LOVED the Millie & Moxie vs Striker fight scene holy shit its SO GOOD?! Who did the choreography?! The car flip, revealing Moxie aiming directly at Striker, Striker dodging, spinning the knife then expertly throwing it into Moxie's gun... the gun shot activating the radio in the layer, "watcha thinkin' bout now?" a perfect fitting song for the western vibe and a great beat for this fight?! Striker TAPPING HIS FOOT TO THE BEAT , AND THEN CRACKING HIS NECK WITH A DEVILISH SMIRK, PREPARING AND WAITING FOR MOXIE AND MILLIE TO MAKE THE NEXT MOVE? Spinning his dual angel GUNS?! NOW THIS IS THE STRIKER I KNOW AND LOVE! HELLO THERE SIR!

And Moxie and Millie acting like the Bonnie and Clyde duo, where Millie is the close range blades expert while Moxie is the long range gun expert, both acting as offense and defense for each other, circling around Striker , taking him on together while he takes them both on at once? Since they know he's over come them individually before, but together? Man this is.... molten gold, beautiful ...and then its ruined when the song gets changed to a crappy unfitting pop song... ..... sigh, thanks, Viv ..

Anyway back to epic fight scene... Striker shooting, back flipping away from Millie's axe... Moxie coming in for a kick and then Millie coming in to block the gun shot with her axe, protecting Moxie omygod I love this... Moxie immediately going in for the shot.... HOO THIS IS SOME GOOD SHIT

Striker's guns get cut so he grabs his lasso and slams a rock into Millie, SEPARATING the two, an excellent tactic... Striker uses his lasso and twangs off the bendy axe handle to get up onto higher ground to get the advantage- GRABBING MILLIE'S AXE WITH HIS FRICKEN TAIL??? aND HURLING IT AT HER HOLY SHIT GIRL ALMOST DIES Ey! She's not invincible, thank goodness??? Its refreshing seeing her and moxie a little bit more on par this episode. Both having weaknesses and strengths instead of Moxie always being the weak damsel in distress and Millie being the ridiculous OP wife Anyway Millie almost dies and its a wild shot, her OWN AXE almost cuts her head from her body like WOW! AND then sTRIKER AND THEN STRIEKR RRRR He snaps his fingers, sighs and tutts with disappointment, but still SMILES like a "damn it, missed... I'll get her next time" LIKE ??? THAT'S SO GOOD ?? SO IN CHARACTER? SO CHARMING? SO CHARISMATIC? I don't know why but I laughed SO HARD at Moxie screaming "YOU COWBOY PIECE OF SHIT!" It was so funny in Richard's voice, so funny and weirdly personal over cowboys lol , loved that

Striker's..... stupid ugly statue falls on him, but it's shown he's escaped.

and then Stolas is brought to the hospital; and then Moxie and Millie inform Blitz that Stolas got hurt

and the dumbest line of the episode: "He can get hurt?" YES??????????? Yes he can??? You know he can get hurt? HELLO? Why did you stop Striker???!!! Moxie knew Striker had an angelic weapon and Blitz must have been suspicious of Striker and followed him, found him ready to kill Stolas?! Even offered a deal??? A partnership to kill Stolas?! MOXIE LITERALLY STOLE STRIKER'S FCKING ANGELIC RIFLE. WHERE THE FCK DID THAT GO? DID IT BLIP OUT OF EXISTENCE? OF COURSE STOLAS CAN GET HURT SDKGJDFLKJGLDFKJLGJ BRUH

WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW This is like such a shocking moment to Blitz its so dumb of course he cant get hurt i swear to - sIGH

and then we have more nonsense. You know how everyone was complaining about Blitz and Stolas in the Seeing Star episode? Acting like nothing happened between them at Ozzies? Like they didnt have this weird break-up reality check? Guess what. It's "addressed". Off-screen. Via text messages. And double guess what? The text messages are empty. They say absolutely nothing.

Stolas is like "Hey I'm sorry if I did anything to upset you last night" Blitz: "Whatever" Stolas: *Long paragraph about how he noticed Blitz was upset* "Asmodeous can be very invasive in humor, but I thought it was pretty funny myself" NO HE FUCKING DIDNT? STOLAS WAS SO UNCOMFORTABLE??? Is this like a weird lie to cover up his discomfort or something stupid like ???? bruh??? "I enjoy being the subject of jest, you can come over and make fun of me"

Blitz: "sure" ????????????????? What is this????? They arent talking at all! It's just Stolas rambling worrisome nonsense and Blitz being emotionally stunted and not talking back! and then in seeing stars the texts are like "thanks for helping with Via! We don't have to bang. you can keep the book if you want. Or we can just hang out!" and blitz is like "whatever im busy" Blitz types "get better soon :(" to Stolas and Stolas is like "thank you, come visit me!" and Blitz doesn't respond.

