#and i watch and we would get to a purge episode

[ambreiiigns]

I'M WATCHING TERRIFIER IT'S ONLY ONE HOUR AND 24 MINUTES!!!!!! LET'S FUCKING GOOOO BABYYY THAT'S THE SHIIIIT

#this might sound like. i'm bored w long movies. THAT'S NOT IT I CAN TAKE A LONG MOVIE #IT'S JUST THAT AS WE ALL KNOW 90 MINUTES IS THE PERFECT SLASHER MOVY LENGTH!! SO I'M ALWAYS THRILLED WHEN I GET A MOVY THAT'S 90 MINS!! #YAAAASSS BAYBAYYYYYY #it was up between possession and terrifier the other night i wanted terrifier more i think but some pals voted possession instead #which is good bc terrifier is now Two Movies so it's a bit more commitment and it would have taken longer yk. whatever. possession slayed #but i am very excited to get to this!!! yas #purge next. purge added to my list. i wasn't feeling it bc i've already seen some of them some time ago #and i don't feel like it's worth to commit to the whole franchise #but. god forgive me i'm accidentally rewatching rick and morty i watched the purge episode and it made me wanna watch the puuurge sorryyyy #oh nay

[mutfruit-salad]

Long post ahead. My full thoughts on the fallout series. TW for references to Sexual Assault, racism, antisemitism. It's not particularly in depth here- but I do reference specific acts of violence done in the show.

I've had people insinuate I'm only mad because I'm a New Vegas fan, because I think they retconned the lore. I'm not upset at the fallout show for its dubious lore additions and reworks. I think they're quite bad in places, but they're by far the least of the show's problems.

This isn't a case of a New Vegas fan mad they messed with my game in a way I didn't like.

Please refer to literally any of my posts pointing out the racism and antisemitism in the show. They brand a black man in episode 1. They named the enclave scientist after a real life holocaust survivor and then spent most of the show lobbing around his decapitated head like a volleyball.

But I'd like to consider other elements of the show. View it as a whole.

Consider the inherent misogyny of having a female main character whose entire character arc is just her getting abused for 8 episodes. How the trajectory of her character revolves around not giving up on the humanity of the man who waterboarded her and sold her to organ harvesters. A female main character who is raped in the first episode and watches her entire community get brutalized and who comes out of it completely unphased- still as plucky as ever- just worried about her dad.

Consider the horror of having a black woman be the one to drop the bombs. Consider the horror of her leading a council of elites who have infiltrated and taken over the US government. Consider the ways this group is presented and shown, the ways every fault of the US government in the series is offloaded onto a shadowy group of elites.

Consider how the capitalist critique of the show only goes so far as saying there's a secret organization of bad people who must be purged. The antisemitism and conspiratorial nonsense inherent to that premise.

Consider the rampant classism with the show's depiction of Wastelanders as either animalistic monsters or too stupid to live.

Consider the ways the show punishes nearly every act of kindness- the ways the world rewards might-makes-right authoritarians.

Consider the way the NCR collapsed offscreen because a disgruntled husband was mad his wife left him, and how after it collapsed the army immediately became raiders and the survivors became blood drinking cultists. Don't give me "it's just shady sands that collapsed" because the NCR was a developed nation. If one of their cities blew up, they would send aid. They would assist.

Consider the way the show constantly uses sex crimes as comedy and horror- the incest jokes and the "chicken fucker" bit, and the Vault 4 monster impregnation and the main character's rape in the first episode.

Consider the ableism of the treatment of ghouls, how every ghoul is now a ticking time bomb, how Lucy helps free a small dementia-riddled old ghoul woman from a medical torture facility and then is immediately punished with the woman trying to inexplicably murder her. Thaddeus openly talks about ghoul exterminationism and it's never a joke or a bit- he just says it and nobody reacts or says anything.

Consider the way the Vault 33 town councillors use real world progressive talking points about restorative justice and prison abolition and multiculturalism- meanwhile Norm advocates for the death penalty and a closed society. How Norm is shown as good and righteous and the vault dwellers range from deluded to damningly stupid- how the mere concept of restorative justice is made a farce because the NCR raiders are screaming about eating organs and murdering people 24/7.

Consider the way they removed the Boneyard, and the Followers of the Apocalypse by extension. In New Vegas we heard about the Followers operating a university in LA. It's gone now. Not destroyed by bombs- but written out of existence because the Boneyard never existed, and Shady Sands is in its place. Consider what that says about this world- that the group most dedicated to peace and rebuilding has been surgically excised from the narrative- destroyed more wholly than even the NCR- written out of existence entirely.

This is the single most reactionary fallout story that has been produced. By a fucking country mile.

Whatever lore critiques there are should be secondary. The storytelling is reactionary in ways I straight up have not seen from other Bethesda entries in the series. It is cruel to a fault, and depicts a world that is incapable of healing or growing- where the best you can do is hold onto that small spark of goodness while every bit of the society around you tries to murder it out of you. This isn't a story about rebuilding, or about postwar politics, or about society- it's about dueling warlords and might makes right attitudes and grimdark views of the nature of humanity. It's fallout in aesthetics alone- and it's perhaps the most hateful thing I've seen come out of this series outside of the actual neonazis in the fanbase.

Whatever hope there is in Moldaver's final moments looking out over the glittering ruins of LA is undercut by the knowledge of what came before. What was destroyed. And it's undercut by the Brotherhood's totalitarian control. It's not hopeful, it's the bare minimum of survival. It's all the progress of the postwar world, 200 years of humanity and history, reduced to just barely getting the lights back on.

In the intro to fallout 1, "War Never Changes" is used as thematic glue. It ties together two concepts- past wars- and present capitalism and militarism.

Ron Perlman describes the Roman Empire, the Spanish conquests of the Americas, and the Nazi regime- and then he says "war never changes" and uses it to connect those past atrocities to the modern world of the setting- to the war that ended everything. The phrase existed to link the resource wars and their ensuing fallout to all the crimes of empire prior. War never changes wasn't a hard and fast rule of human nature- it was a specific condemnation of America.

Lonesome Road even ends with the phrase refuted. War Never Changes. But men do, through the roads they walk. There is hope. That's what this series has always been about. The Master died at the end of fallout 1 and said "leave while you still have hope."

In this show, the black woman Vault Tec exec who ends the world says the phrase. It's stripped of all meaning. Just a generic throwback because it's a famous phrase in the series' history. It's not a condemnation of America, it's a celebratory thing. Vault Tec toasting to the end of the world.

What a thing to see this series become. What a thing to see celebrated.

#fallout #fallout new vegas #fallout show #this has gotten more feedback then I was expecting #and i'm glad this is resonating with some folks #turned off reblogs cuz i cant actually deal with the response this has been getting at this point 👍

[archeo-starwars]

You wouldn't happen to have an extensive layout dissection of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant? Or even a list of all notable and obscure sections of the Jedi Temple? OR or even labelled areas that are public and reserved for only temple residents. Both from canon and legends, please and thank you!!!

The best I managed to find comes from Star Wars Complete Locations - you may check out the whole archived version here. The “zoom in” option is pretty good for reading details. Below the pages (I suppose the best is to open them in new tab for better reading):

As for the list of locations, I recommend wookiepedia's list. Plenty of data, both for Legends and New Canon.

Additional sources worth to check out:

Jedi Temple Locations & Jedi Temple History - both published as official material on star wars.com in regard to prequels and New Canon sources. Pictures and references to various places inside Temple.

Star Wars.com's The Clone Wars episode guide + videoclips from the series, like

A) Jedi Archives Tour (the entrance to one of the most restricted areas of the temple: The Holocron Vault).

B) Layout of Jedi Temple Library (source)

C) Jedi Temple funeral room + environment illustration by Tara Rueping (source)

Old Data Bank for Jedi Temple

HoloNews mentioning "a mob of 20 university students attempted to infiltrate the Jedi Temple" and "managing to get as far as the Second Atrium Lobby"

Star Wars Battlefront (2) game wiki provides some map and location description

and if you have time (and patience) you can watch gameplay from 501st Legion's mission in Jedi Temple for reference, like this one

The wookiepedia's articles should give enough good idea of the rooms, their location and functions, but I'm adding a few source pages:

STAR WARS: FACT FILES #36 provides a lot informations what and where was inside the Temple and some general data about visitors, security, Grand Balcony, Grand Corridor & Towers. Not all is super specific, but worth checking out for sure.

The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia mentions this:

and for Jedi Temple entry:

As for the named locations that are public or reserved for only temple residents, there is definitely a division like that, however I'm not sure if this issue was very well explained. The source gives us some ideas, like for example, Jedi Archives have data accessible only for Jedi with rank of Master or higher (thus most likely separated areas to study). At the same time, Fact Files #25 says that Jedi Archives offers an "excellent resources to researchers, including star-map hologram consoles", but also an access to entire scientific and historical knowledge of the Republic

so non-Jedi were allowed to use Jedi Library/Archives for their own research and work-related needs. We also must remember that the Jedi Order had various scientific branches, including archaeology, exploring unknown regions, and medicine, so logically thinking Jedi worked with other, non-Jedi specialists of many fields.

We also know from various sources, that politicians and important guests were invited for various occasions. We could see in Republic comics series that Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and senator Ask Aak were allowed to listen to Jedi reporting before High Council about his last battle

or attending Jedi Funeral like Duchess Satine and Padme Amidala did for the (fake) Obi-Wan's one or just visiting as a friend/comrade-in-arm

I would need to make more research about this issue as there is plenty tie-in material to Jedi Temple on Coruscant that would take a lot time to study, but at this moment, I think the best is assume how far a non-Jedi may walk into Temple will depend greatly who is that person and what is nature of their business with Jedi.

At the same time, Purge: Seconds to Die has this line "Clone Troopers? This deep in the Temple? Not permitted."

The Jedi was in Archives herself, so it is worth to take into account that clones could have more limited access to Temple than the average guest before war did. At the same time, clone troopers could make a report before Yoda and Mace Windu/High Council, as was presented by Star Wars Tales (Honor Bound):

so it is not like they were outright forbidden to enter the temple either.

Hope it will help!

#star wars #jedi temple #jedi culture #my replies #I'm pretty sure Star Wars Miniatures too had some maps for playing inside Jedi Temple #but sadly couldn't get any good images

[squidthoughts]

why doesn't shin leave?

that's the question, right? there are secondary ones, of course – why didn't she kill sabine/was she sandbagging their duel/did she intentionally perform a nonfatal stabbing/was she sent there to interact with sabine at all, or just for the map.... but really, my question at the end of ep1 was:

why is she waiting here at all?

"we've been looking for this," shin says, and that's what, an accusation? conversation-starter? she's here to talk? maybe, okay – except she's actively thieving, so what can she be expecting by sticking around but a fight? so she secures the map and she waits for sabine. to fight her. but the question is still why and in my unqualified opinion i think the answer is found back here:

"ahsoka tano's former apprentice is on lothal."

what do we know about baylan? he was a jedi, once. he witnessed the purge of his order and adapted to a life of survival – he maintains certain jedi traditions, he passes these traditions to his padawan: the braid, the traditional construction of the lightsaber, if not the crystal inside (standing mystery, though). he is nostalgic but not melancholy, connected perhaps to the more elegant and noble history of the jedi but evidently strongly opposed to assuming that title at present.

what do we know about shin? well...almost nothing. except that when baylan speaks, shin listens. she obeys unquestioningly. when morgan speaks, shin watches baylan. they are close; there is mutual trust, though clearly more dependency on shin's side. and she is likely – though not certainly – born after order 66.

i'm confident answers will be forthcoming about shin's past, but in the meantime, working with the (very!!) little we have, assuming the subtle intricacies of the shot direction and ivanna's acting are all intentional, and with the full disclaimer that im brainrotty for wolfwren......i want to answer my original question.

shin has never seen another apprentice before. beyond baylan and inquisitors (apparently), she has probably never seen another lightsaber-wielder before. and yet – her master, while scorning the label of jedi, is steeped in jedi history. he seems to be training her according to some traditional jedi principles (though...what with the mass-murder and the mercenary work, of course we don't yet know the extent of those principles), and it would follow that he would have imparted the history of the jedi as well.

baylan skoll is not a jedi. but ahsoka tano is. or, was. but the antagonist squad refers to her as a jedi, so from shin's perspective it's not just "ahsoka tano's apprentice" on lothal. she is being told there is a real, live jedi apprentice on lothal.

and the jedi are extinct.

we're into the rampant speculation part of the meta now, because what is shin thinking in this moment?

there's a green lightsaber before her – a jedi apprentice before her – or at least the former-apprentice-of-a-jedi, but shin is the apprentice-of-a-former-jedi, and at some point the semantics get in the way of the exhilaration. this is probably (again, this whole thing could get disproven in the next episode or something) the first lightsaber battle shin has ever had with someone who might actually kill her. (i assume baylan wouldn't engage in prolicide while sparring.)

this is, i think, shin at her most excited. on the one hand – it's another apprentice! it's another member of an order (her order??) that was supposed to be wiped out! this is proof of concept maybe, that shin isn't so alone! and on the other hand – this is a test, no? like, the first real test of shin's full abilities, assuming she's never dueled before? again, i wish we knew more about her motivations, but it stands to reason a padawan that powerful and devoted would constantly be looking for ways to both prove and improve herself, right?

and then. sabine. sucks.

she's sloppy and weak and doesn't use the force. she's untrained and undisciplined and slow and gets tired too quickly.

shin starts blocking with one hand. she starts sidestepping sabine's wild swings. there's no way she's is trying to kill her at this point; shin is playing with her food.

i just...think she's disappointed?? like, she was probably expecting so much more from a proper jedi's apprentice, and i think we'd need more information about her to extrapolate what exactly she wants in this scene, but i'd be willing to bet it wasn't this sub-par, former-apprentice bitch-ass fight. (love to sabine but like. she did get her clock cleaned. obviously.)

regardless, i am excited to see how this experience influences the forestfight™ we know is on the way...and also if sabine, like, feels...anything....about being skewered like a county fair corn dog?? i mean trauma or anger or fear or drive or?? bc we know shin wasn't actually trying to kill her, (this is my official stance and im sticking to it) but sabine sure doesn't!!

