#( isabelle & mika )

[mcqicons]

[phons0]

Even s'more colored sketches from Shop Orders!

[aiza-luna]

Assassin's Creed Syndicate - Sanctity: Doña Aimée Isabelle Henriette Artois-Cotoner, La Condesa de Tortosa.

_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________

-Portrait of Lady Aimée Artois, 1860.-

Aimée Isabelle Henriette Cotoner (Née Artois) was a French Philantropist, Socialite, Musician and Fashion Icon of the Spanish and French Courts in the 19th Century.

.

The youngest daughter of Frederic Alphonse D'Artois , Comte d'Eu and his wife, Marie Johanna von Lamberg. Being the granddaughter of Charles Ferdinand D'Artois, Duke of Berry and great-granddaughter of Charles X of France.

.

Born in 1830, the very year of the July Monarchy and the incredibly political tension in her country and her family. Aimée, despite being descendent of an Absolutist Monarchy Family, had her father and mother being much more alliegned with a Constitutional Monarchy, which made them eventually become allies to the French and Austrian Brotherhoods of Assassins.

.

Born and raised in Eu, Normandy. She was kept away from the chaos of the court most of her life. Receiving the best education her father could provide, she grew up to be a refined, eloquent and clever young woman. A lover of the arts and it's many forms.

.

Although her family's political connections to the Brotherhood, Aimée never showed interest in taking part in such business. Fearing what the connection between this other secret society could bring to her loved ones (Her family already have once being alliegned to the French Rite of the Templar Order), her worries would triple as her older sister, Félicité, married a Master Assassin of the Dutch Brotherhood and becamed an active ally to their cause.

.

She herself would dwell more into this world after being married to Carlos Rafael Cotoner y Moncada, Conde de Tortosa. Despite being arranged, love bloomed among the couple, that would go on and have five children, even if only two were born.

.

As the wife and mother of Spanish Master Assassins, her role in the Creed would fortify. The years spent among the Tenents would make her shape her world views to one closer to the Assassins, however, she never truly accepted or approved her husband and daughter's role in this. For she always lived afraid of loosing them in this secret war.

.

A loving mother, a caring wife, a noblewoman of the House of Bourbon, descendent of the very Capetian Dynasty, proud of her family and legacy... A woman who left her mark on history for her donations to charities and her work in the development of arts and music.

Hélix Data Base / Entry of the Countess of Tortosa

Art by @gabmik

[starstruckodysseys]

the kids in this fic are the funniest characters to write ever. technically this is a carshall fic but really it’s about the thirteen year olds if we’re being honest

[strawbrryrush]

closed event starter for mika !! @mastcrmiind

monster- swarm of bats

Once met with the bats, isabelle felt her skin crawl.  This wasn't an ideal date , it was the opposite. "Come on, we need to run!" they insisted, taking Mikas hand and beginning to bolt.

[drysdalesworld]

names i think each player would name their child

i thought this would be cute & funny to do. this is based purely on the vibes i get from each player. this will include a couple of names including their middle names, so some of these will be WILD & reaching a bit lol (many of them will be basic unfortunately)

JACK HUGHES

boy names —

brayden pierce

preston caleb

girl names —

parker celeste

stella alexandra

NICO HISCHIER

boy names —

elias hans

jaden nikolas

girl names —

anika carmen

cora irene

QUINN HUGHES

boy names —

peyton timothy

theodore james

girl names —

melody grace

adriana kelsey

TREVOR ZEGRAS

boy names —

wilder jensen

layton marley

girl names —

natalie oakley

olivia madison

LUKE HUGES

boy names —

wyatt rhodes

gage o’brien

girl names —

samantha paige

jensen ivy

JAMIE DRYSDALE

boy names —

devin joseph

oliver quinn

girl names —

laila evelyn

colette nora

COLE CAUFIELD

boy names —

benjamin alexander

connor james

girl names —

maya hope

grace amelia

KIRBY DACH

boy names —

samuel brayden

xavier michael

girl names —

iris mika

riley yvette

LUCA FANTILLI

boy names —

donovan aldo

nico josiah

girl names —

piper sienna

briella holly

WILL SMITH

boy names —

dominic peyton

mason bennett

girl names —

keira kelsey

isabel sydney

WILLIAM EKLUND

boy names —

oskar warren

tobias adrian

girl names —

freya sage

thea carolyne

MACKLIN CELEBRINI

boy names —

walker bailey

hudson eugene

girl names —

kaylee jordan

skyler hadley

[blood-red-hummingbee]

I HAVE COMPOSED A LIST OF THE FANKIDS

IF YOU WANT TO BE PUT ON, OR I MISSED SOMEONE, LEMME KNOW!

