X-Files S1E3

The Dragon Dance

Sometimes I think about how and why some people had such a *bad* reaction to the end of Steven Universe, specifically in regards to the Diamonds living.

Even though they no longer are causing harm to others and are able to actually undo some of their previous harm by living, some folks reacted as though this ending was somehow morally suspect. Morally bankrupt, even.

And I think it might be because so many of us were raised on a very specific kind of kids media trope:

They all fall to their deaths.

Disney loves chucking their bad guys off cliffs. And it makes sense- in a moral framework where villains *must* be punished (regardless of whether their death will actually prevent further harm or not), but killing of any kind is morally bad for the hero, the narrative must find a way to kill the villain without the protagonists doing a murder.

It's a moral assumption that a person can *deserve* to die, that it is cosmically just for them to die, that them dying is evidence that the story itself is morally good and correct. Scar *deserves* to die, but it would be bad for Simba to kill him. So....cliff. (edit: yes, cliff then hyenas. But cliff first. Lol.)

Steven Universe, whatever else it's faults, took a step back and said "but if killing people is bad, then people dying is bad", and instead of dropping White Diamond off a cliff, asked "what would actual *restorative*, not punitive, justice look like? What would actual reparations mean here? If the goal is to heal, not just to punish, how do we handle those who have done harm?" And then did that.

Which I think is interesting, and that there was pushback against it is interesting.

It also reminds me of the folks who get very weird about Aang not killing Ozai at the end of Avatar. And like, Ozai still gets chucked in prison, so it doesn't even push back on our cultural ideas of punitive justice *that much.* and still, I've seen people get real mad that the child monk who is the last survivor of a genocide that wiped out his entire pacifist culture didn't do a murder.

screencap redraws bc it makes me feel sooo crazy insane when she kisses him on the forehead

Day 4 of Criminal Minds Evolution Week!

Here's everything we know about season 18 so far:

The season is going to be focused on JJ and Tara

The official plot summary for the season is "six months after fellow inmates attacked the notorious Sicarius Killer aka Elias Voit, leading his restless followers on the dark web to begin wreaking havoc all over the country. In order to stop this nefarious group from killing more innocents, the BAU is forced to once again work in concert with an increasingly unpredictable Voit, who of course has his own agenda"

The episodes are called: 'Swimmer's Calculus', 'The Zookeeper', 'Time to Say Goodbye', 'I'm Fine, It's Fine. Everything is Fine', 'The Brutal Man', 'Hell is Empty...', 'All the Devils are Here', 'Tara', 'CollateRal', 'The Disciple'

Episode 1 will air on May 8th and the episodes will continue to air weekly after that (according to TVLine)

The summary for episode 1 is "when bodies wash up ashore in Maryland, autopsies reveal a new threat". The summary for episode 2 is "Voit awakens from his coma, the BAU discovers a dormant Network killer"

Sandy Jareau (JJ's mom), Henry Lamontagne, and Vincent Orlov (Voit's lawyer) are all confirmed to be returning (either through photos from set or through interviews with Erica Messer)

Two new characters, Dr. Ochoa played by Aimee Garcia and an unknown character played by Linda Lavin

Dr. Ochoa is "one of the country's leading neuropsychiatrists who is assigned to help a high-profile patient recover from his injury-induced brain trauma [who] clashes with Alvez, who believes in a more aggressive approach than her gentle approach"

Spencer Reid will be returning for a cameo. It will be for a major life event and fans will be happy about the reason why he returns according to Erica Messer and Paget Brewster

This season will be more about standalone cases rather than one overarching storyline (but the unsubs will still be connected through Voit's network)

Scenes for s18 have been filmed at a cemetary, JJ's house, and a hospital

Voit is going to be more vulnerable this season and we're going to see a different side of him

At the beginning of the season, Rossi is being investigated by internal affairs for Voit's attack

Here's a list of all the promo photos organized by episode!

#lounging in a whorish manner

say what you want about bridgerton I know it's not a Good Show or whatever but nicola coughlan insisting on being 'as naked as possible' in this series as a 'fuck you' to everyone saying she's too fat to be a romantic lead and because 'when I'm 60 I wanna watch it and remember how fucking hot I was' is ICONIC BEHAVIOR

Not really a fan of Bridgerton, but I am a fan of Nicola Coughlan's response to everyone shitting on her for being "too big" to play a love interest

can someone rewrite criminal minds but elle’s storyline and trauma is more explored, less of making her seem like a villain!!! and maeve plotline is better and she lives and they have children and also jeid NEVER happens pleek😭😭😭😭💔

ao3 writers GET. TO. IT.

Mulder, Scully, and the 5 Love Languages

(Credit to: @reduxfiles)

I find MSR-- romantic and noromo-- intriguing when viewed through the 5 Love Languages lens.

Mulder's love language: physical touch. Undoubtedly. His exes could betray him, his father could ice him out, his mother could slap him, his partner could snipe at him, but he will always, always reach out.

Scully's love language: acts of service. Starbuck to her Ahab, habitually acting on her abilities to bring justice to a world filled with villainy. She accepts physical affection, gifts, and one-on-one time with her close loved ones (even if sometimes accompanied by an upturned eyebrow); but the natural language of her devotion, platonic and romantic, is in her work ethic and steadfast loyalty.

The genius of this dynamic: Mulder and Scully don't communicate "normally" because they don't need to in order to share and receive love (largely.) Mulder feels loved without verbal confirmation as long as he's physically included. Scully, too, feels loved in silence as long as Mulder acknowledges her strengths as a doctor and scientist. Both don't exchange gifts frequently (Tempus Fugit), don't intentionally carve out quality time together (Small Potatoes, The Unnatural), don't regularly exchange words of affirmation (Fight the Future)-- and yet, they remain uncannily in sync.

The weakness of this dynamic: Mulder and Scully avoid intimate, personal, or revealing conversations in order to shrink from rejection. No "I appreciate you", no "I love you", no "I need you"-- instead, they code their allegiance in terms committed to the work: "Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you"/"You have to believe me... you're my one-in-five billion."

Why it succeeds: Mulder and Scully take their sweet time healing and working on themselves before canonically tackling a relationship. By weaving around words of affirmation, in-depth quality time, and personalized gifts, they are able to sustain plausible deniability as long as possible without feeling excluded, discarded, or used-- until it's time for a direct approach. As their partnership progresses, so, too, do the fundamentals. So, too, do their communication and expectations. So, too, do they.