#shin hati #meta #sabine wren #ahsoka show spoilers #ahsoka spoilers #wolfwren #ahsoka show

[uniquepeanutcreatorfire]

Hazbin Hotel vs. The Purge

Today, I'm going to examine and analyze HH's annual extermination by comparing it to another fictional event that I feel is similar in terms of ethical dilemma or morality, the annual purge in The Purge movie franchise. For those who haven't seen the movies, the purge is a 12-hour annual event where all crimes are legal.

Let's start with the purge and what's known about it:

Cause(s): Multiple wars led to an economic collapse and rising social unrest.

Rules: Here's a screenshot-

Outcome(s):  As a result, crime and unemployment rates plummeted to 1% and there's a strong economy. It's seen as a way for people to release their violent tendencies and aggression.

Implication(s): Lower, working classes are specifically targeted as they don't have the protection that upper classes can afford during the purges.

Sounds simple enough (there's more to it, if you don't want to watch all the movies, here's a link to the trilogy explained).

Now moving on to the annual extermination in HH.

Cause(s): This is confusing. The pilot initially presented that the exterminations were due to overpopulation in Hell. However, the actual show doesn't show any hints that the population is rapidly increasing, or overpopulation is causing any issues in Hell. The first episode stated that Heaven started exterminations to ensure sinners never rise against them. I don't see how that's possible since there aren't accessible ways to Heaven from Hell. Lucifer, a former angel, had to get permission from Heaven to get a temporary portal for Charlie so how do you think sinners are going to get up there to be a threat in the first place? Also, I wanted to point out that Charlie's plan to send sinners to Heaven only makes sense if overpopulation was actually a problem. Since there isn't anywhere else to place sinners other than the Pride ring. However, the narrative suggest otherwise.

Rules: It's not clear what the rules are for annual exterminations other than the exorcists can't kill the royal family or hellborns. Is it on a set date and time? Do exorcists go inside buildings? We see that the exterminations take place outside. This begs the question why don't sinners just hide and barricade themselves to avoid getting killed? There could be news broadcast reminding sinners of an upcoming extermination so they can be prepared.

Outcome(s): It's not clear how the exterminations affect Hell's society since the show never gives a glimpse of that. If overpopulation is an issue, it doesn't seem to help at all. Sinners don't seem to care and go on about their business. Let's not explore those who may have lost friends or loved ones. There are also the overlords who lose souls.... poor them, I guess. We can't forget the most important thing...... it's makes Charlie sad.

Implication(s): Heaven apparently never thought this would build hatred towards them, very smart. This is why Adam ended up dead. I want to bring up Lilith being the one who empowered sinners. Since she's been removed from the equation for seven years, what's the point in Heaven doing exterminations anymore? The only message I get from it is "genocide bad". But why is genocide bad in the context of the Hellaverse? There have been killings in HB/HH that are considered no big deals (including humans the imps kill on Earth that contribute to HH's problem further). There's also the black market for angelic weapons that's never brought up. I'm just not invested in the sinners as a whole to care.

Conclusion: The extermination is an interesting concept that can be explore in many aspects like The Purge. It's just not much thought went into it which makes it less compelling.

#vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism #helluva boss critical #spindlehorse critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #spindlehorse criticism #hazbin hotel critical #hazbin hotel criticism #hazbin hotel critique #Youtube

[starrbitez]

Is it a coincidence that both Rick AND Beth abandoned morty for summer? Like father like daughter? And isn’t it interesting that in this universe she doesn’t regret not aborting summer? They way rick hugs summer back in the gotron episode. But he never hugs morty back until fear no mort, but even that has hesitation. He said summer reminds him of Diane. Does Beth think that too? would rick abandon morty for Diane if given the chance— morty clear thinks so from his pov in the hole, but the question is, would Beth give up morty and summer to see her mother? I really want to dissect why everyone in the family dislikes morty.

Jerry calls morty stupid multiple times, and always yells at him for not trying hard enough. I see this as projection, personally. Jerry projects his own insecurities onto his son because he cant be the Only one like this. Morty even says he’s just like his dad, when someone asks “is everyone in your family an idiot?” And morty says “well for sure me and my dad are” in the Pluto episode.

Rick dislikes morty early on because he is supposed to. He knows thats how Ricks are supposed to treat morty, but we clearly see that rick cares the most, especially in Close Encounters of the Rick Kind, where he cries watching memories of morty. Evil rick says that no rick cares about their morty, and from then on we see rick continuously overcompensate with insults towards morty. However, we see that rick truly cares in multiple episodes, to name a few; Meseeks and Destroy, Get Schwifty, Look who’s Purging Now, Rest and Ricklaxation. These are all episodes prior to season five, where rick realizes he is a bad partner and leaves. Something interesting is that in GoTron, Rick only abandons Morty when his ideas are not being backed, and are instead being backed by summer, who he says reminds him of Diane (in fear no mort). It’s interesting because we can assume that rick is looking for comfort and acceptance from Diane, and the closest person he can get it from is Summer. He also values summer in this episode because she has never really stood up to Rick on adventures, something Rick dislikes about Morty.

It’s also interesting to add to the mix that his Morty is Morty Prime, the grandson of the man who killed his family. Rick had no problem leaving the rest of the Prime dimension behind, but on some level i think he knew that he needed Morty Prime (before he had even really gotten attached). Rick values the one thing he has against Prime, but he knows that Prime is in Morty’s blood, and I think every time Morty stands up to Rick he sees a small flash of Prime in the kid’s personality, and it scares him to death. It’s a juxtaposition between one grandchild representing his dead wife, and the other representing his mortal enemy.

Finally, I want to talk about why Beth seems to dislike Morty so much, only really showing she cares when he’s in distress—and when she’s right. Beth obviously seeks Rick’s approval, and because of that she has a lot of the same traits. Again, Morty stands up to her, (i forget what the episode is called) but when Summer is turned giant, Morty tells Beth that she is just as arrogant and reckless as Rick, and that being like him isn’t going to make him like her more. Beth wants attention more than anything, and when she and Jerry are going through the divorce in season two, Summer immediately chooses her mother, refusing to talk to Jerry at all. Morty, however, talks to both of his parents. Beth values loyalty and trust over everything, and her abandonment issues are obvious when she appreciates people who stay more. In the Prime dimension, Beth Prime tells Jerry, “a real man stands by his woman,” and in the post credits scene they have this exchange:

Jerry: do you ever wonder what happened to rick and morty?

Beth: sometimes, but i hate to admit that now that they’re gone, im finally happy.

Beth knows that Rick would always abandon her, and on some level i think she believes that morty is betraying her by putting trust in rick, among her disappointment in a lot of Mortys actions in school and socially. This episode really shows that she values Jerry and Summer above Rick and Morty, because Jerry and Summer would always stay.

Beth and Summer both know that Beth had almost aborted Summer, and Beth wants to prove that she’s not like her father; that she wont suddenly abandon or betray her daughter. Choosing Summer over Morty in Morty’s Mind Blowers is Beth’s way of showing her devotion and loyalty to her daughter, saying that she wouldn’t leave. She’s better than Rick. Again, in the GoTron episode, Beth is willing to leave morty behind because she trusts Jerry, summer, and Rick more, because she knows they could leave, and she needs them to stay with her, because they have shown that they’ll stay with her. the only time Beth truly comforts and shows affection to Morty is in the Planetina episode, where she consoles him after the break up. In some way, this reminds me of something Rick would do, and has done. She and Rick had both at one point manipulated a loved ones relationship for their own benefit, or simply to hurt someone else. Rick sabotaged Beth and Jerry’s marriage multiple times, and Beth (even though she was right bc planetina was lowkey weird as hell) sabotaged Morty’s relationship—actually his happiness, and the first time he had felt valued—because she needed to feel valued more, the same way rick wanted to be valued over Jerry.

Idk if this makes sense im just kind of spitballing here but . I think everyone in the family has a distinct reason for disliking and excluding morty, and while they have their moments, i don’t really think they matter compared to the sheer amount of disrespect morty gets. I didn’t put summer here because they both have their own problems, and for the most part they value each other the same amount because they both want to break the cycle their family is stuck in.

If u read all of this thank u :) lmk what u think

#rick and morty #morty smith #rick n morty #morty #rnm #rick sanchez

[gffa]

As I continue my rewatch my frustration with the timeline of The Mandalorian is not eased by having two seasons under our belts or more information on the Children of the Watch because there’s a very central question that haunts me:  Why does everyone act like Mandalorians not removing their helmets is the default and never mention any other way? To establish a timeline, centering the first season of The Mandalorian as year zero: - 28-31 years ago, the Clone Wars take place, which is likely when Din’s parents were killed and he was adopted by Death Watch - 11 years ago, the events Rebels takes place, in which Sabine gives the dark saber to Bo-Katan, who unites the Houses to rebel against the Empire - 9 years ago, the events of A New Hope take place - ?? years ago the Great Purge, the Night of a Thousand Tears happens, where the Empire wipes out the Mandalorians (this is likely somewhere around 10 years ago, but could be anywhere in this timeline) - 5 years ago, the Empire fell in the events of Return of the Jedi In the first episode, Mythrol asks if it’s true you guys never take off your helmets.   In episode 2, Kuill says he’s never met a Mandalorian, he’s only heard stories about them (and their battle skill is implied).  In episode 3, Paz Vizsla says that the beskar was from the Great Purge, the reason they live like sand rats now.  In episode 4, Cara asks what happens if Din takes off his helmet, despite that he never told her that about himself, but she has no mention of any other type of Mandalorian. The thing is:  The Mandalorians we know from The Clone Wars and Rebels were running around the galaxy eleven ago at minimum (likely less even!).  And the Empire has been gone for five of those years.  Which means, even if the Empire would have suppressed knowledge of the Mandalorians (and there’s no suggestion that they did, nor an obvious reason to), it wasn’t just within living memory, it was only a five or six year period where they would have had time to do so. So, within those eleven years, did the galaxy forget that any other kind of Mandalorian exists?  The Children of the Watch were wiped out in the same Great Purge, so it’s not like they sprung up in place of other types of Mandalorians, and they’ve lived in hiding ever since.  But are apparently common enough that people know they don’t take their helmets off, ever? I can believe that, despite that Din is fairly aware of the state of the galaxy (he knows the New Republic is a joke when Greef suggests reporting the Imperial remnants to them), he’s extremely unaware in other ways.  I can believe that even when the Mandalorians were running around the galaxy eleven years ago and he would have been in his 20s at earliest, more likely in his 30s, that the Watch was all he knew, he’s not a chatty guy, and somehow he avoided running into any other Mandalorians during the years of the Empire before Bo-Katan united the Houses. What I’m forever ??? about is how do people around Din seem to accept his religious rules as the default on Mandalorians?  Are we just supposed to think that everyone else knows most Mandalorians weren’t like that but don’t say anything because they know Din does follow those rules?  Are we supposed to think that they were killed off and eleven years is long enough that nobody remembers anything but the Children of the Watch version of Mandalorians, despite that all of them would have been plenty old enough to remember? My frustration is that people seem extremely aware that Mandalorians exist and understand that they don’t take their helmets off, they’ve “heard the stories” or they know tidbits about them.  I get that the Empire suppressed and changed knowledge of the Jedi, they had ~20 years of propaganda and Palpatine made a hardcore point of it because he didn’t want anyone else to have access to the Force.  And if all knowledge about Mandalorians had been wiped, okay, sure, maybe there was a reason. But people are aware Mandalorians exist!  They’ve heard the stories!  They know details about Din’s version of Mandalorians!  How do they know that, but nobody seems to be aware that Din’s not the default?  Or are they just extremely aware of the difference between the Houses of Mandalore and the Children of the Watch and so they know Din’s different, but they’re not interested in asking about other Mandalorians, only Children of the Watch? I just don’t really see how the galaxy goes from what we knew during the Clone Wars and Rebels to the state of the galaxy re: Mandalorians in The Mandalorian.  If nobody mentioned it and Din was unaware, sure, but multiple people around him seem like Din’s version is default and, like, JON, DAVE, I WATCHED REBELS, I KNOW THE STATE OF THE GALAXY, COME ON.