Rose petals are slowly falling off in the background, as Stolas waits for a reply that never comes. He finally sets down his phone. I think this is supposed to be like weirdly symbolic, a "he loves me, he loves me not" and when all the petals are gone and Stolas puts down his phone, probably finally giving up his crush on Blitz realizing Blitz doesn't like him back and will probably give Blitz those crystals to get his book back. Blitz and Stolas' relationship has turned so sour and weird in season 2. It's such an unhealthy relationship. Like it wasn't great in season 1 either but season 2 the context makes it far worse. Blitz has been using this guy for decades and its just being romanticized.

Also tho..... Stolas is surrounded by get-well bouquets? Who sent these to him???? He has no friends! The Goetias think he's pathetic... the imps and lower class hate his ass..... like ... did weird rabid fans send them??? Where did these come from!! Anyway, if Stolas doesn't rant to the media that his own wife tried to have him killed, exposing the domestic drama going on in his home, I'm gonna throw a fit. This is his perfect opportunity to finalize his divorce. Sure, he could risk putting his "cheating" with Blitz into the spot light but like... people already know about that so ??? All the more proof to stack against Stella? That she's out for revenge? This is a scoop! Hell would be eating out of the palm of his hand! There's also weird compositing in this episode. Why are these scenes composited??????? These aren't dramatic serious scenes! This is the silly B plot!

Also the Striker statue falling... is just a flat png skdgjlfkgj whats going on with the budget of this episode

This ep was ridiculous. But Moxie and Millie vs Striker genuinely had me smiling and excited. I miss when this show actually had me interested....

#helluva boss #helluva boss critical #helluva boss western energy #ask #text post

84 notes · View notes

maskyish · 10 months

Text

Re:vale - Shuffle Talk 2022 (Episode 1)

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3

Please note: I am NOT a professional and my level of JP is very, very basic. I do this for practice and to share with other fans for fun. Please take my translations with a grain of salt as there may be mistakes. If you see any, please let me know and I can correct them. If anyone else has this card and wants to translate this at any time then please feel free to do so!

Momo: Sawadikap! (1) We’re here, Bangkok!

Momo: The weather is nice and dry, Thailand is the best this time of year! I’m looking forward to the calendar shoot tomorrow!

Yuki: ………… It’s hot.

Yuki: I underestimated it because it’s tourist season. This wouldn’t be summer in Japan.

Momo: ‘Cause it’s a tropical area~ But it should be a little cooler in the evening when we meet up with Okarin and the film crew, right?

Momo: Shooting will move north and it’s early in the morning, so it could be chilly…

Re:vale: ….Ah...

Re:vale: ……….

Yuki: ….Momo. Why are you looking away?

Momo: I could say the same. I mean, you were the first to look away right?

Yuki: No way. You were 0.5 seconds faster.

Momo: Nuh-uh! You were 0.7 seconds faster—

Yuki: Oops, my bad. I think you were 0.8 seconds faster.

Momo: Then you exceeded 1 second faster?

Yuki: …….

Momo: …….

Re:vale: Hmph.

Yuki: Poor Okarin.

Momo: ….Huh? Why Okarin?

Yuki: Because even though we were filming overseas, we took the plane to get here half a day early so we could have a break.

Yuki: Instead of enjoying our time off, we’re fighting as we get off the plane. He’s definitely depressed.

Yuki: He might just lock himself up in the airport bathroom and cry.

Momo: Which world line is that Okarin from? Isn’t it more like he’s taking medicine while scolding us like, “You should make up!”

Yuki: Isn’t that also pitiable?

Momo: Hnn… that’s true…. We’ll apologize to Okarin later.

Yuki: Sure.

Momo: …That’s not what I’m talking about right now! It’s not about the fight on the plane. It’s because Yuki doesn’t understand!

Momo: You don’t value yourself! (2)

Yuki: ‘Value yourself’, he says….. Aren’t you exaggerating?

Yuki: I only gave you a throat lozenge because the cabin was dry.