I'M ORDERING THIS BY CANON CHARACTERS CUS THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I COULD KEEP TRACK

Riddle - @justm3di0cr3; Ivrine with Emory - @beneathsakurashade; Riliane with Kanae - @amethystjewel01; Thorn and Ruby with Yuuna

Ace - @4necdote; Draven with Whitney - @screamintoad; Jane with Rory - @ashipiko; Avila and Alex with Ashi

Deuce - @skibidibabygirl; Angel and Diana with Isa

Trey - @moonyasnow; Hilda, Julian, and Hazel with Junia

Azul - @oya-oya-okay; Azuma, ShiShi, Azusa, and Shou with Shuu - @taruruchi; (Aure)lia, Cass(ius), and Julian with Taruchi

Floyd - @angelwishess; Emelio, Marven, and Alora with Kyra - Barbs; Suzette and Summer with Grace

Jade - @gimmeurmoneyagh; Melusine, Lorelai, and J(esse) with Yumi

Leona - Also Moony; Nuru with Tomoe - Mah; Kinja with Isabelle - @h0neybane; Maya and Obuya with Evelyn

Jack - Me; Joey and Luna with Rose - Moony; Genevieve and Toby with Victor - Crow; Shiloh, Sasha, and Gemma with Rory

Ruggie - @midnightmah07; Maggie with Daisy - @twtysevapr; Mika and Lana with Mina - @cheerleaderman; Charlotte with Dion - Myz; Diana with Sam

Jamil - @bunniehunn; Claude and Hayat with Flori - Jan; Bella with Astrid - Addie; Zyran with Dranav - Barbs; Maron, Maeve, Jiya, and Ichaa

Kalim - @babyghoul138; Aisha, Daniyal (I don't know if I spelled that right, lemme know Myz!), and Arham (though that one's subject to change) - Mah; Yasmin, Bazel, and Daim with Jeanne

Vil - Barbs; Flora with Eislyn - Algy; Belladonna with Rosienne - AJ; Alois and Naomi with Yuuki

Epel - Addie; Binnie with Poppy

Rook - @offorestsongs; Rosemary with Lysander (I think there are a couple more on the way too)

Idia - Jan; Kore, Atlas, and Helene with Yuya - @amai-sakura-chan; Nova and Soleil with Ame - @buttholesparkles; Zagreon and Melinos with Maya

Sebek - @theolivetree123; Avery with Constance

Silver - Crow; Fleur and Alaric with Blanche - Jan; Alicia and Tristan with Airlea - Algy; Paloma with Jóvia - Kanae; Chrys(anthemum), Dahlia, Sage, and Edel(weiss) with Shion

Malleus - Moony; Malina, Malachi, Mallory, Malek, Maleah, Malcolm, Malindt, and Malissa with Irina - Barbs; Anthony, Rosa(lynn) - AJ; Malin and Malorie with Yuuto - Me; Aria with Emmelia

Niege - Moony; Roza with Spike

Che'nya - Barbs; Lucy, Louie, and Bennet with Anneliese

and last but not least: Olive's Nikohopper bebes; Daisy and Louis!

AND WITH THAT I TAKE MY BOW! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

ONCE I HAVE A COMPLETE LIST, I SHALL COMPILE THE SCHOOL/DORM FANKID CHART! <3

[noh07]

list of mixed name ideas (october 29, 2024)

i sorted them into three categories: androgynous, feminine and masculine.

in this list, there's any type of names (mostly for english-speaking people though): typical first names, noun names, mythology names, etc.

if you have more ideas of names for trans folks, writers, etc, just lemme know! (Can also be not-so-cool names for the writers, we need them for the asshole side characters :3)

i update the list every time I have a lot of new name suggestions. this is not the newest version, but you can find it under the tag #updated name list on my profile.