#din djarin #mandalorians #the mandalorian #meta

[thesoftboiledegg]

Well, that was one hell of an episode.

I'll start with what we're all thinking: it's disappointing that the sweet moments that Rick and Morty shared in "A Rick in King Mortur's Mort" weren't real. "Little junebug" and the hug in particular were so loving. Admittedly, Rick seemed out of character, but I loved seeing his grandfatherly side.

However, I don't think it's entirely a bad thing. "Rick" changed way too quickly, and Morty forgave him too quickly. It let Rick off the hook when Morty deserves to tell Rick how much he hurt him. Rick needs to face what he's done, not make up with a quick hug and nice words.

And I mean--Rick could have programmed that robot to be cruel. He could've programmed him to mentally beat the family down so they wouldn't bother the real Rick. Or he could've programmed to be the same as he is. Why not? But he programmed that robot to be gentle and loving: the grandfather that Morty deserves. The one that Rick would've been in another lifetime.

I love how the robot also pointed out that anything that he did, Rick technically did himself. Rick programmed the robot to act that way.

"Rick and Morty is about how nothing matters!" Bullshit. The robot wasn't just a replacement Rick. Yes, Rick built him because he was being a petty asshole, but he could've made that robot an abusive piece of shit to be an even pettier asshole. Instead, the robot showed us Rick at his best.

I was glad that the episode clarified that Rick made the robot at the beginning of the previous episode so that we didn't have to wonder how long we'd been watching a Rick stand-in.

Rick still did everything else this season. He willingly went to therapy, spent time with his family, helped Jerry when he didn't need to (and side-eyed the family for making fun of him), told Morty that he loves him, threw himself on top of Morty to protect him, showed him physical gentleness, told him that his life matters, tried to be a better father to his daughters, and abandoned his revenge quest in "Solaricks" when Morty called him "Grandpa." He's still changing.

And this is the same man that's making himself crazy as he tries to hunt down Prime Rick. He abandoned that for a moment for the Smiths.

Even in this episode, Rick was tame compared to his past behavior. He's still crabby and somewhat distant, but he's far from the monster that he was in "The Rickchurian Mortydate" (and again, another brilliant callback to season three.)

Still, my heart breaks for Morty. All he wants is for Rick to love him. Rick does love him, but not in the way that he needs. His parents aren't exactly great, either--the Smiths might do more together as a family, but wake me up when Morty has another episode with Beth or Jerry. We've got, what, one of each? And his episode with Jerry was all the way back in season one.

Morty's repressed rage isn't going anywhere, either. I was shocked when he tried to kill the president. He's been racking up a body count since "Look Who's Purging Now" in season two, and I wonder how much worse he's going to get.

Not that I blame him after all the trauma he's experienced. The world had written him off as a nobody long before Rick showed up. Once, he was lonely and neglected. Now, Rick gives him plenty of attention and even affection, but he's also been selfish, abusive and just batshit crazy at times. When is it going to end?

I'm glad that this episode revived the tension between Rick and Morty--it's not a good thing, but it shows that Rick hasn't magically become a saint. It also shows that Morty's continuing to stand up for himself. And let's face it: we've got four more seasons to go. Their issues can't end here.

Maybe they'll split up for good. Maybe Morty will try to kill him. Maybe Morty will snap and carve a path of destruction throughout the galaxy. Maybe Morty's love will save him.

On a lighter note, I LOVED it when Rick said that the president and his inventions would give him "neurotypical cooties." I thought the writers had forgotten that Rick is autistic before season six. Nope, they haven't--and the series is blatant about representation.

No "Haha we code Rick as autistic! We won't state that in the show though lol!" No accidental portrayal, like Sheldon Cooper, that's offensive to the autistic community. Rick is autistic, and the show's going to rub your face in it. Cry about it, dudebros who say that Rick is neurotypical (and yes, they say that. I've seen it!)

The cliffhanger also made me ecstatic. It's everything that I wanted from a cliffhanger. Season five had a decent one, but it wasn't about Rick's character or backstory. It was just the usual "Damn, how are they going to get out of this?"

I can't wait to see Rick chase Prime in season seven. I'm also hoping that the show will become more serialized as it goes on. I've been saying for a while that making it increasingly successive and going full serialization in season ten would be gutsy and thrilling to watch.

Overall, this was a great season that seems to be building up to something even greater. The new writers clearly love and respect the show. They brought up concepts that I thought the show would never touch again, like Morty liking science (has that ever come up before? He has a bunch of science stuff in his room, but the show didn't touch on it.) All the callbacks were great and never seemed like nostalgia bait. They were loving tributes to the series.

And the new writers seem to like us, lol. They were clearly trying to please our "side" of the fandom.

Rick paused his revenge quest for his family, but he didn't end it. He'll do almost anything to kill Prime. Anything to eliminate the suffering that he can't drown with abuse and alcohol. Anything to make the pain go away for the last time.

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #ricktional mortpoon's rickmas mortcation #review #rick and morty season 6 #rick and morty season six

[petertingle-yipyip]

SIN MIEDO - BUCKY BARNES

episode five - truth

tags: n/a // four // SM masterlist // what, it’s back? yeah, i’ve been thinking about it alot so i figured it’s time to come finish it

Pairing: stark!reader x bucky

Word Count: 7,209

Summary: After a near death battle with John Walker, Y/N decides to take a step back. But the desire to live up to her father’s legacy both weighs her down and purges her forward.

“We have to take her to a hospital.” Sam insisted.

“I know.” Barnes agreed, his hold on you tightening just to ensure you wouldn’t slip.

“What was she thinking?” Sam said worriedly. He couldn’t understand why you would take on John by yourself. He knew you were a smart fighter, skilled and powerful. But John had lost it. He took the serum and was off his rocker seeing Lemar killed.

“She wasn’t.” Barnes said simply. Barnes’ brain was running a million miles an hour. He wondered why you would be so stupid, but he also understood you weren’t one to play it safe. “We need to take care of her first, then we find Walker.”

“God, you’re unbelievable.” Sam scoffed. “How can you still be worried about that?”

“We need to get that shield. You saw what he’s capable of.”

“She needs to be the top priority!”

Without you knowing, or at least assuming you didn’t know, you’d been his priority the whole time.

“I don’t care about the shield right now!”

“You think she’d want to forget about the shield?” Barnes countered, watching his volume as if you were simply asleep in his arms. “That's what got her like this. Because she wanted to take that shield from him. We can’t let this go.”

“Is that what you think is right or is it because you have a crush on her?” Sam challenged.

You stirred in Barnes’ grip, slowly coming back. You felt the cool stream of water still working to heal you, the damp feeling of your suit’s material paired with the wet spot in your hair at the back of your head. You felt the cold vibranium arm under your knees, the warmth of Barnes’ chest against your cheek. Your eyes slowly opened to a completely different part of the city than you remember.

“Put me down.” You said hoarsely, pulling your hand and the water out of your suit and zipping it back up. You rubbed your eyes and the bridge of your nose to quickly heal that swelling and tenderness before flicking away the excess water from your hand and pulling the absorbed water out of your suit’s fabric.

You weren’t fully healed, but it was good enough. Your chest didn’t ache with every breath and your spine didn’t sting with every movement. You felt considerably stronger than before with clearer vision and the absence of pounding in your head.

The only thing in your head now were your dad’s words. You didn’t know if it was a dream or if you had really crossed the threshold between living and the dead. You didn’t care. All you knew was that he was right. You weren’t done yet.

“No.” Barnes answered. You turned and saw he wasn’t looking at you. Instead, he kept his eyes focused ahead. “You need a hospital.”

“I’m fine.” You struggled in his grip. “Put me down, Barnes.”

“No.”

“Fine.” You replied simply. Using your arms for momentum, you flipped backwards out of Barnes’ arms and landed wobbly on your feet. After quickly regaining your balance, you stood tall. “Where’s Walker?”

“Y/N..” Sam tried gently. “You took a hell of a beating, alright? Just take it easy and we’ll find him later. We’ll get the shield back.”

“You guys don’t get it…I have to do everything myself.” You muttered, turning your hand to see the inside of your wrist. You tapped the screen connected to FRIDAY and had her take the tracking information from Sam’s suit. “Thanks for the tracker.” You saluted Sam before quickly making an air ball and riding it to find Walker.

You had to stop him. You had to get the shield back. If not for Sam, then for your grandfather. He made that shield for Steve, and it should be with the man Steve gave it to. It was Steve’s legacy but it was also Howard’s favorite accomplishment. You couldn’t let it stay in the wrong hands and continue to cause people pain. To take lives. 

You heard the footfalls of the boys behind you, but you weren’t stopping. You figured they knew that. All they could do now was follow and fight beside you. All they could do was help you so you didn’t die. You had a feeling that if you went down this time, you weren’t getting back up.

You all found Walker off some old train tracks. He was distraught, likely over losing Lemar. You didn’t blame him for flying off the handle, but you couldn’t excuse taking a man’s life. A man who wasn’t responsible. And to do it so publicly made you sick.

“Are you insane?” Barnes asked you quietly as the three of you approached Walker.

“I’ve been called worse.” You shrugged.

“Walker.” Sam began, as if in warning.

“You guys should see a medic. You don’t look so good.” Walker replied. “And I’m surprised you’re still standing.” He nodded to you.

“I’ll admit, you got a mean swing… If you wanted me to stay down, you should’ve put me down.” You said simply, weaving a flame between your fingers on either hand. You felt the wind dancing around your ankles at the same time, maybe even small tremors in the ground. “This ends now.”

“You saw what happened.” He defended loudly. “You know what I had to do! I killed him because he killed Lemar!”

“He didn’t kill Lemar, John.” Barnes countered.

“Regardless, we don’t trade lives.” You added tensely. Every word between you four wound your muscles tighter. The flames at your hands grew hotter. The air at your feet moved in faster, tighter circles. 

“You go down that road, it won’t end well.” Barnes continued. 

“I’m not like you.” Walker countered angrily. There was an accusation in his tone, that that's who Barnes still was. He insinuated that he was better than Barnes, but that just showed he didn’t really know who Barnes was outside of his Winter Soldier stories.

You instantly turned your attention to Barnes. His eyes were down, as if he was processing what Walker had said. He looked like someone kicked his puppy and you didn’t know why that expression hurt you as well.

Without really thinking, your hand had reached for his, flame extinguished. You gave his hand a gentle squeeze, as if to say that everything was okay. He looked up at you and offered a tight smile before gently squeezing your hand in return. You didn’t know it but that gesture meant a lot in that moment. You hoped your eyes conveyed the sincerity you intended.

“It was the heat of battle, alright?” Sam tried reasoning with him. But the look in his eyes, the way he eyed you all like you were dinner, showed you he was well past reasoning with. You slowly pulled your hand back and the flame danced through your digits again. “If you explain what happened, maybe they’ll consider your record. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt…”

“You have to give us the shield.” You tried calmly. Even though every muscle in your body was wound tight and every nerve was alive with adrenaline, you followed Sam’s lead. You tried to talk to him, same way you tried with Karli. 

“So that’s what this is?” He answered darkly. “You almost had me..”

“You made a mistake. A very public one.” You said simply.

“You don’t want to do this.” He threatened.

“Yeah, we do.” Barnes answered with a nod. He glanced at you, who met his eyes and added a quick nod in return.

Barnes moved in first and Sam was quick to follow. You hesitated just a moment, letting Sam and Barnes make the first move. You had to be smarter and more calculated than the last time, otherwise you’d likely be returning to the States in a body bag. At the first opening you got, you stomped to raise a slab of rock and you kicked it at Walker.i

Walker kicked Sam away and tried to take on Barnes. You quickly took Sam’s place and created a fire blade in your hand. While Barnes had Walker by the shield, you slashed the flame across his back, burning through his suit and his flesh. You choked on the smell momentarily before dropping the flame and creating a rock gauntlet. You slammed your stone covered fist into the burning wound and forced him to the ground.