Momo: ….’ONLY’?!

Momo: You just gave…?!

Yuki: Ah. I lit the fuse again.

Momo: That’s right! You gave me a lozenge! Actually, you only had one so then you had to endure and suffer.

Momo: Then your throat was so dry, you started coughing!

Yuki: I wasn’t enduring. It’s just a lozenge.

Yuki: When I coughed, I was just clearing my throat.

Momo: Whether by accident or out of necessity, I don’t want you to have to endure or suffer for me!

Momo: You should be more aware. Yuki’s throat goes beyond the idol world and is mankind’s greatest treasure!

Momo: ….. Here, coconut candy!

Yuki: What is this candy? When did you get this?

Momo: I saw it at the store over there and bought it immediately. It’s good for your throat. Lick it now.

Yuki: …..…. Coconut candy, it’s sweet…

Momo: What a relief.

Yuki: I mean, you’re always telling me. But do you understand, Momo?

Momo: Eh?

Yuki: Momo’s throat is also Re:vale’s treasure.

Momo: ….?!

Yuki: So, I did nothing wrong by giving you the only lozenge. If there’s only one, then one of us has to eat it.

Yuki: Actually, I’m glad that you ate it, and I regret nothing.

Momo: ….!!

Momo: As I thought, you’re the one who doesn’t understand anything…..

Yuki: Huh?

Momo: You really don’t understand why I’m angry!

Yuki: Well. It’s unreasonable to be angry at me for giving you a lozenge because I was worried about you.

Momo: ….Enough!

Re:vale: ……Hmph!

[End of Episode 1.]

TL Notes:

1. Since they’re in Bangkok, he’s speaking Thai here, this is a greeting.

2. I think this could also be translated as “You don’t take care of yourself!” but I went with “value” because Momo is being dramatic lol

#idolish7 #idolish7 translation #i7 #re:vale #revale #momo sunohara #yuki orikasa #yukito orikasa #momose sunohara #rabbitv #revale momo #revale yuki

78 notes · View notes

wackus-bonkus-maximus · 10 months

Note

So Wackus idk if you’ve already seen them but when representation first came out there were some anons theorising in flightfoot’s ask box about whether Felix knew about Adrien’s amoks being in both rings or not. Since you are the fandom’s greatest expert on all things Felix, I wanted to ask your opinion on the “Felix thought Adrien’s amok was just one ring” theory, which overall contends that:

- Felix only has one amok and may very well assume that’s the same for all sentis

- He and Amelie both treated the Graham De Vanily rings as family heirlooms and nothing else; neither knew or believed they were Adrien’s amoks, especially not when Amelie kept asking Gabriel to give them back

- Gabrie deliberately pretended they were just rings so Amelie or Felix wouldn’t figure out they were Adrien’s amok

- Amelie and Felix probably thought that Adrien’s amok was either MIA with Emelie or just another object kept by Gabriel

- Felix realised one ring was Adrien’s amok when Nathalie gave him (disguised as Adrien) an order in Risk

And

- Assuming Adrien had only the one amok, and that that was the ring Nathalie wore, Felix gave the other ring back to Gabriel without any qualms

This is the first theory for Felix giving back the ring that actually makes a lot of sense for me - I especially wonder if Felix lashing out at Adrien during his titular episode was partially from envy - he has never seen Adrien controlled with his amok so blatantly and perhaps assumed Gabriel didn’t have it or didn’t use it (and imo almost definitely thought Emilie didn’t)

you know, i was thinking about this too! it's the only theory that makes sense to me as well, given how felix views sentis and how he feels about adrien especially.

this was ring 1, which felix stole from gabriel in "felix."

gabriel then took ring 2 from emilie in the same episode.

i do think amelie thought the graham de vanily rings were just normal rings. however, i think felix believed they meant enough to the agrestes that they would use one of the rings as an amok. and i'm sure when felix showed up again in "gabriel agreste," he realized that adrien was still being controlled, that probably confirmed his suspicions that it was ring 2 and only ring 2. so he ruled out ring 1 as being adrien's amok and went snooping around for the 2nd.

it probably blew felix's mind when he realized adrien had 2 amoks. especially because he'd realized he already gave one back to gabriel. my guess is that dusuu told him the truth - and maybe that's part of the reason he was so angry in "emotion."

i definitely think this season could have used some more felix-centered episodes, especially tracking the progress of his hunt for adrien's amok. however, they did give us enough clues for felix's actions to make sense now, especially that trade in "strikeback!" i don't wanna say felix did nothing wrong, because he certainly acted a fool, but at least with this theory his goal to keep adrien safe is consistent.

would love to know what your thoughts are now, @flightfoot!

