#I’ve got a 0 notes og post a ways down I would’ve actually liked to get some engagement

[rubysparx]

.hm..

[sol1056]

three anons: what the hell was all that in S7

Picking out the three that are most to the point for this answer, but I’ve got another dozen or so that overlap. Not sure I’ll have time/energy to answer the rest individually, so hopefully this meta will be sufficient. 

I mean it could be that they had different execs back then who were better at their jobs and kept Shiro around. No one disliked black paladin Shiro, even the DotU fans were ok with it, and the writing in s1-2 was mostly very good. Changing all that was a bad idea. I would have left on the spot if Shiro died or was benched, like now, I'm only around for closure. Maybe they were different execs with this decision & the EPs leaped at the chance. Well, we know who's also gonna be in trouble if that's the case.

With your theory on how storyboards were reused and characters shuffled around for cost cutting, might this not also partly explain the Adam flashback scene and how it was staged? I mean, they were originally supposed to be roommates and the scene was meant to appear in season 2 but got cut. What if they just reused the storyboard (or even animation, if it was already mostly done) the way it was and then just changed the dialogue? This could explain the lack of intimacy in the staging, too. Ezor and Zethrids interactions were more openly intimate maybe not (just) because they‘re villains who die immediately after, but because the decision to make them an item came before storyboarding was done, so the staging is more suggestive. I mean, if you think Shiro was mostly pasted in in the first half of s7, that might make sense.

If cost was the issue and they already had the black paladin Shiro version written, and got the greenlight to change it to Keith then things don't add up. Because they changed it once more! Which could have been avoided if they stuck to the Shiro one. And it goes without saying it would be better written to follow canon instead of the mess we got, like, I cant imagine this NOT discussed. So if it wouldn't be cost effective to change it again for Keith and it would be badly written, why did it happen?

Behind the cut: the most likely chronology of revisions, the clues in S7 as to its original form, and what this means for S8 and the Black Paladin position. 

This is everything I’ve been able to figure out between interviews, podcasts, tweets, plus researching the industry and a few reality-checks with friends more familiar. As always, any mistakes are my own. 

version 0: "five teenagers"

This would’ve been the first pitch after getting the green light, and probably only a loose synopsis, with just the pilot given a rough storyboard. A post-apocalyptic Earth conquered by the Galra, who are seeking Blue. The execs rejected JDS' mechanism for the discovery of Blue, in favor of simply having Keith ‘sense’ Blue. The execs also rejected the idea that Shiro would die only a few episodes in. This summary seems to be the basis of the "five teenagers" part of the teaser.

version A: "shiro kicks the bucket"

Timelines would've dictated moving onto an outline pretty quickly, detailed down to the episode level, including bits of dialogue, motifs, turning points or emotional beats. In this revision, Shiro dies/leaves at the end of S2 and does not return. This is the “originally we wanted him to kick the bucket” version, which the execs rejected.

version B: "shiro goes away for awhile"

If I'm interpreting the hints correctly, the "does Shiro die or not" question got tossed back and forth all the way into S1/S2 pre-production. Rather than rearrange everything, the easiest fix would've been to leave most of the story intact and write only a new ending where Shiro returns. The execs reject this rewrite, saying Shiro can’t be gone that long. This is the “we tried to just have him gone for awhile, but the execs said he had to come back sooner” version.

version C: "enter the clone"

Again, easiest fix is to insert Shiro/Kuron, remove Keith, and reverse that just before Shiro's return in version B. This impacts only the middle seasons (S3-S6); the clone compromise satisfies the execs. Kuron's characterization makes a lot more sense if it’s Keith, in visuals (ie Kuron leaning against the wall in Keith fashion), dialogue (fighting with Lance), and action (leaving without consulting the team). It's also why no one mentions Keith's absence. Because in the original version A, Keith was standing right there.

version D: "wtf is going on", aka Season 7

When JDS mentions having a full season written with Shiro as Black Paladin, it didn't make sense how they'd have a script and not use it. With @ptw30's visual detective work, I think I may've figured it out.

Technical notes: first scripts are all written for a season, then voices are recorded, and then the combined script+recording is used to storyboard. Production seasons are 26-episodes, independent of actual broadcast seasons; VA may be recording scenes across two 13-episode seasons completely out of order, since the recording schedule's going to be based on who's available, not chronology of the file numbers. The biggest staff changes are usually in April ('staffing season') when new shows get the greenlight and start sharking around to catch writers, designers, directors, etc.

