#Michel : before the timeline

[aaartemisia]

I still do hope that Michel would have been put in Netflix (and also a live action adaptation as well; if the series runs well with casting accuracy and story, I rather see a sequel and a prequel for Michel)

[lizzybeeee]

Someone on reddit posted a pic of the concept art characters from the DATV artbook and I'm just...so tired and disappointed.

We could have had Calpernia as a companion, not even mentioning Imshael.

This clearly shows that they initially - in whatever iteration of the game it is - cared about incorporating aspects of previous games. Imagine having Calpernia, Harding, and Imshael as companions and not having them comment/acknowledge the events of Inquisition! Imagine Calpernia talking and giving insight into Corypheous or Samson, or arguing with Harding in banter! Imagine Imshael talking about Michel deChevin or complaining that the Inquisitor stabbed them! Not to mention the other concept art that had Dorian and Isabela interacting - try making anything like that happen without acknowledging DA2 or DAI!

Can you imagine having all these characters in the game, then having the nerve to drop 'the south of Thedas is blighted and destroyed now lol' in a letter? No!

We live in the worst timeline with DATV - a game that utterly watered down, sanitized, and obliterated everything that came before it. A game that removed all mystery and intrigue, condensing it to "solas and the ancient elves did it lol' - telling us with no gravitas, bluntly stating it with the subtly and care of a fucking dragon in a tea shop. A game that, with no shame, went scorched earth with Ferelden, Kirkwall, and Orlais with the sole intent of clearing the board so that they can cultivate some new IP with the existing Dragon Age name.

What a fucking waste.

[lizardsfromspace]

Whenever people criticize Mirror Georgiou you get the response that, well, it was cool to have Michelle Yeoh on the show! And it was, but Mirror Georgiou was often such a waste of Yeoh, because for a solid two seasons her role on the show was usually to wander into a room and say something Dark. "In my timeline, I ate you," Mirror Georgiou wanders into a scene to announce for no reason, bye Mirror Georgiou! Now it's time for an action scene and an awkward attempt at pathos between you and Michael even though you're not only not Michael's mentor but a cartoon supervillain

That's the problem, really. Yeoh had a three-dimensional character to play for two episodes, and then they gave her a one-note cartoon character to play for two and a half seasons, but one whose role was often just reminding you she was there as set-up for the time travel two-parter where she kinda gets some development before going back in time for the Space CIA series movie. But also the writing was just...weird. She wasn't some edgelord saying dark things to shock everyone, she was a genocidal dictator responsible for the deaths of trillions and the extinction of entire species. But nobody in-story treated her like that. It took place in another dimension so it's okay, and Michael is just happy to be in the presence of a ghoulish monster wearing her dead mentor's face, so. It's fine.

[taylorklosscomeout138]

Where does swiftgron fit in your timeline? I thought kaylor was from 2012-13

I used to believe all love songs on Red had to be about Swiftgron because based on the Kaylor officially met in 2013 false narrative, it was impossible for songs to be about Karlie

But then I discovered the video where Taylor confirms she met Karlie at the 2008 Young Hollywood Awards so pretty much they lied about the entire tl to cover their tracks

(This is going to be a long wild ride but it's worth the read so please bare with me)

That led me to discover the 10000% proof that Begin Again is about Karlie because her full name and birth year is hidden on a car license plate in the MV. (That also led to me finding out many Red songs are about Karlie)

Taylor started officially dating Karlie in 2011, Kaylor began before Swiftgron. But by Summer of 2012 Kaylor and Swiftgron overlap. And thus we get the Folklore love triangle. "Chase 2 girls lose the 1" and she swears to Betty it was "just a summer thing"

(Which I need to fact check this for clarity, Betty August Rebekah are all Karlie. August is not a seperate person that was a bait and switch. Dianna Agron is Inez. The person Betty heard the rumours that James cheated from... how did Inez know if it was a secret? Because she was the other party in the affair. Inez derives from the Latin name AGnes)

Okay so back to "just a summer thing", well the actual confirmed Swiftgron timeline literally is called "The Swiftgron Summer" of 2012. So this makes it very obvious that the "summer thing" is when she started seeing Dianna despite being with Karlie. It is explained in Folklore that this ended their relationship initially

So now the timeline makes sm sense when you know How You Get The Girl was written about Taylor losing Karlie for 6 months due to this. And showing up to her doorstep to make it up to her after officially leaving Dianna in the Fall.