#felix graham de vanily #felix f*th*m #adrien agreste #senti-felix #senti-adrien #ml strikeback #ml gabriel agreste #ml felix #ml emotion #“the fandom's greatest expert on felix” lol #well if you say so <3333 #i'm just glad everyone else is now beginning to understand him the way i do <3 #🪱

71 notes · View notes

andreal831 · 7 months

Text

Season 2 Haylijah

I'm always shocked when people try to use season 2 haylijah to argue they are bad for each other. To me, season 2 proved how much they loved each other.

Recently, someone tried to say Elijah didn't accept Hayley when she first turned. And I hate to tell people to rewatch, because I think it's rude, but that statement is just not true. One of my favorite deleted scenes (deleted scenes are still canon) is Elijah telling Hayley they will explore everything she has grown to be (a hybrid) and he reminds her she is still a wolf and a mother. He doesn't not accept her as a hybrid but he was watching the woman he loves mourn the loss of her child and fall apart. We are also watching this as we see flashbacks of him having to pull away from Marcel because of Klaus' jealousy. The show very purposefully parallels these events. Elijah feared stepping up and taking care of Hayley because he knew Klaus would have spiraled and been an absolute menace if he had. So instead he steps back and forces Klaus to step up. He knew Hayley so well he knew to send her to her pack because she needed to reconnect with her humanity. And sure enough, once she has purpose again, she starts to feel more comfortable with her new life. It's also very clear that his decision to step back was hard on him. He felt isolated and alone because of it, but he thought it was best for both Klaus and Hayley. Hayley of course doesn't know all of this and does get angry and pulls away herself, which is what Elijah felt was necessary. Twice this season we see Elijah abandon his own home and family in order to give Hayley what he thought was best.

Even though they are not on the best terms, they still support each other and care for each other. Every time Hayley needed help, she went straight to Elijah because Elijah had always been there for her. Even when Elijah is at the safehouse Hayley calls him for advice. I also love this season because season 1 showed Elijah seeing the potential in Hayley and then season 2 showed Hayley living up to that potential. They both worried for each other but trusted the other to handle themselves. Even when they are in different relationships, they are still each other's comfort. I once read that if you want to write a compelling relationship, they should still be compelling if they were not sexually attracted to each other. To me, season 2 shows that for haylijah. They cannot be in a romantic relationship and yet they are still so important to each other. They were each other's friends and family above anything.

You may not agree with all of their decisions in season 2, but you cannot deny they always tried to put the other first. Elijah was constantly checking in with Hayley to make sure she was safe and happy. Relationships are not 50/50. Hayley is going through so much and she needed Elijah to give more than she could. We see it in later seasons that when Elijah is unable to give more, Hayley, without hesitation, pulls the extra weight. They are true partners.

#haylijah #tvdu #the originals #tvd #the mikaelsons #the vampire diaries #elijah mikealson #hayley marshall #elijah x hayley #to season 2 #tvd universe

44 notes · View notes

itsguysnightitsironic · 1 year

Text

INDEX

Once upon a Witchlight -- THE TITLE OF THE EP.

EXTRA CONTENT: . ILLUSTRATION (🧁) . COMIC (🎃) . VIDEO / ANIMATIC (🦢) . SHITPOST (🧚) If emojis are fuss together it's the two things ---> example: (🧚 / 🧁 ) SHITPOST AND ILLUSTRATION. If it's surrender by stars (⭐) it means it's an official LOA short that I was commissioned to animate.

We need some order in our life, not context, just order in the chaos.

EP. 1 CIRCUS TO CIRCUS

Remy Bonnaire from Tiger, Tiger comic??? In the dnd campaign? (🧚) ⭐Madryck Roslof living room. (🧁/🦢) ⭐

EP. 2 REQUIEM FOR A CLOWN

⭐ A little angry man in the void, what will he do? (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 3 LET THEM EAT CAKE

A very out-of-context Ep 3: Let them Eat Cake (🧚/🎃) ⭐ The Furries and Gideon (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 4 LOSE YOUR ILLUSION

