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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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What I Thought About "Eda's Requiem" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

...

...HOW IS SEASON TWO SO GOOD?! WE'VE HAD SEVEN EPISODES SO FAR, AND EACH ONE OF THEM WAS A HIT!

Take "Eda's Requiem," for example. It's yet another episode where I have NOTHING bad to say about it! That's two weeks in a row where that happened! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?!

HOW!

...But anyways, "Eda's Requiem." It's another fantastic episode, and I'm about to dive into explaining how and why. Just keep in mind, it's gonna require spoilers to do so, so be wary of that as you keep reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Eda’s Checklist and Grom Photo: Within the first second, "Eda's Requiem" perfectly sets up Eda's central conflict in the episode. Despite spending years being on her own and looking after herself, she now has two kids that she's constantly caring over. Eda can try all she wants to say that she doesn't care, and I bet she has in the past. But given the hard work she's putting into getting King and Luz what they need and having a grom photo of the three of them together pinned in her mirror, it's pretty clear that those two knuckleheads wormed their way into her heart and are never getting out.

Eda’s Worried About King and Luz Leaving: And thus, that's precisely why something like this bothers her so much. Eda inadvertently adopted two rambunctious rapscallions (Yeah, I know. I'll get to it), so the idea of them not being around her anymore is going to be terrifying. That is a situation most parents, especially mothers, can identify with. It’s called empty nest syndrome and it proves just how much Eda loves Luz and King that she can't stand the thought of her babies leaving the nest. It's yet another well-made, wholesome, found-family moment that this series continues to excel at each week, making me extra excited for more like it to come...while also readying myself for heartbreak when one of them eventually does leave Eda.

Eda and Raine’s Music: Ok, I don't know the exact instruments that were played during this episode, but I also don't care because it was all (for lack of a better term) music to my ears. Every time Eda and Raine played resulted in melodies that are so beautiful and filled with so much emotion and feeling that I'm honestly tempted to listen to them again, multiple times, on repeat. Shows rarely do that for me, as background music doesn't always draw me in as much as lyrical songs do. Usually, it takes something so extraordinarily composed to give me the desire to listen again, and that's the case here. So huge congrats to Brad Breek for doing so. Seriously, the man's been killing it this season.

Eda’s Bard Magic Causing Things to Turn to Ash: This was assuredly a surprise side-effect of the curse. The fact that Eda can sort of do magic at all was its own shock. To then reveal that a specific type can do dangerous things to people and environments is...Well, it definitely brings up its own fair share of questions. Like, how can she do this? Will she do it again, one day? And are there other types of spells that can be negatively affected by Eda's curse? We don't get answers for any of these questions, and odds are, we never will. But that's alright with me. Because if a show makes me consider these many possibilities after a brief amount of time, it is a show that has to be doing something right. Even if I don't get the answers I want, the fact that it caused such a reaction makes me less willing to care.

Raine Whispers: Hey, would you look at that. Another fun, interesting, and compelling character added to the list of this shows' other fun, interesting, and compelling characters...how is this series so good at this!?

Joking aside, Raine's pretty good. I like Raine. They could have been this super serious leader who lost all their fun after years apart from Eda, but I'm glad that they're not. There are moments when Raine takes their job as leader of the BATs seriously, as one would, but I still prefer the fact that they kept a jovial nature despite how grim their situation is. It's an admirable trait to have, and it avoids the trope of making leader characters boring just because they're the ones who have to take things seriously.

Oh, and also, Raine's Disney's first non-binary character who has a stake in the plot. This is a tremendous deal, as you don't usually see that many non-binary characters in children's animation, let alone ones that hold importance to the story. So it's pretty cool for the writers to feature Raine, as it helps several kids feel as though they're finally seen and respected. And the fact that Disney of all companies gave the thumbs up is even more impressive. I hear people say that Dana Terrace should have pitched The Owl House to more progressive networks to avoid pushback, and while I absolutely see your point, I'll have to respectfully disagree. Disney is the largest entertainment industry of all time, so if you want to make LGBTQA+ representation normalized, you gotta stop making splashes and start making waves. Because if the same company that made three racist cats in the span of a few years manages to say that being gay is a-ok, then you know there's something wrong with you. Yes, Disney ended up screwing over the show anyway. But for that one moment, when kids felt pride after seeing a character like Raine, then, in the end, it's kind of worth it.

Also, if you're still having issues with more representation like this popping up in kids' shows, then allow me to redirect you to the complaint department.

...I made that post earlier today for this bit. YOU HAVE BETTER APPRECIATED IT!

Day of Unity is meant to be a Secret: At least, that's what I got when Raine stumbled over their own words. So if it's true, then I wonder why? Why does Belos want to keep the most critical change in the Boiling Isles a secret? Does he want to make it a surprise for his grateful subjects, or does he not want to spread worry and fear amongst the wild witches? It has to be something big if he doesn't want his followers to even say the words "Day of Unity." Whatever reason he has, we most likely won't know until the future. A future that I grow more and more afraid of each week.

Hooty Eating Echo Mouse: My heart sank in that brief moment when I thought that Hooty intensely screwed Luz over in getting back home. But looking back...it is pretty funny.

Just the suddenness of Hooty eating the poor creature that Luz desperately tried to earn its trust is priceless in how shocking it was. And also, Luz's expression.

That was the look of a young girl who immediately shoved her hand down an owl demon's throat the second the scene cut away. The Owl House may not always be a hit in the comedy department, but scenes like this prove that when it's funny, it is hilarious.

Luz and King Entering the Grand Prix: Not much to discuss here. It's just a cute subplot that adds frivolity to the intensity of what's going on through Eda and Raine's story. But I will say that I love how both stories occasionally interconnect with each other through the many moments of Eda being worried about King wanting to leave to find his father and avoiding any conversation about it. It helps both plotlines feel like they belong together, without being something like "Through the Looking Glass Ruins," whereas both stories could have been in their own episode. Which is neat.

How Bard Magic Works: I really love how this season is diving into how the other magic types work. More specifically, the ones that seem a little vague. I mean, stuff like healing, potions, and plants are easy to figure out, but what does it mean when a witch's talents are construction, beast keeping, and bard magic? We've been getting a lot of clearing up lately, with bard magic looking like a witch can control their environments and enemies through the power of music. Which is fair. Music is pretty powerful in the metaphorical sense, and I actually love that it's powerful in the literal sense when in the Boiling Isles.

The BATs: Not much to comment on these three either. The BATs have the potential to have an entertaining dynamic, but they do very little in this episode that I can't say much other than I hope they make a return in the future. But I will make this claim: Amber is my favorite. I'm sorry, but her screaming "You're not our mom!" to then go, "Bye, mommy Eda" is just too precious for me not to love.

I'm a simple man who falls for cute s**t. Leave me alone.

Raeda (RainexEda): Well, EdaxCamila, you were a fun crack ship while it lasted, but I'm afraid that this is now goodbye. The current canon has provided an incredibly adorable and believable relationship that I would be a monster not to support with my whole bi-heart. It's been real.

Ok, back in serious mode: I love these two together. Eda and Raine are grown-ups, and they still act all flustered near each other as if they were still Luz and Amity's age. It's definitive proof that you're never too old to get flustered near a crush, and seeing them interact adds a sense of wholesomeness when seeing them together as well as heartbreak when they're forced apart. Plus, we get confirmation that Eda's LGBTQA+! Whether she's bi, pan, or whatever, now that we know Eda can catch feelings for someone like Raine, it's yet another case that The Owl House is the most important series to the community. Because having the main character be queer is fantastic in its own right. But having the same apply to the motherly mentor figure? That's is an extra bit of normalization that anybody would be willing to appreciate.

Unique Guard Designs: Not many fans are going to appreciate this, primarily compared to everything else this episode does perfectly. For me, I actually like that you see a few Coven Guards looking differently from the others, as it helps make them less like clones and makes it seem like anybody of any body type could be a part of the coven.

Gus Looking Uninterested when Presenting Grand Prix with his Dad: I am positive that you didn't notice this (I didn't even notice it until someone else pointed it out), but there's something to dissect here. It hints that perhaps Gus isn't as interested in his father's field of work as one might think. If he did, he would look a lot less bored and much more excited to be helping Perry Porter present the race. It could just be the race itself, but judging from Gus' expression, it really seems like the kid would prefer to be anywhere but there. And why would he have that reaction to a race that his best friend is competing in? To me, this seems like an inkling of what Gus' relationship with Perry could be, which may not actually get time to shine, what with how little wiggle room the series has now (Thanks Disney). Regardless, it is interesting to notice, and it will certainly have fans thinking for a while.

Bump Being Smug of Luz Being in the Lead: That's it. Principal Bump looking smug as his human student is beating the students of his rivals is yet another moment that proves why Bump is easily the best cartoon principal.

Darius: First of all, this guy is f**king fabulous, and I love him. *Snaps*

Second, he is definitive proof that you do NOT want to f**k around with Coven Leaders. Lilith may have had her intimidating moments, but none of them compare to the guy who can turn himself into an abomination monster where only magic that hasn't existed before can take him down. It's genuinely scary to see Darius lose control, and I fear for the day when Luz inevitably ends up in his crosshairs.

With that said, Darius' still a ton of fun! He may be threatening, but he's just a flamboyant guy that hates the idea of getting his outfit the tiniest bit dirty. And I love that. I love that these Coven Heads have actual personalities instead of being generically evil. I consider it preferable to make villains entertaining rather than blatantly scary as I'll remember the personalities first and the villainous acts last.

Eberwolf: But this one's my favorite. I told you: I'm a simple man who gets easily swayed by cute s**t. And Eber? I mean, just look at her:

She's just a cute widdle rascal! I just want to pinch her cheeks, give her a belly rub, and--

...Eberwolf is not a cute widdle rascal. She is a strong, independent woman, and I will respect her as such from this moment forward...lest I feel her wrath.

That is all. Let's move on.

Eda and Raine Attempting a Final Performance: This was the best scene of the episode. It looked gorgeous, it shows the dedication Eda and Raine have for stopping Belos, and it says so much through so little. Go back and look at how Eda and Raine regard one another when performing Eda's requiem. Through their expressions and a few short words, you know they understand that if they complete the song/spell, they probably won't make it in the end. And yet, they don't care. They both know bad stuff will happen if Belos wins, so Eda and Raine put everything to the side, both their feelings for one another and the people they leave behind if it means putting an end to a tyrant. That level of dedication...Words can't fully describe how powerful that is.

Raine Sacrificing Themselves Instead: But in the end, Raine can't do it. Not when they know the life that Eda has and the people she'll be leaving behind. It's an extra bit of nobleness to the character seeing that Raine refuses to take away a woman from two kids who need her the most. A tad bit selfish, sure, knowing what Belos has planned. But when it comes to love, the romantic, familial, or platonic, the best decisions aren't always the logical ones.

Eda Crying: Luz crying tears me up, but seeing Eda cry is a whole different level of heartbreak. Like Lilith, Eda has her emotions locked up tight, with the closest she came to weeping were those two tears in "Young Blood, Old Souls." In "Eda's Requiem," she cries but almost quickly stops herself. As if she knows that doing so isn't going to save Raine. That is...even worse than seeing Luz break down after losing Eda. The fact that Eda refuses to give herself time to mourn losing someone she loved is tragic because crying is the most natural way of showing grief. Turning that off isn't healthy, and seeing her do it with little resistance is sad to me. It's sad to see a character I love can easily shut off all emotions despite how badly she may want to embrace them. It's one of those moments that, again, by doing so little, it shows so much.

“No one watches Crystal Balls anymore. It’s all about streaming.”: Oof. Even I felt that burn towards cable.

King’s Message: King's message was the pick-me-up I needed after the heart-wrenching sadness this episode put me through a few minutes ago. Seeing King say who he is and listing all the things he loves is nothing short of adorable. On top of that, I adore that Eda willingly recorded the whole thing. She may not want King to leave, but that doesn't mean she'll sabotage the one thing he wants. Especially not after Raine gave up everything so Eda could be with her kids. The opening scene may prove how much Eda cares about a rascal like King, but this heartwarmingly sweet moment reveals just how far she'll go to make him happy.

King’s Dad Reveal: ...ok, I'll be honest, I did not think we'd get that reveal this soon. Dumb of me to say, considering the number of times I've said that these writers don't waste time getting to the s**t, I know. But still, it's pretty cool knowing that King's dad is alive and well, added with the fact that we've got a fair idea of what he looks like. At this point, it's only a matter of time before we see him figure out where the Clawthorne residence is and witness the tear-jerking moments that will follow.

King Changing his Name to King Clawthorne: Not the official adoption I was expecting Eda to make...but DANG IT, is it still diabetes-inducing levels of sweetness!

Personally, I feel like the main reason why Eda breaks down this time is not only because she shouldn't be worried about King leaving her life, but also because Raine's sacrifice wasn't in vain. Her kids really do need Eda because no matter how far apart they'll be, she will always be a part of their life...dang it, I'm going to cry too!

What those Coven patches really do: Well...that was horrifying to see.

...Writers, if you kill off the best non-binary character in animation (it's a short list, I know), we are going to have PROBLEMS!

IN CONCLUSION

"Eda's Requiem" is--surprise surprise--another A+. The emotions hit hard, the representation hits harder, Raine is a fantastic addition to the cast, and it was all surprisingly cute at times. Season Two is currently on a hot streak, constantly winning with every episode that's come out so far. When a bad episode does eventually show up (IT'S GONNA HAPPEN!), I'll be sure to sing my requiem then. For now, I'm just gonna enjoy the ride.

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #the owl house reviews #eda clawthorne #raine whispers #raeda #king of demons #toh darius #toh eberwolf #what i thought about

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thetravelerwrites · 5 years

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Harlan (White Bison Minotaur)

Rating: Explicit Relationship: Male Minotaur x Female Human Additional Tags: Exophilia, Minotaur Boyfriend, Monster Boyfriend, Reader Insert, Friends to Enemies to Lovers Content Warnings: Sex, Kinks, Light Bondage, BDSM, Sex Toys, Spanking, Whipping, Pegging, Ass Play, Female Dom, Male Sub, Biting, Safe Sex, Condoms Words: 6746

Another commission and more art by @oddacle! A young woman trying to move up in her company is disappointed when she's passed over for a promotion for her best friend, but it's a development in his love life that forces her to distance herself from him. Please leave feedback!

The Traveler's Masterlist

“Heard about the promotion yet?” You asked Harlan over the lunch in your office.

“Only rumors,” he replied, eating his salad like he’d gone three days without food. “With Canus leaving to start his directing career, it leaves a spot open for a new Senior Content Director.”

“I want that promotion,” You told him vehemently, stabbing at your plate of pasta. “I’ve been at this company for years and I’ve worked my ass off. I deserve it.”