Walker elbowed you in the jaw and spun to land a solid right hook on Barnes. The contact sent both of you reeling back and gave Walker time to capitalize. He moved to swipe the shield in a direction that could take you both but Sam came through just in time.

The two went hand to hand while Barnes came around to get you. You could feel the bruise forming already as you moved your mouth around, trying to break up the pain.

“Come on.” He said when he got to your side, hauling you to your feet. “Fight’s not over yet.”

“After you, Sarge.” You gestured for him to go.

“Ladies first.” He shrugged.

You chuckled slightly before moving back into the fight. You moved quickly, throwing flame after flame at him. He ducked behind the shield and Barnes came from behind you. Walker countered most of your attacks but you saw a perfect opening. He pulled back to slam the shield against Sam so you yanked up a rock column to connect with his chin. The impact sent him wobbling back and gave Barnes a chance to apply more pressure. After ducking a heavy blow from Barnes, he threw the shield and sent Barnes flying across the room.

Walker was running after the shield as soon as it left his hand, you and Sam moving in right behind him. Walker had Barnes pinned against an old crate, the two fighting for the disk.

“Why are you making me do this?” Walker screamed, a desperate rage in his voice. He launched Barnes again once the sentence left his mouth.

“Bucky.” You muttered when you realized he didn’t get up right away. While Sam took on Walker again, you ran to Barnes’ side.

“You gotta get up.” You told him, kneeling at his side. You watched the electricity crackling around his arm. He winced as he tried to lift his Vibranium arm. “Here, let me just...” You said gently, focusing on redirecting the extra voltage away from his arm.

What you didn’t see was the way Barnes was looking at you. He watched the intent focus your eyes held, the precise movements of your hands, the careful direction of your fingers. The lightning travelled the path of your arms like a road, seeming soaking into your spine and exiting out the other hand. He was in awe.

He was partly surprised you had focused on helping him. You didn’t have to. It would’ve gone away within a minute, but you took the time to help him. He realized that you actually were his friend. And more than that, he liked that you stopped to help him.

The electricity crackled up one arm and to your spine. You turned and focused on Walker, carefully handling the power in your body. Electricity was a tricky thing. One slip of control and you could hurt yourself. You learned that the hard way. You shot it at Walker, your aim slightly off so you hit right near his feet, and caught him just before he tried to land a devastating blow on Sam.

“Come on, James.” You sighed as you pulled him off the ground to sit up. He groaned and leaned against a nearby pillar. You realized you used his first name and you tensed slightly. It felt too intimate to use in those moments.

“We gotta finish this.” Barnes muttered, to which you could only nod. You relaxed slightly when it didn’t seem like he noticed. But he did. 

“Did you have a plan or should we just try and tire him out?” You tried to joke.

“You want to be the bait?” He offered and you couldn’t fully tell if he was joking or not.

“Make him go after me?” You asked with raised brows. “Promise you won’t let him kill me.”

“Cross my heart.” He nodded.

“Worth a shot.” You shrugged, jumping back into the fight.

Walker had just yanked Sam out of the air and lost hold of the shield. You threw a blast of air to push the shield further for everyone and slammed a fist to the ground. You used the rock to snag Walker’s ankles and cause him to fall on his face. By the time you caught up to him, he was top of Sam and was ripping his wings apart.

You called a flame to cover the entirety of both hands and ran. You tackled Walker off Sam, your hands moving to his neck as you two rolled and you tried to bury your fingers into the soft tissue. The smell of burnt flesh invaded your lungs and you felt the smoke burning your eyes.

He screamed out from the burns and once your momentum stopped, he had you pinned with a knee on your chest. You coughed from the burnt smell and the increasing pressure. He pulled your hands away easily and squeezed. You cried out as you heard the bone break in your left arm. 

“We could’ve been a team.” He sneered ferally.

“I don’t play nice with others.” You commented, trying to buy yourself and Barnes some time. Turning your head to come up with something, you realized you had landed right next to the shield. But so did Walker.

“I am Captain. America.” He practically snarled.

“Yeah?” You asked as an idea came to mind. “You look like a cheap knock off to me.”

He quickly reached for the shield and raised it above his head. As he screamed, you lifted your right hand and flicked a quick bolt of lightning at his chest. He winced inwardly but didn’t budge. In a last ditch effort, you did your best to take control of his blood.

With one hand and the pressure on your sternum, it was impossible to gain complete control. He was fighting you the whole time, pushing the shield with all his strength. You knew once your control slipped, that disk was headed straight for your chest. You groaned as you tried adding your other hand, but the pain was too much. You stomped a foot instead, sending deep vibrations through the concrete foundation. Walker faltered but wouldn’t move.

You thought that was it. Your time was truly up this time. But maybe that would be enough to get that shield back to Sam, back to the man it was supposed to be with. You were about to accept your fate and let him kill you when Barnes made good on his promise. He tackled Walker off of you and handled the fight himself.

You turned on your side and coughed violently, trying to open your airways enough to breathe properly. They traded blows for a minute until Walker managed the upper hand. Sam moved in for the rescue, so he and Barnes were able to get control of the situation. Him and Barnes were turning Walker’s arm outward and you saw an opening.

You pushed yourself to stand and slammed your foot to break loose a piece of the concrete floor. You kicked it forward and heard the sickly pop of his bone dislocating. The pop turned Sam’s pressure into action and he went flying in a separate direction. You almost felt bad for dislocating his arm in such a violent manner, but the shooting pain in your own arm quickly erased that thought. 

“It’s mine.” Walker growled as Sam stood with the shield in his hands and Barnes came to stand with you.

“It’s over, Walker.” You answered through heavy breaths, clutching your arm to your chest.

“It’s mine!” He repeated, pulling back to swing on you.

You ducked his arm and the punch was blocked by Barnes. He landed a hard shot against Walker’s jaw and you swiped your leg to knock him over. Barnes lifted Walker and swung him like a baseball bat into Sam, who was moving in hard with the shield. The impact sent the three of them in different directions, the shield landing between them all.

You quickly moved to grab it while the boys groaned and tried to get up. You held the shield in your hands, staring at the dried blood on it. The sight disgusted you. You moved and shoved it into Sam’s chest once he stood.

“You give this away again, I’m keeping it.” You said plainly before pushing off and walking away with Barnes.

“You’re going to the hospital.” Barnes said simply once you caught up with him.

“I can fix myself.” You defended, picking up a stream of water from a nearby puddle and focused on the returning pain in your chest.

“It wasn’t a request.”

“You can’t order me around.”

“I’m pulling rank. I’m a Sergeant, you’re not.”

“Alright, you got me there.” You answered, too tired to really argue with him. “Can we get something to eat first?”

The next day, you three waited in the same room you had talked to Karli in. You did basic healing on your arm so the hospital left it in a sling rather than a hard cast. They said they may have to put pins in your sternum if it didn’t right itself, but that would take a bit of time before they knew.

Sam caught you up on the Karli situation and his buddy, who you learned to be called Torres, came in. You followed Barnes out after he ignored Sam asking about Zemo.

Later or maybe even the next day - things had really blurred together - you and Barnes found Zemo at the Sokovia memorial, exactly where you expected to.

“Thought you’d come sooner.” Zemo said when you two approached.

“Had something else to take care of first.” You shrugged.

“And don’t worry. I’ve decided I’m not going to kill you.”

“You’d never get the chance.” You said easily as Barnes said “Imagine my relief.”

“The girl… She’s radicalized beyond salvation.” He began as if he was just waiting for a chance to give his speech. “I warned Sam, but he didn’t listen to me. As stubborn as Steve Rogers before him. But you- Both of you, can do what needs to be done. Karli has people everywhere and there’s only one way to ensure she cannot carry out her mission.”

“I appreciate the advice.” Barnes answered flatly. “But we’re gonna do it our own way.”

“I was afraid you would say that.” Zemo chuckled.

You stood beside Barnes as he lifted the gun to Zemo. You watched what seemed like relief come across Zemo’s features. You weren’t necessarily surprised to see that expression, given that he had lost everyone. He was willing to take his own life in Siberia all those years ago, so of course he wasn’t afraid to die now. But part of it may have been relief to see Barnes being the one to hold the gun. Part of him likely wanted Barnes to be the killer HYDRA made him.

When Barnes pulled the trigger and the gun was empty, Zemo’s relief shifted to disappointment. You opened your palm and moved the bullets in a circle above your hand. You held your hand up with a small smirk as Zemo stared at the bullets in disbelief. You smiled as the Dora approached.

You let the bullets fall to the ground and tucked your hands behind your back, rocking on your heels. “Told you I’d deliver him myself.” You nodded in greeting.

“I took the liberty of crossing off my name in your book.” Zemo added. “I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do.. Goodbye, James. Goodbye, Y/N.”

Ayo talked to Barnes for a minute while you looked at the memorial again. So many lives lost.. It still blew your mind how quickly that situation had gotten out of control.

You left before Barnes did. He was still talking to Ayo when you slipped away. Part of you knew you should’ve stayed and explained where you were going. But the bigger part of you just wanted to go. You headed to the airport where the Stark jet was waiting for you.

First, you went to your shared apartment. You quickly packed all your things and left no trace of yourself in the apartment. You thought about leaving a note, something simple that said ‘Heading back to my family. Thanks for the place to crash.’ but even that didn’t feel right. You decided it was best to say nothing so left about two months worth of rent in cash and walked out. You hailed a cab and headed to the lake house.

You spent the last couple days getting to know your half-sister, and she was such a sweet kid. You saw a lot of resemblance to your dad so the first day with her was rough. But you gave her a chance and you were glad you did.

The two of you spent most of the time near the lake. You showed her different tricks you could do with the water. You used the air to blow her hair around and make the leaves fly. You made little Avenger figures from the rocks below. You used your powers for parlor tricks instead of fighting, and the calm felt nice.

When you got the call from Sam, you ignored it. You assumed it was a lead on Karli and at the moment, you wanted nothing to do with it. You did your part and got the shield away from Walker. You couldn’t save that Flag Smasher but you saved Sam and Barnes. You put Zemo back in prison. All your boxes were checked. You could rest… So why didn’t you feel at peace?

It was another couple days before you were contacted by Sam and Barnes again.

You were with Morgan at the shoreline when the car pulled up. You assumed it was someone for Pepper, probably Happy. You were making a crown from the water for Morgan, freezing it above her head before placing it in its place. You spun the air around you two for dramatic effect.

“I now crown thee, Princess Morgan!” You announced theatrically, pushing a wave across the lake that made her giggle. “Sovereign ruler of this great body of water! What is your first decree, your Highness?” You bowed dramatically.

“Trespassers!” She announced, pointing behind you. “Defend our shores!”

“I shall give my life to serve!” You laughed before turning to see who was coming. You saw Sam and Barnes stepping out of the car and you froze momentarily. “Alas, fair Princess, it’s only visitors from another kingdom.”

“Trespassers!” She yelled again with a wide smile. “Get them!”

“I live to serve thee.” You chuckled and shook your head before heading to the boys.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding?” Barnes asked simply.

“Better than fighting.” You shrugged. “Besides, I never rescheduled my apartment walkthroughs… You guys could’ve just called, yknow.”

“It’s not really the kind of thing you say over the phone.” Sam reasoned. “And last time I called, you didn’t answer.”

“Yeah, cause I thought you were gonna ask what I’m guessing you’re gonna ask me now.” You sighed and turned to check on Morgan. She was playing with the rock Avengers you made her, creating a fight scene of her own. You watched as she held the figure of yourself in one hand and threw a rock at one of the other Avengers. 

“I’ll set the table for two more.. You don’t talk shop in front of the kid, you can stay for lunch.” You sighed, walking backwards and motioning for them to follow. “Pepper usually makes too much food anyways.”

“Morgan!” You called, heading towards the house with the boys following behind. “Chow time! Come get some lunch!” You waited at the porch for her to catch up. 

“What is it?” She asked when she met up with you. “Who are these guys?” She whispered.

“Just some friends..” You dismissed her concerns with a smile as you took her hand while she jumped up the stairs. “Let’s go wash up.”

“Everyone washes their hands before we eat.” You said over your shoulder. “Morgan will show you to the bathroom.” She shot you an accusing look. “I’ll wash my hands in the kitchen so I can reset the table.” You put your hands up in surrender before heading to the kitchen.

“You invited people over?” Pepper asked as you pulled two more plates from the cabinet.

“More like they invited themselves..” You shrugged. “I figured there’d be enough anyway.”

“What do they want?” She eyed you carefully.

“Hopefully just to check in.”

“I didn’t know you were friends with those two.” Her tone betrayed something of disapproval.

“With all the family I’ve lost, I could use a few friends.” You answered sharply. “Oh, and I told them not to talk about anything in front of her so lunch should be pleasant. You’re welcome.”

