#s7 it was like amazing opening and we were like i guess i remembered this worse than it was (: and then i think it was like. we were

[cloneslugs]

prefacing w the fact that like yeah the quality is superb, some of the strongest lore/narrative stuff (specifically for monarch crew), i understand why people love them (esp s6) but like. so telling me and emil do not care for them at all . our last rewatch we wrote a review for every episode as we watched and even the like. nothing or even bad eps it was like yeah heres something to say but s6 it was immediately like. yeah i do not care enough to write anything anymore

#s6 is like. its good i mean and the first ep is fun and other stuff is very fun and theres a lot of cool stuff happening #but it just does not cater to me/us specifically so it was like. yeah good ep nothing bad to say. but i have nothing in depth to say either #coming from the guys who always have something to say #again not bad at all and i understand the love and i understand there is quality and depth there and etc etc (along w a lot of bad) #even w like. s4 which we tore to shreds & mentioned a lot of mischaracterization in . it was still like yeah heres shit to say and overthin #6 especially it was like. yeah that was good that was good that was fine all good whatever but it seriously does not like. #i cannot emphasize enough how much autism was going on in those reviews for each ep they were long as fuck and progressively longer as we #went on but it was like. yeah just thumbs up to that even if i would do it differently. thanks #there was actual fuming going on w s7 it was bad. so most of this reservation is for s6 #s7 it was like amazing opening and we were like i guess i remembered this worse than it was (: and then i think it was like. we were #watching ep4 and we had to pause at a certain point and be like. hey this just. kind of sucks doesnt it..? #text tag

[basura2319]

Who lives, who dies

Pairing: Rex x reader (gender neutral)

Anonymous said:

“Hey! I’ve recently gotten back into the clone wars and Rex has stolen my heart 😂 would you be willing to do a Rex x Jedi!Reader but with a bit of angst where it’s older Rex in the Rebels series and he talks about the reader to Ezra? I hope that made sense 😂”

WC: 2.5K

Warnings: Takes place in Rebels, Ezra being nosy, angst, character death, blood, *S7 spoilers for tcw finale*, and things in italics are flashbacks.

A/N: I hope I did this fic some justice and sorry for making you wait so long. I had to force myself to rewatch the last episode a second time because that episode really messed me up, anyone else feel that way?

Rex never thought that he would be serving again since the Clone Wars. But times were changing and ever since the Ghost Crew came to him for help, he thought long and hard about joining a cause like the Rebellion. And when he did, it made him feel almost happy that he was doing something purposeful again. Something he’s choosing to be a part of. But at the same time, whenever he went on missions and saw rebels dying, ones he grew newly acquainted with, it brought back tons of memories he spent so much time on Seelos trying to repress.

Memories of his dying brothers, of Anakin and Ahsoka, and especially of you. Which was why he was outside of Chopper Base. Sleep eluded him right now and on those days when couldn’t sleep, he went outside to sit underneath Atollon’s night sky to think.

He sat on one of the crates by the shooting range and pulled out a hologram. With shaky hands, he turns it on and a tentative smile falls onto his lips at the image he sees.

It was a hologram of him—his younger self—and you, smiling at each other. Judging by the clothes you both wore, someone could look at the hologram and never guess that he was a soldier and you were a Jedi knight. But you were more than just a Jedi; you were his love. His everything. And this hologram, Rex thought, was his most prized possession. Because showed it a time in his life when he was in utter bliss. A feeling he would never have again.

Rex felt tears begin to build up as he gazes over your face again for the thousandth time. The light in your (e/c) eyes as you look to Rex and the crinkle on the edges of your eyes as you smiled. He remembered the day this hologram was taken. You convinced Rex to join you on a night around Coruscant. You had been the one to take the image without his knowing and you gave him a copy of it to keep. Since then, he has kept it with him at all times, as it is the only thing he has to remember you by.

He blinks the wetness in his eyes away. How he wished things turned out different. If only he believed Fives. If only he didn’t answer that incoming call from the Chancellor. If only they got out of the blazing cruiser fast enough. If only—

CRASH!

Rex immediately clicked the hologram shut and reached for his blaster, aiming at whatever made the crates behind him, he noted, fall over.

“Whose there” He growled. “Show yourself.”

It was probably those Atollon spiders again. How did they get inside the base?

“Relax! It’s just me!” said a panicked voice behind the crates. “Ezra!”

Rex sighed in relief. It was just the kid.

“What are you doing here?” asked Rex in exasperation, giving the boy a stern glare.

“I would ask you the same thing,” Ezra replied with raised brow. “Seeing as how you’re just…sitting here, doing what exactly?”

“That is none of your business,” said Rex sternly.

“Okay then,” he said sheepishly. “Well I guess my being here is none of your business so—”

“Ezra.”

“Alright,” he groaned. “I came out here to practice my lightsaber forms, see.” He waved his lightsaber around as proof. “And well…”

Ezra stared at the ground in shame. “And then I saw you by yourself a-and I didn’t mean to spy on you. I was—”

“Kid,” sighed Rex, feeling a slight tingle of warmth reach his face. “It’s alright.”

Rex shouldn’t feel embarrassed. It’s not like he could in trouble for possessing the only image of you he had. And it’s not like Ezra understood the context of what he saw.

He opened his mouth to say something but stopped seeing the way Ezra looked at him. Something akin to concern? Pity? The young boy looked as if he had more to say.

“Something wrong?”

“No—it’s,” Ezra said hesitantly. “That person—in that hologram— I know them.”

Rex furrowed his brows in confusion. “How?” You died before Ezra was born.

“Kanan has these holo-recordings he’s been showing me,” Ezra began. “They’re mainly Jedi Knights teaching how to do a certain form. I saw them teaching a session on how to do the Soresu form, their name, I think, is—”

“Jedi Knight (Y/N) (L/N),” Rex finished hoarsely. The first time in a while since he had said your name out loud.

“You don’t have to answer this,” Ezra said with a curious tone in his voice. “But, did you work with them?”

Rex smiled, recalling all the adventures you both had. “I did, in fact (Y/N) was part of Torrent Company.”

He sat back down on the crate and so did Ezra. “I met them a little after I met Commander Tano.” He chuckled. “They came in to save our forces after the disastrous stunt we pulled off in Felucia. Had they not came in to rescue us, we would have died trying to fend off those clankers.”

Rex, in his mind, remembered it all. You coming out of nowhere with  gunships, screaming at Anakin to fall back. He recalled Skywalker being almost stunned at your presence.

“What are you doing all the way out here (Y/N),” Rex remembered Anakin asking you as they got inside the gunships.

“Here to save your ass,” you commented back. “Only this time from a battlefield instead of from Master Kenobi.”

Anakin chuckled. “Always with the quip remarks.”

“We both trained together since we were kids,” you stated with an arched brow. “Why are you surprised?”

“So you’re a general now?” he asked.

“No,” you answered with a knowing grin. “But I am assigned to one.”

“No way!”

You threw your head back and laughed. “You better believe it.”

“Well then, I should introduce to my second in command, other than you,” he said, smirking at the offended huff you made. “Meet Captain Rex.”

He remembered you reaching out to him as you hung to the straps of the gunship to shake his hand. “Hello Captain, I’m (Y/N) (L/N), but please call me (Y/N).”

He was so entranced by your smile that he almost forgot you were speaking to him.

“Nice to meet you (Y/N),” he said, silently thanking the force that he had his helmet on so you couldn’t see the tinge of red in his cheeks. “And please, call me Rex.”

Rex smiled at the memory. “(Y/N) was a very clever Jedi, but most importantly they were compassionate. They treated us clones like equals and was always there to listen and understand our grievances.”

“They sound amazing,” Ezra replied. “I would’ve loved to meet them.”

Rex paused. “I think (Y/N) would’ve loved to train you and certainly wouldn’t hesitate for a second to be apart of this rebellion if they knew what became of the Republic we both swore to protect.”

His smile disappeared. He really wished you were here to see this.

Ezra looked to Rex with sadness. He could feel the clone veteran’s grief so strongly and could also feel his love for you; just like how he could feel the love between his parents as a kid before the Empire took that all away.

“They didn’t make because if the order did they?”

“No…” said Rex hoarsely. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t even be here…”

Everything fell apart after Mandalore.

He had no idea he was going to be forced to kill (Y/N) and Ahsoka by just one simple command that was enough to overpower his senses.

While Ahsoka managed to escape the blaster fire from him and his men, he was relieved to learn after his chip was removed that you were in your quarters when the order happen, giving you time to hide in the vents.

He was so afraid that his men might’ve gotten you. But he could see the fear and realization on your face when he woke up from his chip removal.

“Fives…” you said in a hushed voice as you three ran to open the hangar doors. “He was right about everything.”

Rex reached for your hand and gave a hard squeeze. “I know, but it weren’t for him, I would’ve killed…”

He couldn’t say it. The thought of you or Ahsoka being executed out of his own will, he—

He just didn’t want to imagine it.

But things worsened. The cruiser was beginning to break apart as they got out of hyperspace and the cruiser was on its way to crashing on a moon.

His men. His brothers who he loved so much, were all waiting for them at the main hangar. Willing to kill themselves trying to complete the mission.

Tears were streaming down his face as he argued this realization to you and Ahsoka.

You knew more than anyone how he felt. Removing his helmet, you pressed you forehead against his in affection. “Rex…it’s okay. I know your brothers. Ahsoka and I know that they are good soldiers and this isn’t their fault.”

He knew they might not have a chance in finding a ship and leaving, but he went with the plan of trying to reason with Jesse, his little vod, on not killing you or Ahsoka. But Rex already knew his brother was long gone, lost somewhere in his mind. He was desperate when it didn’t work and they kept firing at them.

To add to the ongoing mess of things, their chance of escape was taken away by Maul when he took the last remaining shuttle.

They were reaching the moon’s surface rapidly and running out of time.

“Wait,” you called out to Rex. “I see another unharmed ship. There!” You pointed to the Y-wing bomber.

You deflected the blaster shots away as you three ran towards it. Using the force, you wasted no time in pushing Rex towards the ship and jumping your way over.

“There’s only two seats!” exclaimed Rex in panic. “What do we do?”

Your heart seized at the problem. You looked over at Ahsoka who you realized didn’t make it over to the ship, still trying to hold the clones back. She wasn’t going to last long.

“Rex…” you called out, voice strained.

He looked to you, face contorted in anxiety. “What is it?”

You took his helmet off so you could stare at his face one last time. “You know that I love you, right?” you said breathlessly. “More than anything, more than life itself…”

“Y/N stop—“

You kissed him, one last time, savoring his lips as tears leaked from your eyes. “I’m so sorry.”  

You shut the cockpit canopy before he could stop you. “I hope one day you can forgive me.”

He was screaming your name and it broke your heart in two. Rex tried opening the canopy but it was too late.

“Ahsoka go!” You force pushed the clones out of the way and continued to deflect your lightsaber against their firing.

“No, I’m not—”

You didn’t let her finish. Using your remaining strength, you push your friend towards the ship. Rex felt the cruiser begin to tilt, watching how it made you lose your balance and fall towards the opening of the hangar. The cruisers billowing speed and harsh winds caused the Y-wing bomber to fly out before Rex and Ahsoka had a chance to help you.

As Rex gained control of the ship, he maneuvered through the rubble trying to see if you were alive, possibly hanging onto debris. He didn’t see you. Instead moments later, he found your mangled body in the debris along with his brothers.

He fell to his knees, gathering your body in his arms and wept. His watery eyes gazed at your form, noting the blood matted on your head that must’ve been from something blunt that collided with your head. The dried blood from your nose and mouth. And the most haunting thing of all was your (e/c) eyes, staring lifelessly at the sky.

It only made him cry out in anguish.

Ahsoka watched from afar as her friend mourn, silently crying at everything that went down. She felt the connection between her and her master die and now, you were gone too. To save her and Rex.

Rex reached a shaky hand over to close your eyes. He didn’t want to leave you here, but what choice did he have? Someone was going to come to evaluate the site soon. They had to leave.

Rex and Ahsoka took one last look at the burial site they made and left with a creeping feeling of numbness. When they went into orbit, Rex stared at the moon below while reaching for his necklace that held the hologram of you he hid under his shirt.

Pressing the device to his lips he whispered, “I love you… and I forgive you, my cyare”

They made the jump to hyperspace, uncertain of what their future would entail now.

***

“Did you ever go back to the crash site?” Ezra asked a little after Rex finished talking.

“No,” sighed Rex. “The place for all I know could be swarming with Imperial probe droids or they probably took whatever they deemed important.”

Ezra reached over to put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture. “I might not know (Y/N), but from what you’ve told me, I think they would be proud of where you are now.”

Rex smiled at the young Jedi. “I’d like to think so too.”

***

All beings become one with the Force after death.

That’s what you’ve been told along with all Jedi.

Yet you didn’t feel like you were apart of the Force. Sure you could feel it binding you, but it was nothing like you’ve imagined. You thought that after death, you wouldn’t recall your past life, but you did. Or that you wouldn’t be aware of anything that’s happening in the universe.

You are able to see and acknowledge what’s become of this universe. And you're horrified of it. You’re horrified of what you know.

The only thing you’re thankful for is that the one’s you cared about made it out alive.

Ahsoka, you gathered, is following a path you knew suited her apart from the Jedi ways and you couldn’t be even more happy for her.

As for Rex, you never left his side after death, just not in the way you expected. He couldn’t see you. No one could unless they were Jedi. But that only happened when you wanted to be seen.