The 6 months would span the beginning of Summer, to November of 2012. I believe this is also why Red TV was released in Nov 2021. It is quite literally the same date, just rearranged.

So let's reflect back, because if Swiftgron really was only official in Summer of 2012 (which is also made apparent by Dianna and Lea Michele's timeline) and Red came out in Oct of 2012, then makes it impossible that Red songs could actually be about Dianna Agron besides the potential of a couple last minute love songs, but even then, albums are turned in months prior to the release.

Therefore, Red is likely only Liz Huett and Karlie Kloss. I was not apart of the fandom during Swiftgron, I joined way later, so I honestly do not understand how anyone ever concluded Red is about Swiftgron and didn't question that when even the masterpost makes it clear Swiftgron was mainly just a summer thing in 2012 and Dianna was with Lea Michele still in 2011. I can understand thinking Red was about her though based on just not having any other fitting muse due to the lie narrative about Kaylor.

But my friend even fact checked the one lyric on Red everyone thought to 100% be about Dianna from Holy Ground "I left a note on the door with a joke we made"

But the evidence comes from Dianna's birthday party at the end of April 2012. Whereas Taylor factually wrote Holy Ground in Feb 2012, 2 months prior to that.... which I also have no idea how that never got fact checked and was ran with.

I even believed it up until my friend told me about it a few weeks ago but that's because I've never looked into facts about the Swiftgron timeline much until finding out that the entire timeline as we knew it was a false public narrative timeline used to cover up Kaylor history of the past. So needless to say.... very shocking. And it changes everything

This basically means that Swiftgron doesn't even officially get a song until 1989- and even then it's half Karlie half Dianna as confirmed by Kimby Kloss in her messy era when she liked a post of someone saying YAIL is the Kaylor anthem and Wonderland is the Swiftgron anthem.

So there you have it. Honestly this isn't even beginning to scratch the surface because there is so many things about the timeline that have been misunderstood for so long.

Including that Enchanted off of Speak Now was the first ever song written about Karlie. It was just a fantasy song at the time, but the reason we all believed it to be about Emma Stone was because that's what she was going for. Why? Because when Taylor met Karlie for the first time in 2008 it was at the same time she met Emma Stone. The guy who introduced them said he brought Karlie and Emma over her to her at the same time. Hence why on Speak Now TV she coded Karlie as Emma with "When Emma Falls In Love".

I can definitely get into the breakdown of Red as to what songs are about Liz Huett and what songs are about Karlie if that's something you or anyone else would like! Me and my discord have already reassessed the whole album through this lens awhile ago

[27goldensun]

Harry, Loewe and Stunting

So everyone must have noticed by now that I’m a timeline and numbers freak, and, with a fresh stunt coming right up, I’ve decided to take a look at Harry’s latest fashion trends and how a Loewe collaboration seems to be imminent and connected to his latest ‘gf’

Here’s a visual representation of Harry’s non-concert outfits for the past 6 months (I’m excluding the fits he wears on stage since Love on Tour is deeply connected to Gucci)

Loewe is the single brand he is wearing repeatedly, more than any other, and its a pattern seen before in 2016, when he began having a more serious relationship with Gucci:

June 2016: Harry follows Alessandro Michele (Gucci’s creative director at the time) on Instagram

2017: Harry and Gucci officially start collaborating

For 2023 we have this timeline of events

March 25th, 2023: Harry EmRata kissing video

June 23rd, 2023: Harry and T. Russel museum photos (first time they’re connected, but her identity isn’t confirmed yet)

June 28th, 2023: Harry follows JW Anderson on Instagram (current creative director for Loewe)

July 9th, 2023: Confirmation of T. Russel’s identity following her presence at Harry’s show and their walk around Vienna (July 8th)

As most things regarding Harry, it usually comes with its share of stunting, which began earlier this year with the EmRata kissing video. Emily Ratojowski isn’t an ambassador for Loewe, but seems to have her share of connection to the brand, always present at their Shows and having a few shoots with them.

Who is a Loewe ambassador though? You guessed it right: Taylor Russel. So this latest stunt seems to come to fruition as Harry begins distancing himself from Gucci and moving towards a partnership/collaboration with Loewe (aside from the ‘usual’ stunt reasons such as he’ll be away from touring and needs to stay in the public eye, and she has a play coming up next month in London to promote) the choice of the new girlfriend seems logical and, as always, predictable.

