#i think the theme of the second half of the season is gonna be oops | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs | Tumgik (2025)

Finally, I finished him!

So here he is, the King of Lust himself, Asmodeus! I wanted to take a break from the main cast plus hyperfixation came into play so if I didn't draw Ozzie my brain would have exploded so here we are. I'm putting this under read more because there's a lot of ranting before I get to the notes on the redesign plus pictures to address my points:

To be honest: I don't mind Ozzie's design/outfit in the show. It isn't horrible by any means and there was a time where I could say I even liked it. But when Oops dropped and seeing him without the suit happened, disappointment sunk in.

Are you telling me this man, is a beefcake under that compression suit? The embodiment of lust is jacked and his outfit doesn't show that!?

Seriously Viv, where's the beef?

And while I did say that I did at one time like his design, I never found it really 'sexy' (his voice on the other hand...) and after seeing his beautiful chest all I can do is cry about it.

Also: what is it with Viviziepop and top hats? It's if half of her male cast wears them. It'd make sense for some characters, notability sinners who died in their era that they were popular but it makes no sense for other characters. In this case, I just think Ozzie looks better without one.

Ahem, yeah okay, right, soooo notes:

I noticed one of his earlier looks before the final design he had a longer, thicker and fluffier neck and kinda sad they didn't keep that being it worked with the rooster motif he's suppose to have. I decided to incorporate it back into my design just because I can. Plus, ya know it's fluffy:

I also decided to give him bird feet/chicken legs and make him a bit thicker thighs because excuse me he's part rooster have you seen the meat on those things?!

Because my obsession with his chest, I decided that the outfits should show it off more because, um...chest. Also: FLUFF. idk why I just really wanted to make him fluffy.

The outfit on the right was the one I drew first but I felt it was lacking the regal feel I wanted to go with being he is one of the Deadly Sins and I wanted to show that (along with his chest and fluff but shh). I decided to keep it as a secondary, causal outfit on days off when all you want to just lay on the couch and chill/cuddle with your boyfriend. (likely gonna get rid of the neckless being I mostly just added it because I thought it was funny. If you know, you know.)

After going back at it a second time I decided to go for a burlesque style (Not sure if I nailed it or not) considering his club sorta had that theme going for it and while I'm more than likely going to revisit and change a few things later on, I overall love how the outfit came out.

And of course, a crown. I may get rid of the fire/flaming top in later drawings but I thought it was cool at the time.

I may still revisit the design to maybe add a bit more bull, goat and possible dragon to his design outside of the heads but I think I may save that for when I cerate his full demon form where I'll have those features stand out more. Likely won't have him have his tiny form in my au, no matter how cute it is.

not really a design note persay but kinda want to mention it because it bothers me: I drew/inked and colored both of these at different times which is why the anatomy and coloring is so different from each other. I'm still playing around with clip studio paint tho I think the shading style on the right is the one I'm gonna go with for now on.

As for character/lore notes: I really don't like how it feels as if Ozzie (along with some other characters) was defanged in season two plus how they made him, a deadly sin, not feeling all too threating. Granted, Ozzie being nice isn't the problem (being nice doesn't necessarily mean you're a good person plus I do like that the sins do have some virtues like believing in consent being ya know, complexity and what not suppose to be full on evil) and I even have him being one of the nicer Sins in my AU but still can have his dickish moments and hell, he and Fizz are gonna drag your corpse with the amount of roasting they're dishing you about your sex life because god they were so much fun when both them had more bite. Please bring back my chaotic asshole jester gremlin and his rooster boyfriend tag teaming about how much you suck in bed and just being a general nuisances to society plzthx. (plus ya know, Fizz is a Jester his job is roasting people. Not to say he can't have some kindhearted moments. His friendship with Blitzo gives me life and I love the moment with the deaf kid even if you have to question why a kid is doing at a 18+ event to begin with but that's a whole other can of worms.)

While I'm not going with the circus theme that Viv claims she's going for with each Deadly Sin being based off a circus act (which is a fun idea in theory tbh if that idea expanded on outside of a poorly done aesthetic), I kind of like the idea of a magician motif for Ozzie due to his use of fire plus one of his infernal correspondences happens to be illusions, which we kinda saw him do in Ozzie's. I thought it was a cool touch, regardless if that was intentional or not.

Also, apparently it's canon that Fizzarolli is his first romantic relationship and idk that kinda bothers me. Asmodeus is over thousand years old and in biblical lore he's been in a few relationship (plus what happened in the Book of Tobit with Sarah). Why not play around with that? In my AU, he's been in at least two (Lilith and Mammon respectfully, and I'll talk about that at a later time) before but they were all failed relationships, which soured his view on love for a long time until he fell for Fizz. I also headcanon Ozzie being/use to being a bit of a hopeless romantic, as much as he tries to hide it (poorly).

Hey, I drew some half decent hands for once.

Anyways, yeah, here's my version of Ozzie. Next up with be either Stolas (which is less of an rewrite and more of a damn overhaul because holy shit I really had enough of this guy in canon) or perhaps Beelzebub being I got some ideas for her too.

Made with Clip Studio Paint and Photoshop CS6 for final touches. Okay to reblog, Feedback is encourage.

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The Bad Shit Rambling Meta Season 13 v Season 8

My reading is that there is the potential that the boys could all make some really terrible decisions that lead us into next season, leaving us ending this season on a really freaking bum note.There is also potential that they flip it within the season and amend their current path and all is well of course! This is always preferable, we like a nice story :) But the current path is what it is, it’s just a case of whether they realise their dark pathsoon or not.

The current path is bad. It’s season 8 levels bad. Hence the parallels. And we all know how well season 8′s finale leading into all the bad shit of season 9 onwards went so. There ya go...

This season we’ve heard a lot of:

“all that matters is...” variations of: “I’m doingwhat has to be done” and various codependencies and putting family and personal feelings ahead of the bigger picture and morality

and finally:

*ominous music plays*

I mean OK sure we like when the boys are on the same page and Cas parroting Dean re morality isn’t new but guys you’re the heroes who put your own lives and those of your family in the path of danger in order to save the world in season 5, that’s when you were heroes. Then you put yourselves first in seasons 8 and 10 and it all went to shit. LEARN YOUR LESSONS. You are the heroes not the selfish anti heroes. Through said heroic paths you bettered yourselves, learned who you really are, got towards a happy endgame for yourselves, of course you need to focus on yourselves to a point, of course you deserve happiness, but not to the detriment of the planet and everyone else, not if it means opening a rift and bringing Michael into our world for example to save your family. Your own immediate family is more important than the whole planet - isnot the moral of the story.

Guys. GUYS. Remember?

Oh no, that was also season 8, the exact same episode as the above...

Oh no, we also have the theme as per Kevin in seasons 8/9 too in direct parallel of Cas this/last season of:

Dean: “We need you man” Kevin:

Dean: “Because you’re family” *Kevin is not convinced*

Remember how some of us have been a bit iffy about Dean potentially having just transferred his codependency from Sam to Cas after being suicidally nihilistic when Cas was missing? How many people were worried and some of us were like no don’t worry I’m sure it’s not the case why would they make it so negative and dark when love is such a lovely thing... yeah, no. This is definitely a possibility at this point. Again, the down before the up.

Remember how some of us have been iffy about Dean being horrible to Kaia to get to Mary and the AU and some of us were like uh ok it’s not great but also it’s not that bad, like... justifying his actions and saying yeah he’s been like this before, well, that is bad times stuff and yeah...

The path to Hell is paved with good intentions and all that:

https://tinkdw.tumblr.com/post/171530499592/the-path-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions

So, I don’t tag season 8 #season toxic codependency 8 for nothing and the toxic codependency was biggest theme of the season and led to bad shit happening at the end of the season... seriously 8x23 nearly made me stop watching it was so awful and I didn’t understand that it was in order to be flipped at that point, I was just like WHAT ARE YOU DOING. I can totally understand people thinking this then and now if they continue down this path.But fear not! It is all for a reason, to be flipped in the end, because it is framed as terrible and bad. Plus, we also have the direct combination parallel now again in season 13 with Dean and Cas miscommunicating and not using their words to specifically say love or want instead of need (8x17), where a whole heap of crap (Angels falling) could probably have been avoided if they’d just been honest and not allowed their emotions to be manipulated...

*there’s justnothing at all to see here in parallel with season 13*

So, it seems like this should mean the protagonists, TFW, at the end of the season, do bring the next bad shit down on them themselves and it’ll be due to codependency, not using their words and seemingly making bad choices and threatening the world due to their internal issues and prioritising family above the world again just like s8 and s10 where they became the anti-heroes thing even if some things have gotten better and some have shifted, like it being a Dean/Cas codependency thing instead of Dean/Sam and Sam perhaps being in a better place in opposition of s8 where he was in the worst, the fact that Mary is back and we have Jack will mix things up too but thematically and by the actual PR too, we are being asked to look at all this:

TL;DR: season 13 is fast setting itself up as the new season 8 downward spiral.

Now, this could all get turned around within the season! Like wow you thought they were going dark side but this is all to show they have learned their lessons from the past, don’t worry! Quick flippedy flop - exposition to the contrary helps see just what actual heroes they are in the end, job done.Or... it could not. It could drag into the next final seasons, which is what I would do if season 14/15 was the last, lbr.

So this could all be flipped this season, or it could. Not. The season could end. Really bad. Like. Not oh oops someone’s dead that sucks bad. Like. Wow they’re real asshole idiots who brought upon the apocalypse into our world because of their selfish desires to help their own family before the world and "no matter what” ignoring things like oh I don’t know,cosmic consequences.

Oh look it’s Billie’s warning*waves at @elizabethrobertajones*.

Oh look it’s also seasons 1-4 in a nutshell which makes complete sense if the final story is to mirror seasons 4-5 ie an overall mirror/tieing things up/yes they are the true heroes don’t worry even if they lose their way sometimes and make shitty mistakes because they’re just human, they are still the good guys. It isfine in the end but you might have to deal with some Bad Shit before we get there.

Anyway. Long story short. It’s very likely based on all the above themes andtropesin their own right anyway, butespecially now it’s a blatant season 8 parallel, to get dark again soon before it gets better.

I mean if this isn’t the case and it does get tied up and flipped within theseason I’ll be flipping couches with joy! I’m just not holding my breath and expecting this while deluding myself that it’ll all be ok, it basically comes down to when they plan on ending the show and we don’t know that yet so... I just feel like we should be prepared in case this is the angstiest of all angsty finales, you know, leading into the last season which would make a lot of sense, just... be prepared for that option is all I’m saying as all this ^ paralleling a season that was so dark sure is allleading to something, as I sayeither flipped soon or potentially not until the finalseason, just...

TL;DR don’t hate the show for doing it or meta writers for not warning you it could be short term ugly. Some meta writers got stick last year for not warning people. Well here you go.

You have been warned.

I’m notsaying it’s for sure and of course we have the caveat of the fact that the massive theme of the season is the grey area, the lesser of evils, the choices made when no choice looks like a good one can still in the end be the right choice even if they seem bad at the time (massive neon sign on Mary’s demon deal),but it is still a huge potential that this in the short term all comes across as bad even if it leads to good in the end, given all the hints so far this season that their choices are rooted in desperation and not a lot of good, positive stuff, there’s a lot of codependency, dishonesty, half the information etcand 13x14 brought them all together to tell us to buckle up.

(gifs thanks to @ech0winchester)

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I finished watching Loonatics Unleashed and I have Some Thoughts. I guess this is like a part 2 to the other post I made about the show so yeah.

I swear I don’t intend for everything I write to be an essay but whatever. It’s all under the cut. No massive story spoilers, but I will talk about episodes and will warn accordingly. (But who actually cares about being spoiled on the plot of Loonatics Unleashed?)

Alright so I finally figured out why Ace has laser vision. ...It’s kinda dumb but it’s because rabbits eat carrots(in cartoons). It’s... a reason at least. Still kinda sucks that it’s his only power when everyone else got 2 and some change. Kickass swords don’t count, even if they are magic.Seriously; Transformation. Duplication. Imitation. Tons of other“ation”s. They could’ve leaned into his trickster side but no. He eats carrots... so he got laser vision. Also he only ate carrots like three times in the show so wtf...

Okay so the pacing... improved somewhat in season 2. Don’t get me wrong there were still problems in some episodes but at least they learned how to build the stakes until the climax. They still sometimes went from zero to eighty after the opening credits, but at least it wasn’t zero to a hundred. Much less whiplash was had is what I’m saying.

I don’t think I really mentioned the villains before but they’re uh... generally not very good. They’ve got cool gimmicks but most of the time they’re just two stereotypes and a cliche in a trench coat. Season 2 brought back classic anthro characters to be villains a few times, and while they still weren’t well written and just referenced old bits half the time... at least they weren’t dehumanized humans.

I also don’t think I mentioned the animation so... it’s fine. It’s got cut corners but all cartoons do. Sometimes fight scenes look cool, sometimes they’re stiff. Sometimes the slapstick is well timed, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the facial expressions match the voice acting, sometimes they don’t. Speaking of voice acting, it’s good. There’s not really anything stand out to perform in the first place but everyone does a good job with what they have.

Okay random note before getting deeper into things... the intro themes were... not good. I swear the first song ended on a note that it wasn’t supposed to. The second song fixed that but added people announcing the characters which... is just worse to me. Not much else to say because I skipped them after the first few times.

(Very mild spoilers for the general plots of episodes past this point.)

Ace and Lexi improved a little in the second season, but I still find them kinda bland. Ace still just feels like zero calorie Bugs Bunny. His wit is confined to being the leader, snarky comebacks, and some decent sleuthing skills... and that’s really it. He doesn’t really play around with the villains the way Bugs would. Ace was also supposed to have an arc learning to use his magic sword which... didn’t really happen. Lexi’s defining trait outside of her powers is still that she’s“the girl” which... sucks... Uh... she upgraded to Gamer Girl in the second season which while neat, amounted to nothing outside that one episode. At the very least she was never kidnapped for more than 5 seconds?(That“honor” goes to Zadavia) They also never really brought up their backstories in a meaningful way again, which sucks.

I still like the rest of the team. Slam got an episode about wrestling that built on his backstory and was fun to watch. Duck discovered that his egg powers work differently in water which was neat and matched him being a waterfowl.(Lexi’s powers work differently in water too but it’s never brought up again). Rev is still Rev and I still love him. He got an episode about his family and struggle to impress them(specifically his parents) despite his career choice which was also neat, but I will be coming back to this episode later. Tech is also still Tech and I also still love him. But uh, every character and also me wanted to see him get out of the lab more, and then he got like a nibble of an episode to get out of the lab, and then the show was over. Oof.

Speaking of Tech, it might be for the best he hardly ever left the lab because his powers are...possibly way too effective against all the robots and machines the team fights. Now, him being“overpowered” could’ve been used as a fun writing challenge. Robot goons aren’t a good option for villains anymore. Fighting against him in a city filled with metal is harder. Villains can’t rely on simply killing him thanks to his regeneration. Fight scenes including Tech would have to be handled in a fun and interesting way. But... no. In a team with two tech guys, the one with super speed and flight comes with while the one who can control metal and literally can’t die stays behind. Oh well. Doubt they could’ve added him into more fights without accidentally dumbing him down anyway.

Oh crap I forgot to talk about Zadavia! Uh... she exists. She’s the team’s boss who sends them out on missions. Uh... I can’t talk too much about her without spoiling what little overarching plot this show has, but just know that she’s neat, but affected by the usual sexism going on in the show’s writing.

(Character and episode spoilers past this point.)