(alphabetical list with 553 mixed names under the cut)

--- androgynous ---

Addie/Eddie

Aki

Alex

Alexis

Alli/Allie/Ally

Ares

Ari

Artemis

Aster

Azure

Bennie/Benny

Beverly

Billie

Blair

Charlie

Chrissy

Crimson

Edie

Eli

Ellori/Ellory

Emerson

Emi/Emmie/Emmy

Evie

Finn

Forest/Forrest

Frances/Francis

Gray/Grey

Hayden

Hunter

Jackie/Jacky

Jamie

Jess

Jessie

Jupiter

Lark

Lenny

Lori/Lorie/Lory

Lou

Louie

Mag

Maggot

Mars

Max

Mercury

Mika

Miko

Mizu

Neptune

Noah

Paris

Ollie

Quinn

Rafa

Reg

Robin

Ronni/Ronnie/Ronny

Saturn

Shilo/Shiloh

Skye

Val

Venus

Vin

Vinny/Vinnie

Wilson

--- feminine ---

Abby

Abigail

Adelaide

Adeline

Aileen/Eileen

Aimee/Amy

Alana

Alena

Alessia

Alexa

Alexia

Alexandra

Alice

Alissa

Alli/Allie/Ally

Alura

Amalia

Amber

Amelia

Amelie

Amity

Angie

Anna

Ann/Anne

Annie

Anastasia

Andrea/Andreea

Antheia

Arabella

Astra

Atlanta

Audrey

Aurora

Azura

Bailey

Becky

Bella

Belle

Bettie/Betty

Beverly

Billie

Brenda

Brie

Candace/Candice

Carla/Karla

Carolina

Caroline

Catherine

Celina/Selena/Selina

Celine/Selene

Charlotte

Christina/Kristina

Christine/Kristine

Claire

Clara/Klara

Chloe/Cloe

Cora/Corah

Daniela/Daniella

Danielle

Dalia/Daliah

Debbie

Debora/Deborah

Delilah

Diana

Dianne

Dora/Dorah

Eburia

Eda

Elena

Eleanor/Elenor

Elisa/Eliza

Elizabeth

Ella

Ember

Emerson

Emery

Emi/Emmie/Emmy

Emilia

Emilie/Emily

Emma

Euphemia

Euphoria

Esme

Esmeralda

Eva

Evie

Evelyn

Felicia

Fenya

Finya

Fia

Fiona

Francisca/Franziska

Freya

Gaia

Georgia

Gina

Ginny/Jeanie

Hanna/Hannah

Harmony

Heather

Hecate

Hera

Hestia

Hope

Iana

Irena

Irene

Iris

Isa

Isabel/Isabelle

Isabela/Isabella

Ivonne/Yvonne

Ivory

Ivy

Izzy

Janice

Jasmin/Jasmine

Jenna

Jenny

Jolene

Julia

Julianne

Julie

Juliet/Juliette

Katarina/Katharina

Kathy/Katy

Lana

Lara/Larah

Laura

Lauren

Laurel

Lena

Leia/Leya

Levina

Levinia

Lia

Liara

Lili/Lilli/Lilly/Lily

Lilian/Lilien

Lilith

Lisa

Livia

Liz

Lizzie/Lizzy

Loanne

Lola

Lorelei

Lori/Lorie/Lory

Louisa/Luisa

Louise/Luise

Luce/Luz

Lucy

Luna

Maggie/Meggie

Meg

Madeline

Maira/Myra

Margaret

Marge

Marla

Marlene

Maria/Mariah

Marie/Mary

Melanie

Melissa

Mellie/Melly

Mia

Michelle

Milly

Mina

Minerva

Minnie

Miriam

Mona

Naira/Nyra

Natalia

Natalie

Natasha

Nellie/Nelly

Nessie

Nina

Nora/Norah

Nori

Oliv/Olive

Olivia

Ollie

Paris

Pascale

Patricia

Paula

Peggy

Penelope/Pinelopy

Penny

Petunia

Philippa

Pia

Polly

Poppy

Ramona

Rebecka

Regina

Robin

Rose

Roxanne

Sara/Sarah

Sofia/Sophia

Sofie/Sophie

Stella

Stephanie/Stephany

Tara/Tarah

Tatiana/Tatyana

Tess

Tessa

Tia

Tiana

Tina

Valerie/Valery

Vanessa

Venus

Veronica

Victoria

Vivian

Viviana

Willow

Yana

Yasmin/Yasmine

Zoe/Zoé/Zoey

--- masculine ---

Aion

Alex

Alexander

Amon

Anthony

Anton

Arcturus

Ares

Ben

Benjamin

Bennie/Benny

Benson

Bill

Billie/Billy

Bob

Bobby

Brendan/Brendon

Brian

Bruno

Calvin

Carl/Karl

Chad

Chase

Chris

Chrissy

Christopher

Conan

Damian

Dan

Daniel

Dave

David

Davon/Devon

Dionysos

Don

Donald

Dorian

Dylan

Elia/Elijah

Elio

Eliot/Elliot/Elliott

Emerson

Emilio

Erion

Evan

Felix

Fred

Freddie/Freddy

George

Gian/Jan

Hannibal