In March of this year, S5 was released. At least some of the storyboarders were released in time for staffing season; in April, Hedrick moves to a new project. With S7/S8 being unchanged since version B, I suspect Hedrick delivered the scripts for S7 and S8 by winter of last year, at latest. Even that would be tight, since that's expecting animation to deliver 26 episodes in an 8-month timeframe. [edit: probably delivered much earlier, given the studio leaks show images we can recognize from S7/S8, so some amount of these seasons were in production by then.]

In June, S6 dropped, and a week later, Hamilton was announced as the new story editor via the Lets Voltron podcast. With the lead time required in production, there doesn't seem to be any reason to even need a story editor, at this point. All the pre-production work should be done.

In August, S7 dropped. Hedrick's editor credit is only for the first half of the season; Hamilton gets it for the second half. That means the last six episodes were written after Hedrick's departure. (May Chan's S2 script was reused in part, and she gains a belated co-writing script credit for that. Hedrick should've received the same; it's standard.)

Let's recap a few things we know (and a few we can intuit) about S7:

The season was already written with Shiro returning as Black Paladin, possibly also recorded and storyboarded. 

S6 reversed the S4-S5 trend, lending strength to exec arguments that Shiro is necessary in the story.

After S6 dropped, the EPs said the wolf's name was a spoiler. See this post from @pwt30; tl;dr is that perhaps the EPs intended the wolf to be Shiro's spirit. 

Despite Shiro's return, he's absent for the majority of the first half; when he is present, he barely speaks a half-dozen words, and none are plot-relevant. See @ptw30's post for more details. 

There's a glaring incontinuity when Allura says the paladin armor protected the team, yet Shiro is frozen with the other non-paladins despite wearing armor. 

Keith never offers for Shiro to pilot, nor mentions it, nor even seems to consider it an issue.

Not everything dovetails since I don't have the full picture, but here's my theory: S7 was originally outlined with Shiro's spirit in the wolf, rather than Black. I have no idea when/how JDS would've thought up the CA:WS parallels for his sole writing credit, but Shiro's "I died" and Lotor's psychotic breakdown are squeezed into S6E6, which was written by Josh Hamilton, Hedrick's later replacement. The only other Shiro-in-Black point is a few minutes at the end of S6's final episode. Shifting from Shiro-in-wolf to Shiro-in-Black really only affects one episode, with a bit of editing for another.

Anyway, S6 ends version C, and we segue to version B. For the first half of S7, the clone's body may have been in stasis while the team traveled through its various non-adventures. The episode we now know as S7E1 may have been the mid-point, with about six episodes of Shiro being unconcious. After watching the numbers drop from S3 to S6, the execs may've rejected another six episodes of where-is-Shiro and insisted he come back ASAP.

S7 only has two episodes that must be in order; the rest are pretty rearrangeable. All they had to do was insert Shiro into the background and record a few lines. (Several lines are pure voice-over, which also saves cost/time by not needing to animate moving mouth.) But the moved episode is only his memory/awakening, and the logical next episode would be Shiro's reconnection, and the rest of the season would roll from there. Without moving the entire second half of the season to the start, moving only his awakening episode would mean Shiro does nothing for 5-6 episodes and then abruptly reconnects.  

In a recent interview, JDS said at first the execs weren't enthused until JDS talked up the new mecha they'd give Shiro to captain. Honestly, there's no way JDS got to be EP without giving a really good pitch, but there may've been another element to his argument: nostalgia. The EPs seem certain everyone suffers from their same nostalgia dementia, which if you do, then you probably have been waiting for any glimpse of that og!Keith. If Shiro returns at the start of S7, then Keith's time in Black has been limited to a few disastrous episodes in S3, and a single big battle in S6. The beginning of S7 is the only time we'd ever see the Voltron84 formation working as a unified team, and returning Shiro too soon would defeat the whole purpose of showing how the team has grown in his absence.

The solution seems to have been to remove Shiro's reconnection completely, and keep Keith in Black. That would mean re-recording Shiro's lines from the midpoint onward, and editing in Keith over Shiro. The savings would be that only half the seaon would have to be reworked, not all. The loose end of the space wolf --- an artifact of version B --- was left in place.  

What I'm not sure of is whether the following are significant enough changes to warrant removing Hedrick's name and replacing it with Hamilton's. It could be, if supervising the revision process is enough to override the previous credits. I have no idea about that part of the industry, and it's the kind of edge case you're just not going to find a lot of blog posts about, so if you know, tell me. Otherwise, your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, this would've meant Shiro was switched in for Allura, Allura was put back in a lion, and Keith was switched in for Shiro. This would explain why Shiro speaks as the leader of Voltron despite no longer being a paladin, and the uneasy sensations a lot of people got about the characterizations. It was most striking in the last three episodes: Shiro felt like Allura v2, while Keith felt like Shiro v2. And that further, the Altean-Earthian ship just 'lighting up' for Shiro --- and becoming that oversized white mecha --- may've meant as Allura's fourth (fifth?) deus ex machina.