But you’ve watched over him after all this time and watched his struggle in adjusting to a new life as a free man. That didn’t mean you couldn’t feel his guilt though. His guilt that he lived whereas his brothers didn’t and lastly, his guilt over you.

You were filled with sadness whenever he grieved over you, like what he was doing now. Sitting by himself, staring at the hologram you gifted him.

You hated that you couldn’t talk to him or that you couldn’t give him some sort of comfort. There was so much you wanted to say to him, but oh how you couldn’t wait to speak to him to again. It’s only a matter of time.

For now, all you can do now is be in his presence, wishing he knew you were here.

#requests #captain rex #captain rex x reader #commander rex #commander rex x reader

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 8x09 Brain Dump

It was...not all bad. I really want to like this. I love Mia, William and FTA. I want to enjoy BS like I did in S7. I want to see Dinah written consistently with any kind of actual character. Well, at least my love for FTA is still intact 😂😂

Mia

Kat was brilliant in this episode. Her leading lady really jumped out 😂😂 Her emotional moments hit the mark, and I think she juggled her post-Crisis new life with her old memories brilliantly.

We opened on her waking up in the Queen mansion(!), with a very yummy Diggle Jr in her bed, only it’s JJ not Connor 😱😱 She’s also surrounded by adorable family photos, showing that Oliver got his wish of her and William growing up together (and confirmation that the Olicity Love Cabin still existed!) Basically, she’s living the best life that Oliver could have wished for her, without him in it, of course 😭

Probably the most notable change in ‘new Mia’ (other than her being infinitely happier and living in a crime-free city) was her social poise. She’s been brought up in Oliver Queen’s old world, and is quite the socialite, only without any of the haughty frivolity that one might expect (I imagine we have Felicity for that 😍). She loves her life and her friends, and she defends them, especially in the face of Laurel, who seemingly does nothing but scoff at her lifestyle for the whole episode 😒 I loved her addressing the press!! That was pure Queen! Maybe the influence of a certain Aunt Thea?

Source: feilcityqueen

More below the cut…

Basically this Mia is smart and loving and happy, and Oliver gave her a warm and otherwise full life, save for finding her true purpose (which is gonna be vigilanteing, of course). So of course BS and Dinah rock up and upend it all 😂 I really liked how they made the returning of Mia’s memories a source of conflict, as well they should. It was so brutal to just return them with no preamble, to destroy what happiness Oliver had given back to her, just because, what? BS couldn’t complete her own fucking mission? (More of that later lol) Then Mia standing up to BS when she went as far as to mock Mia’s new world, just gave me life!!!

Anyway, with her memories restored, and bad guys to track down, of course Mia couldn’t resist her heroic calling and suited up, then proceeded to be the epic badass that we have grown to love.

Source: kathmcnamara

I loved seeing her struggle with her memories returning, and the guilt that they brought with them of not living up to Oliver’s legacy. At the same time, she appreciates what Oliver did for her, that all he wanted for his family and the city was to be safe and happy. She ultimately decides to remain the Green Arrow, taking up the guard of her city in her father’s memory, to protect the new world that he sacrificed himself to create.

Source: felicityqueen

We’d seen she’d developed her ‘street smarts’ in the flash-forwards, so I think she’ll end up bringing these together with her new social skills, and badass moves, and be an unstoppable force!! Hopefully that will include her old FTA team as well, and not just the two feathered ones 🙄

FTA/JJ

God this needed more FTA.

We got a small amount of William, more of JJ, what with him being Mia’s fiance (!!), and little more than fleeting glances of Zoe (!) and Connor. The disrespect!! 😂

William (who even knows his surname in this new life?) continues to hold my whole heart in his hands 😍😍

Source: oliverxfelicity

LOOK AT HIM!!!!💗💗💗

He seems to have been least affected in terms of his character, post-crisis. It’s implied that he’s running Smoak Tech, and that he and Mia grew up together and are basically each others’ ride-or-dies 😭😍😭 

I truly hope if the show is picked up, that they increase the William content by a solid 1000% 😂 He brings so much heart and a certain humour and lightness, just like Felicity brought to Arrow, and Ben is such an amazing actor. The new show will need a William. BADLY. He really seems to have his shit together (in the very limited time we have seen him of course 😒), but I’m hoping that that doesn’t lead to Mia keeping her memories from him for long (although remembering who their Dad is, I’m guessing she could take a while 😂😂).

So JJ proposes to Mia at the beginning of the episode!!!! Apparently they are the love of each others lives here. Dig clearly learned from what Connor told him, and steered JJ away from becoming a murdering gangster...YAY! Although it seems that in doing so, our darling boy Connor ran into a few issues of his own 😫😫 It looks like there is no love lost between him and Mia, that he has been in and out of rehab, and is now somewhat of a bad boy 😏😏 But when they first lock eyes there is still definite history and heat there and, just HJJHDFVGDFK 🔥 BACKSTORY IS NEEDED!! Then at the end, JJ has his memories restored by scary-dude-in-cloak (who I was totally hoping would be Dig or Oliver tbh 😂), so I’m super interested to see how he copes with his dual memories!! So now Mia loves JJ, but knows he was evil and killed Zoe, and she hated Connor, but now remembers they had feelings for each other and that he is a beautiful soul, and all the shit is gonna hit the fan!!! I usually hate love triangles, but this is so exciting, with the good boy/bad boy switch up, and then the opposite memories being returned...YAAAAASSSS!! Although I’d like to make it clear that, whilst I’m going to enjoy the drama getting there, I am firmly in the SmoaknHawke end game camp!! 

And as excited as I just got, all of this took up just about 5 mins of screen time 😫😫 It reminds me of what Arrow was lacking in its early episodes...heart and hope. They lucked into it with Felicity/Emily, but they have it here, ready and waiting, and are so far not using it.

Kat knows what’s what. This is the show we deserve. 

Birds

There was a lot of bird action. Apparently in shaping a perfect future, Oliver saw fit that Mia never met BS or Dinah...this is why we stan 😂😂 Dinah has also seemingly been erased from the history books 😬, waking up after Oliver’s funeral (😒😭) 20 years in the future, so naturally becomes a bohemian, opens a bar and sings a lot. Cool, I’d probably do the same 😂😂 Laurel, it seems, went off to spend time with Sara, and has apparently become a solo time-traveller, trying to stop 2041 from becoming a really bad year. Righto. 

Dinah was actually ok in this episode, if not hugely out of character, but that in itself has been inconsistent throughout the show, so here’s hoping that the zen-filled peacemaker that she was in this episode continues! Dinah’s new-found peace and bearability seemingly comes at the cost of Laurel being utterly awful. She rocked up in the future like Billy Big Bollocks with a huge chip on her shoulder, just sneering her way through the episode. She had such bitterness, disdain and anger directed towards Mia (and Dinah, at times) for no apparent reason, when they seemed to have somewhat bonded previously?! She spent the majority of the episode sauntering around looking down on everyone, portraying a bitchy-tomboy type, deeming anything vaguely typically feminine or not hard-moody-’badass’ as beneath her. This is not #girlpower. Fuck off.

Then we have that clusterfuck of a scene at the exhibition 🙈🙈 where BS tries to tell Mia that she used to date her Dad, before quickly correcting herself to “some version of him, anyway”, as if they were one and the same 🙄 Laurel’s continual need to imply that she knows, or has history with our Oliver is infuriating as hell. E2 Oliver died on the Gambit in his early 20s. Even if he was similar in character to E1 Oliver up until then, that person bears no likeness to the man he became. Her past with her ‘Ollie’ is entirely irrelevant to the man that was Mia’s father, who she barely even got to know at all save for a couple of episodes in S8. And not only the implication that she knew him, but then to actually try to trash him as well, to his kid?! All to push her idea that all versions of people are the same (which was refuted when JJ doesn’t even turn out to be behind the Deathstroke mask anyhow)? NO! At least Dinah and Mia were cringing along with us 😂

It’s just astounding, the turnaround they’ve managed with Laurel/BS. They already did the unthinkable in S7 and got a lot of people from this side of the fandom to empathise and warm to her, without pissing off her existing fans. I really did grow to like her in S7 (check my reviews, I still can’t believe it 😂), she was snarky, but not bitchy, and showed some heart and vulnerability. So it’s mind-blowing how they took all that growth and just obliterated it this season, and then even more so in this episode where she is just plain nasty and unlikeable. 

I do think, however, that giving BS and Mia a tempestuous relationship from the off was a good idea, cos let’s face it, you can tell there is no love lost between them. But they could have made them clash in a better way than BS just being an arsehole to Mia for most of the episode. My best guess is her anger comes from Mia coming out of Crisis with a life untouched by violence, whilst her earth was still lost? (Was it? I can’t actually remember if E2 came back.) She can’t complete her self-appointed mission on her own and knows she needs Mia’s help to do it?? I don’t know. She had a lot to say about JJ supposedly being a ‘homicidal manic’...pot, kettle much?! She also seemed to find the notion of Mia initially wanting to just appreciate the peaceful life she had been given and not becoming a vigilante reprehensible, but why? BS is the one that needs to atone for past sins. Mia does not. 

Stray thoughts

That cliffhanger!!! WHO TOOK OUR WILLIAM?!?!?!

The music was...not good. Especially during the fight scenes. Arrow was always so on-point with its score. I don’t understand how this can be so bad?! I did like hearing Mia’s theme in there, though, that was a nice tie-in the old flash-forwards.

Who is this Kevin that cheated on William? He must be destroyed!😡

Some of that future make-up was really something 😬😬 2040 is all about the severe/dead and unblended looks, apparently. The fashion was fabulous though!

The dialogue in the action scenes was soooo hammy.

Who is the mysterious, villainous “she”???

“Frack you!” and “I’m not interested in joining your Canary club” YAASS MIA 😂

William and Mia’s “pet rock” talk was super cute 😍 

Oliver’s statue!! 😭😭😭

Hopes for the future, if series gets picked up:

Increased focus on Mia/FTA. We have such a fresh, interesting, diverse cast, with intertwined back stories ready to go for this show here already, waiting to be used. USE THEM.

A deadly outbreak of avian flu 😂🙊

Failing said outbreak...keep the birds in the background or MAKE THEM LIKEABLE. This is a chance for a clean slate!

I wanna see Papa Dig so bad. David had said we’d get to see 2040 Dig in Arrow, but looks like that isn’t going to happen now, and I’d just love to see how he is. I can also imagine David being entirely done, and not wanting to be a part of this, however, but a cheeky little cameo would be amazing 😂

SmoaknHawke to RISE 🔥🔥🔥

As it stands, I’ll watch if it goes to series, but for how long remains in question. I just know I cannot get on board with the faux feminist “heart/vulnerability/girly is ‘weak’! Let’s be hard/edgy/angry badasses and fight men and show the world we’re strong pow pow pow” narrative that BS in particular, but also the general tone of the show overall, is trying to portray. I really think that if the show is picked up that they should look to see what is working and what is falling flat on its arse. It’s in dire need of more heart and fewer birds imo, but we can have both, if they’d just write them as better people.

Thank you to the beautiful gif-makers 😘 Any uncredited gifs are mine.

💗💗💗

#Arrow 8x09 #Arrow #Arrow spoilers #Mia Smoak Queen #Green Arrow and the canaries #Arrow Season 8 #beccie's brain

[phoebehalliwell]

so, amnesia trope....which charmed one would you do it with & how would you do it (if you want, i just like this trope)

hmmm that’s a really good question idk why but my gut really says to go with phoebe. she was first to the craft and the one that really pushed prue & piper to move forward in their destiny, so to have that all be wiped would be interesting to say the least. furthermore, with her psychic powers, i feel like that leaves a lot of room for “echos” like feelings of deja vu or the sense that you should be remembering something but you can’t remember what you’re remembering.

