#(not that monica is just ~anyone -- she isn't she's so much more and this is the beginning of morse's bobby company complex --

[cogentranting]

In The Marvels there's a vulnerability to Carol that we don't really get in her earlier appearances. There's a few glimpses of it in Captain Marvel, but not much, and it's certainly not visible in Endgame (not as a fault of that movie, she's just not very close to the center of that movie). But I find the exploration of that in this movie really appealing.

You have this woman who is incredibly capable, incredibly powerful, and generally very self-sufficient. And you see the way that over the years that's worn her down. She's the mighty Captain Marvel-- one of the most powerful people in the galaxy. And she's absorbed that view of herself, that that is who she needs to be all the time. She needs to carry it all, to fix it all.

As Captain Marvel that's meant that she works alone and she's always off to fix a new problem. More importantly, it led to her nearly disastrous decision to destroy the Supreme Intelligence, and from there to an inability to directly confront that failure (tactically or emotionally) or to accept help in fixing it.

As Carol, it's cut her off from anyone else except a few carefully distanced professional friendships-- she is friends with Fury, and Valkyrie, and Yan, but there's also a coolness there, and with all we're given the impression that she keeps them at arm's length and only comes around when necessary. And again its created an even bigger problem-- she stayed away from Maria until Maria was dying, and never came back to Monica at all.

It's never directly connected for us in the movie, but there's a pretty clear connection here back to the first movie. That careful distance wasn't present with Yon-Rogg. With him she was playful, open, she'd come to his room in the middle of the night. She trusted him. And she was utterly betrayed. He used her, trapped her, manipulated her, stole her life and her memories, tried to kill her. And back then, she only regained her identity when she broke free from him. That experience has made her wary.

But she's also just off-balance. Her memories were taken and she still hasn't fully gotten them back, so she's unsteady in those old relationships. And she's indestructible and powerful but it does her no good in dealing with actual relationships. She meets a problem that she can't punch or blast, and her flight instinct kicks in.

So when The Marvels starts out, those years of being alone and trying to be Atlas carrying the world on her back, have left her shaky. She's scared to talk to Monica. When she does come face to face with Monica, and Monica initially rejects her, Carol visibly shrinks. In dealing with Dar Benn, she's running scared--not scared of Dar Benn, but scared of failing again or messing things up more, and it makes her impulsive, and causes her to push away Monica and Kamala. And it's all a vulnerability that she covers up with cockiness and bravado. She doesn't show people that vulnerability. Instead she shows them the invincible Captain Marvel who can fly into suns and move planets.

And this movie uses the power-switching to handcuff her to two other people to force her out of that destructive pattern of total self-reliance and running from being close to anyone. It physically will not let her run away from Monica and Kamala, and it turns her attempts to do things by herself against her.

Kamala is there to model for Carol a sort of emotional openness that she hasn't known in a long time (if ever). Her heart is all the way out on her sleeve and Carol needs to see that. When Monica discusses her mom's death, Kamala literally shows Carol what to do on the simplest level by hugging Monica and forcing Carol into that hug. And it matters that Kamala is a child doing this, because that simplicity is key. Carol doesn't need to FIX the situation, and Kamala isn't burdened by that mindset. Kamala can approach with this childlike openness and simplicity, not overcomplicating it by trying to find the perfect thing to say or do, and it turns out that's all Carol needs to do too. And so simple hugs become incredibly powerful in this movie because it's just about being willing to be there with some and to hold them, and in the end Carol gives that back to Kamala when they hug after losing Monica.

And for her part, Monica models to Carol that you can be strong and part of a team. Monica has grown up and become a captain and become a superhero. She's incredibly capable. And also very very comfortable working as part of a team. So despite her tension with Carol, she's able to bring that easy team dynamic to the group and get Carol to embrace the team instead of being hampered by it.

Once Carol is able be at ease with being vulnerable, once she can open herself up to others, once she can share her burdens, that's when she finally is able to come home to Earth after nearly 40 years.

[deadbydad]

DeadbyDad Loves: The Ironwood Section (Spoilers For God of War Ragnarök 2022)

I feel like I'm one of the only few people who loved the Ironwood section of God of War Ragnarök, which is fine because I get why some people didn't like this section.

I understand that yes it was a little long and could be somewhat boring at times, but I feel like people are just skipping over or even just ignoring the whole point of this section and just focusing on the negative parts and not mentioning the best moments of this whole section.

I love the fact that the section is to introduce to the players or the viewers who Angrboda is and how she is important to the games story, who and what she will be to Atreus, and how the two will interact and why they're important for each others stories and to each other in general, and to also get us to understand the two better in a lot of ways.

But I mostly love the fact that it's the first time we see Atreus just....get to be a kid, to be a teenager with someone his age which he's never had let alone met anyone else who isn't older than him by a long shot.

It's his first time having fun, making a friend with someone who he can relate to, and his first time not putting his whole life in danger.

Atreus just gets to be a kid for the first time in his life ever since his mother died and even before that, and it's just a breath of fresh air in my opinion. It's not only allowing Atreus to take a break from his father, the war and the whole prophecy thing, and just risking his life in general, but it also gives the players time to just relax and experience the joy of a child making a friend for the first time and having some fun.

And is that so wrong?

For a character who feels like the whole world is on his shoulders, who is lying to his father, who doesn't know if the choices he's making are right or wrong (which isn't a bad thing most if not all teens go through that stage), in my opinion Atreus needed to experience this.

He needed to experience what it feels like to have a friend, to talk to someone who is his age, someone who he can have fun with without feeling like he will be attacked at every corner he turns. It was so good for Atreus and his character, especially when Angrboda comes in because she helped with a huge part of his character development.

I also fucking love Angrboda, she is so much more than Atreus' friend or love interest, and it doesn't feel like she is only his love interest because she's not, she's her own person and Santa Monica did such an amazing job at showing that.

The Ironwood section is something I felt like was perfect for the game, and I get why people don't think that and that's fine, but I think people are missing the whole reason why it was put in the game in the first place and people just tend to ignore the good moments because there's way more good moments than there is bad moments.

Some people just need to take the time to understand that and so much more to be honest.

[panelshowsource]

rather than who you would like to see on the next taskmaster series, who do you think will be on it? like just your predictions or any inklings you may have!

anon if you're still around then you'll know i really took my time with this hahaha so sorry! i hope anyone reading this takes it as just a bit of fun and nbd, who knows who we'll get or who alex & the network have in mind! i'm answering thoughtfully (bc i always feel guilty not to 😩 so sorry this is long lol) but it's really just fun!!

i will say, of the more recent-ish series, i did get a few right!!! krishnan guru-murthy, nicola coughlan, alan davies, judi love, sue perkins, john robins, and joanne mcnally were people i just knew would eventually be on if the show could get their schedules right, and i was also certain sarah millican and dara ó briain would be asked — though not necessarily that they'd actually agree. when you have a level of seniority and esteem, the "it's such a great opportunity" aspect of the show isn't such a draw 😅 for some reason i feel SO PROUD about guessing nicola! i was just WAITING and wish sooooo much she had done a full series 😭😭😭 (how fun would saoirse-monica jackson be too!)

anyways, as for people who haven't been on yet — and this isn't to say i want them all to be, just that i think it's likeliest they have been asked or will be asked; i talked about who i want to see a little while ago here — it's important to consider the casting 'roles' the network has in mind when working with the producers to form a series, so i will keep that in mind too!

established comedian, typically a straight white man over 40: bill bailey, vic reeves, harry hill, geoff norcott, kevin bridges, adam buxton, ade edmondson, paul whitehouse (tommy tiernan? god i feel bad for not saying ed byrne but why do i feel like he's not gonna make it in the next few series? i'm on the fence with nick helm — unless he's friends with alex, then his chances go up significantly imo — and tom allen for some reason, and i feel like john bishop is almost too much of an ask?)