EP. 5 BIG TOP BOP

The Only One (PART 1) (🦢 / 🧁) Gondolas are supposed to be calm and relaxing not.. Whatever this was. (🦢 / 🧚) A little angry man in the void, what will he do? (🦢 / 🧚) The Only One (PART 2) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 6 GUY'S NIGHT

Guys night! IT'S IRONIC, WE SWEAR-- (🧁/🧚) The Kremy's crew (🧚) They put a foot into the carnival and the Fae magic when: We need to be gay! Trust me gay is in, gay is hot, I want some gay, gay it's gonna be, NANDOR-- (🧚/🎃)

EP. 7 TAINTED LOVE

Would you blink already?!" (🎃) ⭐ A bright mind makes quicker hands (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 8 AT A SNAIL'S RACE

EP. 9 WHEN THE WAGON'S A ROCKIN'

EP. 10 RAUCOUS REVELRY

EP. 11 THE PIXIE DUST PLOT

EP. 12 SCARY MONSTERS AND SUPER CREEPS

EP. 13 AN ELF FOR ALL SEASONS

EP. 14 SASHAY AWAY

EP. 15 FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL

Payasos de rodeo (🧁) I'm sure the wedding was passed as a business expense. (🎃/🧁)

EP. 16 MONARCH FOR A DAY

Never forget what Prismir took from us. (🦢 / 🧚) "We have been, Carnival Lecroux. I love unicorns, and y'all own me one." (🦢) The Only One (PART 3) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 17 WHEN THE HARES GO MARCHING IN

What 24h in a carnival does to a man, ah? (🧚/ 🧁) The Only One (PART 4) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 18 SNAKES AND BURROWS

The Only One (PART 5) (🦢 / 🧁) Worse found (kidnapped into) family ever. (🧚 / 🎃) The Only One (PART 6) (🦢 / 🧁)

EP. 19 BUMP IN THE NIGHT

Lost things find their way into Prismir (🧚 / 🎃) Drink your fey milk (🦢 / 🧚) The inn on the end of the Road. (🧚) POV: You're getting adopted into a polycube after trying to murder them while on drugs (🧚)

EP. 20 HOT JONES

Fur coats and pumpkin labyrinths. (🎃)

EP. 21 RUNNING UP THAT HILL

EP. 22 HARE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

New phone, who diss? (🧁) H E R. (🦢 / 🧚)

EP. 23 STUMPED

EP.24 SLIPPERY WHEN WET

EP.25 THE ONE WHERE FIRE GETS PURGED

EP. 26 DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD

EP. 27 LORD OF FLIES

EP. 28 A COMEDY OF ERRORS

The cookie of true (🧚 / 🎃) ⭐ An animation is here. (🦢/🧚) ⭐

EP. 29 THE SHOPPING EPISODE

Frankenstein of your own making. (🧁) Give that genasi a stick! A SEXY ONE! (🧚 / 🎃)

EP. 30 PHANTOM OF THE HOPPERA

EP. 31 ELECTRUM CHEF

EP. 32 A FEAST FOR FROGS

EP. 33 UP THE WRONG TREE

EP. 34 A CHANGE OF HEART

"¿Y cuáles deseos me was a dar?" (🧚 / 🎃)

EP. 35 BEWARE THE FOREST MUSHROOMS

"What's your favourite scary movie? Boo, you whore. That's not... That's not a scary movie" (🧁)

EP. 36 THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED

EP. 37 DREAD, BATH AND BEYOND

EP. 38 UNCLOG THE BOG

EP. 39 TOO MANY COOKS

EP. 40 STILL LIFE

EP. 41 THROWING SHADE

"That's life, That's what all the people say, You're riding high in April, shot down in May" (🦢)

EP. 42 ALL DOLLED UP

EP. 43 FUNGI'S NIGHT

EP. 44 MUSHROOM SAMBA

EP. 45 THROUGH THE HOURGLASS

"Eat your young before they eat you." (🎃)

EP. 46 THE JAWS THAT BITE

"Gresca i destrucció, riurem i ens penedirem, el cremarem el dimarts i patirem fins el diumenge." (🎃)

EP. 47 PLOT OF GREED

EP. 48 UP SHADE'S CREEK

EP. 49 THE LAST UNICORN

EP. 50

EP. 51

EP. 52

EP. 53

EP. 54

EP. 55

Born Guilty (🎃 / 🧁 )

🧚🧚🧚OH NO! 🧚🧚🧚🧚

🧚🧚Pixies are covering the way!🧚🧚🧚

OUTSIDE THE LOOP.