Bonus: as I was creating this timeline I looked at the brilliant @twopoppies page and this post of hers made me laugh with her foreshadowing (following the EmRata kiss):

So, as with any stunt, this isn’t organic or natural (took those words right from Louis), but rather quite obviously planned. Let’s just sit back and watch how it unfolds

[abi-renirk]

“All for the Game” song recommendations

*I know some of these songs didn’t exist during the timeline of the series, but we are just going to ignore that*

**We’re also going to ignore that some of the songs Andrew wouldn’t ever admit listening to**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Can You Feel My Heart” - Bring Me The Horizon

This is the song that made me want to make a playlist for AFTG. I heard it and immediately thought about Andrew and how he would probably listen to it on repeat (which is what I did).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Strange Boy” - El Michels Affair

Andrew’s thoughts and feelings about Neil, especially when they first meet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Maniac” - Conan Grey

Andrew and Neil about each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Go F**K Yourself” - Two Feet

Andrew blasting this in the Maserati when he’s driving alone or in his headphones while training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Say My Name” - Prince of Eden

Andrew playing this with Neil in the front seat while on a midnight drive because Neil was feeling flighty after a rough practice as Captain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Habits (Stay High)” - Our Last Night

Andrew while on his meds and thinking Neil was a hallucination.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All I Wanted” - Paramore

Andrew’s thoughts and feelings before Neil decided to stay. He found someone who respected his boundaries and accepted his mental illness but expected Neil to run away or die.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Daddy Issues” - The Neighbourhood

Andrew about Neil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Blasphemy” - Bring Me The Horizon

Andrew to the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Centuries” - Fall Out Boy

The Foxes play this on the speaker when training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Take On The World” - You Me At Six

Neil plays this in the car while driving around with Andrew and Andrew hates it. He added it to his playlist titled “Junkie” as soon as they got home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Demons” - The All-American Rejects

Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“i hate u, i love u” - gnash

Andrew Joseph Minyard after he meets Neil Abram Josten and realizes the 5’3” redhead with blue eyes and secrets has captured his attention and there’s nothing he can do about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Crawling” - LINKIN PARK

Andrew about his forced medication.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Back To Me” The All-American Rejects

Andrew to Neil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Somewhere I Belong” LINKIN PARK

Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“In The End” - LINKIN PARK

Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Numb” - LINKIN PARK

Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Burn It To The Ground” - Nickelback

Another song The Foxes play during training sessions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Doomed” - Bring Me The Horizon

Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“BURN IT DOWN” - LINKIN PARK

The Foxes’ training playlist.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Help” - Papa Roach

Andrew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Every Time You Leave” - I Prevail

Andreil.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Still Into You” - Paramore

Andrew rage listening to this after Neil pissed him off for doing something unnecessarily stupid to remind himself why he’s dating the menace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“THE DEATH OF PEACE OF MIND” - Bad Omens

Andrew when he realized his attraction to Neil wasn’t going away AND that Neil felt the same way.

[sl-walker]

Self-Promotion as Distraction

Want something to read? Here's my stuff that I'd rec, along with what kind of mood it's good for. Feedback adored if you read any of these and wanna give it.

Supernatural - The (Second) Book of James - Long Good if you like stories written before Season 9, tons of angel lore and metaphysics, angel-vessel relations, Jimmy Novak, a story told backwards-and-forwards, and something with a very bittersweet ending that is not actually the ending. Some warning for tragedy, of a sort. If you love Cas and Jimmy, though, it's a hell of an adventure, especially if you like Cas as a total badass.

Star Trek: The Original Series - The Arc of the Wolf - Long Good if you love your Trek stories very grounded and humanistic. Pretty much the life story of Montgomery Scott, it's very much a Scotty story first and a Trek story only sometime after that. There's drama, humor, high seas piracy, friendship, found family and even if you don't actually know Trek very well, I've been told you don't need to in order to enjoy it.

Star Wars - Witness me - Long Good if you like Maul and specifically Obimaul, especially with the more Legends lean on Maul's characterization. Basically an AU where Maul was captured after Theed, the series doesn't ignore the fact that Maul was cut in half, so it's very heavy on the psychology and relationship building. It also has a whole gamut of emotions explored, and beyond the Obimaul, you also have found family and friendship building and an absolutely awesome cast of clones in Blackbirds: Year One. Probably my most popular work, and not entirely without reason.