fresh talent comedian, typically a man under 40: rhys james, huge davies, ahir shah, darren harriott would be my top guesses but tbh any of the semi-recent edinburgh comedy award finalists are good bets as a majority of the winners from the last ~10 years have been on the series + throwing out tom rosenthal (i know he's not fresh fresh and also mostly an actor)...and, like, jazz emu?...just because if taskmaster know how much its audience adores weird little white twinks then they'll cast them

female or non-binary comedian: 100% sarah keyworth + harriet kemsley, maisie adam, jess fostekew, suzi ruffell. i've shifted away from betting on cariad lloyd and catherine bohart for some reason... (joanne was my no.1 lady bet for the last like 4 series hahaha)

non-comedian: this is very, very hard to predict because between comedy actors, non-comedy actors, tv presenters, news people, reality & social media stars... the potential predictions are just so endless! logically, the most likely is an established actor with a lot of comedy connections (think sally phillips, lolly adefope, liza tarbuck, sian gibson, daisy may cooper, susan wokoma; this category is where tm gets quite a few of its female contestants): matt holness, kevin eldon, amanda abbington, tom davis, sharon horgan, kathy burke, georgia tennant (also friends w alex?), su pollard, tom basden, apparently anyone from the cast of ghosts, and so on and so on and so on... + i'll also throw out maggie aderin-pocock as a serious contender + i really feel like one of the spice girls will be on new years treat

friend of alex: john robins was the prediction for the past few series, so just worth keeping in mind other people in this circle include elis james, matthew crosby, tom neenan, and so on

freebie answers because alex/greg have mentioned them before: jack dee, lorraine kelly, joanna lumley (i want jennifer saunders SO BAD give us an epic series w both ade and jen pleaseeee tm gods!!!!)

complete wild card bets that are either my instincts kicking in or my bias taking over: limmy, adam buxton, paddy mcguinness, diane morgan, daniel sloss, joel dommett, jess hynes, spencer jones??, alasdair beckett-king or josh pugh + if suzy izzard wasn't doing a big nyc show i'd say that's a good guess if only bc you know greg & alex grew up big fans

did i mention too many people?? if i had to put my money behind a single person it would be either ahir shah or sarah keyworth

these are almost all of my fr big heavy hitters when it comes to placing bets! but there are of course so many people i didn't name who i could totally see on either a main series or the ny treat — so many people just make sense and that's the beauty of taskmaster!!

[rtfics]

Seeing BJ2 the 3rd time.

LONG & FILLED WITH SPOILERS

SO much to think about, and my memory is shit.

I rapidly scribbled notes during the film. But when I got home and tried to read them:

So here's an overview. I'll post other details if I ever translate my notes.

First, the casting was perfection. I'd never seen Jenny Ortega, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci before, so for me they were the characters.

It was interesting that the film opens with the Warner Brothers Studio lot in black & white. Why B&W? It sort of sets the tone.

Donna Summer singing lines from "MacArthur's Park" was a foreshadowing. This film was made by a guy who was a teen in the 70s, and it's for others his age (he's only 2 years older than me). BJ2 is packed with 70s nostalgia that only those who were alive then would get.

This sequel was also made for die-hard fans of the original Beetlejuice. Burton took special care to give us the Winter River we love, but updated it to show the story and its characters aren't stuck in the past. The covered bridge is there, the church, cemetery, Miss Shannon's, and fire station are there, and so is the Maitland's building, but it's a coffee shop now.

Seeing Lydia as shell-shocked and pill-popping threw me, but the plot gave it sense (I'll go into detail in a separate post).

Rory, OMFG, I've known Rory. Anyone who's had anything to do with the entertainment/media biz, even peripherally, knows Rory. His "enabler" bullshit was so spot-on; faking that he's going to get Lydia off her dependency on drugs while keeping her hooked by making it seem that he's doing it because she's begging him. Classic user methodology. You just know he's the one who got her on "coping" pills in the first place; all the better to manipulate her. I loathed him immediately.

I adore what they did with Delia. It completely fucking made sense, and followed what's happened in the modern NYC Arts scene. I love how she and Lydia now get along, I mean, shit, Lydia's in her 50s and Delia's in her 70s, they're both middle-aged women, and, bless their hearts, the screenwriters and Burton made them act like grown women.

Astrid seemed older than 16 to me, but hey, I'm not around teenagers these days. I appreciated that she wasn't a brat. Her resentment and having her back up were appropriate for her family situation; a beloved father whose body was never found (I think); a mom always working or promoting because of Rory, doped on pills and famous for being a ghost-seeing nutjob, who can't see Astrid's father. That's a lot to deal with.

The way they handled Charles was perfect, especially his claymation demise. His afterlife body was comically gross, and an ingenious way of including Charles in the film without having to recast another actor, except for his voice. Charles being in the Netherworld provides a great thread to Delia's later death. His headstone being the shape of a shark's fin was a humorously grim touch.

The Sylvia Young Theatre School Choir sang at Charles' funeral, and their voices were beautiful.

Arthur Conti was fantastic as Jeremy (70s teens remember his grandfather, Scottish actor Tom Conti). His American accent was flawless. He was the perfect balance of cute and mature, and his niceness made his being evil all the worse; while Astrid says the incantation you can see him slightly out of focus behind her, smiling in a chilling way. I love that there isn't the slightest hint that he's a multiple murderer, and of his own parents! When he's about to get his passport stamped he shows absolutely no remorse toward Astrid, which makes his damnation all the sweeter.

Beetlejuice . . . . What can I say? Michael Keaton created Beetlejuice as we know him, and he fit right back in character as easily as drawing breath. His body language, his weird way of walking, his expressions, everything is just as you'd expect Beej to be. But then we get to see more! I can't express how happy I was to see Beej's origin story, which turned the throw-away line about having a pretty good time during the Black Death into something more substantial. Seeing Keaton as human Beej was a delight.

An important detail was that, even though Beej says his heart had long since withered, he fell for Delores. He says he was "bewitched." Perhaps not love, but lust certainly. It's quite clear that Delores was much higher in social station than Beetlejuice, so he must have thought he'd won the lottery with her choosing him. My god, his ego had no problem with his drunken ass being hauled to bed by his new wife, and his enthusiasm was huge. I love that they gave him the gut in his human form (Keaton doesn't have one).

Richard was the nice guy I hoped he would be. But it was telling that, when he says goodbye to Lydia at the ladder in the mausoleum, they don't hug. They don't even shake hands. It shows the truth of Lydia's previous statement to Astrid that she and Richard's relationship had ended long before his death.

Wolf is every 70s crime drama/movie distilled. Hammy, over the top, constantly spouting his Catch Phrase.

Why are there so many shrunken head guys? And why did Beej hire people who can't talk to answer his phones? It's loony and fits the Netherworld random logic. They're Beej's Minions.

I've seen a lot of people on tumblr, as well as professional movie critics, say there were "too many villains" and that the plot was "too hard to follow."

For those who agree with this, I recommend you never attempt to read anything by Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe's detective stories, or Agatha Christie. Because your brains would fry.

Look, there are two villains. Just two.

Delores poisoned Beetlejuice, he killed her with an axe in revenge, in the Afterlife she reassembles and hunts him down, killing others in her wake, which sets Wolf Jackson and the Ghoul Squad after her, until she's defeated with a sandworm.

Rory has been manipulating Lydia, keeping her doped, gas-lighting her, until under the Truth Serum injected by Beej he spills the beans and Lydia rejects him, until he's eaten at the same time as Delores by the sandworm.

As for "Delores and Rory weren't given enough story," what more do you want? How Delores joined a soul-sucking cult? How Rory became a user, seeking out vulnerable, grieving women to exploit? We learn as much as we need to. Anything more would have stuffed the film with unnecessary crap.

The only shit I didn't care for was the baby.

The whole Counseling scene was a big gross-out, and I'm sure Tim Burton intended it that way. The original couldn't have been more gross than it was or it would have earned an R Rating, keeping out everyone under the age of 18 (21 in some states; this was the 80s). But now, Burton could be a lot more graphic. I was stunned that he had Lydia go through the "pregnancy," but it obviously didn't hurt her. For me Babyjuice has no point. It doesn't advance the plot, and its reappearance only drives home the weirdness of the ending.