You know, for being The Loonatics the main cast wasn’t very loony. You know who were though? Basically all the villains. Yeah I don’t wanna go there but oops here I go anyway. It’s pretty messed up that all the main characters’ zany traits were dialed down, while the defining feature of practically every villain (besides their stereotypes)is that they’re insane. I mean, if you’re looking for good mental illness rep in The Looney Tunesyou’re gonna be disappointed, but at least in the shorts almost every character was a little unhinged and a bit of an asshole, making none of them stand out for those traits specifically.

Also messed up is that a lot of the villains are disfigured and made fun of for it by the main cast. Hot take of the century, but I think making fun of people for having a big head or only one eye is... bad. Oh and if they’re a woman then they’re also judged on how hot they are. Actually all women in the show are subjected to sexist writing. I remember like one episode where women were treated with a sliver of respect for a split second and that was in the obligatory“the cast comes across an island of amazon women” episode. However since most of the time was spent painting them as villains until the “actually sexism is bad” ending, there was hardly a moment of reprieve from the bullshit if a woman was on screen.

I’m not the best person to speak on this but uh... it’s fucked up that since literally every notable human is a villain, all the people of color are bad guys, right? Like, obviously it’s not as bad as some of the shit the old shorts pulled, but that’s like saying getting punched is not as bad as getting stabbed. It’s true... but I’m sure most people would prefer neither.

And here’s where I bring up that Rev episode I mentioned earlier. Rev’s parents are racist against coyotes (cartoons sure love to make carnivores allegoriesfor black people don’t they?) and obviously with Tech E. Coyote being his close friend, that causes trouble. ...Right? Uh, no. They say some racist crap to Tech, and that’s it. There is not even an attempt to correct their behavior from anyone. It’s just treated as some unfortunate quirk. In fact the episode’s conflict actually revolves around Rev’s brother, Rip. Honestly, I doubt that they could’ve handled a decent “racism is bad” episode anyway. But they could’ve also... just not brought up racism if they couldn’t handle it? I’m sure having no racism topic at all would be better than having Tech just take the parents’ racist bull crap lying down and then help Rev impress them with an invention he doesn’t get credit for. Also at one point Rev says if Tech wasn’t a coyote and a guy he’d kiss him, which has twouncomfortable implications, but this section is already too long.

(Spoilers end here.)

Overall... yeah the show’s not very good. Of course it wasn’t. It was always going to be a little garbage. And no not because of the darker style or strange setting or any of that superficial crap. Team dynamic shows are popular and with Teen Titans doing so well WB probably thought they might as well shove out a 2 season Looney Tunes version to grab a little more cash, probably minimizing the budget to squeeze out as much profit as possible. If anyone working on the show was passionate about it, I doubt they had the budget or time to act on most their ideas.

Still, there were things to like.There are some funny jokes throughout the show, a few of which even managed to come out of Ace’s mouth. Danger Duck was literally just Daffy and he’s always great. Ironically, Rev and Tech were the most fun to listen to, and also to watch interacting in general. Slam didn’t do much but was a sweetheart who deserves success. There managed to be some decently twisty twist villains, if only because Disney ruined my brain with their ceaseless and lazy attempts at them, and I wasn’t looking out for them in this show. And, while almost nothing was properly developed, at least the concepts and characters are fun to think about?

I can’t say I’d recommend this show to everybody, but uh... if you’re a Furry with low standards and too much free time like me, maybe you’ll like it? Just go in with low expectations so when nice things happen you’re decently surprised.

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A Digital Fever

no pairings

no spoilers for anything in the series, it’s just somewhere during season 1

themes: whump, sickfic

words: 3668

Summary:

Ryan is a Walker and Walkers do not get sick. So when Ryan goes to school with a high fever and his powers in turmoil, what else can happen than something bad?

******

A common cold was not something the Ryan Walker could have. He didn’t get sick. That was his whole thing.

...Apart from the whole “controlling technology with his mind" of course. That was still an important thing.

Oh, and the fact that he was one of the pilots of Mech X4…

Yeah, he actually had a couple of things, but that was beside the point. The point was, he didn’t get sick, so now that his nose was a little runny and his brain was a little slow as he woke up from the infuriatingly loud blaring of his alarm clock, he was fine. It didn’t matter that he swayed a bit as he stood from his bed, or that he didn’t feel like eating his mom’s newest experimental breakfast food. Everything was totally–

“Hey, you okay Ry-guy?”

“Fine.”

Ryan and Mark were seated at the kitchen table as their mom was preparing the batter for her food truck's famous pancakes. She eyed Ryan with her scanning motherly eyes as her spatula was frozen mid-spin in the bowl. She didn’t look convinced in the slightest.

Ryan quickly grabbed his fork to stuff his mouth with eggs. He looked her in the eyes as he chewed. See? he tried to show his mom, I’m totally fine.

She sighed and set about mixing her batter again, seemingly content enough that he was at least eating now. He was glad her motherly instincts didn’t mean she could actually read minds. He really didn't want her to know just how hard it was to swallow even the smallest bite. His stomach turned even as he thought about it.

He shuffled his food around on his plate with his fork for a bit, making it seem as if he had touched more of it than just that one bite, and then quickly left the kitchen table. He grabbed his bag just as Mark scraped his plate clean. Show off.

“Come on, we’re going to be late,” Ryan said, already heading out of the door. He couldn’t actually go to school without Mark, since he was his ride, but acting like he was leaving without him helped with the pressure to get Mark to follow. He wanted this day to be over as quickly as possible. Mark gave a quick goodbye smile to mom and dashed off after Ryan, his own bag sloppily thrown over one shoulder.

“Hey wait up!”

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

School was dreaded for a reason, but when you were definitely not sick, it was even worse. The first half of the day went by slow, like really slow, but manageable. Lessons were boring, teachers were not too terrible and the low buzz of the school board, the computers, smartphones and lamps were not too distracting.

No, if only lessons had been his school day, he would have survived it.

But he hadn’t thought about lunch time. The canteen was filled with chaos and noise. His mind felt like it was being crushed little by little with every yell and every time someone laughed. All the phones of all the students were buzzing and ringing and going off at the same time, or at least it felt like it. Nails tapped on screens and batteries hummed in disharmony. The constant noises pained his ear drums and filled his head with a hundred stabbing needles.

He was so overwhelmed from the sound, he couldn’t help but flinch a little when suddenly a hand patted him on his shoulder.

Spyder appeared before him. “Are you gonna stand in the doorway the whole time?" A mischievous grin spread on his face. "Because I will gladly take your sandwiches if you aren’t up for it you know? Maybe then I can finally build a tower of cheese. Man, I have always wanted to do that.”

Harris punched Spyder in his side. “No one’s taking Ryan’s sandwiches, dude. Now, are we gonna go to our table or what? I want to finish up on my project before the next term starts.”

Ryan softly shook his head to get rid of the slowly creeping nausea and to try and shake away all the sounds, but he wasn’t successful at all. No matter, he could hold on until he could be home and safely in his bed again. Just half a day left.

“Yeah, yeah let’s go, I’m starving.”

The trio sat at their usual table and as always, Spyder and Harris lost themselves in a debate over something incredibly stupid. This time it was about the best kind of sandwich to ever exist. Spyder insisted that his abomination of a sandwich, with salmon, cheese, peanut butter and chocolate spread, topped off with a little bit of mashed potatoes, was the most delicious thing in the world. Meanwhile Harris was sure that combination of flavors shouldn't even be legal.

Ryan sighed as he tuned out the voices of his friends and instead took out his phone. Maybe some dumb video's would help him ignore his throbbing headache for a while. He clicked on one of Cassie's reports on the school's kickbox team. Of course, his brother was the big star of the video, and normally he didn't like watching Mark get so much praise, but he couldn't care less right now. He just had to watch something. Anything to distract himself.

Just as Cassie went over the most recent victory of the team, a loud voice broke through it.

"Hi sweetie, how's your first day?" The voice was loud, but Ryan was sure it came from the other side of the canteen, where a freshman was calling with his mom. Why would he set the call on speaker?

Ryan turned back and ignored it, but soon another sound interrupted his video. The annoying 8-bit soundtrack of a mobile game echoed through his mind, the sound of clashing swords and yelling characters making it even more annoying. What stupid kid let his sound on extra loud when he was gaming during school break? A drop of sweat slid down his temple. Cheering rang in his ears as the kid cleared his level and it hurt. It was loud and awful and his head was swimming and throbbing and pulsing with every beat.

Ryan shivered in his thick hoodie.

"No dad, you don't have to pick me up," another student said as he was calling from a few tables away.

Ryan huffed and kept staring at his phone, even though the he didn't register anything Cassis said in her video. He still kept trying.

Tap, tap, tap. In the row for the food, someone was texting their friends, every tap with their thumb banging against his skull.

Ryan looked to his left. A teacher was checking his news feed, sirens wailing, people screaming, shouting - some video about the most recent monster attack. To his right, a girl was filming a video with her friends, laughing, playing music, typing a caption and then laughing again. They were so loud.

More videos, more games, more typing, more voices. Every second it got louder, every second it seemed to penetrate further and further into his mind.

Tap Tap Tap.

Screaming.

Laughing.

Sirens.

Cheering.

Tap Tap Tap.

Ryan clutched his phone tighter and shut his eyes, willing for the ever growing buzzing of the lamps and phones and laptops and screens to stop.

It all had to stoppleasestopit'stoomuchtooloudMAKEITSTOP-

The sizzling of something burning made his mind snap out of it. Ryan quickly looked down where his phone lay in his hands, broken and blackened, a small trail of smoke coming from it.

Oops.

His eyes darted up to look if anyone had seen that - and to his relief no one did - so he quickly hid his phone under the table and let it slide into his bag. He would deal with that later.

Since he had no way of distracting himself anymore, and the sounds around him were now even making his vision grow wobbly as they pounded against his brain, Ryan knew he had to make a run for it. It was not like he had actually wanted to eat school food anyway, so no loss there.

"Hey guys?" He said, his left arm smoothly disappearing under the table. "I think I left my mech-link in the classroom. I'll go get it. See you later okay?"

Before the other two could answer, Ryan stood up and turned around, tucking his left arm in the pocket of his hoodie so they couldn't see his mech-link still nicely around his wrist. Briskly, he walked away, ignoring how his eyes couldn't focus or how he could throw up any second. He was fine.

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

Okay, maybe, just maybe, Ryan was not fine. After the small incident with his phone, he had accidentally also fried the teacher's smartwatch during PE when the teacher had blown his whistle right next to Ryan's ear out of nowhere. On top of that, he had also derailed someone's electronic car when he had been waiting on Mark outside of the school and the speakers had blasted the ringing bell right above his head. So you could say he was a little bit jumpy and a lot bit nauseous, and maybe not totally fine, but he would manage. He was Ryan Walker and Walkers didn't get sick.

Whatever. It didn’t matter if he finally admitted to himself that something was wrong, because as soon as school was out, he and Mark had headed straight to Mech X4 when they had gotten a monster alert.

Sick or not, Ryan was the only one who could stop it, so he had to power through. He could do this. Probably. Maybe.

As the gang made their way out of the awful elevator and to their stations, Ryan had to physically swallow down the urge to puke. That elevator hadn't helped in the slightest.

Ryan clicked the belt around his middle and the robot rose from its hiding spot. A rough cough came from him as he tried to move the robot into kneeling position, but he played it off as an awkward cough instead of the start of bile rising in his throat. He had to concentrate or otherwise he'd short-circuit the robot.

However, the miserable attempt didn't go unnoticed.

"Hey man, you okay?" Spyder asked from behind him.

Ryan nodded, but regretted immediately as his head spun with the sudden motion.

"Yeah, of course, I'm fine," he said and readied his feet to jump. Spyder seemed to want to ask something else, but Ryan cut him off.

"Mech, Execute!" he yelled and jumped away. Now was not the time to worry about himself. They had people to save.

"The monster just popped up next to the river at the other side of the city, what would it want there?" Harris asked out loud. He was furiously typing and checking the screens as he followed the beast's movements on his maps. "Wait, where is it – oh. Oh no."

Mark bent over the rails to look at the screens. "What? What is it dingus?"

"The monster! It's heading straight for us! How is it so fast?!"

Ryan's head shot up when he noticed the beast flying straight at them at a rapid speed. "Guys, it's here!"

He barely had enough time to raise his arms in front of his head before the monster crashed right into them, hitting Mech X4 with such devastating force that Ryan was shot into the air, a couple of cables exploding behind him from the rough impact.

"Ryan are you okay?!" Mark yelled.

Ryan swallowed and lifted his head from the cold floor. "Yeah I'm good," he said as he carefully stood up again. The giant monster in front of them was already readying itself for the next attack.

Ryan rolled his shoulders and raised his fists in fighting position. He ignored the cold sweat building on his forehead. "Let's finish this quick. Spyder?"

"One plasma punch coming right up." Spyder slid his chair back from the desk and grabbed a hold of his weapon arm.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

Ryan and Spyder simultaneously drew back their arms and swung them back as Mech X4 did the same with his glowing fist. The monster had been distracted, working up the power to hit again, but was instead swept off his feet when the fist hit full force. It fell to the ground with a large growl, but was still moving.

"Again!" Ryan yelled, already jumping up again to do it.

"Wait dude, it needs to recharge first, we need to buy some time!" Spyder frantically punched his buttons as he read from the screen. "If we do it now, it will be like a grandma punch!" He stopped mid-punching his buttons as he thought about something. "Wait. Nevermind, my grandma would punch this dude into tomorrow. Okay what about, if we used it right now it would be like if Harris punched it!"

Harris spun in his chair with a "not cool, son," before he got back to his scanning and getting up the shields. Mark and Ryan silently grinned. It was an accurate comparison.

"Okay, Harris, how are we with the shields?"

"Almost done and… now they're up!"

And just in time too, because as soon as Ryan turned back to the large window, he saw the monster getting back to his feet again. It let out a low growl as its wings spread out in warning.

"Get ready, he's coming back!"

The robot stepped back as Ryan raised his fists and braced for the next attack. The monster darted forward, its claws barely missing the chest of the robot as Ryan ducked out of the way. Then, it lifted itself on his back legs and rose into the sky, its wings harshly pushing away the wind. As the gang was too distracted by the strong winds that almost pushed the robot off his feet, they didn't see the tip of the monster's tail, heading straight for the head. It clashed against the shield and bounced back, while in the process it successfully pushed Ryan and the robot out of balance, both failing to the ground with a thud.

Ryan grunted his way through the pain as he got back up. They were almost done with this and then he could hide himself in his blankets for the rest of the day. Almost there, almost done.

The beast lashed out again as it clawed against the shield. It seemed to try to rip it open.

"The shields won't hold this for long! Spyder is the plasma punch ready?"

"Almost…" Spyder tapped impatiently against his desk, his eyes glued to his screen.

"Ryan watch out!" Mark yelled. Ryan lifted his arms in front of his head just as the monster ripped away the shield, the pixels giving way as the energy ran out. The monster flew forward and extended its claws as it headed for the head. Without the shields, all Ryan could do was hold his ground and cover himself, not even finding an opening to strike back.

"Spyder?!"

"Almost…"

The beast struck out with a right hook and got around Ryan's defenses, punching the robot hard against his head. Ryan whipped back from the impact and clutched his jaw. That hurt. His eyes watered and refused to focus anymore. A shiver ran down his spine, even if he himself felt like he was burning from the inside.

"Spyder?!"

"I'll say when it's ready!"

The monster hit again and again, sparks flying around the control center as Ryan bounced around in his harness. He was literally being beaten to a pulp and all his strength failed him. He was too weak.