“Y/N!” Morgan came running into the kitchen while laughing. “You are relieved of your knighthood.”

“I- Huh?” You laughed in disbelief while you pulled her chair out for her and your own chair from beside her. Pepper hid her giggle while bringing the food from the kitchen. “And who will take my place? Who can defend this great land better than me? The prodigy of Earth’s greatest defender, himself?”

“Him!” She pointed to Barnes -who offered a look of confusion- as he and Sam sat on the opposite side of the table. She grabbed your arm and pulled you close so she could whisper her next sentence. “He has a metal arm!” Her jaw dropped to mimic her earlier shock.

“Unfortunately, he won’t be staying long enough to protect your waters.” You said, feigning disappointment. “Sadly, Sir James is only visiting… Besides, I’m stronger than him anyway.”

You felt Barnes’ eyes on you but you ignored them. You didn’t call him James often. Really, that only came to mind as the third time. In Madripoor, taking the shield from Walker, and now. You weren’t sure why you said it but it felt better than calling him ‘Barnes’ when talking to Morgan. But maybe ‘Bucky’ would’ve been better.

“It’s true. I’ve seen it.” Sam added with a chuckle. Barnes simply rolled his eyes with an amused smile. You were relieved that he stepped in and dissipated the tension.

Lunch was surprisingly pleasant. The boys talked to Pepper about how the company was doing and the plans - if any - for rebuilding the Avengers compound. She asked about Zemo and if they knew anything about his escape. You all made jokes and told stories, which made the reunion rather fun.

Once the table was cleared, you took the boys outside while Pepper kept Morgan in the kitchen. You all stood around by the lake. You skipped rocks while Sam and Barnes started their proposition.

“We’re pretty sure Karli is going to attack the GRC vote.” Sam explained.

“Pretty sure isn’t enough to be here, Wilson.” You shook your head. “You’ll need to do something better than that.”

“There’s no guarantee but I bet we’re right.”

“Right… You really think she’s going to be able to travel to New York without someone snatching her up first?” You scoffed. “That move would make sense, I guess. If you can’t change the vote, you stop the vote. Probably kill the Council as a whole and get someone else in there.”

“So you’re in?”

“Am I in?” You laughed. “I did my due diligence. Walker doesn’t have the shield and Zemo is locked up. My hands are clean.”

“So you’re comfortable with quitting on this?” Barnes challenged.

“Why do you care?” You turned on him. “Why do you really care? Let me ask you something, Barnes. Why did you let me stay with you when you didn’t know me?”

“What are you getting at?” He avoided your question. The accusations in your tone hit him deep. It sounded like you were accusing him of ulterior motives, but he just wanted to do the right thing. He was glad for it, being that he quickly got used to having you around. To the point where he even liked having you around.

“I’ve seen my name in your book.” You said simply. “You think you have to make amends because you killed my grandparents. That’s all it’s been about, right? Cause I’m the only Stark left that can forgive you?”

“No.” He shook his head and tried to continue, but you interrupted. He had to admit that it might’ve started like that, a chance to right a wrong from so long ago. A wrong that was the final nail in the coffin of Tony and Steve’s friendship. But the fire in your eyes made it hard for him to admit that to you.

“You didn’t actually care that I was on my own, and that’s fine. I don’t need you to. But you don’t get to stand here and pretend that I was more than just a personal assignment.”

“It wasn’t like that!” He shouted. Barnes was wondering why he couldn’t tell you the full story. Maybe since he couldn’t even admit it to himself.

“What was it like then?” You snapped in return. 

“Let’s just take a step back.” Sam tried carefully. You noticed the way he looked at Barnes, as if he was trying to help him.

“Do you see Howard when you look at me?” You pushed Barnes. A vicious heat was sprouting in your chest, inching up your throat and creeping down your arms. “Howard in his youth, believing that you and Steve were some- some unstoppable duo that HYDRA didn’t have a chance against. Or when I had blood on my face, did you see Howard before you killed him?”

“That’s enough!” Sam announced. The firmness of his tone cleared the red from your vision. You realized you had stepped closer to Barnes, almost in challenge. You chuckled in disbelief, stepping back with your hands up in surrender as you chewed the inside of your cheek.

“Y/N, we could really use your help.” Sam’s tone was gentler, bordering pleading.

“Please.” Barnes murmured, so quietly that you weren’t sure you had actually heard it.

“I think you’ve overstayed your welcome, boys.” You replied simply, taking a couple steps backwards. “You’ll get an email when the Compound’s up and running again.”

“Y/N.” Sam tried again but you ignored him.

“This isn’t the kid Steve thought you were.” Barnes called out. “Doesn’t seem like the kid your dad thought you were either!”

“Bucky.” Sam scolded. He knew that wouldn’t convince you to help. If anything, it would push you further away.

You turned on your heel and pulled water up from the lake. In a swift movement, you threw it at Barnes and froze him against a nearby tree.

“You don’t get to tell me who my dad thought I was.” You warned as you stepped closer. “You barely knew him. Both of you barely knew him… And you barely know me.”

“I know you’re not a quitter.” Barnes continued.

“I’m not quitting.” You shrugged, dropping the ice. “Like I said, I did my part. You want a fighter? See if Walker will answer your calls. Maybe call on Sharon for another favor. I’m done. My part in this fight is over, Soldier.”

“We’re a team.” Sam offered. “We can’t do it without you.”

“I think you’ll manage.”

“Did you bring it?” Sam asked Barnes as you walked away.

“You think it’ll make a difference?” Barnes scoffed.

“Just give it to her, dumbass.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“Stark!” Barnes called.

Your hand was on the stair railing but you froze. You turned but didn’t leave your position from the steps. You sighed and leaned against the house as Barnes came up to you with a case in hand.

“What is that?” You asked with a brow quirked in interest.

“I called in a favor.” He said causally as he held the case out to you.

“Again, what is it?”

“Will you stop being so stubborn for one minute?”

“No.”

“Consider it a gift.”

Cautiously, you took the case from his hands. You ignored the brushing of your fingers, though it made your heart stutter.

“Am I going to regret taking this?” You tried to lighten the air around you. There was still a tension lingering from your interaction only a few minutes earlier.

“Do you regret any of it?” He countered sincerely.

“Yeah.” You looked over at the lake. “We’ve lost good people doing this type of work… Can you really blame me for wanting to keep my peace?”

“We really need your help here, Y/N.” He stepped closer, placing a hand near yours on the railing.

“Tell me the truth then.”

“It doesn’t change anything..” He sighed. “You-“

“I want to hear you say it.” You said with a nod, more to convince yourself you were sure. “Is my name in your book?”

“Yeah… It was.” He confessed. “That’s what it was at first but..”

“But what? You saved my life so it balances out?”

“Wha- No. You know, you’re insufferable sometimes.” He groaned.

“Well, I guess that’s settled.” You sighed. “Thanks for this. I’ll send a ‘thank-you’ basket to Sam’s place for you.” You turned and went inside, dismissing your mom and Morgan while you went straight to your room.

You dropped the case on your bed and sat on the ground, back against the wall and knees to your chest while you stared at the so-called gift. It was light but there was weight to it. You had purposefully knocked it against the railing on your way in and felt a different reverberation from it, something you’d felt before but not often.

If you had to guess, you would’ve said Vibranium.

You folded your arms over your raised knees and dropped your chin on top. The case was taunting you and you let it. Your fingers itched to flip the latches, your brain creating possibilities for the contents. With a sudden movement, an all at once action that didn’t allow you to reconsider, you moved to it and pressed your thumb against the scanner.

There was a slight hiss of air as the seal between the two halves broke. There was almost a light coming from the contents and it only tempted you more. You drummed your fingers over the top, closing your eyes to register the reverb. It was Vibranium, but not completely. Not a solid piece, more flexible and bending. Fibers, maybe, or woven between.

You opened your eyes and held your breath while you lifted the top. The case sat open for a few more seconds, just until your chest was burning for air. Then you let out the breath and opened your eyes, seeing a flooded bunch of dark fabric sitting before you. Your fingers grazed the material, tracing the overlapping red and gold lines.

The colors matched your dad’s first suit perfectly. So perfectly it brought tears to your eyes.

“Dad…” You said softly. “I wish you were here right now, give me some advice.”

You gave a broken smile before shutting the case and shifting it out the way so you could sit. Hunched over, elbows on your knees and hands clasped while the tears welled to a point you had to close your eyes.

“You’d know the right thing to do, always did… Me on the other hand, I’m flailing. I don’t know who I’m supposed to be or where I’m supposed to be. I just wanted to be like you, Dad…”

A light knock at your door stole your attention. After a second of silence, Pepper walked in with a small smile on her face. She looked between you and the case before she settled on the bed next to you.

“You already are a lot like Tony.” She said softly and you sniffled. “He hit this kind of point too, where he thought he needed to stop because too many people were hurting.”

“But he didn’t.” You finished her thought and sat up, letting out a heavy sigh. “Pepper, I’m not my dad. I know that. I’ve always known that, but I just thought I could be like him.”

“You are.” She insisted gently. “I see him in everything you do. The way you are with Morgan. The way you talk. The way you carry yourself. Even the way you lose.”

“He’d want me to see this through.” You said quietly. Your voice felt far away, like it wasn’t coming from your body but from someplace else. From the lake maybe, where you and Pepper floated your dad’s first Arc Reactor. “I know that, but I don’t know if I can.”

“Your dad was wrong about a lot of things, Y/N.” She nodded before nudging you slightly. “But he was never, never wrong about you… You’re Tony Stark’s daughter. I don’t think your dad ever found a fight too big. Neither should you.”

“Karli’s threatened you and Morgan already. Sam’s nephews. If we can’t stop her, everyone we care about is in trouble.” You rambled, desperate for some sort of assurance that backing down was the right thing to do.

“Loki threatened you when he came to New York.” She shrugged. “Didn’t stop Tony.”

“Morgan is all the family you have, Pep. I can’t let that get taken away. You said it yourself. I don’t know how to do this. I can’t clean up my own mess. ”

“I’m gonna say this once, kiddo. Your dad didn’t know how to clean up his mess until he was standing in the middle of it.” She chuckled sadly. “But he found a way. And you are Y/N Stark, just as smart and capable as your father. Morgan thinks so, too.”

“You really think it’ll all be okay?”

“I do. After this is done, if you’re still done with it, then you can rest.”

You offered a small smile and she gave the same in return. You threw your arms around her and she laughed in surprise before returning the embrace. You weren’t sure where the path to Karli would leave, but you knew Pepper and your dad’s ghost was right.

You had to finish what you had started.

You packed a bag, separate from the suit Barnes gave you, and called up your family’s pilot. The jet was ready within the hour and you gave Morgan one last hug on the way out. She clung to your leg for a few minutes and you felt the little tear puddles on your pants. She muttered that you had to promise to come back, to protect Stark Waters, and you did just that.

Your flight was relatively quick and you hailed a cab to take you the rest of the way. The driver was chatty, especially when you told him where you were headed. Sam’s family was well-loved in his community and you liked to hear it. You kept your head down and signature Stark glasses on your face as you walked the few blocks to Sam’s sister’s place.

You hesitated to knock, worried you wouldn’t be welcomed. Or maybe you were worried you’d be too welcomed. Either way, you turned away from the door. You called another cab and had them take you to the pier, this driver also knew Sam’s family and directed you to the right boat.

You stepped aboard and left your suitcases up top before you headed down to the engine room. You remembered hearing from the drivers that Sam was trying to fix it up and you decided to help with the hard parts. You activated your glasses and the AI showed you where there were issues.

You were working quietly on your own, ordering parts as you went, when someone else showed up. Sam first, then Barnes soon after. You were startled and looked at them with wide eyes, but when they gave you knowing smiles - the type that said they knew you would show up - you turned back to your work.

Later that morning, you three had the water pump pulled apart. Sam and Barnes were talking about whether or not a certain bolt existed in a big gear and you ignored them, examining the gear itself. You rolled your eyes in amusement as they went back and forth until Sam’s sister Sarah came up.

“The water pump is not the problem.” She instead. “I don’t come up into the sky and tell you how to barrel roll or whatever so don’t come down here and start messing with things you clearly don’t understand.”

“It’s not the problem but it will be soon.” You said, lifting the propeller shaped gear. “The corrosion’s gonna lead to this thing not bringing in enough water and it’s gonna overheat. And the impeller is cracking. Don’t worry though. I ordered new ones and they should be here by end of day. Easy fix.”

“Stark.” She nodded.

“I thought about a whole new pump but…” You shrugged. “She’s still got some kick in her. Just needed a few add-ons.”

“Alright, off.” She shooed you three away. “Off, bye. Thank you so much.”