What the ever fuck was the ending??

Especially Astrid giving birth to the Beetlebaby. It would suggest Beetlejuice is its father, which means he and Astrid had sex. Which we can be pretty sure they didn't . . ? In the counseling scene Beej refers to the baby as his "inner child." So its not his literal child? Even so, why would Astrid give birth to it the same way her mother did?

I've read all the theories about the ending, and at this point one's as good as the other. Perhaps that's the point: To keep us all guessing. Because I'm sure, all along, there's been a plan for Beetlejuice 3, IF this movie was a hit. If it wasn't, if it bombed (since 2010 all of Burton's films have bombed), the ending would lead to speculation forever, to people writing fucking dissertations about its symbology and metaphors, etc.

But if it was a hit, which it is, the seeds are there for a third and final film. But so fucking murky no one can guess what it'll be like.

The only part of the ending I liked was Beej shaking awake and saying, as he glances at Lydia, "I just had the weirdest dream." And Lydia looking over. Not terrified. Not screaming or leaping out of bed. Not seeing the indentation in the pillow and yelling in protest. Just staring.

Do I want a third film?

I love Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. I love it more every time I watch it. I accept everything in it as canon, even the baby, resentfully.

But Burton might fuck up the last one. He might do things I never wanted to be canon. When a sequel is made of a hit film, the creators sometimes become self-conscious. BJ2 wasn't, because it'd been 36 years since the original. They had no idea whether this version would fly. Since it has, massively, I'm afraid the screenwriters and Burton may become too aware of the audience and try to cater to it. OR they'll go the opposite direction and try to come up with a plot they think fans would never imagine.

So I'm pretty much stuck in the same place I was before I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Wary, skeptical, and cynical.

[abarbaricyalp]

hey! interrupting with a kiss and sambucky for the intimacy prompts, please and thank you <3

Hi! Thanks for the prompt!

Sam watched Bucky haul Kate Bishop off of the ground with a gladiator hold. He practically lifted her off of her feet in the process, but Sam was pretty certain Bishop welcomed the relief from having to stand.

"Okay, that was a good practice," he said as he stepped back from her and reset his stance. "Now actually try the move."

Bishop blew a loose piece of hair from her face and kept an irritated look on Bucky. "Nobody can move you," she accused.

"Lots of people can move me. Lots of Widows could take me down. You gonna let Belova have bragging rights?"

A walnut hit Bishop in the forehead from somewhere in the rafters. Bishop turned her glare up towards the structure, but not for long because Bucky rushed at her during the moment of distraction.

Bishop was quick on her feet and had a brute force about her. Sam really thought she'd be able to take someone out with a stapler if she needed to. Despite extensive training in various self defenses, though, she had not quite figured out how to hold her own in a fistfight.

She threw herself to the side, forgoing the defense-turned-offense grip that Bucky had been trying to teach her. She went for his leg instead, kicking his knee out, which did send him down. But she forgot she didn't have her bow and, in the split second she spent reaching for her arrows, he'd spun on his knee and tackled her down to the mat again.

"Wrong," he said, not even a little winded.

When they'd decided to reopen the Avengers Campus, Bucky had been adamant he wasn't going to be anyone's teacher. But then he'd seen one of the training sessions Monica helmed when she was free to. And it wasn't even that she'd done anything wrong. She just hadn't done it the way Bucky wanted. And now Bucky was the defense trainer.

"Can Cap even do this?" Bishop asked in a wheeze.

"Of course Sam can do this," Bucky scoffed, like she'd offended him by asking.

"I want to see it."

Sam grinned a little and shoved himself off of the stack of tumble mats he'd been watching from. Bucky called them perches, which Sam objected to vocally but secretly kind of like. He helped Kate to her feet again. By the time she'd retreated to the edge of the mat, Belova had rejoined her on the ground. They watched with glee that they didn't even try to hide.

"You sure you're tried of winning, old man?" Sam asked, bouncing around to Bucky's right side as he shook his arms out.

Bucky grinned at him, svelte and predatory. "I'll let you win in a little while," he promised. "Gonna protect my image first though. Can't give it to you right away."

"Uh-huh," Sam agreed drily. "You said the same thing about your chastity too, but that didn't stand up."

Bucky barked out a laugh. "There was nothing chaste about me by the time you found me."

"Oh, that makes what happened after even more embarrassing. What was it, two minutes after I touched you?"

Bucky laughed sharply again, which was all the warning Sam got before he lunged at Sam and Sam got to deploy the move that Bucky was trying to teach the younger heroes. He deflected Bucky by the shoulder, which was about as hard as Bishop had made it out to be actually, and put his foot in front of Bucky's at the same time he barred his arm across Bucky's throat.

They went down hard. Bucky managed to get Sam's right arm under him, leaning heavily into Sam's ribs and rolling so Sam's hip ground into the mat below them. But Sam had his arm around Bucky's neck, squeezing tight enough to make the vein in his temple come out, which usually only happened when he was losing a videogame.

"So, you're kind of right," Sam called over to Bishop. He was trying to casual and conversational, but Bucky was really digging his elbow back into Sam's ribs. "This move isn't great for someone like Bucky, who doesn't have to breathe as much as the rest of us. But lots of people aren't gonna be able to break this before you can knock them out."

Like he was on a cue, Bucky wrenched Sam's arm off of his neck and tossed Sam across the mat. Sam rolled out of his sprawl and hoped it looked intentional. They paced around each other again. Bucky was still grinning as he adjusted his workout tanktop.

"I can show her what it's really supposed to look like," he threatened. "You ever seen someone get choked out?" he asked Bishop.

"Duh," her and Belova said at the same time.

His eyes only flickered over to them for the barest split-second, but Sam jumped at him right then anyway. He tried to make the offense as straight-on as possible so it wouldn't be so easy for Bucky to get him off course.

Bucky didn't try. He let Sam hit him head on, but didn't give up an inch in recoil. It was like hitting a brick wall. A brick wall with a really good chest.

Sam didn't even get to groan before Bucky had slammed him into the mat, kneeling on one knee as he held Sam down with his metal arm locked into place.

Sam futilely tried to shove at Bucky's wrist, even though he knew it was useless.

"If you're fighting someone your size, this isn't so bad, especially if you have backup or a weapon to grab," Bucky told the young women over his shoulder. His voice sounded conversational, the asshole. "But I wouldn't really suggest it for someone bigger--"

Sam reached up for the back of Bucky's head and yanked him down. Bucky's body seemed to course correct all on its own, without his input. One minute he was holding Sam down like a dummy doll. The next, he was loose and open, kissing Sam like they were at home.

As soon as his arm unlocked, Sam had them flipped over and sat astride Bucky's hips, holding his wrists tightly between both of his hands. Bucky's scowl melted away into a proud glee instead.

"Now, that's cheating, sweetheart."

"Cheating is always a fine way to win a fight," Sam told the other heroes without looking away from Bucky.

"So, is the kissing imperative in this maneuver?" Antonia Dreykov asked boredly from somewhere where no one could see her but she undoubtedly could see all of them. "Or is that part just wasting our time?"

"Well, if you're ever in a fight with your brainwashed best friend, it could work," Bishop offered.

"Happens more often than you'd think," Belova agreed.

"Tell me about it," Sam added.

"You're all annoying," Dreykov sighed. "I want to try. But do not kiss me," she said as she appeared from a shadow in the middle of the room. Okay, not really, but it seemed like it. She was always just appearing.

"One more for the road?" Bucky suggested, tugging his wrists down to get Sam's attention.

Sam obliged, leaning down to kiss Bucky quickly.

But not quick enough to keep Bucky from flipping them again and pinning Sam's hands down. "It works both ways," he crowed, like he'd won something.

"Annoying!" Dreykov repeated. "Wasting my time."