“You can have it,” He said, chuckling. “I’m fine where I am. This company already treats me like the sun and moon live in my ballsack. I don’t need anymore ‘special favors’.”

Easy for you to say, You thought to yourself bitterly, though you’d never say that to him out loud.

Harlan was an absolutely massive white bison minotaur, handsome and sweet, with bright red eyes, long pearly horns, a pale blonde beard decorated with braids and beads. He stood head and shoulders above you, and everyone else, even without the horns. He’d been your best friend since college, and you both had applied for this job at the same time after graduating.

White bison minotaurs were an extremely rare, and as such, people bent over backwards to make them happy. People put high value on creatures who were rare, seeing them as paragons of good fortune, so Harlan was used to getting anything he wanted; he didn’t even have to ask for it. Despite being close friends with him, you had always resented the fact the people just handed him anything he wanted for no other reason than he was considered lucky.

But this was different. This promotion would prove your worth at the company, and you would have done it with your own wit, determination, and effort. No one was going to take it from you.

“It’s still just a rumor at this point,” Harlan said, watching your face. “Don’t get your hopes up. The higher-ups may just close ranks. They did it last time someone retired.”

“I’m working on a big get for the streaming service,” You said, shaking your head. “You’ve heard about Rebel Yell, right?”

“Wasn’t that that dystopian show that got canceled halfway through the second season a year ago that has a huge cult following?” Harlan asked.

“Yep,” You said. “I’ve been talking to the creators of that show, and they want to continue working on it. I’m negotiating a renewal deal as well as buying the rights to run the original episodes on Binge.”

“That would be huge!�� Harlan said, excited. “Subscriber projections would be through the roof if you managed to get that. They’d be insane not to promote you.”

“Exactly,” You said pointedly. “I’m so close to it, I can taste it.”

“Well, you deserve it,” Harlan said, wiping his mouth. “But you’ve also been working too hard lately. We haven’t hung out outside of work in months. Let’s get a beer tonight.”

“Can’t. I’ve got to double down on this acquisition. I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers like I did with Keepers. That one set me back months.”

“After, then. Promise?”

You sighed. “Yeah, yeah, okay.”

He stood up and threw his plastic salad tray in the garbage, and stared at you judiciously.

“Do you ever think about quitting this job?” He asked you.

“What?” You replied, appalled. “No! I’ve spent the last seven years getting to where I am in this company. I’m not going to throw it away when I’m this close to a lead position.” You looked back at him, frowning. “Do you think about it?”

“Sometimes,” He admitted. “I just… I don’t feel like I’ve earned any of this. They keep pushing me into higher positions with no training, throwing me into projects I don’t know anything about, and every time I make a mistake, they just brush it off and blame it on someone else. I feel like everyone resents me here, even you.”

You stayed silent and didn’t meet his eye. You loved the big guy, but he wasn’t wrong. When you started your internship at Styx Media, which was the owner of Binge Streaming Service as well as a production studio for indie films, it had taken years for you to find a foothold and climb out of the archives, whereas Harlan had been promoted in less than a month.

It was infuriating. You’d had to fight and claw to get to where you were. Harlan was no more skilled than you. In fact, he was less so, since most of college he goofed off and yet somehow managed to make valedictorian. Even now that the two of you had equal positions in the company, he was still making more money than you. He often offered to help, but you refused. You didn’t need his charity.

“Got to get back,” He said, changing the subject. “Jensen has some kind of advertising project he wants me to help him with.”

“You mean, do for him? Jensen is a leech,” You said dismissively.

“Yeah,” Harlan sighed. “I may have gotten this job on merit, but I still want to do well. Helping Jensen is the least I can do.”

And now you felt like an asshole.

“Harlan,” You called after him as he started down the hall.

“Yeah?” He asked, poking his head back in.

“Let’s do pizza and beer tonight,” You said.

He smiled crookedly. “You sure? You won’t be too busy?”

“I think I can spare a few minutes to have a beer with my best friend,” You said.

He grinned widely at you, ducking his head. “It’s a date.” He disappeared down the hall, the beads in his blonde beard clinking against each other as he walked.

That evening, you met him at your favorite pizza place and ordered two slices and a house beer with a lime wedge. He ordered an entire veggie pizza and a pitcher of lager to himself.

“How’s Jensen’s advert project?” You asked him.

“No shop talk at dinner,” He said sternly, booping your nose before picking up a slice and folding it in half. “Besides, I’d rather hear about what you’re doing when you’re not at work. Feels like we haven’t caught up in a while about our non-work lives.”

“What non-work life? Work is my life.”

“That’s kind of what I’m worried about,” He said. “You do know there’s more to life than work, right?

“Not for me,” You said, sipping your beer. “Not till I’m in that corner office with a legion of people working under me. I have a goal and I’m so close to reaching it. I’m not giving up.”

“I’m not saying you should, I just think you need something else in your life. Like…” He sighed and sat back. “Like, maybe, us.”

“Us?” You echoed. “What do you mean, us?”

“You and me. Dating.”

Your head rocked back. “What?”

“I think it could work,” He said, looking sincere. “You and me have been friends forever, and I think we could be really good together.”

You gaped at him. “You’re serious. You want to date?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Is that so weird?”

You sighed unhappily. “Harlan… you’re my best friend and you know I love you, but… I don’t have time for a relationship. My job comes first and I can’t compromise my work ethic for anything or anyone. Not even you.”

Harlan was silent for a minute. “So… your job is more important to you than our eleven-year-long friendship.”

“I…” You tried to argue with that, but you weren’t completely sure that wasn’t true.

“It’s fine,” He said, not meeting your eye. “I figured you’d say no, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.” He flagged down a waitress and asked for a to-go box, throwing some money on the table.

“Harlan, I…”

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” He said, taking his half-eaten pizza and walking out of the restaurant.

Things were a little weird between you and Harlan for the next week, but during that time, you’d managed to secure the Rebel Yell deal, which was a huge win for your department. They even threw you a party.

During the party, as everyone was milling around, eating cake and drinking champagne, you approached Harlan for the first time since the pizza place.

“Hey,” You said hesitantly.

“Hey, there,” He said, smiling at you. “Congrats on the deal.”

“Thanks,” You replied. “Listen, I want to apologize about the other night. Of course you’re important to me, but my career is important to me, too. I just hope you don’t think it means that I don’t want to be friends with you.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” He said, patting your shoulder. “I’ve always known your career was your priority. I was being selfish. Besides,” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve actually met someone.”

Your heart thudded against your chest and your brain blanked for a moment. Cold washed over you. Your lungs forgot how to breathe.

When you regained composure, you said. “Oh, that’s great! What’s their name?”

“His name is Greg, he works in I.T. He’s nice, I think you’d like him.”

“I’m sure I would.” Stupid Greg.

“I felt this instant connection to him, you know? Just like,” He snapped his fingers. “Like that. We’ve only been on three dates, but I think this could be a serious thing.”

“I’m happy for you, man,” You said, giving him a playful slap on the arm. “He sounds great.”

He laughed shyly. “Yeah. Seems like we’re both getting what we want, huh?” He gave you a quick squeeze before walking off, meeting a tallish man with a ponytail and kissing him on the cheek.

“Yeah,” you said, watching him. “Seems like.”

Harlan introduced you to Greg, who seemed nice enough. You still didn’t like him, though, but you had to convince yourself that it wasn’t because you were jealous. You’d turned Harlan down; you didn’t have any right to be jealous.

A few weeks passed as normal as they could. You were trying to keep your mind on your work, finding new content for Binge and investing in new creators, but Harlan kept creeping back into your thoughts. It wasn’t like he hadn’t dated people before, but there was something different this time. Maybe it was because he had told you he wanted to date you, or maybe it was because his relationship with Greg seemed to be moving like a bullet train, but whatever it was, it made you uneasy.

The two of you managed to keep your friendship steady, although he had lunch with you less and less often. He still called and texted everyday to talk, or sent you an email when he wasn’t busy. You couldn’t understand why all of a sudden it felt like you’d swallowed something burning whenever you heard his voice or read his texts.

Finally, at one of the morning board meetings, your boss, Mr. Richardson, stood up and called for silence.

“Alright, now, I know you’ve all heard rumors that there is a promotion up for grabs,” He said, and there was a murmur among those sitting at the table. He waved his hands to calm them. “I know you’ve all been dying to know who’s going to get the open Content Director position, but we wanted to take some time, observe your performances individually, and one of you stood out. One of you exemplifies what this company is trying to do. And today, that person will be rewarded for their hard work.”

You took a breath and swallowed, your heart in your throat.

“Congratulations, Harlan!”

The whole table cheered as Harlan froze, wide-eyed. The anger rose up in your chest, but you forced yourself to clap along with everyone else. Harlan’s eyes cut to you, and you looked away, your jaw working. He knew you were pissed.

“Get up here, Harlan!” Mr. Richardson said, and Harlan reluctantly got up from his seat and joined him at the head of the table, shaking his hand a little awkwardly. “Get used to calling this guy ‘boss’ from now on.”

Harlan looked like he would rather be anywhere else, but he plastered a smile on his face while everyone congratulated him.

Later, back in your office, you were trying to complete some work, but your anger blinded you. You finally gave up and just sat back in your chair with your eyes closed, trying to calm yourself.

A knock at your door opened your eyes, and you said, “Come in.”

Harlan slowly poked his head in. “Uh, hey.”

“Hey,” You said flatly. “Congrats on the promotion.”

He sighed. “You okay?”

“Me?” You asked, getting up to put files that you should be working on away in a cabinet. “Yeah, I’m great. I’m just great. Don’t you worry about me.”

“I am worried about you,” Harlan said pleadingly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“Why are you even here?” You asked him, looking up at him for the first time since he came in. “Shouldn’t you be settling in to your new corner office? Don’t you have a new job to do?”

“I don’t want this job!” He protested.

“You didn’t exactly turn it down, did you?”

He sighed. “Greg… thinks I should take it. He thinks it’s a good opportunity for me.”

“Oh, well, if it’s what Greg thinks…” You said sarcastically.

“I thought you liked Greg,” Harlan said.

“This isn’t about Greg!” I retorted. “Could… Could you just… leave, please? I need time to deal with this.”

He hesitated. “When you stop being mad, let’s talk, okay?”

“Yeah, fine,” You said dismissively. “Go. I have work to do.”

He disappeared and you was left alone in your dinky office with poor lighting, surrounded by work that wasn’t going to get done that day.

Before the end of the work day, Mr. Richardson called you into his office.

“Hey, there, wanted to talk to you for a second,” He said as you came in.

“What about, sir?”

He got up and sat on the edge of his desk. “Look, I’m not blind. I know you wanted that senior position and you fought hard for it. But the decision came from higher up. It wasn’t my call. If it had been up to me, you’d have gotten that job.”

“Thanks sir, that means a lot.” You replied.

“In fact, that’s actually wanted to talk to you about,” He continued. “We have another senior position available, but it’s at our London office. It’s yours if you want it.”

My eyebrows climbed. “Seriously, sir?”

“Seriously. You interested?”

You put a hand to your head. It was exactly what you wanted. But… in another country? Leave everything behind? Your family, friends… Harlan?

“Can I have a little time to think about it, sir?” You asked.

“Sure, but don’t take too long. There’s a few people vying for this job, although not as qualified. If you hold out too long, it’ll go to one of them.”

“I understand, sir,” You said, holding out a hand. “Thank you so much for recommending me.”

He shook your hand. “Don’t thank me. Your work speaks for itself. They’d be lucky to have you.”

“Thank you, sir, I appreciate this more than you know.”

The next day, early in the morning, you got in early to work on the files you hadn’t done the day before, and Harlan met you at your office door.

“Before you--” He started, but you stopped him.

“Don’t worry about it, Harlan,” You said. “I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?” He asked trepidatiously.

“No. I thought about it. There are other opportunities for me. There’s no point in being pissed at you.”

“Great,” He said in a relieved exhaled. “Because I wanted to tell you something, and I was afraid you wouldn’t talk to me.” He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket. “You’re my best friend and I wanted you to know first.”

You took the envelope he gave you, which was gold with embossed white lettering. Opening it, you found a card that said You Are Cordially Invited to the Wedding of-- and you stopped reading. Your heart dropped into your toes. Pins and needles stabbed at your spine and a stone lodged itself in your stomach.

“I know it’s only been two months, but I love Greg very much. I want you to be my best man. Or woman. Or whatever.”

“Wow,” You managed to say. “I’m… I’m so happy for you.” You pulled him into a hug so he couldn’t see your face.

“So will you? Be my best man, I mean?” He asked you.

“Of course,” You forced out. “I’d be happy to.”

You held him long enough to put something that resembled a smile on your face and released him. He grinned his great, big, sweet grin at you, and the knife twisted.

“Well, I’ve got some more invites to hand out, but I wanted to make sure you got yours first.” He pulled you into another hug and said. “Thanks. Love you.” And made for the elevator with a departing grin.

You went into your office, locked the door, and cried. You don’t know how long you were on the floor, sobbing into your knees, but you stopped when you heard people out in the main area. Getting yourself together, you wiped your face, reapplied your eyeliner, walked out of your office, and marched into Mr. Richardson’s office.

“What’s up? Are you alright?” He asked.

“I’ll take it. I’ll take the London job.”

June 14, 10:25 A.M.: Hey! How are you settling in? Is London as awesome as you thought it was? Call me when you get a chance. June 16, 3:22 P.M.: Hey bud, I wanted to ask you about some wedding details. Are you going to bring a plus one? We’re working on the seating chart. Call me later. June 20, 7:02 P.M.: You doing okay? How’s the new job? I know you’re probably busy, but message me when you get a chance, okay? Miss you, buddy. June 21, 9:19 P.M.: Missed Call from Harlan June 23, 5:47 P.M.: Missed Call from Harlan July 4, 10:34 P.M.: Wish you were here. The fireworks are awesome this year. July 10, 6:54 P.M.: Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in a while. Just text me and let me know if you’re alright. July 10, 7:01 P.M.: If there’s something wrong, you can tell me. We’re still friends, right? Call me. July 10, 7:25 P.M.: Missed Call from Harlan July 28, 2:56 P.M.: I called your office today. They said you were busy. Are you avoiding me? Why? Did I do something? Talk to me. August 3, 12.01 A.M.: Happy Birthday! August 3, 8:23 A.M.: Missed Call from Harlan August 3, 11:31 A.M.: Missed Call from Harlan August 3, 2:59 P.M.: Missed Call from Harlan August 3, 5:49 P.M.: Why aren’t you answering my calls? August 15, 6:20 P.M.: Look, just send me one text, okay? Just one so that I know you’re okay. September 8, 2:46 P.M.: It’s kind of bullshit that you got this big, new job and won’t speak to me anymore. If you don’t want anything to do with me, the least you could do is call me and tell me yourself. You’re being a coward by ignoring me. September 8; 3:04: P.M.: Fine. Have a nice life. December 13, 1:58 A.M.: Listen, I know you’ve got your own stuff going on right now, but I could really use a friend. Please call me. Please.