Harald/Harold/Herald/Herold

Ian

Icarus

Jack

Jackie/Jacky

James

Jamie

Jimmy

John

Johnny

Jona/Jonah

Jonas

Jones

Julian/Julien

Julius

Jupiter

Justin

Kevin

Larry

Laurence/Lawrence

Lenny

Leo

Linus

Lori/Lorie/Lory

Louis/Luis

Louie

Lucc/Luke

Lucas/Lukas

Luigi

Marc

Marco

Mario

Mars

Max

Mercury

Michael

Mickey

Mike

Milo

Nathan

Neptune

Nick

Nico/Niko/Nikko

Noah

Oliver

Ollie

Orion

Paris

Pascal

Patrick

Paul

Pete

Peter

Philip/Philipp/Phillip

Raymond

Reg

Reginald

Regulus

Remus

Rob

Robbie/Robby

Robin

Ron

Ronald

Ronni/Ronnie/Ronny

Saturn

Sean/Shawn/Shaun

Sebastian

Sirius

Steve

Steven

Theodore

Tim

Toby

Tom

Tommy

Tony

Valentine

Victor

Wilson

Yan

Zach/Zack

Zeus

If you want me to add meanings, origins, etc., just tell me! ^^

[phons0]

Colored sketches from Shop Orders!

[rhenuvee]

Playing Animal Crossing New Horizons with Genshin Boys [Modern AU]

A/N: This is not important but I almost wrote sea bass with the characters

»»———————————-««

Treats it like Minecraft. Farms the heck out of your island for materials, and makes his own little "base" that's bordered by fences. Has enough wood, rocks, iron nuggets, etc to supply him for a year.

Razor, Bennett, Albedo, Alhaitham, Chongyun, Gorou, Kazuha, Mika, Thoma, Tighnari, Wanderer, Xiao

Chaotic. Attacks you with a net, sends you purposely cringey notes with a smelly sea bass attached, dresses like a hot dog after telling him to dress nice for a picture, probably decorates his house like a demon summoning ritual.

Childe, Cyno (does it to make you laugh), Itto, Kaeya, Lyney, Venti

Has sooo many bells... and from what?? He is your resident glucose father, always giving his bells to you to pay your debts. That 75,000 bell piano? It's yours. Really good with the Daisy Mae stonks, buys 100 turnips every time.

Alhaitham (asks you to catch a Coelacanth first), Ayato, Childe, Diluc, Kaeya

Broke. You’re the one with millions of bells. Takes so long for him to get out of the tent, and can't pay his home loans for days- but always has money for buying random things like a chair? Sometimes they have bells, but still ask you for some to annoy you. Also frequently gets scammed by Redd.

Bennett, Itto, Kaveh ("why does this feel oddly familiar..?"), Venti

Trash island. They are hoarders (honestly me). Your island's trees are still at the original random locations, along with weeds you have to pick every time, and some unknown "leaves" scattered everywhere. You say this is the reason Isabel gave your island a 2* rating but he denies it.

Bennett, Razor, Cyno, Itto, Venti

Clumsy. Always gets stung by wasps because he never takes out the net on time, falls for pitfall seed traps, and lots and lots of sea bass.

Bennett, Gorou, Itto, Kaveh

Treats it like Pokemon. Catches every single fish, bug and ocean species, completes the art gallery, every DIY. If you need something caught or made, he's your man.

Albedo, Bennett, Chongyun, Cyno, Freminet, Kazuha, Mika, Razor, Heizou, Thoma, Tighnari

Wholesome af. This one gifts you sweet letters with nice gifts, aw. Plants lots of flowers outside your houses. Always gives you things you need. Probably decorated a small little space your you two, and gives the villagers nice gifts too.