"Yeah, yeah," Sam grunted, shoving Bucky off of him so they could stand. "Go get your ass kicked."

Still, when their eyes met as they reset around the room, they both couldn't help but grin and look away again.

Antonia did kick Bucky's ass without any cheating. But it was alright 'cause Sam was there to kiss his ego better afterwards.

[the-ace-with-spades]

For the celebrity chef Bradley AU, featuring kinda jealous Jake...

(I'm not writing it, just to be clear, but different scenarios keep popping up in my mind and I need them OUT)

So, to recap from my prev post about this AU, Bradley became a celebrity chef by taking part in Hell's Kitchen-like reality TV show and impressing the show lead chef, first working as his sous chef after the show and then opening his own Michelin-starred restaurant.

He and Jake met and Jake didn't know he was a celebrity chef because he doesn't watch TV, doesn't know shit about the cooking world and Bradley doesn't look like the type at all.

They've been together for some time at this point, Jake is still a bit of a shithead about Bradley's cooking (a tough critic, he likes to call himself) and Bradley gets an offer to come in for a new HK-like show season as a sous chef or supporting lead chefs for one of the teams and offers Jake to come with him to Los Angeles for the ten weeks he's going to be filming since Jake is on leave. He's going to be returning with another contestant from his season, Monica, and will run cooking workshops for the contestants behind the scenes.

Jake isn't a fan of reality shows — he hasn't even watched the HK season where Bradley was the contestant — and not a fan of Los Angeles so he's like No, thank you and Bradley goes alone.

Jake tells Javy about this when Bradley is gone for like two weeks already and Javy, who is a bit too emotionally involved into cooking shows, gets all cagey until Jake prods him and Javy is all like, "So, were the rumors true? About Bradley and Monica, I mean. Did they really...?"

"Did they really what?"

And Javy, the HK fan number one, gets Jake a brief overview of the lore. The lore being that Bradley and Monica were the finalists of their HK edition and Bradley, who had been named an individualist focused on winning from the beginning (and disliked by anyone who wasn't paired with him for both being skilled and brutally honest) had a soft spot for her. Any time they could choose a pair for a challenge, they'd choose each other, they had a wicked banter going on, and at some point at the end of the show, they were filmed sleeping in the same bed (or bedroom? It wasn't clear). The night before the finale they fell asleep cuddling on the couch together.

Obviously, viewers went shipper crazy and the rumors about Bradley and Monica were mad and never really died down (they've been seen together a few times after filming).

Bradley's never talked to Jake about Monica. In fact, he didn't even mention she was the one he lost to when he was telling Jake about the return to the show.

So, maybe Jake spirals a little and maybe some of his insecurities show up — he is aware in the eyes of the general public, there is a big disproportion of success between him, a naval officer, and Bradley, the world-renewed celebrity chef. Bradley earns a shit ton of money and is well-known and one of the best in his industry, Jake is just, well, a good naval aviator. He's also, despite being such a hard critic towards Bradley's skills, not much of a cook — there's a lot he doesn't understand about Bradley's job and he's not sure he could actually ever be as good as he is, not to mention so knowledgeable, sometimes he doesn't understand what Bradley is ranting to him about or what he's making, etc. Someone who works in the food industry would have much more common than he and Bradley have, and probably would be able to understand him more.

Their relationship isn't public, mostly because Jake has no desire to be a celebrity spouse, but also because he's aware Bradley dating a guy would bring a lot of uproar still.

He binge-watches the HK edition Bradley took part in and suddenly regrets not being more public about their relationship, not being Bradley's plus one to the big events or not letting Bradley talk about him in interviews.

He understands why there were rumors — Bradley and Monica had chemistry. They looked cute together, they obviously had a lot of respect for each other, and they almost seemed to be a level above all the other contestants. He knows some of the show is staged, but Bradley seemed so critical of everyone but Monica, only ever working seamlessly if he was a leader in the groups (during service or challenges) or if he was paired up with Monica.

Jake doesn't really use much social media but he googles and then stalks her a bit — sees the promotional material with Bradley and her on insta, for both the current and past show seasons, sees how they look at each other during interviews, all warm and soft and playful, and sees that people still ask about their relationship. And something just sets him off.

Bradley's never talked about Monica to him.

So maybe he's being impulsive but he drives to Los Angeles and goes straight to Bradley's hotel room to talk. He doesn't say anything because when he arrives, he finds out Bradley and Monica have rooms next to each other and they're literally talking to each other in the corridor, all nice and cozy with Bradley hovering over her, when Jake shows up.

He stays and follows Bradley around on the show's filming site. Maybe he is a bit of an ass to Monica, and more of an ass than usually to Bradley.

Maybe Bradley gets mad at him for behaving the way he does. Maybe they fight. Maybe Bradley even tells him to go home and let him work if he's going to be like that to his coworkers and the people on set.

Maybe Jake explodes in his face.

[absoluteabsolem]

okay guys i'm having a brainrot on my way to work about goncharov bc of all your sexy meta posts but i haven't seen a single one talking about the flowers in this film so indulge me

so i'm a florist right ? my n°1 passion when i watch a movie or a show is to trashtalk the flowers bc 99,9% of the time they look like shit. like. i made better arrangements during my first year of training. it makes me sad. yes goncharov is a brilliant film in itself but it gets a whole star just for the fucking flowers (i can't find the florist in the end credits if anyone knows pls tell me ??)

like we're talking thierry boutemy in marie-antoinette (2006) levels of artistry. all the arrangements are so BEAUTIFUL and i'm gonna talk about them. it will ofc mostly be about katya lmao bc men yet have to express themselves through delicate floral jewellery (i wish they did though. i am waiting). katya doesn't have that many lines for a main character but her presence and the colours speak for themselves. sorry i'm on mobile i don't have any pictures

alright so of course you have the wedding. everything is so fucking opulent it's a cascade of wealth you have almost no foliage at all except eucalyptus and that shit is expensive. there are more peonies than you could ever count and the roses are soooo beautiful (i think most of them are juliet peach roses but i can't be 100% sure) like. i could smell it from my couch it was as if i was there aaaa the fucking wax flowers and scabiosas i love scabiosas so much !! and the perfect balance between flowers of different sizes !!! it was wonderful i mean you've seen them

but what i love about these arrangements is that they're all in white and yellow. it's an unusual combo for a wedding even if white is a classic wedding colour in western cultures and yellow isn't so weird at the heart of summer. yellow is however also the colour of jealousy and betrayal and idk if you ever noticed but andrey's boutonniere is the ONLY ONE that is just yellow. you don't have the white carnation (associated with love. screaming) on it like everybody else. also note that katya's bouquet is only white which is all about purity elegance etc. i do think however that the colours of andrey and katya's flowers on that day are more about the way goncharov feels about them at that point in the story, rather than their own feelings.

we also see katya wear several decorated combs in her hair throughout the film (idk enough about hair stylism to comment of the haircuts themselves so i'll stick to the flowers). the first we see are pretty simple and not rly noticeable, white and pastel pink, typical discreet but feminine stuff. p much like the rest of her wardrobe up until the boat scene where things get interesting.

this is where katya meets sofia who is wearing that rly fucking gorgeous burgundy (ambition, power and wealth) dress and look i know monica bellucci can wear anything and be beautiful but fucking hell. i mean i'm gay but i briefly questioned myself for a second there. anyway. the boat shenanigans happen and once katya goes back home and pretends she didn't almost get fucking killed, the flowers in her hair are burgundy. i mean i know we have the fruit market a bit later but the comb is what sold me on that ship. i see you katya

when she almost shoots goncharov (if we were rly in love you wouldn't have missed AAAAAAA i'm normal) she has a super pretty mix of blue hydrangea/eucalyptus in her hair. blue is the colour of control and tranquility and i thought it was very sexy of her. she still has them when sofia leaves her and i love how you can see the tears about to fall down her cheeks but she doesn't allow it. things got out of hand but she's not willing to lose control of herself in front of sofia and i think ultimately it's what fucked things up between them but i try not to think about it too hard

what DOES however keep me awake at night is that martin scorsese rly thought it was okay to have red bouquets everywhere made in the exact style of goncharov and katya's wedding in goncharov's home when andrey shows up to kill him. i mean the subtext isn't even subtext at this point it's like saying point break isn't gay but the flowers are the fucking cherry on top. andrey shoots him and he doesn't miss because he loves him and in case you're too dense to understand that here is a decadent display of red and burgundy. it is the colour of love it is the colour of violence and in their case one simply does not go without the other and i am so fucking normal about this

[kandyzee]

What do you think fionas childhood was like 💓

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY thanks for asking :pp.