That was the last text you got from Harlan. You almost broke and replied, but the sting of hearing his voice would have been too much.

Nearly a year after getting the job in London, during which it took some time to get used to living in a different country, you were invited to a conference to discuss the success of the international campaigns and to encourage further expansion back in the US. You were worried you’d run into Harlan, but this was a work function, and as Content Director, it was pretty much mandatory.

Being back in the states was weird, but the familiarity was comforting. You got your key to your room and went up, intending on taking a quick nap to get rid of the jetlag. It ended up being a nine hour coma. You woke at three in the morning starving.

The only thing open in the hotel was the bar, which had basic bar food and you figured it was good enough. You threw on a comfy shirt and a pair of jeans and headed down to the lobby. There were more people in the bar than you expected to be at this hour, but then again, there was a huge conference going on. Lots of people had problems with public speaking, yourself included, and needed some liquid courage to get themselves on stage.

You sat at a table and ordered a beer with a lime wedge and some nachos, which would tide you over until breakfast. As you sat, waiting for your beer and food, feeling… a lot of things. You’d grown up in this town and coming back home had brought up a lot of memories. You’d driven past the playground where you spent most of your Saturdays as a kid, past your old office and the pizza place where Harlan had suggested the two of you start dating, past the campus where the two of you had gone to school.

You didn’t even know why, but you could feel tears welling up in your eyes.You hadn’t realized how homesick you were until you actually came home.

A shadow fell over you, and a hand set a plate of nachos and a beer in front of you.

“You and your lime wedges,” A familiar voice said.

Through your tears, you looked up in horror and saw Harlan standing in front of you, wearing a t-shirt with the bar’s logo on it and a pair of extremely tight black jeans.

You weren’t proud of it, but you ran. You ran out of the bar and into the elevator, escaping back to your room. You closed the door and bent over, gripping your knees and gasping for breath.

A banging on your door startled you, and you jumped.

“Let me in!” You heard Harlan say. “I know you’re in there! Let me in! Stop avoiding me!”

“Go away!” You yelled.

“This is because of the promotion, isn’t it! You’re still pissed that they gave the job you wanted to me, aren’t you! Well, you can feel better about yourself now because I quit months ago!”

“What?” That shocked You into opening the door, where he was standing, still wearing the bar attire. You suddenly put two and two together. “You quit? Why the hell would you quit? That was our dream job.”

“It was your dream job that I sniped out from under you and I never stopped feeling guilty about that.” He said.

“You didn’t have to feel guilty about it, I got a better job, so you were welcome to that one!” You shouted.

“I never cared about that job!” He yelled back. “I never cared about that company! I only applied when you did so I could be close to you!”

You was stunned into silence, your mouth hanging open.

“Look, can I come in, or do you want to conduct this shouting match in the hallway?” He asked. Wordlessly, you stepped aside. He came in and sat down on your bed, his hands clasped between his knees.

“What are you talking about, you only applied for me?” You asked him.

He sighed and cocked his head in irritation. “Everyone, every single person I’ve ever known, has treated me like some good luck charm. My whole life, people have gotten close to me because they thought that I could do something for them, that by being near me, they could share this luck I’m supposed to have. They thought it could get them good grades or a good job or whatever they wanted. You were the only person who didn’t seem like you gave a shit about that. You were the only person who wanted to be my friend for me, and not what I could do for you.”

He stopped talking and stared at his hands, which were shaking.

“I applied at Styx because I wanted to stay with you, the only person who treated me like a person and not a walking, talking rabbit’s foot. So when you shut me out after going to London, it felt like you had used me to get where you wanted, just like everyone else.”

“Oh…” You said. “Oh… no, Harlan, that wasn’t it at all.”

“Then what was it?” He asked, getting angry. “Why did you just start ignoring me once you got that corner office, huh? What made you so busy that you could send me one text? That you could pick up the phone? No one else had a problem getting a hold of you! So why couldn’t you talk to me?”

“I…” You swallowed, your throat tight. “I can’t tell you.”

“Why?” He said, getting up and advancing on me. “Why can’t you tell me? I thought we were friends! I thought you actually cared about me! But you’re just like everyone else. You just like the company! You’re just like my parents! You’re just like Greg!”

“What are you talking about?” You asked, your brow furrowing in confusion. “I thought you and Greg were getting married.”

“If you had picked up or answered any of my texts, you’d have known that Greg left me,” Harlan said, angry tears in his eyes. “He left when I quit. He just wanted the life being a big-shot got me. He didn’t want me, he wanted the money. The lifestyle.”

“I… I’m so sorry, Harlan,” You said quietly. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, you wouldn’t have, would you?” He said loudly, his tears spilling down his cheek. “You never bothered to check, did you? You went off and couldn’t have given a shit about me.”

“That’s not true!” You yelled.

“Then how! Tell me how you could just write me out of your life like the last decade meant nothing! What did I do that offended you so much, you just had to get away from me and never talk to me again? Tell me!”

“You got engaged!” You blurted out, pushed to tears yourself. You stepped away and gripped you hair. He was never supposed to know.

“What?” He said, confused. “But… you said… you said you didn’t want…”

“And I didn’t,” You replied. “When you started dating Greg, I figured it was no big deal. I hadn’t ever care when you dated before because they never got serious. But when you got engaged… I… I just… It felt like I’d been shot. And you asked me to stand at your wedding, and I wanted to be there for you, but the thought of standing beside you while you married someone else made me want to die. So… I ran. I ran away. It’s all I could think to do.”

You turned to see him staring at you in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

You laughed mirthlessly, wiping your nose and sniffling. “What was I supposed to say, Harlan? ‘You can’t get married because I’m in love with you but I didn’t realize it until you got engaged? Oh, and you have to choose between me and your new fiance?’ Is that what you’d have wanted me to do?”

“No, but…” He stood up and approached you, looking down at you. “You’re really in love with me?”

“Yes, I am,” You admitted reluctantly, staring at his chest and not his face, fearing his reaction. “I just didn’t--”

You were cut off by him picking you up bodily and pushing you up against the wall, kissing you hard. Your legs wrapped around his waist and you kissed him back, grabbing handfuls of the fur on his neck and tugging him closer to you. It wasn’t gentle; by the time you broke apart for air, both of your lips were bleeding.

“I’m so sorry,” You said, breathing hard. “I’m sorry I shut you out and left. I’ve never been in love before and it scared the shit out of me. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s okay,” He said, hugging me close. “It’s okay. We can start over.” He held you up by tilting his hips up and removed his shirt. He then took your shirt and pulled it over your head, revealing your exposed torso. He pressed his lips to your breast, sucking it into his mouth, and you gripped his horns, moaning breathily.

You jumped down and unbuckled his belt, opened up his pants, and reached inside. He groaned as your hand encircled his length, already straining against the tight fabric of his jeans.

“Let me apologize properly,” You said, getting ready to kneel down, but he stopped you.

“No,” He said, shaking his head. “People always want to please me and I’m sick of it. What can I do to please you? That’s what I want. I want to please you.”

You bit your lip and smiled slightly. “Really?”

“Yes,” He said. “Tell me what you want.”

“Okay,” You said, thinking. “Take off the rest of your clothes.” He hurriedly started to undress, and you said, “No, slowly.”

He grinned and began stripping, making a show of it, while you leaned against the wall with your arms crossed, watching. Eventually he stood there, nude and glorious, and you pushed yourself off the wall and walked up to him.

“Now take off my clothes,” You told him. He knelt down and took of your shoes, socks, pants and underwear. He started to stand, and you said, “No, stay there.” And he stopped and returned to his knees.

“Put your hands behind your back.” You said.

He complied. You went to your luggage and found your sturdiest pair of leggings, and tied his hands behind his back.

“Hurt?” You asked.

“No,” He said.

“Good,” You said, and settled in a chair just across from where he was kneeling. Using your foot, you traced a line down his body, starting from his lips, down his neck, chest, abdomen, and just above his cock, which pulsed and jumped in his lap. Harlan was breathing hard, but he stayed still. You pulled your foot away and slowly opened your legs, resting your heels on the arms of the chair, and reached a hand between them, slowly circling your bud, making sure Harlan was watching.

Oh, he was watching: he was practically drooling. You slowly rocked your hips against your hand, the muscles in your thighs tensing and relaxing as you did.

“Let me--” He began, but you stopped him with the ball of your foot.

“No talking unless I tell you,” You said, and he clamped his lips shut.

Your fingers sped up, and you moaned and writhed, watching him the entire time. His muscles were straining against the restrains and he looked desperate to touch, but he obeyed and stayed still.

“You’re being a very good boy,” You told him. “How about you use that tongue of yours as a reward.”

He wasted no time in scooting closer and pressing his long, flat tongue against your slit, licking and sucking enthusiastically. You gasped, grasping his mane and pulling, and he moaned against you.

He had an extremely talented tongue, and your legs were shaking in a matter of minutes. You cried out over and over, not really caring if your neighbors could hear you.

“Make me cum,” You gasped. He was happy to obey, and within another few seconds, a wave of ecstasy hit you and you pulled harder on his hair.

“Stop!” You ordered, and he pulled away as you relaxed and tried to catch your breath. He sat in front of you, waiting for your next command.

“Go to the bed and lay down on your stomach,” You told him breathlessly. He stood and did as you told him, his hands still tied behind his back. You went back to your luggage and opened a special bag, taking out your favorite toy and a bottle of lube. You also took out your pack of condoms. Using condoms was the easiest way to keep your toys clean.

“Spread your legs,” You told him, and he complied.

You put a small amount of lube on your fingers and massaged his pucker, and he groaned against the blankets.

“Does this feel good?” You asked him, slowly inserting one finger.

“Oh, god, yes,” He said, his voice muffled.

You slapped a hand over his ass cheek hard, and he jumped and cried out.

“You want more?”

“Yes, please,” He begged.

You took the toy and covered it in a condom, then slicked it down with lube, and placed it against his entrance, slowly pushing into him. He whimpered over and over and it disappeared inside him. You pulled out and pushed it back in a few times before letting rest fully seated. He clenched down on it.

You got your belt out from the bag. You bent down and sank your teeth into his right cheek, not enough to break the skin but enough to leave an impression. His body tensed and he moaned loudly. Your rubbed the bite mark before slapping it, and he grunted sharply.

“More?” You asked.

“Yes!” He shouted.

You lay the belt on the bed where he could see it.

“You want this?” You asked him.

He nodded, but you grabbed his snout to stop him.

“Say it.”

“Yes, I want it,” He breathed.

You got back off the bed and poised yourself behind him, holding the belt in your grip. Carefully, you bent the belt double and reared back, cracking him across the ass. Your first strike was tentative, but he groaned appreciatively and said, “Harder, please!”

The next strike had more power behind it, and by the time you were done, he had several red welts across his ass. He was breathing heavily and moaning, and thanking you profusely. The toy stayed firmly in place the entire time.

You crawled on the bed and lay down next to him.

“You okay?” You asked him, caressing his face.

“Yes,” He said, kissing your palm.

“I’m going to have to get a harness and fuck you silly,” You said, pressing your thumb against his lips.

“I would greatly enjoy that,” He said, kissing your thumb and sucking on it.

“Are you done or can you keep going?” You asked him.

“I’ll go as long as you want me to, Boss,” He said.

You grinned. “Call me that again.”

“Fuck me, Boss,” He said.

“Mmm,” You moaned, biting your lip. “That sounds really good.” You sat up and untied his hands. “Lay back on the bed and put your hands above your head.”

“Yes, Boss,” He said, doing as you told him without hesitation.

You tied his hands to the headboard securely and kissed your way down his body. When you got to his cock, you stroked it for a minute before grabbing the lube and condoms. You tore open a wrapper with your teeth and rolled the condom down onto his member, checking for holes, and then lubed him up. You crawled up his body to kiss him.

“Ready?” You asked.

“Yes, Boss,” He said obediently.

You grinned at him as you sank down onto him. He was big, bigger than any of your toys, but the feeling of being completely filled from bottom to top was mind-blowing. You ground against him for a minute, during which his eyes rolled back and he grunted.

You bounced against him, your hands braced on his chest, your breasts rolling with every thrust down. You lowered your body while riding him and bit down hard at his nipple, and his body rose up underneath you. He shouted loudly.

“Too much?” You gasped.

“No, Boss!” He cried out.

You licked the nipple you had bitten, and he moaned.

“Keep moaning,” You told him, rocking against him faster. He obeyed. God, you loved it when he obeyed. You moved at a frenetic pace and he rolled his hips in time with your thrusts. He pulsed inside you and you clenched around him. The pleasure rose up and hit you just as hard as it had before, doubled by the sensation of him cumming inside you and the delicious sounds he made.

As the pleasure ebbed, you collapsed onto his chest, gasping for breath. He was just as winded as you.

“Are you okay, Harlan?” You asked.

“I’m incredible,” He said. “No one has ever done that for me. They always want me to be in control.”

“You liked it, then?” You asked as you sat up, fighting the vertigo.

“Oh, god, I loved it,” He said. “That was the best.”

“Good to know,” You said, reaching up to untie his hands. As soon as they were free, he hugged you tightly, kissing your face.

You felt him soften and slowly fall out of you, and said, “Let’s get cleaned up.” You got off of him and pulled the toy out of him. He groaned softly.

He got up after you and pulled the loaded condom off, disposing it in the trash. You took the one off the toy and threw it away as well. In the bathroom, you washed the toy and dried it, then put it, the condoms, and the lube back in their special bag.

In the bathroom, Harlan had started a shower and held out his hand to help you into it, then stepped in after you and closing the curtain. You rubbed his bruised behind and the bite marks on his chest, and he caressed your skin and kissed your shoulder.

“How did you even know what room I was in?” You asked.

He laughed. “I told the front desk you ran out on your tab.”

“Won’t your boss be wondering where you are?”

“You’re my boss, Boss,” He said with a smirk. “Besides, I don’t care about that job. I only enjoyed working when I was working with you.”

“Aww,” You tsked. “I wish we could work together again. I’m sorry I took a job so far away. I didn’t realize how homesick I’d be.”

“Come back to work with Styx in the States again,” He said.

You sighed. “That feels like a step back. A demotion. I want something else.”

“Like what?” He asked, scrubbing your back.

It hit you like a bolt of lightning. Of course, it was so fucking obvious.

