#I'm not really writing everything in order this time either; just the more developed parts and going back and working on the connecting tis

[madsciencestudent]

Writing and messing with early scenes for Idyia and Rubra-Harenas after having SO MUCH fermenting in my head for like two months now is hard. Because most of me is re-reading what I spewed on the document is going 'Hmmmm.... Are they being too open and friendly with each other WAY too soon?'

And then there's the rest of me going 'YOU TWO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE BEST FRIENDS!! HURRY UP AND BE FRIENDS ALREADY!!!'

[eucalyptus-lvs]

Your Girl? - Carmen Berzatto x Reader

When I first started writing this it was going to be a stand-alone, but I could also see it as a pt. 2 to Good Luck Charm. Either way, I hope you enjoy it. If you have any thoughts or constructive criticism it's always appreciated. May not be the most canon portrayal of Carmy, but after S3 I need some happy moments. - Elli <3

TW: None. Maybe a suggestive comment or two.

Walking into The Beef you’re immediately hit with the smell of fresh bread and cooked meat. Before you can even make it to the counter Richie's face breaks into a bright smile as he spots you. "You're not supposed to be in today. Couldn't stay away from me, sweetheart?"

Most people found him to be rough around the edges, maybe even misogynistic, but you preferred to think of him as old-fashioned. 

The two of you grew close in the time you spent working together.

Although you started as a dishwasher, Mikey had switched you to the front after two weeks of working there when Richie almost made a kid cry for trying to order a hotdog with ketchup. You quickly learned that your new job was about keeping the peace and making things run as smoothly as the people around you would allow. 

Regardless, it was hard to see the man in front of you as a bad guy after watching him get on his knees to put a Hello Kitty bandaid on Eva's hand at a time when she was adamant about being “champion of the monkey bars”.

"Oh, I never wanna be away from you, honey." You share a laugh. "I just came by to drop something off for the boss. Then I'll be on my way."

"He's in the back if you wanna go on through."

"So I can get sucked into the vortex of chaos on my day off? I don't think so." The fighting has slowed down a bit at the restaurant, but it was still pretty busy. Guaranteeing that the energy level was always high. 

"Good point. I’ll tell him you're here." 

“Thanks, Rich.” You move to stand off to the side in a less crowded part of the restaurant. Taking out your phone, you check the time as you watch him retreat into the back. 

If you make this quick you can still get to the coffee place a couple blocks over before it closes for the day.

After a moment you see them both enter from the kitchen. Richie goes back to the register to attend to the customers, while Carmy heads your way.

"Hey. Richie said you had somethin' for me?" Wiping his hands on a towel and tossing it over his shoulder as he approached you. “Everything okay?”

"Yeah. I was getting ready this morning and saw this on the bathroom counter." You reach into your pocket to pull out a gold chain.

His gold chain.

Dangling between you both from your fingers.

"Shit, I don't even remember takin' it off." Grasping it from your hand to undo the clasp and put it on.

"That's because I did right before we got in the shower. I'm surprised it's still together with all the wear and tear you put it through."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for droppin’ it off. I coulda stopped by tonight though. After I close up?" The phrasing of his statement sounding more like a question.

"I was close by. I wanted to try that coffee shop down the street I was telling you about." You took a step toward him and whispered, "As for tonight, you know I want you over, but we're gonna have to make an effort to get some actual rest before we both develop a sleeping disorder."

"You seem to be doin’ just fine.” A grin broke out on his face.

"Did you forget the part where I told you I have to go get coffee?" You reminded disapprovingly.

"Okay, I get it. Sleep sounds really fuckin' good right now actually." He ran a hand through his hair as he paused. "You eat somethin' already?"

You break eye contact to look around the room aimlessly and avoid the question until your eyes land back on him. “....Huh?”

“We talked about this. You can’t starve yourself all day and then do your fuckin’ girl dinner shit when you get home.”

“First of all, you will never know the joys of girl dinner because you refuse to participate. It's the most well-balanced meal I'm capable of. Second, I've been running around all day and I forgot.”

“First of all, the fact that you call a plate with butter noodles, kimchi, a hard-boiled egg, and some red cherries ‘the most well-balanced meal you're capable of’ is scary. It's really fuckin’ scary. Second, I know you're busy. I'm a chef! What kinda asshole do I look like lettin’ my girl eat like that because you refuse to let me cook you somethin’?” He shot back, growing exasperated with the topic at hand.

“It literally covers all the major food groups! Wait-” You paused, tilting your head. Only just processing his full statement. “your girl?”

You can see the exact moment he processes it too. His eyes widened in panic. “Uh I-I meant, I mean we’ve kinda been-”

“Oh my god, you poor baby boy. You're blushing.” A smirk grows on your face.

“Fuck off” His eyes focusing on the floor, shaking his head. The heavy blush spread up his neck as well as his face.

“I'm afraid I can't do that at this particular moment, but maybe we both will later after you ask me to be your girlfriend.” You replied in a sing-songy voice. “Yknow for future reference you typically ask someone when you want to be exclusive with them.”

He leaned closer to you, eyebrows furrowing as he lowered his tone so he wouldn't be overheard. “I-I thought we've been exclusive. I haven't seen anyone else since you.” 

“I haven't either, but I guess if you want it to stay that way you're gonna have to ask me and make this official. Unless,” You lean away, kissing your teeth as you cross your arms. “you're too scared?”

“You know what? I'm not gonna ask.”

“Wow, you've already backed out. You sure there's not some other girl I should know about?” You mocked, knowing he barely had the time and energy to keep up with you. 

Even if he did, you knew there was no one else. Spending most of your nights at each other's place testing new recipes or wrapped up together in the early hours of the morning before the restaurant needed attending. 

That's why it never occurred to you to define what this is. He was making an active effort to have a life outside of the restaurant and he was doing it with you. 

That doesn't mean you couldn't enjoy making him sweat a little though.

“What?! No. I'm not asking because you're gonna ask me.”

“I’m gonna ask you to be my girlfriend?”

“No, smart-ass.” He let out a breathy chuckle, gesturing vaguely. “Your yknow- boyfriend.”

“Well, that's never gonna happen.” You stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Why not?”

“Because you're right. I should get a boyfriend that’ll take care of me and all my food-related needs.” Shrugging your shoulders you wave a hand in the direction of the register. Shouting, “RICH-”

“Stop.” He cut you off, raising his hand. “That's not even funny.”

“Oh, come on. It's a little funny.” You giggle, nudging his arm with your hand.

Shaking his head, he leads you to a table to sit down. “I've gotta get back in there.” Leaning close to your ear he whispers, “Sit tight while I make somethin’ for my girl.” Cupping the underside of your jaw with his calloused hand, he places a quick kiss on your cheek before walking off. 

You smile as you watch him disappear past the doors and back into the kitchen. 

You weren't gonna make it to the coffee shop today, but that was okay. Maybe you could go together on your way to work tomorrow.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Richie came up and put a hand on your shoulder, squeezing. “You call for me?”

You put your hand over his and squeezed back. Looking up at him you replied, “Just fuckin’ with Carm.”

“Good girl.”

[eunxhan]

❝ Who knew getting dominated by some human would feel this good? ❞

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Ꮺ Anon Requested ⨾ hihi! The req you wrote was so good! /pos

Hua cheng and xielian my beloved hehe. Anyways! I'm so happy that you're in WHB! Can i req dom top male reader with the kings? I'm a sucker for domtop reader with a harem and i really love your writing style. But if you don't write harem then just choose one is fine! /pos gen

Ꮺ Eun Replies ⨾ This is the second part, Thank you for explaining it to me. Let me know if this is the correct way though, This is my first time writing for polygamous relationships and if you want me to re-do the first part, I'll write a new version. I came out of my comfort zone for this one, I was so ashamed of my first part.

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Ꮺ Disclaimer — THIS IS NSFW. if you're underage i would recommend to stop reading if not then I'm not responsible for what you consume. PLEASE DON'T REPORT ME OMG..

Reader & Genre ⨾ TOP!DOM!MALE!reader,

Words used ⨾ 1,566 words 9,152 characters

Character ⨾ LEVIATHAN + BEELZEBUB

Links ⨾ My Navigation and Mandates , Part one

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Ꮺ ⨾ SHARING YOU —

If they were to find out they were sharing a darling, they would likely become very competitive with each other, each trying to outshine the other and prove that they deserved the darling's attention more. They might even resort to tricks and mischievous shenanigans to try to win the darling's affection, not caring about the harm they might cause in the process.

Ꮺ ⨾ LEVIATHAN —

He certainly wouldn't be happy about it. Being the more reserved and antisocial one of the pair, he would initially avoid confrontation. However, if he feels like he isn't getting enough attention or that their third person is "choosing" Beelzebub over him, he would take things to another level and make it clear that they're either going to have to compromise or he's going to have to take drastic measures. Leviathan is no doubt possessive and jealous, and would hate to find out that Beelzebub was after the same person as him. He would likely try to claim you for himself and use a mixture of intimidation, manipulation, and jealousy to get his way and keep them all for himself.

Ꮺ ⨾ BEELZEBUB —

Beelzebub would probably find Leviathan's reaction amusing, and this would probably infuriate Leviathan even more. He would most likely resort to using his own strategies to win the person's heart. This would mean using his social skills to his advantage and trying to get the person to see what a "great guy" he is. The two will fight over everything from who gets to go on dates to how their Darling should be treated. This could get quite messy and chaotic, as these two have no limit to the lengths they'll go to in order to win your heart.

Beelzebub may resort to using his charm and his more extroverted personality to appeal to you. Leviathan, on the other hand, might be more direct and possessive in his approach. If you end up choosing both of them, then the two would be incredibly surprised and delighted... After a few days of fighting. They'll even try to one-up each other and compete to see who can win your affection the most. They would become incredibly possessive and controlling over you, and would probably try to make sure you only had eyes for them.

They would go above and beyond to get your undivided attention and affection, and would even fight over who gets to spend time alone with you. As demons, Beelzebub and Leviathan are known for their lack of empathy and compassion for others, often seeking out ways to cause harm and chaos. They are not completely heartless.., and they have been known to develop attachments to certain people or things on occasion.

In the end, it would likely come down to who the darling found more appealing and who they found more fun to be around. Whoever won the darling's affection would likely be the winner of the competition, but the other would not be happy about losing. And of course, there would likely be plenty of mischief and trouble caused by both Beelzebub and Leviathan in the process... But unfortunately You wouldn't pick..

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They're intrigued and want to explore his Dominant side, unsure of how to proceed. they're used to being in control and having their way, so they're curious to see what it's like to be on the receiving end of it. They might also be surprised and even intimidated by his confidence and assertiveness, and they may not know how to react or handle it. Overall, their reaction would be largely influenced by their personality and their previous experiences.

But rest assured they find it refreshing to have someone be dominant over them, as it gives them an opportunity to let go of their control and be in a different position... Though Beelzebub still prefers being in control. They may also view it as a challenge to try to turn the tables and gain control over him again, viewing it as a game of power dynamics.

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Leviathan and Beelzebub had fought yet again over who would have the privilege of servicing [M/N]. Their petty squabbles and jealousy had finally reached a boiling point, and he had enough. He stood before them, imposing and unyielding. With a stern expression, he ordered them to spread their legs wide open and lie down on the bed, completely nude and restrained. A look of fear crossed both of their faces, but they knew better than to defy him though Beelzebub having a sharp tongue.. Which angers [M/N] more, giving the demon a slap on the ass.

Once they were securely bound and spread eagle style, [M/N] loomed over them, his eyes burning with authority and dominance. His deep voice reverberated through the room as he spoke, "I should have never given you both the time of day. Your petty bickering and constant need for attention have hindered our progress and disrupted my peace."

His words cut through the air like a knife, leaving both Leviathan and Beelzebub feeling humiliated and ashamed but at the same time excited and aroused. [M/N]'s presence alone had the power to bring them to their knees, and the realization of their folly hit them hard. As punishment, [M/N] decided to take turns riding both of them simultaneously, using his enormous cock to shut them up.