I used to be a reallly big fiona fan, so I've thought about this a lot.

I imagine fionas upbringing was similar to Debbie's in alot of ways. They both find themselves in problematic relationships, forced to look after their siblings.

Fiona is mentioned to have a LONG sexual history as early as s1, where she's only 21. Given the lack of attention and validation she was getting, I think fiona has been having sex since she was a child. She probably fell into the "mature for her age" group. Her parents were neglecting her, possibly physically abusing her (we've seen Frank hit his kids in the show), and she wasn't able to get academic validation because she had to drop out. It wouldn't surprise me that this led her into having older bfs and stuff like that.

This makes even more sense to me given how she reacts to her siblins minor /adult relationships. Fiona didn't have anyone to tell her that her relationships were wrong, so when she saw her siblings going through the same thing, she saw nothing wrong with it. Like when she says that ned and Ian is "just sex"

We also see that she , like Debbie and a lot of the other female characters, is scared of abandonment. She tells Jimmy Steve that everybody leaves and keeps going back to Jimmy even though she knows he's bad for her because she's desperate for someone to stay. She rushes into relationships, remember when she married someone after like a week of daiting ?? Fiona has a hard time accepting love even though she craves it. She cheats and ruins one of her most stable relationships. I think that all comes from the way she was treated in her romantic relationships as a child. Of course, a lot of her abandonment fear comes from Monica, too.

Okay moving away from guys.

We know fiona ran track in school and that she was really fucking good at it. This was probably one of the most stable things in her life, an activity away from her siblings and the stress of home. Running is a good way to feel in control. I think fiona developed problems around running ? I'm not sure what exactly you would call it. Fiona would push herself too hard on the track so that she was responsible for the aches she felt instead of them being stressed. I can also imagine having an ED around this time. Her siblings are young, so they're struggling even more with money than normal. She starts to skip meals, and eventually, she finds control in what she eats when she's forced away from track.

I imagine fiona to be relatively popular in school, mainly with guys, but she struggles to keep real outside of school friendships. This changes when she meets Kev and V. I think they probably met after she dropped out of school. V is like 23, I think, in the first season and Kevin 25 ish ? I'm not really that sure, but we know fiona didn't go to school with them. Kevin and V helped fiona a lot, and she definitely needed them. They started to help her with the kids, and for once, she had people on her side. Things get better for her when she meets them.

Baby fiona (5-12) was definitely the in ur face demanding respect, kinda kid. She was sassy and always trying to seem as strong as possible. She will haggle prices for anything and isn't afraid to scam and cheat to get what she needs for her family. But I also imagine her being good at acting sweet. She's a great sweet talker. This is a prominent trait Ian has, and I think he got it from his big sister.

Teens, she's all about drama. Boy drama petty teen girl drama, watching reality TV when she can and stealing gossip magazines. I think she latches onto the typical teen girl image hard. She definitely has a short phase of always getting dress coded. I don't think this lasts that look tho.

Same as in the show, she's always got a new job, sometimes working 2 or 3. She's stressed ofc but learns a lot. She has little hacks and tricks for almost any job. She's resistant in the way she will do anything. Nothing is too dirty or hard for her.

Her relationship with Frank is complex. Fionas Frank's favourite, but she's also the oldest and likely the one he takes his anger out on most. When ur someone's favourite, it hurts them even more when they feel you messed up. I don't think Frank was consistent with his abuse, but it was definitely there. Frank was a 'good' dad sometimes. Fiona gets to know Frank when his alcoholism and drug use wasn't at its peak (He gradually gets worse with age) So fiona got more good dad moments but also felt the disappointment harder as she watched him get worse.

Fiona tells lip (pretty sure it's him) that he's always been Monica's favourite in s1, and I think she has always thought that. Later on in the show, u obviously see Ian and debbie are monicas favourites, tho. I don't see Monica and fiona ever being particularly close. Fiona was hit hard when Monica leaves for the first time, Frank's a mess, and now she has the unfortunate job of explaining that she's gone to her siblings. Unlike her younger siblings, who are probably too young to fully understand what's going on, fiona feels the abandonment full force.

Fiona is 4 / 5 yrs older than lip, right? (Their ages confuse me so bad) so she I'm guessing she was always in a different school than him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if he's in elementary school, she's in high school. Fiona has to miss school to run all over the place and collect her siblings from different places. She might have to be the one to unroll her siblings in school, too, a couple times.

Finally just some random things

She has a purple flip phone at one point that she's super protective of

She loves family movie nights and would try to do as many as possible.

She cried when Debbie was born cause she was so excited to have a sister.

Similarly she cried when Ian was born cause he was a boy and she wanted a sister.

She really wanted a pet when she was young

She has 100s of diary's from yrs and yrs of writing in them (we see Carl read one)

Would always struggle with her hair cause it's curly and v helps her learn how to style it even tho she hardly does

She's the kind of person who finds comfort in sitting on the floor, in the bathroom, bath tub

Had a pink hating phase

Had a collection of different fake IDs by the time she was 16

Definitely got in at least 1 fight in school cause of boy drama

Hated cooking

ANYWAY I love fiona

[morsesnotes]

I'm kind of amused by Shaun Evans going from befuddled about the Morse/Joan storyline to outright annoyed over the years.

-----

Jace Lacob: You mentioned your love for the fourth episode this season, “Coda.” I’m wondering if there’s a favorite scene that stands out to you from this third season?

Shaun Evans: Yes, and it’s the last scene where Joan leaves.

Shaun: Throughout, we’ve always had little glimpses of them catching each other’s eyes in the mirror, in walking her home, seeing what’s going on, and I’ve always been curious. And each time we have an interaction I always say, “Where are we going with this? Where are we … What are we doing here? Should we be playing that there’s a bit of an attraction here, or should we be … should she just be my boss’s daughter?”

Shaun: I think for something to be engaging, the audience have to root for what the hero wants. Now, if the hero doesn’t know what he wants, it’s difficult for them to root for him, then it just becomes procedural, every week he solves a case. Whereas, if you think of the great sort of stories of like Friends, or like Sex and the City, or any of those stories, you can think, “Will they get together? Won’t they get together?” And it’s that which is engaging.

God I’m going on now aren’t I?

But in conclusion I was pleased because I really felt strongly that there should be some interaction between those guys that we’re really driving towards. But I feel like it really came, the heart of the story, came to fruition in the final scene.

PBS Masterpiece (2016)

-----

Jace: Why doesn’t Endeavour tell Joan that he loves her when he does have the opportunity?

Shaun: Oh, $64,000 question.

Shaun: There were so many back and forths about this, I’ve gotta tell you. And for me, I really … not agonized, but I thought, “Well, why go to all that trouble and not say anything? Why not? Why not just say something?” And we spoke about it constantly with the writer and it was his instinct that he doesn’t say anything, and I thought, “Why? But what’s the- why not just say one thing, not just say … Even call her by her first name?” You know? Why not say something, you know?” So you go with the majority sometimes, in cases like that. But I think it plays … I think it plays beautifully, you know?

Jace: I mean, so much of the show is in the unstated, rather than the stated.

Shaun: Mm-hmm.

PBS Masterpiece (2016)

-----

Q: Morse is pretty useless with women -- does he have more luck this time?