He was… not fine at all.

Mark was pacing across the deck, checking his screens and performing quick damage control. "Spyder, we can't take much more!"

Spyder spun in his chair and pulled back his attack handle. "It's ready!"

Immediately, Ryan stumbled to his feet and raised his fists. Please let this be the final attack, he wished desperately. His mind screamed at him to never move again and just give up, but he just had to do one more thing. Just this one thing. He could survive that. Ryan jumped into the air and brought his fist down with so much force that his knuckles burned. The hit landed, the robot's fist piercing straight through the monster's chest as it de-transformed into ooze and splashed to the ground.

For a moment it was quiet, and then the team of Mech X4 burst out in cheers. They had finished it! Ryan smiled weakly as he sighed. His muscles burned, his vision swum, but they had done it. Finally. He wiped his sweat of his brow and roughly dropped to the floor, his legs giving out from under him. Now on his knees, he unbuckled his belt and let the harness fly up into its storage. When his hand returned from the motion however, something caught his eye. There was red on his hand. His eyes widened. There was blood on his hand. he was bleeding. That monster must have done more damage than he thought.

“Hey guys…” he said, his voice weak and barely audible. No one heard as the rest of the team congratulated each other with their victory. Ryan shivered.

“Guys…” was the final thing he said before he crashed down onto the floor, his vision and mind going blank as he did not even notice how all the lights and screens in the robot flickered and died out with him.

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

“...Ryan.”

“Ryan!”

“RYAN!”

Ryan jolted awake and immediately regretted it as he bend over and lost his diner from the day before. Someone patted him on the back as he retched, but his eyes were too blurry with tears to see who it was. Lights flickered around them.

The same hands placed him back down on the bed when he was done, wiping his forehead with a cold towel. Ryan sighed and closed his eyes again, already worn out from keeping his head upright.

“Get well soon…” Someone said and then he fell asleep once more.

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

The next time he woke, he didn’t get the urge to puke as soon as he opened his eyes. That was good news at least. A little dazed, he looked around the room. The Medbay. Of course.

“Guys! Guys, he’s awake!” Spyder’s voice yelled from too close next to him. In reflex, Ryan shut his eyes tight and groaned, his head not happy with the loud noise.

Two sets of footsteps entered the Medbay as the door slid open.

“Bro, are you okay?!” Ryan opened his eyes and saw Mark rushing towards him, sitting down next to the bed and placing a warm hand on his shoulder. On the older shoulder came Harris’ hand as his best friend shot a worried look at him.

“You scared us buddy,” he said and slightly squeezed his shoulder.

Ryan smiled weakly as he closed his eyes and sighed. “Sorry about that…”

“Do you wanna tell us what happened?” Harris said, his attention already going to the screens next to the bed to check on Ryan’s vitals.

Ryan slowly opened his eyes. “Guess that monster was stronger than I thought.”

“Nah man, that was like a level 5 monster. It wasn’t even made of the red ooze, just the orange,” Spyder said with a shrug, “You normally beat down level 10 monsters with ease.”

“Where did you come up with this rating system?” Harris asked confused.

“It’s just what the collector’s cards say, I didn’t make it.”

“We have collector's cards?” Mark asked eagerly.

Harris shot them both an incredulous look before he turned his attention back to Ryan with an eye roll.

“The scanners are picking up a high temperature, on top of signs of dehydration and not enough nutritions to give your body the energy to heal as fast. Ryan, did you eat at all yesterday?”

Ryan averted his eyes to stare at the scanner beside him. “I didn’t.”

Mark furrowed his eyebrows. “Dude, why wouldn’t you eat anything and still go to fight? Are you stupid? You could have die–”

Ryan flinched as Harris stopped Mark with a gesture of his hand. He shook his head at the older one of the Walker brothers.

“Ryan,” he said, his tone far more calm than Mark’s, “why didn’t you just say you were sick? We could’ve found another way to defeat the monster.”

“No we wouldn’t!” Ryan snapped, his eyes widening as soon as the words left his mouth. he hadn't meant to say it in that tone. He sighed. “Look, just, we all know that we need the robot to defeat the monsters and that we can do nothing with the robot without my powers. I had to fight. It was the only option. And honestly?” Ryan slowly pushed himself in sitting position with his arms. “I was fine doing it. Just got a nasty wound, that’s all.”

Harris shook his head. “This wasn’t just a nasty wound Ryan. On top of your fever, you have several bruised ribs and a large wound to your head. You’re lucky it was mostly superficial or it could have done serious damage to your brain.”

Mark nodded and patted Ryan’s head while Ryan weakly tried to push him off. “You hear that Dingus? No more fighting when you have a fever alright?”

Ryan successfully swatted away Mark’s hand. “Yeah, yeah.”

“You have to promise.”

“I promise Mark, I promise.” Ryan smiled softly and looked at his team. “Thank you though.”

“For what?” Spyder asked.

“For caring about me like this,” Ryan said and lay back down. He was tired. “I really don’t know what I could’ve done without any of you guys…” His voice got quieter as his eyelids closed, but before he fell asleep he still heard the “awww’s” around him. Yeah, he would definitely get teased about this later.

For now though, he meant it.

He loved his team.

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real quick before I get into season 6

So this is my second time watching Season 6 and I’m p. excited. This last week or so I’ve been dredging up bits and pieces, but most of it is a blur. It seems the memories that lasted this whole year were mostly of the huge armored truck and the nonbinary character who works at *spoilers*’s tech startup.

I’m curious to see if the second time through it’ll settle in like it belongs. I remember Season 5 really didn’t make any sense to me until I saw it again.

But really I’m just excited that in 11 hours I can watch the new stuff?!

But first, before I forget, here’s my last thoughts on Season 5.

So remember how I was surprised at Season 1′s structure, that it folded up nicely down the middle with some pretty tidy symmetry?

None of the other seasons do that.

Instead, I remember particularly strongly how jarring the end of the Ghost Rider arc was in the middle of Season 4. And then again when the (what I’m calling) Kasius arc also wrapped up mid-season.

I’m not sure when I read about it, but it probably was circa Ghost Rider, that they’d intentionally decided on what I’m pretty sure they called “pods” of episodes, these seasons-within-a-season sort of narratives.

Season 2 sort of kicks it off, what with the race to Terragenesis taking eps 1-10 and the Afterlife/splinter SHIELD stories filling 11-22. Then Season 3 has the monolith/Maveth mystery to start, followed by Hive & the Inhumans for the second half. S4 is super poddy, obviously branded as Ghost Rider/Agents of Hydra, and S5 also splits neatly into future!Lighthouse and present day!Lighthouse.

Two points to make on this:

Kasius is such a rockstar villain that I feel really bad for Hale/Ruby/Talbot. They’re so apples and oranges but having the highlight come first allows for unfavorable comparisons to be made. It’s like asking any well-to-do Kree to compare Xandarian snail to oops all berries.

Good thing they’d had all this practice writing complete stories in 12 eps, since I’m hoping Season 6 (and obvs Season 7) will still feel as fully formed as their longer antecedents.

Anyway, that first point is my major point for S5.

S3 already feels like the second half of S2, and its internal halves are the most similar to each other as any of the other “pods,” so it’s not like people have a reason to go around saying “I liked the first half of the season waaay better than the second.”

(although I might. I might say that, actually. but not because the halves were branded separately from one another)

And S4, though the two halves are barely identifiable as coming from the same show much less the same season, they’re both good. Robbie Reyes is perfect. The effort to incorporate new MCU topics/aesthetic from Doctor Strange is great. Robots who just want to be a real girl is my JAM. All the Framework cameos really make my day! And then Robbie Reyes comes back all deus ex machina (ironic) and saves the day, and

it makes sense that he does because the function and nature of the Darkhold was well established in part 1 and

it’s GREAT that he does because he’s perfect and we miss him.

Then here comes S5. I really really respect so much about the creative decisions that took the story where it went (ie, outside Papa MCU’s sphere of interference), and getting to reuse the same set in a different context while minimizing “on-location” shoots is just technical and financial genius, okay.

But there’s so much about the first half, in the future, that compels me waaaaaaay more than the gritty anger of the second half.

Kasius, WOW what a villain. Dominic Rains, everyone. I have nothing unkind to say about the performance, the character, anything. Impeccable. Spectacular. Perfection.

The mystery of the season opener! We had the tag scene where Coulson’s “in space” and plenty of time to ruminate on the how and why, especially with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 coming out right as S4 ended and Thor: Ragnarok literally sizzling in the theaters at the same time as this season started. They answer the question by the end of the episode, but not before several characters come up with and pursue several different theories, and that’s fun.

What a way to capitalize on the Inhuman storyline your show’s been about for years now, without forcing Papa MCU to contend with all this good work you’ve been doing. Just go somewhere he can’t reach you (the future), and then un-write all of it anyway. V. tidy. Extra style points will be awarded.

LEITMOTIFS. If y’all’ve seen BSG, then you know Bear McCreary is a master of the art. But this season has so many good themes, my friends. The Daisy/Quake theme that’s been knocking around for a season is here in full force, and Sinara’s is the best bad guy theme you could have wanted, and dearest sweetest Flint has the best great guy theme you ever heard.

Just, while we’re here. Sinara. She says nothing for episodes (it feels like, I wasn’t counting) and her first line is a scornfully growled “compassion.” Give it up for Florence Faivre !!! She hardly has any lines but you always know exactly what she’s thinking and what she’s about. Sinara and Kasius have the richest on-screen chemistry of anybody on any show from any era fight me on this I dare you.

Mack’s coming down from his second life in the Framework, and that suuuuucks that these folks never have a moment to rest before barreling into their next story. But he gets to be a father to Flint! And Yo-Yo gets to be a mother!!! UGH why couldn’t they have brought Flint instead of Deke lololol oh well.

I think I know another reason why Lincoln seems overhyped to me. That other Inhuman, Ben I think his name is? He’s in like two episodes, serves a narrative purpose, and is disposed. I know Lincoln’s in like 18 times as many episodes but they have the same exact overall impact on my brain-hole. Imagine if it was Ben that came back with them instead of Deke. That’s how I feel about Lincoln. Like, how did this obviously disposable character make it this far?

Then you have Deke. You love to hate him. He’s a very well-fashioned character who is flawless in making you feel the way the showrunners want you to feel. That’s the kind of character that gets killed off twice and still comes back, and it doesn’t surprise you.

So, Enoch. Enoch is everyone’s favorite character, right? Right. Give me genderless robots with a soft spot for humanity ANY DAY. PLEASE where are they I need them. (I’m un-repressing memories of S6 and I feel like somehow I should be careful what I wish for) Man I remember with 1000% clarity the absolute glee I felt sitting down for the opening montage of S5 the first time, how ballsy weird it was, just watching this freaky bald alien of a man go swimming with some fun electro pop number playing in the background. 100/10 please make more television like this

More monoliths!! The time one is so pretty!

(remember when there were more monoliths and no one knew where they came from or what they did but then it didn’t matter because they got instantly exploded?)

The low-key obvious answers to the season’s questions, what with the Inhumans running all over the shop, Quake there to tear everything down and Flint there to put the pieces back together I’m not crying you’re crying

Oh man, and Simmons getting to mentor not one but two Inhuman youths to be confident and trust in themselves and their powers. What a ways from the fear-panic response to Daisy when she turned.

Also, yeah, it has to be said, this show’s blatant “you’re different and that’s okay” agenda sits very well with me. Agents of SHIELD says LGBTQ+ rights!

So anyway, part 2 falls a little flat for me because its strength is its themes, but I’m not really compelled by the stakes and definitely not by the villains and not really even by the intra-team drama.

Obviously S2 touched on parenthood, but it was pretty specific. S5 digs in and brings us a lot more on the topic.

Kasius desperately desires his father’s approval but very deeply despises the methods and the people who earn it.

Hale was indoctrinated by Hydra and was very earnest in wanting to uphold the values of the organization, until the organization (and Whitehall) shared with her their narrow appreciation of the gift of her loyalty. Even then, she struggles to make sense of this loyalty, only realizing too late that being a good Hydra pawn and a good parent are categorically mutually exclusive.

Ruby, obviously, is like a mini-Kasius, the brave-faced rebel who wears her mother’s disappointment on her sleeve like a badge of honor to pretend that it isn’t crippling her.

The Von Strucker kid, boy is he messed up (and his Hydra dad had something to do with it)

((echos of Ward are still heard even this far after his demise, and we know what his father figures were like))

Poor Talbot, got some brain damage and some Hydra conditioning on top of that, cracked that noggin wide open. He just wanted to do good by his family. Just wanted his son to know he loves him.

Polly and Robin. The daughter who needs constant special care because she’s stuck inside her own mind and the mother who’s been through hell and back and still manages to do her best. Even when she knows she won’t always be there for her daughter. Even when she knows she’ll be replaced.

May getting a glimpse at the life she and Andrew once talked about. Getting a chance to do right by that little girl.

Mack recovering from getting that same glimpse, from the echoing memories of a life time spent with his greatest regret erased. Being roped into being a thug and threatening that dad without knowing the meaning behind his threat -- being told that people like him don’t deserve the privilege of parenthood. But then getting to know Flint, and having Yo-Yo at his side while they fast track this kid through all the things he’s gonna need to know in order to be the Big Damn Hero the world needs him to be.

The timey-wimey promise that FitzSimmons will one day be parents to a brilliant daughter who will unfortunately give birth to a Deke.

Coulson and Daisy. Another parent placing enormous expectations on his daughter, desperate that she be ready for his responsibilities because his time is running out. A daughter who mishandles these expectations and refuses to stop fighting a losing battle, not because she’s not ready to step up, but because she doesn’t want to face the fact that she’s losing the man who raised her.

Anyway, aside from all this good Theme work, part 2 wades perfunctorily through musty remnants of the previous season, from The Doctor to The Russian. Which makes sense, because that season ended in a way that left so many loose threads -- but then this season comes along and summarily ties them up, all cute little bows, the lot of them. Dusts its hands. Nothing to see here. Move along now. Time’s up.

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Leverage - The Studio Job

It feels like ages since I’ve done one of these, and I MISS MY SHOW, so I popped in a random DVD and whohoo it is “The Studio Job”. So here is a random amount of things that I love about this episode. I love...

... the sheer swagger of Hasselhoff err Schneider err Kirkwood. Not many people can pull off that leather jacket, dude

... the fact that Eliot is present during the initial client meeting. I’ve been wondering about this actually, I mean obviously it’s clear why Eliot is here because he clearly is the only one with a decent taste in music and whatnot (what violin? Hardison who?). But, like, does Nate have a diary on his desk where he pencils in potential clients and he hasn’t yet figured out that the team reads that thing and just “happens to show up” to meetings they think interesting? Is the entire team actually present for the inital “hello” and then just randomly decides “nah, not today, today’s client is harshing my vibe, I’d rather hang out with my horde”? How do these meetings come about? I NEED TO KNOW THESE THINGS

... hahahaha, that music video is just the BEST THING. I kinda need a video like that with Eliot staring in it.

... Hardison dumping info like a boss. I know it’s common knowledge that Aldis Hodge was (in part) hired because of exactly that skill but seriously, he is SO good at it.

... “I don’t know how to play the fiddle” (Hardison probably does) and Hardison’s and Eliot’s reactions hahaha

... Kirkwood being a creepy douche. “But the computer...” - “Say it again.” Such a dick (and such a great little bit of characterisation)

... we are not talking about Hardison’s HORRIBLE outfit. Okay, maybe we are. We all know that Hardison has the best style of all of them (don’t fight me on this), so clearly the only explanation for this terribly mustard/brown combo is that he went to a thrift store and deliberately bought the most ridiculously 70s retro country shit he could find. Why? Well, to piss of Eliot, of course

... Nate wearing the white hat. Who are you trying to fool, mate? Oh, right. The mark.