It takes two to trust, but only one to bleed. (🧁) Feliç dia de la Mercè, the weird sketchy carnival is in town. (🦢 / 🧚) What crisis are you on? (🧚) Kith and kin. /Aromantic week 2024/ (🎃) ---->ft. 🪻🪻BENEATH DARK WINGS🪻🪻 ---> ft. 💠💠ICEBOUND💠💠 ---> ft. 🥀🥀 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT🥀🥀 ---> ft.🌹CURSE OF STRAHDANYA🌹 ---> ft.✨✨STARDUST RHAPSODY ✨✨ ---> ft. 🌻🌻PRIME 🌻🌻 ⭐ They put the clown in the convention? (🦢 / 🧚) ⭐ If I don't go to hell when I die I might go to heaven (🎃) Te estoy amando locamente, Pero no sé cómo te lo voy a decir - LAS GRECAS (🧁) back to the office, baby (the last shift looks traumatized) (🧚/🎃) ---->ft. 🥀🥀 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT🥀🥀 It's pride month, baby! (2023) (🧚) Just, just don't go shopping, EVER (🧚/🎃) ---->ft. 🥀🥀 EDGE OF MIDNIGHT🥀🥀 Big Cat -- MORNING FROST (🧁) Some very out-of-context shitpost's. (🧚 / 🎃) A saint garden of lies and bones. (🎃 /🧁) Gideon Coal walked so buses would run (🧚) The 87 faces of a wagon. I PART 1I (🧁) Dental hygiene. (🧚 / 🎃) A blaze (🧁) OUT, just get out (🦢/🧚) "You made Uncle Kremy disappear? You took Uncle Kremy from Hootsie and left behind a doppelganger? OH, OH! JAIL FOR FATHER! JAIL FOR FATHER FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS!" (🧚) Falling into the background. (🧁) THE WAGON AT THE END OF THE ROAD (🧚 / 🎃) ---> ft.🌹CURSE OF STRAHDANYA🌹 Cold-Blooded surrounded by heat lamps (🧚 / 🎃) Some human skin and bone (🧁) Surviving enough to start living again. (🎃) RIP the OUAW gang, they would have loved Eurovision 2023. (🧚 /🧁) There's some video in the funny pictures (🧚 / 🦢) Have more of these charts, but the conflict edition (🧚) My favourite part of Once Upon a Witchlight was when the Witchlight said "Once Upon a Wicthlight!" and Oncing Uponing a Witchlighting all around. (🧚) "Would you so kindly call the accused not guilty?" (🧚/🎃/🦢)

#legends of avantris #once upon a witchlight #kremy lecroux #gideon coal #gricko grimgrin #hootsie the owl bear #hootsie grimgrin #torbek #morning frost #i just put all together #lets see how long it takes for me to forget about it--#this makes this house a cave with laterns throw into the floor #it's burning?#it's burning #tw long post

85 notes · View notes

crazycartoonnerd123 · 2 years

Text

TOH S3 PREDICTON & ANALYSIS ON LUZ'S TRAUMA

(Warning: Long post with s2b spoilers!!!)

I made a post back in late May or early June that discussed how I believed that Luz would blame herself after the aftermath of King's Tide and everything that had taken place previously to that point. And upon seeing the season 3 poster AND the comiccon art Dana posted, I feel that this is the direction that Luz is heading in. She went from being like this in previous seasons:

To being like this in Dana's art for Comiccon:

She looks so much more mature and determined. She looks like she's going to do everything in her power to right the wrongs she believes she caused. We know from previous episodes that she blames herself for things that are not necessarily her fault. Separate Tides is a great example of this. She blamed herself for Eda losing her magic even though that was not her fault in the slightest bit and feels like she's being a burden to Eda. Because of this, Luz risks her own life to right her "wrong", but Eda is thankfully able to snap her out of that mindset. But to me, this one of the best examples I can think of of Luz trying to make up for what she feels is her wrong doings. Which brings me to the poster:

Luz looks mad. Not happy, not scared, not sad; She looks mad. AND she has some very obvious eyebags now. I think she has overworked herself, and is essentially slowly destroying herself to fix what has happened. She's probably stayed up countless nights trying to figure out a way to get back to the demon realm, or worrying about Eda and King, or wondering if there was anything else that could be saved. And she's probably keeping all of her feelings locked up inside and building a wall. Just look at Dana's art that she posted after King's Tide:

She is closed off as could be. While everyone, minus Hunter, is asleep, she is awake. She looks angry and upset and sad. And she's not giving Amity back any of the physical affection she is receiving. Her hands are in her pocket and she has an unfocused gaze. She's closing herself off. The happy person she once was is pretty much gone. We've seen in episodes such as "Fallies at the Coven Day Parade" and "Reaching Out" that she has the extremely self destructive tendency to build a wall and not let anybody in. And in both cases, I think the only person she lets in (minus Eda and King) is Amity. So I really think Amity is going to be the one who gets Luz to open up and let it all out.