Shaun: Yeah, he ballsed it right up with Nurse Monica, but she was just too nice. He needs someone who's a bit more [thinks] "Grrr". But Monica comes back, so we get to end that in a better way. And things with Joan take a twist, which is quite satisfying. It can be frustrating for me, too. I'm like, "Why isn't Morse saying something? Why isn't he speaking up?" But the writer says, "Please, just trust me on this." And he gets it right.

Heat magazine (2017)

-----

Jace: The dynamic between Morse and Joan Thursday has provided a romantic spine to the series thus far. In the first episode of season six we get a bit of a flashback to the end of “Icarus,” with Morse asking if Joan’s offer of a coffee still stands. What happened between these two after Fancy’s death?

Shaun: This is one thing that we disagree about. I personally think that it would be interesting to have these two people begin a relationship and to have a night of passion and then the next day or a couple of weeks later, they’re like, ‘Oh this isn’t what I thought it would be. This isn’t the answer to all of my prayers at all.’ In a way for me, I think that’s way more heartbreaking, that you can’t be happy with anyone, rather than this, will they won’t they, which I personally think has a shelf life. So we have a disagreement about that, but that’s cool. So nothing happens between them. She’s busy, her life moved on. She hasn’t got time for him any more.

Jace: I do think it would be gutting for him to achieve this sort of idealized romance only to for only to find out that it is not working.

Shaun: Right?

Jace: And that there’s something broken within him.

Shaun: Because that speaks about you. Yeah exactly so, that’s my point exactly, right. That’s my point exactly. I think there’s not a fear, and I hesitate to say fear, but I think that for whatever reason, our writer, who I love and is one of my best mates, likes the idea of this will they won’t they. But I think that it speaks more to a real inability to form a lasting romantic relationship if you do that. So I’m very depressed about that. Someone you’ve lusted after for five years and then she’s like, ‘You know it’s…’

Jace:  ‘Thanks but no thanks.’

Shaun: Yeah, totally, or even if it’s him it’s like, ‘What’s this here?’

PBS Masterpiece (2019)

[enchantra35]

Please allow me to scribble down some of my thoughts regarding the latest episode of Agatha All Along and particularly people's reactions...

I find most of the reactions towards Teen somewhat... childish? The hatred towards him feels that of a child who's annoyed that the antagonist got in the way of their hero.

I've spent 4 years studying literature to learn one over basic thing; Context always matters.

It doesn't take a genius to understand what happened at the end of the episode. Teen/Billy/Wiccan is, for one, well... a teen. Secondly, we need to take account his own pov. In his eyes, he saw Agatha murder Alice and steal her powers. It is what he saw with his very own eyes. It isn't easy to disprove what he saw and Agatha realistically cannot prove that she didn't mean to harm Alice. There's also the emotional bond that Teen has already developed until that point and especially at the beginning of episode 5 where they exchanged brooms. To top it all of, Agatha taunts him in a really nasty manner. So, by all means, his grief and anger is justified.

What is not justified and I agree with most people on that, is his unsolicited attack on Jen and Lilia. We can argue that Jen didn't seem to care too much about Alice's death, but that doesn't justify her being thrown out of the Road in a murder attempt. It's something that doesn't really make sense and it's a bit out of character for Teen.

However, what is important here is that we basically know next to nothing about Teen/Wiccan. Sure, most of us suspected that he's Wiccan from the start, but aside from that, we don't know much else. We don't know what led him to Agatha's doorstep. We don't know who put the Sigil on him for sure. And we certainly don't know why he embarked on this journey to cross the Witches' Road. We aren't aware of any of his motivations so far (I guess we'll find out soon enough). This is why I'm a bit "annoyed" about this preemptive negative reaction towards him.

Another point that was raised is people's fear that the show will suddenly become about him. My own view that this is very unlikely. Yes, Teen/Wiccan is arguably one of the most important characters after Agatha herself (who's undoubtedly the protagonist) but he won't steal her light. He's a core character, like Monica Rambeau in Wandavision, but like hers, his role is is more of that of a deuteragonist/antagonist at this point of the show.

To clarify, I don't mean to chastise anyone. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. This is just mine in regards to the vitriol Teen suddenly received after episode 5. To conclude, it's only to be seen whether Teen is the real "villain" of the show or the antagonist or anything else.

[fireemblems24]

Scarlet Blaze Ch 12

Spoilers below for all Hopes routes up to Ch 12.

MAIN STORY

More backtracking.

I had Shez say we shouldn't return because I'm sick of backtracking. Hubert got mad at me. Ugh.

I also don't get why TWSITD wouldn't want Edelgard do take over. Isn't that like their plan? She does all the hard work then they kill her? Isn't Rhea's death #1 on TWSITD's Christmas list??

SIDE MAPS/CAMP

Ashe is still miserable, but no special words for Annette. I hope Mercedes does.

Marianne is actually motivated to fight this time. She actively dislikes fighting the Kingdom though. (Dimimari still alive)

Lamo, Linhardt doesn't give two shits about Edelgard's war, he just wants to go back to Enbarr and take a nap.

Petra also seems relieved she's fighting rioters and not Kingdom soldiers.

Everyone else - there riots, hung. This one random dude - so there's this dance competition

Mercedes wants to be left alone and pray for Annette. She should've known though that the Empire's actions are sentencing a sizable portion of Faerghus to death, right? I have less sympathy for her than Ashe, who was just following Dimitri's direct orders.

Hubert looks like such a try-hard with this new design. Sometimes I forget.

Hubert doesn't trust Shez. This is such a stark contract to AG, because Hubert thinks Shez will lose control and kill Edelgard and is threatening to kill Shez.

So there's another cut scene where they say TWSITD doesn't want Fodlan unified, but don't they in 3 Houses? Isn't the whole point of the experiments on Edelgard so she's strong enough to kill Rhea and take over Fodlan? Like, I get why they'd be mad that Edelgard kicked them out, but if they were smart they'd let her do all the dirty work and then just take her out and then profit without losing anyone. This whole, "TWSITD doesn't want us to unify!" really smells like bullshit bc of the backlash Edelgard got for siding with them in Houses. Now they're retconning it into "oh, no no, they don't want her to succeed!" Uh, yes, they do, that's what they spent years planning on. Makes no sense.

SHEZ & CASPAR B SUPPORT

They talk about training and how Caspar wants to surpass Shez in fighting ability.

Really the only thing of note is Caspar's persistence.

SHEZ & LINHARDT B SUPPORT

Linhardt is still investigating Shez's power, who has mixed feelings about it.

The problem is the power woke up when Shez was facing death, making it hard to recreate. So Linhardt just commits to studying Shez on the battlefield.

Linhardt is stone cold. After realizing he may not be able to study Shez's power he says he'll need to revaluate the value of their relationship.

SHEZ & BERNADETTA A SUPPORT

Their plans to help Bernadetta is not going well. Everything ends in chaos.

There's moments Bernie's anxiety is treated seriously in this support at the very least.

It ends with Bernie realizing Shez doesn't scare her anymore and that the way not to be nervous around people is spending time with them.

SHEZ & PETRA A SUPPORT

Petra tells Shez he can come to Brigid once it's over.

She hopes to increase trade once the war is over and thinks having Shez around will help.

It's pretty fucked up that Petra thinks the best way for Brigid to stand out is to comply with their oppressors until they "earn" their power or whatever. Recruited Petra is always better.

Shez tells Petra she's "every bit the leader the Fodlan ones are" like fuck off, we know that. Petra just owns it though. She's like, "no, I'm Brigid's queen." We love that for her.

I'm having Shez be as much of a dick as I can though right now (fuck this route for making me kill Annette, Gustave, Rodrigue, and Ingrid - the Black Eagles deserve worse), and this was the first time I felt bad.

HUBERT & MONICA A SUPPORT

The battle of the simps.

I really wonder what the writers were thinking. Oh, I know what the Black Eagles needs, another mage and another character who wants to suck Edelgard's toes! We don't have enough of either yet.