[M/N] positioned himself on top of Leviathan who was on top of Beelzebub, both of the demons were still arguing. "Stop fucking squishing me" Beelzebub complained, making Leviathan roll his eyes "It was your fault for fighting me."

[M/N]'s thick, veiny cock throbbing with anticipation. He grasped onto Leviathan' s hips, pulling the male closer to him as he slowly lowered himself onto his waiting body. The demon's eyes widened in a mix of fear and desire as [M/N] began to thrust, his powerful strokes causing both of the demons' entire bodies to tremble.

Beelzebub could feel everything, being under Leviathan.. He can hear both of the male's moans and breaths, it was not helping when Leviathan's cock was rubbing against his. Each movement sent waves of pleasure coursing through their bodies, their moans echoing throughout the room. Poor Beelzebub can't talk shit as Leviathan was drooling all over him, he finds it arousing. He laughed before he smashed his lips with the man on top of him, [M/N] watching them made his cock throb more.

[M/N] was taking his time as both demons take turns onto tasting his cock, Despite the pain and humiliation the demons' felt, both Leviathan and Beelzebub couldn't deny the intense pleasure that overwhelmed them. Their minds raced with conflicting emotions, torn between their loathing for [M/N] and their insatiable desire for him.

As [M/N] continued his relentless assault, he spoke in a low, gravelly tone, "This is what happens when you can't control your base instincts. You fight over me like animals, and this is the consequence." His words hung heavy in the air, adding another layer of humiliation to their ordeal. They could feel their hearts pound with a mixture of fear and lust, their bodies writhing beneath [M/N] dominant form as he increased his pace, his thrusts alongside with his slaps.

" M-M/N don't fucking stop..!" Leviathan cried out, his body aching from their position but he doesn't mind it. [M/N] chuckled pulling himself out before replacing his dick with a vibrator that was once inside Beelzebub just earlier , making the male moan harder. Putting his dick inside Beelzebub, "N-now y-you ngh!.. Fuck me.. Now you want me? fucking human.." he muttered out, he can't even feel his own cock..

As [M/N] continued his torrid affair with both Leviathan and Beelzebub, his powerful thrusts caused the very foundations of the room to shake. Sweat dripped from his forehead, his muscles straining with the effort of dominating both demons simultaneously. Their moans and pleas for mercy filled the air, but he paid them no heed. Instead, he increased the pace of his relentless onslaught, driving his massive cock deeper into their willing bodies. The friction between them was intense, their skin slapping together with each powerful thrust.

The room seemed to spin around them, the intensity of their shared experience pushing both demons to the brink of ecstasy. Their bodies shook violently, their minds consumed by the pleasure-pain inflicted upon them by their boyfriend. The three of them were like animals, scratching, marking, combining their bodily fluids as if they're marking their territory..

God knows how long they did it.. Multiple rounds, no breaks as both demons pulls [M/N] back in bed, multiple positions.. And finally, [M/N] pulled out, his cock glistening with their combined fluids. He towered over them, his eyes cold and calculating, as he spoke in a voice devoid of emotion, "Think long and hard about your actions. The consequences will only grow worse if you continue down this path."

Leviathan and Beelzebub lay there for a while, stunned and humbled by their experiences. They knew they had been warned, but the reality of their punishment had been much harsher than they had anticipated.

It took [M/N] a whole minute to apologize for what he did as he cleans both of the demons, he untangled them from each other and the restraints, their bodies aching from the intense ordeal. The demons however, They avoided eye contact, both knowing that they had been taught a valuable lesson - one that they wouldn't soon forget.

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Ꮺ ⨾ I DO NOT CONSENT TO MY WORK BEING COPIED OR TRANSLATED.

[echantedtoon]

HIIII!!!!

Congrats on 500!!! i dont say it enough but i really do love ur work and istg i need to start interacting more to say it >.<. but since you're doing requests-

If you're willing to do Yanplatonic stuff- Do you mind if you do Yanplatonic Kokushibo x Sister reader? (theres so little. i write it for a reason ;-;) But if you're not- How about Yan! Raihan x Reader? Can be anything you want really- I'm just starved of Raihan content in general rn :(((

If you're not comfortable with yandere requests then PLEASE feel free to get rid of/ignore! Again, Congratulations on your milestone, IM SO PROUDDDD!!!

-TML

THANK YOU!! 😭 Why not both? warnings for mentioning of death and killing in Michikatsu's part only and both parts having yandere themes. Raihan's being more romantic than Kokushibos bit. @trancylovecraft

*It was really strange in the beginning. Everyone knew that Michikatsu being the oldest and 'normal' twin was assigned to be your father's heir while Yoriichi was unwanted and almost killed but was now destined to go be a priest come his tenth birthday. So where did that leave you?

*The youngest Tsugikuni that no one expected to be born. One heir was all that was needed so what to do with a third child let alone a daughter. You were lucky not to be a twin or more because perhaps their fate would've repeated with you. But since you were both unexpected and unplanned everyone just sorta..kinda didn't know what to do with you.

*Your father had no interest in you from the beginning but he'd be damned if he became a laughing stick twice with a son like Yoriichi so while he didn't care about your existence or bother to interact with you, he ordered that you become 'a proper lady' and one worthy of your status. 

*Which was why your favorite parent was your mother. Even if you couldn't spend a lot of time with her either because of your harsh studies and your orders to be kept away from Yoriichi who was always around your mother. 

*As a result most of your studies coisided with Michikatsu's minus his fighting training. So you both developed a greater bond than the one's you had with either parent or Yoriichi. He'd take you to sneak out and visit Your other older brother Yoriichi. Not as often as Michikatsu saw him but it was enough for you to love your silent but kind older brother too. Until everything changed.

*Yoriichis true talent was revealed. Your mother passed away. Yoriichi visited you in the middle of the night just to hug you, nothing more, before leaving in the middle of the night. Michikatsu's jealousy increased as did the anger your father possessed. Unbeknownst to you, Your brother was intentionally taking up all your father's attention from Yoriichi not only to make his father forget about the more talented twin in risk of loosing everything, but also to steer his new found frustration off of you. And it worked scarily well. 

*Now without your mother and older brother you were left in the care of maids and tutors and barely saw your remaining family anymore. You tried to make it work, really you did. You tried studying hard and becoming the best high society woman you could possibly be to make your father and Michikatsu proud. It worked...a little too well. Because not only did you accidentally overhear your father make arrangements for your arranged marriage to a known wrathful and brutal man, but he planned on not telling you at all until the day of said wedding so you'd have no choice but to go through with it.

*Terrified you sought out your older brother in the middle of his studying to explain what was happening and that you feared for your life. Michikatsu's expression is blank as he calmly regards the way you're shaking and hyperventilating as tears weld up in your eyes. The man he spoke of marrying you too happened to be one of his father's most powerful men. Ruthless in both killing enemies and how he treated others in general so the fear was warranted.

*Michikatsu himself was already married with his wife expecting their first child in six more months so he supposed their father decided that it was time his daughter was married off too. He didn't do anything. Didn't even offer to calm you. Just calmly close his book and place it down. "Have you tried talking to Father or this man?" "You know he wont listen to what I say! He never did! What am I going to do?!" "I see...I'll talk to him tomorrow. I can't guarantee I'll change his mind but perhaps I'll see what I can do. In the meantime my wife is lonely by herself. Why don't you go keep her company for a while?"

*You didn't know what to do. Your life was about to be ruined. But you had to trust your brother to try and steer your father's mind from this. You spent the next three days with your sister-in-law helping her along with maids in preparation for you new niece or nephew. So imagine your shock when news reached you both of your husband to be being found slain by a demon. His body sliced so badly that no one recognized him at first. It should've been a relief but it was really more shock than anything else. Your father was furious however he himself would pass away soon as well. Tripping over the second balcony and passing away. 

*You didn't know what happened to either one of them but the look in your brother's eyes when you asked him about it told you all you needed to know. "Do not worry about it. After all ..Big brother will always be there to look after his little sister."

-You catch his attention either one of two ways. You either keep defeating him and become a second rival to Leon or you are completely indifferent by anything he does. Since he's literally Galar's strongest gym leader let's go with the second option and say you got his attention by being indifferent.

-Raihan is a good looking guy. Very handsome. His friends know it. He knows it. And his fans REALLY know it. It's no secret Raihan has acquired fans of both genders from just his charms and looks alone outside of his strength and status. He can make anyone swoon if he tried hard enough. So that's why when you came along with your indifference it was like a surprise slap across the face to him.

-You were one of the people at the local meet and greet after that year's Pokemon championship. As usual he was unable to defeat Leon but the crowd's after pleading for autographs and pictures from both the gym leaders and Champion was ready in wait for them. He loved greeting his fans. Practically head diving first into the crowds to supply selfies and autographs to his endless fans. So when he meets a group of ladies bashfully waiting for their turn, he gives them the good old charming smile and wink. It sends the whole group into giggles. Except for you. Your bored, deadpanned face never changed other than giving an eye roll.

-This genuinely catches him off guard. Usually no one ever did that to him so perhaps you're a fan jealous you're not getting his full attention. Nope. When he walks over and tries to chat you up you shut him down immediately. "Hey there.~" "NO." No. Just ..No? He hasn't said more than two words to you and you're not even looking at the wide eyed gym leader next to you. "I'm not interested in whatever womanizing antics you got to say. Beat it before I make you." A choked sound of surprise leaves him at that.

-Him? A womanizer?! Sure he was flirty and stuff but that's how he always was! He tries to say something but instead you walk away. Turns out you were only there because your friends dragged you along with them but you didn't want to see Raihan. To you he came off as full of himself and the way he just flirted with everyone just reeked of womanizing behavior.

-Raihan is left shocked, confused, a little bit hurt..and a LOT intrigued by you. He's never met someone like you before and he wants to find out more! He heard one of your friends mentioned your name and looks you up later on social media ended up finding your socials. Naturally he follows you back and flips through them. There's...not a lot really. Just a couple blogged posts from your friends and family, a few pictures of said friends and family and some of your Pokemon, a funny meme or two and.... That's it. Apparently you're not online much and you don't follow a lot of people outside of friends, family, and a few blogs that was about Pokemon.

-Well surely you would appreciate it and follow him by after seeing he followed you. Nope. You straight up ignored him even if you noticed at all. It drives him crazy. Posting everything from cute pics of his team to beautiful views from the back of his flying to selfies of him showing off his admittedly impressive build. But nope. Zero. He'd spend hours obsessively flipping through notifications for any reblogs, comments, or even a like on anything. Nope. Nothing. You don't bother to notice him. And when he tries to get you to notice him, you also ignore any comments or otherwise by him.

-Its frustrating to him! All he wants is to be recognized by you! To show you that you were wrong and he was a really good person. When messaging you online didn't work he tried in person. After all you barely posted anything so maybe you didn't really go online that much. He found your work place in Wyndon City by a picture you posted once of you getting promoted at work. A small little Pokemon groomer's shop. He went there under the guise of getting his duroludon's metal body polished so you wouldn't be freaked out by suddenly seeing him there outta the blue.

-He saw you as soon as you walked in. Brushing down the fur of a minccino as he walked in right in front of everyone. You looked up from the Pokemon with a smile but was shocked and then frowned as soon as you saw his smiling face. "What are YOU doing here?" "I'm in Wyndon visiting Lee but I figured my duroludon could use a good polishing after so long. I heard this place does a good job grooming Pokemon so can I get the big guy in?" You still frowned but didn't seem to be none the wiser. Only grumpily ringing him up as he paid and your coworker took his duroludon to be polished up. 

-"I also want to apologize to you." "For what?" "I may have come on in a way that made you uncomfortable. Sorry for that. I swear I'm not like that all the time. It's mostly just an act for the fans. They have a certain image of me." "So you act like a womanizer for publicity stunts?" "Hey. We all do. You think Piers is really introverted and shy? Nah man. He might be punk goth but he's not that emo. It's just what his fans like to see from him." "....Alright. I guess I can buy that. Apology accepted."  "Good. Since we're all cleared up now..Can I make it up to you with dinner?" "Really?" "Really! It's not a date but I would like to get to know you better since I never met anyone like you before. So what do you say?" "....I get off at five. Remember it's not a date."