... Parker’s dance theft. Hands down my favourite lift. Possibly ever. (Such a nice use of lazy sensual music there as well)

... Hardison’s clever strategy of responding to suspicion and anger by just mirroring that and instantly forming a bond of mutual pissed-off-ness

... Hardison’s condescension in reaction to the DJ’s super bad lie. Because lying is cool. But bad lying? That’s just offensive.

... Hot diggity dagum. Hahahaha, Hardison

... the notion that the entire time during that interlude Kirkwood is chewing Nate’s ear off

... Nate’s stutter - I love that he regularly uses these more obvious go-to-personas / tactics (like that stutter when he wants to come across as slightly gullible and not a threat) that aren’t that refined as those his team would chose. Why? Not because he can’t do any better. Just because he can’t be bothered. Ha, Nate, I love your casual arrogance

... sunglasses in that badly lit a club, Sophie? Really :)?

... Nate’s FACE the moment Kirkwood turns his back. You sexy, devious bastard. I love you.

... Parker and her refusal to buy into metaphors. Her sense of humour is just so - I mean OBVIOUSLY she gets it, like she gets every other metaphorical expression (“I didn’t even get to see the emerald!” anyone?). But yeah, I agree with you, it’s hilarious when the rest tries to be patient / loses their shit

... HELLO FIDDLE!

... that shot with Eliot and the blue and yellow lights

... Eliot being offended all over the place. Parker startled him! Parker was a kid!catburglar? (Dude, this is, what, the third season? How can that surprise you?) Eliot CAN sing!

... that little bit of maybe-stage-fright. And the fact that Parker is up there with him and her overacted astonishment. Which is a. seriously funny, and b. such a neat reaction because of course it pisses Eliot off, and a pissed off Eliot is not a nervous Eliot. I love these weird bits of their friendship

... Hardison following suit. - Darth Vader Eliot and Smurf Eliot. Parker’s genuine laughter. Oh God, could I love the friendship these three have any more? I think not. (And what’s the greatest thing? This isn’t even talked about, this isn’t even supposed to be the POINT of the scene. Other shows create entire episode’s, entire fucking seasons around moments like this one. Leverage? Just casually dishing it out. Because this show is perfection.)

... Hardison first comparing Eliot to Britney Spears, then calling him “baby”

...NATE poking fun at him for it

... Hardison being startled, not because of the “baby” bit obviously, but oops, there he was flirting with his best girl and his best guy and he might’ve forgotten that the coms were live

... HOW OLD ARE YOU, Nate :D

... “This must be the Southern charm I heard so much about”. Sophie, being brilliant with the “fuck you, you sleazebag” without the sleazebag actually noticing. I seriously love her throughout this episode. She has very little to do, but everything she does just reeks of that special brand of low-key arrogant professionalism and pride in her grifter skills. So much love for her.

... Nate’s sexy white hat profile!

... Eliot letting himself be seduced. Not gonna lie, there are plenty of his dates that I like better than the one in this ep, but this still is a great little scene. I really dig Eliot’s way with people (and it’s not just women; it’s people). Because he LISTENS.

... Sophie being a food snob. Again.

... Sophie’s outfit. The hair? The frigging jacket? So rad.

... Sophie’s way with Kirkwood compared to Nate’s earlier. See, this is the expert at playing people, the Shakespeare of grifters

... Eliot’s fucking voice

... Hardison’s little panic attack

... Nate’s FOCUS when he looks at Eliot. That’s not just because the con works. That is his super sharp shark focus of pride (which is totally an expression).

... seriously, Eliot’s voice. I need to dig out my old Kane CDs

... Eliot’s little smile at the end

... reward sex. You earned that, man.

... why do you take out your com? Everyone knows what you’re doing anyway. And now Nate has to beat up goons on his own. Jeez.

... “You two work out together” - hahaha, oh Nate

... “Forever 21, don’t hit me” - another seriously nice bit of interlacing the imminent danger of Nate potentially getting killed with teenage groupies. Not only is that little tidbit funny in its own right, it also tells us, before we even see it, that Nate’s all right. Eliot already knows, obviously, he has the ear bud back in and he is taking his sweet time to give that autograph and whatnot while definitely listening to Nate dealing with that problem. That is my version of how it went down and I’m sticking with it

... “Oh, ELIOT’s the fiddle” hahaha

... Parker’s outfit. Hardison’s COAT (btw, the way Parker and Hardison interact here? This is probably pretty close to how they must seem to the unsuspecting casual observer ALWAYS, just minus the outfit).

... “We was cool, we was vibin’”

... Eliot being chased, and all of this having such a retro Beatles vibe to it

... “Contrary to what you all believe, I do not control everything that happens on the internet”... five seconds later “Boom, fansite nuked”

... “I’m pretty certain a fatwa was issued!” - “You’re so vain, man.” (Because yes, Hardison. Eliot brags by telling people how many governments want him dead. That is absolutely how Eliot rolls.)

... “seriously, for breakfast?!” - I love you, Sophie

... Sophie’s superfast reactions and the joy of getting to slap Nate

... Parker’s traipsing and Hardison’s gangsta walk

... you know what is better than Hardison half naked in a recording studio? Hardison, half naking in a recording studio, yanking Eliot’s chain.

... Parker’s scale of what is weird being VERY different than anyone else’s

... “This is not from an iceberg”

... Hardison moving with Eliot’s music, then interrupting him, THEN cutting off communications :)

... niiice little bit of storytelling-by-superzoom, and Parker solving the case while Hardison and Eliot are just mucking around

... Ribs, Ribs, More Ribs

... “The guy who’s buying our fiddle? He thinks he IS the fiddle.”

... Locked off comedy frame - my favourite ever, actually. SO many great OT3 scenes in this episode

... beating goons up with a mic stand AND drumsticks

... black-hat-Nate (now, doesn’t that look more right?) impersonating Hannibal Smith

... nice shot of the four of them in the hotel

... a conveniently parked random motorbike

... Eliot err Kenneth Crane t-shirts

... Kirkwood lip-syncing

... a groupie flashmob

... Parker on stage. Because this is important. For the con. For Eliot.

... Eliot once again proving that he is a great actor (second best on the team) in that staged conversation with Kirkwood

... a conveniently placed cow-hide

... Eliot and Nate doing the gloat together.

... Nate’s black hat, toothpick combo (he is really loving this week’s outfit theme, isn’t he?)

... Eliot’s little laugh at the proposal of being one half of the next Johnny and June. I love that because it’s both sweet and kinda flattered as well as absolutely-not- are-you-kidding-me- as-that-could-tempt-me-away- from-the-sweet-gig-I-already-got

... that little beat, again with just Nate and Eliot. God, I love their friendship sosososo much. I should write a 5k essay about it. And by essay I mean ode.

... that way that Nate is not looking people in the eye when he wants to give them a bit of privacy. Or when he wants some himself

... “Notes on my performance” - “How were you?” - “No complaints” - And Eliot’s and Sophie’s relationship? SO different. Equally awesome.

... I also what to know what time it is, Eliot.

Perfect episode. Perfect show.

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GMMTV 2020

My Precious (movie) - the name says it! Nanon, Chimon AND Ohm... This looks very cute and mellow and i love it~

2gether the Series - I was surprised to see this teaser even if we already knew about this one... I am dumb! Anyhow... The actors for the main couple look cute and its a fake dating trope! This could go both way but for now i am gonna stay positive~ I literally threw my phone when i saw Frank and Drake!!! Babies! I am so glad gmm gave them another chance! We already know they will slay the chemistry part so now its all on the script! Mike and Toptap? Not a pair i would’ve expected but often these become my faves... Also I am so here for Toptap. I don’t know why but i am always excited if he appears in a series.

Wake Up Chanee Very Complicated - YES!

Devil Sister - After The Gifted this was actually the second teaser I watched... I am just so in love with Punpun, and then I saw Pluem is in this too!!! My first thought was: What an odd couple but okay let’s give this a chance... but sadly the teaser looks not interesting at all :/

Girl Next Room - I love all the girls!!! I hope they will focus on a strong girl friendship in this one bc the relationships look pretty generic. Also Mild and Off? I don’t know if i can see this yet...

The Gifted Graduation - THIS is all I ever wanted from gmm but I was so confused that the teaser started with new characters... I get what they are going for tho. I am not 100% convinced yet but I am praying this will live up to season 1! Be warned gmm i am coming for you if you ruin this!

A Tale of Thousand Stars - The teaser looks sooooooooo gooooooood UGH! Earth in a military uniform? YES and THANK YOU! Mix looks super cute and I cannot wait to see more of this! White being in this too is hilarious to me xD The story looks interesting and peaceful, please don’t let this end in a tragedy! Also it kinda gives me hctm vibes quality wise... I hope this won’t be as underrated as hctm was!

Girl2K - I like the concept of her living for 2000 years and having experienced all of these timeperiods but thats about it... For now I don’t even think Off and Fiat can get me to watch this...

Military of Love - I don’t want to but I have to admit that this looks super funny... Whats with the second military theme tho? Last year it was ghosts, this year its the military? Also Tay is in this one!!!

Friend Zone 2 Dangerous Area - Wow season 1 was a ride and this looks even messier and i dig it! I am really excited for what they are going to do with this! The first scene was so funny! Joss HAS that effect... Also Arm and Pluem are great additions! The only thing i want from this is having singtos character find love again

Oh My Boss - Nothing really stood out about this one... i even skipped half the teaser... OOPS

The Shipper - I didn’t even want to watch it bc the name alone is cringey and WOW this looks like a nightmare... There is so much wrong with this... I feel like gmm saw how well received gma was and wanted to try something similar... but this does not look like it can have a good turn like gma did

Who Are You - Reminds me of School 2015: Who are you and I really liked that one... so this looks like it has a lot of potential!!! Also again I love all of the female actors! Get that drama on!

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Duties of a Prince - Chapter 28 - Leo x Liam x MC

A little AU of what would have happened at Leo’s fling before the social season to determine his bride kicks off.

Rating: For mature audiences… language and themes as the story continues.

(A RoE and TRR Crossover)

Summary:

Two brothers who couldn’t be more different if they tried. One out to be the life of the party. The other understanding both of they’re roles and determined to fulfill them all. But what happens when they fall for the same girl?

Word count: approximately 2900 (oops)

MASTER CHAPTER LIST

Tagging: @youwontlikewherewewillgo @chrstbll @pens-girl-87 @xxrainbowprincessxx @queencatherynerhys @syltti78 @boneandfur @ranishajay @blackcatkita @bobasheebaby @pbchoicesobsessed @umccall71 @hamulau @drakelover78 @crookedslimecreatorpasta @jlouise88 @furiousherringoperatortoad @laniquelove @mitalijoshi @speedyoperarascalparty @flowerpowell

Permatags: @mfackenthal @kinkykingliam @enmchoices @alwaysthebestchoice @writtenbycandy @diamond-dreamland

“Bhí tú ag iarraidh a fheiceáil dom, Athair[1]?” Sabrina moved into the large office, closing the large office door behind her.

“Sabrina, Banphrionsa,” Coilin motioned to the couch in the corner of his office. Sabrina’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at her father as she sat on the far side of the couch, one leg tucked comfortably under herself. “Joshua came to see me yesterday.”

“Okay…?” His hand squeezed her thigh gently, trying to convey comfort to his daughter as she continued to stare at him.

“He told me something…” Sabrina leaped off of the couch before he could even finish the sentence, rage burning through her ice blue eyes.

“I’ll fucking kill him,” she seethed, marching towards the door. “How dare he?! That was private and personal information. That fucker!”

“Sabrina.” Coilin’s voice was sharp, stopping her in her tracks. “Joshua was doing as asked by me.”

“You?” She turned to him slowly, tears pooling in her eyes, unshed, as he moved in front of her. “You ensured my friends would spy on me and report back to you? You invaded my privacy?”

“You’ve been nothing but sad, Banphrionsa,” Coilin’s hands rested on her shoulders. “Since you’ve come home from that godforsaken country, you’ve been miserable. I have half a mind to send Padraig over there to teach that boy a lesson in treating a woman well.”

“That is none of your business, Athair,” she seethed, a single angry year slipping past her defenses.

“You are my business, Sabrina,” he soothed, wiping the tear gently with his thumb. “You and this baby. Although I would hope that the Rys boy would step into his duty by you.”

“Duty by me?” Her eyes narrowed towards her father. “Like marry me? Because I’m pregnant? I’d rather raise her on the streets.”

“Oh, she’s a girl?” Coilin grinned at his daughter as her shoulders shrugged.

“Call it a gut feeling,” she pulled out of her father’s grasp, sinking onto the edge of the couch.

“Your mother was right about you, you know...” his smile turned wistful as he remembered his darling wife pregnant with the young woman in front of him. “Wouldn’t even entertain a boy’s name. Michael.”

Sabrina glanced up at her father, a small smile twitching on her lips.

“You would have been Michael,” Coilin brushed a lock of hair off her face. “No matter what, Banphrionsa, you’re going to be a great mother. Just like your momma.”

“Thanks, Daddy,” she smiled through tears welling in her eyes, again. “Just promise you will stay out of this. Please, for my sake?”

Coilin paused briefly studying his daughter, his only child. How could he let her go through this on her own? The boy needs to be brought to heel. He thought, watching her gather her internal strength for a battle. But… if I can’t get to the boy… I most certainly can handle this in other ways.

“I promise, Banphrionsa,” he nodded, a plan already forming in his mind. “Now, I have some dinners I need you to attend for me…”

—

Sabrina knocked loudly on the door in the dank hallway, sighing as Megan pulled it open.

“Hey, Sab!” The brunette smiled as she pulled back from the door to let her in the apartment. “I thought you were meeting up with Daniel tonight?”

“This was more important, Megan,” Sabrina glanced around the small apartment, not seeing her intended target. “Is Josh home?”

“Sab?” Josh called from down a hallway, stepping into the main room while toweling off his hair. “What’s up?”

Taking four strides across the room Sabrina pushed her finger harshly into his chest.

“You told my father about the baby,” she seethed, her teeth clenched tightly. “Without my permission, you went behind my back and told him my private information.”

“What was I supposed to do, Sab?” Josh backed away from the angry blond, holding his hands up in defense. “He’s my boss. Meg was the one who called about picking up the test in the first place! Serious heart attack material, by the way.”

“There is no way you are blaming me on this, Joshua Shanahan,” Megan stood next to Sabrina, her arms crossed over her ample chest. “You were out running errands already. Besides, it’s not like she can climb onto herself and make herself pregnant!”

“It’s not even my kid!” Josh yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. “How did I get roped into this when it’s not even mine?”

Megan rolled her eyes as she sighed deeply.

“Ugh, men!” She groaned towards Sabrina. Sabrina snickered softly under her breath as she watched Josh tracking the whole conversation in his head.

“I swear I can smell the smoke…” she grinned whispering to Megan as Josh’s eyebrows knit.

“So… Sabrina can’t get herself pregnant… so someone needed to go and pick up the test… But it’s not my baby…” the women waited as his head popped up almost violently. “Wait! Was that an option?”

“No!” Both women answered definitively, Megan swatting him gently on the arm.

“Definitely not, Josh,” Sabrina shook her head gently at her friend.

“Look, Sab…” Josh sighed running his hand through his still damp hair. “I’m not going to apologize for telling your dad about everything. He’s still my boss, this was still my orders and it’s not gonna change.”