Monica insulted Edelgard's painting without knowing it was Edelgard's. This is probably the hardest trial she's ever faced (yes, it's probably worse than kidnapping and imprisonment for her)

Edelgard got offended. That girl can't take any criticism.

Monica aspires to be Edelgard's servant and is happy that the war she's causing may make that possible. Question is, does Edelgard want to put up with a stalker?

FERDINAND & DOROTHEA A SUPPORT

Dorothea has realized that she owes Ferdinand an apology. Finally.

Ferdinand really rides that line between cringe and endearing and right now I don't know what side of the fence he's on right now. He's shouting at Dorothea so he can keep a distance and giving her the chance to laugh at him if she wants.

Dorothea's embarrassed because everyone is overhearing this lamo. And people are assuming they're dating.

Poor Ferdinand is like Dorothea's still annoyed with me. Then Dorothea tells him he doesn't need to apologize, which makes him think she'll never forgive him, but it's actually because she has too.

They both get embarrassed when she tells him what's going on.

Honestly this is a WAY cuter version of the same story and a lesson in how much execution matters. I was all team Petra/Dorothea (and Ferdinand I didn't really ship with anyone), but now I like Ferdie/Doro too.

While I'm kind of bummed we basically got the same conversation, a rewrite really helped in this case so I get why they went that route.

MONICA & DOROTHEA C SUPPORT

Why did they have to do my girl Dorothea like this? Wasting one of her supports on Monica.

Monica is upset she didn't realize Dorothea was the songstress sooner.

So, Monica is a fan of Dorothea too.

Also Dorothea finds Monica unsettling. Same.

But hey at least Monica got through a conversation without saying Edelgard.

LINHARDT & CONSTANCE C

So is this about Constance being mad that Linhardt doesn't care about his noble status or about him investigating her condition?

Linhardt calls her for siding with the church over the Empire for a bit, but it was only for survival.

Man, Constance just makes no sense fighting for Edelgard. She wants to glory of nobility so awkward.

These two aren't having the same conversation. Linhardt is curious about her crest situation and Constance is going off about wanting to revive her house.

He just walks off after getting annoyed by her lol.

JERITZA & EDELGARD A SUPPORT

Jetiza likes the war because without it he'd be killing someone "less deserving" because Fuck You random Faerghus citizen. I guess they "deserve it"

Also, holy shit, dude acts like it's just inevitable that he murders

At least he wants to get arrested. Edelgard doesn't want him to get arrested.

My question is, did Jeritza go around killing willy nilly or just House Bartels? Because he makes it sound like he can't resist killing and just went and ganked whoever was unlucky.

Or was it that Edelgard recruited him right away and made him her personal guard dog?

MAIN BATTLE

Hanneman and Leonie, not who I expected.

I love how we only see mothers crying over their dead kids when it's TWSITD's attack that does it and not Edelgard's.

Edelgard says no more innocent lives lost today, which may actually be true since we're attacking TWSITD and not commoners from Faerghus.

Is there anything you can do about Leonie? She died of poison, but since it's related to Jeralt stuff, I'm guessing it's because I didn't recruit him? If I did, would she have gotten recruited?

Solon retreated. Annoying.

Hubert, who was a dark knight the whole battle, claims he doesn't know the magic TWSITD uses.

I forget how anime magic girl Edelgard's design is in this game. It's kind of weird.

I keep earning reknown, but I don't know what it does.

Duke Aegir and co seized a fortress. Time for Ferdinand to do something cool?

Caspar's brother is a prisoner.

Does this mean I get to put off fighting innocent citizens of Faerghus for another level? Because I prefer SB bored out of my mind than upset that I had to kill Ingrid, Rodrigue, Gustave, and Annette.

Leonie's dead too now. Geeze, SB is a bloodbath.

xxx

[theflyindutchwoman]

Maybe with North Hollywood being mentioned so much last episode, Lucy is going UC there with the transfer that Grey mentioned would be Tims, to find out if anyone is corrupt there. And that's what she's telling Tim with the elevator hug, kind of a goodbye/comfort hug.

Oh that's a good theory! Although with Mid-Wilshire facing a huge leak at the moment, that would be somewhat ironic to send one of their own there to investigate a potential corruption/mole. On the other hand, what's happening with Blair and Mad Dog could exactly be what pushes the Chief to make sure that this isn't happening in other stations. That said, wouldn't Tim be the best candidate for that? The man was just recently under IA investigation, removed from Metro and is currently under (another) investigation regarding Mad Dog's death… That's the type of profile that would fit perfectly for this kind of work (at least, it was in the other cop shows I've watched haha). But I guess that could make him too obvious. Or make the Chief more reluctant to trust him. Besides, one of the main theme with Lucy is that she is all too often underestimated so that would work too. And being entrusted with this kind of op would definitely boost her confidence.

But to be honest, it looks like the writers have been using North Hollywood as their go-to station lately, so I don't know if we're reading too much into it. I guess we'll find out soon enough ;) My fear right now is that Lucy will face some kind of blowback for ordering Officer Diamond to protect the drug dealer instead of the man who broke into Monica's house… With the way things have been going this season for her, I'm a bit nervous that another shoe is going to drop… So your theory is much much better! And that would definitely be a plot twist to that elevator scene and make it extra angsty.

[sugarywishes]

Remember Monica? The oc sister of Gregory? I have a few ideas for her, Also, how would she interact with Cassie?

Outdated Lore Post

Yes I do! She is very much still an active part of my AU, she's just getting redesigned at the moment lol

(Sorry for changing her looks, her original design was too 'edgy' and 'cool' considering her backstory and personality lmao, had to give her a more loser vibe) if anyone wishes to help pick a design then reblog with your answers!!

As for the Cassie section, there are two ways it goes

So, considering that in my AU, Gregory presumably met Cassie while he was still a runaway orphan (IN UTAH NONETHELESS) Monica would've never met Cassie (if Cassie stayed in Utah anyway, which she didn't...later on lmao) and once they do meet, Monica was initially confused as to where this little girl came from and why she's talking about her brother (again, Monica thought he died, and once he did come back she just thought he stayed hidden for years)

I think it would be super funny if they did end up befriending each other eventually, think of it as a 'substitute' (bootleg) Roxy and Cassie, I guess (or maybe just, Cadence and Twilight from MLP kind of friendship 😭)

As for version 2 (for another...potentially work in progress AU with the Casas family, I know I said PBTA was the only universe they existed in but I wanna branch out...maybe) (Basically in this AU, no one died, but that doesn't mean everything turnt out good...especially for one, aged Evan Afton 👀)

Monica would've likely become the Roderick to Gregory's...Greg and Cassie's Rowley, annoying and messing with her brother (and his only friend at the time) all the way

(worth mentioning that in the 2nd doodle they're meant to be 6 years younger, 6 y/o Cassie and Greg and 10 y/o Monica)

I must clarify that she isn't a straight up bully/abuser like younger Michael was, she has limits she wouldn't cross no matter how much her friends would egg her on, she and Cassie do get along to an extent! Monica also kinda counts as the Buford (from Phineas and Ferb) since she's the 'mean character' who sometimes tags along on the adventures, so she probably got invited to a few play dates with Cassie and her brother sometimes (tea parties, video games, etc)

But regardless, I'll keep my ideas to myself for the meanwhile, this is still a work in progress AU, and I've got lots more coming ! (Hopefully maybe sorta I dunno :( )

[shouts-into-the-void]

One of my most hated fanfic trends is where that pre-Despair treatment by his classmates is depicted as totally okay and not them being unreasonable. It's especially noticeable in RP blogs or Hinanami fics. They'll often depict his behavior in the second half of Chapter 4 as his default characterization, and have him spend every waking second going after the Reserve Course students and doing nothing else.

Which not only ignores the context of him having been mindwiped, having his first impression of the Reserve Course being the discovery that they apparently destroyed Hope's Peak, and the real source of his anger and depression being the discovery that the class are all terrorists (while being left in the dark about the brainwashing). But it kind of misses the entire point of the whole "talented vs non-talented" theme to have the locally mentally ill kid be the sole cause of the conflict.