“Like starting my own media company.”

He stopped and turned you. “Wait. Are you serious?”

“Yes! I hate working for other people, I want to be the boss, you know that. That’s why I’ve been fighting and clawing my way to the top of Styx. But starting my own company, I’d be the boss from the beginning.” You scratched his chin under his beard and his eyes closed in pleasure. “Want to be my partner?”

His eyes opened wide. “What, really? You want me to be co-owner?”

“Yeah! Between my expertise and drive and your natural charisma, I think we’d be an unstoppable team!” You bit your lip. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” He said. “Are you only talking about being business partners or… are you saying you want to be with me?”

You grabbed a fistful of his beard and tugged him down. “Are you questioning me?”

“No, Boss,” He said, his eyes sparking.

“Good,” You replied, kissing him. “Because you’re mine. Aren’t you?”

“Yes, Boss,” He said, smiling.

You kissed him deeply while the water ran over the two of you. In a few hours you’d be giving a speech about international synergy, and after that you’d be tendering your resignation. But you knew this was the right step. You and Harlan were going to do great things together, but most importantly, you’d be together, just like you were always meant to be.

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nerdylittleshit · 6 years

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Thoughts about Spn 14x03

SPOILERS AHEAD! BEWARE!

Soooooooooooooooo, another great episode. This week I think the balance between character focus and plot was more equal, after two very character driven episode. Though I do like the slow development of the plot so far. There are two minor things I want to complain about: first I wished we would have seen more of the Wayward Girls, aka Claire, Patience and Alex, instead of just mentioning them. Second: CAS AND JODY STILL HAVEN’T MET! How is that even possible? But maybe we should be careful for what we wish for, because we demanded for years for Cas and Charlie to meet and when they finally did Charlie died an episode later.

Anyway. There is a lot to unpack again, so as always, let’s take a closer look.

Angry AF

Hey, I didn't mean… I didn't mean to be a dick.

So let’s start with the man of the hour: Dean. Oh how we missed you and your snark (btw I love Sam’s beard and so does Jody, and that is really all that matters). There is a whole lot of unanswered question concerning Michael and the episode doesn’t even try to answer them, because as for now they are not important. Important is Dean and what Michael did to him. Dean is, as other Kaia noted, scared, but to him fear translates into anger, because that is the only way he has learned to deal with it. He acts like a man possessed (oh the irony), and wants to skip to the end of the story where he kills Michael. Which is such an interesting meta commentary, because the show tells us that it will take some time until we get some answers, that both Dean and the audience have to muddle through what this possession made of him, until we get the big showdown. This is really just the start, and we can’t skip ahead to the end. And this makes me think we might get entire season that is more interested in its characters than the plot, than instead of the multiple story arcs we had in prior season we really just get one big story this season and that it takes some time to tell it. Which makes me really excited.

The most interesting part to me was Dean’s confrontation with the other Kaia. She noted the similarities between Dean and Michael, how they both run on threats and violence. And the episode before already asked us the question if the connection between angel and vessel isn’t just the bloodline, but a similarity in character as well. 14x02 left it open for interpretation if it was Nick who had killed his family, if he might have been a monster even before Lucifer made him one. This week we saw how very alike Dean and Michael are, at least from Kaia and other Kaia’s perspective. Kaia experienced Dean as a violent man, as someone she was afraid of. We do know that while Dean has a dark side that there is more to him, we do get the full picture, whereas Kaia only saw a glimpse. Is it possible than that (arch)angels feed on the worst version of their vessels? Or simply bring out the features similar to them? Michael and Lucifer then, sinister creatures, fed on both Nick and Michael’s dark side, whereas Cas, the angel with too much heart, was influenced by Jimmy’s kindness and his wish to do the right thing? I always found the relationship between vessels and angels very interesting and it seems this season will give us a few new insides on it.

The other thing that has changed is of course Dean’s home, the bunker. Naturally Dean will need some time to get used to all the people there, and that they see Sam as their leader. In contrast to that the scene where Dean commanded Cas to get in his head seemed almost intimate, just the core three of them. And speaking of Cas, it seemed to me that there was some sort of distance between Dean and Cas, despite Dean allowing Cas to get in his head. There was no reunion hug (Jack got one), and Dean was very quick to agree that Cas should look after Lora. It was like Dean tried to put some walls up, but then he did the same thing around Sam, so it might not be specific related to Cas. I’m curious to see how their next interaction will be.

There is also still the mystery of the spear, what it is exactly and why it could hurt Michael (and possibly kill him). Do Archangels exist in every universe and could that been an Archangel weapon? How did other Kaia got it? And what is her plan/motivation?

Also, the modified vampires knew that Dean was Dean again, and no longer Michael, so can monsters sense angels? (Was that mentioned at some point?)

We end the episode with Dean once again drowning in guilt, thinking it is his fault alone that Michael got the chance to hurt people. Guilty Dean is known for not always making the best choices, so we have to wait to see where this gets us.

Wayward AF

I just feel like I sort of already lost before I ever began.

As I mentioned before I wish we would have seen more of the Wayward Girls, because I love their interactions, both with Jody and each other, but I take what I can get. The Wayward story is now intervened with the Michael story through other Kaia and her weapon. I don’t think that was the original plan for Wayward Sisters, as they probably would have a myth-arc independent from Supernatural, but this way it means we are definitely going to see them again, and they will (hopefully) play a bigger role this season. And Jody and Cas might actually meet, though it seemed on the phone like they do know each other (though it is possible they only know each through phone conversations, because I do hope they didn’t had their first meeting off camera already).

One of the big things we can take away from this episode is that Dreamhunter has been confirmed canon. I think Bobo confirmed after 13x10 that Dreamhunter is definitely a thing, but still it is good it is canon now, especially as it wasn’t necessary for the plot to make them romantic. Claire’s guilt over Kaia could be still as intense without her having romantic feelings, but they still went there. Which I will use to talk briefly about Destiel, because we can’t talk about the one without the other. Or we could have if Wayward Sisters would have become its own show, because then Dreamhunter would have no longer be related to Destiel, as they would have both appeared on separate shows. And sure the CW has a thing for spin-offs or shows that share the same universe (Arrowverse) but those shows usually don’t parallel each other. But unfortunately Wayward Sisters isn’t its own show, but for now part of Supernatural, and because of that Dreamhunter do mirror Destiel. And Bobo knows that because he put in those parallels deliberate in 13x10, and Dabb knows it as well, so I take that as a win on the Destiel front.

I liked that we got to know other Kaia a bit better. She is not a monster, and she might even become an ally to the Winchesters and their fight against Michael. I wonder though why she wanted to kill Claire. She confirms that she and our Kaia were connected, because they were both Dreamwalkers. Does that mean she was aware of what our Kaia felt for Claire? And if so, why would she kill Claire? What is her goal? There are too many questions surrounding her character for her not to come back, and I do hope we will see Claire again and her reaction to other Kaia.

And lastly, that quote of Jody I put up there: in show Jody talks about her grief about losing Kaia before she even got to know her, but from outside this is Bobo talking about losing his show before it even started, about the characters he loves so much, and the meaningful stories they were meant to tell us. Those lines and Kim acting them so brilliantly was a huge F*ck You towards the CW, showing us the kind of depth Wayward Sisters could have had, and making me longing for this show even more. I hope they shove in as much of Wayward Sisters into the show as they can, but I’m still very bitter about everything we could have had and that we don’t get to see.

Nougat AF

Well what you did today, you just made me so proud.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww Jack (that is just my usual reaction whenever I see him). Seems like he didn’t listen at all when Cas told him last episode to find value in his own, but never mind, this week’s case will do the trick. Obviously Lora functioned as a Jack mirror in a not that subtle way. She ran away from home, because she was sick of being treated as a child, the same way Jack planed to leave, because of how Sam, Dean and Cas have treated him. So far the mirror works. But then Lora met a witch, a witch that was at first kind, but then she locked her up, and started to steal her youth, which then resulted in Lora’s (temporally) death. We know that Sam, Dean and Cas have been kind to Jack, have fed him, and also currently locked him up for his own safety. And in the end Jack starts to wither away in some way, the way Lora did. But it wouldn’t make a lot of sense if Sam, Dean and Cas would be the witch in this story, so who is? Someone we already met or someone in the future? Why is Jack’s health deteriorating? Is it a result of the spell the witch used on Lora? Does it have other origins? And how can we help him? Just after jack realized that he can help other people without his powers, that there are many ways to be useful, after Cas offered him a hunting trip. I can’t deal with Jack being sick, he is my sweet Nougat child.

Some other things:

Speaking of Jack, he referred to Cas as one of his dads, contracting the statement from last week that Kelly’s family is the only real family he has left. But also, from Lora’s perspective, who doesn’t know who or what Jack is and his relationship to the Winchesters, this sounds like Jack has two gay dads… which you know is actually true.

I love that the show didn’t forget about Sam’s weird obsession with serial killers.

They have a bottom drawer marked “gross stuff”. Of course they have.

Obviously Posh Spice is Michael’s favourite Spice Girl.

#supernatural #spn 14x03 #the scar #spn meta #spoilers #my meta

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sage-nebula · 5 years

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I caught up on Miraculous Ladybug a couple days ago, so I thought I’d jot some thoughts down now that I’ve seen every episode and have a clearer scope on the series and characters as a whole.

First and foremost, let me just say that I think people take this show way too seriously. As I mentioned before, all I saw before I actually sat down to watch the second season for myself was hate and negativity. People bashed the show, the creators, and so on and so forth left and right. The thing is, sure, there are concepts in this show that could be taken deeper if this was meant to be a serious, deep show. But it’s pretty clear that’s not the case. Miraculous Ladybug is a bit like a ‘90s action cartoon, albeit one with a shoujo flavoring. It’s meant to have about as much depth as, say, Jackie Chan Adventures. The characters do learn lessons and develop, sure, but the creators don’t hold true and fast to those lessons because their main objective is to entertain via monster of the week battles and the occasional plot movement here or there. That’s not to say that there aren’t areas where the show could be improved, but it is to say that this show isn’t meant to be a sprawling epic and is instead just a shallow, fun show to watch and unwind with. But regardless of what it’s meant to be, I think that people in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom should remember that no one is holding a gun to their head, forcing them to watch. If the show isn’t to their tastes, if they’re not having fun, if all it does is make them angry and miserable, they should stop watching. That’s what I did with Voltron: Legendary Defender. Of course I still hear things about it that make me mad, but I’m far less devastated than I would be if I had to watch the nonsense unfold in front of me (not to mention that I stopped feeling stress leading up to new season releases because I stopped watching the show). This is a cartoon about teenage superheroes. You’re not obligated to watch. If it’s not fun for you, go do something else. Find a new series to get into. I promise you, your life will only improve if you do.

That said:

Aside from the above, probably the most unpopular opinion I have about this show is that Gabriel Agreste is hands down the most interesting character. It might be because I’m an adult rather than a teenager myself, but I’m not that interested in the high school romances the show has to offer (and when I am, I prefer rarepairs that will never happen, lol), but I am interested in Gabriel’s history, what led to him becoming Hawk Moth, and how he continues to deal with that in the present day. Romance-wise, I think that Gabriel/Nathalie has the potential to be the most interesting ship on the show. I think that episodes that focus on the Agreste family and their history are the most interesting ones. And while Gabriel is clearly a villain and has done some awful things, I’m interested to see if they’ll successfully make him a tragic villain, because I feel the groundwork has already been laid out for that to be the case.

I’m crossing every finger I have that when Emilie Agreste is awoken from her coma, it’s revealed that she’s ten times the villain Gabriel ever was. Part of this is because I heard it said somewhere that Mayura was Hawk Moth’s boss, and yet we know that’s not the case with Gabriel and Nathalie; part of it is also because I’ve seen so many “OMG I WANT EMILIE TO GET FULL CUSTODY OF ADRIEN!!11!!” posts that give off the vibe of “mothers could never be abusive” and that rubs me the wrong way. (Same with “Nathalie needs to adopt Adrien” posts; she clearly doesn’t care about him half as much as she cares about Gabriel, stop acting like she’s a better parent than Gabriel just because she has a surplus of estrogen.) We know that Adrien has fond memories of Emilie and that she took sweet pictures of him, but: a.) If she was nice to Adrien, that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a villain to everyone else, and b.) She could have easily been the type of abuser to guilt trip and manipulate rather than neglect like Gabriel, meaning that Adrien might not have recognized her abuse for what it was and might have instead felt that any time she was upset, it was his fault, and c.) It’s entirely possible that Gabriel would have taken the brunt of whatever abuse was doled out in order to protect Adrien, with Adrien being none the wiser Any one of those possibilities could be true, but the fact that people don’t even want to acknowledge that Emilie could be terrible to reeks of “she’s his mother, of course she wouldn’t abuse him,” which I just don’t vibe with at all. Gabriel is an abusive parent as well (though we can see that he does care about Adrien, though not enough to stop what he’s doing), but that doesn’t mean that Emilie is great. The fact that Gabriel’s love toward Emilie is so unhealthy speaks to the fact that there was more to her (and their relationship) than meets the eye. (And yes, Gabriel’s love for her is unhealthy, and severely detrimental to his quality of life. Since losing Emilie, Gabriel has: - Not gone outside even for a moment, instead staying locked up in his manor all day. It’s noted several times in both “Style Queen” and “Queen Wasp” that his appearance in the latter episode was the first time he’s shown his face in public since Emilie disappeared. - Cut off practically every relationship he has and socially isolated himself from everyone else, including those who would show him any sort of love or affection, to the point where it catches him off-guard when someone---even his own son---does. - Neglects any other kind of needs in his life outside of those that are either necessary to support his family (his work) or bringing back Emilie. We never see him having fun, spending time with others, or even taking time to relax and recuperate. - Become extremely paranoid and mistrustful of others, keeping secrets from just about everyone and casting a suspicious eye on anyone he comes across. He’s also paranoid about the safety of his one remaining family member. Particularly with regards to how Gabriel has isolated himself from practically everyone save Emilie, I would argue that Gabriel’s abuse and neglect of Adrien is continuing a cycle from what Gabriel himself has experienced as a result of Emilie’s “disappearance,” and possibly even beforehand. Which of course DOES NOT excuse what he does to Adrien, but it might explain it. All in all, the relationship we see between Gabriel and Nathalie is far healthier than what we’ve been given of Gabriel and Emilie, and I’m curious to see if this continues in later episodes.)