Sabrina opened her mouth to protest as Josh held up a finger to keep her from her next verbal onslaught.

“But I should have told you,” her eyebrow raised at him as he sighed. “I’m sorry you got blindsided, Sab. That wasn’t fair.”

“Thanks, Josh,” she grinned before pulling him into a tight hug.

“Hold up!” Megan announced, a frown still sitting on her lips. “I don’t know if I’m ok with this… I mean, Jesus, Josh! Are you going to tell him everything we talk about?”

“Well… No…” Josh shuffled uncomfortably. “Just stuff about Sabrina…”

“So… if I told you, Sabrina and I were going to become strippers…?” Megan’s hand sat angrily on her hip.

“I’d have to tell Coilin that his daughter was thinking of stripping,” Josh muttered.

“My stripper name is Brandi Skyline. You gonna tell him that too, Joshua?” She seethed.

“Ok, Brandi…” Sabrina sighed stepping between the couple as she tried to corral Megan into a chair. “Let’s just take a time out here...”

Megan continued to glare at her boyfriend, peering around Sabrina as she blocked her view.

“Meg, baby...” Josh pleaded softly with her. “You just... don’t get it.”

“Do not call me Meg,” the brunette spit at him as Sabrina held her shoulders.

“Will you shut up for five seconds, Megan?” Sabrina snapped causing her friend to stop fighting her. “Firstly, you love it when Josh calls you Meg. I’ve watched the blush creep up your cheeks and that stupid grin you get. It’s sweet and disgusting.”

Megan opened her mouth to offer her rebuttal but was silenced by Sabrina’s hand being held in front of her.

“Josh isn’t wrong. Misguided maybe...” she grinned at Josh grunting in disagreement. “You don’t know my father. His business is like a family. Once you’re in, you’re in. You do what he asks of you.”

“You don’t,” Megan pointed out petulantly.

“I’m his only child,” Sabrina reasoned shrugging. “He wants grandchildren.”

“You mean progeny...” Josh muttered behind her, earning glares from both women.

“You chose Josh. Why? God only knows...” Sabrina rolled her eyes as Megan laughed softly. “But that means you’re part of the family now. And we’ve got rules.”

“Why didn’t I know about these before?” Megan’s eyes slid to Josh.

“Because Josh doesn’t say shit he’s not supposed to and I wasn’t home,” Sabrina sighed steeling herself to what she was about to say. “Rule number 1, don’t ever cross the boss, that’s my dad. Rule number 2...”

“Make sure the boss’ daughter is safe at all times.” Josh finished for her. Megan exhaled loudly as she looked at her friend and the man she loved.

“Is this like the mob or something?” Megan paused as Sabrina and Josh shared a look.

“Meg...” Josh took Sabrina’s spot in front of Megan. “I love you to death. But there’s a reason I don’t talk about my job. Sabrina knows what I do because I’ve known her since we were little ankle biters and her dad’s the boss. But, Babe, I don’t want you to ever be in place that you could get hurt.”

“Could I get hurt, Josh?” Megan whispered allowing Josh to cup her cheeks with his hands. The couple barely noticed Sabrina slipping out their apartment door.

“As long as I’m walkin’ this earth, not a hope in hell.” Josh grinned as he placed a soft kiss to the tip of her button nose. “Now... can I talk my girl to bed? She was awful mad at me.”

“She’s still pretty pissed...” Megan grinned softly. “But she’ll let you take her to dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan,” his lips met hers softly before he led her out of the door.

—

Liam twirled the amber liquid in his tumbler as he surveyed the room around him. Leo had disappeared as soon as the last dish was cleared. Off to claim his companion for tonight... Liam mused chuckling softly to himself.

His gaze didn’t shift as he felt someone sit next to him, taking his brother’s now empty seat.

“You’ve got a lotta nerve showing your face here, Rys,” a low voice spoke softly to the near-empty table. Liam’s eyes narrowed, his head turning to take in the young blond man now sitting next to him.

“Pardon me?” The young prince asked incredulously.

“You, showin’ up here,” the blond, still not turning to look at the prince, continued; his voice turning darker. “Especially after the situation you put Sabrina in.”

Ahh… Liam nodded silently. So he must be tied to Coilin… He studied the profile of the blond man next to him a little closer, recognizing him from the casino so many months ago.

“My apologies if Sabrina is not adjusting well to being back in New York,” his voice was smooth as the blond man turned to glance at him. “However, leaving Cordonia was Sabrina’s choice. Not mine.”

The man’s eyes narrowed further than the previously were as he visibly reigned in his anger.

“She’s pregnant, you asshole.” Liam’s eyes widened at the announcement the blond man just gave him.

“She’s p-pregnant?” The prince swallowed deeply, his eyes sweeping the room for the woman in question. “B-but... we were always so careful... at her insistence.”

“Well I don’t know what to tell ya, buddy,” the blond man sneered. “But she hasn’t been with nobody since she’s come home. And she’s definitely pregnant.”

“Wh-where is she?” Liam rose from the table ready to search her out on her own.

“She’s here,” the man shrugged. “I’ll take you there when I’m ready. First... we need to talk about your intentions.”

—

Sabrina stood near the bar furthest from the door sipping on ginger ale in a champagne flute. To keep up appearances. Her father had assured her as he pressed the glass in her hand before disappearing.

“Brina...” a smooth voice sighed behind her. Her eyes closed momentarily, gathering strength as she placed her glass on the bar before turning around to the stunning green eyes waiting for her. “Thank god, it is you.”

“Hey there, Pretty Boy,” her smile faltered momentarily before she settled it on her lips. “Long time no see.”

“You can say that again...” Leo sighed reaching out to brush a strand of hair from her shoulder. His brows knit together as she shifted away from his touch. “Brina, we need to talk...”

“Not much to say, Pretty Boy...�� she coughed over her cringe.

“Please...” her eyes met his beautiful green ones as he pleaded with her. Slowly she nodded, leading him towards a quiet balcony. Leaning against the railing and staring out into the cityscape she waited silently for him to start. “You never responded to any of my emails...”

“What emails?” She turned towards him, concern was written all over her face. Leo pulled his phone out from his pocket and handed it to her with his first email on the screen. “Goddamnit… I can’t believe he’d seriously go this far…”

“What?” His hand brushed a strand of hair back from her face as she turned her ice blue eyes to his.

“This isn’t my email address, Leo...” her eyes met his, wide with concern. She glanced down at the phone in her hands again, re-reading the email before handing him his phone back. “Well… I’m here now, what did you need to tell me.”

He pushed all the air from his lungs as he pulled her hands into his. He glanced down at her, admiring the way her dress hung on her thin frame.

“Brina... the night we...” he stopped, sighing deeply.

“Hey,” she pulled her hand out of his grasp before cupping his cheek with it gently. “You can tell me anything...”

He nodded nervously at her, taking a deep breath.

“Sabrina, the condom broke.” Her blue eyes widened as she took in his words. She shook her head quickly trying to shake his words from her mind. “Sabrina...”

She paced a few steps away from him, one hand rubbing her forehead as her other gripped her still flat stomach. Leo stood completely still; watching the woman in front of him struggle with his revelation, yet unable to find the words to comfort her.

The condom broke... her mind raced a million miles a minute as she continued to walk away from the man who was almost certainly the father of the tiny human growing inside her. He... he never told me.

She suddenly turned on her heel, striding the missing steps between them. His eyes softened as he watched her approach, widening as he noticed the firm scowl on her pretty lips.

“Bri-“ his statement was cut short as her palm met his cheek in a resounding slap.

“You fucker!” She seethed through clenched teeth, her second hand raised to slap him again. A strong hand encircled her wrist before her hand could swing through the air.

“You will not strike the Crowned Prince, Ms. Pierson,” a strong, familiar voice spoke beside her.

“It’s fine, Bas,” Leo waved off the older man. Bastien raised an eyebrow at his Prince as Leo nodded again. “Really... I deserved it.”

The older man gently released the young woman’s arm before stepping back but remaining close enough to jump in had the need arise.

“Sabrina, I know you must be hurt,” Leo soothed, reaching out to her gently. She stepped back quickly shaking her head.

“You don’t know anything, Leo,” she kept her gaze away from him, her eyebrows knit together tightly. “How could you not tell me?”

“I...” Leo ran his hands through his thick hair. “I had no way of getting a hold of you. It took Bastien weeks just to find that email address, which is apparently the wrong one...”

Sabrina shook her head, still unable to comprehend the lengths her father had gone to.

“Brina,” he stepped towards her again, slowly like he was approaching a wounded animal. “I never wanted to keep this from you. Please, you have to believe me.”

“I’m pregnant, Leo.” His eyes widened as he took in her words before running his hand down his face.

“And you think...” she shrugged gently, a hand resting protectively over her stomach.

“It’s a strong possibility...” Leo’s gaze moved to Bastien, the older man’s eyes just as wide as his charge’s. “I mean... unless your brother has kept something similar from me...”

“Similar to what, Sabrina?” Leo’s head whipped around as his brother’s voice cut through the cold of the balcony.

“Liam...” she breathed as Leo moved in front of her.

“Your father’s employee has been quite informative this evening,” her ice blue eyes narrowed at the young man resting in the doorway to the balcony, keeping anyunwanted company from interrupting the group.

“Has he now?” Her arms crossed over her chest as she continued to glare at the blond in the doorway.

“Yes,” Liam nodded. “I think we need to talk. Perhaps privately?”

His ocean blue eyes narrowed at his brother’s nearness to the girl. Leo shifted Sabrina further behind him, knowing this was not going to be an easy conversation.

“That’s probably a good idea...” she nodded, stepping out from behind Leo.

“Brina,” Leo’s voice was tight as he watched her move around him. She squeezed his arm in reassurance as she moved towards the younger brother.

Liam nodded to her gently, offering her his arm. Her smile was tentative as she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. The blond man standing watch in the doorway blocked their path as they approached.

“Ní maith liom seo, Sabrina[2],” he studied the young prince with cautious eyes.

“Ní gá duit, Joshua[3],” she nodded her head at him, a silent order to move.

“Ach d'athair[4],” Joshua stood tall, he hazel eyes flicking between the pair.

“Láimhseálfaidh mé mo athair[5],” her ice blue eyes hardened towards the man in front of her as he slowly moved to the side.

“Fine,” Joshua nodded, moving to the side of the door, allowing the pair to pass. “But I’m coming with you.”

—

Soft conversations could be heard just outside the door of the hotel room as a lone figure sat quietly in the dark, taking a long draw of a burning cigarette.

[1] You wanted to see me, Father?

[2] I do not like this, Sabrina.

[3] You don’t need to, Joshua.

[4] But your father.

[5] I will handle my father.

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TMNT S02E01 - Return of the Shredder

I’m gonna get this out of the way now: the rest of the 1987 series is not as beautifully animated as the first five episodes, and the stories don’t tend to have many arcs or other such things that I tended to praise in the first season. But I’m not gonna bitch about those things, because it’s the norm and shouldn’t constantly be negatively judged by the highest points.

Anyway, this episode opens an unspecified amount of time after the last one, with Michelangelo and Leonardo shopping for groceries and squabbling about what toppings they’re buying.

I know we’re meant to suspend our disbelief about nobody on the planet being able to notice what they look like under their trenchcoats, but... come on.

Just then somebody robs the checkout counter, so they decide to intervene, and.... why is Leonardo wearing a jacket under his coat?

The one part of his body he decides to hide... is the one part nobody can see anyway because of the coat? I just don’t get it.

Anyway, they whip the robbers using grocery products (a lot of them) and tie them up with a store sign, and are allowed to leave with a free shopping cart full of groceries. I think the store might want the cart back, though. They’re remarkably expensive.

It must be a slow day, because April is covering a thwarted robbery at a grocery store.

This episode also solidifies the supporting cast at Channel 6, by introducing April’s receptionist friend Irma, who is kind of dim and man-hungry; April’s douchebag boss Burne, who is a douchebag who lets his way-younger girlfriend influence his news work; and Vernon, who turns from just kinda sleazy to a full-on oily misogynist prick.

We then switch back to the Technodrome in Dimension X, where Shredder has donned his Whiny Little Bitch Hat and has apparently been pestering Krang to send him back to Earth about half as hard as Krang pestered him for a body. So Krang sends him back, apparently just to get some peace and quiet.

And Splinter apparently gets a premonition about this while the Turtles are busy infodumping each other about stuff they already know. You know, as people are wont to do.

Is it just me, or does that strapping look like it’s coming loose?

Anyway, Shredder gets kinda pissed off when he comes back, first because he was inconvenienced by some muggers, and secondly because he doesn’t have a small army of followers there to back him up. Krang’s attitude is that he can have some backup if he actually manages to accomplish something like killing his enemies. I assume Krang is going to spend his infinite time taking over something in his own dimension.

“Of course, I’m in the Big Apple.” I sometimes wonder if anyplace else exists in this series, to be honest.

Apparently that armor is made out of adamantium too, if a single punch can severe a branch as thick as a man’s torso.

So he does what any respectable villain would do: heads to a crappy run-down martial-arts dojo filled with flabby white guys who couldn’t throw a good punch with a catapult. The most notable thing about it is that the schmuck in charge is voiced by none other than Optimus Prime. I’m not even kidding.

And they highlight what wusses they are by immediately joining him when he destroys a punching bag. Imagine if Megatron had done that.

So in the course of maybe an afternoon, Shredder has managed to whip all the losers into semi-competent martial artists... which really highlights that his talents are wasted as a supervillain. Hell, if he just got enough disaffected people together for a few weeks, he could train an actual army.

And his brilliant scheme? He’s going to have them dress up in Turtle-themed T-shirts and paper bag masks, and have them commit crimes in order to wreck the Turtles’ good name.

I gotta say, this is a step down in writing. I guess if wearing a trenchcoat can disguise every single part of your body, from the shape to the color, then it’s not too implausible that all these incredibly nearsighted people would be incapable of telling actual turtles apart from guys in T-shirts.

But it’s really just such a silly idea for a villain to come up with, especially when the whole idea is “they’ll have to surface to clear their name, despite having spent their whole lives up to this point in hiding.” Even the voice of Peter Cullen can’t make this whole scheme seem anything but silly.

And I think Krang agrees with me, because he just yells, “You call that a plan?” and tells Shredder to stop calling him until he’s actually done something. I like to think he’s prepping for a planetary invasion or something interesting like that, and he’s annoyed that Shredder is constantly pestering him.

So Shredder decides to get some quality help... at the nuthouse. No, seriously.

And now suddenly I’m having visions of a Monty Python skit involving a lot of overacting.

So yes, he’s come there to break out Baxter Stockman, who has apparently been wearing the same clothes for quite some time now. Why? Because if at first you completely fail to kill a giant rat, try try again... using the same designer. So Baxter latches onto the first piece of construction equipment he sees and plans to rework it.

“... not a rat in this city will be safe!” Um, technically that was also what was supposed to be true of your Mousers, and just look what happened there.

April is also stressing out because of the robbers masquerading as the Turtles, which pretty much everybody is assuming are the actual Turtles because... people are kinda stupid. And instead of just making a copy of the tape and bringing it to the Turtles, she insists that they come to the Channel 6 building... and risk getting caught by hostile people. She didn’t think this through, I think.

Then again, they decided to bring their giant blimp with the word“Turtles” on the side. Apparently they aren’t that worried about being seen.

And even though the video only has one guy doing a single martial-arts move (kicking open a door), Leonardo is able to discern the guy’s fighting style instantly, figuring out that Shredder must have taught him. Because apparently the Foot Clan has only two members.