-He couldn't have been happier. It was a start of a long road of living you.

[ladyluscinia]

Ok, I think I might be exiting the "are you fucking kidding me?" period and ready to make a real argument, so lets talk about Three Act Structure!

Is OFMD S2 just the "Darkest Hour"?

A very common explanation I've been seeing for some of the... controversial... aspects of S2 is that it's meant to be that way. That the middle act is where the protagonists hit their lowest point. Where we get the big failure point. Where everything looks kind of shit.

S2 is supposedly just that point. It's The Empire Strikes Back. People have been making that comparison since before the first episodes even dropped, telling everyone to expect something that could be disappointing or unsatisfying - it's just a matter of needing to wait for S3 to pull it all together.

It's not a baseless framework to consider the show through - I'm pretty sure David Jenkins has mentioned it in interviews (or at least mentioned he planned for three acts / seasons) so it's certainly worth asking how he's doing at the 2/3rd mark.

So - quick summary of Three Act Structure:

Act 1 introduces our characters and world. It includes the inciting incident of the story and the first plot point, where a) the protagonist loses the ability to return to their normal life, and b) the story raises whatever dramatic question will drive the entire plot. Act 2 is rising action and usually most of the story. The protagonist tries to fix things and fucks them up worse, in the process learning new skills and character developing to overcome their flaws. Act 3 is the protagonist taking one more shot, but this time they are ready. We get the climax of the story, the dramatic question gets an answer, and then the story closes.

If you want examples, the Star Wars Original Trilogy is a very popular template. And, hell, he said it was a pirate story... the main Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy also does a solid job with their three acts.

Let's compare. (Spoiler: I'm not impressed 🤨)

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First thing I need to establish... Wait. Two things. First is that Three Act Structure is flexible, so we can't really analyze success or failure by pulling up a list of necessary plot beats that should have been hit in X order. Second is that if you tell me you are writing a romance with a Three Act Structure - where "the relationship is the story" - the first thing I'm going to do is ask you how you are adapting it. Because while there's not necessarily anything preventing you from applying this to a character driven plot, most people are familiar with it as plot structure for externally driven conflict.

Unless there's a reason the status of the main relationship is intrinsically tied up in the current status of the war against the evil empire, a standard Three Act Structure is going to entail either an antagonistic force that absolutely wants your main couple apart being the main relationship obstacle OR the romance aspect being a subplot to the protagonist's narrative adventure. None of those sound like how the show has been described.

So how is OFMD adapting it?

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Act 1

(Can't figure out how well Act 2 is doing if we don't start at setup.)

Right out the gate, OFMD breaks one of the main "rules" for a story where the Acts are delivered in three parts. Namely the one where the first Act is treated as an acceptable standalone story, with it's own satisfying yet open ended conclusion.

In Star Wars, A New Hope ends with the princess rescued, Luke finding the Force, Han finding his loyalty, and the Death Star destroyed. The Empire isn't defeated, the antagonists still live... the story is not over, but this one movie doesn't feel unfinished.

Similarly, Curse of the Black Pearl gives Jack his ship back, Elizabeth and Will get together, and Norrington has the English Navy let them all off the hook and give Jack and the pirates one day's head start.

OFMD's final beat of S1 being Kraken Arc starting is not that, even if Stede returning to sea is still a pretty hopeful note. Now... I don't necessarily think this was a bad call. At least, not if the story is the relationship. It's easy to close on a happy ending and then fuck it up next movie if the conflict is external and coming for them. Not so much if you're driving the story with your protagonists' flaws, in part because it should be really obvious at the end of setup that your main characters need development and can't run off together right now. I actually like that they were risk-takers and let S1 look at the situation clearly vs doing a fragile happy end, because it takes into account the difference between a character-driven and plot-driven narrative.

I think OFMD's Act 1 actually ends at maybe the Act of Grace? Well, there through the kiss on the beach, counting as our "first plot point" before everything goes wrong, basically.

At that point, they have setup the story and characters. We've been introduced to Edward and Stede's current issues. Signing the Act of Grace does make the intertwined arcs between them real - it's no longer a situation that either one of them could just walk away from like it was in 1x07 - and we narrow in on the (alleged) driving question of the show:

It's not about "Will Stede become a great pirate?" or "Will we develop a better kind of piracy for the crew?" - the show is the relationship and the big question is "What is Stede and Edward's happy ending?"

Act 1 ends on their first solution, being together and making each other happy and admitting it's more than just friendship. Act 2 starts, appropriately, by saying both of them are currently too flawed for that to go anywhere but crashing and burning.

Now... looking back, what does Act 1 do well vs poorly?

I think it's really strong on giving us the foundation for BlackBonnet's characters and flaws. We aren't surprised Stede goes home or Edward goes Kraken (or at least... we weren't supposed to be surprised. There are still a lot of holdouts blaming Izzy for interrupting Edward's "healing" despite how at this point in the story it doesn't make sense for Edward to have the skills to heal... but I digress). The relationship question is compelling at the end of S1, the cliffhanger hooks, and the fandom explosion of fics did not come from nowhere - the audience was invested.

I also think Act 1 does a great job of settling us in the universe. We understand the rules it abides by, from how gay pirates are just a fact of life to how there's no important organs on the left side of the body. Stede has a muppety force field. Rowboats have homing devices, and port is always as close as you want it to be. Scurvy is a joke. The overblown violence of pirate life is mostly a joke, but we are going to take the violence of childhood trauma seriously.

Lucius's fake-out death, while technically part of Act 2, works well because Act 1 did a good job of priming everyone to go "obviously this show wouldn't kill a crew member for shock value, and we're 100% supposed to suspend disbelief about how he could have survived getting flung into the sea in the middle of the night." And we do. And we get rewarded for it.

Regarding antagonists - a big focus of any setup - the show is deliberately weak. The one with the most screentime is Izzy, and he's purposefully ineffective at separating our main couple. Every antagonist is keyed to a particular character, and they function mostly to inform us of that character's flaws and development requirements. The Badmintons tell us about Stede's repression and feelings of inadequacy, and Izzy tells us about Edward's directionless discontent and tendency to avoid his problems. Effectively - the show is taking the stance this will be a character driven narrative where Stede and Edward's flaws are the source of problems and development the solution. No person or empire (or social homophobia) is separating them...

...which leads me to something not present - there nothing really about the struggle of piracy against the Empire. Looking at Curse of the Black Pearl... we see piracy is in danger. The Black Pearl itself is described as the last great pirate threat the British Navy needs to conquer. Hangings are omnipresent - Jack is sentenced to die by one almost as soon as he's introduced to the story, when his only act so far had been to wander around and save Elizabeth from drowning. OFMD tries to invoke this kind of struggle in 2x08, but there's no foundation. Our Navy antagonists are Stede's childhood bullies, and so focused on Stede the crew isn't even in danger when they get caught. The Republic of Pirates is getting jokes about being gentrified, not besieged.

Even the capture of Blackbeard by the Navy is treated as a feather in Wellington's cap but not a huge symbolic blow against piracy... because we just do not have that grand struggle woven into Act 1. You only know the "Golden Age of Piracy" is ending if you google it, or have watched a bunch of pirate shows.

Overall, a solid Act 1, well adapted to the kind of story they've said they were looking to tell - a romance in the (silly-fied) age of piracy, instead of a pirate adventure with a romantic subplot.

---

Now, Sidebar - Where is the story going?

The thing about the dramatic question - in OFMD's case: "What is Stede and Edward's happy ending?" - is that a) there's normally more than one question bundled up in that one + sideplots, and b) while you aren't supposed to have the answer yet, you can usually guess what needs to happen to give you the answer.

Back to our examples... Luke's driving question is "Will the Empire be defeated?" Simple. Straightforward. Also: "Will Luke become a Jedi?" The eventual climax of our story from there is pretty obvious... the story is over when Luke wins the war for the Rebellion in a Jedi way. That's the goal that they are working toward.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a bit more complicated. We're juggling more characters and have a less defined heroic journey, but there are driving questions like "Is Jack Sparrow a good man?" and "Is Will Turner a pirate / what does that mean?" and even "Will the British Navy defeat piracy?" They get basic answers in Curse of the Black Pearl, and far more defined ones in At World's End. Still, this is another plot-driven narrative. They've laid the foundations for the Pirates vs Empire struggle, and when that final battle turns into the trilogy climax then you know what's happening.

OFMD is not doing a plot-driven narrative. To judge how they are doing at their goals, we have to ask what they think a happy ending entails in a character sense.

Clearly it's not the classic romantic sideplot, where the climax is the first kiss / acknowledgement of feelings. They've teased a wedding in Word of God comments a lot, so that's probably our better endpoint. Specifically, though, a wedding where both of our protagonists aren't ready to flee from the altar (big ask) and where they've both grown enough that their flaws / mutual tendencies to run away from life problems won't tank the relationship.

In Stede's case it's still massive feelings of inadequacy and being too repressed to talk about his problems. Also he ran away from his family to chase a lifelong dream of being a pirate - "Is Stede going to find fulfillment in being a pirate captain, or will the real answer be love?" Edward meanwhile expresses a desire to quit piracy and retire Blackbeard, but we also find out he's struggling with massive self-loathing and guilt from killing his father - "Is retiring what Edward wants to do, or is he just running away?"

If they are going to get to a satisfying wedding beat at the climax of their story, what character beats do we need to hit in advance?

Off the top of my head - both characters need to self-realize their flaws (a pretty necessary demand of anyone who runs away from problems). They are set up to balance each other well, but also to miscommunicate easily. They have to tell each other about or verbally acknowledge that self-realization so it can be resolved. Stede has to decide how much being a pirate means to him. Edward has to decide if he's retiring and what he wants to do. They both need to show something to do with getting past their childhood traumas given all the flashbacks. Through all this, they also need to hit the normal romance beats that convince the audience they are romantically attracted to each other and like... want to get married.

Oh, and this is more of a genre-specific sideplot, but once they demonstrate a behavior that hurts the people who work for them, they need to then demonstrate later how it won't happen again. Proof of growth, which is kind of important in a comedy where a lot of the humor is based in them being massively self-centered assholes. Stede doesn't earn his acceptance in the community until he kicks Calico Jack off the ship, making up for causing the situation with Nigel in the first episode. A workplace comedy can get a lot of material from the boss as the worker's antagonist, but if you want the bosses to stay sympathetic you have got to throw them some opportunities to earn it.

All that sounds like a lot, but like - the relationship is the story, right? If we spend so much time on establishing flaws big enough to drive a story, we also have to spend time on fixing them. Which is where the turning point hits.

---

Act 2: How it Starts

This is where the full story reality-checks your protagonist. Glad you saved your boyfriend and embraced new love in Act 1, but his repressed guilt means he's about to completely ghost you, and your own abandonment issues and self-loathing are about to make his dick move into everyone else's problem.

Again, it's a non-conventional choice OFMD has this start at the very end of S1 rather than with a sudden dark turn in the S2 premiere, but it's still pretty clearly that point in the Three Act Structure.

In Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back opens with a timeskip to our Rebellion getting absolutely crushed and hiding on a miserable frozen planet. The Empire finds them as the plot is kicking off and they have to desperately flee. They get separated. Han and Leia try to go to an ally for help and end up in Vader's clutches. It's a sharp turn from the victorious note that A New Hope ended on.

Pirates of the Caribbean's Act 2 starts dark. Dead Man's Chest opens with our happy couple Will and Elizabeth getting arrested on their wedding day for the "happy end" escape of the last movie. Jack has not been having success since reclaiming his ship, and we'll soon find out he's being hunted by dark forces. As for the general state of piracy, we get a horrifying prison where pirates are being eaten alive by crows, and a new Lord Beckett making the dying state of piracy even more textual. "Jack Sparrow is a dying breed... The world is shrinking."

The key here is making a point that our heroes aren't ready. This is the struggles part - things they try? Fail. The odds do not look to be in their favor.