I love Luka, and I really hope that we see more of him. Additional thoughts:

Upon watching “Captain Hardrock,” I got the vibe that Luka might be on the autism spectrum somewhere. I hesitate to say this because the last time I made an autistic headcanon I was screamed at for it and deemed a horrible person, but particularly with how Luka said that it’s easier for him to communicate through music rather through words, how he often looks down at his guitar instead of right at people (though he does make eye contact sometimes), how he tried to joke around with Marinette but ended up hurting her feelings and looked genuinely panicked / upset that he did so . . . I don’t know, I just kind of got that vibe from him. Like maybe he’s on the autism spectrum and music is his special interest, particularly because it’s a lot easier for him to convey what he’s feeling / thinking through music rather than through words, particularly without upsetting other people (because most people don’t get angry or upset when they hear music, whereas they might with his words). I think it’s be really neat to have the cool, suave character on the autism spectrum, anyway.

I don’t understand why people say Luka has no personality when he has about as much personality as any other character on the show, particularly the classmates. How does Luka have less personality than Nathaniel, or Rose, or Max? I think the real reason why people want to say Luka is “cardboard” and therefore a bad character is because he “threatens the love square,” which is nonsense. All Luka is doing is living his best life. (And the same goes for Kagami, tbh.) Let him live.

On that note, though, I prefer Luka/Marinette to Marinette/Adrien at this point. Marinette/Adrien has had some really sweet moments as well, and I still ship it (and know it’s endgame anyway), but at the moment the way Adrien behaves when he’s Chat makes him feel like he has a Nice Guy complex toward Ladybug, and I’m not here for that. “Glaciator” was one thing, but how he behaved in “Frozer” was unacceptable. I don’t hate the ship, but I much prefer Luka/Marinette, particularly since Luka has genuine interest from Marinette and has never been afraid to treat her like a princess, but at the same time will encourage her to go be happy when he realizes she has stronger feelings for someone else.

I wish that Luka would get the Dog Miraculous instead of the Snake Miraculous, but at least he’s getting one regardless, I guess.

I do think it’s an issue that all of Marinette’s love rivals are antagonistic in some way or another. Chloe is . . . Chloe, Lila is a compulsive liar who’s addicted to evil butterflies, and Kagami . . . honestly didn’t do a single thing wrong, but she was still characterized as being somewhat forward and antagonistic rather than sweet and perfectly nice like Adrien’s love rivals. I feel that this show has a bit of an issue with pitting girls against each other over a boy, and since Adrien’s not even that great of a boy (I like him fine, but he’s honestly not worth ladies fighting over), it rubs me the wrong way and I hope that, in season three, Marinette and Kagami can become friends.

Rose’s English voice (in season two, at least) is literally the worst thing I’ve ever had the misfortune of hearing. She sounds like a chipmunk that sucked helium. No teenage girl actually sounds like that, what in the honest hell.

For that matter, Juleka’s English VA had a real bad day in “Zombiezou.” I’ve never heard more emotionless voice acting in my entire life, and for a zombie apocalypse parody episode, that’s a real issue.

For the most part I think that most of the “omg why can’t they recognize each other!!1!!!!111″ nonsense that I’ve seen around the fandom is just that, nonsense, because being unable to see through a paper-thin disguise is a superhero staple, and this show has even gone the extra mile to explain it’s the magic of the suits protecting their identities. That said, there have been a couple instances where I felt like Adrien and Marinette should have gotten suspicious or had questions, and most notably in “Frightengale.” Both of them had great reasons for not wanting to put on the Chat Noir and Ladybug masks, but what they both failed to consider or question is why the other person had such an issue. Like, Adrien knows that he doesn’t want to put on the mask because he’s the real Chat Noir and people will recognize him. But didn’t it strike him as odd that Marinette had similar objections to putting on the Ladybug mask? And the same is true in reverse. Marinette knew why she didn’t want to dress up as Ladybug for the video, but didn’t she ever wonder why Adrien was reluctant? I guess they were both too wrapped up in their own drama to consider it, which makes sense if you consider they’re teenagers, but it’s still something you’d think they’d ponder over later.

On that note, Plagg and Tikki are the real heroes for having to put up with this love square nonsense in-universe. Pour one out for them.

Adrien being a Nice Guy while he’s Chat Noir is an issue, but I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with what he said in “Malediktator” or “Chameleon”, and here’s why:

In “Malediktator”, Adrien was upset that the only person who provided him any company or friendship was leaving the country for an indefinite amount of time because she was upset, and he never even got to say goodbye to her. Note that (at least in the English version), Adrien never says that Marinette or the others can’t celebrate; he just says that he, personally, finds Chloe leaving to be awful, and objects to Marinette calling Chloe useless (which is a reasonable thing to object to, because in honesty saying someone is useless is pretty harsh and terrible). He then goes and sits quietly by himself, waiting for the party to be over. People have grown angry with him for this because Marinette was bullied by Chloe for years and they think that he should see her side of things, but the fact of the matter is that the people who make those claims aren’t seeing Adrien’s side of things, which Marinette herself realized when he left to go sit by himself. Here’s the thing: Neither Marinette nor Adrien were in the wrong. Marinette is perfectly entitled to be ecstatic that her bully is leaving forever, particularly since she’s Ladybug and said bully akumatizes people all the time and this will make less work for her. She wasn’t doing anything wrong by celebrating Chloe leaving, although again, saying that someone is useless is crossing a line (particularly since, as we find out later in the episode, Chloe already believes she’s useless because of her mother’s emotional abuse). Marinette didn’t do anything wrong. But Adrien is also perfectly entitled to be upset that his childhood friend---the only person who gave him companionship during his incarceration in his own home---is leaving on a bad note. If Chloe was leaving perfectly happily, I think he’d feel differently. He’d be happy for her. But he’s seen a side of Chloe that no one else has, and moreover, Adrien tends to be rather compassionate for other people’s struggles (something Kagami calls him out on). It’s perfectly understandable that he’s upset that his oldest friend is leaving on a bad note, and that he didn’t get to say goodbye to her besides. Moreover, since it was a shock to him, it’s natural that he didn’t realize how his words might have sounded to one of Chloe’s victims, especially since Marinette herself didn’t bring up the fact that Chloe had bullied her, but instead just said Chloe was awful and useless (which, as her friend, Adrien naturally rankled against). This isn’t a situation of one being right and the other being wrong. This is a situation of two people coming at a situation from different perspectives, and feeling differently as a result.

As for “Chameleon,” as I believe I’ve explained elsewhere, Adrien was looking at the situation from the perspective of Chat Noir. If they upset Lila, she’s going to get akumatized again. This is something he knows for a fact, because it has happened multiple times now (at least twice that he knows of). Akumatizing Lila over and over again isn’t going to accomplish anything meaningful. All it’s going to do is create more work for Chat Noir and Ladybug, which Adrien wants to avoid. Adrien is looking at the bigger picture, which is hoping that perhaps Lila can become a better person, and if not, it’s better to pick your battles so that you can ultimately win the war rather than picking a fight every other day. He wasn’t wrong, and I strongly feel that people who insist he was are those that are projecting onto Marinette and just want to live through her as she stomps her bullies into the dirt.

Which, on that note, I find it really funny how people who claim to hate Chloe are the same people that like fan content where Marinette is being “petty” and “salty” and no better than Chloe herself. I agree that Marinette’s friends (sans Adrien) didn’t have her back in “Chameleon,” and that Alya’s behavior was especially out of character (and kind of funny at the end, because . . . yes, Alya, we do think you’d let your best friend sit alone, because you already did that, lol), but to imagine that Marinette Dupain-Cheng would suddenly take every single opportunity to insult and tear them down is completely missing the point of who Marinette is and why she’s a better person than people like Chloe (at present) and Lila. Again, I can only imagine this is self-projection of the “I wish I had been able to do this” variety, but I still find it really ironic that the people who hate Chloe and Lila make Marinette act almost exactly like them. (Also, it says something if you think Alya being a jerk once makes it all right for Marinette to treat her like dirt. For two seasons Alya was the best best friend someone could ask for. She made a mistake in one single episode, and you think Marinette should turn on her? Should say she’s no longer worthy of the Fox Miraculous? Please. That’s not how relationships work. Sometimes there are bumps and low points, but you communicate, work through, and apologize when you make mistakes. No one is perfect, Alya included.)

The first time Gabriel akumatized the baby it was funny because it was clearly an accident and he was just working with what he had (and it was a struggle). The second time I suppose it just happened because of all the akuma that were out at the time. But why was the baby akumatized again in “Weredad”? What purpose did that serve? What were you doing, Gabriel? Why this, again? Part of me feels like it was done because the writers needed a giant akuma, but like . . . there have been others . . . why the baby when he didn’t even want to akumatize the baby in the first place, I just . . . why.

Chloe’s transformation sequence has a similar grace to it that Adrien’s does (and tbh I like it a little more, especially with the toe tap and whatnot), and it makes me think that she’s secretly as much of a weeb as he is and they probably watched Sailor Moon together.

I like the unique transformation phrases in the English dub, but I wish that there was a bit more variety. Three out of five are “on/off” variants, and I like it when they’re a bit more creative like “claws in/out” or “let’s pounce.” Hopefully the transformations for future Miraculouses will be a bit more creative.

There are probably other thoughts but this is all I have for right now. Curious about the upcoming episodes and I’m surprised we got season three so soon, but also I imagine the release schedule might not be consistent, so there’s that, too. In any case, this is a cute and fun show so long as you don’t take it too seriously. I’m enjoying it, at least, and as far as I’m concerned that’s all that matters. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#/#//#///#////#/////#miraculous ladybug

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anotheruserwithnoname · 7 years

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Thoughts on Star Trek Discovery after 5 episodes

(Spoilers for Discovery S01E05 and Orville S01E06)

Episode 5 of Star Trek Discovery aired last night in Canada (up here the network Space airs it, so we don’t need to rely on streaming to view it). “Choose Your Pain” was its title and it’s ironic that it aired a few days after The Orville’s surprisingly hard-hitting “Krill” because it actually allows for something very close to an apples-to-apples comparison.

I’m going to go into spoilers, plus this will be a very long post (apologies; this is Exhibit A to show why I’m not on Twitter), so I’ll put a break here. The tl;dr is that, although I’m still willing to give it a chance, I’m still not “feeling” Discovery, which after 5 episodes is a concern; whereas, I find The Orville not only captures the classic spirit of Trek better, it managed in one single episode to make its Klingon analogue more interesting than the real Klingons in their current incarnation.

Before I begin, I wanted to set the scene to explain where I’m coming from. There is a lot of Discovery-bashing going on, and I don’t support that and this essay isn’t intended to be a bash. Although I am very critical of the show and not 100% certain that I’m going to stick with it much longer (though I’ll probably stick with it till its midseason break, at least), it’s not my intent to become a basher because then I’d be a hypocrite. I was a defender of Star Trek Enterprise throughout its entire run, and was upset to see it bashed mercilessly, to the point where I divorced myself from Star Trek and Star Trek fandom after it ended in 2005. Fortunately, Doctor Who had just come back on TV so I switched my allegiances to Who (which I’d been a fan of since the early 80s, but it became more intense). Fast-forward to 2017, and due to a mix of disappointment over what the series has delivered since Christmas 2015, combined with decisions regarding the show moving forward, I'm now divorcing from Doctor Who (as anyone who follows my blog knows). So with Star Trek back on TV the opportunity to move my allegiances back to Trek exists ... but Discovery isn’t doing it for me. Not yet. Instead, The Orville, Seth MacFarlane’s underrated (in more ways than one) homage is the show that is earning my affection. I know I’m not alone in that.

But here’s the thing, and why I don’t really see the need to “bash” Discovery: because The Orville is so much like “proper” Star Trek - the optimism, the crew-as-family dynamic, the introspective and “ripped from the headlines”-inspired stories, and general sense of fun - this actually allows Discovery to seek its own path (even if that means delivering “improper” Trek), allowing both shows to co-exist (which they could regardless - it’s not as if they’re in direct competition).

But Discovery has problems. Before I get into that, though, some positive thoughts.

This week’s episode introduced Rainn Wilson as Harry Mudd, a character immortalized by Roger C. Carmel in the original series. And I thought he did a good job. I don’t have the same issues with recasting characters as some others do (I liked the guy they had playing Sarek earlier, too). My only complaint is they made him darker than Carmel’s version, which felt a bit inconsistent. But then again this is 10 years before Kirk encountered him and people change (it could be argued that Carmel’s version is more insane than Wilson’s, and maybe we’re seeing why in Discovery). I loved the reference to Stella, his wife, which was a great call-forward to the TOS episode “I, Mudd”. Trivia: Carmel was supposed to reprise Mudd for an episode of TNG, but the actor died before it was filmed; I believe some aspects of what was planned for Mudd - including a scene where he was supposed to actually pay tribute to his frenemy, Captain Kirk - were later reused when they brought Scotty forward into the TNG era in “Relics”. So having Mudd appear in a modern-day Trek is an idea that’s been kicking around for 30 years.

Obviously, Mudd will be back and I’m looking forward to it. I’d rather he be the recurring baddie than the new Klingons. More on that in a moment.

I also liked the on-screen reference to Jonathan Archer, Christopher Pike and Robert April early in the episode. Robert April was established in the animated series as the very first captain of the Enterprise, predating Pike. Since TAS is not considered canon (or at least it wasn’t considered canon during the pre-2005 era; it might have changed since), this is the first “canonical” acknowledgement of April in live action. I appreciated that.

I also liked Capt. Lorca in this episode. After two weeks of being just “there”, Lorca came into his own with this episode. And his backstory is interesting.

But I have criticisms of this episode, and of the show itself as we hit week 5. Starting with a minor point, after four weeks of keeping a lid on language, the swearing in this episode was awkward and clearly put in there “because we can” - there was nothing charming or cool about the first use of the F-word (twice in the same scene, yet) in the Trek franchise. I’m not one to go “oooh, swearing, bad” (The Thick of It is one of my favourite TV shows, for god’s sake), but there’s a time and place, and it just didn’t work - it came across as vulgar and awkward. If they’re going to have people swear in Discovery, fine, but don’t make it feel like “hey, we can swear now!” Torchwood ran into this same issue - and the swearing during Series 1 felt unnatural as a result. If they want Lorca and his crew to turn the air blue, they should get Armando Iannucci in to show them how it’s done.

What will be the deal-breaker for me is if this show continues to be populated with characters I don’t give a damn about. I like Michael (who was for the first time not the focus of an episode) and Lorca has potential - all the characters have potential - but 5 weeks in they should be further along than they are in terms of establishing them, even taking into account the two-episode prologue and the fact a core character only debuted this week.