Also, let's not forget that she was basically manipulated by Phillip/Belos multiple time, so she feels really guilty about the day of unity because she feels like she caused it.

Luz is not going to be the same as she was in season 1 and 2. She's gonna be significantly more closed off and self destructive. And that actually really scares me.

#the owl house #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #toh s3 #toh s3 spoilers #toh s3 theory #luz noceda #luz noceda character analysis #eda clawthorne #king clawthorne #amity blight #willow park #hunter toh #gus porter #character analysis

227 notes · View notes

saltygilmores · 10 months

Text

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls Season 2, Episode 15, "Lost And Found", Aka The Bracelet Has Breached Containment, Aka BraceletGate, Aka QuarterOnAStringGate, Part 4

As we round the bend and reach the shitty middle of the shitcircus that is Lost and Found, may I remind you what Dean, Lorelai, and Rory are going to war with Jess for:

I need a Quarter on A String prequel . I need the origins of this quarter and the sheer power it wields over pathetic people like Dean and Lorelai. It is fascinating to ponder. I mean, I know what a quarter looks like, but still, Is there someone with editing skills who can lighten this shot for me so we can have a better look at it? #Please Or maybe the Forresters took a family vacation, intending on leaving their son Dean at some distant gas station, never looking back, but before dumping him he got one of those pressed penny souvenirs they sell at rest stops.

(of course Dean first gave it to Rory outside when it was pitch dark so she would have to be like, oh yeah this is so nice Dean. Because she can't see a damn thing, and maybe in the moonlight it looks kinda pretty, but then when the sun rises Rory's like oh, it's just a fucking quarter. A quarter that now carries a heavy burden as it must be affixed to my wrist at all times or I'll face the wrath of Dean the Butt and My Mom The Butt).

Here we fucking go. Keep in mind Rory only cares so much about the Rest Stop Penny because Dean will be angry that she lost it. That's it. Why Lorelai cares so much about the RSP is a question only wise men can answer.

Jess quietly observing the freak show. I suppose asking for change from a dollar and punching a hole in a coin took a small amount of effort on Dean's part, but "made" is pushing it.

Ancient Technology/Discontinued Snack Food observation break!

Lorelai agreeing out loud that Dean's anger would have consequences for Rory that are too terrifying to contemplate Instead the Gilmore Girls GPS sends Lorelai right past "We Both Readily Agree That Dean's Anger Is Nothing to Mess With" Bouelvard and reroutes her to "it's okay he'll just make you another one" Street. Yes, I'm sure he can have another one made. Next time Clara's girl scout troop meets at his house he can give them a Quarter on a String arts and crafts project. For about the 200th time in just 1 and a half seasons, Rory tells her mother that Dean has an anger problem. Lorelai assures her that Dean will understand. Rory asks Lorelai how she can be so sure. Lorelai responds: "His track record points to him being understanding." A view of Lorelai's brain circuits:

But enough about your sexual fantasies again, Lorelai. I like the part about rendering Dean Forrester blind though.

Please hobble Lorelai GIlmore's knees with the rake. And now, a break down of how this episode and Teach Me Tonight are virtually the same story. -Something happens to Rory that is troublesome (loses her bracelet/ minor car accident) but Rory cares less about what happened to her than Lorelai does. Lorelai immediately dials the minor incident up to 11.