Now, OFMD apparently decided to go all-in on flaw exploration, especially with Edward. The first 3 episodes of S2 are brutally efficient in outlining Edward's backslide. In S1 you could see he had issues with guilt and feeling like a bad person. S2 devolves that into a destructive, suicidal spiral where Edward forces his crew into three months of consecutive raids, repeats his shocking act of cruelty with Izzy's toe offscreen (more than once!), escalates it with his leg, and finally they state directly that Edward hates himself for killing his dad so much that he fears he's fundamentally unlovable and better off dead.

Stede's struggles are subtler, but most definitely still there. He's deliberately turning a blind eye to tales of Edward's rampage, half from simply being too self-centered to care about the harms Edward causes others, and half from being unable to face or fathom that he had the ability to hurt Edward that much. Upon reunion he wants to put the whole thing behind them, not addressing why he left in the first place. Very "love magically fixes everything" of him, except Stede is no golden merman.

Interestingly, here, BlackBonnet's relationship dysfunction has very clearly been having a negative impact on the surrounding characters we care about. Make sense, since it's the driving force of the story, but that also adds a lot more relationships we need to make right. Like... Edward is the villain to his crew. The show focuses on their trauma and poisoned relationships with him. And then draws our attention even more to Stede taking his side to overrule their objections to him.

For a story where the conflict and required resolutions are primarily character based, and the setup had already given the main couple a good amount to work with, dedicating a lot of S2 to adding more ground to cover was... a choice. Potentially very compelling on the character end, certainly challenging on the writing end... but not a complete break with the structure.

Bold, but not damning.

---

Act 2: How it Ends

Now it is true that Act 2 tends to end on a loss. Luke is defeated by Vader and loses his hand, and Han has been sent away in carbonite. Jack Sparrow for all his efforts cannot escape his fate, and he and the Pearl are dragged to the locker.

But the loss is not the point. The loss is incidental to the point.

Act 2 is about struggles and failure, but it's also about lessons learned. There's a change that occurs, and our cast - defeated but not broken - enters the final act with the essential skills, motivation, knowledge, etc. that they lacked in the beginning.

Luke Skywalker could not have defeated the Empire in Return of the Jedi until he'd learned the truth about his father and resisted the Dark Side in The Empire Strikes Back. (Ok, confession, I'm using Star Wars as an example because literally everyone is doing so, but frankly it's a better example of formulaic Three Act Structure repeating within each movie because on a trilogy level - relevant to this comparison - it is a super basic hero's journey in a very recognized outfit and as such the Act 2 relevance is also... super basic "the hero tries to fight the antagonist too early" beat where he learns humility. Not really a lot going on. So, for the better example...)

Dead Man's Chest has a downer ending with the closing moment of the survivors regaining hope and a plan against an enemy now on the verge of total victory - a classic Act 2. But in that first loss against Davy Jones we get Will's personal motivation and oath to stab the heart, Jack finally overcoming not knowing what he wanted and returning to save them from the Kraken (being a good man), Elizabeth betraying Jack (being a pirate), Barbossa's return, and Norrington's choice to bargain for his prior life back. The mission to retrieve Jack from the World's End is the final movie's plot, but things are already on track to turn the tables back around as we enter the finale.

Now, relevant sidenote - one major difference between Three Act Structure within a single work vs across three parts is that Act 2 continues into Part 3, and only tips over into Act 3 about midway through. This is because obviously your final movie or season cannot just be the climax. That's why both movie examples start with a rescue mission. They have to still be missing something so they can get the plot of their third part accelerating while they go get whatever that something is.

But if you wait until the 3rd movie / season to get the development going at all - you're fucked.

Jack's decision in the climax of At World's End to make Elizabeth into the Pirate King goes back to the development we saw in the Pearl vs Kraken fight in Dead Man's Chest. So does Elizabeth's leadership arc. Will's whole arc about becoming Captain of the Dutchman gets built upon in the third movie, but it starts in the second. Not just as an idle thought - he's actively pursuing it. Already consciously weighing saving his father vs getting back to Elizabeth as soon as he makes the oath. Everyone is moving forward in Act 2. Their remaining development might stumble for drama, or they might be a bit reluctant, but I know that they know better than to let it stick, because they already faced their true crisis points.

I'm not sure we can say the same about OFMD.

S2 does a good job of adding problems, yeah, but there's not really any movement on fixing them. Our main couple stagnates in some ways, and regresses in others.

Stede opened Act 2 by running away in the middle of the night back to his wife without telling Edward anything. We know he did it because of feeling guilty and his core childhood trauma of his dad calling him a weak and inadequate failure. Now in S1 he actually speedruns a realization of his shitty behavior with Mary, but what about S2? Well...

He continues to not talk to Edward about... pretty much anything. My guy practiced love confessions galore but Edward only finds out about going back to his wife via Anne, and it gets brushed aside with a love confession. He seems to think Edward wants him to be a dashing pirate, or maybe he just thinks he should be a dashing pirate. Idk, it doesn't get examined. Regarding his captaincy, they give him an episode plot about Izzy teaching him to respect the crew's beliefs, but this is sideplot to a larger arc of him completely overruling their traumas and concerns (and shushing their objections) to keep his boyfriend on the ship so. That.

Stede kills a man for reasons related to his issues, shoves that down inside and has sex with Edward instead of acknowledging any bad feelings. At least this time Edward was there and knows it happened? Neither Chauncey's death nor his dad have been mentioned to anyone. He gets a day of piracy fame that goes to his head, gets dumped, and ends on a complete beat down by Zheng where he learns... idk. Being a boor is bad? He's still wildly callous to her in the finale, and spends the whole time seeking validation of his pirate skills. He reunites with Edward, kisses, and quotes Han Solo.

Where S1 ended on a great fuckery, his S2 naval uniform plan after they regroup is ill defined except to call it a suicide mission - and we don't get to see what it would have been because it devolves into a very straightforward fight and flee. And gets Izzy killed. Quick cut funeral (no acknowledgement of his S2 bonding with Izzy), quick cut to wedding (foreshadowing), quick cut to... innkeeper retirement? Unclear when or even if BlackBonnet discussed Stede's whole driving dream to be a pirate and live a life at sea, but I guess that got a big priority downgrade. Despite the fact he was literally looking to Zheng for pirate-based compliments in the post-funeral scene.

I guess he's borderline-delusionally dogged in his pursuit of love now - so unlikely to bolt again - but he's also got at least a decade of experience mentally checking out in a state of repression when he's unhappy. And he's stopped being as supportive and caring toward the crew in that dogged pursuit, while arguably demonstrating a loss in leadership skills, so, um, good thing someone else is in charge?

And if Stede is a mess, Edward's arc is so much worse.

As established, they devote the Kraken to making Edward worse. He literally wants to kill himself and destroy everyone around him in the process because Stede left, and this is fixed by... Stede coming back. That's it. The crew tries to murder him and then exiles him from the ship (and Izzy takes the lead on both, indicating exactly how isolated Edward has become), but it's resolved in half a day by Stede just forcing them to put up with his boyfriend again. Like they think he murdered Buttons and still have to move him back in???

The show consistently depicts Kraken Era as a transgression against the crew, but they also avoid showing Edward acting with genuine contrition. He admits he historically doesn't apologize for anything, and then mostly still doesn't. It's a joke that he's approaching probation as a performance (CEO apology), and then the only person he genuinely talks to is Fang - the one guy cool with him - and the only person who gets a basic "sorry" is Izzy - the guy he really needs to be talking to. Edward's primary trauma is guilt, but apparently he only feels it abstractly after all that? He's only concerned with fixing things with Stede, despite Stede being about the only person around who hurt him instead of the reverse.

Speaking of primary traumas, Edward hating himself doesn't really go anywhere after the beat of self-realization. Apparently Stede still loving him is enough of a bandaid to end the suicide chasing, but he doesn't like. Acknowledge that. Edward is maybe sorta trying to go slow so he doesn't hang all his self-worth on Stede again (you can speculate), but they a) absolutely fail to go slow, and b) he doesn't make any attempt to develop himself or another support structure. Just basically... "let's be friends a bit before hooking back up." And then we get the whiplash that is Blackbeard and/or retirement.

Kraken Era is Blackbeard but way worse, like no one who has known Blackbeard has ever seen him. In the Gravy Basket Edward claims he might like being an innkeeper, before destroying his own fantasy by having the spectre of Hornigold confront him over killing his dad. The BlackBonnet to Anne & Mary parallel says running away to China / retiring makes you want to kill each other - burn it all down and go back to piracy. Stede rightfully points out prior retirement plans were whims. Edward gets sick of the penance sack after a day and puts his leathers back on to go try "poison into positivity". But also claims to be an innkeeper (look - two whole mentions!) when trying not to send children to be pirates after teaching them important knife skills.

Killing Ned Low is a serious, bad thing that prompts ill-advised sex and then going hardcore into retirement mode - leathers overboard, talk about mermaid fantasy, get retirement blessings from Izzy, end up dumping Stede for a fishing job instead of talking about how he's enjoying piracy. The fishing job, however, is also a bad thing and a stupid decision because Edward is a lazy freeloader fantasizing about being a better person. We have an uncomfortable, extended scene of "Pop-Pop" weirdly echoing his abusive dad and then sending Edward to go do what he's good at - disassociate, brutally murder two guys, fish up the leathers, rise as the Kraken from the sea. He continues with comically efficient murder but also he's reading Stede's love letters and seeking to reunite with him so... wait, is this a good thing? Post makeout / mass slaughter he's trading compliments on his kills with Zheng so. Yeah. Looks like it. Murder is fine.

Wait, no, skip ahead and Izzy is dying and Edward suddenly cares a whole lot as Izzy makes his death scene about freeing Edward from Blackbeard. Now being a pirate was "encouraging the darkness" because Izzy - a guy who had little to no influence over Edward's behavior - just couldn't let Blackbeard go. Murder is bad again, and he is freed. Minus the little detail that the murder he explicitly hates himself over was not related to Blackbeard or piracy whatsoever, so presumably haunts "just Ed" still. Anyway he's retiring to run an inn with Stede now, as the "loving family" Izzy comforted him with in his dying moments sails away from the couple that can best be described as the antagonists of their S2 arc. Also Edward implicitly wants to get married. It's been 3 days since making out was "too fast". He's still wearing the leathers.

So most of the way through Act 2 and Edward's barely on speaking terms with anyone but Stede, who he has once again hung his entire life on really fast? Crushing guilt leads to self-hatred leads to mass murder and suicide, but only if he's upset so just avoid that. He's still regularly idealizing Stede as a non-fucked up golden mermaid person (that maybe he personally ruined a bit) because he barely knows the guy. His only progress on his future is "pirate" crossed out / rewritten / crossed out again a few times, "fisherman" crossed out, and "innkeeper ?"

Just.

Where is the forward movement?

It's not just that the inn will undoubtedly fall apart - it's that the inn will fall apart for the near-exact same reasons that China was going to at the beginning of Act 2, and I can't point to anything they've learned in the time since that will help them. I guess Stede realized he loved Edward enough to chase after him, but that was in S1! They should be further than this by now. You can't cram another crisis backslide, all the Act 2 development, and the full Act 3 climax into one season. Certainly not without it feeling like the characters magically fix themselves.

If they just fail and keep blindly stumbling into the same issues because they don't change their behavior, then Act 2 doesn't work. You're just repeating the turning point between Act 1 & Act 2 on a loop.

---

Where Did They Fuck Up?

Actually... lets start on what they did right.

The one consistent aspect of S2 that I praised and still think was done well in a vacuum (despite being mostly left out of the finale) was the crew's union-building arc.

With only 8 episodes and more to do in them than S1, side characters were going to get pinched even if the main plot was absolutely flawless. That was unavoidable. With budget cuts / scheduling issues, we regularly have crew members simply vanish offscreen outside of one scene, meaning cohesive arcs for your faves was not likely. Not to say they couldn't have done better - my benefit of the doubt for the TealOranges breakup and Oluwande x Zheng dried up about when I realized he was literally just her Stede stand-in for the parallel - but something like Jim's revenge plot from S1 was realistically not on the table without, like, turning half the crew into seagulls to afford it.