i feel like i would put this line after season 4 / beginning of season 5 in an au where cole doesn’t come back but phoebe is still haunted by his memory. i think her emotional stress and ptsd from that relationship would then cause a block in her powers bc as well all know your powers are tied to your emotions so phoebe might start looking into a way to fix that. personally, i feel like it’s never a good move to have the character move forward with these actions to the extent that they end up damaging themselves bc while i think it is a complex journey it very often comes across as unrelatable and leads to people holding grudges against said character bc it looks like they placed their own well being over the well being of their family and those they swore to protect. so what i would do is have phoebe go through multiple processes trying to cure herself: crystals, meditation, essential oils, talk therapy, etc. but she still has this block. shit really becomes an issue when a power of three spell almost doesn’t work. piper, phoebe, paige, & leo all have to sit down and discuss what’s happening bc phoebe’s troubles seem to only be getting worse and it’s now directly impacting the power of three. they need to find something fast bc it’s getting dangerous and phoebe starts crying bc she’s doing everything she can and she doesn’t know how to move forward so everyones looking at leo like okay whitelighter this has to have happened to some witch before phoebe what do we do and leo’s like well idk there’s one thing we could do but it’s incredibly dangerous and we should really only use it as a last resort and piper’s like well i think we’ve hit that last resort stage and leo’s like it’s a spirit journey and again it’s really dangerous and i’m not sure this rewards outweigh the risk and phoebe’s like leo my problems are more than just my problems now they’re stopping us from saving innocents whatever it is i’ll do it i have to do it. so leo’s like okay alright i guess were doing this

so they hole up phoebe in her room and phoebe calls elise saying she's going on a vacation for her mental health (which elise fully supports) bc they asked leo how much time this’ll take and leo has genuinely no idea bc it’s not a common practice and it really depends on phoebe so piper whips up the potion and paige lines phoebe’s room with protection spells and they offer all their love & support and phoebe goes under

the next couple episodes are split between piper & paige fighting their real world battles and phoebe’s adventures through the spirit world. piper & paige get more and more anxious bc phoebe’s been under for like three weeks and piper & paige are talking to leo like is it supposed to take this long can we pull her out what if she never wakes up and leos like i wish i had the answer to these questions but i deadass do not i don’t know what’s going on in there i don’t know how she’s doing meanwhile i feel like phoebe’s walking through memories changing her actions go through ripple effects walking through alternate universe maybe in an alternate universe she never met cole and prue’s still alive in an alternate universe she had telekinesis in an alternate universe she stay evil and killed her sisters and she keeps living out different scenarios and seeing different sides of herself and she’s exhausted and scared and

she wakes up in the middle of the night bolts upright in her bed lightly coated in sweat. she trods outside her her room and is just like confused so she goes down the hallway and knocks on the door and paige opens it like you’re awake!!! and pulls her into a big hug and phoebe starts squirming and yelling (but not judo flipping paige or anything like the pre amnesia phoebe would be able to) and she’s like who the fuck are you what are you doing in piper’s room!!!!! and the yelling alerts piper and leo and come running out of their room like you’re awake!! and phoebe immediate rushes to piper’s side like What Is Going On Who Are These People Where’s Prue? and piper’s like prue??? and phoebe’s like Yes Our Sister Prue Where Is She and piper’s like phoebe... whats the last thing you remember? and phoebe’s like New York... i came back and she looks at piper with like absolute sorrow in her eyes and is like grams... and piper’s lookin at piper and leo like holy fuckin shit the last thing she remembers is the pilot episode and she’s like phoebe sweetie i need you to sit down and just give me a second and phoebe’s like completely shell shocked so she does and piper’s like the last thing she remembers is coming back from new york; she doesn’t know who you are she doesn’t know who you are, she doesn’t know prue’s dead, i don’t even think she knows she’s a witch and paige is like okay what do we do and piper’s like i don’t know and they’re looking at leo like ?? and leo’s like i don’t know either i mean we have to tell her and by we i do mean piper as she’s the only one phoebe recognizes and piper’s like oh yeah sure hi sweetie you don’t remember this but you’re a witch your sister’s dead i’m married paige over there is our half sister mom had an affair while i’m at it dad’s back in our lives oh and also a couple months ago you were queen of hell! is there anything i’m missing?? and leo’s like just,, talk to her slowly,, treat it very gentle and piper’s like yeah Not My Forte but she goes to phoebe and holds her hands like i don’t know how to tell you this but your last memory is from 1998 and phoebe’s like ,,,, what year is it now? and piper’s like 2002 and phoebe’s lower lip starts trembling and she’s like how did this happen and piper’s like i promise i’ll explain everything but right now i think it’s best that you get some rest. i’ll see you in the morning and she kisses phoebe on the forehead and sends her back to bed and piper paige & leo all head up to the attic to try to draft up some game plan on how to get their phoebe back

so over the next couple of weeks they like try to really gently bring phoebe up to speed the first thing they really have to get out of the way is Phoebe You’re A Witch which is a shock y’know magic being real but phoebe rolls with it about as well as she did in the pilot. the next is prue’s gone, which phoebe has sorta pieced together but was still Not Ready to hear. i think this whole era would also be a really great opportunity to build up paige & phoebe’s relationship bc the show really dropped the ball on that one. i think they would both really lean on each other and grow bc a young phoebe was very much like a young paige and phoebe’s still quasi young phoebe but like paige is like this is advice you gave me a phoebe’s like me?? giving out advice??? and paige is like yeah believe it or not you’re actually an advice columnist i also think phoebe would spend a lot of times flipping through photo albums and reading her old columns and trying to understand who she was / is. i also think she would push piper to open her restaurant after seeing p3 bc she’s be like piper this is amazing but this isn’t your dream. you always wanted to be a chef. and piper admittedly had almost forgotten that she had put that dream on hold but phoebe bringing it back up would really stoke that fire again and make her want to open up her own restaurant.

i think phoebe’s first major relapse would be when she was flipping through the book and found her entry on cole’s human form which has pictures of her and this man and it’s all written in her handwriting and she gets this horrible know it her stomach and then a premonition containing the highlights reel of her and cole’s relationship and she breaks down. and piper paige & leo all find her an absolute mess and she’s like were you going to tell me??? were you going to tell me everything i did????? and she goes through this horrible era of feeling responsible for prue’s death and all the evil cole did and piper and paige really have to help pull her out of that at this point i think we also bring in coop who really helps her start to heal her heart and i think the whole journey to get Back To Phoebe wouldn’t be an easy one but the drama driven by this could very easily take up the space occupied by piper & leo’s relationship drama which i personally have never been too keen on. i think this could be the driving plot of s5 and then s6 could be piper’s pregnancy & wyatt s7 could be be chris and the future plotline which i think phoebe would be a lot more attune to as that could have been one of the realities she lived through on her spirit journey and then s8 would be the final season idk i wouldn’t want to use zankou or the avatars or billie & christy but y’know something good and have it stick the landing like it did in the og

#💌 #charmed #phoebe halliwell #margaretsminiessays #can i just say love the phrasing of the ask like the implication i could have just said No I Don't Want and had that be the whole answer #lmao could you imagine

[sol1056]

if you promise peaches, deliver peaches.

After S7, the asks have been piling up. A few examples:

I was so confused in ep4 when Acxa disappeared, I thought she’d stuck with the team after ep3 and maybe I just missed the scene where she left, but others have brought that up, too.

Funny how the majority of the problems in s7 are because they tried to force BP Keith to the detriment of the story, and ironically, Keith's story, too.

I thought Lance’s family reunion would be much more emotional and be a part of his arc, since he was the most homesick, but then they gave that to Hunk?

Shiro got tossed aside in the most ableist, racist, and homophobic way, and Allura could have had a cool storyline mixing her paladinship and her castle storyline with a new altean mecha, instead of Shiro becoming a bad Allura 2.0 and Keith becoming a bad Shiro 2.0.

Srsly tho, am I the only one who finds it extremely bothering that in writing Allura and Lance they don't bother to show Allura coming to view Lance in a romantic light after her breakup?

Why even bother in S6 to make such a big deal of Shiro/Kuron saying his dream is to be a paladin over and over? Until he was revealed a clone some of us thought he was Shiro, so it's even harder to accept Shiro not being BP anymore.

The EPs seem to be so stuck in their initial idea and salty they couldn’t do it exactly as they want that they just ignore the story itself?

The EPs have spoken of being determined to get the VLD gig out of fear it’d be given to someone who'd wreck the story. That's understandable, but we're talking about a 78-episode, six-season, space opera mecha series. This genre practically demands a sprawling world and a massive cast, and it's far beyond the scope of anything either JDS or LM have ever helmed on their own. 

My guess is that JDS and LM didn’t realize the enormity of what they were taking on, or they (and their bosses) seriously underestimated the degree to which they were wholly unprepared.

Behind the cut: what I meant when I said these EPs are not storytellers.

I’m not surprised the EPs over-estimated their skill, really. People will look at a creative process like art –- where you often start young, practice daily, maybe study it formally, apprentice or intern (especially in animation), and gradually work your way up -- and they see the effort. They know it wasn’t an overnight thing. 

Too often, the very same people won’t accord that respect to the art of storytelling. It’s treated like divine inspiration, something that just happens. We’ve been hearing and reading and watching stories all our lives; how hard can it be to do it ourselves?

It’s goddamn hard, is what it is. I would love to tell you otherwise, but that’s the truth. You can rock your dialogue but you gotta track character goals, too. Complicated backstories only get you so far if you don’t understand how to modulate tension. You can have a great premise but you still gotta resolve the damn thing. A story has a hundred moving parts; scale up to a space opera’s necessary levels of epic and we’re talking exponentially more.

In my experience, the hardest part of storytelling — not the technical aspects of writing, but the art of storytelling — is holding the shape of the story in your head. The entire thing, all at once. You have to, if you’re to see how a choice at this point will echo down the line, or a motif laid here should reflect there, how the theme shifts but stays true from start to end, how these secondary arcs weave together to undergird the main arc.

I’d say a lot of what we learn in our first few novels is how to see — and hold —the story’s shape in our head. I’m not talking dialogue or voice acting or choreography. I’m talking about the overall shape, the vision and theme it establishes, evolves, and eventually resolves.

If we cannot, we will find our stories promise peaches and deliver pine cones.

Looking back, there are too many clues --- almost all given by the EPs themselves --- that they didn't have the experience to do this story justice. What they did have was a certainty that their vision was the best, an inability to deviate from that one story they'd devised, and a continual low-grade frustration at being held back.

Let's go back to the beginning. S1 starts a little rocky (to be expected as a team finds its groove), but S2 builds on S1 quite deftly. It’s not perfect, but in a storytelling sense, it’s the strongest season, and it's much too self-assured to be a beginner’s. It moves swiftly but steadily to a pivotal midpoint, and from there snowballs gracefully into its finale; it balances nuanced characterization with plot movement, and its opening promises bear fruit by the end.

In those earliest interviews and panels, the EPs are often casually vague about basic details, like character ages or relationships. At least twice their answers change, giving the impression they hadn't known and had needed to confirm with someone else. Generally, though, they're low-key and hopeful, possibly leaning on the borrowed confidence of that other storyteller’s influence.

By S3/S4, their tone shifts to a peculiar kind of non-ownership. They joke about having no idea what's going on, tossing out guesses as though they'd be the last to know. They offer head canons, rather than insight. They wear their frustration openly, alluding to the story they'd wanted, chafing at what had been decided for them.

As the story moved into the split-seasons, it's clear that whomever lent that guiding hand in S1/S2 was no longer present. Someone else’s fingerprints are on S3, and my guess is it’s mostly Hedrick, at least on the script-level. The word choices change, the cadences change, the beats change. From S3 on, VLD has all the hallmarks of a muddy vision. 

You can see that in the story’s shape. It holds together, but barely. It darts forward, then sideways, then treads water for a bit. It’s erratically paced, dropping plot points and introducing new ones, only to drop those as well. It can’t settle on a driving antagonist, and when it finally does, it can't keep the antagonist’s goal consistent. It sacrifices nuance for one-note characterization, and shoves most substantiative character growth off-screen.

This continues to S6, which generally continues the focus on plot coupons over character goals, exposition at the cost of emotional beats, and neglecting established characters to introduce left-field swerves in the guise of plot twists. On the plus side, it does manage to rally enough to end its multi-season prevarication, and put to bed questions hanging around since late S3.

It's worth noting that both EPs have only a single writing credit each, for the pilot three-parter. That makes it doubly striking that JDS chose to write the Black Paladins episode. After the season aired, JDS complained in passing about rewrites on his episode. If that seems odd, remember that an EP has final approval on every script. If it bothered him to have his ideas rejected in favor of keeping Shiro, it must've burned to have his writing choices countermanded.

From the timing and the episode credits, this must've been around when Tim Hedrick left the team --- and the EPs took full ownership. 

It shows in their post-S6 interviews. Gone are the ambiguous expressions or vague promises of doing their best. Their wording is declarative: what Kuron had been, what Shiro would be, the resolution of Shiro’s illness, the nature of Shiro’s past relationship. None is equivocated, nor couched as head canons. They’ve taken control of the narrative, and their interpretation is now the deciding one.

This change was important enough to them that they had to make sure we’re aware. There’s simply no other reason to tell us S7 had been written in its entirety, let alone tell us the original outcome. Nor is there any other reason to tell us they petitioned for — and got — permission to rewrite.

When I look at S7 with my writer’s hat on, everything tells me this is where the brakes came off. With Hedrick’s departure, there was no one left but the EPs themselves to steer the story. By whatever means, for whatever reason, VLD went from a crafted vision, to a conflicted one, to none at all.

Set aside the larger controversies for a moment, and just think about the shape of S7. It’s almost three seasons in one: the first part skips from event to event, then abruptly timeskips to reset the entire playing field. That second part in turn is divided from the last half by a two-parter that halts momentum for an overlong flashback with an entirely new cast, followed by a finale that mostly backseats its protagonists in favor of letting that new cast dominate.

There’s a common pattern in the way beginner writers react to critique, and I see that all over the EPs’s responses, from the beginning. It’s only grown worse since S6. They can’t quite juggle the story they think they’re telling versus the story they’re actually telling.

I’ve had these conversations too many times to count. I ask, how did this character get from here to there? The newbie storyteller is quick to explain, usually in great detail. I ask, but then why did this happen? The more I dig, the greater the chance the newbie will get angry that I don’t seem to be reading the story they’re so obviously telling. If I keep pushing, they’ll get defensive.

They’ll confidently assure me this is exactly the story they’d intended to tell, and if I don’t like it, that’s my problem. (They may not be able to hold the shape in their head, but they’ve probably already taken to heart the adage that one must stay true to one’s ‘artistic’ vision. The part about listening to critique even when it’s uncomfortable… that takes a bit longer to learn.)

My reaction almost always boils down to: you’re telling me this amazing story, but that’s not the story you’ve actually written.

Sometimes the best description of the shape of a newbie’s story is that of a house after a tornado’s swept through: the front door is on the chimney, the roof is half-off, and the windows are shattered in the front yard. Most of the pieces are there, but it’s all so jumbled the newbie storyteller can’t see what’s missing. They can’t hold the shape of the story in their head, so even when they know here’s where something goes, they’re too overwhelmed to remember the door they need is still on the chimney.