Ayato, Baizhu, Bennett, Freminet, Kaeya, Kaveh, Kazuha, Lyney, Mika, Thoma, Venti

Doesn't really play video games... but he knows you like it so he tries to understand it. He's like a tourist, following you around, occasionally getting sidetracked by random things such as villagers. He doesn't know about the mailing system (yet) so he drops off gifts for you in front of your house.

Alhaitham, Ayato, Baizhu, Diluc, Gorou, Kazuha, Mika, Razor, Thoma, Xiao, Zhongli

Villager drama enthusiast (but chaotic). You tell him about your island and the personalities of your villagers. He goes a step further by making up gossip like "_____ cannot be neighbours with _____ because he cheated on her with _____!"

Childe, Kaeya, Kaveh, Lyney, Heizou, Venti, Xingqiu

The artist. Takes Animal Crossing very seriously. Has only the best clothes and furniture, sometimes making his own custom designs. Terraformed and decorated your island to a T, and takes cute pictures with you in the museum's aquarium, fireworks festival, etc.

Kaveh, Kaeya, Kazuha, Lyney, Venti

The competitive one. Originally he thought Animal Crossing was just a cutesy game. Once you introduce him to it, it doesn't take long for him to complain about Tom Nook being a capitalist and struggling to pay his loans and complete the museum. You offer to help but he insists on doing it himself.

Itto, Tighnari, Wanderer, Kaveh

»»———————————-««

[that-left-turn]

Regardless of zabel and his messy editing, what do you think was going through carol's mind when she said "it's a little more complicated than that"? E.g. what Melissa might have thought.

I'm confused by it bc when she says it, it's while didi thinks that carol is isabelle. Did she just mean "it's complicated bc I'm not isabelle"?

Short answer? No 🙃

It's hard to isolate one line of dialogue because you need to look at the whole scene and consider the arc(s) it fits into as well. This post is sort of a peek into how I parse a scene in its larger context, so my exhaustively long answer is behind the cut. I'd suggest a beverage of choice and a comfy seat while you read.

When you analyze a scene, you need to look at the actors' business (i.e. what they're doing) because it's a deliberate choice. It's never a random 'they can hang out in the kitchen while they chat.' Prepping the mise en place is as much a part of the narrative as what the characters are talking about. While I think Zabel has the men hunting for car parts and the women are stuck in the kitchen with female chores, the kitchen also tends to be the heart of the home where historically women of different generations gathered and talked. Shared wisdom.

All the episodes of DarDix have song titles and the potato chopping scene has the title song “Paradis pour toi” playing in the background on the very old-timey gramophone. (The song, sung by a British actress, is about Tahiti and problematic in its 60’s take on the ‘island of happiness’ where everyone's a fisherman and nobody has a home.) The scene opens on an insert of the record playing, which is a visual cue that the song is a key element of this scene specifically, in addition to being the episode's theme. The theme of the whole French arc is illusion and make believe.

The color scheme of the scene is warm and earthy with lots of browns and greens. Some oranges. Kind of drab looking. The lighting is darkish. This isn't some island paradise, it's more of a throwback to occupied France of the 40's.

As the scene progresses, we'll see how disconnected Didi is from her own reality. The entire sequence with Didi and Theo emphasizes the illusionary bubble of the quaint village life they've built for themselves which will inevitably burst. We recognize that in how the walkers are fenced into their own backyards after the neighbors have passed. It's only a matter of time before the illusion, their false sense of security, shatters.

The opening gambit of the conversation is important in establishing Carol's headspace in the scene. Most of the children she misses never got to grow up and fly the coop. Sophia, Lizzie, Mika and Henry are gone and in a real and terrifying sense, Lydia, Judith and RJ might be too. There's no guarantee that the plane will make a successful return journey, or even that Ash will still be where Carol left him. It's a tough reality check for her and she doesn't know if Daryl even wants her here.

This is the sucker punch that sets the trajectory of Carol's thought process. What wouldn't Carol give to have Sophia and Henry with her again, even if only for one day. But, it's only the first of the hard-hitting 'truths' Didi delivers in the scene.