And then they’re chased out by the shrill voice of Burne’s girlfriend, which can double as a torture device.

“And what exactly are you doing here?”“Tell her, snookums...” Um... did the show just imply that Burne is having sex with his girlfriend at work? Talk about getting crap past the radar!

And for the second time in as many weeks, Splinter is chased down by chompy robots made by Baxter Stockman. He must be having so much deja vu.

I’m starting to wonder if they keep repairing these walls between episodes. Also, this means that Baxter knows where they live... even though Shredder spends most of the series trying to figure that out. Oops.

The Turtles obviously notice that something smashed down the wall and kidnapped their sensei, so they follow the trail and... end up in a hole barely big enough to crawl through.

I’m going to guess and say that that was not where the construction equipment came up.

But oh no, Peter Cullen and the Pasty Guys are waiting for them there... and it’s not the most suspenseful fight in the world, because I think we can guess which team is going to be triumphant: the super-strong ninjas, or the schmucks who literally only learned to fight the previous day.

One thing that becomes more obvious is that there was probably some censorship issues that came up with the series, because the fights are a lot less weapon-based and brutal, and more about using otherwise-harmless surroundings to disarm and immobilize. Like sofa springs or tires.

Leonardo seems oddly cheerful.

“He left you a message... right there.” Yes, he left you a message on a large easily-seen wall, which somehow none of you saw before.

So Shredder, having finally gotten ahold of the guy he’s spent years trying to murder, decides to outright murder him before the Turtles even show up. Nah, I’m kidding. He goes Bond villain and arranges Splinter in an easily-thwarted, overly-elaborate death trap.

And now I’m having traumatic Dennis McKiernan flashbacks. Also, where did he even find a giant fist-shaped battering ram?

I’m also not confident that the Turtles couldn’t stop it, considering what we’ve seen them do before. I mean, Donatello tore the side off a van with his bare hands with little visible effort. Are we really gonna assume that the four of them couldn’t do something about this?

But then Baxter busts in for... some reason. I think he just wants to show off his construction-equipment invention.

Also, he seems to have gone round the bend a little. I guess living in the loony bin will do that for you.

Fortunately for Splinter, the battering ram takes several seconds to actually move forward, so the Leonardo is able to free him pretty quickly because... he has swords. And the ratcatching machine gets smashed instead.

And Shredder does something that will soon become very familiar to anyone who sees this series: he loudly proclaims that sure, they’ve won, but he’s totally going to kill them some other day, followed by him scampering off into the distance with his bruised ego.

So the Turtles head home... the compromised home that Baxter apparently knows the location of. April turns up and is apparently confident that some incredibly crappy dojo being destroyed is a wonderful story. No, I’m not sure how. But her report does highlight that the criminal“Turtles” are some schmucks in costumes, which pisses off Burne’s girlfriend.

And if we need further proof that the Turtles are starved for any kind of feminine attention, they start debating over which one of them April was winking at on the news.

Seriously, they need to actually make the acquaintance of more than one woman.

And then she says,“If you must know, I was winking at... Splinter.”

Wait... does that mean she can see them through the TV set? Or are they just so predictable that she knows how they’ll react to any kind of positive attention, and she had the camera people just keep filming her staring blankly for several seconds before she said that?

Look at Splinter’s smile. He’s loving it.

Verdict:

So, obviously this episode was a step down on all accounts compared to the first season, but even taken on average from the rest of the series, it’s pretty mediocre. Mostly that’s because so much time is spent on the Crooked Ninja Turtle Gang, who are basically disposable mooks that Shredder openly admits aren’t actually more than a distraction. And yes, it irks me that Baxter found their lair, but there’s no real consequences for it.

And in case you’re wondering, no, Peter Cullen doesn’t really add anything except me wishing that Optimus Prime would show up.

It does set up something of the model for how the series would unfold after this, with Shredder developing schemes and plans that would never work the way he intended, and usually being sent scuttling away by the end of the episode. Not to mention the Turtles being more public figures that are recognizable by most people, and the dynamic created at Channel 6.

I do love Krang’s approach to everything in this episode, repeatedly telling Shredder that he can fuck off and stop bothering him. He really doesn’t have any reason to help out if you think about it - he’s gotten back to his home dimension, which he was banished from, and he has all the technology and resources on his side.

It’s not profoundly bad or anything, but it has a distinct lack of good.

Grade: C

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I would love to hear your thoughts on the S3 finale of the Flash.

I wanted to wait until I was at a computer so I wasn’t trying to formulate and type my thoughts on my phone, so I appreciate your patience.

So, here’s the thing. It wasn’t perfect. Like season 3 as a whole, it had some flaws. There are definitely some things that I think they need to improve next year. That said...I enjoyed it. I thought season 3 as a whole was loads better than season 2, and that goes for the finale as well.

In a sense, it is the least“dramatic” cliffhanger we’ve had, but particularly when you consider it alongside the first two season cliffhangers, I think it’s really good. Of course, Barry isn’t going anywhere. He COULD to be sure - the show could go on with Wally as Flash. But he won’t. For one thing, we know Grant isn’t going anywhere. We haven’t heard he’s leaving the show. Remember Once Upon a Time announced right before the finale aired that JM was leaving the show. If Grant was leaving for good, there’d be no reason to hold off on revealing it.

He’s not even gonna be gone past maybe the first five minutes of the first episode. Sure, they could bring him back at the halfway mark or so, but he is the star of the show - and Flash has demonstrated over the past three years that they take that Very Seriously. Of course, being the star of the show, much will naturally be about Barry, but they take it to mean EVERYTHING is about him in one way or another, really, and nobody should expect that is going to change too drastically in the next season. He’ll come back and it’ll be pretty early on in the premiere.

Now, there are things that left me with a certain level of dissatisfaction. Yes, I would have loved Iris to get more POV throughout the season and for the arc about her death to be more about HER. However, that wasn’t going to be retroactively changed in the finale - nor could it be. So some of my issues with Season 3 remain, but there really is no way they could have been fixed in the final episode, so they are what they are and we can only hope they are improved upon next season. I also am annoyed that they never gave Killer Frost’s motivations for her actions beyond“well, I TOTALLY have some, guys. Believe me. And they’re SUPER good reasons, too.” Well, that tells me that - once again - they wanted Caitlin in a certain role and didn’t bother bringing themselves to the point of actually considering why SHE would put herself in it. (Tip: You can’t just say that a character has justified motivation behind her actions; you should actually bother to think about what that might be and maybe, I dunno, let the audience in on the secret at some point. Otherwise it’s clear you’re just SAYING they have reasons for their actions but you haven’t bothered to think of any.)

It also is irritating as hell that they could never quite resolve themselves on what they wanted Killer Frost to BE. Either it’s a force outside of Caitlin’s control or it isn’t. Either she’s evil and wholly distinct from Caitlin like a parasite feeding on a host or she’s still Caitlin, and everything she did is something Caitlin really wanted to say and do deep down. Either she was an invasion or a choice. The waffling they did on that to come down in a vague sort of nebulous “nowhere” is an irritating copout. Pick your narrative. Then have the balls to stick to it, WHATEVER that narrative is.

I don’t really care about HRs death. Maybe if he hadn’t died or left every single year of the show so far, it would have more impact? As it is...I saw someone say that the show went from the most impactful death to the least, and I would probably agree. There were times I liked HR; there were moments he made me laugh. And I never really realized (as others did) how much Harry’s whispervoice grated until it came out in full force and in comparison. But TC’s characters have died/left every. single. year and he keeps coming back, so am I going to be sobbing in my beer over it? Not really.

The grief at the top of the show ripped out my heart - JLM’s collapse, Barry rocking Iris’s body, Iris’s tears...I was glad that she tried to stop HR, and I do think that they set up an interesting contrast (unintentionally maybe) between Iris and Caitlin. That could lead to something interesting next season if they choose to take advantage of it. I’m not holding my breath that they’ll give that much consideration to Caitlin’s story to do so.

And I loved Iris getting through to Savitar. I liked Barry realizing that anger and grief and vengeance aren’t always the answer. In a sense, he’s always acted emotionally in the past two finales. The first, he was driven by grief and rage to go back and try to save his mom, only to change his mind and come back to the present and oops there’s a black hole now. The second, he was driven by grief and rage to create Flashpoint. It was nice that this season, he made a conscious decision: The rage and grief are in him, so he could choose to act on it. Or he could choose to be a hero and try to find another way.

The other way may not have gone according to plan, but I do like that he was brave enough to try it. And, really, it won’t always work...but heroes have to choose what kind of people they are going to be. One of the themes of the season was Barry not losing himself, and in the end he didn’t.

I also really loved the cliffhanger. Again, we know - more than perhaps the last two seasons - how the premiere is going to go. HOWEVER. I like the parallel. The first two finales utilized the speedforce as well, but, again, both times, Barry was acting in grief and rage. This time, he entered it with resolve and maturity and as a demonstration of his willingness to learn from his mistakes and accept the consequences of them. And hasn’t that been something people have been YELLING for him to do for two years now? So it’s not a HAPPY ending, but as a demonstration of how far Barry came this year? It’s a pretty damn good one.

Also? Candice killed it.

I am looking forward to next year. I hope when Barry gets out, they’ll allow him to have that lightness back to his spirit. There are things that they need to improve...but I’ll be honest. People refer to Season 1 as the halcyon days of yore sometimes, but...come on. It was hardly perfect. Even as regards Iris as a character or how they treated Westallen. We spent a good chunk of it yelling for everyone to stop patronizing Iris and treat her like an adult who could be let in on the secret and make her own decisions. Her journalism story was perhaps better than it was this season as a whole, but it was still treated like an afterthought more than it should have been.

There are problems that the show needs to fix, but they are problems that the show has ALWAYS had. I do not expect them to be 100% fixed, but I live in eternal hope that they will be better than they have been in the next year.

And, really, in a lot of ways...Season 3 is still a MASSIVE improvement on Season 2. Even when it comes to Iris. Because while it is true we SHOULD have gotten her POV more and we SHOULD have gotten a journalism arc and the story of her death SHOULD have been about her more than it was...it’s also true that the story about Francine SHOULD have been more about her than it was (it was about her for like two and a half minutes before it became immediately hijacked to be about Joe finding out he had a son) and we SHOULD have seen more of how that story impacted her and we SHOULD have gotten her POV for more of what happened in season 2 throughout and...really...even if she’d had more of a POV in season 2 (and that’s arguable at BEST)...does it really matter if you’re never on screen to express it? I mean, Iris can be sitting in a corner saying to the wall,“I feel really conflicted about my mom’s return,” but if the show is only going to show Barry and Joe talking about it for five nanoseconds does it really matter? (“How’s Iris doing?”“She’s okay but she’s conflicted. Hey, is that a cheese danish? I love these. I used to go to this little bakery...”)

Ultimately...it wasn’t perfect. There are things that the show has to fix. There are things they’ve needed to fix from the beginning. Some of those things...they’ve gotten better at in some ways but still haven’t fixed the main issue. Some of those things (like Barry being the undisputed center of everyone else’s stories)...well, to be honest, I’ve accepted that are just not part of the fabric of how they view or approach the show, so I don’t really expect to ever change.

But I liked the season 3 finale. I think it leaves Iris and Barry and Joe and Wally all at REALLY good and interesting places for season 4. I think we’ll get to see Iris and Wally working together at the beginning as heroes and hopefully we will get that promised focus on journalism. I think there are interesting places they could go with Cisco and Frostlin. And, ultimately, I think that IF THEY EMBRACE IT, they’ve set themselves up for a more optimistic and CERTAINLY less angsty and dark season 4. At the moment, there is no reason for Barry to come out of that speed force like a self-hating sad sack. So hopefully the tone of S4 will be happier, too.

So I’m happy with it! I’m looking forward to S4 and the payoff of both the wedding and the twins and/or Bart.

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Rules:

1. Always post the rules. 2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you. 3. Write 11 questions of your own. 4. Tag 11 people.

Tagged by: @kasumi-chou, @miraculous-katsukii, @iceprinceofbelair, and @where-his-towel-is​

(woah I have to do a lot but I absolutely love getting tagged in stuff omg ily guys)

——— kas’ questions

First letter of your real name F

Age/birthday 28th November! I’m turning 18 :))))

Favourite season THATS REALLY TOUGH. I’m gonna say autumn because its cold but not too cold y’know? And the fall colors are gorgeous.

Favourite fruit Oranges! and mangos! And strawberries! Uhhhhhhhhhh I have too many ooops

Do you have short, medium or long hair? I had long until a week ago, but now they’re medium

Hanahaki or soulmate? *googles hanahaki for this* I’m gonna say soulmates, because I like everyone getting at least one person they could spend their life with. (Tbh soulmates irl would be kinda problematic because what if they died? What if you fell in love with someone else? who knows!)

Angst or Fluff? Depends on the mood, but most likely angst. I love love love angst with happy endings. (But then I’ve also read several MCDs when I’m that kinda mood). But I also absolutely loVE fluff because CUTE.

Soundboard (help the writer with ideas) or beta (help the writer with wording/grammar)?Personally I think I’m much better as a beta (because grammar ayeee), but I can be a soundboard too! Idea bouncing is always fun (although tbh I don’t know how good I am at it)

Do you still have an active ff.net? If yes, link I never had one haha!

Would you trade one of Phichit’s hamsters to bring Vicchan back to life?......how dare you ask me that. ACTUALLY WAIT. Yes, yes I would. Because you said trade, aka I could trade the hamster to a friend or something and still get to see him everyday. (#lawyered)

Should Victor and Yuuri both wear white at their wedding? Should they? Nah, man, let them wear whatever they want to. (I mean......they’re gonna benaked bythe end of it anyways, so does it really matter is the real question)

————- andi’s questions

Spring or autumn? *sweats* I love them both oh gosh. I love autumn weather, but spring clothes and spring also means summer break is coming soon. So¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Classical music or EDM? *googles EDM to answer this* I like them both! Although tbh I don’t listen to either as much

Morning person or night owl? NIGHT OWL FTW. My average bedtime is 3am

Pastel or punk?I’m a pastel princess

Painting or singing? *sweats some more* HOW ABOUT BOTH. I love singing while painting, how about that.

Piano or violin? Piano! Although I really love lovelove the sound of a violin. But like, nothing can beat a piano for me.

Jeans or skirts? I want to say skirts because I always feel so flowery and pretty in them (but low-key I always get hella annoyed with them)

Extrovert or introvert? I thought I was an extrovert for a second. And then I laughed at myself for thinking of such a weird thing. I’m like an Introvert™

Fantasy book or non-fictional book? fantasy yes please. need me some action. some DRAMA (also dragons)

Discovery channel or disney channel? *uses fairy wand to draw disney logo*

Hair up or hair down person? hair down ftw. My hair looks extremely poofy and frizzy when its down and I just get really annoyed with it.

————- adrian aka light of my life’squestions

What’s your favourite planet? Oh man I have so many good answers to this. okay a) Uranus, because I’m a teenager and cannot help it b) Pluto, because VIVA LA PLUTO its such a smol planet that just wants some love (also side note: I was tying smol and my laptop corrected it to smoldering and I can’t stop laughing) c) Neptune, because I love Percy Jackson’s dad Poseidon and d) Earth, because it has all of you lovely folks

Do you speak any other languages? I do! I speak English and Hindi fluently. I can understand and can speak sometimes Punjabi, and I can speak/understand Spanish to a limit.