An epic story is no cakewalk, and boy do I give credit for that effort, but it’s one thing to learn by noodling in a fandom on AO3. It’s quite another to do it at the scale of a television series, let alone one with the expected scope of a space opera spanning galaxies. This is not the place to learn as you go.

Here’s why the shape of the story — and holding that in your head — is so important. 

Think of a story’s resolution like a fresh peach. You want the reader to bite into the peach as the culmination of everything the story has been, from start to end. But you don’t get a peach by planting pine trees. You must start with the proper seeds, and make sure what grows is a peach tree, such that your final act bears the right fruit.

I touched on this before with the promise of the premise. Themes, backstories, world-building, and motifs are facets of the seeds planted in the first act. Everything you need to resolve the story must be present when the story begins; that’s where your premise lies, and your promises are made. 

Through the entire second act, the tree must grow. The storyteller’s task is to trim as needed, bind this to that, shore up the roots, add water and nurture: this is where the theme expands, the foreshadowing laid, the questions reveal answers that lead to further questions, narrowing the outcome, each outlining the tree’s shape in sharper detail.

By the time the story turns the corner into the third act, the readers should be reasonably certain they’re going to get a peach tree. This is not a bad thing! You want them looking forward to plucking the peach and enjoying it. You want everything planted at story-beginning to come to fruition, at story-end.

That is why you must hold the shape — the vision — in your head, always checking against where you began and where you plan to end. You cannot throw out the entire tree at the end of the second act and start over; if you ignore the fruit your story is producing and insist on serving up pine cones, you’re going to have confused and possibly angry readers.

You promised them peaches, damn it.

The story is now midway through the third act. Everything planted in the previous seasons must now be coming to fruition… but it won’t. The EPs are openly (even proudly) reversing course on everything that’s come before. That means directly violating every motif, every thematic element, every bit of foreshadowing in word, image, or sound.

And at the same time, the story’s scope is simply too vast, and they haven’t the experience to juggle all the thousands of moving parts. The result is the most slapdash season, yet. Characters simply drop out of sight, only to reappear again with no warning. Themes and motifs built up over so many episodes are tossed aside as if they mean nothing.

The hand-to-hand fights are visually striking — the EPs’ strengths are in storyboarding, after all — but emotionally hollow, bereft of dialogue that could finally give us closure. Characters that would’ve once spoken openly with each other barely exchange a word; character-distinct dialogue is uttered by someone else, as though the VAs mixed up the scripts in the recording booth.

To achieve the emotional heft required for a meaningful resolution, there must be echoes of the story’s beginning. But when the beginning is negated—underscored by a timeskip that resets the entire playing field—there’s nothing to refer back to. The events now are happening in a void, divorced from the themes and motifs that created the emotional context in the first place.

This is by design; the EPs’ vision has never matched with the story as it was told to this point. They can’t go back, so they’ve rebooted. Once with the timeskip, and again with a two-parter episode that introduces new characters that can be entirely their own. Compared to the protagonists, these secondary characters have been lavished with attention to the point of overload: full names, backstories, designs. All of of that, and the time required to introduce them is to the detriment of the actual protagonists.

Whatever story VLD ostensibly set out to tell, that story is gone, now.

This is no longer a matter of losing track of the story, such that the promised peaches have transmuted into pine trees. We passed that point somewhere in S6. The EPs have burnt down the orchard to plant new seeds, while doing their best to ignore the charred stump of the story we'd been promised.

I would've preferred peaches, myself. That was the story I was promised, and that was the fruit I expected from everything I saw onscreen. But now? 

I hope you like carrots.

#vld #voltron #storytelling #analysis #sol thinks about stuff

[seeasweetsmile]

So, I talked earlier about a pidgance one-shot that inspired me with all the wonderful and the lot of content that we get after S7, and here I am, with the story finished ! I hope you like it, gardeners ! Keep doing a sweet and amazing as always ! Also, did I say I love Pokemon, too ? No ? ‘Cause I do.

Title : Surprise visit Disclaimer : Characters are not mine. Summary : Spoilers end S7. Although Pidge was still hospitalized in the galactic garrison, she spent her afternoon quietly with Lance when an old acquaintance arrived to visit her.

Pidge was sitting comfortably against her pillows, her legs stretched out in front of her but covered by white sheets, still wearing her orange and white clothes from the Galactic Garrison Hospital. She played quietly in the game boy advance, while Lance was sitting near her, between the window and her bed. Arms resting on the edge of her bed, he leaned forward to follow her progress in the game. "That's it, you finally arrive at Cerulean City !” Lance sighed. "I thought you'd never get there..." "Yeah, these are quite long passages but these allow you easily increase level when you're at the beginning of the adventure.” She answered automatically.

The red paladin hummed and gasped in surprise as he saw what she was doing to her little character. "Wait, you're just coming into town and you're already going to attack the arena ?!” He exclaimed. "Don’t you even heal your Pokémons ?!” "It's good, I have Ivysaur and Pikachu. Against water types, it will be easy.” She answered in a monotone voice but from which an absolute confident was transpiring.

As she had just defeated the two sidekicks in the arena and was fighting the red-haired champion, two knocks on the door forced her to lift her head. The door slid open, and a brown-eyed, blond head dressed in a white shirt, jeans, and black baskets appeared in the opening.

"Hey, Katie... you, uh... do you remember me ?” He asked, advancing unsteadily at the foot of her bed.

At the sight of the blonde boy, her grip on her game console instinctively tightened. She remembered him very well : he was an old school classmate from middle school, the one who had called her a nerd and had humiliated her in front of the whole class. He was much taller and muscular now, his face was more refined and his bored little asshole face seemed to be gone.

"What do you want, Corentin ?” She said, frowning, though part of her was intrigued by his coming. The blond seemed slightly uncomfortable. He anxiously triturated the bottom of his pockets and hardly dared to look into her eyes, throwing quick eyeballs that oscillated between her, the ground at his feet, and the console she still carried in her hands. "Can we... can we discuss ?” He wanted to know, before launching a glance at Lance -whom he finally greeting by nodded, and returned to her. "Alone ?”

A short silence settled and Pidge's brain was spinning quickly. Only a few tics later, her decision was made and she turned her head to the cuban.

"Lance, can you stay in the hallway ? I don't have one for very long."

The young man opened his mouth, certainly to protest or say anything, but no words came out. He pursed his lips and gave a small smile to his friend before giving a nod. He stood up and Pidge reached for him.

"Hold on. Here, can you beat the boss for me ?" She asked, giving him her game boy.

"Got this." He replied, taking the console and crossing the room, not without casting a suspicious glance at the other boy.

The red paladin softly shut the door and the blonde, as well as Pidge, were finally alone. Corentin turned his attention to the brown-haired while pointing the exit.

“It’s your boyfriend ?" Pidge frowned again. She hesitated between answering "yes" just to shut at him up, and "it's none of your business" because, well, her personal relationships really did not concern him. Instead, she settled down with a cautious and firm "What did you want to talk about ?". He put a hand to his neck to scratch the back of his head, clearly embarrassed. He gave her another look and looked down, unable to hold her gaze for more than two seconds. "You... you cut your hair.” He observed. "I liked your long hair but the short hair, it suits you well too." Pidge, despite his serious face, stared at him confusedly. Really ? He had come, had interrupted her playing time and her peaceful moment with Lance, to tell him that ? Where did these compliments come from, by the way ?

"If you've come all the way just to talk about my hair, you can go home.” She retorted calmly. Then she turned her head to the door and opened her mouth to summon Lance to return. "No !” The blonde hastily dropped into her field of vision, hands in front of him. An eyebrow raised in question, Pidge sank deeper into his cushions and crossed his arms in expectation. The young man capitulated with a sigh, drooping shoulders, and he decided to start after taking a breath, certainly to give courage to himself. "I... actually, I wanted to apologize..." he confessed. At the sight of a second eyebrow raised by his interlocutor, the blonde continued his momentum, not without putting his hands in the pockets to have something to do with his hands.

"...for the attitude I had towards you in middle school. I've been thinking about it from time to time since you left the school, you know ? And I felt bad about making fun of you. I am sorry. It was bad and I shouldn’t have done that...” he admitted with a guilty look. The green paladin opened her mouth in "o", without a word came out. Pidge did not quite know what to say to her old classmate. He seemed to have thought about what he had done, and wanted her to forgive him. Maybe she should be accepting his excuses ? After all, it was years ago now -or at least, it's the impression she had, because with all these months spent in space, their perception of time was slightly altered...

When Corentin don’t received a answer from the brown-haired, he swayed slightly on his feet, continued to speak while mumbling under his breath, loud enough for her to hear. "I mean, it pissed me off that you always know everything and you cut the professor's speech all the time. You did not even put yourself in the shoes of the teacher who felt bad about being belittled by one of his own students..."

Wait...

"...And since you were always the first to answer questions without permission, me and the class didn’t even have the chance to be interviewed. It was hard for us too. We felt left out because of you... " Wut...?

"... sometimes we wondered why you didn’t change school since you were as smart as everyone else. After all, there are lots of specialized schools for people like you, even if it was far, you could very well go by bus or train. It might have cost more, but your parents each have good pay, they could very well pay you for higher education... " Wat ? "...It was not just me and the class who thought so, by the way. The teachers thought so too, I heard them talking about it one day in the teachers' room... " What ?!

"Anyways, I'm glad to have seen you again to apologize to you. You have grown well since last time. And if I understand correctly, you're one of the saviors of the universe, right ? It's so amazing ! Well, I'm not a big fan of glasses because it makes your nerd side even more accentuated, but...” he says, shrugging his shoulders, staring at the walls, unable to stop. "I guess we can’t totally change what we are. I say that, but that's my opinion. All I want, now that all this history of the college is behind us, is to make amends by presenting to you my apolo..."

From that moment, Pidge was not listening anymore. That it. She was withdrawing what she had said earlier about her former classmate ; he had not matured and always remained a little asshole looks despite appearances. The green paladin wished to be able to get up and make her bayard appear to flank him a big blow of Discharge, but the doctor had said that she had to do as little effort as possible if she wanted to recover her strength. Then, instead, she clenched her fists hard until she bleached her knuckles and glared at him through her glasses.

"Exactly. We can’t really change what we are. I remain a "nerd", and you, you remain a moron without brains. Now get out of my room and never come back.” She spat. "What ?!” He exclaimed, blinking. He seemed to be back on Earth and the orders she had just dictated made him click. "Get out of my room and never come back.” She repeated more calmly. "Excuse me ? Didn’t you hear what I said ?!” He shouted, his arms open, looking lost. "Oh yeah, I heard all of it very well !” The green paladin shouted in return, became angry. "All you want is to give yourself a good conscience by excusing yourself, but you don’t think of a damn word !" "Of course yes ! I am sincere !” He pleaded, one hand on his heart. "Shut your fucking quiznack !” She swore, her eyebrows frowned hard. "You must believe me, Katie !” He continued without paying attention to what she was saying -and what she say didn’t make sense by the way. "I'm really sor..." "I told you to leave !” She cut. "Hey !” Suddenly thundered a voice at the entrance.

It was Lance. Who held the pan of the door with one hand and the game boy advance in the other. But who was also frowning and glare at the blonde with a hostile look. "If Pidge told you to get out, then get out. Stop forcing."

The brown-haired heard Corentin quietly slam his tongue to mumble a "here we go, there's the boyfriend who show up now...", but ignored his words. She preferred to focus on Lance, who had advanced at the height of her old classmate, his fist clenched while his other hand still held the game console. "What ? Do you have a problem ?” The blond questioned, clenching his fists as well. "Yeah, look at your face. You'll see, my problem.” Retorted Lance straightly. Half a minute passed while the two boys stared at each other, but it was Corentin who distanced himself while sighing in annoyance. He turned his attention back to Pidge and backed away with an appearance of nonchalance, palms raised at his shoulders.

"You know what, Katie ? Nevermind. I tried to take a step towards you to make peace but for what I see, my efforts will never succeed. Now, I consider that I have no longer to feel guilty. And if you do not want my apologies, then go fuck yourself." "Go fuck yourself too.” She replied immediately. "Nerd..." he grumbled. Pidge showed him her middle finger, extending her arm well, and the door slid shut again to close abruptly, reflecting the state of mind of his surprise visitor. "What an asshole..." Lance mumbled before turning to her. “Who was this guy ?” "As you just said, an asshole.” Pidge sighed. "So, you managed to beat Misty ?”

"Huh ? Uhh, kind of ?” He offered awkwardly as he approached her to give her back her gameboy. "What do you mean ?” She wanted to know, frowning. As Lance circled his seat to return to his chair and lean against the edge of Pidge's bed with his arm against him, the hacker was intrigued. She looked down at the screen in her hands and, after opening the menu to check her badges, she looked up. "That's what I thought. You didn’t succeed to beating her." "She was too difficult !" "How "too difficult” ? You had a Grass type and a Electrik type ! And you even had a Pigeotto to support you in case ! How could you lose, seriously ?" "It's because your Pokémons were half-K.O !” He argues. "I knew that you had to heal them first, but you didn’t listen to me !" "Because I knew exactly what to do, me. I'm sure you didn’t use a strategy and rush with a pure force.” She reproached, narrowing her eyes. "No !” He replied before crossing his arms. "And me too, I played Pokémon when I was a kid, so I know a little bit about strategy too, you know."