This is the switch to Midwestern Bakesale Mom. Melissa's face does most of the heavy lifting in this scene—look at her eyes and her mouth in particular, but when Carol looks at Didi and the angle at which her head turns are also choices that Melissa has made. It will tell you a lot about how Carol feels about the lies she tells and how Didi unwittingly keeps sticking her foot in her mouth.

Carol has assumed the role of Sœur Isabelle, but if Didi really believes that, why would she speak English to Isabelle when they're alone? She doesn't have to be inclusive of Daryl because he isn't there. Carol also isn't very convincing as a nun (e.g. we see her take the Lord's name in vain in one scene) or as a French woman. The few phrases she says in French have an unmistakable accent that identifies her as American and the line above is very culturally coded. The only way it would've sounded more American would've been if Carol had said Laurent was an 'awesome' kid.

So, does Didi really believe Carol is Isabelle or is that just another illusion she tries to uphold because it's a prettier, less messy version of post-apocalyptic life? This is a woman who lost both her children and her grandchildren, and she might just want to believe in fairy tales despite evidence to the contrary.

Laurent is a child. He wants a normal life with a mom and a dad. We see that in the way he fixates on the Eiffel Tower in S1 as a representation of his dead mother and before Daryl, there was Père Jean. Laurent idolized the priest who delivered him, so Daryl is more or less a replacement role model. Being raised by an order of nuns, Laurent doesn't have any experience being around men, so he's imprinted on Daryl. He was encouraged to do so from the moment Daryl arrived at the convent.

Carol's face is pensive during this beat. Daryl has been standoffish, so she doesn't know how the puzzle pieces fit just yet. This is a woman who (on the flagship show) plays 4d chess while everybody else is playing checkers. There's not much that passes Carol by (even though Zabel has more or less retconned her intelligence/perceptiveness in the spinoff) and this is her first opportunity to gather intel... because Daryl won't level with her.

This is the moment when it really hits home for Carol that Daryl is tied to this child, not necessarily out of his own choice, but because Laurent needs a caretaker and a role model. He doesn't have anyone else and who better than Daryl? He 'did more for Sophia than her own daddy did his whole life,' he watched over Henry at Hilltop and he's loved, fed and nurtured Judith since the day she was born. In Carol's mind, there isn't a better man to care for a child.

We can see that she's torn in this beat between her genuine praise for Daryl and what that might mean for her and their joint family unit back in the CW. There's some lovely chiaroscuro on Carol's face to reflect the emotional dichotomy going on inside her mind.

The narrative insists that Laurent is perceptive and insightful in the worst case of ‘tell, not show’ I’ve seen from a pro screenwriter. (The boy is naïve and spouts trite reflections on life and the world in the same way a middle-aged white man with serious Elmer Fudd energy would speak.) Didi is well-meaning, but the words have a different kind of impact on Carol. Will Laurent, once she finally meets him, see right through to the rotten core of her and recognize that she's not good for children?

Carol goes from looking at Didi to turning away, not really looking at anything. There's a brief break in her chopping too; Didi's line is punctuated by a louder sound from Carol's knife when she cuts another potato. She's made the decision to stop beating around the bush:

There's a little bit of irritation, social politesse and trepidation fluttering across her face during this beat. I admire Melissa's awareness and control of her face as a tool to convey so much of the story—this is as close as you get in a visual medium to the insight a novel gives the reader, where you're in a character's head, experiencing their thoughts. The reason why Melissa's castmates are always so profuse in their compliments on her acting is that they know how hard this is to master and also, how rare a command it is to possess. Most actors are nowhere near as good at non-verbal storytelling as Melissa is.

I'd like to draw attention to the change in angle here. The closeups have all been from the opposite direction, focused on Carol, but here we move over to Didi, leaving Carol's face in the frame but out of focus. Why? After this line we move back over to Carol again, but we don't get a good shot of her initial unguarded reaction to this revelation. The scene would've been shot all the way through with a camera on Carol, so this was a choice made in post.

It's a strange one to me because how this line lands is the important bit. Didi's delivery isn't, because she's just the messenger. There are no emotional stakes for her in this beat. My professional opinion is that they're trying to hide the parts of the story the EPs don't want the audience to focus on, but it's also shooting themselves in the foot because it thwarts the audience's emotional engagement with the story.