The union building works around this constraint really well. They turn "the crew" into the side arc, and then weave Izzy's beats in so that they aren't just about Izzy. The breakup boat crew working together to comfort each other and protect him turns them into a unit, and Stede's crew taking it upon themselves to address the trauma vibes while the captains aren't in the way solidifies it across all our side characters. The crew goes to war with Stede's cursed coat and wins, they Calypso their boss to throw a party, and they capitalize on a chance to make bank with an efficiency Stede could only dream of.

We don't get specific arcs, but Frenchie, Jim, and Oluwande are defaulted to as leaders in just about every situation, and Roach is constantly shown sharing his inventions with different characters. Individuals can dip in and out without feeling like the sideplots stutter. Any sense of community in S2 is coming from this arc - even if there are cracks at the points where it joins to other storylines (Stede and Edward, Zheng, etc.)

So why does it work? Well, because it's a workplace comedy, and you can tell they are familiar with working on those. They know where the beats are. They know where to find the humor. They know how to build off of S1 because they made sure the bones were already there - an eclectic group of individuals that start as just coworkers, but bond over time in the face of their struggle against an inept boss who they grow to care for and support while maintaining an increasingly friendly antagonism because, you know, inept boss.

OFMD does its best work in S2 when it's being true to its original concept... and its worst work when it seemingly loses confidence in its own premise.

"The show is the relationship," right? It's a romance set in a workplace comedy. The setup of Act 1 was all about creating a character-driven narrative. So given that... where the hell are we getting the dying of piracy and a war against the English Navy?

That's not a character-driven romcom backdrop, it's an action-adventure plot from Pirates of the Caribbean or Black Sails. It's plot-driven, creating an antagonistic force that results in your characters' problems. Once the story is about the fight against the Empire, the dramatic question becomes the same as those adventure stories - "Will the British Navy defeat piracy, and will our protagonists come out the other side of the battle?"

Forget the wedding. The wedding is no longer the climax of the story, its back to the happy ending flash our romantic subplot gets after winning this fight.

Except, of course, trying to pivot your story to a contradictory dramatic question near the end of Act 2 can be nothing short of a disaster, because either you were writing the wrong story until now, or you've completely lost the plot of the real one. I shouldn't even be trying to figure out if they are doing this, because it should be so obvious that they wouldn't.

And yet.

What do the Zheng and Ricky plots add to the story if not this? Neither of these characters have anything emotionally to contribute to Stede and Edward - they truly are plot elements. It's a hard break from the S1 antagonist model, but it also takes up a lot of valuable screentime. This was considered important, but still Zheng's personality and motivation only gets explored so far as it's an Edward-Stede-Izzy parallel with Oluwande and Auntie, and they only need the parallel for Izzy's genre-jumping death scene. Which follows a thematically out-of-left-field speech about how piracy is about belonging to something good (workable) and how Ricky could never destroy their spirits (um...?). And then David Jenkins is pointing to it and saying things about "the symbolic death of piracy" and speculating S3 might be about the crew getting "payback"??? An idea floated by Zheng right before our temporary retirement, btw.

Fuck, the final episode of S2 didn't have time for our main couple to talk to each other because it was so busy dealing with the mass explosion of Zheng's fleet and Ricky's victory gloat. We get lethal violence associated with traumatic flashbacks until they need to cut down enemy mooks like it's nothing, at which point we get jokes with Zheng. The Republic of Pirates is destroyed outright, and it feels like they only did it because they got insecure about their "pirate story" not having the right kind of stakes. Don't even get me started on killing a major character because "Piracy’s a dangerous occupation, and some characters should die," as if suspending disbelief on this aspect makes the story somehow lesser, instead of just being a fairly standard genre convention in comedy. Nobody complains about Kermit the Frog having an improbably good survival record.

Did someone tell them that the heroes have to lose a battle near the end of Act 2, so they scrambled to give them one?

Just... compare the wholly plot-driven struggle in 2x08 to Stede and Edward's character-focused storylines in 1x10 and tell me how 2x08 is providing anything nearly as valuable to the story. Because I can't fucking find it.

At best they wasted a bunch of time on a poorly integrated adventure plot as, like, Zheng's backstory or something, and just fucked it up horribly by trying to "step up" the kind of plot they did for Jim. In which case the whole thing will be awkwardly dropped but damage is done. Otherwise, they actually thought they could just casually add a subplot like this because they've done something wildly stupid like think "pirate" is a genre on the same level as "workplace comedy" and can just trample in-universe coherency while you draw on other media to shore up their unsupported beats.

Bringing us to the most infuriating bit...

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"...end the second season in a kinder spot."

If this was the goal, the entire season was written to work actively against it in way that is baffling and incompetent.

The really ironic thing is that the reason that the Act 2 part typically gets a downer ending is because of the evil empire that OFMD did not have to deal with until they pointlessly added it. A plot-driven story has an antagonistic force - a villain - that the heroes need to defeat. Something external working against them. The story ends when they beat the thing, and it's not much of a climax if they do most of the defeating before you get there. Ergo, they have to be outmatched up to the climax. Ergo, the second part cannot end on them feeling pretty comfortable and confident going into the third.

The same rules do not apply in the same way to a character-driven arc.

We already established Edward and Stede declaring their love is not the end of the story. Nor, necessarily, is both of them confidently entering a relationship. Even once they've developed a bunch they will have to show that development by running into the kinds of problems that would have broken them up before and resolving them better.

David Jenkins keeps talking about this idea that S2 is getting a hopeful open ending and S3 will get into potential problems, and like... I don't see any reason why they couldn't have done that successfully. They didn't, but they could've.

If S2 grew them enough as characters and then had them agree to try again in the last minute of the finale, they absolutely could have had a kind and hopeful ending where you were confident they could do it. And then a potential S3 can show that. It's a bit rockier than they were counting on, but they have learned enough lessons to not break up. And then the overall plot can build to proposal (start of Act 3) and wedding (the romantic climax). It doesn't have to be a blow out fight to be emotionally cathartic.

(Hell, the main rockier bit that they overcome in the S3 Act 2 portions could be marriage baggage. I'm sure they both have some. It would work.)

In the same way focusing on our character's long term flaws and character-driven conflict makes an Act 1 "happy ending" more difficult, I suspect it makes an Act 2 "happy ending" easier.

Instead they wrote an Act 2 that failed to convincingly start development and got confused on its direction, and then presented a rushed finale ending in a copy of the predictable disaster from S1 as though it's a good thing. They yanked the story at least temporarily into an awkward place where a romcom is trying to sell me on a bunch of serious drama / adventure beats that it has not put the work into, and inviting comparisons to better versions of those same beats in other, more suited media that make it look worse. The need to portray everyone as reaching happy closure overrules sitting with a major character death and using it for any narrative significance, while still letting it overshadow those happy endings because a romcom just sloppily killed a major character with a wound they've literally looked into the camera and said was harmless.

If I'm being entirely honest, Dead Man's Chest ends effectively at Jack Sparrow's funeral and then cuts to the British Navy obtaining a weapon of mass destruction, and it still feels kinder and more hopeful just because I leave with more faith the characters are actively capable of and working toward solving their problems.

OFMD S2, in contrast, has half-convinced me our main couple would live in a mutually obsessed, miscommunication-ridden horror story until they die.

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Additional Reading

Normally I link stuff like this in the post, but that requires more excitement than I'm feeling right now. Here's my alternative:

Where I thought they were going with Edward - really outlines the mountain of character development they still have unaddressed

Where I thought they were going with Izzy - touches on a lot of themes that might be dead in the water & also context that's still probably relevant to why Izzy got a lot of focus in S2

My scattershot 2x08 reactions

An ask where I sketched out the bones of this argument, and another where I was mostly venting about the fandom response

This one, this other one, and this last one (read the link in op's post too) about genre shifts and failure to pull them off

The trauma goes in the box but it never opens back up - the whole point of Act 2 is that they needed to start opening shit like that - and also they focus so much on needed character growth and so little on following through

They can't even carry through on character growth that we got last season???

Why Izzy's death feels like Bury Your Gays ran smack into shitty writing

EDIT: Oh and this post is REALLY good for outlining the lack of change in way less words than I did

[allwormdiet]

Buzz 7.11

I was so caught up in the euphoria of not having to read about the Empire that for a minute I lived in this world where Coil didn't exist

And so we arrive at The Coil Bunker. Heard this sucker come up once or twice in my time on the periphery.

Somehow I got the impression that it was more established than this. Sounds like a recent development rather than a long-standing stronghold, with the construction going on inside as well as out.

They are already so done with Coil's shit, there's nothing to be impressed by with this guy

It really is a rapid acceleration of their workload, yeah. Even setting aside that the Wards did basically nothing during the gallery job, they've gone against every hitter in the city except most of New Wave and the ones under Coil's employ, and frankly I'm willing to guess that changes down the line.

Coil's value to them as a boss has nothing to do with himself and everything to do with his resources. If he keeps putting them in more trouble than he's worth, then a coup would almost certainly be in order.

"Do you need reassurances that I'm not going to fuck up like some kind of moron and condemn you all to a pointless death in order to work for me?"

"Uh, yeah? It'd be nice?"

I'd talked about this elsewhere, but Coil's fuckup here breaks in two possible ways:

Either he genuinely could not think beyond pulling back the curtain on the Empire's identities and forgot his subordinate villain team who both have a member famous for knowing things she shouldn't and also publicly beefed with the Empire maybe a week ago, or

he actually did realize that the Undersiders would be caught in the blast radius of this plot, figured he'd roll the dice on their survival, and is now lying in a way that makes him sound shortsighted and careless

Like yeah no shit they don't have much faith in him, either he's a moron or a liar willing to look like a moron. Worst-case scenario he's both.

I hate this part. Fuck Coil, truly.

Hate.

Let me tell you how much I've come to hate Coil since I began to read Worm.

There are one million, six hundred and eighty million words in the web serial Worm. If the word "hate" replaced every character within those words it would not equal one one-billionth of the hate I feel for Coil in this micro-instant.

Hate.

Hate.

So this is actually a genius bit of writing, but it's also ironclad proof that Coil has loose gravel in place of a brain. The chances of success are lowering because "the Undersiders" are increasingly unlikely to include Skitter as a member, because she's sickened, horrified, and outraged by what her boss is doing and absolutely will not do what he asks of her at this rate. I'm willing to bet Tattletale knows what's going on, provided that she managed to tear her eyes away from the horror show in order to check on her teammates, but Coil, resident criminal mastermind, apparently doesn't realize that the odds for his pet villain team are getting worse because he's making one of the strongest members of the team hate him more with every second of this exchange.

We know what's going on in Taylor's head before she can even say anything because of this exchange. That's really well done.

I hope Coil dies screaming.

I was going to post a line from Arc 5 or 6 that I'd noticed, about the offhand news of a girl missing presumed dead, but I couldn't find it when I was going back through. I knew about it well before starting my liveread, though. Dinah Alcott. The twelve-year-old girl Coil keeps in his basement, gives drugs, and calls "pet."

Maybe I could've liked Coil more if he was just a kind of ineffectual mastermind and lousy boss, or maybe I wouldn't have felt such an active revulsion towards him, I dunno. But this puts him on a different layer of evil than just some kinda shadowy puppet master or gang boss or whatever. This isn't cops and robbers, this is the same kind of foul play that Heartbreaker operates on, and everyone hates Heartbreaker.

Also not sure exactly what emotions Tattletale is dealing with here but I don't know if people can make the blood drain from their face on demand so she's probably not fronting? She's had me nervous ever since she started more openly cooperating with Coil, but here's reassurance she's got a standard that he doesn't.

Current Thoughts

I will clap and cheer when Coil gets what's coming to him.

[everythingannoyingpjo]

I hated everything Bob the Titan. Like I was a PJO super fan, so I read all the books (so I did know who Bob was BEFORE reading HoH), but that doesn't excuse having him be such a titular part of Percy and Annabeth's Tartarus experience while being introduced in a side book. In what world does that make sense?

This isn't even mentioning how strange it is to blame Percy for not wanting anything to do with Bob/manipulating him. Sure, perhaps Percy MAY have been a little out of line there (truly, I don't think so, though, it IS an argument), and it also didn't help that he was being blamed by the narrative for Bob and Calypso, as if either were ever really HIS fault.