The green paladin sighed and put her glasses up on the bridge of her nose. "It doesn’t matter, I just have to start over and- wait. Why am I in the Mt. Moon’s Pokemon Center ?" "When you lose a fight, your avatar respwan at the last place where you were treated your Pokemons. And since you have not been to Cerulean City's Pokemon Center and have gone straight to the arena, well... " "Uh..." She just reply, before she plunged her little character back into the cave to cross it. After a few seconds of silence, where only the little sound of the buttons of the game boy between them, the cuban understood. "You didn’t know... ?” Lance was surprised. Despite her reluctant look, Pidge tilted her head slightly to the side and gave him a smirk. "Although I have 149 of IQ and know a lot about technology, I still have a lot things to learn. And I almost never lost a single fight in my Pokemon versions, so I guess I didn’t really pay attention to that little detail." "Makes sense ..." recognized Lance.

"I still have somes Repels, in addition to Ivyzaur for Geodude and Pikachu for Zubat, it should do it. I would be able to get out of the cave faster than the first time.” She explained.

A second silence settled between them, in which the green paladin was focused on crossing the cave while beating wild Pokémon by OHKO. The red paladin, meanwhile, watched silently the game of his friend. The fact that she did not seem to want to talk about what had happened with that Corentin internally disturbed him. After a few minutes, no longer holding, he moistened his lips and spoke softly.

"Hey, Pidge..."

"Hmm ?” She answered automatically, without looking up from her screen.

He leaned even closer to the edge of the bed. He was at the limit between being slumped on and falling off his chair.

"That guy from earlier... who exactly was he ?"

Pidge stopped her movements immediately, the thumbs hanging over the buttons. She turned her head and watched the curious but fearful glow dancing inside her two blue orbs. Without a word, she held out her hand to ruffle his hair and found it just adorable that he closed an eyelid because of her gesture.

“Someone who is very far from you, Mister Sharpshooter.”

When she withdrew her hand, her palm tickled her and she still had the sensation of the young man's soft hair on the fingertips.

Despite her attempt to reassure him, Lance pouted and stretched his back to the back, to plunge his chin on his forearms. He turned his head aside to look at her silently. He clearly wanted to know more and Pidge crackled under the puppy eyes he was giving her. After sighing, she continue her Pokemon game and briefly told what the cuban wants to hear.

"He was a old classmates guy back in the middle school. Not very smart and he was always bored in class. I had some altercations with him. But no big deal." "That's why he wanted to apologize ?" Deduced the red paladin. Pidge nodded surreptitiously. "When you show a little more intelligence and reflection than others, even cutting the floor to the teacher to explain what you know, it's difficult for your classmates, you see ?" "...they called names and they put you away..." Lance understood, as he widened his eyes to the realization.

"That's why I spent all my time on my computer, my inventions, my books, and with my brother before the Kerberos mission. But all of this it's from the past. Now, my whole family is safe, I have friends that does matter to me, and... " She left her sentence in abeyance, sank into her cushions and then looked up to calmly look at her partner, who instinctively gave him a small smile. "And...? He encouraged tenderly. But the words she had on the tongue suddenly seemed very embarrassing to say as she looked him straight in the eye. Then she lowered her two amber orbs again on her white sheets and lightly pursed her lips together. "And I have you..." she confessed reticently.

Then, she cursed the warm that spread on her cheekbones and her heart that had missed a few beats. She don’t dared to look at the young man. It was only when she heard him sneer that she looked up and met Lance's grin, impish but happy. "I'm glad to have you too, Pidge." The brown-haired's stomach made a loop and she fluttered her eyes to look away. For the umpteenth time, she turned her attention to her game boy, where a wild Zubat had blocked her as she was one step from the exit of the cave. Damn it...

#pidgance #plance #voltron fanfiction #voltron #myfanfiction

[pixiesstolemyapples]

Stormy Nights Chapter 5

A/N: Sooo I am simultaneously hyped and extremely nervous for S7, so I’m just gonna post this and leave!! Deep breaths, people, deep breaths. Nonetheless, please enjoy the chapter!! If you want to read this on my FanFiction or my AO3, please click the links!

Chapter 1/Chapter 2/Chapter 3/Chapter 4/Chapter 5

               Pidge was running through a dark tunnel, her legs so hot and painful she thought they would give out before she made it to the end. Almost there. I'm almost there! She was so close, so close she could almost feel it in her grasp. She had been waiting for this moment for so long, her whole purpose up to this point was only a few long strides away and-

               There he was, standing at a desk with his back to her, his messy brown hair sticking out in all directions, exactly the way hers does. She couldn't help but smile ear to ear, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. He turned around, his amber eyes on her, a wide smile appearing on his face as he opened his arms to her.

               "Matt!" Pidge cried, running towards her brother, tossing her helmet to the side and throwing her arms tight around him. Tears streamed down her cheeks, pressing her face into his shoulder as she sobbed, so happy to have her brother back in her arms.

               "I'm so happy to see you, Katie," he said, setting his hand on the back of her head. "But you're too late."

               "Wha-"

               His hand, like a blade, cut straight through her stomach. Her breathing haggard and labored, she set her hand on the forearm penetrating her abdomen, shakily looking up at her brother as blood spurt from her mouth.

               "Mm-M-Matt....." she stammered, wheezing as he yanked his arm out of her. She fell to her knees, hot tears falling over her cheeks, clutching her stomach as she felt warmth spill through her trembling fingers, slowly looking up into his dark, empty purple hued eyes.

               The sound of the witch Haggar's voice resonated from Matt's mouth, a low, sinister laugh penetrating Pidge's ears. "All is lost, Paladin. Suffer at the hands of your own flesh and blood!" the voice screeched as Matt's razor sharp hand drew back and flew right at her face.

               Pidge gasped, opening her eyes with a start, huffing as she realized it was just a nightmare. Maybe the worse nightmare she'd had yet. She'd always only ever had nightmares about her family getting killed in front of her by an enemy, but this was the first time Matt... had been the one to kill her.

               She closed her eyes, reorienting herself, opening them back up to view her dark room. Why was her room so dark? Why weren't the lights around her bed on? Finally fully waking up, she realized she was tangled in bed with another person. Literally. Tangled.

               Pidge was squeezed against Lance as close as she could be, her arms folded up to his chest. Her legs were curled around his, one of his arms under her head like a pillow as it wrapped around her head, the other arm draped over her side, his hand resting on the middle of her back. She was almost going to freak out just a little until she realized that it was her idea to sleep in the same bed as him. She also remembered that this was not her room.

               She peered up at Lance's sleeping face. He looked so calm, steadily breathing in and out, feeling his chest move against her with every breath he took. Even through the dimly lit room, her eyes adjusted enough to almost clearly see Lance's dark face. He had tiny freckles that speckled his face in random places, his lips were slightly parted as he breathed, Pidge still smelling the hint of spearmint from his toothpaste. She tentatively reached her hand to his face, cupping his cheek in her hand, gently rubbing her thumb under his eye. His skin was so smooth, likely from his hygiene regimen, Pidge carefully running her fingers down his cheek, just barely letting her thumb touch his soft, smooth... inviting... lips...

               Lance suddenly stirred, a groan escaping his throat as Pidge quickly removed her hand from his face before he cracked an eye open. His deep blue eyes stared into her amber ones for only a moment when the two quickly untangled from each other and sat up, staring away from each other. They sat in silence for who knows how long before Lance finally spoke up.

               "Soooo..." he began, pulling his leg up to his chest and setting his elbow on his knee. He wasn't exactly sure what to say. He'd woken up next to this girl several times now with little of an explanation as to why they were still doing it. "What exactly... happened last night, Pidge?"

               Pidge had a hard time looking his way, embarrassed that she could already feel a hot blush reddening her cheeks. She huffed, reaching down to grab her glasses from next to the mattress, crinkling her eyebrows in thought.

               "Well, I haven't been able to sleep properly for weeks," Pidge stammered, careful not to look in his face. "I slept fine when you, ehm... helped me during the last nights on Quaid, a-and I finally fell asleep after helping you play Killbot Phantasm a while back."

               "I remember that," Lance spoke up. "I fell asleep without even noticing not long after I beat that dungeon."

               "Y-Yeah, well..." Pidge desperately tried to find the right words to say next. "It's been weeks since then and I haven't been getting much sleep, so when you said you hadn't been able to either, I... I-I..." she trailed off, tentatively glancing toward him. His face was awash with concern, his eyes getting big for just a moment.

               "You wanted to try to... sleep with me again to see if we'd actually fall asleep this time?" he finished for her. Pidge sheepishly looked at him once more, sighing and squishing her hands to her cheeks.

               "Next to you, sleep next to you," she stammered. "I'm sorry, it was such a stupid idea, I-I didn't mean to force myself into your bed, I should have just stayed in my room and counted to one thousand or something instead of pushing you around so-" she started babbling.

               "I'm gonna stop you right there because I'll be honest, it was the best sleep I've had in weeks," Lance interrupted.

               Pidge looked up at him in shock. "Wha-What? The best what in what?"

               Lance couldn't help but laugh, nudging her with his shoulder as she stared up at him in disbelief. Finally getting his composure back, he said, "Pidge, 1. You didn't force anything. If I was gonna be even a little uncomfortable, I would have told you, 2. Even before that, if I thought you'd be uncomfortable, it wouldn't have happened in the first place, and 3. As always, you were correct."

               "C-Correct?"

               "Yeah," Lance said. "Remember, after you pushed me onto the bed, you said 'I want to try something'. This had to be it, right?"

               Her face got red as she pushed up her glasses. Well at least he listens to me. "So.... I guess my conclusion to this experiment would be..."

               ".... that we sleep better if we're.." Lance stammered, "next to each other?"

               "Well, how many times out of four have you slept better when next to me?" she asked him. At that moment her amber eyes glowed despite the dim light of the floor paneling, as if they were sparkling with both nervousness and curiosity. It made Lance's stomach flip over just a little bit.

               "Um," he said, biting his bottom lip. "Well, four, I guess. Fallen asleep faster, even."

               "I'm the same..." Pidge said quietly. She hugged her legs, setting her chin on her knees as she sat in thought a little bit more. It was ludicrous though, right? How could she possibly sleep better next to Lance of all people? Although she didn't really mean the 'of all people' part; he was an incredibly empathetic person, able to know exactly what one is feeling at any given moment. He gave amazing bear hugs, his hands were always so warm. And as awkward as it was, waking up tangled in his arms made her feel immensely secure, as if nothing could hurt her in his enveloping, protective embrace. And he smelled so incredibly good, the mixture of avocado and aloe vera making her heart almost skip two beats. Everything was an important factor in why she was able to sleep better next to him, but it still made her feel very awkward. She could remember wanting to sleep in between her parents in their bed when she was younger, so what exactly was the difference there? Besides maybe the fact that those were her parents and this was an incredibly tall, cute olive skinned seventeen year old boy sleeping next to her instead.

               Did I just admit he was cute? Pidge thought to herself. What is wrong with me lately?

               Lance spoke up, shocking Pidge out of her whirlwind thoughts when he touched her arm. "So.... what do you want to do now?" he asked her curiously.

               Pidge put her thumb to her lip in thought, a little afraid at what she was going to say next. "I guess... we could try again...?"

               A blush made its way to Lance's cheeks, looking away and scratching his cheek. "W-Well, if you want to, I mean.." he trailed off.

               Pidge huffed, slapping her hands gently to her cheeks a few times before throwing her legs over the side of the bed and standing up, holding a hand out to him. "For now, let's just get up for the day and get there when we get there," she said as he took her hand, tensing her arm as she helped him up from the mattress. He side smiled and nodded, the both of them heading for the door.

               As the two walked out, a person suddenly rounded the corner, nearly bumping into the two.

               "Pidge?" Keith said, his eyebrow quirking up as he saw her walking out the door, noticing she was still in her pajamas. "What are you doing in Lance's room so early in the morning?"

               Pidge blanched, panicking to find words that don't scream 'Oh I was sleeping in his bed with him'. It wasn't like they were doing anything bad, but it still wouldn't go over well with everyone else if they found out Lance and Pidge were sleeping together.

               Next to each other! NEXT to each other!!

               "We uhm," Pidge stammered. "I, w-we..."

               "We were up late playing Killbot Phantasm," Lance said nonchalantly.

               "And you just left Pidge to sleep on the floor while you slept in your soft bed?" Keith asked, crossing his arms over his torso as he scrunched his face.

               "What, no, of course not," Lance shot back.

               "So she slept in your bed and you on the floor?"

               "No, I-"

               "In your bed with you?" Keith asked heatedly, uncrossing his arms and his hands balling into fists. Lance put his hands up in defense.

               Uh oh, Pidge thought, her eyebrows going up in shock. At that moment however, Pidge noticed something off.

               "No no!! It's not like that!!" Lance stuttered, trying to find his composure as the black haired paladin stared him down. "We just, I, we both, on the floor, both of us fell-"

               "Hey, why are you in your Blade of Marmora armor?" Pidge suddenly asked, crossing her arms and scrunching her eyebrows in irritation.

               It was Keith's turn to get defensive this time. "Oh, I..." he breathed through his nostrils, knowing that he was going to get backlash afterwards. "Kolivan has a mission for me. He notified me late last night and I was hoping to slip out before anyone woke up. Just..." he looked down, a strain in his gray eyes before looking back up to Pidge and Lance. "Just don't tell Shiro and Allura until after I've left, please." He had a pleading look in his eyes. Pidge sighed, flicking her head towards the end of the hallway. Keith smiled, relief washing over him as he started stepping down the hall once more, pulling his hood over his head. "Thank you. I'll be back soon." And with that, he was gone.