Daryl told Carol that he loves her and then he left her. It's a pivotal moment and any showrunner who's halfway decent at their job would want you to have a good look at Carol's face. This is 'the money note' equivalent of a TV show. It's a massive plot point in Caryl's emotional arc no matter how anyone sees them: soulmates, siblings or whatever. It's also an equally big moment in Carol's emotional arc and anything that lessens the impact on the viewer is doing your show a disservice. (Not to mention that it comes off as an amateur mistake.)

We go back to the original angle, where we can see Carol processing, but she's also aware that she has an audience and that she needs to school her face. The character is almost as adept as the actor of keeping track of her facial expressions (and knowing what they convey to an onlooker). I love how cleanly Melissa balances that character ability with simultaneously needing to show us where Carol's mind is at. There are a few "hm"s in this scene—which isn't good writing—but they're all different from each other in Melissa's delivery. Each one says something of its own. There's a certain amount of resignation at the end of this one, a 'but of course...'

Finally (💀) we get to the line you asked about. Probably the only thing you were interested in and you had to sift through paragraphs' worth of nerdy shop talk before I managed to get to the point. In my defense, all of the above matters in how to parse this line.

The major theme of the French arc is the lies we tell ourselves to get through the day, whether that's believing you're a young adult in Neverland or living in a village farmhouse, pretending it's still the 1940's. The old man who provides a car for Caryl may suffer from dementia, but Didi and Theo are willfully deluding themselves that their countryside paradise won't end. "It's a little more complicated than that" intrudes on the fantasy that you can pretend your problems away, or your responsibilities vis-à-vis your family/community... fellow human beings.

On a superficial level, yes, Carol acknowledges that she isn't Isabelle, but the people whose interaction Didi has observed and is commenting on is that of Carol and Daryl:

"It's a little more complicated than that" also suggests that maybe there's more to the backstory of Daryl leaving Carol after having told her that he loves her. Remember Carol telling Daryl, "it'll be good for you, for us," in the series finale? That line didn't make any kind of sense and I assumed that either the connective tissue had been cut (because that's never Gimple's priority) or the line was added to a late draft as a handwave justification for Daryl's solo departure (because Gimple doesn't prioritize cohesive storytelling).

Regardless, Melissa knows she said that line and it's part of her job to make shoddy writing work somehow. It's an actor's job to break down each of their character's emotional beats in a scene and as mentioned earlier in this post, Caryl's goodbye in the CW has already been alluded to in this conversation. It would be on Carol's mind. Tie in her telling Daryl over the radio (when he was in Maine) that, "you never have to worry about me," and the picture that's being painted of Caryl's post CW rebellion relationship is intriguing.

Melissa would've stitched together an narrative for her character that's organic; usually, an actor decides on a headcanon of sorts, but sometimes, it's a series of possible scenarios: if/then. The latter approach makes it easier for the performer to pivot if the writing changes direction or gives a different explanation for something.

If Zabel were a halfway competent writer, I would've expected him to make use of all these elements and give the audience a trail a breadcrumbs to follow.

We don't get the first reaction of how this line lands on Carol either. We just get the transformation into Carol's cookie lady persona:

It's safe to retreat into the illusion she's woven to protect herself and to dupe potentially hostile strangers. Her face says she doesn't know how to respond even if she wanted to and this is the point where she changes the topic to Didi's relationship instead, after that forced little uneasy smile.

The idea of things being 'rare' runs throughout the Didi and Theo arc: the truffles, seeing young people, love, etc. Carol knows how precious the emotional ties she has to Daryl are—she flew across the ocean after the world has ended and had no leads to where he might be in France (which is about the size of Texas). But, to reference the song playing on the gramophone, Carol has no idea if Daryl's found 'a country where happiness is king' and whether Laurent is his "reason to keep living." Maybe her own fantasy is about to crash because Daryl has finally found his happy ending and she isn't part of that.

[strawbrryrush]

closed starter for isabelle & mika !! @mastcrmiind

"oh mika!" isabelle called out with a smile, as they came up to the other. "i noticed you're working a long shift today- so I brought you lunch! i wasn't sure what was your favorite, so I packed a variety of snacks, and even got you a hot coco, my personal favorite!"

[haircoveredwriter]

Sometimes I wonder…

I will address this one time, spoiler warning below I guess if folks haven’t been keeping up or trying to avoid them.