You stayed around the boat for a while longer while Sam and Barnes went off to do something you didn’t care to join in on. Instead, you waited around for your parts to arrive and you put them in place. By the time Sam got back, you had finished your portion of the rebuild. You were tightening a few last bolts while Sam and Sarah talked, though you caught the end of their conversation.

“What would be the point of all the pain and sacrifice if I wasn’t willing to stand up and keep fighting?” Sam said simply, as if he truly understood his place in the fight.

And at the same time, you seemed to understand yours.

After hanging around and training for a few days with Sam, he got a call. His friend Torres caught a cell ping that matched the same pings from across Europe, just before the Flag Smashers went through. The ping was set in New York.

You were quick to set up travel plans to New York. Sam said he would get in touch with Barnes while you did your end. After the calls were made and a time table was set, you found Sam opening his case.

“Looks good.” You said as you went in, peering over to see it. “It’ll suit you.”

“How’d yours look?” He asked.

“Stylish, easy to move in, and a little homage to my dad… Pretty much perfect.”

“Pretty much?”

“Depends if it’s fireproof.”

At that, Sam laughed.

“You ready for this, Captain?” You gave him a small nudge with your elbow.

“Are you, Stark?”

“Yeah.” You nodded with a small smile. “I think I am.”

#ptyy sin miedo #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes #bucky x yn #bucky x stark!reader #marvel x stark!reader #marvel fic #tfaws fic #tfaws #tfaws bucky #mcu bucky barnes #marvel #mcu #falcon and the winter soldier fic #bucky imagine #bucky barnes series #bucky barnes x yn #bucky barnes x you #bucky x you #bucky x female reader

[ultraviolet-cello]

Good afternoon everyone, late analysis/detail watch for @tristampparty today! Had a busy day and I am ready to chill out by being so so normal about Trigun ^_^

Spoilers for Trigun Stampede and Trimax, CW for me discussing/theorizing abt Vash's injuries + discussion of harm coming to children specifically!

Roberto is my old man blorbo (he is not that old) and I essayed Hard about him today, good luck reading!

So when I originally watched this episode when I saw the tower I was like oh flying saucer haha!

and then it is a flying saucer. I hate that (/j)

the bugs under the rock when I lift it up:

On a more serious note I do like the transition from Wolfwood getting REALLY jumpy (to the point of like. Punching Vash for sneezing. babygirl there are better ways to cope with bringing the man you adore to what is probably his doo- actually there probably isn't, he's on his own) to them working extremely in sync to try and get away from the guards - even in the two months that they've been traveling together they've developed that back to back fighting style. It's very sweet, and I think that aspect of them is heavily emphasized in 98 actually, episode 9 when Wolfwood first appears. I really do miss that episode's story, I think it's my favourite standalone plot :]

Again take this with a grain of salt because my subtitles are Janky, but this line hits me real hard [Where Vash is telling Wolfwood not to shoot at the July guards]. They're at July, this is where Wolfwood needs to hand Vash over despite all his inner conflict; but he values the orphanage, it's so important to him. Would the morally righteous thing to do be trying to fight alongside Vash out of this? Possibly. But the risk is too great; It's not the time to be a saint.

Both of their expressions here - Wolfwood stepping back then forward to try and push Vash out the way, or block the bullet, and Vash just slowly lowering his arms with that real haunted look.

Studio Orange once again knocking it out of the PARK with their facial expressions

[Purging the Vashwood from my system for just a moment] He really does just. Grab him around the waist huh. He doesn't try to spin Vash around to assess the damage, or immediately drag him away, but most importantly he doesn't shoot back. Not after Vash asked him to.

Why's this bitch not clean his table!!! The hell!!! Unsanitary. Or... Or someone was just there. Not sure what's worse at that point. It's also that the shape of that cross is also to accommodate children

[Tucking these screenshots into my purse for safekeeping] [Also CWing this section for a little bit of injury discussion] Most of the injuries here aren't necessarily the scars that Trimax and 98 Vash have, which makes me wonder if he's going to get more post-July. In any case, a lot of these look like failed/only partial skin grafts or wounds that required skin grafts but did not get it [Just trust me on that, don't look it up if you can't stomach gore].

I wonder if Vash can't receive skin grafts due to the sheer amount of scarring/can't receive any donated grafts due to differences in biology, or if he's just... not been able to get them healed. Some of it appears to be patched up with metal, but the rest of it.... Mm.

Anyway!

I think it's very telling that the thing that Roberto starts really speaking up on is challenging Conrad on his treatment of orphans and disadvantaged people. Roberto's a reporter, so of course he's going to have seen how powerful people often use the marginalized as their playthings; and Roberto does have a pretttty good moral code when it comes to it. Time and time again he's chosen to help Meryl instead of preserve his own life.

And now he's actively taking Meryl's side, challenging Conrad, sticking up for people, which. One of the first hints of Roberto that we got that wasn't him being so gruff was his defense of Vash (who was getting the shit beaten out of him) in the very first episode.

I've talked at length abt how children are. Kind of the most precious thing to most people on Gunsmoke/NML - so many of the individual stories revolve around parents and children, brothers, siblings, Wolfwood and Hopeland, Legato sparing all the children in that village in 98, Elendira leaving a gaggle of children alive to bury Livio in Trimax. I particularly remember a scene in Trimax volume 14, chapter 3, when the feathers are falling and a young girl has lost her mother, but these big rough and tough men guide her back. I think that's kind of the essence of what Roberto represents to me.

The average person on that planet is rough, traumatized, probably knows how to shoot, they kill each other, they rob, they steal. And yet when it comes down to a little girl crying in the crowd, they will guide her back to her mother. Noman's Land is made up of families; they hurt each other and they commit atrocities, but at the end of the day, that was someone's child, and people try to respect it.

Roberto has a bit of a stronger ethical streak, but he's really kinda hostile to Conrad in this scene (GET HIS ASS ROBERTO WOOO!!!) and I think when he saw children involved that really signaled part of it to him.

It's also that Roberto has developed as a character, being more open and trusting of Meryl, but I also just. The family thing gets me every time (I think it's because I work with children and am a huge advocate for said children, but. yaknow)

[Pointing at him] I love this guy!!! I miss him!!! I really really thought I was gonna hate him but every rewatch i get sadder that he's gone!!!!!

Also he calls out Conrad on being non-empathetic towards, well experimenting on children which is yeah!!! shit!!! Roberto shuts him down like 3 times!! "What matters is how you feel with these children in front of you" GET! HIS! ASS!

Roberto has progressed so so much, with his ability to actually insert himself into situations according to his opinions and ethics, with his relationship to Meryl becoming softer, and then he's just,,, Gone, soon.

On a lighter note, tf you mean Elendira's powers are equivalent to a supply door Conrad she can kill a man!!! I spose a supply door can also kill a man but like. I wonder if she's gonna get. Bigger nails. More powers in the future.

Also a nice parallel of how Roberto kept dragging Meryl back and flinging her away from danger, but now he's grabbed her and is carrying her with him - it feels different. He really really does care about her and it's so evident in these last couple of episodes.

Also Meryl is just pick up-able what can I say.

Roberto being shocked at his ability to deflect Elendira's nails just feels kinda cruel. Man's been spending the entire anime facing horrors beyond his comprehension and he just figured out he can fight against this one, but in the end she's the one who gets him.

Also I talked about Roberto being really standoffish when he realizes children are being harmed? Uh, that's probably what gets him killed. If he'd have shot Elendira here, there is a decent chance he would have lived; if he hadn't hesitated the several times he did, he wouldn't be so rattled. That's... Painful.

"That was close" I hate everyone here [/j]

Not an unpopular opinion, but I'm not a super fan of what they did to Elendira. I'm of the opinion of her character divorced from her Trimax counterpart is really really interesting, but I have to treat her like an entirely different character, so we'll be moving on with that in mind.

So Elendira's been like this for what, twenty years at least? That doesn't seem to line up with how Plants age - Vash and Knives take like 5 years to look like they're fifteen, and. I hope we all know that humans typically take 18-20 years to reach adulthood lmao.

My three theories on why she hasn't aged is that

A) Whichever Plant cells (Probably Tesla's) that they used on her is inhibiting her growth, disallowing her from progressing past a certain point. Perhaps if she ages more something... Bad will happen to her body. Sub-idea, if it is Tesla's cells, they might not be letting her age past the point Tesla was when she died. Which is a little horrific actually.

B) Conrad and/or Knives are the ones not allowing her to grow, for some reason. I don't really have any ideas of what.

But it seems to me that she is somewhat inverse to Wolfwood; she's been living for at least twenty years, trapped in the mind and body of a child. She speaks with the cadence and articulation of an adult most of the time, but her body's pain tolerance and her subsequent reactions are that of an undeveloped mind/body.

That or she just doesn't wanna go through puberty because she's already trans and just doesn't wanna deal with that shit (valid) but, yaknow. I am a very big supporter of "Let Studio Orange cook, they've done pretty good so far!" but Elendira and Razlo are the two I am. Most scared of seeing how they turn out lmao, and even with Razlo I do have some hopes. But Elendira,,, man. I dunno.

Hooo boy. Okay. I'm ready to talk about Roberto again now. I've been talking about how he recently seems to have softened his demeanor specifically towards Meryl, bringing out a lot of that joking tone, but here is particularly on display.

He tells Meryl that it's okay to run away sometimes and that really really. Got to me. Like he wants her to live. He wants her to do whatever she thinks is right, and he wants her to live, and he is going to do what he can in his dying moments to make that better for her.

I miss him :(

I also wonder if he had anything outside of his job. Friends? Family? A partner? Or was he mostly obliterated along with most of July, kept only in memory by his, now Meryl's, derringer?

Also Vash does Not know that Roberto is dead and if he asks about him post-rejoining the gang in season 2 I'll start screaming.

Oh Knives is here! Yippee!!

So uh. The thing with him saying this is, like a Lot of things Knives does/says in Tristamp, is rooted in truth to some degree.

Like uh. Yeah. That is kind of the basis for a Major part of Vash's personality, the guilt complex of Knives shifting the burden and (honestly projecting a lot of his own guilt probably) onto Vash. But to attribute All of Vash's character to just that is disservice, and horrible for Vash to hear.

The thing about Vash is that he tries. He tries so so hard to make things right, even despite the harm that comes to him and the grief and pain of how he lives his life. Even if it were just his guilt, that is still 150 or so years of healing plants, helping children, going from town to town to do what good he can.

Love, in that case, is not inherent, but created. It's hard to just unconditionally love something just because it's in your life, but if you work at it, dedicate yourself, put in the effort, do so much good, then is that not love in itself? Does it really matter the basis if you love, regardless?

Where it becomes a problem with Vash, is when he refuses to kind of,,, accept that he worked for it instead of just having that love inherent to him, because he's so desperate to hold that guilt complex, that "I'm a bad person" close to him

I dunno, I'm autistic, so maybe I have a strange reading of this because I personally have had to work towards the things I hold dear to me, but it's,,, definitely a facet of Vash, to me.

I Do Not Like This Photograph. In Trimax, it seems they took Tesla and Immediately began experimenting on her - Some arguments over ethics with Rem, yeah, but overall the dissenters were overruled. But why have this picture? Tesla is clearly not a baby in this image. Did she have more contact and interactions with the scientists?

The cruelty in Tesla's story, at least in my view, is that she never got to be a character. Her agency was stripped from her by scientists, by death, and then by Knives. We don't know shit about her - did she die cursing all of humanity? Would she have agreed with Knives, that the pain inflicted on her was an example of the great atrocity of humanity? Or would she have decided people can grow and change, that she just got a bad lot, that people are messy and complicated but ultimately capable of love? Did she see Rem, and wonder if she knew humanity better than Tesla did?

We just don't know - will never know - and that's why Knives using her as an excuse for his actions is particularly egregious. Did her death traumatize him and irreparably damage his trust of humans, sending him down a spiral he was too unlucky to fight his way out of? Yes. Does that make it justifiable to try and commit a genocide under her name, assuming she would have wanted that even if there's a possibility she didn't? ....Definitely not.

millions-dykes referred to Conrad as looking "DILFy" in this scene and if I have to suffer that, so do you. sorry

There's a couple of bits of language in that ending scene that I find particularly uh. Interesting (derogatory) (deeply interesting and analysis-worthy), but I'll be saving those for next episode so I'll pop them in there :]

Today was a hell of an essay! Thanks for reading as always, I'm so >:3 about all the fun comments and ideas ppl have added on.

#cli analysis #cli speaks #trigun #trigun stampede #tristampparty

[maxwellatoms]

Hello, I hope you are well. I look forward to the stream on Thursday.

I suppose first I should ask if you would rather me send asks through here or through Patreon. But anyway, here is something I have been wondering. I have quite a bit of a preface though:

I never actually grew up with Grim Adventures. I was a wee little tot when it was airing, so if I was watching TV, I was watching one of those preschool shows. When I did get old enough to start watching shows geared towards older kids, I had just missed out on it. I only got around to watching Grim Adventures and Evil Con Carne rather recently.