               "I wonder what he's doing on these missions," Lance said quietly to Pidge.

               Pidge sighed. "It's none of our business, apparently," she said sadly. She grasped Lance's sleeve, looking up at him shyly. "Um, so...?"

               "Just, meet me back here tonight before you go to sleep, and we'll..." he trailed off for a moment, trying to find the least embarrassing words he could for their situation. "Corroborate your theory tonight."

               Pidge laughed, holding her hand to stomach as she tried to stifle her giggle. "Yeah, we can do that," she said, walking along to her room. She stood in front of her door as it whooshed open, glancing back at him. At that moment, his dark blue eyes gazed back at her, his lips curling into a smoldering smile that set her heart on fire. Her eyes got wide, quickly stepping into her room and shutting the door as fast as she could, setting her back to it and slowly slipping down until she softly landed on the floor. She grasped at her shirt over where he heart was, feeling the frantic beating underneath. She glanced over at her two blue and green space caterpillars, sleeping and snuggling next to each other on one of her trash paladins. As visions of his olive skin, the smoothness of his cheek, his unbelievably deep blue eyes began flooding her mind. She wondered what it would be like to tangle her hands into his silky chocolate brown hair, what it would be like to press her lips to his soft, warm mouth.

               Her face was incredibly hot, pressing her hands to her fiery red cheeks.

               Oh no.

#plance #pidgance #flirtyrobot #voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #netflix #lance #pidge #pidge holt #katie holt #lance x pidge #lance x katie #katie x lance #pidge x lance #pance #fanfiction #plance fanfiction #my fanfiction

[i-am-very-very-tired]

S1: So you reached out to a Sheron because there was something that you’re you’re struggling with right now. Tell me a little bit about that.

S2: So I’m thirty eight. I’ve never had a boyfriend, but I would very much love to be married.

S1: So. So just to make sure I sort of understand. So you’re 38 years old. I think it’s safe to say, based on what you’ve told me, that that you haven’t even had sex with a man, have you? That’s correct. Have you ever kissed a man?

S3: I have not.

S4: This is how to. I’m Charles Dubik. A few months ago, I got an e-mail from a listener. They cut me a little off guard. The subject line read 38 and never been kissed. The writer of the e-mails that she realized that to most listeners, this is kind of weird. She wrote and I’m quoting her here. It’s a bit weird to me, to listeners. Meet Sheran.

S5: I’m originally from Michigan. I’ve been down here in Nashville about a year. I’m a nurse over at Vandy.

S4: And tell me a little bit about about your relationship background.

S6: It’s very short.

S2: I went to a large high school and and there were lots of cute boys, but I never dated. I was never I never was asked out. No one ever asked me on a date. And and I’m fairly traditional and how I approach dating. And so I wouldn’t have been inclined to ask anybody else out. And so college was very similar. I went to a small, private Christian school and there was not a lot of casual dating. It was almost like, oh, I think I want to marry you. So let’s go on our first date. And so I didn’t go to college to get married, but I just kind of assumed it would happen as a byproduct. Like I we get a degree and a husband. Yeah. And obviously that didn’t happen.

S1: It’s worth noting that this is kind of surprising because Sharon is a bit of a catch.

S7: She’s well educated and she likes to travel. She’s funny and attractive and into hobbies like ballroom dancing.

S5: Why didn’t the stars ever align? I really don’t have any any insight onto that. I mean, I and I realized that that my faith and my relationship with God is is very different than than how most people are. It certainly has a huge impact on how I see dating and and the general perspective on on how I think.

S8: But that being said, there’s lots of religious men out there. And so Sharon just kind of assume that, you know, someday she would meet the right guy. And one thing would lead to another and she’d have her first kiss and then get married. But then a few years went by and then a decade. And then she was 38. And she had a great life, a good career. She’d lived abroad, but she had never had a boyfriend or a kiss or really any idea of what to do next.

S2: I did online dating for years, I still, I would say, dabble in it occasionally. And so I’ve been on several first dates from. From guys that I’ve met online. And it just never went anywhere for for various reasons, mostly either because they weren’t interested or another very specific reason which we can talk about. What’s that specific reason? I don’t want to have children, and that has really been a huge stumbling block for the majority of guys that I’ve met.

S1: And so Sheeran’s wondering as she’s approaching 40 years old. Is it too late?

S2: It would be sad to me to get to the end of my life and have never been kissed or to have sex. I also feel as though I have accepted the fact that that might be true, that I could die a virgin or die having never been kissed.

S5: And I think that’s kind of a bummer, but it’s not enough of a bummer for me to compromise in that area of my life.

S9: Can we help Sharon find her heart’s content or at least her first guess? On today’s episode, we’ll see how our matchmaking skills stack up. Stick with us.

S10: Slate Plus members, it’s survey time, which means it’s your chance to tell us what you think about Slate. Slate podcasts and Slate. Plus it’ll only take a few minutes. You can find it at Slate dot com slash survey.

S8: We’re back with Sharon are 38 year old virgin who wants a husband to help. We thought it might be useful to bring in a professional. And so we found a modern day high tech cupid who spotted her own husband across a room and then proceeded to pick him up.

S11: He has tattoos. And so I said, Hey, tattoo boy, where did you get those tattoos? And he said, Hey, little darlin, come sit down next to me. And I was like, okay. I sat down next to him.

S12: This is Lisa Clampett, who has helped hundreds and hundreds of men and women find love. She runs this very elite matchmaking service in New York City, where she has been very, very successful, in part because she knows how hard it can be out there, especially a little later in life.

S13: So interestingly enough, I was thirty nine.

S14: Even worse, I had been married before. But I didn’t have kids. And my mom would always say, you’re going out on all these dates and you’re always finding fault.

S13: And I was like, oh, they’re they’re boring or they’re there. And then I finally was like, you know what? I’m ready to get married in literally when I decided I was ready to get married again. I think it was the next day I went out, I saw my husband across the room, started chatting him up. We were talking 20 minutes later. He said, let’s go to Vegas and get married. And we were married in Vegas in six weeks.

S6: Oh, my gosh. Are you serious? Oh, my gosh.

S15: I was like 17 years ago. I was ready. I was like, done deal. So I went. So in my brain, I calculated the key requirements, which is I needed someone like Hughes. Cute. He was brilliant. So he’s a p._h._d. He’s from the Midwest. Family oriented parents still together. Moved up there with a girlfriend. They broke up, which means he’s relationship oriented. And so what was I to him? I was fun. I was assertive where I talked to him. And I’m probably the only Manhattan girl that loves snakes. And he is a snake reptile specialist. And I had a great record collection.

S1: Lisa, let me ask. Let’s say Sharon came into you as a matchmaker and said, Lisa, matchmaker, I need your help.

S6: Like, walk me through the process.

S16: So there are a couple things that that like no one. I think that if your value system is God and religion and yet there is a disconnect with wanting kids, I think the younger you was probably attracting a lot of men that if their priority was God, they probably wanted to build a family. That’s kind of the mainstay. So I totally think that that is a barrier that is really important to point out. Have you talked to your friends or family? Have they given their feedback of what they think might be the barrier?

S2: Yes, we certainly talk about it a lot. And sometimes my sisters will tell me I’m too picky, which I certainly realize is a possibility. For example, I I’m relatively tall and I really want someone who’s taller than me. How tall are you? Almost 5’9. Okay, height. Let’s say, you know, five, 10 plus. Is that right? Right. Exactly. What other things? Yeah. So other things that are important to me, someone who is fiscally responsible. Another thing would be it’s really important that they’re that they’re smart. I’ve been told in the past by men and women that they find me intimidating because I have a career and because I have a masters degree and because I’ve, you know, lived a lot of places and had a lot of experience. And so I’m looking for someone that can hold a good conversation.

S16: So, so far, you do not sound picky to me. Just letting you know that these are all good, totally reasonable. I think that discovering what is happening at the age of 38 onward, if you’re open to dating someone, let’s say in their mid-forties that the whole kid thing is no longer an issue, I actually think that’s going to be a major advantage to you. Let’s say there’s a couple men that reach out that they accept that you don’t want kids. They’re okay about not having premarital sex and God is a priority in their life. Have you had any of those dates?

S2: I would say two or three in the last five years. Once or twice. They never called me again, which is, you know, which is fine. Or they texted and said it was nice to meet you, but I’m not interested in one particular situation. I felt like was the best first date of my whole life. And we had amazing time. We talked for hours and then he never called me again. So I I will say that I don’t enjoy and I don’t enjoy first dates. I’m not sure that a lot of people do. Maybe some do. But. I find dating. I’ll be upfront. Dating is scary to me because it’s something that I haven’t done very much. I don’t like first dates. I don’t enjoy the dating process at all. I think mostly because I’ve never had a great experience dating.

S16: That’s a common thing, just F.Y.I. I think a lot of people find it hard, but I think you in particular because it’s so challenging, it’s not like you’re going out and making out with someone. And I’d say that I’m also wondering why it’s only been like a couple guys in a couple years that have come from this because generally speaking, there are a lot more possibilities, even with the requirements of of God and no kids. So I’m wondering why there’s such a scarcity of options.

S17: Right. And I think there’s a little part of me I don’t trust myself when it comes to dating, so I’m I’m concerned that when I when I and I’m almost always the one that that cuts things off. So I’ll go on a date. I don’t really feel any connection. And so I’m like I I just I’m not feeling it. I don’t really want to go on a second date.

S1: Let me ask you something on this. Because. Because that’s surprising to me that you’re the one who who’s cutting this off. Why not just say eight? It wasn’t I wasn’t in love at first sight. But why not just go on a second date? What’s what’s stopping you from just taking a flyer?

S17: I’m trying to remember the last time I had a date. I think it’s been four years trying to remember what happened.

S16: Gosh, I think the fact that you’re saying it’s four years. Lt’s like no one gets it.

S17: I know.

S18: I think there’s so much here that that we’re not even you know, you’re saying that you want to run a marathon and you’re still in bed, you know. So I would say that’s the biggest issue.

S1: How many how many dates do you think Sharon should be going on?

S17: I would say at least to a month increased at least.

S6: Yes. Always said that doesn’t seem like very many to me, but no. But it sounds like to Sharon, like, what does that make you feel if if you hear two a month?

S17: Sounds exhausting, but I mean, think about it from the perspective of, like, you know, one 1 every 2 years to 2 a month.

S19: The math is not my strength, but whatever time. That’s like a thousand times more dates.

S8: So our first big lesson is that Sharon needs to go on a lot more dates, but that’s easier said than done. How do you get over that fear of rejection and inertia? And, you know, making a big change.

S20: When we come back, Lisa will give us a plan.

S1: We’re back with our listener Sharon and professional matchmaker Lisa Clampett in the first big step to making a change, particularly when it feels like it’s a little bit risky, Lisa says is honestly asking yourself, do you really want this?

S15: If so, you have to decide to commit even when you know, it could be a little bit painful if you felt like you could get through the obstacle of the discomfort in dating and you could actually go out and date, because I’d say that this is a common thing in it. I mean, how much easier it is is it to walk away from a relationship or a marriage than to do the work? So how much do you want this? And is that a priority for you?

S2: In my heart of hearts, I would love to be married. And if if I can be more effective for Christ as a married person, if we can if I can serve somebody else, we could serve God together more effectively than as a single person. Then I want to be married.

S1: He is sure to let me push on this a little bit more. If someone came to you and they said, I want a job, I really want a job. And you said, how many applications have you have you submitted? How many resumes have you dropped off? And they said, well, I dropped off one four years ago. What would you make of that?

S21: Well, I think that that they’re being not they’re not being proactive. And I think I mean, point taken with costs. I have always wanted.

S17: Love to be organic. And I feel like I don’t like the idea. It doesn’t sound very romantic to turn dating into a job, but at this point, if that’s what gets the job done, then the ultimate goal is to get married, not to determine how I fall in love.

S16: You’re setting yourself up for failure in the sense of it’s an idealized. Reciprocal being in love of a 23 year old vs. what your goal is as a 38 year old woman wanting to get married.

S18: You’ve got to create a game plan to soldier through it to get that exposure, to get that experience, to be connected to someone in this different way.

S22: That’s not the glorified 23 year old Sharon, but the new 38 year old. I want to get married, Sharon.

S23: So here’s the rule. If you want to make a big change, particularly one that seems scary, you just have to accept it.

S24: It is not going to be like a fairy tale. There will be no Prince Charming that suddenly appears. Instead, it’s all about being pragmatic, about coming up with a plan and then doing the work.

S22: And then you take notes. You get home and you write in your diary. Like, what was it like going out with this guy? What did I discover from him? What did I really like? Like explore this guy, get to know the many layers that he is, and that is where you start building that familiarity that you were talking about, that you want you’re building a foundation of a friendship, which is a marriage.

S24: Here’s another rule. Take notes, because we’re human.

S8: We all have a tendency to experience something and then to forget what we learned from that experience. And so it isn’t romantic. But if you take notes or if you keep a spreadsheet about your dates, you’ll start to see your own patterns much faster.

S1: When Lisa says you should go on two dates a month, and that sounds like a huge amount to you like, oh, overwhelming, which which would still give you like 28 days a month when you’re not going on a date, right?

S6: Right.

S1: What is it about those dates that makes two a month seem so exhausting?

S21: I hate that feeling of.

S2: Just not being at all interested in this person and then having to.

S17: Either wait for them to cut things off or for me to say, you know what? I’m not feeling it. Let’s, you know, let’s not meet up again.