I'd be willing to bet that mid-battle, Allura repeated her stunt from the end of S2, heading out to destroy Sendak's crystal by herself. She wouldn't need Sam to hack her brain, and then we'd also have a call back to when she got knocked down by the crystal-ball thing on Naxzela. If she was the one meant to go toe-to-toe with Sendak, that would explain the bizarre neutrality of Sendak's words --- he says nothing personal to Shiro, at all --- and the even more bizarre silence on Shiro's part. Allura's words wouldn't fit Shiro, so he's silent.

And lastly, it'd mean that the one leaping out of Black to cut down Sendak wouldn't have been Keith. It would've been Shiro.

Where would the story go from here?

If I look at the events of S7, the first half is terribly disjointed, really. If Shiro was supposed to wake at the midpoint, an episode (or two) is missing. One for him to reconnect with Black, and a second that would provide some minor conflict to settle him back into position. Those two episodes were likely replaced with the unexpected and frankly over-told two-parter of the Earth flashbacks.

Two problems with that, one technical, one structural.

First, the flashback two-parter has a lot of moving parts. Brand-new designs, characters, and backdrops. It's far too elaborate to be done in an ultra-compressed timeframe, not without several heart attacks and therapy bills on the part of the animation staff. (Plus, the US-based storyboarding team is already downsized, so fewer hands to do the work.)

Second, it doesn't make a lot of structural sense, especially against the big revelations in S6 of an existing Altean colony. Within the story, there's no reason to halt everything and travel across the universe to take however long to build a new castle, when the Altean colony question is far more pressing. Returning to earth also violates the structure, because it's really just a standard milieu: start on earth, head out to have adventures, and return home at the end.

But here, they're returning home and then possibly leaving again. That's just... a rather peculiar and imbalanced way to do it. It doesn't help that doing so means literally telling Romelle her people are just gonna have to rot, the paladins are certain they need the castle more. Why would you take one of the more compelling storylines you've come up with, only to background it again, and wreck the traditional bookending milieu structure at the same time? Especially if that means coming up with major set-pieces and brand-new designs in the space of several months, after a chunk of your core staff are already onto other things.

I think those two flashback episodes -- and the rewritten finale episodes --- may've been cribbed from S8. In other words, the second half of S7 was the original end of S8. That would mean repurposing already-created storyboards and animation artifacts, so there's a huge time savings there (not counting the need to re-record voices and edit the visuals to match the changed-around parts). 

[note: if there’s anywhere you want to frontload introductions for the spin-off, it’d be in the final season, not the penultimate season. Here it feels like a big honking distraction, rather than an organic segue into the next iteration.]

That change necessitated that utterly bizarro mecha that appeared out of nowhere with the most ridiculously impeccable timing. There needed to be a reason to pull the team back out to space to deal with Haggar and/or the alt-Alteans and/or Lotor or whomever else it turns out to be.

So... where we go from here depends on when S8 gets released, because that’ll tell us how much they did (or did not) edit the episodes. Another clue will be whose name gets listed as head editor for an episode; if we see Hedrick’s name reappear at the top, we’ll know we’re dealing with episodes that are enough unrevised to qualify as being Hedrick-edited, that it’s a version B episode. 

My expectation? They’ll move Shiro’s reconnection to the first part of S8, and add an episode or edit pieces of another, to blend it into what would’ve been the first half of S8 (probably with filler to mask the gap). Then add an episode to segue into the version B finale of S7, where we’d end with the original VLD lineup. With the time needed for animation, that’d be the easiest (if potentially awkward) way to repurpose as much as possible of existing artifacts. 

If we don’t get S8 in the next 1-2 months, though, all bets are off, and there’s a much greater possibility that the entire final season is being redone from scratch. I’d expect Keith to stay in Black, in that case, but I’m always willing to be pleasantly surprised.  

edited to add: see this followup for another detail that supports the reversed-seasons theory

[madzwanted]

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒  ;

 this is basically all the connections that i listed at the bottom of my intro but i gave them proper descriptions so you can see where my head’s at ! i’ll also be marking taken connections here for my own reference :-) putting it under a read more just because it got really long oops

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯

  *    𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫  ( 1 / 1 ) : DELANEY DARLING  .  her better half , her best friend , & the biggest pain in her ass all wrapped up in one . they’ve gone through everything together . maddie loves her sister with her whole heart & couldn’t imagine doing life without her . delaney is also temporarily living with maddie while she gets her life together , so they’re roommates !