Star Wars - Undersong - Long-ish Good if you like id-fic! A Sith AU where both Obi-Wan and Maul are raised by Sidious before escaping together, it's largely written in a serial format, with short chapters and a lot of momentum. Good if you don't like long, dense chapters, but do like a story with some real rollercoaster emotion. I enjoyed the hell out of the supporting cast, and so does everyone who reads it, too.

DC Comics/JLI - Past Resolution's Power - Mid-length Good if you want a shorter tale but with teeth. The prequel series to Stardust, this one primarily looks at the short span of time between the book Justice League: Generation Lost (and Booster Gold Vol. 2) and Flashpoint, mostly centered around Booster, but also with Rani and Rip and Michelle and Guy. It's a pretty heavy and genuinely mature story, though it's got its light spots, too. Also called the Mk. I timeline, as its the first.

DC Comics/JLI - Carbon Cycle - Long Good if you want something long, involved, sometimes incredibly fluffy and definitely filled with warmth. The Mk. III timeline -- meaning the third reboot, versus the Mk. I timeline above -- takes place mostly around DC's Rebirth era, on the notion that the characters aren't getting cleanly reset every time and instead that there are these echoes from past lives. The main story, Stardust, is Booster/Beetle slowburn, lots of funny but also lots of sincerity, and later on some heavier stuff creeping in, but the supporting cast has some serious screentime, too.

How about you, Tumblr? GIVE US YOUR DISTRACTION RECS.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

LOTR Newsletter - January 11

Today is the arrival at Caradhras and the start of the ascent, but I want to jump back to events in the Shire as some context for what's going on in the rest of the timeline.

This is from "The Scouring of the Shire", with events recounted by Farmer Cotton. Previously, in the autumn, things had already started to get back: Lotho Sackville-Baggins has previously acquired a lot of land in the Southfarthing, and was exporting not just a lot of pipeweed but so much food (to Isengard) that the Shire began to run short. Then Men, ruffians (also from Isengard and its allies) also began to come to the Shire in growing numbers.

“Things began to get short, and winter coming on, too. Folk got angry, but he [Lotho] had his answer. A lot of Men, ruffians mostly, came with great waggons, some to carry off the goods south-away, and others to say. And more came. And before we knew where we were they were planted here and there all over the Shire, and were felling trees and digging and building themselves sheds and house just as they liked. At first goods and damage was paid for by Pimple [Lotho]; but soon they began lording it around and taking what they wanted.

“Then there was a bit of trouble, but not enough. Old Will the Mayor set off for Bag End to protest, but he never got there. Ruffians laid hands on him and took and locked him up in a hole in Michel Delving, and there he is now. And after that, it would be soon after New Year, there weren’t no more Mayor, and Pimple called himself Chief Shirriff, or just Chief, and did as he liked; and if anyone got ‘uppish’ as they called it, they followed Will. So things went from bad to worse.  There wasn’t no smoke left, save for the Men; and the Chief didn’t hold with beer, save for his Men, and closed all the inns; and everything except Rules got shorter and shorter, unless one could hide a bit of one’s own when the ruffians went round gathering stuff up ‘for fair distribution’: which meant they got it and we didn’t, except for the leavings which you could have at the Shirriff-houses, if you could stomach them. All very bad.”           

The bolded bit is a literal coup d'etat: the legitimate mayor of the Shire removed and imprisoned by paramilitary forces working for Lotho, and Lotho setting himself up as dictator and taking political prisoners. This is important to me, because we only see the impacts on the Shire once Saruman is there, so it's easy to attribute most or all of the damage to Saruman. But Saruman doesn't show up until late September! Lotho's coup happens before the Fellowship even reach Moria, and the majority of the time between January and November, what is going on in the Shire is Lotho's dictatorship, only indirectly influenced by Isengard.

[pimento-playing-hopscotch]

Traffic Light Game

Thank you to @heartstringsduet for coming up with this game and thank you to Michelle and @annoyingcloudearthquake @nisbanisba @everlastingday for tagging me!

Rules: Talk about something creative you're working on of any kind. Green: What is it, what excited you about it, what sparked the idea? Orange: Slow down and share something from it; a photo, a few words, some more background info, etc. Red: What is the roadblock currently? What is one thing that is a necessary evil in making it?