S1: What if you looked at each date as just an experiment where where you don’t actually anticipate that you’re going to have another date? What if you looked at dating is just a series of literally just meeting someone interesting with no expectations that it would ever be anything else. Do you think they’d make it easier for you? Because it sounds like you’re carrying a lot of a lot of sort of fraught anticipation into these dates.

S17: Yeah. Mix them. Yes, I. I wish I couldn’t view it that way. I that would be that would that would bring a lot of relief. I feel like I said, I think I’m holding a lot of anxiety, not about actually dating because I love meeting people and small talk is easy for me and those kinds of things. So that’s it’s not the actual date. It’s the fear of having to turn him down for a second date.

S16: So I think that you’ve got to just draft a text that you send them, which lets you off the hook.

S6: I’m telling you, it’s so stupid right now. Yeah, let’s do that. Right. Okay. Let’s let’s workshop this. Okay.

S18: John, it was really wonderful meeting. You were not a match. But I want you to know that I very much enjoy that. You took me out for coffee and I wish you the best of luck. It was great meeting you. End of story. Done. Move on. Click. Send.

S6: So, Sharon, let me ask you this. What if you were to type that into your into your phone before you even go on the date? Right before you meet John. You type in exactly what Lisa just said, right? You don’t hit send because you haven’t actually met the guy yet. Right.

S1: But when you know that when you get home, if it if you if there wasn’t a connection there, literally all you have to do is hit send. And you never have to think about it again. Does that set a race? Some of the fear for you?

S17: I think so. I think that’s that’s the majority of it. But what if I’m. What if I send that text and I just you know, maybe he was having a bad a bad first date or something. And I’m I’m concerned that I’m too quick to to cut someone off.

S1: Let’s say let’s say Sharon goes on this date and she likes the guy. He’s nice, but she knows that she’s not going to end up marrying him. Should she go on a second date anyways?

S16: I don’t think that you can know who you’re going to end up marrying from a first date. If there’s no deal breakers. So I would say yes, because she doesn’t know. She doesn’t. She doesn’t have the experience to be able to make that decision.

S4: This is the next you’ll figure out the hardest part of whatever you’re trying to do and then do it first, right that break up text before the date so that it’s easy to hit send when you get home.

S25: But by the same token, don’t read too much into things if they don’t go according to plan. So even if the text is already written, that doesn’t mean you have to send it.

S13: Stop, stop overthinking it. I’m telling you, that’s how life happens. Just stop getting in your head about it and just make it happen. The worst case scenario is six months from now and 50 dates later, you say like, wow, this is not for me. I think once you get over the resistance and the fear and you start making it happen, it gets easier and easier. And then suddenly it like creates access into your life. And I do what I do because I truly believe 100 percent were meant to be with somebody. I really believe that. And I think that a lot of us put fear in the way as an obstacle for resistance. And then you just gotta get off of that and start running.

S1: Sure. Let me ask you something. How long ago did you move to Nashville? A year ago, a year ago. How how many churches did you visit before you decided to invest in the church that you you attend now maybe five or six. OK, so that’s that’s a good number of churches. And it sounds like you actually have spent more time thinking about the church you want to attend. And experimenting and doing research, then looking for the person that you you want to marry.

S26: Again, I keep coming back to that. I wanted to just be organic where I meet someone and, you know, we just fall in love.

S1: And Lisa, let me ask, how many how many couples have you put together? Hundreds. And how many of them would you say it was organic? It was kind of love at first sight. And it just it all BadgerCare came together.

S16: So organic is such a misconception. We historically have been matched up by communities and religious groups.

S18: So when people talk here about, yeah, I mean, so. So we’re actually going back to the roots of. Of connection. And what has taken us away is urban environments. And so coming back to online, to matchmakers, to to churches. It’s literally that’s the organic it’s not the other way around.

S27: Yeah, it’s interesting because, you know, I met my wife in college and a lot of my friends met their spouses in college. And I don’t think for any of us, it it was it was love at first sight of anything. And I don’t think for any of us, it was organic. I actually don’t think for any of us, it was easy.

S15: It’s a practical decision, right?

S6: Yeah, that’s that’s common. That is that relationship is work.

S27: And it’s a job even in finding a relationship as a job. Once you’re in the relationship, it’s a job.

S1: It’s this thing that you decide to do together because because you like being employed more than you like being unemployed.

S15: As we grow older, it takes more of an effort. I’ll give you an example of someone who came to me was a 60 year old man and he had never had a girlfriend, 60 years old. He was short. He was 5’3. And in his mind, he was a troll and undesirable and no one wanted him. And he was ready to move on with life and die single. And a lawyer friend of his said, You know what? I know this matchmaker, Lisa Clampett goes see, just before you like bury yourself in a coffin.

S14: Ghostly, right? So he came. And what I saw is, first of all, to me, he looked like a big, bigger guy.

S18: I actually took out a measuring tape.

S11: I was like, you’re not 5’3 or amazing. He was funny.

S14: He was kind. He was brilliant. He was a self-taught violinist. What he needed is he needed to sort of look at himself in a different way.

S28: We speed him up in and I reprogrammed him to thinking troll, to thinking funny, kind, self-starter, entrepreneur. Unbelievable. So after months of working together, we found him, this girlfriend. And they’ve been together eight years and he looks like a movie star walking down the street. I mean, unbelievable change of life. But literally, he came in with a little fanny pack in an old 1970s mustache. And it just was like and a little like ball of his his misery of what he was projecting. And it was his obstacle. And so what are the barriers that you’re putting up front like? All these things could really turn around if you really wanted to if you changed your mindset. I I pretty much would say that you could be married within the next year or two.

S12: Here’s the last rule. Once you’ve decided you really want this and you’ve committed to it and you’ve started taking notes and conducting experiments and you’re at peace with the fact that it might not be like a fairy tale.

S7: Then remember to work on your mindset. You are an amazing person. You can do this. You’ve done amazing things already in your life. Finding a husband is nothing compared to what you’ve already done. You already have everything you need.

S16: I would say start by first vision, the motivation and vision. What is it like being married? But then take a step back and and really look at like what are all the qualities that are fabulous in you? Like what would make you an amazing wife?

S18: And then all the amazing qualities of like who you are and what you could lead with and start sort of programming the essence of like you as that best solves that interesting, engaging, nurturing, funny, amazing woman that shows up and then get on dating sites. Be very specific about who you are and what you’re looking for. But take that list of all the amazing pieces of you and make it fun right after you have. Your requirements start going out on dates.

S1: So, Sharon, let me ask you. Are you willing to go on a date next week?

S29: Mm hmm. Yes. Yeah.

S17: Sure. I’m calling.

S6: So. OK, so are you signed up for any dating sites right now? One right now. Which one? Bumble. Bumble. OK. Bumble.

S15: Bumble is is interesting because Bumble is proactive on the woman’s side. So it’s very interesting that you chose Bumble.

S17: I don’t have any issue initiating a conversation. That’s not a problem for me whatsoever. Guys seem to just want to meet immediately without without any texting back and forth. Do I need to compromise and just be willing to go on dates? Or is it okay for me to want to get to know a few more things about them before I do that?

S6: You got to go on a date next week, right? We’ve already established that you’re not gonna have that much time for value.

S1: Why not just make a date and go out with someone who you’ve only texted back and forth with, you know, less than a dozen times? What’s the downside?

S26: I need you. I need I need some guts. I need to be willing to take some chances. And I think also maybe having some accountability. So maybe finding a friend or family member who I can I can talk to about this.

S27: So maybe maybe can we make one more rule share? What if you throw it on with all the rest? What if you have to tell your sister for accountability? What if what if what you need to set up an accountability system? What if it says we’re done with this phone call? The next phone call you make is to your sister to tell her what your plan is, and that as long as this guy is not an atheist or an axe murderer or someone who’s like, look, I can’t wait to have eight children as long as he’s that way today, that you are going to go on a second date with him and that your sister has to hold you accountable.

S17: The whole plan is a little overwhelming. But if I if I take it in little pieces, it’s not so bad like one step at a time. Right.

S27: Well, let me ask, would it be crazy if we were to say as a goal, you are going to have your first kiss at the age of 38 or 39 in the year 2020? Well, I think it’s certainly possible. Would you like that?

S19: Yeah. Because that means that that would mean that I’m well down the road of of my dating life.

S6: Okay. So 2020, Sharon’s first kiss. The year of the kiss. The year of the kiss. Yes. I like it.

S12: Thank you to Sharon for opening up and sharing her story with us. And thank you to Lisa Clampett for her great advice. If you are interested in her services, you can find her online at Lisa Clampett. That’s C.l.A and p.I. TTR dot com. And here’s a quick update from Sharon.

S30: Hey, guys, I think you’re going to be very impressed with the progress that I’ve made. I have joined two more dating sites. I attempted to go on a date last weekend and he stood me up. But whatever his loss. Right. And then I did actually go on a date yesterday. So it was not what I would call an instant connection or a match. And in the past, I probably would have turned him down for a second date. But according to your rules, I can’t do that. So I will give him a second try.

S31: Wish me luck. Bye.

S12: Good luck, Sharon. We hope he’s a good kisser. Do you have a question of the heart or really any other kind of question that needs a solution? If so, you should send us a note of how to at Slate.com. And we will do everything we can to help. How TO’s executive producer is Derek John? Rachel Allen is our production assistant in marriage. Jacob is our engineer. Our theme music is by Hani’s Brown. June Thomas is the senior managing producer of Slate podcasts and Gabriel Roth is Slate’s editorial director for Audio. Special thanks to Asha, Saluda and Sung Park. I’m Charles Duhigg.

S32: Stay romantic.

[dablkbox]

Did I Do That?

One thing I can admit is that I am a sucker for a sitcom with a well rounded family and some sort of quirky neighbor. If you're on the same train then you already know what show I had the pleasure of watching: Family Matters.

Family Matters premiered on September 22 1989, on ABC with the show later moving to CBS. The show starred Reginald VelJohnson as Carl Winslow, Jo Marie Paton as Harriette Winslow, Kellie Shanygne Williams as Laura Winslow, Darius McCrary as Eddie Winslow, Rosetta LeNoire as Estelle Winslow, Telma Hopkins as Rachel Crawford, Jamiee Foxworth as Judy Winslow, and Joseph and Julis Wright as Ritchie Crawford. At the beginning of the show Jaleel White was definitely capturing our funny bones as Steve Urkel but it was not until the second season he became a regular cast member. The viewers reactions to his antics and tenderness were enough to secure him a regular spot.

The show ran for 9 seasons which is an incredible run for a black sitcom. The last episode aired July 17, 1998. Family Matters is available for purchase on Amazon and also available to stream on Hulu.

I was a little hesitant to watch this show because I remember watching the reruns of this as a kid and only remember a few episodes being funny. OH DAMN WAS I WRONG! Family Matters is hilarious! The characters are quick and funny all in their own way. The show also really played with the element of physical and environmental comedy. Whether it was Steve transforming into Stephon or the The Winslow Family reacting to one of Steve’s newest machines the characters really played with what was going on around them.

Let’s start with the basics of the show; Family Matters centers around  The Winslow Family living in Chicago. The family deals with their everyday lives and with the daily and unnecessary occurrences of their neighbor Steve Urkel. One reason I was excited to watch this show is because it takes place in my hometown of Chicago. It was so interesting hearing them use actual Chicago streets, neighborhoods, and schools. It made me feel like I was really IN the story. 

One aspect of the show that I have to discuss is Carl Winslow’s job as an officer. We ALL know the traumatic history black people have in regards to the police. Things have gotten alarmingly worse and it has gotten to the point where there truly is no resolution for all the wrongs the police have done to black and brown communities. Despite all of this we also know there are people of color who are on the force. Carl Winslow was an officer of the Chicago Police Department and from what I gather it definitely feels as though this was done intentionally. This show premiered in the late 80′s and early 90′s which was a time where racial tension between black/brown communities and the police were really starting to reveal themselves. As a Chicago native I know that the 90′s was definitely when more gangs were making themselves known in the communities making police become more aggressive than they already were. During this time a figure like Carl, I feel, was a tactic to make black men who watch the show and don’t view police in a positive manner to empathize with the police by seeing someone who looks like them in the uniform. Remember this is just my theory but it does not seem too far fetched. Even though I am not  the biggest fan of Car’s occupation I appreciated how his difficulties being on the force in relation to him being a black man was displayed. There was an episode where Carl had to check one of his colleagues because he harassed his son Eddie for no reason other than the color of his skin. I appreciated the honesty toward that difficult part of his career.

During my rewatch something else that was great to watch was the show’s use of special effects. Growing up I watched many sitcoms but nothing could ever compare to the time and effort that I know were put into the special effects on the show. As Steve became more present his experiments always lead to explosions and/or some substance being shot across the room. I noticed that became an opener for some of the episodes in the later seasons and guess what...I loved every minute of it! The special effects mixed with other stunts in the show was the cherry on top of this comedic sundae. I hope the cast had insurance during the time cause certain things looked a little too daredevil-ish for me. One of my favorite moment is during the episode “High Anxiety” in season 4 when Waldo, Steve, and Eddie were trapped on a fire escape and were trying to get back inside the building. It was almost as if watching something similar to the Universal Soul circus. While the fire escape turned the actors tumbled and flipped right on top of it. I am still till this day wondering if they used stunt doubles. 