Five weeks in, and without cheating online, I still don't remember the names of most of the main characters because they’ve made so little impression on me. Michael is fine, Lorca is fine, and I know the new guy is named Tyler (mainly because I’m curious as to whether he’s related to Jose Tyler of Christopher Pike’s Enterprise in “The Cage”), but the rest - by now they should have made enough of an impression for me to at least remember their names, not just call them “Michael’s roommate”, “the jerk who runs the spore drive and who might or might not be the chief engineer but we can’t tell”, “Odo 2.0”, “the doctor who lives with the spore drive guy and who I thought was the ship’s doctor until he mentioned that he answers to a chief medical officer who we’ve yet to see”, “the incompetent who got herself killed by the spore monster last week in a scene Seth MacFarlane would have rejected as too silly”, “the roboty woman on the bridge who kinda looks like Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “the woman whose head is half shaved”. In fact I think this was the first episode in which those last two individuals were actually identified by names on screen.

By comparison, I had not just the Orville character names but their functions nailed down by Episode 2 of that show. And I had much more invested in them as characters, even early on (and by “Krill” I find I want to know more about what’s happening with Borus and Klyden and their child, Alara’s love life, and whether Ed and Kelly are going to get back together or not). With Discovery it’s almost as if they’re all being set up to be redshirts. (As it is, I really don’t expect to Michael’s roommate - I looked it up; her name is Tilly - to survive the season. Too much telegraphing about her being naive and having dreams for the future.) Maybe they are if the show is taking the Game of Thrones “anyone can die” approach and if there is a reason why we’ve never heard of Spock having an adopted human sister before now.

When I started writing this very long (sorry!) blog entry, I mentioned an apples-to-apples comparison between Discovery and Orville. This week, “Choose Your Pain” and “Krill” both involved captains boarding enemy vessels and learning more about the bad guys. And it really drove home the fact that the new Klingons are rather boring. Never mind the different make-up and all that - I’m sure they’ll come up with a workaround to explain that the same way Enterprise did back in 2005 with the Augments story arc (and I didn’t miss the fact they name-dropped eugenics this week) - they just don’t have the spark of the Klingons of old, or even the Abramsverse versions. Not saying there aren‘t promising signs - I kind of like the fact the show is shipping cult leader Voq with the female officer L’Rell. Every episode so far has included focus on the Klingons. But in only one episode, The Orville managed to develop a very well-rounded picture of the Krill, making them relevant, interesting, sympathetic, and “villains” we want to see more of. The Klingons on Discovery? I want more Harry Mudd, fewer Klingons. Of course, a big difference between Orville and Discovery is the use of humour. Discovery pretty much has none, while Orville is a dramedy. Which was driven home during the climax of the Discovery episode when we were actually treated to an unexpected piece of Orville-like comedy when the female Klingon captain, who has the hots for Tyler. Encountering him trying to escape, she let off with something like “After all we mean to each other, you’re leaving?” (not an exact quote). It was a funny moment, but poorly timed. Seriously, we’re supposed to see her as a threat (and an ongoing one seeing as Lorca doesn’t finish her off as opposed to every other Klingon he encounters), and she spouts dialogue more appropriate for a spoof? Compare to The Orville, which usually knows when to be funny and when not to be. Having Ed Mercer and Gordon Molloy facing the possibility of having to kill a bunch of Krill children in order to save a human colony, and Mercer saying “If we kill those kids ... we have no souls” was a far more hard-hitting and dramatic moment than anything “Choose Your Pain” offered. And once things got serious, they got serious. The ending of “Krill” was chilling as Mercer realized that instead of saving a bunch of kids, he created a bunch of future enemies instead, instantly giving the series a long-term aspect as the potential is there for it to revisit this fact years from now, if it survives that long. The Avis rent-a-car jokes were funny, and the opening sequence where Bortus does his best Matter-Eater Lad impersonation (Google it) was cute, and I loved the gag where Ed starts talking before Alara can open a channel, but it was the serious moments that made “Krill” stand out. The next episode looks serious as well as it casts a long-overdue spotlight on Lt. LaMarr.So to sum up: I’m not ready yet to say “Discovery sucks” as some have. I don’t think it does, despite all I’ve written here. It has issues, yes, but every Trek series has issues and teething pains. I am concerned that the characters aren’t gelling for me and that’s what’s going to make me decide to keep watching in the long term. On the other hand, The Orville is proving to be a great show that also has had its rough patches and its teething pains, but it managed to hit the ground running a lot faster in terms of establishing characters and stories and tone. I am in the market for a sci-fi show to replace Doctor Who, and so far The Orville is winning the battle against Star Trek Discovery. But I’m not willing to write Discovery off ... yet.

#star trek discovery #the orville #calling it as i see it

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bluephoenixdruidicprincess · 5 years

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I've always tought the spn fandom was terrible with women, like the way they hate Anna Milton, Amelia Richardson. I could understand why people hated Ruby, Bela and Meg (even if I find some people overreacting) but it's funny to see how the same people love Crowley, Lucifer or Ketch. We had the same problem with Mary, I wasn't even a big fan of her but people expected her to act like a mother for her grown sons even if the last time she saw them they were very young ?!

So I actually got three separate asks kind of pertaining to the same basic subject here so I’m going to respond to all three messages here. I figure this is a bit more effective than giving three responses that are basically saying the same thing. So for reference, here’s the other two:

I can’t remember what convention it was or when it was but I definitely remember Jensen being asked a question about something -- and for the life of me, I can’t remember what the actual question was -- but Jensen gave a response that talked about the reason why there are no female characters on the main cast. He basically said that the reason that there isn’t really a female character that plays a major active role as part of TFW is that “the fandom would kill her”. Which I feel kind of sums up a lot of this fandom in a nutshell. A lot of the different factions of the fandom are constantly advocating that the female characters should be treated better in this show by the writers but at the same time, each time women do become more active players within the narrative, the fandom will complain about it and say that the show is losing track from what it originally was. So it’s like, “okay, you say you want these strong female characters but yet when you do get them, suddenly the show isn’t being true to itself anymore? What exactly is it that you do want?” The answer: A character that they or their favorite ships aren’t threatened by. And I’ll be honest here. While I enjoy seasons 1-3, I didn’t start getting obsessed with this show until season 4 started rolling around. The brother relationship is nice and all but this show really could not have sustained itself for 15 seasons on the brother relationship alone. By the time season 3 rolled around, I was getting bored with the show. The constant focus on the brothers while interesting and dynamic, it felt like that aspect of the story was losing its flame. I’m sorry, but when you have a story that’s completely about two brothers hunting monsters of the week and they spend 16 hours a day in a car working through their issues, you’re going to make far more progress in dealing with those issues and you’re quickly going to lose material to create conflict between them. And around season 3, I was starting to get the feeling that their brother relationship while still fun was just kind of stagnating, they weren’t giving me anything new to latch on to. So episodes where Bela and Ruby were around were episodes that I latched on to. And season 4 when we were introduced to this large assortment of new characters really just reinvigorated the show for me. New characters to bring in conflict was exactly what the show needed so I’m not sure why the fandom is always so against changes to the status quo. Do they want to be watching the same episode over and over again? These new characters were perfect for what the show needed to do in order to continue the brother relationship everyone loves so much.

I’m not sure if it just has to do with the majority of this fandom being comprised of females but basically every female character who could possibly be a romantic interest to any of the male characters are widely hated by a lot of the fandom. Perhaps it stems from members of the fandom projecting their own fantasies onto these male characters so any of these potential female love interests makes these members of the fandom feel threatened or they see these female characters as getting in the way of their favorite ships. But I do notice that a lot of male characters don’t receive the same level of hate which really just adds credence to my hypothesis that members of the fandom feel threatened by these female characters whether it’s them who feel personally threatened or they feel like their favorite ships are threatened because of the characters’ presence. And it’s not lost on me that Charlie is such a well-loved character not only because she’s a great example for more inclusion of LGBT characters but she also wasn’t a threat to the status quo, it was never in the realm of possibility that she would be a romantic interest for any of the members of TFW. But it’s beyond confusing that the same people screaming for more female inclusion into the story also complain about the same thing they wanted in the first place when it’s given to them. And just throwing this out here, a part of the problem is that society places such an emphasis on women needing to be these perfect creatures that the fandom is far less forgiving towards imperfect female characters despite the male characters doing far worse things than any of these females have done. For the female characters, it’s all, “how could she do such a terrible thing, that selfish bitch!” but yet when male characters make mistakes, it’s suddenly all, “look at the depth and character growth and how nuanced his character is, he’s the bestest character ever, a true role model”. And me personally, even the “evil female characters” like Anna, Ruby, Bela, or Meg I thought were all kind of fascinating and kind of undeserving of the hate they get by the fandom. In story, yes, they do a lot of bad things that you should not advocate for but should they be regarded as the show’s biggest mistakes? Should hate blogs be created specifically for them? Definitely not. Do I make excuses for the decisions any of these women make? Certainly not. Just like I don’t make any excuses for the decisions TFW makes. I go into this show looking at everything from a story perspective. Are the decisions these characters making, is their presence propelling this story in interesting and fun directions and most of the time with these female characters, yes they are. I’m more interested in what the story can do for me as opposed to what individual characters can do for me. So I like Meg, I like Bela, I like Anna, I like Lisa, I like Mary. And I think that’s the disconnect that I have sometimes with the fandom. I’m in it for the story and a lot of them are in it for what these characters can give them.

Me personally? I would love for a female character to play a more active role in TFW but the only way that could ever work is if she doesn’t threaten the status quo in the eyes of the fandom. And the biggest weakness I’ve always had with this show and particularly in season 14 when its startingly obvious is the fact that the show wants to be an ensemble-based show but yet they still don’t want to lose what the show originally was, they still want it to be about the brothers driving cross-country fighting monsters of the week. The show keeps on trying to meet in the middle and it just doesn’t work because they’re not spending enough time with these other characters to make me truly think of them as characters. Like, I really liked Mary in season 12, in fact, her and Kelly Kline in season 12 were probably my favorite parts about that season. The story surrounding Mary about her trying to figure out where she fits in a world that really doesn’t need her anymore was so interesting. And then how it delves into Mary changing from the typical role middle-age women typically have in these shows as these motherly characters and delves into her just trying to figure out who she really is was such a great move for her as a character. It gave her character depth as opposed to just being the means in which Sam and Dean came into the world. She showed that she’s more than just a mother, that she has worth that goes beyond just being a mother, particularly being a mother to people who no longer need a mother. But as we go further into season 13 and 14, it became startingly obvious that because of the show trying to do this dual format thing, Mary just lost a lot of her presence and a lot of her agency.

I’ve also heard this fan theory that supposedly Meg may have sexually assaulted Cas while he was in the asylum. And while I certainly don’t think Meg would be against such tactics in general (she is a demon, she does bad things) but I also view Meg as a pragmatist and extremely goal-oriented. Meg is on no one’s side but her own and she really only does things to further her own goals. So doing something that could break Cas any more than he already has been would seem to go against what her goals would suggest and that’s her basically using Cas as her personal bodyguard. Assaulting him wouldn’t help her in any way. And also, despite Cas “losing his marbles” as it were, his angel powers at this point in time were still relatively well intact. I find it highly unlikely he wouldn’t be able to defend himself if he felt the need to. We all know Dean is the biggest perpetrator when it comes to psychological abuse. He’s the one that withholds love and positive reinforcement after all. And often times, looking back at this show now, I can’t believe I ever felt a draw towards Destiel. I suppose it has more to do with how I joined the fandom. Despite the fact that I’ve been watching this show for the past decade, I’ve only been in the fandom for a few years. And when I first joined the fandom, I first came across a lot of good meta writing from individuals who hailed within the Destiel faction. So whereas before I joined the fandom, I never really felt any kind of pull towards any ship at all, but because I was constantly stuck in this echo chamber with a community that kept on telling me how amazing Destiel was, I just kind of fell into that trap. But eventually, as I started peeking behind the curtain, as I saw how the Destiel faction treats other factions and began to look at Destiel more objectively and away from their very narrow point of view, I saw that canon Destiel is kind of awful and that while Dean may not be an awful character objectively speaking, he is a toxic and terrible person that I wouldn’t wish anyone to have a romantic endgame with, except maybe Ketch. Ketch and Dean may have gotten hit by a cupid, I’m just saying. These days as far as Cas shipping goes, I’m all about the Megstiel and Sastiel shit. And I would love for Rachel to come back as Meg, I think that would be totally awesome. And I know she’s stated that she would love for Meg to come back and basically show that you can be this badass in a wheelchair and I would love that because Rachel is total badass and let’s have art imitate life on this one, please.

Like I said earlier, I strongly believe that Jo is a character the fandom felt threatened by. And there were times when I almost felt like she had a bit of crush on both Sam and Dean. But after season 2, she had minimal involvement in the story and she only became a player again only to be killed off. Now, I don’t know if there was such a large amount of time where Jo disappeared because the actress was doing other projects or not, but it’s not impossible to imagine that the writers kind of just pushed her to the side when they realized their audience wasn’t reacting to her positively. It probably didn’t help that she was so obviously being framed as a potential love interest, the writers weren’t being subtle at all with her. So it’s really not surprising that the fandom reacted the way they did with her. I liked Jo, I wished they had done more with her. Her and her mother’s death scene to this day still makes me cry like a baby. And it’s really not at all satisfying either. Both characters really deserved better and at the very least, have a sacrificial death scene that actually meant something in the grand scheme of things. But instead, their deaths were completely in vain and it sucks.

But anyway, I think I’ve rambled on enough about this. Sorry, it got so long. But in a nutshell, this fandom is terrible to its female characters and its not necessarily on the writers of the show. The writers have no problems writing strong female characters with active agency, it’s the fandom that’s the problem and their own personal prejudices. I mean, the writers literally brought Mary back (really unnecessarily) so they could have a chance to subvert Mary being the “woman in the refrigerator” trope. I’ve never believed the show had a problem with mistreating their female characters, while I do think the show does mistreat them, don’t get me wrong, but a lot of it stems from necessity based on how the fandom treats these characters. These characters get treated the way they do in large part because of the fandom’s own actions. It’s a beast of their own making, essentially.

#mildew #i guess this is the tag i should use for something like this?

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orionsangel86 · 7 years

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12x20 - Holy Narrative Mirrors Batman!

In the middle of taking ages to write another hand meta (yes I’m back to that guys) this episode aired and therefore I am here to bring you my review of 12x20 and all the emotions that brought to the table.

Firstly, important things to address: I am PISSED that two POC women were killed this episode. I don’t really care that Alesha was brought back as a Twig puppet monster (my nickname for those creatures) because it was still two violent POC deaths shown on screen. Must we really keep seeing this on this show? After Billy? I know that SPN needs to keep its death count high and I would NOT want them to kill off Max when he is our only canon recurring queer character on the show atm either (not including Dean still hidden away in Narnia) but I’m still pissed off about it. I also didn’t like the fact that they showed the old witch’s immediate dislike of Tasha being a racist thing either. Yes I know she’s an evil witch but really spn? Racism and then have that same racist old hag KILL the poc lady? Nice going.