(Finally, Percy has ALWAYS been like that. Bob wasn't needed to show him to be a slightly manipulative person. There were much more interesting ways to go about introducing Tartarus and exploring both Percy and Annabeth as characters. Percy especially).

Not much for me to add here. Bob being in the book never bothered me personally, but I can see how it would be annoying to have the focus taken away from Annabeth and Percy. Percy's POV is actually largely absent in Tartarus, and I think the reason for this (the only reason I can think of) is that Percy's PoV was probably quite dark during this part of the narrative, especially since it's the lead up to his break down when confronting Akhlys.

Percy has always been prone to blaming himself for others misfortune, so the fact that he blamed himself for what happened to Calypso, Bob, and Nico is not surprising to me, what did surprise me is that the narrative played it completely straight. Honestly the scene with Leo and Percy also really bugged me and I know I'm not alone in this. I honestly think Rick bit off more than he could chew with HoO trying to balance the arcs of about 10 different characters with conflicting viewpoints. (I'm counting Reyna, Nico, and Misc side characters here too.)

I think Leo suffers the most from this since his character arc required the most development imo, but so do Hazel, Frank, Piper, and Jason. These characters all have relatively "healthy" coping mechanisms so they didn't need as much focus and were pushed to the side as a result. Percy, whether because we know him better or because he's easier for Rick to write (experience will do that to you) didn't have as much of a problem, except again for those things which required a certain amount of nuance, which is a weak point in Rick's writing already!

I never considered the point of Bob's character was to show that Percy could and would mislead people in order to survive, but it's an interesting point and I like it. I slightly disagree, but only because I'm of the opinion that Percy was being honest with Bob when he said he would let Bob bring Hyperion back if he really wanted to. And we never find out if he is, because that scene is from Annabeth's point of view and she admits she isn't sure if he's lying or not. Another one of those things it would have been nice to come back to. ALAS!

But also we already knew Percy was willing to trick people to survive, didn't we? He tricks his opponents into doing stupid shit all the time in the first series. I guess this is just the first time we as the audience feel sympathy for the character he is potentially deceiving so it FEELS like a betrayal. Definitely something for me to think about. Thanks for your submission.

[aachria]

Hey! I love the way you write and I love you so much. That's why I'm asking for advice on developing an idea for a One Piece AU that has to do with gangs and motorcycles. I don't know how to express it since the idea came from a dream but the image of Luffy on a motorcycle just won't leave my head. How did you manage to develop your story? Is it by making point-based statements or something like that for writers? This would be my first fanfic but I really really want to write it.Sorry if the writing is messy, I don't speak English so the translator is helping me.

The image was created with AI but the essence of the idea I have is like this.

My go-to and favourite way to plan out stories is what I call the cumulative method.

Worlds and stories feel so much more lived in and well thought out if you give yourself time and space to think about the different parts of it and all the moving pieces that go into the story — so my best piece of advice is to just write down every idea you have about it whenever you have one. If you have a cool thought before you're about to fall asleep, write it down. If you're outside walking and see a sign or something that gives you can idea, write it down. Just compile all the little thoughts and details as you go, even when you're not actively planning out the overarching plot or themes or story. Write down moments you want in the story even if you won't know where, write down funny or sad one-liners you want to use, write down everything.

I have all my notes organized into sections of my story (like a different note for each arc) and just whatever I want to happen in it in a vaguely chronological order. Starting with jot note ideas and filling in the space around them totally works, you don't have to know every detail of your plan before you start working either — some of the best parts of your story might be things you improvise while you're writing. I tend to jump right into writing before planning and then grow my plan around whatever happens on the page, but however you go about your own is up to you.

Wow that got long. Tldr; write all your ideas as you go even when you aren't focusing on your story and you'll be fine. Good luck and happy writing!

[nondelphic]

Hello! I was wondering if you had any advice to impart on me in regards to a thing I'm writing? I don't really know what I'm doing. its fine if you can't! Or don't want to! I just figured id ask

I'm trying write this character, which is a demon or eldritch creature(or a mix of the two) that was infected with morals, which came about due to the method that was used to contain them(for a period) in order to stop them since no one had the ability to harm them in anyway that actually mattered, let alone actually put a stop to them. I won't go into the details but It has led to them developing an admittedly not-entirely-working set of morals but functioning ones that were working enough that it tends to poke their now-existing conscience at regular intervals.

I'm trying to figure out how to give them a voice that fits them, but I'm trouble with it.

Part of it i think is that I'm having trouble expressing their otherness, as well as finding a good balance where being evil or cruel wasn't their whole personality.... I've also had them going through an existential crisis(in present time) on top of everything, which probably isn't helping me flesh them out at all. I'm probably trying to do too many things at once with this character but I'm not sure what to do about it

Anyways I'd love any thoughts or advice you can give me! Again it's alright if you can't! Thanks for listening! Bye 👋

hello!! first of all, don’t worry, you’re not alone in feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing. writing complex characters, especially something as wild as a demon/eldritch creature with morals, is tricky but also such a cool concept! i love that you’re playing with the idea of them being infected with morals due to how they were contained, that’s such a fun twist ૮₍ ˃ ⤙ ˂ ₎ა♡ (if i comprehended it correctly).

for giving them a voice that fits, you might want to lean into their 'otherness' by having them struggle to make sense of these newly acquired morals. imagine how disorienting it would be for an ancient, possibly indifferent or malevolent being to suddenly have a conscience—it would almost be like speaking a language they’ve never learned. they might be confused by empathy, irritated by guilt, or even amused by the idea of right vs wrong. their voice could reflect that frustration or confusion, with moments where they’re almost… bemused (??) by their own behavior, like “why do i care about this pitiful human’s feelings, but for some reason… i do?”

as for the existential crisis, i actually think that’s a great layer to add to their character! it shows that they’re evolving (or being forced to evolve), and it gives you opportunities for introspection. maybe they don't understand their own 'human' reactions and get stuck in the 'what am i?' spiral. just try not to overload their development all at once. pace it so the reader can feel the tension between their demonic nature and their new set of morals slowly unravel.

also, you mentioned you're having trouble balancing their cruelty vs personality, which makes sense. maybe instead of thinking of them as 'evil,' think of them as amoral. they didn't necessarily act out of malice before, just because they could. now, with the infected morals, they might wrestle with decisions they wouldn’t have given a second thought to in the past, which could create some cool internal conflict. it's not that they want to be cruel anymore, but they can't entirely shut off their old habits either.

hope some of this helps! good luck with your writing, and feel free to come back if you ever need more brainstorming! 𖤐⭒๋࣭ ⭑ .ᐟ ᡣ𐭩 and soz for the long reply ahhh i got caught up in it 𖦹 ´ ᯅ ` 𖦹

[yanderederee]

I want a yandere too. I want someone to love me even with my flaws, bc I tend to lose focus and I do things last min and I'm neurodivegent and I feel like most of my yanderes (especially baji) wouldn't judge me or see my as weird.

Just wanted to pit this out there bc I saw your tags on my last asks and I wanted to respond to that and ig start a discussion or suggestion?

I hope u accept.

For a while now, I’ve been shifting this ask through my head to conjure a proper response …

For starters, I forgot Yandere was part of the prompt I started writing; so I see this as headcanon in Baji’s actions/reactions in types of situation. I could write a whole separate indulgence piece on how yandere!Baji would develop past this:)

I find myself taking a realistic approach to it all. At first/in youth, I don’t think Baji has enough maturity to really understand other people’s neurological/psychological struggles. He’ll understand there’s some tension in those aspects, but I feel that Baji would be quick to frustrate.

Baji doesn’t understand why you’re suddenly giving him the cold shoulder, when in reality you’ve found yourself non-verbal. It wasn’t that fucking hard to place a food order?

Let Baji be dramatic at first. Let him pick apart what’s actually happening.

Once he sees the way you struggle and try to muster the courage to ask for a refill of your drink, he’s in awe with how relieved and proud of yourself you are after managing the small task.

He’d probably seem pissed off and go quiet himself, but it’s cause Baji is mulling the idea over in his head how you can’t to feel that way.

“What gets you so nervous about being in public anyway?” Baji asks blatantly.

You felt this question at the tip of his tongue all day, and while his actions were putting you more on edge, you noticed little details.

You would notice how his tone is lower, not scowling or rolling his eyes at you anymore. You could tell he felt guilty for his immaturity, after his own actions and choice of words.

Just, the way you were so quick to put up your defenses confused him.

“There’s a lot of … unknowns, I guess.. it doesn’t really make sense to me either, Keisuke… I just— my body reacts like I’m doing something, wrong. Like, I’m inconveniencing everyone around me. If I wasn’t standing here, If I wasn’t taking up someone else’s time, other people’s lives would be more… convenient.”

You could tell you were barely getting anywhere with him, but he was trying to understand. So you kept trying to help him understand.

“L-like even now… if I hadn’t dragged you out to hang out with me today, your time could have been better spent. Mikey and Draken invited you out right? But you declined on my behalf..” you smiled, but that same tinge of guilt hit hard.

“Yeah, doing the same lame shit I’ve done for the last week, no creative pass times with those bone heads sometimes,” he laughed. “You don’t think I’m having fun now?” Baji asked.

“Well, it can be hard to tell,” you chuckled back, weary of meeting his gaze. “I can’t really tell if I’m being entertaining enough, or when people get tired of my needless input. I’m.. kinda slow, I guess, I lose focus on what’s happening sometimes and suddenly I’m not on the same page as everyone anymore. But, like, with everything.”

“Does that make sense?” You sighed, heart palpitating in suspense.

It felt good to vent out all the things that made you anxious, especially when you can’t tell why most of the time. Maybe in time, it would.

Baji cycled through your words, silently.

“I… think so.” He mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

“That part of you’s kinda, what I like about you, though?”

Your eyes twitched, and with an unbelieving look, you eye him cautiously.

“Like yesterday, when you spaced out while Chifuyu and I were arguing about Gekijyo, you suddenly jumped right in with a whole other thing from left field. It was hilarious, but I just remember thinking, ‘who the hell thinks of stuff like that?!’ In-in a good way… you’re pretty smart, yaknow. I really respect the way you handle yourself when you’re caught off guard.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to me, how you go through live so cautiously and worried all the time. But you make smart analysis out of situations that seem unwindable, and,” Baji held out his hand, and carefully pulled a stray hair from your face.

“I just can’t help but like you. You’re funny, and encouraging. When you’re comfortable, you shine. I see so much passion in you, and can’t help wanting to fuel that part of you.”

Baji gently pressed his palm against your cheek.

Sure, little things could sweep you up in thought, distracting you to the point of frustration. So long as he could keep quipping back and forth, laughing, and watching you smile so genuinely— Baji imagined he could take on some of those struggles of your behalf. Maybe, with just a little weight lifted off your conscious, he could watch you grow and eventually take them on with ease, with a smile.

꘏

Over time, Baji would pick up on any stims you had, if you had any.

Started picking up on signs that something was becoming too hard for you to handle, or perhaps comprehend.

He learned your mannerisms, and how to talk out down from any panics you may undergo.

Baji takes it upon himself to learn about the people he cherishes.

He doesn’t drop people because they’re too hard to deal with. Baji doesn’t break off ties, especially when he can tell you’re working through struggles. Physical and psychological.

Baji Keisuke would eventually become surprising attentive, but mostly only with his partner.

He doesn’t walk on egg shells around them, but he will reconsider if he’s acting too harshly.

[this-acuteneurosis]

Can I just say how much I appreciate the fact you don't stray much from the movies?

It's just so refreshing to see a fic that is built on a clear, unbiased and simple canon base. This way, as you demonstrated, a writer not only has the ability to further explore the main themes and ideas introduced in the source material, but they can also go ahead and naturally develop their own by branching out on those fundamentals. They can offer their perspective by using the source material to their advantage, instead of working against it or even worse, trying to include all contradicting canon aspects. Part of writing a fic is kind of like offering your input in a conversation/disagreement. You have to listen carefully to what the other person is saying in order to form your answer...If you're listening to a thousand different people who are all saying a different thing (in this case, The clone wars, legends, novels, comics ect), you won't be able to give an answer that makes sense, much less give a structured and stable opinion.