Green: What I'm working on now is something I haven't worked on at length in a few months, which is an ongoing fic of mine called Growing Up, Strand Style- which is a fic about TK growing up in New York and dealing with his parents divorce and finding new partners and their jobs, canon compliant with a twist; TK isn't an only child, because his parents had a baby girl when he was five. What excites me about it is I love writing all four members of this family so much- including the OC I created- and this idea came from the fact that TK is such a sweetheart and seemed like he would be such a good big brother and that I wanted him to have someone to go through his childhood with.

Orange: I have been writing this fic for a little more than two years, it is my pride and joy, truly. Thirteen years have passed in this fic- it starts right before TK's little sister Sophie is born and in the most recent chapter, Sophie is thirteen and TK is eighteen. There's also a separate timeline that takes place during season 2 in 2021, where Sophie joins her family in Austin (this timeline takes some more liberties, because the pregnancy storyline doesn't happen and Gwyn stays in Texas). Each chapter usually deals with all four characters having storylines that intersect- but I've reached a point in my fic where something is happening that hasn't happened before, where Sophie is starting seventh grade at a new school at the same time that TK is starting fire cadet academy- and that's a lot so I'm splitting it into two where both TK and Sophie are getting their own chapter- I haven't done much for either but here is a snippet from the TK chapter-

“So,” Owen said, “tomorrow’s the big day”.

“Yep”. TK nodded as he switched the phone to his other ear. “We’re less than twelve hours out”.

“You blink, and it’ll be here”. His dad agreed. “You got everything? You know where you’re going?”

“I got it, Dad,” TK nodded, starting to nibble on the nail of his pinky finger. “I know where to go. I tries three different routes so I know which train will get me there the fastest”.

“You haven’t even started yet, and it’s already made you a big nerd,” Sophie muttered from the couch.

“Maybe, but I’m a nerd who gets to leave by myself and use my computer when I want,” TK called over his shoulder.

“Bud, be nice to your sister,” Owen chided as TK caught the pillow his sister threw at him with his free hand. “It sounds like you’re all ready for tomorrow though. You nervous?”

TK smiled to himself before answering. “Uh huh”.

TK felt like he could hear the grin on his dad’s face when he asked, “First time?”

“Nope”. TK shook his head. “No, I’ve been nervous lots of times”. On the other end of the phone, he heard his dad laugh as his sister rolled her eyes and muttered, “that joke wasn’t funny the first time, idiots”.

RED: Right now there are a fair few roadblocks and I don't care for that one bit! Writing this fic has always come very naturally to me, but I haven't written it for any good amount of time in the last three months and now I'm struggling to get back into it. Part of the problem is they cast too adorable of a child to play Jonah, and I keep having more and more Tarlos and Jonah fic ideas that I want to do, and then there's the fact that I'm psyching myself out a bit about writing TK in the cadet academy. I want to get it right and am so worried I'll get it wrong (which is just super annoying because I'm also self aware to be yelling at my self to just get over it because- spoiler- TK has his first experiences with opioids and addiction in this fic, and I was afraid to write that arc, but not to toot my own horn, I think that turned out really well, and I wasn't sure I could do it. And I want to do it so badly but brain isn't cooperating). And the necessary evil would be the same one for writing anything I feel; it's hard to tune out the voices and make this fic what I want it to be. I've just been struggling with that more lately. But I love my OC, and I love this fic, and I am trying so hard to get over this so I can get back to it.

No pressure tagging- I tag @anewkindofme @laneybishop89 @carlos-in-glasses @kiankiwi @carlossreaders @lavenderrdaughter @henrygrass @firstprince-history-huh @paperstorm @chicgeekgirl89 and anyone else who wants to do it- open tag!

[marswasnothere]

Technically this is fairy anon's ask but I'm going to cut it up and compile it into one slightly more readable post (readable to me at least) ↓ long post!

Age Swap Maxiel AU Canon! - the freak4freak court's universe

Yup! I was originally debating between current 2024-25 timeline, with an aged down Daniel and a regular Max, or having Max in Sebastian Vettel's place, with a regular(ish, slightly aged down) Daniel and Older Max

The way it was meant to happen 😔 Younger Daniel does replace Checo in the age swap au, the new talent replaced the by-gone driver. Similar situation to our world where his performance clause and points expectation is not met.

Hell team Vcarb for early 2024, sorry little guy. Lets just say younger Daniel replicated his Miami quali results every single race in early 2024. He'd drag Pierre Hamelin over to Red Bull as his race engineer.