Anyway, that is my rant on that. So ya’ll know it pissed me off. This is a just fandom blog and I wanna keep it positive bearing in mind I actually loved this episode but it needed to be addressed.

I did love this episode, even if I am getting a meta headache over all the narrative mirrors they showed us and went to extensive lengths to portray. I feel I need to outline them all clearly so without further rambling here they are:

Max is Dean and Alesha is Sam

This one is pretty obvious. They went to great lengths to show this including adding a blast from the far past in the ‘THEN’ section by showing us the Pilot episodes baby dean (how high and young his voice was!) saying the classic phrase “Dad’s on a hunting trip and hasn’t been home in a few days”. To say that the Banes’ story then mirrors the first two seasons of the show would be highly accurate.

Max is shown to be the loud, flirtatious, overly confident sibling with his boisterous attitude and charisma. Unlike Dean however he is ‘out and proud’… Oh Dean… please find your way out of Narnia this season.

Alesha is the sibling who rolls her eyes over her brothers antics, and feels more like an outsider in the family, based on this conversation with Sam:

“He always thinks he knows mum better, because they’re both natural witches, it’s who they are”

“When I was growing up Dean and my dad had the same thing with hunting, that bond”.

This pretty much drums the mirror home, but later we are shown just how similar Dean and Max are by how Max takes the deal and brings his sister back (though perhaps not quite in the same way) and sells his soul for her, because like Dean, he is unable to go on without his sibling.

This is the main narrative mirror in place, with the siblings shown to be kinda co-dependent and willing to sacrifice for each other. It also really helps our bi!dean reading that he is yet again being mirrored with a queer man. Yay for Steve Yokey really pushing that parallel.

more under the cut...

Max is Sam and Alesha is Dean

However there is a less obvious mirror between the siblings the other way around, it isn’t as strong as above but it is still there in the way that Alesha was the one to first be worrying about their mother, she was the one who wanted to drag the Winchesters in it, and she was the one trying to find out what was going on whereas Max was more concerned about his date (aka Sam being more concerned about getting back to his exams and Jess). All this subtle narrative mirror shows is that it goes both way between the brothers, the mirrors are not so clear cut because like this season in general, things can always go either way, including down an unexpected path.

Sam has also sacrificed himself for Dean, and for the world. He is also willing to do terrible things to save his brother’s life. He is also like Max and totally capable of making terrible decisions (as season 10 showed us all too well).

Tasha as John Winchester

This one is obvious when you consider the original plot of SPN “Dad’s on a hunting trip…” “their mom is on a hunting trip and hasn’t been home in a week”. Tasha here though, is the John that the Winchesters never had. The Banes are how the Winchesters could have been had John not spiralled down in grief and drink and abuse. As Dean says “Watching them, this loving family, the kind we should have had” (it also brings up a point that if John had been there and been caring and considerate of his sons perhaps Dean would have ended up more like Max – as in completely unashamed of his sexuality and out and proud about it including in front of his parent : “We’re gonna have some… guy time” indeed.)

Tasha as Mary Winchester

Kinda obvious in that she is their mom, but also that she went off hunting alone and got herself turned into a twig monster. Now the twig monster symbolism works well for both Mary and Cas and I’ll get to him in a bit but first I need to talk about how this could be bad foreshadowing for Mary. We already know she ends this episode in a very sticky situation, just like Tasha was. Tasha was offered a deal and refused to take it, now that Mary is trapped and potentially gonna be tortured by the BMOL, what kind of deal are they likely to offer her? What will happen to her if she doesn’t take it? Will she also possibly loose her heart?

Tasha as Castiel

This one is probably less obvious, but I wanted to mention it because of the imagery at the start of the episode.

Brown Jacket, Blue shirt. Could be a coincidence but then with everything else I don’t think it is…. Also…

Look what rug turned up again…

Plus the difference in glowing eyes this episode just seems to me to be a big call back to last episode where there was so much emphasis on the eyes. Tasha’s natural magic makes her eyes glow purple (very similar to Cas’s blue)

Whereas the twig monsters eyes glow white when under control of the witch:

There isn’t much of a difference from blue to purple and yellow to white…

And her glowing pendant just reminds me of Cas’s grace in the vial that Metatron kept hidden

So why is Tasha a Cas mirror? Because she is trying to go it alone without her family to stop of the witch? Gets caught up in a power she can’t defeat and gets used by that power. That the witch saw something in her enough to try to deal with her, but Tasha fought, she said no, and it cost her her life. Both Mary and Cas took the metaphorical deal. Both lost their way, lost their souls AND their hearts when you consider what Cas is potentially losing in the Winchesters if he continues down this current path, and what Mary has lost by choosing the BMOL over her sons.

The Twig Puppet Monsters as mirrors for Cas

I mentioned this briefly in this post, but I need to go into further detail. We have all been speculating since 12x19 as to what is wrong with Cas, and I think this episode answered it quite clearly in the mirror given to us here. The witch steals the heart of her victims, puts it into her puppets of twine and twig and recreates them perfectly, but under her control when she needs them. She takes out their emotional core. I think that this is a good explanation for what the Nephilim child did to Cas. It manipulated him using his heart – his desire to find a path, faith, a mission… it all comes down to his desire for love and to accept love into his life (all thing we have meta’d about before). The Nephilim used this against him, it used his heart to gain control.

I wasn’t 100 per cent sure on this mirror, or what Yokey was trying to tell us until that last scene, when Max brought back Alesha in twig puppet monster form. Puppet Alesha seemed to show care and concern for her brother, she seemingly knew nothing about what had happened to her. Same with puppet Tasha, she showed care to her kids and had that heartfelt talk with Dean. Why would a monster put in such effort to give advice and care? Even if trying to keep under the radar. I genuinely felt like the Tasha puppet didn’t realise what she was until Max forced her via magic to reveal herself.

As I mentioned in the linked post, what really brought this point home for me was the “are you hurt?” worry that Puppet Alesha showed? It was a direct parallel of Cas’s “your hurt” to Dean at the end of last episode. The moment at the end of 12x19 that really brought confusion to the whole ‘is Cas brainwashed again?’ theory. Cas was so delicate in the way he reached out and touched Dean to heal him. A moment caught so intimately on camera like so many shots from last episode. It showed the audience that however Cas was being controlled it wasn’t in the same way as Naomi, or Rowena with the attack dog spell, or Cas after the angels resetting him in season 4. Bobo was right when he said that this was different, that it wasn’t brainwashing as such.

Like the twig puppet monsters, Cas doesn’t realise he is under control, or that his decisions are not his own, because his heart is what is being used against him, showing him things “the Future” that make him think he is on a righteous path.

All this makes me think is that if it is Cas’s heart that used against him by the Nephilim then I am suddenly very excited as to how we will break him free of this spell.

This of course brings us to…

Destiel

How can I NOT talk about destiel in this episode! Oh Dean. We talk a lot about who carries the torch for destiel in each season, and how usually, unless Dean is carrying that torch destiel feels like it gets shoved into the background (throughout seasons 9 and 10 we didn’t get destiel from Dean very much at all). Now the torch is firmly in Dean’s hands and I feel for him so strongly.

After such a glorious Destiel heavy episode in 12x19, we would usually expect a few no homo moments in the following episode, or at least the odd trend in earlier seasons of Dean seemingly completely forgetting Cas once he disappeared again, however what we got instead was wonderful.

Our first shot of Dean after the cold open was of his hands, clutched in worry and very telling of his emotional state (I will continue to go on about shots of hands this season and how they express emotion)

Dean is talking about his concern over Cas to what appears to be a long suffering Sam (forever long suffering Sam).

“It sock puppetted him” he says in an interesting choice of words that only further drums home the Cas as a Twig Puppet Monster mirror.

What I love most about this scene is not Dean’s worry, but Sam’s calm and logical thinking. It is YET ANOTHER moment where the relationship between Dean and Cas and Sam and Cas is shown to be so very different. We have been seeing this difference continuously in the show since 11x14 and I can’t believe that we haven’t had a moment yet of Dean turning to Sam and saying “Why the hell aren’t you freaking out like I am?” only for Sam to give him classic bitchface no.25 before walking away and muttering under his breath what a lovestruck idiot Dean is.

He clearly brings up the colt to change the subject. Since it’s not mentioned again all episode.

When Alesha calls Sam jumps at the chance to go on a hunt, but Dean protests, and this is AGAIN something we don’t tend to see, and if we do, it’s because something is wrong with Cas, Dean doesn’t wanna do a regular hunt and instead focus on Cas, but Sam logic talks him into going (usually because Sam is fed up of Dean moping about his husband being missing and wants a distraction). “What about Cas?” Dean asks and I punch the air because I have been asking that SAME question now for YEARS and THANK YOU SHOW for making it something that is really being drummed home again…

*sips Cas hater tears*

We get this brilliant long logic talk from Sam about how they have already done everything they can to look for Cas and there is really nothing else to do at this stage and how the Banes’s need their help all while Dean is just giving him this bitchface until Sam just gives up, realises none of that is working, so he plays the family card “Their mom’s on a hunting trip, and hasn’t been home in a week.” And that’s what makes Dean give in. He always was one for tradition…

The fact that they gave us all this glorious Dean worry and protesting the hunt and everything I honestly thought would be enough but nope! They give us MORE.

Dean’s call to Mary just broke my heart. Jensen’s acting is SO emotional god I love him. It’s EVERYTHING about the way they wanted to put across Dean’s feelings in this moment. Lets just take a minute to really analyse this scene:

Dean paces in his worry.

Dean calls his MOM because he wants to talk to her.

It goes to voicemail and Dean’s face is visibly upset

“Some stuff going down, kinda got me spun out” In case we weren’t aware that this was about CAS already.

THE MUSIC SWELLS AND IS ROMANTIC AND SAD.

Jensen’s face is beautiful. I mean that we already know but just LOOK at him in this moment. He is so upset, so worried about Cas, so broken over what he must view as rejection. Urgh I can’t with these two.

Everything about this moment SCREAMS a heartbroken lover missing their partner/spouse and wanting to speak to their parent for consolation (where he wasn’t getting it from long suffering Sam). It is glorious.

*queue flashback to Dean telling Jody how Sam and him could have used some of that growing up after Jody mentions being there for the girls to talk about boyfriends etc*

Basically the amount of pining Dean we are getting this season is amazing and I love it.

Mary and Ketch

Moving on to the B Plot story of the episode, I liked the creep factor with Ketch and Mary, the way they bookended this part of the episode with Shifter!Mary and then Real Mary strapped to the chair, the fight when she punched him in the nuts with the knuckledusters (really Ketch you thought they WOULDN’T work on you just because they are meant for Angels?! Knuckledusters are STILL Knuckledusters dude) – Isn’t that a nice little point though about the BMOL’s narrow mindedness, they are completely unable to see beyond the black and white. Angel knuckledusters must ONLY be used for Angels, each item of equipment can only be used for its one single purpose and nothing else. This obvious differentiates Mary and the Winchesters because they are able to get creative with their weapons – just think back to 12x09 and Sam and Dean using that cabin in the woods to trick the army guys – they are able to adapt to their environment and it makes them far superior to the BMOL – I reckon this will come up again in the next two episodes as to how the Winchesters manage to beat the BMOL (because obviously they will beat them).

I don’t like how the other hunters the BMOL were focussed on were Claire, Garth and Eileen. It makes me nervous since next episode is bucklemming… someone is gonna die. The ‘old men’ in Britain were brought up again and I really do wonder if we will get to see them at all (I can’t help but imagine them as almost inhuman themselves – like the old doctor who harvested human part to gain unnatural longlife… either that or like something out of Mad Max Fury Road – the BMOL has GOT to have some super dark secret and I am really curious to find out what these ‘old men’ really are… though maybe just a bunch of old totally human Tory former public school boys in a secret society sipping Brandy and smoking cigars is actually far more horrifying than actual monsters because humans can be just as evil and nothing in Britain is as evil as old man Tory’s.)

At least Mary seems to finally realise that she needs to be there for Sam and Dean and be more of a mom to them. Perhaps we will see more of this in season 13 though the very fact that she has come to this realisation and left a hopeful voicemail to Dean says to me that something very bad is going to happen to her leaving it all too late. We shall just have to wait and see.

The Past and the Future

I know I have briefly mentioned this above, but I LOVE how this whole episode was basically a rewrite of the first two seasons. That obvious call back to the famous line, emphasised by the reminder in the “THEN” section. The Banes mom going missing, the kids looking for her only for her to die shortly before one sibling dies leaving the other to sell his soul to bring them back. The fact that in this very obvious rewrite Dean’s mirror is a queer man. The fact that this is a fantastic commentary on the Winchester co-dependency but with the Winchesters looking in from the outside and voicing their disapproval (though loved Dean’s honesty about that hypocrisy) making the audience AWARE of how bad it was, of how this is NOT something to be romanticised!

(Sometimes I feel like Dabb is waging war on the bibros and it makes me so happy I could kiss him)

The fact that we keep getting this nod to a ‘better way’ in the subtext, and okay, so Max didn’t take the better way (he actually got a worse deal than Dean did when he sold his soul for Sam) but the fact that this was portrayed as a TERRIBLE thing in this episode is proof that Dabb is moving away from this. However the season ends, I can’t see it ending with the toxic co-dependency still being in place, and it seems like we have finally broken this cycle of Winchester sacrifice for each other that seems to reach its climatic peak in the season 10 finale. Dabb is going out of his way to show how far the boys have come. The call backs to the earlier seasons only emphasise the difference, particularly in Dean, in this season. Dean is on a path of honesty and trust and communication, perhaps some of the other characters are still playing catch up to him, but as our POV character, this speaks volumes for the road the show is going down. I for one couldn’t be happier.

Finally

STOP GRENADE BAITING US!!

Seriously though, this chekovs grenade launcher is gonna go off by season end, and it will be Dean who fires it. Lets all cross our fingers that the resolution to this continuous grenade baiting will also come at the same time as a resolution to another kind of baiting that has been subtextually tied to the grenade launcher for a while now. We can but hope after all.

#supernatural #destiel #dean winchester #sam winchester #episode review #spn meta #12x20 #season 12 #spn spoilers #mary winchester #arthur ketch #twigs & twine & tasha banes #max banes #alesha banes #tasha banes #mirrors and parallels #my thoughts #my meta #spn speculation

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drink-n-watch · 5 years

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Guys I am being so unprofessional this week! You won’t believe how last minute I am at giving Karandi, my part of the review. I’m afraid to look. Does she seem mad? I bet she’s mad, she has every right to be… If it’s any consolation, I had a great Party last night and also this morning.