Another great part of this family sitcom are the characters themselves. I can truly say that after watching this series I enjoyed mostly everyone’s performance(minus Eddie but we’ll get to that) and watching them display the growth of these characters. One character who I deem to be one of the most underrated 90′s girls is Laura Winslow. I am sure those who listen to music have heard rappers refer to their dream girls and used sitcoms references. I have heard people wanting a Whitley Gilbert, Hilary Banks, Denise Huxtable, etc(and clearly we see what’s wrong with this pattern) but never a Laura Winslow which is amazing to me because she was such bold and charismatic character. One of my favorite episodes to see her in is “Fight The Good Fight” in season 2 where she fought to have a black history course taught in school. I know we loved Moesha but Laura paved the way. Did she make mistakes like every teenage girl yes but she knew exactly where she wanted to go and how to get there which makes Laura the blueprint!

I could not leave this post without writing just a tad about Jaleel White. I was looking forward to watching this show because I wanted to see if Steve is actually funny or was it just the expected goofiness that people knew they would get a chuckle out of. I am here to tell you that Steve Urkel is indeed HILARIOUS and that is done because of the brilliance that is Jaleel White. Jaleel was ACTING! Steve was no doubt a comedic character but there were moment in the show where his let his guard down(especially with Laura) and we saw some of the most tender and sincere moments that I have ever seen on a sitcom. The comedic moments were out of this world paired with Jaleel’s vocal and physical talents when it comes to creating Steve. The transformation moment when he turns into Stephon is almost mesmerizing to me. The way he deliberately would time it, deliver lines throughout the process, and even the sound effects he’s making. I know it sounds a little goofy but, this an actor who you can tell does not ming playing on a set. Jaleel now does work more in the children’s entertainment world which is a great thing. I am all for a children programming including images and voices(I know he’s done some voice over work) that include black people but I would love to see him cross over onto something very dark comedy-ish. American Horror Story? 

The cast overall is superb and went very well together and had many characters that are enjoyable on screen, like Ms. Estelle(played by Rosetta LeNoire). I always and I mean ALWAYS love a strong matriarchal figure who emphasizes in a very loving but direct way that: I AM GROWN. Estelle spoke her mind but was always there to bring her family together. It is probably the southern in me but it just hits every time.

NOW! As I stated in my opening post not only will I be going over the good but it just wouldn’t be right to acknowledge the bad in some of these shows, or the thing that were less favorable. 

Something I noted it what’s similar to what happened with “JJ” from Good Times. Steve was always his brilliant self but there were times where the antics may have been just a filler instead using the comedic moment to fuel the story. It was not to the extreme of how the character of J.J was in a sense “dumbed down” but there were moments I felt okay that little goofy thing didn't necessarily need to happen but it’s fine.

Someone that bugged me throughout this entire series is Eddie Winslow. I mean..he literally only thinks with one head and it gets very irritating after a while. I get it we were all there once teenagers but damn! THINK! I have a complex with straight men who think and act “traditionally” so fair warning that characters like Eddie Winslow in other shows will get the same treatment. Not to mention I am just not convinced with any of Darius McCrary’s performances. Even when he is a special guest star or the lead actor he just always has been a miss for me. Everyone on the cast held their own but I’ve always felt like he was the weakest link.

Overall Family Matters was an amazing display of quality Black television if you ask me. Great comedic scenes/elements, very heartfelt moments, and aired episodes that talked about some important issues such as bullying, gang violence, and even body image. The show gave us great characters; Steve Urkel will ALWAYS be a pop culture icon. I urge you to watch Family Matters again and enjoy everything this quirky and compassionate sitcom has to offer.

Favorite Episodes:

S2, EP 18-Life of the Party

S2, EP 20-The Good Fight

S2, EP 25-I Should’ve Done Something

S3, EP 9-Born To Be Mild

S3, EP 16-Brown Bombshell

S4, EP 13-Muskrat Love

S4, EP 18- Higher Anxiety

S5, EP 8-Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool

S5, EP 10-All The Wrong Movies

S7, EP 14, Life in the Fast Lane 

S7, EP 20-Twinkle Toes Faldo

S8, EP 7-Stevil

#familymatters #steve urkel #black television #comedy #sitcom

[lizacstuff]

7x04 Anons

I have a ton of asks so I’ll answer a few under the cut.  A lot of them deal with negativity over the ep and season so be warned and don’t click if you don’t want to read that.

Anonymous said:Liza, have you watched tonight's episode? What did you think of the Rumbelle send off? And of Alice being Roger's daughter?

I had zero emotional reaction to Rumbelle’s story in this episode. None. It’s been too toxic and gross and I have never really cared about it so it didn’t make me feel anything at all. I was curious what they were going to do. Now I know. 

As far as Alice being WishHook’s daughter. Eh. So they take the only interesting character and now she’s a fake Wish person too?  I just can’t with this nonsense. I’m having  a lot of problems with WishHook, so I’m not thrilled she’s tied to his story. 

Colin is still hot and an awesome human being and a terrific actor, but the plot... it’s a no for me.

Anonymous said:Sometimes I think Adam and Eddy believe they are the most clever people to ever write, and that everyone else are simple minded peasants. Like that one post-7x04 interview where the interviewer asked if Alice is wish Hook's daughter. "You're very perceptive." Uh, no, Adam and Eddy. You just have all the subtlety of a freight train. You had Alice and Rogers play chess. Wish Hook and his daughter played chess. It's obvious. Don't talk to people like they're stupid for figuring the obvious out.

This show has always been pretty obvious about some things, but they used to pull off some twists. I remember a time when fan speculation was way more wrong than it is right.  

However, season 7 is just really obvious in terms of some of the “big twists.”  Take Alice being the LGBT character, the entire fandom speculated that from the first second she appeared in shooting spoilers based on stereotypes. I have been hoping it’s not her because of those stereotypes, but nope! They had no surprises up their sleeve with it. Then most people immediately assumed she was Roger’s daughter the second we found out he had one... and apparently no twist there either. 

I guess the days of the entire fandom being shocked by finding out Hook is the Dark One and Dark Swan did everything for Hook... are over. 

Of course we should have known this reboot lost all subtlety in the second episode when everyone and their mother kept asking Henry if he was in love with the random woman he just met.  

Anonymous said:I know the promo pics didn't spell anything good for Belle, but I'm still surprised that they actually had her die. I kept thinking that there would be some twist to it.

As I was just saying... no twists, no turns. It’s exactly as everyone predicted. 

Anonymous said:I didn't watch the ep, but shit Henry and ivy have so much more chemistry than the other girl. Cinderella I think lol damn talk about epic romance also I saw comments that also agree with the Henry and ivy

If you haven’t watched how do you know they have more chemistry?  Seriously, that’s kind of ridiculous. What are you basing that on?

Anonymous said:ouat is a weird show, it requires you to pay really pay attention but not to close of attention or you will notice all the plot holes

100% accurate.  This reboot is creating so many more plot holes with all the magic mcguffins that are suddenly in play.  I guess you either have to accept it and go along for the ride, or recognize it for what it is. 

Anonymous said:hey liza, who are your favourite characters from the new cast? some of them don’t really impress me but i quite like ivy and tilly.

Both of those characters have some interesting aspects to them.  It may have a lot to do with the performers.  I haven’t been impressed with Gabriel, Dania or Mekia’s choices so far, but Adelaide and Rose have interesting screen presence. 

Anonymous said:Drizella really is a Mean Girls version of Regina. I'm between finding her general attitude annoying and finding her somewhat sympathetic considering she has to deal with Tremaine all day.

You mean Regina when she was a girl and under Cora’s thumb?  I could see that comparison.  Lets hope Drizella doesn’t follow in Regina’s footsteps and become the mass murdering rapist in town.

Anonymous said:Did Rumbelle build the house in Storybrooke?

Um... I’m not sure I understand this question.  In the show I believe that Up-inspired cabin where they were living isolated from everything and everyone else (do people really find that a happy ending?) was in the edge of realms. 

Anonymous said:I'm almost mad that we got to see more of Belle and Rumple's story than we did of Captain Swan. We all know they are living their happy ending but it would still be wonderful to see a little clip of Emma sitting on the beach with their daughter waiting for Killian to show up and join their picnic. Just some good ole domestic Captain Swan on scene would make me so happy. *sigh*

I have a number of anons like this, and just NOPE.  

First, we did not see more of Rumbelle than CS on this show.  Rumbelle was a backburner story that was most often characterized as a cautionary tale of abuse and manipulation and the pair were mostly apart and had very little focus through the run of the series. 

The showrunners decided that going forward they needed viewers to feel good about Belle and RB so after making them a gross, toxic mess for seasons now (it was just last year that Rumple was fucking the Evil Queen while Belle ran and hid for her life as he stalked and threatened her) they gave fans a bunch of twee scenes of her growing old (a life she lived isolated from everyone but two people) and dying in order to get rid of her and give Rumple motivation for this idiotic S7.

You’re jealous of that? Seriously? Fuck no. 

Also you need to understand that 7.02 and 7.04 were very different episodes.  7.02 was still really Henry's story and a moment in time where he called for help and got to see his parents for a few minutes and we all found out that Emma and Hook are doing great and gonna have a baby and living a blissfully happy life together.  It was just a check in where it was confirmed for us that Operation Happy Beginning has been a success and things are amazing. Also it spun off WishHook and completely separated the plot of S7 away from CS.  7.04 was 100% Rumple plot and his story. It explained why he's there and what is motivating him in Hyperion Heights.  Very different.  For 7.02, CS were not the focus because they didn’t need to be. Nothing in S7 requires knowing exactly what is going to happen to them minute by minute.  I'll take less screen time and my OTP being completely disentangled from this mess any day of the week.

Anonymous said:Lol my jealousy of Rumbelle having more focus than CS has dropped to 0%, that episode was eh. CS is expecting a baby, and Belle is dead after spending her life trying to fix rumple's. Nice.

Yep.  Look, I’m happy for any fans of Rumple or Belle that are happy about this episode and found peace in Belle’s life, but the writers did too much damage to this pairing over the years for me to care about it at all. 

Anonymous said:While I can't stand rumbelle I feel for the shippers. They did get some happy scenes but their ship is going to spend the rest of the season apart and in pain until the half alive dies.

Yeah... I would not like that, I don’t think. It’s just kind of creepy and icky and ew-ey. However, to each her own.  

Anonymous said:Agreed with that anon, there some good moments, but this was definitely not even close to one of the best episodes of the series. I have to respectfully disagree with Colin on this one. (Actually season 7 in its entirety lol)

Oh dear sweet Colin. Just trying to do his job.  So many cast and crew and media have shot their hyperbolic wad with this episode. Calling it the best EVER!!!!!  What will they say for the rest of the season?  “This is the second best episode EVER!!!!!” Or will they keep one upping every time they have to promote an ep?

No one with an economic interest in S7 can be trusted when talking about the quality of this season (and I include Mitovich and NA in that.) 

Anonymous said:I didn't watch the episode but I'm curious: are we supposed to believe that when Belle dies Emma and Killian are old too or was there some timeline glitch and Emma and Killian are still young in Storybrooke at the time of HH events? 

Who knows. Belle and Rumple were off living at the Edge of Realms for the last years of her life.  Rumple said something about time standing still there except for Belle??? I think. (my mind kept wandering duiring those scenes becuse they were so boring) Then after she died he opened a portal thingy to go to the time and place where the Guardian (the deux ex machina that is going to cure him of the Dark One curse) lives and Rumple was then transported to the newEF (that looks exactly like the old, I mean couldn’t they have given this new storybook’s fairy tale land some stylistic differences???)  on the night of Cinderella’s Ball and we see Henry drive by on his motorcycle. 

So yes, I think some of the flashforwards could have been from far in the future, and some could have been not all that distant because they were in a weird realm with weird time mechanics. 

However, I think Rumple and Belle left Storybrooke well before Henry did (they talk about it at Gideon’s first birthday and Henry still would have been about 14 at that time) so by the time this Hyperion Heights stuff is happening they would have been off in Fairy Tale land “traveling?” (ie living their lives in dusty libraries searching books for a way to cure Rumple.)

It hurts ones head to try to sort it all out. 

Anonymous said:After watching this episode, all I think is how sad it is how far this show gone from greatness. Going back 3 years, I would’ve never imagined ouat would be like this now. Sorry for being dramatic, it’s all just so jarring.

I think one of the most unfortunate things about this is that I really think OUAT could have been a valuable and viable franchise for years to come.  However, they tried to reboot it too soon.  As I’ve said since last spring, I think it would have been much better to let it rest a year or two and then come back with 10-13 episode event series for ABC.  

However, this experiment will probably negate any opportunity for that.

Anonymous said:I think it's a little sad that in real time, Belle died like 5-10 years after the s6 finale. I know it was longer for her but to everyone else that knew her, it'd be like she died young.

Yep. I’m not sure if in Hyperion Heights or Storybrooke in 2017 if Belle is dead, dead, or still living out her life at the edge of realms or wherever and Rumple traveled back in time???  

I don’t know. 

Anonymous said:Do you think killing Belle off is going to decrease the ratings more?

Nope. If ratings do decrease, I don’t think that will have been a factor.

Anonymous said:They lost viewers even with the episode they promoted the most wow 

They did and yes, other than the premiere, this has been the most promoted episode.  As I’ve said since the premiere, ep 5 ratings should be the most telling. I’m guessing that will be the baseline for the rest of the half season. At that point anyone in the audience who was just curious if they would preserve our favorites happy endings from the first 6 season will know and there won’t be a bump from that.  We’ll see. 

#ouat negativity #asklizac #ouat 7x04 #ouat 7.04 #ouat s7 #anonymous