  *   𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 ( 0 / 1 ) : alright i’ll admit it ... i want this for angsty reasons . but pls , maddie pulled a dick move by having his baby & never even telling him , never even gave him a choice in the matter of whether they’d raise their daughter together or not - she just left for a year , agreed to give the baby up for adoption , & then showed up again acting like nothing happened . she never would’ve confessed to getting pregnant in the first place if it wasn’t for the fact that rumors are flying because of the 786 website . so that’s just a cherry on top of this shit show ˆ

  *   𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐞  ( 1 / 1 ) : GABI ROMAINE  .  best friend . they’ve been through a lot together & have come out stronger on the other side . they trust each other with everything . well , almost everything . maddie has yet to share with gabi the truth about what she went through during her year away . it just never seemed like the right time . gabi was dealing with cancelling her tour & losing her own baby - it just feels wrong to maddie to bring up her own woes while her friend is going through a hard time of her own . but the longer she keeps the secret , the worst things might get .

  *   𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞  ( 0 / 1 ) : maddie just needs that little devil on her shoulder that pushes her to take a trip on the wild side . they encourage her to indulge in all her worst behaviors and make her live a little , because what’s the worst that could happen ?

  *   𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 ( 0 / 1 ) : classic situation where they’re nice to each other’s faces but talk shit behind each other’s backs . people probably get whiplash from the two of them because one might they’re getting along fine & the next they’re throwing shade like it’s nothing

  *   𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 ( 0 / ?? ) : their parents are friends & as a result they’ve grown to know each other well enough . maybe they’re so close that they go on family vacations together & have a blast . or maybe they’re just casually friendly enough that it’s not *that* awkward when they’re forced to sit through shared family dinners . 

  *   𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 ( 0 / 1 ) : maddie is already painted out to be a sweetheart but it’s always nice to have someone that encourages her angel behavior . sometimes her other rowdy friends steer her off course , so it’s nice to have this person around who keeps her on track

  *   𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ( 1 / 1 ) : CAMILA NUÑEZ  .  there’s never a dull moment with cami around that’s for sure . cami is the wild child out of the duo which maddie doesn’t mind at all . maddie cranks up the mom friend tendencies whenever they go out . it’s her way of showing that she cares 

  *   𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐭 ( 1 / 1 ) : LENNON DAVIES  .  the most supportive & loving friendship . lennon is maddie’s favorite person & the one that she feels most comfortable around . so she feels safe enough to tell lennon everything - even confiding in her with her deepest secret

  *   𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 ( 0 / 1 ) : could be a rival in the dance field or just a personal rival . they’re just dead set on trying to one up each other . maddie is hella competitive so she’d probably get really into a rivalry even if it was started over a dumb petty reason

  *  𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝 ( 0 / 2 ) : i’d love a little trio girl squad ! think like the bold type ! just gal pals supporting each other & getting into nonsense , we love to see it 

  *   𝐧𝐨𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐛 ( 0 / 3 ) : classic og gossip girl reference ( i’ve never actually watched the show . . . but that’s irrelevant ) give me that friend group of stupid rich kids that go through pretty much everything together . sometimes they love each other , sometimes they hate each other . but they’ve always got each other’s backs 

  *   𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 ( 1 / 1 ) : SAMMY NAVARRO  .  not only are they both from tennessee but their dads are good friends , so the darling sisters grew up close with the navarro’s . sam is likely maddie’s longest time friend & is like the brother she never had . they have a playful , trusting relationship but it’s turned a bit sour considering the state of his on / off relationship with her sister . maddie’s quite used to sammy & delaney fighting . but calling off a whole engagement ? this is new territory . she’s hoping that their friendship will be bounce back soon

  *  𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 ( 0 / 1 ) : according to all laws of aviation , there is no way that these two should be friends . they’re just so different from each other that you’d think that they’d clash . however , sometimes opposites attract & in this case they actually complement each other pretty well , forming a pretty good friendship

  *  𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 ( 0 / 1 ) : despite their romantic relationship ending these two have managed to stay pretty good friends , all things considered . they still check up on each other from time to time & go grab lunch if they’re both free . just a duo that’s better off as friends than romantic partners