I’m feeling a bit like Hanae here. Let’s just get this started.

It’s fine Irina, if you hadn’t been late I probably would have been. I’m actually having to write posts the day before they come out at the moment because I’ve been a little busy and I’ve almost run down my draft collection and I’m just not getting to watch episodes in a timely manner. It hasn’t made me reschedule anything just yet but I suspect this week I may have one or two days where I do not get three posts ready to go out.

recently, it’s been brought to my attention that characters who never open their eyes are creepy

After two very solid and plot advancing episode, we got something that was half overall plot and half random slice of life. More or less literally. The episode was split down the middle.

In the first half, we continue to deal with Hanae’s banishment from the Underworld as well as the power struggle that seems to be taking place therein. But first, we have a school trip to wrap up. Whenever Abeno is surrounded by classmates like that, he always seems so out of place yet people seem to like him. Why do you think that is Karandi? (I mean, I know why I like a beautiful blonde tsundere but it might not appeal to all).

I really do not get it myself. The boys turn up to have a pillow fight in Abeno’s room and he initially tries to slam the door in their face. Like seriously, why do they bother trying? That said, I kind of loved that after being forced into participating he decided to play by his own rules. Watching him pummel Hanae in the face repeatedly with a pillow was pretty hilarious, though why Hanae didn’t just take two steps in either direction to get away from him was more than a little confusing.

you may change you mind there

The wrap up of the trip was cute and basically just served to let us know that Hanae can now reliably use his power to sense Yokai. Good thing two, as that becomes immediately useful when the Legislator shows up for a surprise visit with a strange proposal.

It seems that hearing what had happened, the Legislator grew very angry that the Executor had attacked someone under his general supervision and had strong armed him into some odd compromise. Bringing two boxes to Hanae, the Legislator tells him that if he picks the right one, he will be conditionally unbanished. (look at that – unbanished is a real word…) At first, I figured this was a test to see if Hanae had any powers and he should fail on purpose to not give himself away. What were your thoughts on this oddness?

I’m not sure what this test was supposed to show from the point of the Underworld. I mean, Hanae having powers makes him more dangerous. This test doesn’t show his character or desire to help/hurt yokai or give them any particularly useful information.

this seems pointless…

But, despite not really getting why the Executive let this be the test (I get why he agreed to a deal at all but not why this test was acceptable), I really loved Hanae during this scene. I think it was great that we got to see that despite his claims that he is fine, that he seriously considered losing on purpose because he isn’t sure he wants to go back. He’s genuinely scared that he’ll be killed and that is a legitimate fear. However, it is perhaps the first time we’ve seen Hanae suffer from some kind of ongoing trauma from all the weird stuff that happens around him.

Turns out Abeno did want him to choose the right box and not only that but the Legislator had sort of cheated by putting a Yokai in there in the first place, allowing Hanae to get the right answer. Basically, it was rigged for the Executor to lose and it all seemed to be going to plan until Hanae asked what the condition was.

We find out that Hanae has to be accompanied by the Justice whenever he chooses to visit the Underworld. Am I the only one who thought it was a great deal? The Justice has proven to be rather friendly and pleasant company. As long as Hanae doesn’t knowingly cause harm to the Underworld he has a powerful Yokai to protect him and keep him out of trouble. If anything, I thought Abeno would have been happy about it.

silly me…Abeno is never happy

I think we still don’t quite know enough about the underworld politics to know what is really going on. Considering Abeno works for the Legislator, maybe he doesn’t want the Justice knowing everything he’s up to or overlooking his work as well as a second supervisor? Or maybe he’s just ticked off that his employee was attacked and then treated as a villain? It’s a murky situation and one that I assume will be expanded on in coming episodes but I’m really enjoying seeing how it is playing out so far.

There’s something I didn’t quite get in this part of the episode. For instance, why would the Executor care if Abeno no longer visits the Underworld? And what is Ripou hoping to accomplish. I find it hard to believe that he didn’t knowingly set all this in motion by sending Hanae to the Executor in the first place and now he’s scandalized the latter retaliated? It’s like he provoked him into action only so that he could strike back while claiming self defence.

Yeah, there’s more to this than we know. I love how innocent the Legislator is playing it putting the blame entirely on the Executive. However, we know he sent Hanae there in the first place when he literally could have sent anyone else, and I doubt he did that accidentally. Though whether the response was what he expected I’m not sure but it has definitely given him an excuse to act against the Executive. I feel bad for the Justice being stuck between those two.

He does seem over it

As for Abeno’s declaration that he isn’t coming to the Underworld anymore, I wonder how that will impact on his job. I know that mostly he sends yokai into the underworld, but on more than one occasion he’s had to go to the underworld to fetch something so it seems he might be making things harder on himself. More importantly, he used to go there before he had an assistant so it doesn’t make sense that he couldn’t go and leave Hanae behind. Unless this is some kind of protest. Or something Abeno and the Legislator decided on given it seems they’ve been talking a lot about the situation with Hanae (given the test the Legislator gave Hanae).

And this is random but have we ever seen the Legislator’s “true” form. The Executor is a Crow, the Justice is a Tiger but what is Ripou? I always imagine him as some type of Salamander because of his sister, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen him as anything else than human.

Nope, and I was wondering that too. The Justice seems to enjoy his tiger form, the the Executive clearly uses his crow form to terrify… I think that when we finally see the Legislator’s form it will be because something major just went down.

I bet Hanae will make this exact face

Does Abeno stopping hanae from going means he chose some type of side?

So many question and I am looking forward to finding out all the answers but that will have to wait as we jump right into a little story about Zenko finding a doll like Yokai with a simple but difficult request. They want to be human for a day – or at least very human like – so they can go dance with everyone else at the Bon festival. I would like to think that this would be my ambition should I ever become a wraith.

I found this random addition to the end of this episode, lead in to next episode, a little bit of a let down. Sure it is what The Morose Mononokean used to focus on, but this season has given us so much more. Plus, as you said, we’re sitting here with all these questions and instead we’re watching some doll yokai ask to be human. Possibly if this had been its own episode and we knew early on we were in for a monster of the week story we’d just kind of go with it, but coming on the tail of some really solid world building it just felt like an unwelcome diversion even if it did bring Zenko back into the story and have Hanae using his yokai detection skills.

don’t worry, we’ll get back to it

We don’t really know how this turns out as the episode ends pretty much in the middle of this storyline. Hanae having brought the Yokai to the Mononokean so they can make their request directly to Abeno.

There was something particularly Natsume like about the plot of this specific story. Seems like exactly the sort of thing a Yuujinchou Yokai would ask for, don’t you think? Ok so maybe it’s just because I literally order volume 22 yesterday and now I can’t wait until I get it…

Really jealous of that (I’m waiting on the next couple of volumes to arrive but I’m not in the twenties yet). I don’t know, I try to avoid comparing this to Natsume because honestly, it doesn’t hold up as an anime if I do. I absolutely love and adore Natsume whereas this I find pleasant and entertaining enough. I will admit, I’ve liked this second season a lot more than season one, but it still pales in comparison with Natsume (so many things do).

Still, yokai wanting to be a human for a day does indeed seem like a Natsume plot and hopefully they can pull it off because comparisons are more or less inevitable at this point.

Obviously this doesn’t live up to Natsume but then again what does?

Even though we didn’t see the Underworld much, there was still some pretty images here and there!

The Morose Mononokean 2 episode 7 w Karandi and Irina -Playing Games Guys I am being so unprofessional this week! You won’t believe how last minute I am at giving …

#anime #blonde bishie #Collab #comedy #episodic #morose mononokean #slice of life #supernatural

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nerdylittleshit · 7 years

Text

Thoughts about Spn 13x03

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Because my computer hates me this is the second time I write this. F**k my life.

So. The first “Wayward Sisters” episode. Yeah! Overall I liked this episode a lot, even though it was not what I expected. With Sam and Dean separated and Dean alone with not one but two mom characters I expected a lot of talk about feelings, which we got in the end but not how I pictured it. In hindsight this makes sense. This episode was an introduction to “Wayward Sisters” and Patience, it was about her character and the groundwork of the spin-off we will hopefully get, and Dean’s grief (though still visible) shouldn’t be the focus. There were some parallels to the mytharc of the season – Jack – which in my opinion didn’t quite work, but apart from that it was a solid start for our girls.

The name of the episode - patience - is fitting, because not only is it about the character Patience, but about to act of being patient. Patience itself has a lot of religious symbolism, and fits right in with the seasonal theme of loss and grief.

Patience (or forbearing) is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean: persevering in the face of delay; provocation without acting on negative annoyance/anger; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can have before negativity.

Both Sam and Dean have to endure pain, both have to be patient for better days to come. In a more religious approach though patience is about having faith, it is about the act to believe in a better future. With the tease of Cas’s return at the end of the episode we know that Sam and Dean’s patience will be rewarded, even though of course they are not aware of this yet. Time will tell how much patience there is in Patience.

But before we come to her we have to talk about where her story starts, with Missouri. Sam recognizing her on the phone had me believe for a moment that they stayed in contact all those years, but they made it clear that the only time they met Missouri was back in season 1. Which makes her phone call to them even more interesting, especially a decade later, as she probably knew other hunters as well. Missouri of course knew about Dean’s losses, and the fact that Jody didn’t ask him about it makes me think Sam already told her. As I said I would have loved a conversation with either Missouri or Jody with Dean about his grief, but this episode was not the place for it.

I know there is probably a lot of wank about Missouri’s death, and I get it. Another female character, a woman of colour none the less, I feel you, and you have every right to be hurt by it. It sucks that we have yet another character whose story starts with the death of a (grand) mother figure, and given that Patience still has her dad I worry about him too, because she needs a reason why she lives with Jody. That said, I felt that Missouri’s death was different, because they have given her agency. She knew that she was about to die, she had the chance to ask Dean and Jody for help, but she didn’t. She accepted it and instead asked for Dean’s help in protecting her family. She chose the terms of her death, similar perhaps to the way Jo and Ellen died. As I said, you have every right to feel bitter about it, but from a storytelling point of view Bobo proved that he can write a better death scene than certain other writers.

Patience is a girl whose only interest so far is her academic career, before she eventually gets aware of her own gift and her family’s connection to the supernatural. Now she has to decide how to deal with it. The show tried to make a parallel here with Jack (and a smaller amount Sam), who has to choose what to do with his powers as well. It is the old thematic rerun of normal life vs hunting life and fate vs free will. The shoe though doesn’t fit. Both are young and have no control over their powers yet and it is clear that their powers are a part of them they can’t escape. Patience’s gift though is passive; it is something that is happening to her and it is her choice to act on it or not. By doing so she potentially puts her own life at risk or risks that someone else gets hurt where she could have prevented it. But it is in no way comparable with Jack’s powers.

Jack’s struggle is with himself, about finding out who he is. So far his powers have only caused pain, making him believe he is evil himself. No matter what his mother told him about free will and that he can choose what kind of person he wants to be, he believes his actions (intentional or not) speak for themselves. Jack is afraid of himself, of the darkness within him, and that Dean could be right about him. And in this aspect his story matches in no way Patience’s story. Patience’s story is about her powers, her family, and herself, but those are separate things (even though they are connected). Whereas Jack defines himself over his heritage and his powers alone, making him already cancel his initial choice of Cas as his father and his mother’s believe in free will.

With James we have a character that grew up similar to Sam and Dean, because apparently Missouri was a hunter as well (was this ever mentioned before? This info seems new to me). Just like Sam though he wanted out of the life, to live normal and give his family a normal life as well. It is no surprise then that he wants his daughter to return to her old life. What is more surprising though is Dean’s response to it.

Dean: This life - hunting, monsters - there's no joy in it. There's nothing but pain, horror, and death. So if you get a chance at normal, you take it.

This goes hand in hand with Dean’s later comment about Missouri’s death, that it was just another day at the office. Because Dean is done. With everything. He is so disconnected with his own life, with his job that gave him purpose, that Missouri’s death doesn’t affect him anymore. All he sees now is what the job cost him, what it keeps on costing him. There is no hope, no value in what he is doing anymore.

Which leads us to the end of the episode and oh, did Bobo deliver. I said after 12x22 that I believe that Bobo secretly reads all our metas because the conversation between Mary and Dean had addressed so many things we kept talking about for years. And the fight here between Sam and Dean does the same, including Sam’s status as special child/his demon blood addiction and John’s request to kill him.

Dean: You deserved to be saved. He doesn't!

Did anyone else thought of “You don’t think you deserve to be saved”? Because Sam and Dean both see themselves in Jack, but in a complete different way. Sam believes Jack deserves to be saved, he has to, because he keeps telling himself that he deserved it as well, that his family was right about believing in him. Dean though, he never believed that. Dean, who sees himself as poison, who believes that everyone he cares about will suffer because of him. Sounds familiar? Because that is what Jack currently believes about himself (oh, the irony). And Dean’s accusation that Sam only pretends to care because he needs Jack for his powers (which Sam doesn’t deny) won’t help either. I’ve already speculated about how this could be what will lead Jack away from the Winchesters, thinking they only need him for his powers (the same way Cas did).

And then of course we have yet again Sam making their loss about Mary first and foremost, and Dean making it about Cas. About how Jack brainwashed Cas, how his connection to Jack killed him, how all he can think about when he sees Jack is Cas and the pain of his loss. And how he can’t forget. Like, they don’t even try to be subtle about it. They both lost two members of their family, but for Sam it is all about Mary (and the chance to get her back), whereas for Dean it is all about Cas. Cas, who is all the way dead.

Speaking of… welcome back Cas! Even though we don’t know for sure yet I’m pretty pretty pretty sure it is the Empty. It certainly looks like it. So how is Jack connected to it? Will his voice guide Cas out of it? Will Jack bring Cas back, as a way to try to redeem himself? We will see.

Some other things:

- That shot of Dean drinking and listening to music… It was rather short and didn’t add anything to the plot, so the fact that they left it in feels significant. I still like to believe he listened to the mixtape, but obviously they can’t afford to use an actual Led Zep song.

- Asmodeus was in Jack’s head. I feel like this might cause a problem in the future.

- Ronson is my new fave.

- The Wraith said the first psychic was an accident he picked up in a mental ward. The first time we saw a wraith? In 5x11, in a mental ward.

- I really liked the fighting scene where Dean overpowered and killed the wraith. I never pay much attention to them, so this says something.

- Patience’s psychic powers/her vision was quite handy during the hunt, so I think we might see something similar in “Wayward Sisters”. Reminds me of Phoebe in Charmed actually.

And that’s it. Til’ next week!

#supernatural #spn 13x03 #patience #spn meta #spoilers #my meta

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