Baby badger gets an f1 seat for his (late) 19th birthday canon. Going by the 2024 calendar, younger Daniel has a free practice session in Silverstone (2023 parallels) and far outperforms Checo, and gets his seat before the following race in Hungary. Pretty much exactly half the year in Red Bull, plus he got to have a home race/s in Melbourne and Imola while in vcarb.

Older Max wasn't socialised the same way as regular Max, leading to that ruthless competetivness, obsession with success, and lack of proper outlets for excitement or rage.

Younger Daniel lacks the experience that regular Daniel has to get Older Max out of his shell and let himself be silly, so he is his usual excitable self, but is cautious around Max (to start with) as he doesn't want to annoy/piss off his teammate.

Daniel deeefinitely benefits from modern technology. He doesn't get quite as homesick and sad he can't get immediate love and help from his mum and dad, but you're bang on right about the physical connection. Younger Daniel still needs that. Even if he can spend hours on facetime while he talks with his parents and Michelle, his need to be in face to face conversations, to be in the same room as someone, to be able to bump shoulders and give a quick side hug is too strong to be satiated by calls alone. Max fulfills that.

He's soooo starstruck. He's been watching F1 for so long, but actually noticed Max when he first won in Barcelona 2016 (at like 10 years old omg). He watched Max as a fan and in karting, then dropped off the fan-ness of it when his dreams of getting to F1 became realer and realer by the day. Sometime in F3, Daniel got this au's F3 championship of coooourse, Max acknowledges him, send shim a video of congratulations. Maybe when he's in F2, they're doing a photoshoot of every driver under the red bull formula family (like that one recent photoshoot, l*am warning) and he gets to meet Max in person, in a non-race situation.

Max is very happy to have a new, better teammate under his wing, someone who brings life to the red bull garage rather than an increasingly depressing atmosphere from his previous teammate getting dnfs and out-of-points results. Max does think this Daniel is adorable, making jokes, seeing if those jokes annoy Max, and when Max laughs, says he likes Daniel's jokes, Daniel lets that fear of annoying his new teammate go.

Yesyesyesyesyes canon canon. I also don't know if a driver's old number is reserved while they take number 1. maybe they have a conversation about it, strictly professional and considering the rules of the sport, but there's such an intimate undertone of Daniel taking Max's number, and when Max eventually can't use number 1 anymore, he takes Daniel's original 33. Reverting back to our world numbers omg.

Yup canon crushing on Max without knowing it was a crush. The drivers around Max's age, not the younguns, talk to him about the obvious fact they're about to hook up, just like he did with Seb "back in those days" (something something drivers communal inside joke of a sex postion called the golden boy bulling. or something)

Every ask answer has been on a vague timeline, but I'm going to decide (along with answering your other questions about the tension points below) that the tipping point is a combination of the advice call/pillow humping and a big big crash. Daniel calls Max before the Dutch GP, asking for advice, but also just wanting to hear his voice telling him how much of a good boydriver he is. Because it's in the european stretch, they'd be in motorhomes instead of a hotel, with Daniel getting to lavish in a fancy new thing he hasn't been in before, and enjoying the feel of the pillows quite a lot. Max, on the other side of the phone, recognises Daniel going quiet and the distinct shuffling, and at that point he wants to grab Daniel and hold him close and make him come. He approaches Daniel's motorhome after Daniel hangs up the call, and the interaction goes a bit more awkward than written, than how he wants it to be, and Max turns from his door feeling unresolved.

Daniel is a bit distant on race day, feeling like Max is going to interrogate him about his inappropriate actions, until Fernando pulls him aside and says "so has Max given you the overunder-porpoising-catalunya-champagne-spray-handy job yet?" and Daniel realises, oh! apparently i CAN be sexual with him!

They get closer over the following week, after Max's win at his home race, and Daniel getting a whole lot of attention on him for Monza. There's a lot of attention of a lot of drivers during Monza, but he's included in that list, lil italian badger.

That's when the big crash happens.