What’s your dream job? oh mAN. *side eyes all the future career quizzes I’ve taken* Honestly, at this point I have no clue. Something with design preferably. Or a film director! That’d be fun. Yeah idk, just something I would have fun doing :)

If you were choosing a new name for yourself, what would it be? .....that is a good question. I’m gonna say Lily because thats my internet nickname and its really cute

Do you like flowers? I love flowers. Give me all the flowers

Is there a nickname you’d like people to call you but have never asked? Not particularly. I just like when people give me nicknames in general because its like a special thing y’know

What colour would you dye your hair? I just dyed my hair yesterday actually! It’s a really pretty reddish brown. I think in a couple years I might go for some non-natural hair colors like blue or something. (I also love how pretty silver/grey hair looks but alas, I could never pull it off)

What’s the best birthday you ever had? I was going to be cliché and say my sweet 16, but I’m gonna go with my 10th birthday. I had absolutely no idea we were doing anything until I came out of my room and my best friend at the time just pounced on my back. Soon a couple others came and we had a blast. (This was the night before my birthday) And then the next day my mom took us all to go watch a movie. The best part though was when used the wrapping paper from the gifts to hide away umm some provocativemovie posters.

Do you play any instruments? I play the piano! But I haven’t practiced in such a long time oops

Can you swim? I used to be convinced I was a mermaid when I was a little kid. I LOVE swimming.

What are you afraid of? Our inevitable doom and destruction and the realization that one day, none of what we do will ever matter because we will be dust. No, I’m kidding. I’m gonna have to say just being completely alone and nobody liking me. Also, lizards.

————- ellen’s questions

Where is wally/waldo if you’re one of those weirdos from Across The Pond*sweats*

favourite tv show theme tune? DOO WEEE DOOOOOOOOOO. Actually I’m pretty sure that isn’t my favorite, but its fun to say.

If you could live in an AU what AU would you write for yourself? One where I am successful and happy and someone loves me as much as Victor and Yuuri love each other. (probably not the answer you were expecting oops)

Which powerpuff girl are you? Blossom!

Which ship in YOI do you think needs some more lovin by the fandom? Sara/Mila haha. (ngl I don’t really have that many ships in YOI other than Victuuri)

How long would you last in a horror movie? .0000002 seconds. Self preservation? What self preservation. I would totally just trip into the murderer’s knife or whatever

leopard print or tiger stripes? and which half of victuuri would you put in which clothes? Hmmm I’m gonna say tiger stripes. I feel like they could both rock either, but in the end it wouldn’t even matter because somehow those clothes would end up in Yurio’s closet.

how much would you pay kubo-sensei for the down low on the YOI movie? one corn chip (sorry oops I was just thinking about memes) Probably nothing because I don’t like spoilers. (but then again, I do like knowing more than other people so who knows)

favourite type of sky? (e.g. sunset, cloudy sky, overcast etc) A clear night sky when you can see all of the constellations glittering down on you

why did the chicken cross the road? It wanted to get hit by a car after those ap exams. (actually did you know“To get to the other side” was supposed to be a joke about after life because I never got that until recently)

if you could send a message to all creators with your newly acquired psychic powers, what would that message be? “GIVE ME STUFF. ALSO YOU ARE AWESOME AND MAKE GR8 STUFF (but you need to totally give me all the stuff)” because I’m a selfish butt

OKAY, now for my questions.Let’s see.

What is your favorite part of the day? (This can be a time, like the morning, or an action, like seeing your pet)

What is something you’ve always wanted someone to do for you, but never told them?

If you could do something for the rest of your life without fear of going broke/getting hurt, what would it be?

Can you describe the color blue without using the word? (I’m so ready to hear these responses aye)

Best compliment you ever received?

What is your favorite au trope?

What is your favorite memory?

What is something you’ve always secretly wanted people to compliment you on?

Hogwarts house?

What is your favorite song at the moment? (Or your #1 played song on your phone if you don’t have one)

Do you cry during movies/tv shows/while reading books/fanfics?

FFFFFF I don’t even know if I know 11 people and most of them either a) already tagged me, or b) have already done this. But anyways

Tag: @sea-goddess-amphitrite, @cary-onmywaywardson, @islandsofjohnmontagu, @iceprinceofbelair, @kasumi-chou, @nikifirov, @where-his-towel-is, @rayrayswimusic, @miraculous-katsukii, @flowercrownyuri, @accioharo, and @overcome-chihoko (I’m tagging12 people because fight me)

(I’M SORRY FOR TAGGING YOU BACK IF I DID and I hope its okay that I tagged all of you guys. I just really want to know what you guys would say :) also if you don’t want to answer these its totally fine. <3 you)

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#42: Season 1, Episode 20 -“Almost Perfect”

Ren gets a "C" in shop class which means it's the end of the world. Louis' locker is festering with steam and bacteria, so Wexler lets him use a storage closet until it’s fixed. Naturally, Louis makes the best of it and renovates the space into a south-of-the-border themed hang out.

This episode opens with the subplot. We see steam blasting out of Louis’ locker accompanied by “Halloween”-esque tinkering piano. I don’t know why I never noticed the opening line before, but Twitty asks “Dude, are you grilling turkey dogs in your locker again?” Why am I laughing at this?! Louis explains that his locker has had a hot water leak all week. It’s causing moss to grow on his egg salad sandwich and mushrooms to “not only grow, but THRIVE” on his math book. He tries to ask Principal Wexler for help, but.. ya know.. Louis isn’t exactly the most reputable student. So Wexler pretty much ignores his pleas. Probably because he was too busy running off to a meeting with Vice Principal REN STEVENS!

He finds Ren and approaches her all excited like “Guess whaaaat?!” Ren guesses that he finally bought some red car he’s always wanted. I like this because it foreshadowsDirty Work where Wexler DOES get his snazzy red convertible. The big news is that she’s a shoo-in for Student of the Semester. This whole scene is slightly uncomfortable, like most of their scenes together. Their relationship is so weird. He even calls her “the daughter I never had.” Okay. He suggests that she should write some glowing article about herself in the school paper. Why would anyone ever suggest that? How arrogant would that be? Either way, Ren ends up agreeing to said article but instead of writing it herself.. she assigns two little minions to do it.

No, really. Am I the only one weirded out by this? lol.

We meet Carla (Lisa Folies, All That!) and Marla (Krysten Leigh Jones, Remember the Titans) for the first time. They're two young girls who are obsessed with Ren and her ~perfection~. We only see them one other time in Season 2. They’re very eager to impress Ren and dress exactly like her and everything. I never understood how people dress the same as others on TV shows like this. How does that work? Did they break in and photograph all of Ren’s clothes one day and then go out to buy everything??? Do they have cameras in Ren’s room that live stream her outfit choices every morning? And then proceed to reach into their Ren Closet and wear the same exact thing? Like... How else is this even possible at all?

They’re fawning over Ren and asking her what it’s like to be perfect. Ren insists she’s not perfect, but when she’s asked to list some of her imperfections… She acts all cutesy arrogant like “what do’ya know! I guess I don’t have any! *shrug*” It’s a little off-putting.

Louis’ locker water leak has gotten so bad he needs to wear a wetsuit and goggles to school now, lol. There’s seaweed or something growing in there and it’s also the home of an evil life form that somehow materialized. He tells Wexler “I swear to Pete, there’s something growing in there and I don’t think it likes me at all!” Who are these men everyone in the Even Stevens-verse swear to?! Twitty swears to Bob, Louis swears to Pete. Once Wexler sees the extent of the damage, he lets Louis use an old storage closet for the time being. I never got that. Sure, Louis keeps a whole lotta junk in his locker -- but what normal person needs a giant closet for a few books and a jacket? Anyway, Wexler says “make yourself at home” so you know Louis is gonna run with it. Like, I’ve said before... If you give Louis an inch, he WILL take 20 miles.

“I can make this work” he whispers to himself as he observes the closet space, lol. I just realized there’s an actual physical lightbulb next to him, signifying the idea. Wow.

Even though she’s the number one contender for Student of the Semester, Ren really wants to ensure that she gets the title… again. Apparently you get a $25 Honey Ham gift card and it’s really satisfying. Why she gotta be so greedy, tho??? According to Wexler she's already been Student of the Semester for the last two semesters, she’s Student Policy Monitor, lord knows what else, AND don’t forget that she's practically Vice Principal as well. Geeez, Ren! Let some of the other kids have their time to shine. But, regardless.. her plans are halted when she gets a C in shop class, jeopardizing her chances. As you can probably guess, this means it’s the end of the world. Well, what did she expect?! Everyone else constructed things like violins and grandfather clocks. But Ren Stevens thinks she can pass with flying colors by making a pizza paddle. In comparison to everyone else’s projects, hers is honestly worth a D- lol. Sorry, Ren!

LOOK AT HER COMPETITION! She seriously submitted a pizza paddle -- a literal slab of wood -- and expected an A.

Louis decides to turn the closet space into a Mexico-style club. I mean, what else do you expect from Louis Stevens? He has an entire construction team come in to do the job and forges Principal Wexler's signature to pay for it. I feel like this is an episode that has glimmers of the more outlandish, unrealistic plots we see sprinkled throughout Season 2 and super frequently in Season 3. But, the odd thing aboutthiscase.. is that it doesn’t seem THAT outlandish to me. I can actually see Louis pulling this off, lol. I’m pretty sure Shia is ad-libbing all of Louis’ commands to the construction workers. (i.e.“Come on, guys! We should have the ceiling fans by now!”)

Something that made me laugh: Ren aimlessly walks around clutching her pizza paddle repeating “C” to herself in disbelief. She walks by Louis and the renovation crew so he asks her “We’re thinking of going with this Burnt Tortilla paint for our walls… What do you think?” and all she can say is “C” …but, Louis takes it as “Si” and I can’t deal with it.

A conversation between Ren and Wexler is accidentally broadcast through the intercom… letting the entire school know that “Ren Stevens got her first C.” Everyone listens in utter shock and some people even rush to the principal’s office just to stare at Ren with disappointment. Everyone held her to a ridiculously high standard and now they’re all depressed and let down because -- SHOCKER! -- she’s not perfect. How dare she!

Because of this, Carla and Marla completely let themselves go and dress like ragamuffins the next day. I feel like there’s a lesson here: Do not put all of your faith in a mere human being, you guys. This is all too extreme. It’s a C. They’re acting like she committed some morally wrong, unforgivable crime. Hardly. However, in Ren’s world, a C is an unforgivable crime. So, technicallyyy she did this to herself. Oops. She eventually decides to “fight back” for a chance to re-do her project, and suddenly Carla and Marla love her again.

Louis unveils the newly renovated locker/closet to Twitty. I love this scene. Twitty walks in and says “Dude, I’m in Mexico!” and Louis is like “Nooo, my friend. *turns on Mariachi music* NOWWWW YOU'RE IN MEXICO!!!"

He proceeds to show Twitty around the small space saying things like "See that? That's not a guitar, it's a bass and I got it shipped in from Meh-hee-co" with the accent. The line that kills me though is "See that matador painting? The guy at the gas station told me it's on real velvet." - Incredible. This line is actually a very obvious overdub. It cuts away to a shot of the painting and Shia clearly recorded this line as a voiceover after the fact. The quality and volume of the audio is totally different from the rest of the scene. Just something I always noticed. Wexler obviously finds out about this when he receives the work order and pays Discoteca Louis a little visit.

“You said make myself at home, so I did. Tropical smoothie?”

Wexler tells him “Stevens. I want you, your smoothie, and your tacky velvet matador painting out of here in 24 hours!” and leaves. Feeling like this is an injustice, Louis decides to throw a muy grande farewell fiesta before the place is torn down. We get one of my favorite lines here:

Twitty: I kinda like the matador painting.

Louis: Yeah.“Tacky”?! HE PAID 12 BUCKS FOR THAT!

Ren goes to speak to her shop teacher after school and we see that his license plate reads “WOOD LVR.” He also tells her “Ren, maybe you haven’t noticed but.. I LOOOOVE WOOD! Wood is ma’lady.” Why do I feel like this is another innuendo? All I can think of is Beyoncé. SERFBORT. Her teacher ultimately gives her a second chance at the project. Of course. All she has to do is make a perfect footstool and she’ll get an A.

There’s a line half way around the world to get into Louis’ party. He has bouncers, velvet rope, and Twitty is keeping track of a guest list. This is so hilarious it’s ridiculous. To highlight how ~exclusive~ the party is, Twitty won’t even let Carly Blaine, his own cousin, in because her name isn’t on the list. Louis eventually turns it into a free for all and allows everyone to go in. How they all fit, I have no idea.

After completing and submitting her footstool for grading, Ren is anxiously awaiting the outcome in the hallway. Here is where we finally get a fantastic character moment from Louis:

Louis: “You ever wanna be normal? You're always trying to be perfect at everything.“

Ren: “What's wrong with being perfect?"

Louis: “It's not normal.”

YOOOOOOO! How fire is that line, though?! The matter-of-fact, simple way he was able to get through to Ren reminds me of something Shia said irl at his #TouchMySoul art instillation. I love caring, smart Louis! Yes.

Ren ends up getting a B- on her footstool. She’s not too happy, but she accepts it. Sheesh! If I got a B- in junior high, it would be up on the refrigerator door! Dang. She says she’s done with being perfect and goes to have some fun at Louis’ shindig.

There’s a Ricky Martin - “Livin’ La Vida Loca” knockoff song playing at the party, presumably called "Casa de Fiesta.” IT GETS STUCK IN MY HEAD ALL THE TIME BUT I LOVE IT. We get a montage of Louis partying it up set to this song, which is truly a vision. Although, I can’t help but feel like Tumblr would crucify him for the cultural appropriation. Or would this count as "appreciation"? He has an authentic Mariachi band and everything. It just hit me -- Where the heck is Tawny?! Surely she’d have something to say.

Louis is shocked when he sees Ren there. This is another one of my favorite moments:

Louis introduces Ren to the band and I swear this is Shia ad-libbing again. (i.e“This is Arnesto! And Manuuuuel!”)

…and that’s pretty much it.

This is a good episode. It really is. But, much like Dirty Work.. This popular and memorable Louis storyline is only a subplot. Also, nothing serious happens with Louis as a character here until the last few minutes. Like I said, I adore his mini speech to Ren. GAHH!! When Louis is good, he is REALLY good. He just busts out some profound crap outta nowhere sometimes. Gotta love that. As usual, this Ren main plot just isn’t as strong. It's so unfortunate. But seeing Louis’ words get to her is touching, and it’s great to see her let go at the end.

Thanks for reading as always! Getting back into the swing of things after my trip to New York last weekend. :)

Please, chime in using the Disqus comment section below!

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Hi Callie! I’m glad to be back in your inbox too! I totally need to catch up on the Harry Potter series once I have the time. Admittedly, I have only watched the movies so far. I’ve heard that while the French translation is fine, there’s something to be said about the wordplay in the original version, so I’m actually tempted to read it in English. Recently, I chose instead to watch some cult movies for the first time, namely the Indiana Jones and Star Wars series oops (NSA)

Your messages are under the cut again, too, because of length lol.

(and I’ve only watched the initial trilogy of both series). Now I finally know what those “Jedi mind tricks” are all about ^^ I can see why you’re comparing the beginning of S8 to what happened in 2x01 and 3x01. Their emotions were indeed less concealed this time, probably because unlike the previous times, in S8 they knew what it was like to be in an actual relationship with one another. Well, I didn’t appreciate the fact that they didn’t work together in the final season, but the thing is,

it would have made no sense if they had, at least during the separation. Because then what would even be the point in breaking up? It was already bad that Castle kept coming to the precinct occasionally (necessary because of how the show is structured), and that Kate also returned several times to the loft, giving her the opportunity to leave a message there if she had wanted to. In fact, I wonder if Castle would have been spared, had Loksat actually come after Beckett in the first half (NSA)

of the season, as Caskett were still married and regularly seeing each other. Besides, after a few eps, Castle started investigating on his own anyway. So while your idea is interesting, imo the writers would have had to find another reason for them to be separated in order to be able to implement that idea. Plus, I think removing the PI office from the picture wouldn’t necessarily equal to Castle visiting the precinct more often (Wouldn’t it hurt him too much to do that?