But what I did grow up with was Chowder. I never remembered it well as I got older, but what did stick with me was "The Puckerberry Overloads." Child me struggled to comprehend the logic behind how Chowder could be in his own mouth. After rewatching the series recently, I was very surprised and excited to see you were credited as one of the writers and the storyboard artist for the episode. I even recognized your voice from one of the characters. I suppose you really were there all along.

So I wanted to ask, how did you end up doing some work for Chowder? Were you simply a guest of sorts? I also saw you credited as a writer and storyboard artist for another episode in another season, so how did that come to be? What I'm mostly curious about is how that factored all in with the Great Purge.

I would love to hear whatever you are willing to tell me. Thank you for reading.

Thank you for writing!

I'll still be around on here. I think the Patreon is probably a better place to ask questions if you really want an answer, since I'll try to answer every question on there. Here, I tend to cherry-pick and I've got a bit of a backlog.

Long story short, Billy & Mandy eventually wrapped, which left me to do Underfist and develop a couple of other properties for CN. My friend C.H. Greenblatt (creator and voice of Fred Fredburger, and writer of a number of memorable episodes) got his own series, "Chowder". They were having trouble finding a board artist to fill one of the slots, so I said I'd do a board. Greenblatt and I have always helped each other out when we can over the years. Just this year we got to produce Jellystone Season Two together, and it was the best time I've had on a series in a decade.

I did another board for Season Two, and that's about when "The Great Purge" happened. And there was no escaping that for anyone, really.

C.H. Greenblatt and I had a really fun Looney Tunes pitch we sold right before the pandemic hit. Like everything else during that time, it went into Deep Freeze. Maybe one day we can get back to it.

He'll definitely be making an appearance on "Billy & Mandy vs. The Entertainment Industry". More on that soon™!

#maxwell atoms #billy & mandy #chowder #cartoon network

[miami-lolz]

In hindsight, this quote hits a lot harder considering “Mortyest Morty” isn’t even his Morty. And he’s not the “Rickest Rick”.

Does not include any spoilers for Season 7.

I feel like this quote is slept on a lot because it makes you wonder if he was even aware of the implications of what he said or if he said it knowing Morty wouldn’t understand. I don’t even think he would want to admit it, but he’s not “The Rickest Rick” mainly because he cares. Specifically, he gives a shit about a Morty that isn’t even his.

It’s shown subtlety throughout the show, like in the Season 1 Finale, Ricksy Business, when Rick got teary-eyed over a slide show showing Morty throughout his life. In A Rickle in Time, where Rick is willing to let himself die to save Morty, his last wish is for Morty to grow up better than him. As jaded and backward as he may show it, Rick definitely cares. Rick has had to switch to multiple universes and watch various versions of his family including his original Diana and Beth die throughout the show. Morty was his only constant, though, and he’s grabbed onto that. But for as much as he cares, Rick has a habit of pushing away, which comes into effect in the later seasons. Morty tries to help and relate to Rick to an extend. He constatly extends a branch to Rick, who almost always puts him down.

However, the more Rick pushes away, the more frustrated Morty gets. He starts calling out Rick on his BS and has even cussed him out several times. He’s threatened to stop going with Rick in the early season, but those were practically mute. Rick could easily force him or make him forget he started refusing. Rick only started taking Morty seriously when he began acting out. The more that Rick pushes back, the more the Prime part of Morty comes out, usually at the expense of anyone around him. I think that is the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back and pushed him to leave in Forgetting Sarick Mortshall with the two crows thing. Something that still upsets Morty if someone mentions it in season 7.

It also makes you think that the reason Morty has gotten progressively more aggressive and violent over these past couple of seasons is that the Prime part of him is getting more prominent. For example, in Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat, Morty got so obsessive over a future that he didn't brutally die; he quickly brushed off Ricks's death. It's somewhat out of character for him, though. He also attacked other soldiers and the general populace, just for him to find out it wasn't really worth much. Rick is getting more combative because he sees that part of Prime in Morty, which scares him. The episode Looks Who’s Purging Now was the starting point for his volatile behavior; Rick seems genuinely shocked and somewhat horrified as Morty's anger problems get the better of him, and he lashes out, killing many people even when they are hiding. Rick lied to Morty because he didn’t want him to know what he could do. Near the end of The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, Morty threatens Ethan with the machine Summer used after he ghosted her and messed with her body issues. In the after credit scene, we see a deformed Ethan stumbling in pain, implying Morty used the machine on him.

In Promortyus, Morty also showed little remorse for killing off all the aliens and went out of his way to cause damage, though he regretted it once he had to come back. A Rickconvenient Mort, Jerry was genuinely disturbed to hear Morty admit he murdered the Tina-Teers. And during the scene, Morty was extremely brutal. Its not the first time Morty has committed some diabolical crimes for someone he's interested in or generally cares about. In the episode Mort Dinner Rick Andre, his violent streak hits its crescendo. Once he got fed up with the Narnia people, he committed mass genocide out of frustration, and by the end, he didn't show much remorse.

I think the most damning evidence is the episode Rickshank Redemption, where during a stand-off, Morty is so fed up with Rick yelling at him during a standoff that he shoots Rick in the head. Not an arm or leg but in the forehead. He absolutely shot to kill. And yeah, you could say it was a spur-of-the-moment action based on frustration and impulse, but I think that was put in the episode not just a funny bit but a glimpse of what Morty is capable of. It was Morty basically saying "If were all going to die, Ive earned the right to be the one to take you out." There’s something symbolical about Morty killing both his best friend and the person that’s hurt him for years.

Its an interesting dichotomy as Rick seems to be mellowing out; Morty is slowly getting more comfortable with violence and generally more confident with himself. Rick is someone who gives off the bravado of a uncaring, cold hearted galactic criminal. However, the truth is Rick is someone who cares deeply for the people he's close to, and gets no enjoyment out of violence. Morty, on the other hand, is someone who tries to be caring, mercy full and forgiving. That being said, deep down he wants to stop having to constantly take the high road and give back all the pain and abuse he gets from others. These personality traits between the two constantly clash and the longer the live together, the more you see their original persona's corrode.

The season six finale, Ricktional Mortpoon's Rickmas Mortcation, adds to this as Rick compares Morty to a “suicide bomber” because he was reckless and says he gets that from Prime. But C-137 is the only constant in Morty's life. He’s been through multiple universes and timelines but has had the same Rick for most of his life. Most of Morty's issues stem from things he had done or witnessed with Rick C-137. For example, the Vat of Acid Episode is what I would consider Rick at his absolute lowest. It's almost the kinda behavoir you would expect Prime to pull. Messing with Morty's head and killing a bunch of other Mortys just to say, "I told you so." Even going as far as gaslighting him by saying he COULD have listened to Rick tell him how it worked, even though Rick probably wouldn't have told him either way. It caused communication between these two to break down. At that point, you can tell Morty doesn't have much trust or faith in him, and when Rick replaces himself with a robot that treats him just a little bit better, Morty immediately notices. He even thought Rick was messing with him and brought up the vat of acid episode. This is another example of how the Ricks action leaves permeate consequences and effects on Morty. Don't get me wrong, Morty is far from perfect and flawed, but so is Rick. They have real emotions and conflict, and it's these factors that separate them from Prime (at least from the glimpses of him that we have seen)

However, Morty does exhibit certain traits unlike what we've been lead to believe is normal "Morty" behavior. In Rickmurai Jack, Morty tries to lie to Rick and even goes as far as to age himself nearly 40 years to get him to come back. Another example is in The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, Where Morty coaxes Rick into going on an adventure with Jerry to keep him from committing seppuku, though there's a good chance it was just to get a break from adventures. Rick can’t really blame most of Morty's behavior on Prime because any behavior he picks up past season one is from him and him alone. But even then I don’t doubt that there are behavioral similarities between him and Rick Prime. The Prime universe was everyone’s personality amplified.

Rick almost likes to pretend his the top dog, the Rickest Rick but as few others, including Bird Person and the toxic version of himself, has pointed out, he’s not. He’s highly capable but he’s also vulnerable. Season 6 ended with Rick getting Morty more involved in the search for Prime, forcing him to face the truth of Mortys origin. But regardless one thing is for certain, Morty is really the Mortyest Morty in the finite central curve, and that scares C-137.

#adult swim #rick and morty #rick c137 #morty c137 #morty prime #rick prime #character analysis

[jedimandalorian]

Ahsoka Episode 8 “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord”: The Story, the Symbolism, and the Score Part One

As the episode begins, we hear sinister drumming, then a low rumbling as the cargo transfer to the Chimaera is completed. Thrawn orders the dispatch of two TIE fighters. Sinister music plays as Morgan receives the “gift of shadows.” As she makes her pledge to the sisterhood and the old ways, Morgan’s Theme (the Nightsister Theme) is heard. Morgan’s eyes glow green and then turn black as power is transferred to her by the Nightmothers. Morgan receives the Blade of Talzin, a reference to the sword used by Mother Talzin in The Clone Wars animated series.

Thrawn’s Theme plays triumphantly as the Ahsoka title card and the episode title appear onscreen: “The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord.” This title is an obvious reference to C. S. Lewis’ novel The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and it isn’t the first reference to Lewis’ Narnia books in the Filoniverse. The World Between Worlds itself was inspired by Lewis’ “wood between the worlds” which allows passage across time and space to other worlds.

The title of the episode does have a deeper meaning, but this may not be apparent until one has watched and fully understood what the episode is really about. The “Jedi” in the title is Ahsoka, who corresponds to Lewis’ Aslan, the magnificent golden lion who is the Christ-figure in the Narnia books, not unlike Tolkien’s Gandalf. The “Witch” in the title is Morgan Elsbeth and all of the evil that she and the White Witch of Narnia represent. The “Warlord” is Thrawn, who will travel between the galaxies just as the magic wardrobe in the Narnia books allowed passage between the worlds. Lewis’ novel is about many things, but at its core, it is a story about redemption. In the novel, young Edmund Pevensie, in his selfish desire for Turkish Delight, makes an a dangerous alliance with the White Witch and betrays his siblings to get what he wants. He later regrets this betrayal and repents of his selfishness. However Edmund’s debt must be paid. Instead of dying a traitor’s death, Aslan is sacrificed in Edmund’s place. The White Witch slays the Lion, but due to the Deep Magic from before the dawn of time, Aslan resurrects triumphantly and defeats the Witch.

Sabine Wren, whose all-to-human desire to be reunited with Ezra Bridger, led her to make an alliance with Baylan Skoll in episode 4 of the Ahsoka series. Sabine didn’t destroy the star-map because of her selfish desire to see Ezra again, and by making this choice, she set in motion the return of Thrawn and the possibility of another galactic war. By making this selfish but understandable choice, Sabine failed as a Jedi. As in Edmund’s story, Sabine is on a journey towards redemption for what she’s done.

The next scene is of Ahsoka’s ship hovering low above the traveling Noti pods. Onboard the ship Huyang and Ezra bicker as Ezra constructs a new lightsaber for himself.

“Who taught you how to build a lightsaber anyway?” Huyang asks.

“Kanan Jarrus,” replies Sabine Wren from the doorway of the workshop. She smiles at Ezra.

“He was my master,” Ezra says, his glance lingering upon Sabine for a moment. “He taught me everything I know.”

Quiet music accompanies this conversation. When Huyang says that the relationship between master and apprentice is as challenging as it is meaningful, the camera pulls in closer to reveal Sabine’s expression, which shows sadness and even remorse.

A quiet rendition of Sabine’s Theme is heard as Ezra completes the construction of his new lightsaber. When Ezra asks “Hey Sabine, Ahsoka ever teach you how to…?” he turns to looks at her and sees that she is gone.

Ezra asks Huyang what happened between Sabine and Ahsoka. Huyang tells Ezra about the Purge of Mandalore, and that Ahsoka felt that if Sabine unlocked her potential at that time she would become dangerous.

Sabine exits the ship to talk with Ahsoka who is sitting atop the shuttle as it hovers. Soft strings accompany the conversation. Ahsoka’s Theme is heard, which is then followed by Sabine’s Theme played by cellos. Ahsoka knows what Sabine did but says that she will be there for her no matter what happens next. They discuss whether Sabine has kept up with her training.

“Being a Jedi isn’t about wielding a lightsaber,” Ahsoka explains. “Train your mind. Train your body. Trust in the Force.”

Ezra exits the ship, announcing that he just finished building his new lightsaber.