I love how you were like "I know star wars is entering an era of a shit ton of spin off content with seemingly no end and most star wars fans know shit like who chewie lost his virginity to and what the kessel run is but screw this. The movies and maybe some late night wiki research is enough."

And you were right.

It's so funny, because I feel like I do ultimately stray pretty far from the movies. Not in terms of events I guess, but especially the prequels, I reject some of the underlying assumptions of what is said on screen and just treat it like fallible people strongly asserting opinions that no one calls them on. See: everything I ever assert about the Force/Anakin's "destiny."

I do think it helped me to stick with limited material. And it wasn't even because I saw all of this new SW content coming. I've mentioned this before, but when I started writing Don't Look Back (when it was just Like Fire and I naively believed I was gonna be done in 200k words, lol, rip past me) I hesitated a lot because as far as I was concerned, I wasn't a Star Wars Fan.

I'd watched the OT and PT multiple times. I knew that novels and games and cartoons existed, I knew people had consumed them all. I had been reading some SW fic because @mylongsufferingroommate had been sending me stuff they were enjoying and I was having fun with it. But like, I would never have called myself a Fan. I got goaded into writing this fic by people who knew me too well and really wanted a political thriller. I wouldn't have called them Star Wars Fans either.

Limiting myself to the six movies I had watched was a preemptive defense mechanism against a fan base I wasn't sure would want to accept me. My thin skin is my own problem, but every time I think about writing in a new fandom the same sort of nerves take me: what if my fanon is "wrong" and people are mean?

I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you so much to everyone who gave me a chance and encouraged me and were excited and shared that excitement.

And please, for the love of all the sky and stars DON'T GATEKEEP FANDOMS.

Don't tell people their canon is too big (@blue-sunshine-mauve-morning and @chancecraz have amazing fics that are much more compliant than mine to the broader canon, as a quick example), and definitely don't tell people their canon is too small. Walk away if you aren't enjoying something. Give compliments when you like something that is unique in a fandom you're familiar with. Be patient with people, be kind.

I could easily have given this story up if people hadn't been patient with me. I got comments as early as my first chapter from people who were angry with a single thing that I said and felt the need to tell me I was wrong. I could have left. I could have stopped.

I'm glad I didn't. But I wonder how many other people have.

[tia-amorosa]

Sunset Died - Wainwright/Sword/Hatch

Fears, Dreams, Hopes (longer) Part 3

Later. It's evening now and Connor has finally moved in. “Thanks for letting me live here.“/”You don't have to thank me for that. I've already heard that things were getting difficult with the Andrews"/ ”Difficult? Yes, you could say that. I was really grateful that they took me in, but in the end we were constantly at loggerheads over little things”

“Emma had already told me that you had to share the bedroom with them"/ ”well, you can't call it a bedroom either. it's more like a passageway that's connected to the living room and kitchen. A makeshift arrangement. And Beau had no inhibitions about walking around in his underwear"/ ”Oh dear, hn. Now you're here. And don't worry, none of us walk around here half naked”.

“Huh? I sometimes walk around in my underwear too…"/ ‘hnhn, I know, but we'd rather not traumatize Connor any more’/ ”thanks. Hm, I'd like to order a pizza for everyone as a thank you, but that doesn't look good for now”. Of course, everyone understood the irony in that sentence. “That's okay. Emma and I will just make something delicious for dinner, right?”. Blair looked over at her friend “huh? Oh, sure”.

While the men continued to talk on the sofa, the two women took care of dinner. They were glad that they had a fridge that worked. But it wasn't particularly well stocked. Nevertheless, they made the best of it. “I'll make a salad. “/"O.K., I found some long-life pasta in the cupboard”

“What are you actually writing at the moment? Or are you still writing at all?“/”Of course I am. It helps me to deal with everything that's happened."/ ”Mhm, that's how everyone develops their own therapy. I'm very sorry about your brother…"/ ”Hm, it can't be helped. It's especially sad that Claire and her child got it too. They didn't deserve that"/ ‘Nobody did, no matter how unpleasant the character of some of them was’.

“Let's not kid ourselves, Cy, he had a bad character…"/ ‘Yes, but… Maybe something would have changed in him if he'd had the chance to be a father’/ ‘Do you think that changes a person?’/ ”It's possible. A little person like that does something to you“/”Have you ever held a baby in your arms?"/ ”No, not yet. But maybe one day”.

A little later. During the meal, Emma watched Blair. She seemed a little absent at times. Maybe it was time to have a longer conversation again. “Will you come back to my room after dinner? About the dress…"/ ”Mhm. I hope it doesn't need much altering"/ ”I don't think that will be necessary. What about your hair, should I…"/ ‘No, you can leave it as it is’.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dinner, Blair retreated to the restroom for a moment. Then she went straight to Emma. She helped Blair try on her dress for tomorrow. After she had put it on, Blair looked at herself in the mirror. But her face was a little blank. “What's wrong, sweetie, don't you like it?"/ ‘of course, it's beautiful, Emmi.’/ ”You can be honest. I made it from an old bedspread."/ ‘I like it, I really do’.

Even if she wasn't standing in front of her, Emma could still look her in the eye through the mirror. “And why does the bride-to-be look so sad?” Blair couldn't hide anything from Emma. After all, she was her best friend. Their friendship had plenty of time to grow while they were way out there on that farm. “I'm just scared,” Blair said quietly, ”of what, sweetie? Of him ditching you at the wedding?”.

Blair turned around slowly. Then she just shrugged her shoulders. “It could be that… That he…"/ ”Oh, sweetie, don't have a nervous breakdown so close to the wedding please, do you hear me? This man loves you so much. I'll bet my right leg that he would never cheat on you or dump you.” Blair played nervously with her fingers. “h-hh. oh Emma.”.

Emma gave her friend a pitying look. “Now come here.” Blair went to her and sat on the edge of the bed. Then Emma hugged her from behind. “Cy was an absolutely annoying nerd back then, who never went out and was always glued to his PC. And now look at him today. He's become a real man and he looks…"/ ‘Please don't say it…’/ ‘hehe, Chuck Norris doesn't eat honey, he chews bees…’/ ‘Oh God, Emma, hnhnhn’.

Emma managed to make her friend laugh again. But it also broke a huge dam that had been holding everything back inside Blair. She gave free rein to her emotions for the first time in a long time. She cried out all the fears, the stress and everything else that was weighing on her soul. And Emma held her tight the whole time. “It's okay, sweetie, I'm with you”.

It didn't matter how long Blair cried, Emma held her the whole time. A few minutes passed before Blair calmed down again. “Hhh, sorry, I…"/ ”Not for that, okay? Believe me, you're going to have a wonderful wedding day tomorrow, even if it is a bit cold outside"/ ”hnhn, okay. Thank you anyway, you've always been there for me"/ ‘and that always will be, sweetie.’. Blair slowly got up, changed her clothes and said goodnight to her friend before leaving the room.

If Cy wasn't in the living room or the bedroom, then Blair knew where he would go to.. The small guest room had also become a retreat for him when he wanted to read in peace. “Hey, I just finished… Is everything okay? Of course, he noticed that her eyes were a little puffy. But she just smiled and nodded. “mhm. I'm just tired and would like to fall asleep with you.”

“We do this every evening, my dear."/ ‘I wish it would be like this forever, Cy’/ ”You can have that, hn. Now I've missed my internet hour, the book was just too exciting"/ ”hnhn. But you've made many others here happy for another hour. Come on, we've got plans for tomorrow…”. He looked at her in feigned disbelief. “hm, what?”. Of course she knew he was only joking, but she pinched him briefly in the stomach. “Ouch"/ ‘don't be so cheeky…now come on’..

Shortly after Blair had left Emma's room, Connor came in. “I'm sorry you had to wait."/ ‘It's no problem, sometimes a dress fitting takes a little longer’, hm?“/ ”hnhn, right. Are you tired?"/ ‘Quite a bit, yes. Now I can finally sleep in a bigger bed again.’/ ‘Hot water bottle included.’. If it hadn't been for the tiredness, there would certainly have been other nice things to do. But they didn't want to turn up to the wedding party the next day completely exhausted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

@greenplumbboblover😊

poses by: @poses-by-bee , Sunny's floor sit Poses

[facelessxchurch]

Baronpine and/or Sorrowscorn for the ship bingo please

Imma do Sorrowscorn bc someone else already asked for Baronpine!

Surprisingly enough this is my first Bingo! :D I already filled out the other bingo cards but I'm answering these in the order of what is fasted to draw/answer.

I can make it so fucked up/Colour me intrigued: Self-explanatory. Just, the tension in each interaction, and them being the very definition of kill me romantically. Just everything is personal with them. Eliza can't decide if she wants to kill China, be her or fuck her. Meanwhile, Eliza is a reminder of a past and her old self which she both really rather leave behind. Since they were both part of the Faceless Church, their idea of romance back then has the potential to be so messed up and I do love some (self)destructive love archetypes <3

They're exes: Landy did Eliza so dirty by writing her as the biter ex archetype and giving her like no other personality traits. Even her name is based on that! Scorn -> "Hell has no fury like a woman scorned"

Basically canon to me: And then he has the audacity to claim he never admitted China and Eliza were canonly a thing during the war. There is a reason Sorrowscorn was considered a canonship along with Ganith for the longest time. But he either deleted the tweet or it was an answer on the SP forums which have been shut down by now.

They're the same fucking guy: Landy also did her dirty by making her the colour-swapped, lesser version of China. She, like China, has the ability to make anyone she comes across fall instantly in love with her, though it is established that this power is not as strong as China's, she is a rival collector and information broker to China and she very likely also chose symbol magic as her adept discipline as the glowing daggers she threw seem very similar to what China was shown to be able to do with her sigils. Her personality is also pretty much just wartime China. Since she is the weaker of the two she was very likely the one copying China instead of developing her own strengths and weaknesses. This shows a weakness of character that puts her in a power imbalance with China and also prevents her to climb the ranks of the Faceless church beyond her current position.

Fated Enemies/There is no way this will end well: And that's why their relationship could never last. That's why she could never be more than China's plaything. Seeing so much of herself in Eliza fed her ego and narcissism. She loved herself so of course she would love someone so much like herself. But when she changed and Eliza didn't...

They Enable the worst in each other: Accurate for both wartimes, pushing each other into new extremes since they are rivals as much as lovers trying to impress each other. In the present day, as enemies, Elize definitely brought out China's old 'sharp' self while they were fighting each other.

In a relationship not sure what the relationship is but they are in one: Self-explanatory.

Oh, the devotion/inherit eroticism of attempted murder: 👀👀👀👀

Thematically delicious: Ngl I have a thing for relationships doomed from the start. During the war they were birds of a feather. She found kin in Eliza since she has the same curse ability to make people fall in love with her. Finally, she has someone who understands the hardships that effect brings, finally, someone is immune to it, and finally someone's feelings are real. Now, China is a fallen idol in Eliza's eyes. Someone who she looked up to and wanted to be like now no more than a traitor. Not only did she abandon the church, she had abandoned HER too. And she hates the fact that she knows she would forgive China in an instant would she return to her. To China Eliza is a reminder of a past and an old self she'd rather leave behind. Landy said in a tweet that Eliza would kill China eventually (that was before phase 2 was announced and I think he deleted that tweet) but I think it would be more fitting if China would kill Eliza and quite frankly, Eliza would have it no other way.

[blogger360ncislarules]

The season 2 finale of The Gilded Age brought many of the show's central conflicts to a head, including whether or not The Academy or the Met would win the opera war, who the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Lamb) would choose, whether Armstrong (Debra Monk) would ever stop being a pill — and most importantly, if Larry Russell (Harry Richardson) and Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) would ever get together.

The moment finally arrived in the season's final scenes, and it wasn't a mere chaste brush of a gloved hand either. Standing on the doorstep of the Van Rhijn household, Larry walked Marian home from a night at the opera in the early light of dawn. She promised that even with a move on the horizon, she would keep in touch with Larry. Larry's response was to kiss her, drawing a shy, pleased smile from Marian.