Would Beckett tolerate his presence after a while? etc.). But yeah, 2x01 and 3x01 were certainly easier to watch because of the way the COTW was handled. You have perfectly described the way I feel about the transition in S8. While it made total sense for them to reconnect sexually with other, and while Castle didn’t completely drop the talk about Loksat, they were almost too happy after what had JUST happened. In other words, things were back to normal really quickly, if that makes sense. (NSA)

I agree that this transition phase would have been a good time for them to discuss their future. Of course I liked the shift between S4 and S5 too, it was about time that they become an item, and I actually loved many Caskett moments in S5 (especially at the beginning of the season with their newly found intimacy, and around episodes 18-21, if “Still” is 5x21). In regards to the end of 5x10, it would have been interesting indeed to see Beckett having that conversation with Castle later on (NSA)

in the show. I guess it happened off screen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that topic was only addressed after they got engaged. Aside from that scene, there were other mentions of insecurity in 5x08 (on Beckett’s side), and in 5x18 (on Castle’s side) for example, so for me it was a pretty recurrent theme in S5. Like many people, I didn’t like “The Squab and The Squail”, and I still have trouble with the fact that this episode was supposed to air after “Still”, so I’m leaving it aside (NSA)

for the moment. Some people wrote that in their opinion, at the end of S5, Castle had this tendency to deflect Beckett’s questions about the more serious topics, which led her to think that he wasn’t looking for real commitment, when Castle was actually afraid that showing how serious he was about them would spook her. I really liked this explanation, even if in big part, the insecurities resurfaced in those last episodes because it was the end of the season and the writers couldn’t think (NSA)

of another way to stir drama. I would certainly have preferred a proposal in other circumstances, because the part in S5 looked really serious (see Castle’s face), and there was this terrible misunderstanding between them for a minute. And yes, in the second half of S6 C&B were essentially giddy in regards to the wedding, and you’ve just made me realize that seeing a wider range in emotions would probably have made those episodes better. While I didn’t like the first wedding dress, (NSA)

the scene with Beckett in front of the mirror was a great moment in that regard. In 6x23, this thing with Rogan certainly came out of the blue, and you already know what I think of this episode.I really liked 7x23, but I have to admit that there weren’t any hints to Hollander’s Woods in previous eps either. More generally, there were many themed episodes in S7 I believe, so that didn’t really contribute to a sense of cohesiveness between the eps. About 2x24, until now, (NSA)

I was mainly sad because Castle was leaving the precinct with Gina at his arm, in front of everyone, may I add; and as Gina is his ex-wife, it felt more serious to me than a fling atm. But you’re absolutely right that there’s actually more to it than that, and geez that makes this ending even more heartbreaking. On the other hand, I really love 2x12 because of how Kyra is portrayed, so I’ve got to admit that Kate’s jealousy was fun for me too in that particular ep. (NSA)

Wow, I didn’t expect you to write a whole paragraph in French, especially now that you’re telling me you don’t practice the language as often anymore

, nor used to writing such long messages in one go in English (it’s probably easier for me to chat or to talk). But I’m up to the challenge because I love getting the opportunity to discuss the show with you, plus it doesn’t hurt that you always give really awesome answers in return. Thank you for that, by the way! I’m going to finish by sharing with you what I thought of your newest one shot. I actually wrote down the following “sentences” as I was reading the fic, (NSA)

so you’re getting here my unbridled scene-by-scene reactions. Warning: there’s gonna be some serious rambling involved (but you know that about me now :p) The beginning: ouch, painful, but it wouldn’t totally be a fic of yours if there wasn’t at least some angst involved (except for some rare occurrences), right? / That was a twist, even if I was intrigued right away by the supernatural aspect of your fic; the best part is, you copied the beginning of the scene in the summary and I didn’t (NSA)

The scene with the popcorn is so sweet, so them, so in character. / Castle is alive! And babyyyy. / Oh okay, we’re back to the theater now; is the baby real or is just a way to motivate them? (I think it’s real, let’s hope it’s real) / Aww a glimpse into the future, I think I see where we’re headed now; and mmh still a mention of a hospital bed even in that scene, nice (I pictured a nursery at first) / Oh okay, it will actually be a constant back and forth before the final scene encased (NSA)

in reality. OMG I’VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, she so saw what happened in “Always” the first time she was here :p And that’s why she knows things he doesn’t. / Beginning of next scene: I can imagine Castle coming back to reality by wanting to join Lily when she laughs, maybe symbolically open a door or something. Okay that didn’t happen but it’s so cute! Ooh and the twins are on the way! / Ooh we don’t wake up straight to reality, but Kate’s still got her hand in his. Interesting! (NSA)

/ What the hell with Caleb Brown??? And here it comes. A taxi, good! / Didn’t we have those lines before? I’m checking…yess we did! Everything is definitely accurate then :) / And okay, I should watch Criminal Minds (I guess that’s what CM means?) more often because I didn’t get the reference ^^ All I can now say is wow, I have no words (well, I sure had them before), it was so fantastic. One of your best works, if not the best. (NSA)

The succession of short scenes made it really pleasant to read as well. I’m sure Rickcastlefromthailand has loved her birthday gift! ;) Until next time, Callie! NSA 19/19 PS: The length of these messages is getting out of hand LOL.

Hi!

In my opinion, you should definitely read the Harry Potter series. While I haven’t read the French version, so I can’t comment on its quality compared to the English version, but I will say there’s a certain beauty and wittiness to J.K. Rowling’s writing that may or may not have been reflected in the translation. However you choose to read them, though, I would definitely recommend it. That being said, I actually haven’t seen the movies. Or any of the other“cult” movies you mentioned. My movie watching is so minimal, I have a long list of movies I have to see, per my friends. lol. (oops?)

Upon further reflection, I have to agree that the idea of them working together through the separation would have most certainly been more flawed than the story line we were presented. I also agree that there is a certain degree of doubt that, despite their separation, Castle would have been spared in the event that LokSat went after Beckett in the early portion of the season. Personally, I doubt such a criminal would have spared the person who has so often presented himself as Beckett’s partner in crime, especially since both of them have shown great dedication to finding the truth. If nothing else, I imagine LokSat would have been aware of the fact that Castle would likely would have gone to great lengths to find out what happened to Beckett, whether they were separated or not. And LokSat, who doesn’t seem to be someone who cares about bloodshed, likely would have gone after Castle if only to avoid that hassle and inevitably doing it later.

Your description of the transition phase is also very accurate, in my opinion. Idk if you saw, but Raina (bravevulnerability) recently wrote about why Castle forgives Beckett so easily in her fics, and explained that forgiving someone doesn’t necessarily mean everything is okay/back to normal. In a way, I feel that this is what the reunion in season 8 lacked. Spare for Fidelis Ad Mortem (8x15), and the struggles in that episode, and the entire concept of hiding their reunion, there was a distinct lack of lingering emotions. Of course, to an extent, these could have passed during the winter hiatus, but I do think a certain degree of lingering doubts, even if communicated through subtle questioning and strange glances would have added a layer of authenticity of their reunion.

As for season 5, I think there’s a distinct difference in the insecurity expressed in episodes such as 5x08 and 5x18 compared to 5x10 and especially the end of the season. By which I mean, the prior instances seem to be more of a personal insecurity, a“will this work out” and“am I good enough for this person”, whereas the end of the season portrays the insecurity of“does this person want a serious relationship like I do”. The prior, to me, makes sense. Both characters have shown underlying insecurity throughout the series, so their doubts about being good enough for each other and/or compatible after all the effort put into their relationship are justified. What the end of the season does, however, is seem to make Beckett forget this commitment and effort that Castle has put in, as though he didn’t spend a year waiting to be with her, as though they hadn’t been together for a year, as though he hadn’t risked his life for her multiple times, one of which had just happened, in Still.

While I do agree that it’s highly possible that Castle would have evaded questions about their future out of fear of spooking Beckett, my problem with that is that it wasn’t shown at all prior to her doubts coming to surface. Which, in my opinion, is a failure of the writers, who knew where the season was going, as this is pre-planned, and didn’t take it upon themselves to present any semblance of build up to their end of season drama, in a way that made it seem implausible and almost juvenile. (Honestly, Beckett’s fears reminded me of something one would see with a couple who’s been hooking up for a few months, or playfully together with far less history, rather than a couple like Caskett). So for me, while this concept of the why being totally plausible and even a pleasant thought, in a way, my problem is that the writers didn’t execute that concept, and rather presented these doubts as something caused by Castle not wanting to sleep with Beckett in that one moment.

And for season 6, yes, I loved the moment in front of the mirror in 6x14. It’s a perfect example of how their past, personal struggles as individuals and as a couple could have been entwined. While I wouldn’t have liked a fulls season of merely rehashing the same doubts, I definitely think emotions such as those in that scene could have greatly improved the season for people such as myself who didn’t find great enjoyment in the giddy checklist style we did get.

Gah the reactions of the rest of the characters in 2x24 is truly heartbreaking, too. And I certainly agree that there’s a greater severity to that scene given that Gina is his ex-wife and not just a fling. I also think that 2x12 was a truly enjoyable episode. I actually really enjoyed Kyra, and the jealousy in that episode.

And aw! I hope my speaking French could bring you joy. I honestly need to use it more often, since I don’t want to lose it or my status as bilingual. And I’ve also used Duolingo, albeit to learn Spanish, and while it’s fun and teaches the basics, for sure, I find that eventually I get bored of doing the same lessons over and over again and just quit. Oops.

I’m also so glad my comments on your English could make you happy. I honestly had no idea you weren’t a native English speaker, so you certainly use the language well, even if it’s outside your comfort zone. I have to admit, I’m glad you feel okay with stepping outside your comfort zone for these messages, because I truly enjoy these exchanges we have.

And gaaaah I love your thoughts on my fic so much. Rambles are my favorite and it made me so happy to read your thoughts as you read, knowing where you were in the story and what was coming. I am so, so glad you enjoyed my odd little one-shot. And thank you so, so much for your compliments. I must admit, I’m fairly proud of that story as it went outside my comfort zone and into a genre I don’t usually explore, in a style not truly like my usual one, so to know it was well executed means the world to me.

(Also yes you should watch more Criminal Minds. Besides Castle, it is probably my favorite show lol).

Thank you, again, for this lovely message. I hope you have a good day, week, etc. Until next time!

Callie xx

(And yes these messages really are getting really long lol).

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My Reaction to “Gotham” S1E19

AN: I managed to record my reactions to this episode and hopefully I can transcribe what I said into this post.

Ooh! That helicopter looks fake as crap!

AN: It wasn’t a crash at all.

Look at all this amazing CGI...

Fish is like “Okaaaaayyy, I gotta rethink some stuff!”

“[Detective Gordon] You're a man with a reputation.“ OK...

“I [Officer Moore] was wondering if you [Jim] could pick up where they left off [on the cold case].“ Oh!

“Well, there's a few of us younger guys, and we've been watching what you've [Jim] been doing to clean up Gotham and the GCPD. And I want to be a part of it, and bringing you this case is my way of trying to do that.“ So we actually got an honest cop here? All right!

*applauds*

Gordon’s like “Ohhh, I’m getting a reputation! Oh yeah!”

Lee!

Where’s the South Village in Gotham? Is there like an actual map of Gotham for this show?

AN: Technically one was shown during S4 but not really any official markings concerning certain areas

*hums along with opening theme*

“Alfred? Where are you going?” “Into the city, Master Bruce.“ Noooo!

Alfred... yeah, you’re not well.

“Oh dear.” Oh dear is right!

“My granddaughter, Antonia, she's beautiful, virtuous, an angel. And she has been seduced by a silver-tongued guitar player.“ *sarcastically* Oh no, not the guitar player!

For the latter half of this season, they’re giving Oswald these weird B-plots. Like one episode’s like “Oop, I’m worried about getting more booze and now I’m gonna help some lady get her daughter back!”

*spends a good 30 seconds criticizing Harvey’s idea of a perfect woman*

For some reason, Ed reminds me of a much creepier Sheldon Cooper.

“Let me [Harvey] say it in Spanish: no.” *chuckles*

“So, are you in or out?” *starts singing “Are You In or Out?” from “Aladdin and the King of Thieves”*

Oh my gosh, that dude’s really tall cook’s hat! Haaa!

Lennon? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a guy with that name in the comics.

I actually really like the color grading for these flashbacks.

Oh. Oh, ooooohhhhh, what’s going on....

Oh I like her [Grace’s] coat.

Bruce, what are you doing? What are you doing there [at the gun range]?

*Oswald ends up unknowingly walking past Bruce* Oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiittt!

*Penguin orders Gabe to cut off the guitar player’s fingers* AAAAHHH MY GOD!

“Just the man I [Lee] wanted to see.” “Oh, don't say that. You're gonna make Jim jealous.“ *chuckles*

“No, she [Grace] didn't run away. She was taken. And whoever took her kept her locked away till he was good and ready and then he killed her. I [Jim] know it.“ Yeah, she went willingly... with him... so....

Oh my gosh, she [Fish] even painted her nails white! Oh my God...

Those artificial candle lightbulbs... fishy...

*Doll Maker walks in on Fish in his office* Shoooooott!

That’s a really fancy letter opener Doll Maker has...

[Fish starts fake crying about having nightmares about one of Doll Maker’s experiments] *softly* Oh dang....

“[Fish] So you'd rather take your own life than end up one of my [Doll Maker’s] creations?” “Yes.“ Shooooottt....

*slaps hands on desk with each word* Jada Pinkett Smith, everybody!

She is so good!

Oswald is just so... measly in this show...

Wait, she [Grace] had handcuffs on. Wouldn’t there be bruising there [at her wrists]?

*jumps when Jason slams his hand down on the table*

Why did he [Jason] make her [Grace] dye her hair blonde?

*Jason reveals pictures of all of his previous victims* OHH my God...

OH SHIT, this is the Ogre!

*immediately leans away from laptop* Oh shit!

Yeah, Maroni’s definitely going to die this season.

*Fish and some men try to escape* Goooo go go go!

*Doll Maker pulls out a night stick on Fish* Whaat?!?

Oh they’re [Fish’s group of escapees] gonna take the helicopter! Ooohh...

Where did Fish learn how to fly a helicopter?

I like when they use snow in this show. It looks really pretty.

*jaw drops when Fish gets shot in the side*

“Which makes me wonder how did you catch this?” “I told you a fellow officer asked me to look into it.“ *slams hands on desk and reels back* SHIT!

Shit, the dude’s an operative! Ooohhh...

His [Reggie’s] eyes are really red...

Oh my gosh, the actor who plays Reggie is so Scottish...

It’s the Scotsman from “Samurai Jack”

YER BLOOMIN’ TIGHTS, LADDIE!

*jaw drops when Selina shoves Reggie out the window*

DUDE! YO! Selina, why?

“I'm gonna find The Ogre and I'm gonna put him behind bars. And when I've done that, I'm [Jim] coming after you. I'm coming after you, Commissioner. You're done.” *hums in panic*

*End credits start playing* AAAHHH...

*ends up boogie-ing out to ending theme*

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