-Luke offers Jess up without his consent to either perform or receive some kind of service from or by one of the Gilmores (gutter slopping, tutoring). Lorelai reacts to these suggestions as if her very life is in danger. -The inatimate object at the center of the war was "made" by Dean (his car and his QOAS). -Dean will get mad at Rory for something happening to her that was no fault of her own -Lorelai becomes absolutely hysterical -Rory is like it's not THAT bad, I'll be fine Mom, maybe you're over reacting just a skosh -Lorelai is like you are not fine, daughter of mine! -The accident and the lost of the QOAS was not due to Jess being malicious or because he just likes to steal Rory's stuff and crash her cars but try telling Lorelai that -33 Year Old Lorelai Gilmore declares war with a teenage boy, has him exiled from town -Jess Mariano contemplates where his life went wrong and quietly wishes he was still living with his negligent alcoholic mother and her parade of abusive boyfriends (oh, right, that actually happens after TMT). We cut to Lorelai at work where she is crawling around on her hands on knees on the dirty motel (I'm sorry, INN) floor looking for Rory's bracelet under her desk. I guess Lorelai is like her own boss, she doesn't have someone above her, like a manager or something to tell her to stop loafing and looking for quarters while on the clock and demote her back to housekeeping duties. She also asked Michel to help her look for the QOAS and he is not amused. Great job Lorelai, making Americans look ridiculous in the eyes of Europeans, like we need any more of that. L: I turned the house upside down! Rory is having a heart attack! It's just awful! Rory having a heart attack:

When I tell you I am physically, literally WHEEZING over Lorelai Gilmore's dramatics. I completely forgot the Jess and Luke Looking for An Apartment b-story at the beginning of this episode. This episode is like slogging through mud so that plot feels like four years ago. Seen below, a Historical Curiosity: The birthplace of the Quarter on a String.

I love when Luke uses casual swear words. A much needed "Ass" in these trying times. This show could use more of them. Ass ass ass ass! Luke goes into one of his famous Nuclear Rants about the cost of apartment living (deposits! pet fees! parking fees! laundry fees!) so I guess Jess isn't going to be getting that seperate bedroom he was desperately hoping for. Whether its a rant about the pitfalls of marriage or shopping malls or rental properties or red meat, Luke Danes has his finger on the pulse of society.

Luke Danes appreciation. God, I appreciate you so much. I mean that in a totally non sexual way. Thank God you exist.

Okay, I forgot about Lorelai and Luke go looking at apartments together in this episode, which I remember to be quite enjoyable and full of delicious tension. Praise the lord, we have filler! I repeat, we have filler!

Lorelai leaves work in the middle of the day to go look at apartments with the local diner owner. In my gritty Gilmore Girls reboot titled The Hollow, the Independence Inn will have been purchased by some major hotel chain and Lorelai would be a victim of the first round of layoffs. We cut to Luke and Lorelai touring an empty apartment, where Lorelai offers to lick Luke's face. The real estate agent mistakes Luke for Lorelai's husband and Lorelai plays along and this whole scene is just....edible.

Luke: Yep, 14 years from now, I'm totally gonna make this crazy bitch my wife and even briefly consider reproducing with her. God, Lorelai is so downright tolerable and at times enjoyable to watch when she's sexually harassing Luke but her interactions with everyone else make me want to claw out my brain matter with my bare hands. But this tension right here??

Lor: What's wrong this place? Luke: It's too big. I don't need two bathrooms. Lor: Yes you do. And you and Jess will kill each other if you stay where you are. I gotta hand it to Lorelai. Because at least she's been advocating for Jess getting his own bedroom and bathroom. We know it won't happen, but the effort has not gone unnoticed. Can't wait for this minor bit of goodwill she's earned with me to be dashed to smithereens in the next few moments. Lor: It's a two year lease. Luke: Yeah, but who knows how long he's going to be here. Lor: Why? Did something happen? Oh, NOW you care about Jess. You're just trying to get in his uncle's pants. Luke: Even if he does stay, it'll only be for another year, and after that he'll go off to college, or Attica prison. Wrong on both counts, Lucas, but YOU go to jail (I think in season 5 or 6?) Still trying to figure out why everyone thinks Jess is a criminal. Although I believe with every beat of my cold black heart that Jess does eventually get his GED and go to college. Luke is sad about the fact that no matter what,Jess is going to leave him in the next few years, leaving Luke back at square one, living alone forever in this new apartment. I think the fact that he can admit, if only subtly and in his very emotionally closed off Luke Danes sort of way, that he would be lonely without Jess is nice. Even if he does think it'll be because he went to prison.

Or some crazy bish who turns her house upside down looking for a QOAS. You're fucked, Lucas. Still haven't arrived at the rotting meat of this episode. To be continued.

#denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls #rory gilmore #jess mariano #milo ventimiglia #gilmore girls season 2 #lost and found #luke danes #anti lorelai gilmore

24 notes · View notes