Executive producer and writer Sonja Warfield tells EW that the romantic moment came after she directly solicited creator Julian Fellowes. "Julian had long game plans to get them together," she says. "Back then everything was very chaste. You didn't really kiss somebody; you shook hands or something like that. So, I really did want Marian and Larry to kiss and asked Julian if they could please kiss at the end of the season. He granted me my wish."

Though Warfield warns that if they do secure a season 3 (HBO has yet to order more of The Gilded Age), it won't just be smooth sailing through the tunnel of love. Even if Marian will now have a newly empowered Ada (Cynthia Nixon) on her side against what will no doubt be objections from Agnes (Christine Baranski). "Relationships had their challenges in 1884, and they do today," she says. "The modern challenges aren't that different from those challenges. Yes, we're rooting for them. But everything will be complicated."

EW got Warfield to break down more of the finale, including Peggy's (Denée Benton) decision to leave the paper, Ada's sudden new wealth and its implications, and the possibility that Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) has sold her daughter, Gladys (Taissa Farmiga), to a duke solely to win a society war with Mrs. Astor (Donna Murphy).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You all brought Ada some romance this year, only to immediately kill off poor Luke (Robert Sean Leonard). So, I have to ask, why are you so mean?

SONJA WARFIELD: Because that's drama. And back then, most of the time when people had an ache or a pain, it did mean death. I wanted to disrupt the status quo with Ada. I just adore Cynthia Nixon, and her performance was mesmerizing to me, so I wanted her to be empowered to have a love. Agnes is oppressive, and so, I wanted for her to have love and to feel loved and to understand how that helped her in the world. The heart of the show, it's about the warring classes and Ada and Agnes represent that old money, and so, they need to remain intact. That's why he couldn't stay. 

Peggy decides to leave the Fortune (Sullivan Jones) paper. What will that mean for her future? She talks about a novel, but being a journalist seems like such a core part of her identity right now. 

In that time period, a lot of women were writing serialized stories for newspapers, so Peggy's done some of that too. There's versatility in her writing and in her work. Listen, Fortune is great, but he's a bad influence. He drinks a little bit; he's married. Peggy has a whole future ahead of her anywhere she wants to be. So I'm excited for her.

Will she be able to stay away though?

We shall see. He is pretty cute.

Watson (Michael Cerveris) gets this happy ending where he's going to actually go and have a life with his daughter. Will we continue to follow him and how that develops in the future? Or once he leaves the Russell household, will we not really check in with him?

Now, he's going to be living as a gentleman. We've already seen Turner (Kelley Curran) cross over. Anything's possible in America at that time.

Speaking of Turner, we learn in the climax of the finale that both Bertha and George did her dirty behind the scenes, both with the opera box and learning that Bertha wrote Mrs. Astor to get the new Mrs. Winterton kicked out of the Academy. If there is a season 3, how might that come back to bite them?

 Listen, she'll be conniving to take Bertha down. Turner, or Mrs. Winterton, will be in her orbit. There are crimes of opportunity that Turner will be looking out for wherever she can catch Bertha out. And remember, she was the maid and the maids know everything. 

One has to assume she already is blaming the Russells for everything.

Oh, absolutely. She's a smart cookie. She knows what's going on.

Season 1 ended with this very short-lived triumph for Bertha with her party coming off. But it wasn't enough. If there is a season 3, would that be similar? She won this battle. Are there more battles for her to win? 

The thing about power is that it's unquenchable. You get a taste of it, and you thirst for more. Bertha has her sights set on conquering American society.

There is a heavy implication that Bertha won the Duke of Buckingham by selling out her own daughter. Is that a fair reading of that scenario?

I think you're a smart woman and that's an astute reading. Sadly.

George also looks quite concerned with whatever might be happening with the Duke. And we did see him early in the season pledge that he was supportive of Gladys marrying someone she actually loves. So is he also suspicious? Is he still determined to stand firm to that promise?

That's something that will be tested, and we'll have to see where George and Bertha land. This season was great because we saw them, probably for the first time with their marriage, in some real jeopardy that they had not experienced before. What I loved about that is that they still emerged as this power couple, and so we'll see if they can sustain that and how much their marriage can take. Parents often want different things for their children and that can be challenging. 

We've really seen the servants branch out a lot more this season, whether that be going to the opera or this overarching plot line with the alarm clock. Are we trending toward a situation conceivably where servants are leaving their profession or their power dynamic is in flux?

That's the difference between America and the U.K. You're born into a position there, but in America it's supposedly the land of opportunity. Turner married up; we'll have to see what happens with Jack and how he fits into this new world, or if he gravitates back to his old world and what really happens with it. Businesses go bust, anything's possible. 

We've pretty much exclusively seen Larry interested in architecture to this point. So what would going into the alarm clock business potentially look like for him? 

Money. He's young and he gets to explore a lot of things because his father's a mogul.

In the final moment, Ada warns Agnes that things might be a little different. Historically, Ada is pretty good natured. So her being in charge, what do you conceive that looking like? I feel like we're gearing up for the battle of the century between these two sisters. 

Here's the thing, fighting with a sibling is so different than fighting with somebody else. You can go in and you can go deep and you can go back. It's so charged and it's so conflict ridden. At the same time, you can be at each other's throats and then the next minute, you can hug it out. What I love is that Ada didn't just get a lot of money. She was really empowered to be independent with Luke in that relationship. So the power dynamics, it'll be fun to watch what happens.

Does she hold any resentment toward Agnes for how domineering she was that we could see come out?

Listen, Agnes pushes people. Even if you were forgiving and didn't have resentment, she might stir it up again.

This cast is known for its stellar lineup of Broadway talent. Who would be your dream to join the cast next season?

Sutton Foster. That would be big fun.

[little-luna-llama]

i've been rereading and rereading and rereading the fic series over and over and over. i thought the custard cookie iii fans had either mostly dimmed out or migrated. i only saw a fanart of the bluebell au by chance and got excited enough to see an old hypfix in the dash that i found the fic and god. i am so happy to see another cciii fan in here. you've got me watching all the new beast-yeast storyline eps for this. god you nail shadow milk's voice so well but also i've just listened to his eng voice actor and he truly does sound silly. his english voice actor is doing really well for a first impression. i might be developing another character fixation but who the hell knows. all i can say is that i am back in low-content crk hell where this time i might start actually writing for it. FUCK.

also slightly off-topic what was he doing. no i am serious what was custard cookie iii (who CANNOT be older than like 10) doing on his own chasing a puppy with a crown and when he gets adopted by a bunch of friends there is no alert raised. where was he living before that??? who was taking care of him??? why was no one looking for him??? we know his family lineage and that's like. most of everything. WHAT was that child doing. i would shake him like a pinata but i don't think he deserves that. devsisters i will shake YOU like a pinata because WHY are there so many underdeveloped characters.

yeah that's basically it for now byeeeeeee

IM SOBBING AT THE FIRST PART TYSM IM SO GLAD YOU ARE ENJOYING THE AU AND THAT THE CUSTARD CLAN HASNT DIED OUT JUST YET!

for the second part, I totally get the frustration with the underdeveloped characters, and as for what custard was doing for me it really depends on the au/headcanon I'm going for. I only have 1 au where i hc him older than 11 and thats specifically because its an au set in the future of another au thats dark choco centric, and i often go for around 9, (technically it makes him 6-8 when he first meets the crew because his birthday is implied to be the anniversary date and at least 1 year has passed since he canonically attended Holly's year end ball)

I literally have an au where they spawned in one day because of a wish(an old friend of pure vanillas who wished to help him like he helped them as a form of good karma gets their wish fulfilled and the magic granted to them by vanilla becomes custard iii hence how they share similar abilities and custard is so attached to vani). And "dad" in their memories is just what they used to look like, with the old soul looking after him if he needs it.

In a fairly canon timeline I see that custard was raised by his dad, who went out the day before the adventure started and didn't come back, and custard left to go and find him, and ends up getting adopted by several parental/carer figures including but not limited to: chili pepper, rye, dark choco, madeleine, pure vanilla, dark cacao, tea knight, crunchy chip and c-arrow.

And also gets 3 new siblings in Gingerbrave Strawberry and Wizard, and forms a small chaos squad with Poison mushroom, Strawberry crepe and snapdragon.

As for what happened to his dad, idk rlly. Part of me wants to do a tiger lily conspiracy in that the St pastry order kidnapped tiger lily for her connection to holly(and by extension eternal sugar and mystic flour) and lost her when butter tiger showed up to protect her and that something similar happened to custards dad and he's currently in their hold.

Or in a complete curve ball I could say that Custard iii was kidnapped and escaped, but did not realise he was being kidnapped in his childish naivety.

Until devsis gives us more crumbs this is the best we got.

[zorilleerrant]

I think the problem people have with the current trend in book summaries is that 20 years ago, when you read a book summary, it included the normal who what when where why that people recommend writing in nonfiction articles. A review or recommendation being a kind of nonfiction, people got used to seeing them. And now with the truncated article most common in news reporting it's probably not as familiar to readers of news, either, so it probably shouldn't be surprising that descriptions of books don't contain all those parts.

I really don't think the problem is that there's a 'who' included in the description, because that's always something we wanted to know. It's that there are often paragraphs of lavish description of the 'who' or the 'where'... and very little of the other questions.

People generally want to know the what when why of it all, too. A lot of people are also interested in the how - I've never been much concerned, because I tend to assume the book's going to answer that, but it is frustrating that genre descriptors have become more of buzzwords than anything intended to set up expectations for the story. People slap together any of them they think have crossover with their intended readership, regardless of whether those words in that order actually describe a subgenre.

(A cozy mystery is a specific genre of book. A cozy fantasy is... possibly something people are trying to push now? But nothing established enough to tell me what you mean.)

So we get the 'who', often in too much detail. I know that's just the trend of the moment, but I'm used to people talking up character traits in the introduction to a story because they don't bother illustrating or developing them across the text. It makes me worry that everything being advertised is an informed trait, and the character might as well be another milquetoast Chris Pratt performance. Which is to say nothing of the times when several of the diverse array of characters happen to be extremely minor in the text... leaving the main cast much less diverse indeed.

The 'where' is similarly difficult. It used to be that I could look at something advertising a setting in that much lavish detail and assume it was worldbuilding-driven, or at least that worldbuilding was a large part of what was going on. Instead, it's so often just telling us things in the author's head that have no relevance to the book, and only appear in the first chapter or two before being forgotten about entirely. The rest of the story is just modern New York, London, Paris, etc. with a new coat of paint. They have all the same preoccupations but they say prithee or have a HUD built into their eye implants. Not much worldbuilding at all.

The 'what' being missing is probably the easiest to explain; there have always been complaints that a blurb concentrated too much on the plot, or even gave the ending away. And too much of that is similarly dreary and frustrating to try to wade through, making it hard to look at a book and tell why you'd want to read it. But until the particular glut of it for a few years in there, it was mostly restricted to genre books that used archetypal characters and themes, so the variation in stock plot was the critical deciding factor.

It's the 'when' I feel like I'm missing the most, when I see all these descriptions of characters, because the 'when' is so integral to a character-driven story. Telling us who they are and what they're like is the perfect opportunity to tell us how long it is they've been concerned about this thing. What point in their lives they're at. The kind of experiences they've had already and haven't had yet. How long their world's been the way it is.

But it's the 'why' I sometimes feel like people are unable to even answer. It may be something to do with the push for people to write for themselves, which I do endorse, but just because I wanted to, while a wonderful reason to write, isn't a good enough reason to read something. i mean, I assume you wanted to, or someone else wanted you to, or I don't know why any book would've gotten written. But I want to know what makes the story sing.

Why are the characters doing what they're going to do? Why do they care? Why now? Why about this? Why is the setting the way it is? Why did it start going right or wrong or something sideways? Why hasn't anyone done anything, or why did they fail, or why don't people know they succeeded? Why does this thing go right? Why does that thing go wrong? Why is it told in this tone, voice, mood? Why are these parts included? Why does it follow this character, and that plot, and the other setting devices? Why does it use this motif? Why is it concerned with that philosophy? Why is it about this when it's really about that? Why does it feel some way when it could feel totally different? Why did you write it?

Why should I read it?