In regards to a certain article, im not sure if I’m reading the same as some because all I see is things we already knew. We know from the leaked 2x06 script pages that Caryl are going to finally work through their own personal demons; for Carol she’ll FINALLY deal with the loss of Sophia (as well as Lizzie and Mika I suspect) which will move her past her desire to run. In Melissa’s own words, she’s “saving herself by going to save Daryl”.

Daryl will get past his hero complex/feeling the need to save everyone thanks in part to Isabelle’s death (dude really has his inner self say through a ghost-nun that he’s still breathing so he shouldn’t dwell on what he couldn’t do).

No Caryl aren’t going to jump each others bones as soon as they are reunited because they have things they have to work through, making themselves different versions to have a healthy relationship. So they can stop the nagging voices saying they aren’t good enough for the other. We had past seasons of promised “talks that never happened” from past showrunners but now we are finally getting it, so I don’t see how that’s bad.

Melissa, Norman, and Zabel have had long discussions about where they see their/the characters going; Melissa herself gushed about getting to delve into things she hadn’t for years and how she’s having so much fun getting to do the work. IMO, they’re NOW getting to do the show THEY’VE wanted to do for a while. I’m excited and here for all of it.

[kazesauce]

TBOC Hopes and Wild Speculation

*CONTAINS REFERENCES TO 201 AND FILMING SPOILERS*

I'm so grateful to see everyone so excited after the Tribeca premiere, including seeing some old names arise from their fandom slumber. Welcome back!

Melissa said that they took some core issues that were unresolved from the main series and built on those. These are core issues I hope they address so Carol can heal.

Sophia - Carol needs to move out of the denial phase of grief and properly mourn her daughter. There are strong indications in 201 that this will be addressed.

The Banishment - I firmly believe that Rick telling Carol no one would want her around if they knew who she really was is what's underpinning her wanting to run away constantly. Carol doesn't know that Daryl knows about Karen and David and he defended her when Rick exiled her. I hope that will be addressed.

Lizzie and Mika - This was an extremely traumatic experience for Carol, and she kept her promise to Tyreese never to talk about it. I hope something happens to help her process that grief and affirm that she made the right decision in that situation, even though it was gut wrenching.

Find Me Fight - I hope they talk about that fight and everything that was fueling it, including Daryl's savior complex that's caused him so much trouble. It's the reason he ended up in France and also why he missed the boat home. (Daryl would have died in Newfoundland and Carol never would have found him, so narratively it's a good thing he stayed, but that's not the point I'm trying to make.)

Wild Speculation/Hopes

Sylvie and Emile's puppy love will stir something in Caryl.

Losang will be revealed to be as evil as Genet.

Codron will adopt Laurent at the end of the season. (Codron and Laurent were present when they filmed Daryl and Carol going down the tunnel to Spain. I guess this would mean Isabelle is dead or gravely injured, but I just want my boy Codron to get a happy ending.)

Please reblog or comment with your own hopes and wild speculations! No judgment, have fun!

[alyssaforevermore]

I haven’t really talked about season 2 of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon because I just honestly haven’t known what to say lol Major spoilers below!!

For some positivity, there were quite a few moments I really enjoyed. I’m very glad they didn’t kill off Ash; he was a cool addition and I hope we do see him again, even if it’s in a different show. I think the Caryl reunion was pretty well done and seeing them back together was what I’ve been waiting for. I also enjoyed that they took the time to finally focus on Carol’s trauma over losing Sophia. It felt like she was rarely “allowed” to acknowledge her after a few seasons of the main show, especially once she lost Lizzie, Mika and Henry 😭

However, I do feel like the season was pretty weak 😬 I don’t know why Norman hyped up the finale so much because… it was just not it. Cordon running off was also frustrating but I’m hoping we see him again in season 3 (he’s a big highlight of this series for me).

Don’t even get me started on what they did with Isabelle this season. Such a waste of an interesting character and it really just seems like she was a placeholder for until Carol showed up and then they tossed her away. It would be fine if her death had some sort of impact on the story but she was simply shanked after making the dumbest move ever and then Daryl and Laurent were kinda sad. So odd. Also, I fully realize that I said don’t get me started but then I got myself started.

I’ll tune in for season 3 because Daryl and Carol are two of my most beloved TWDU characters but I’m very disappointed and hope this was just one weak season 😬

Edit: I wanna add that I think 6 episodes is hurting the general storytelling and I cannot believe they’re sticking to 6 episodes for season 3 🤨😩