  *   𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 ( 0 / 1 ) : their relationship ended on a bad note & has left a sour taste in maddie’s mouth . they can’t be around each other for extended periods of time without rehashing old arguments by bringing up old shit . maybe one day they can be civil but for now , maddie regrets ever dating them in the first place

  *   𝐞𝐱 - 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 ( 1 / 1 ) : AZARIA NKOLO  . i’ve said it once & i’ll say it again , maddie pulled a dick move by ghosting everyone she knows & loves & then coming back like everything is super casual . zari was one of maddie’s best friends & she just kept blowing her off when zari kept offering to visit her while she was gone . now that they’re back in the same city , maddie’s avoiding her like the plague . but she won’t be able to get away with it for long 

  *   𝐩𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 ( 0 / 1 ) : i just think it would be funny if these two started beefing on the internet for shits & giggles . like maybe people started speculating on the internet that they had a problem with each other . this conspiracy has been getting them both a lot of attention in the media . & the reality of the situation is that they don’t , but all publicity is good publicity right ? so they’re keeping up the charade that they hate each other just to keep themselves relevant basically . i imagine them roasting each other on twitter while sitting next to each other giggling about how silly the whole thing is . it’s just fun

  *   𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐬 ( 0 / ?? ) : they haven’t had the chance to get to know each other super well irl but they’ve been following each other on social media for awhile . whenever maddie is actually active , she’s always commenting on their posts hyping them up & stuff

  *   𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 ( 0 / ?? ) : if you catch maddie out having a good time , it’s not unlikely that you’ll find her out with them . they always find each other at parties & just spend the night drinking , dancing , & getting into some stuff that might result in them being featured on the cover of tmz in the morning

  *   𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 - 𝐮𝐩 ( 0 / 1 ) : for whatever reason , it can’t be public knowledge that these two are getting it on behind closed doors . so around other people they act like they don’t even know each other . but in private , they’re all over each other . maybe there’s feelings there on one side or both , but they still can’t go public & that’s putting some strain on the relationship . or maybe one of them is embarrassed to be hooking up with the other so absolutely no one can know for their sake

  *   𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 ( 1 / 1 ) : ELEANOR SINCLAIR  .  maddie’s developed a certain fondness for elle that she just hasn’t been able to shake . she knows things aren’t going anywhere , elle has been sure to turn her down ( gently ) more than once . but the other girl’s got a hold on her that she just can’t escape . no matter what , maddie will always care for elle . but if she knows what’s good for her , she’ll learn to set some boundaries in order to get them out of the vicious cycle of give & take that they’re in

  *  𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 ( 0 / 1 ) : any friendship can be made better or more complicated by adding sex to it . could be strictly no strings attached & no feelings beyond physical attraction going on . or it could get messy with one catching feelings without telling the other . i’m up for either !

  *   𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲 ( 0 / 1 ) : let them have spontaneous adventures to the florida keys for the weekend or taking a private jet to new york . or maybe they just go skinny dipping at the beach at midnight or take 3am trips to mcdonalds . they’re just always down to clown together

  *   𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 ( 0 / 1 ) : they both claim to hate each other’s guts & yet maddie lets them rearrange hers on a semi - regular basis . they fight a whole bunch but the sexual tension is there & they can’t ignore it every time

  *  𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 ( 0 / ?? ) : fellow professional dances or just anyone that is interested in dancing ! gimme people that maddie has performed with or people that maddie partners up with at dance class for funsies

  *   𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫 ( 0 / 1 ) : someone that maddie looks up to either professionally or personally . she’s been taken under their wing & wants to be just like them when she grows up ( nevermind that she’s already an adult )

  *   𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 ( 0 / 1 ) : 

  *   𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 ( 1 / 1 ) : GIO VELASCO .  king & queen of good vibes , reigning together over an absolutely drama free zone . gio is a treasure to maddie simply because he keeps things light & chill . it’s the sort of positive energy they both need in their lives . neither one ever bothers to ask the other to open up about their problems , they simply go to each other to decompress & have a good time . it’s just what maddie needs right now

  *   𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 ( 0 / 1 ) : a sorta slow burn relationship were it’s like the feelings are mutual they’re just both idiots your honor . they’re friends that are on the edge of being something more . even though everyone else can see it , they don’t see that the feelings are mutual & they’d definitely be together if they tried . whether or not they ever actually get together is up in the air honestly

  *   𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 & 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 “𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐲” ( 0 / ?? ) : admittedly , there’s something sus about maddie . like she’s clearly hiding something & her story behind why she was gone for a whole entire year doesn’t totally add up . pls gimme someone that doesn’t buy her sorry excuses & is willing to be nosy enough to see what she’s really hiding