Like I'm not against the idea of going against canon, and depicting the rest of the class trying to give him a fair shake. I think there's plenty of friendship interaction potential between him and a number of the class (e.g. Sonia, Imposter, Mahiru, etc.). But to retroactively pretend like they were being completely fair to him and he just brought the ostracism on himself is bullshit.

I think a lot of people also miss the fact that the reason Nagito is so outright antagonistic to Hajime about being a Reserve Course Student is because he feels betrayed. He feels a kinship with Hajime due to their mutual love of Hopes Peak, the two were the closest before everyone turned on him, and he's canonically in love with him. So to find out that Hajime is actually not only talentless, but responsible for destroying the academy they both love and plunging the world into despair?

That's not to say all the rudeness is only because of anger, Nagito's actual personality is actually kind of just like that because he has a God Complex and is more intelligent than all of his peers. Any time he breaks character or looks down on someone, he is kind of a bitch, but more in a "I'm smarter than you, please stop arguing with me when you have no idea what you're talking about" way.

I really do wish people would lean into the potential relationships he has with the rest of the cast more. I don't think there's any way Chisa would have let them keep mistreating him, and I was annoyed that her attempt to explain his actions to the class (which actually did get through to them!) got glossed over in favor of the "Everybody hates Nagito" gag.

Some thoughts on potential relationships:

I personally hc him as besties with Sonia post-canon. Not only because she's the most forgiving, because I feel like the fandom makes her do a lot of emotional labor, but I think they would have similar tastes in novels and I think Sonia's own eccentricities would mean that she isn't as off-put by his weird behavior.

I don't think he would be close with Mahiru, because as much as she's caring and doesn't want him hurt, she's also just very judgemental and I think her tendency to verbally attack people would negatively impact his recovery. I think they would get along, but until she learns how to get past her trauma with her dad and stop letting her friends commit crimes, I think it's at a respectful distance.

While Mikan and Nagito are MLM/WLW Hostility™ I do also think they're friends. They like to bitch at each other, but if anyone dares insult the other they Will Destroy Them. I have always thought of them as working quite closely together during the tragedy for whatever reason, it just seems right in my brain?

I also feel like people miss the wild potential of Nagito just adopting Monica. Like, he raises her from like 10 years old until she's a teenager (I'm assuming she's like 14-15 in the anime?), Monica finally gets someone to actually take care of her instead of abusing and abandoning her, and I'm supposed to believe that they just never speak again? Also Nagito saving and caring for this child after spending his childhood an orphan who was put into dangerous situations a lot is a really great parallel.

I like to think he and Akane do a lot of their recovery at the same time because they're both pretty wasted away by the time they wake up, and they bond little by little. They celebrate when one of them moves up a weight class, but Akane recovers faster so by the end Nagito has to remind her not to break his ribs when she hugs him in joy.

Nekomaru is very helpful in coaching him through his physical recovery due to understanding the limitations of a severe health condition and his experience as a team manager. There's definitely a lot of encouragement on Nekomaru's end because a lot of physical therapy can be embarrassing when things that theoretically should be easy aren't. Basically: Akane, Nekomaru, and Nagito all end up as unlikely gym buddies?

Those are just some of my thoughts and headcanons, absolutely take or leave any of that.

[icalledhimpietro]

PIETRO COULD HAVE JUST CHOSEN TO STAY IN SOKOVIA AND HELP THEM REBUILD

HE DIDN'T NEED TO DIE IN ORDER TO BE ABSENT FROM MCU MOVIES

HE COULD HAVE JUST CHOSEN TO NOT BE AN AVENGER AND THEN HE COULD HAVE SAVED CLINT WITHOUT GETTING SHOT WHICH WOULD MAKE SENSE SINCE HE'S A SPEEDSTER!

Also we could have gotten a scene where Clint thanked him for saving him and asks how he can repay him, Pietro is about to leave for Sokovia and looks back at Wanda after they've said their goodbyes and just tells Clint "Protect her." And then in Infinity War Vision and Wanda could mention visiting family while they were in hiding.

THEN when the snap happens, Pietro immediately goes looking for Wanda and finds out shes gone. He'd then go searching for Clint and would find him in his home before he becomes Ronin and because Pietro is a bit of a hothead, he loses it when he finds out Clint wasn't there to protect Wanda which would send Clint even more over the edge. (This would all have to be explained in the Hawkeye series because Disney would have had to take over 20th Century Fox first)

After everyone comes back, Wanda looks for Vision's body and Tyler Hayward mentions looking for Wanda's next of kin (as a desperate act to reanimate Vision) and not being able to find anyone. So Wanda assumes Pietro is dead which leads to her believing that she has no one now.

Then, the moment we find out that Fietro is really just Ralph Bohner, Monica hears a chuckle from the doorway and in a familar accent someone says "You didn't see that coming?" And then hard cut to the next scene. Then have a scene toward the end after Wanda leaves where Pietro sees her leaving and starts to follow her.

Now you have the anticipation of long separated siblings reuniting after both believing the other to be dead. Pietro has purpose that makes sense for his character and isn't just for the plot of one movie and then disposed of.

It also presents the possibility of Pietro reuniting with Wanda after the events MoM and him making a promise that he'd never abandon her but honestly, you could do so much with his character at this point in time.

(Bonus points if Ralph and Pietro have an enemies to friends relationship)

All I'm saying is if he didn't die, with the right writers he would have added a lot to the movies.

[mindyourownbiscuitss]

Fans of GD have this idea of who she, this grand person, but she was human and very flawed. Nothing wrong with that but both the character and her fans don't seem to realize this. If she did not get her way, she didn't want it. She had the love and the support but SHE choose to walk away, what happens after she left is not others fault.

Also, I agree with you, let people enjoy what they want. One, these are fictional characters, so to get pressed and angry over a fictional world is ridiculous. Two, it's not hard to ignore and scroll on by. Let people enjoy what they want, don't be an @ss about it. To those angry (both in CF and PD) talk about your ships favorite scenes or moments with your own fandom. Believe me, its more fun to talk about things you love than things that make you angry.

*Sorry to go off in your asks but I'm just so annoyed with some people in the fandom.

The thing that really pisses me off as far as the D@wsey of it all, is that most of their fans are also fans of Upste@d and see no issue with the hypocrisy of Halstead being able to move on but not Casey. They like to bring up "girl code" as if it actually matters. Maybe if Gabby didn't do what she did to both Casey and Brett, as far as leaving and not keeping in touch (especially with Brett), and generally being an awful wife and best friend at the end, it'd be different. These same people that love Gabby hate Erin for doing practically the same thing to Halstead. Gabby was worse, imo, because she was married! So, how exactly is it fair for Halstead to move on but not Casey? I don't give a damn if it's only because Gabby and Brett were supposed "best friends". They're not anymore, and probably never really were. Kidd and Foster (god do I miss Foster, even if I love Violet) are her actual best friends. Like I said, I don't hate Gabby, and I wish the writers knew how to write characters off without ruining them (though I think them writing Gabby off the way they did was because Haas was trying to convince Monica to stay until the very last minute), but her fans drive me insane. Also, this rant may be because Twitter (fuck X) now doesn't block the tweets of people you block anymore and I see the toxic side of that fandom again.

And thank you! I might be ranting in general here, but I've never once said anything to anyone about who they ship, even if I'm not a fan of that ship. I never will. How hard it is to not go into the tags of other ships and talk shit and actually tweet directly at those shippers? I feel for them, but when I thought Brettsey had no hope, I stayed away from Fire and read fanfic. It was a much more pleasant experience not interacting with something that mad me sad, or mad.

Feel free to rant and talk all you want about it! This is my outlet for that because no one else watches Fire that I know besides my parents. My mom isn't that invested anymore and my dad likes everything no matter how bad it gets, lmao.