The music is much louder as two TIE fighters open fire upon them and the Noti caravan. Ahsoka’s ship takes a hit. Ahsoka and Ezra levitate it to save the Noti from being crushed. Sabine and Huyang attempt to pilot the damaged ship. On Sabine’s signal, Ezra and Ahsoka hurl the ship towards the two TIEs and the wings of the T-6 shuttle clip them, destroying both of their attackers. Ezra and Ahsoka run to the site of the crashed T-6.

“Got ‘em” Sabine says to them after exiting the smoking shuttle. She surveys the damage to the Noti pods. Ezra remarks that this will slow them down a bit, but Ahsoka responds “only if we let it.”

End of part one. To be continued! Let me know what you think of this analysis so far. It’s going to be a long one.

#sabine wren #ezra bridger #star wars #ahsoka series #sabezra #ezrabine #star wars rebels #ahsoka tano #Thrawn #morgan elsbeth #narnia #c s lewis #edmund pevensie #kevin kiner #star wars music

[thebunniesgrim]

Ok so wait  

So, the recent episode of Helluva Boss made me...  

Think.  

About something. 

I know, right? so scary  

But oops made me stop for a second (as much as I like one could say love the episode)  

Are the sinners worse than the literal 7 deathly sins?  

I know it's a little early to say this considering hazbin hotel hasn't come out yet and helluva boss hasn't shown us all the 7 deadly sins, yet you know?  

But considering our track record with Asmodeus not thinking lust should be forced and Beelzebub not encouraging overindulgence or overindulgence for the wrong reasons (when she tells Loona "like hey he a mess and killing the vibe k?”)  

(Also, I feel like the Asmodeus thing is a damned if you do damned if you don't thing honestly there was no winning with this one viv would have gotten flamed either way. I don’t have a gripe with it either way  )  

Are the sinners worse than them? Like Valentino is an abuser and uses angle dust and others for his body in more ways than one. Alastor is allegedly a cannibal (can that be seen as gluttony or some other sin? Other than it being morality wrong to eat people), angel overuses drugs, husk drink to an excess Yada Yada Yada  

....so, like who are the real demons?  

(That was the gotcha moment the whole time.)

Hazbin Hotel pitch: "Maybe the real demons (or redemption) were the friends we made along the way *rainbow emoji*"

You're telling me that Valentino can just sexually assault folks and get them doped up on magical cigar smoke, but Asmodeus doesn't believe that diddling people without consent is just too far?  

Ok yeah totally  

Because honestly what's next?  

Is Belphegor gonna recommend we get the daily recommended amount of sleep and to put healthy breaks in between tasks? (watch her be a doctor)  

Is mammon gonna vouch for ethical consumerism and hoarding money is bad?  

Wait no, let me guess!  

Leviathan is gonna tell us about that envy in small doses as motivation is healthy but too much and it's not?  

Is Lucifer gonna be like yo Dawgs being prideful in one's achievements is totally radical but don't be a dick about it  

Is satin gonna like to tell us getting angry is ok but pointing one's anger towards other is totally uncool?  

Because he'll doesn't seem like a doomed eternity it just seems like a playground, they aren't even being like damned for their sins  

It's like the purge but slightly more civil  

How is a sinner gonna be worst that a demon?  

I am very aware expecting Viv to give us correct demon mythos is a tall order and not realistic at all, but I don’t think we can stay any farther from the 7 deadly sins in their basic boiled down forms, you know? Like money, anger, ego, sex, food, lazy, and jealously.  

They are demons! You can have kind and sweet demons like minion from the Cuphead show he's a sweet heart but he still encourages the devil to be the devil  

Or even king dice (not a demons but a bad person he works for the devil) he has sympatric qualities but he's still a bad guy. Same with the devil too if you look hard enough  

They are still demons people have a negative connotation with them why not make them morally gray? Like “you can cut some guys arm off if both parties are into it, I don’t care just ask first” that would be kinda funny. But also, he values consent to a fault he doesn’t care about them being safe but as long as you asked its fine.

Asmodeus:

Or if like cheat days turn into cheat years idk  

It just seems like the 7 deadly sins are just guys and the sinners are just worse than them 

Like look at pilot of Hazbin and look all the non-sense they do then look at Helluva it’s so sanitized comparatively it's kinda funny ngl  

If the sinners, the worst of the worst of humans and this is how soft the demon royales are like pilot hazbin would bully the hell (heh) out of Helluva

Lol is the pride ring just a bunch of uncivilized edgy children when everyone else just kinda looks on in utter horror? Now that I wouldn’t mind  :)

small rant about the Hazbin hotel piolt

Why does Charlie call the sinners her people in the pilot?  

Like I feel like her people are the hell born like her, the deadly sins, the imps, the succubus and so on 

You know her people the demons and junk who are like her kin of sort?

Also why is over population such a problem? It seems like a fitting punishment to me if there's limited space seems like a good thing, no?  

Are they not here to suffer?  

Also why not just allow the sinners to wander the other rings? Why are they only in pride?  

What's the point of the other rings? Why are they named after sins if they aren't going to be used by the sinners? 

ok bye :)

#helluva boss critical #helluva boss #helluva boss criticism #helluva boss asmodeus #beelzebub helluva boss #hazbin hotel critique

[morganalefae]

s3 morgana being "beyond redemption" is soooooo crazy to me like yeah trying to kill the evil tyrant king whos been murdering every last one of your kind is sooooo evil lock her up and throw away the key!!

such a prime example of a kick the dog character too. like they cant condemn her for just fighting for her right to exist so they have her executing civilians and trying to have gwen executed to make her into the villian.

and! the same goes for morgause! literally what did she ever do wrong? uther conquered camelot (said by him in the episode where gili fights in the tournament) and then executed hundreds if not thousands of people with magic but morgause trying to kill the king is a step too far? why? its almost like the show is actually on uthers side 🤨🤨🤨🤨

which leads me to: the fact that we essentially watch the entire show through the pendragon perspective. merlin protects arthur so everything we learn about the purge and magic and the old religion is from uther/gaius. so, biased, to say the least. one of the most important things they tell you when researching history is to consider where your information is coming from and how that persons perspective influences their discussion of it.

which is why i also dont consider nimueh to be a villain. shes an activist! yeah she tried to kill arthur that one (?) time but he didnt even die so. doesnt count <3 but we SEE her having a conversation ALONE with uther where she says she didnt know what would happen to ygraine and i just cant imagine why she would lie. if she really wanted to hurt him she could have said she'd known and killed her on purpose but i dont think thats the case at all. she says she never would have helped him if she'd known what would happen. like, surprise, if you hunt and kill people for the crime of existing they will fight back and its not going to be the way you like it and innocent people will die. because thats war. you ruthlessly slaughter her people and she will slaughter yours.

worlds most unstructered post. professors hate her. anyway the show eventually starts to take on a very firm, "merlin has magic but ues not LIKE those other magic users therefore hes ok :) everyone else is evil tho. except the druids (sometimes :|)", whereby merlin using magic is only allowed if hes helping or saving arthur (except all those other times but we dont talk about those i guess) and his stance on magic eventually warps until hes just kind of horrible about it.

100% unpopular opinion but gaius should have died in s2 or 3. he influenced merlin far too much and basically never for the better. sorry to gaius lovers but i do NOT like that old man. he advises merlin EVERY time to not tell morgana about her magic (which she has no control over and therefore is manifesting in ways that will absolutely get her caught), to never help any of the unfairly persecuted people of the episode or even to use magic at all. hes a bootlicking coward who only helped people he cared for or when it suited him. how many people do you think he watched burn simply because he didnt agree with the way they used magic, whether it actually "evil" or not.

merlin's only friends who know about his magic are an old conservative man and a guy who dies right when merlin could have used the support of someone to help him "come out" to arthur about his magic.

im firmly of the opinion that had he told morgana about his magic everything would have been literally fine. because alone and with loterally no support system at all, is it any wonder that morgana would go down the road she did? after years of fear and watching people just like her be burned for the crime of existing, with no prophecy or friends to tell her that it wont always be this way. you dont have to be afraid because youre not the only one and i wont let anything happen to you. oh wait. she did get told that. by MORGAUSE. not about the prophecy but how can they be judged by trying to bring about change by themselves. by trying to kill a king whos killed so many of their own people.

if the intention of the show had been to give a poignant message about the cycle of abuse (morgana succumbing to bitterness and hatred just like uther) or how fear can control you (merlin eventually becoming essentially the bad guy, judging everybody who doesnt use magic the way he sees fit, staying silent and contributing to persecution of magic people because living in fear can make you paranoid and bitter (sound familiar?)) then i would applaud because wow did that make me fucking cry! and hit actually very close to home! and it was tragic and horrible but also inevitable

but as far as i can tell that was not at all the point, because in the end kilgharrah tells merlin the prophecy has been fulfilled, albion is united and magic returned! hurrah! but. um. did i miss something? when did that happen? oh, you mean when gwen is queen....? so.... gwen unites the land of albion and returns magic to the land? except, merlin seems to have lived on until the 21st century of our world and magic is not what i would call flourishing atm.

so i guess my question is... well actually i dont have a question. actually wait i do. what the fuck?

#whoops long and probably confusing post #oh well #merlin #bbc merlin #morgana pendragon #arthur pendragon #uther pendragon #merthur #gaius

[jbaileyfansite]

Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer Interview with EW (2023)

Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey do some pretty unspeakable things to each other on camera for Fellow Travelers, whether it's the Bridgerton and Wicked star sucking on Bomer's toes in the premiere episode or the White Collar and Magic Mike stud channeling his inner dom daddy throughout. It's the kind of sexual escapades that force you to clutch your pearls and then realize, "I wasn't even wearing pearls. How did these get around my neck?!"

Maybe it's because we don't often see this kind of raw, unfiltered depiction of gay sexuality put on display for television, even on a premium network like Showtime. "I had never read anything like that before in a screenplay," Bomer tells EW.

"It's provocative and it's all the things that will draw an audience in, or at least get people talking," Bailey remarks in a separate interview. "But then, why is it there? Well, it makes sense." To Bailey's point, there's a lot of story packed into the intimate moments of Fellow Travelers. It's like tricking someone to eat their vegetables: the two nearly naked handsome Hollywood actors in their prime is the alluring melted cheese, but that desperation you feel emanating off two societally suppressed gay characters is the broccoli underneath.

"Anything that feels voyeuristic or chemical to the audience whilst watching it is right, because that is just how overwhelming it is when you do finally come together in a world that deems your love and intimacy foul or incorrect," Bailey explains. "So it becomes a multidimensional experience for the performers, but also for the people watching at home. I just think there's no doubt with this that the art of the sex scene is so profound."

Bomer and Bailey star in Fellow Travelers as Hawk and Tim, who first meet and start an intoxicating affair in 1950s Washington, D.C., a time and place when Senator McCarthy (Chris Bauer) has launched the "Lavender Scare" purge of homosexuals from government positions. The series continues to track Hawk and Tim's relationship across decades, often bouncing between the past and the drama's 1980s present, when Bailey's Tim is stricken with AIDS.

The seventh episode, "White Nights," premiering on Paramount+ Friday and on Showtime this Sunday, sees these on-again, off-again lovers in the '70s on Fire Island. Bailey's mustache says it all. The sex reflects this next setting, which was (and still is) a rare safe haven for these men to express themselves openly.

The actors knew how much emotional and physical intimacy would be required of them for Fellow Travelers from the jump. "It was all on the page," Bailey recalls. "I read the script before I spoke with [showrunner] Ron Nyswaner, so I knew exactly what they were trying to do." The pair recall meeting with each other in Toronto, where the show primarily filmed, at Goldstruck Coffee on Cumberland Street. "It writes itself," Bailey jokes of the shop's playful name. "We were like, we need to see how each other are doing. We got to know each other in a way that was vicariously through the characters. That first conversation, we were totally committed to having each other's backs."

The sex scenes weren't something they overly discussed with each other, beyond "certain intricacies" they had to work out, Bomer says. "Obviously, we were very respectful of each other's boundaries. You did the work on the character, you showed up on set, you knew what your job was, and then you just hopefully try to let it fly when they call action."

"When you're going on set and it's 3 in the morning and you've done 16 hours worth of filming and you are about to only start the intimacy scenes, you do have to summon the angels and listen to Enya and draw from the ground to muster up the courage," Bailey says, playfully. "But that feeling of having to build your confidence and to put your armor on to do that is exactly right, because that's what the characters are feeling."

For Bomer, when it came to the onscreen sex, he enjoyed what he calls Hawk's "zero f---s given" vibe. "Hawk does have a public persona that he needs to survive and maneuver in the world that he's in, but underneath it all is a real 'f--- you,'" he says. "That for me was so refreshing to get to play, but it was also really refreshing to see — not that every intimate gay relationship is like that, but to see an aspect of gay sex brought to life in such an authentic and unflinching way."

Source

#jonathan bailey #matt bomer #interviews #interviews:2023 #EW interview 2023 #fellow travelers #NEW!