The second option for the crash. It's big, dramatic, the car flips once, twice, lands right side up thankfully. One car caused it, Daniel got hit hard, a third car got caught in it and retires from the race during the red flag. Whatever Max's place is during the race, he pulls up and parks his car in the gravel right when it's confirmed that Daniel crashed, but not yet that he's okay. He jumps out, runs towards the wrecked car, getting there before the stewards and medical car, helping a shaken up Daniel with removing his steering wheel and getting out of the car. He's pushed aside by the stewards, yelled at about violations, but he sees Daniel getting strapped in to the extrication board and taken into the track ambulance, throwing up a thumbs up to a cheering crowd, and that's all he needs.

The og! The very first idea of the age swap au, explained in here. I don't want to clog anyone's feeds with an idea they're squicked by so I'll talk about it on request. By all means, this will be a seperate au to this current age swap maxiel au.

I think Pyry could be younger Daniel's trainer. Being honest I totally forgot about him until I rewatched that one vlog where Daniel translates Max, Pyry, and Yuki's messages in their own langauges (calls himself a labrador using Pyrys words. PLEASE.) After one singular training session together, to see if Max and Daniel will somehow be more productive together, if the competitiveness will lead them to breaking personal records, Pyry and Rupert decide to never let them train together, because it lead to the sparring on the floor and both getting boners about it.

Yes. All of this, all of what's been written, and everytime he smiles he's got braces. Remember.

Max's pubes stuck in his braces while he's giving an interview, realising when he's walking up to the mic by mouth feel, and trying to talk with his lips over his teeth the entire time. It looks and sounds soooo weird.

Canon yes. Max refuses to leave Daniel's side, even when some other drivers come to visit, like the drivers who caused/got caught in the crash to apologise, Max is there, pretending he's not listening, but studying Daniel's face to see if he forgives them. If Daniel is nice to them, then Max is nice to them. Somewhat. No punches thrown, but a poignant comment during a press conference is given for sure.

In an ideal world, the ring gets put on after Max retires, Daniel gets a championship, they become dads, and Max gets to take his adopted chubby toddlers to the races to watch their other dad go zoom zoom in a big car. I feel like that's the ideal ending to any maxiel au lolol.

Yup yes. Link to ask and response.

Thematic earrings for each race Daniel.

[fishfooddude]

Fatherhood: Carmy Berzatto

I did a similar post for Billy Hargrove a while back. Why not do one with our favorite chef? This also may be an intro to a new series.

The Bear MasterList

Directory

In early 2018, Carmy lived with his cousin Michelle and her long-term boyfriend, Steven. He enjoyed spending time with her before finding a SOU position at some hot shot’s new restaurant. He enjoyed his time there- at least as much as Carmy could.

After moving out of her guest bedroom, he found a decent apartment near The French Laundry. This led him to meet Amanda at a local coffee shop.

Amanda was Carmy’s polar opposite. She was a model/influencer/actress who found Carmy interesting enough during their initial meeting. Finding out he was a ‘celebrity’ chef made her pursue him. 

The two didn’t have a lot in common, but Carmy being the stupid horny 25-year-old he was, didn’t particularly mind. She was something to keep his mind busy when he wasn’t cooking.

The two hadn’t been together long when Amanda sent him a picture of a positive pregnancy test and a Venmo request for half the cost of an abortion. He couldn’t do it. His sweet Nonna’s voice echoed in his head, going on about how life began at conception and how abortion was the ultimate insult to God- he didn’t intentionally try to guilt Amanda or force her into doing anything she didn’t want to do, but listening to his sweet promises of raising a baby together was… convincing. At least at first. 

COVID shutdowns proved difficult for the two. Amanda felt like a shut-in. Carmy was getting on her nerves more and more every day. Although the pregnancy content she was getting out of this arrangement was a bankroll, Carmy turned from her hot celebrity chef boy toy to her ‘controlling’ baby daddy. Every like she got on Instagram, every brand deal, every positive comment, and well-wish almost made it worth it.

Carmy ensured she was eating well and living a relatively low-stress life. He did everything he could to make this pregnancy as smooth as possible.

Michelle was the only person he’d told about Amanda and their baby. She, of course, told Natalie and the other cousins. At first, Natalie didn’t believe her. Carmy hadn’t dated in high school, and truthfully, she wasn’t sure about the escapades he’d gotten himself into when he lived in Europe, but she couldn’t see her baby brother as some international playboy. Of course she Instagram stalked Amanda for weeks, trying to figure out their ‘relationship’ timeline. Natalie decided she hated Amanda- she’d been using her baby brother to up her own status. 

Carmy was nervous when the two found out the baby was a boy. Growing up without his Dad and Mikey as a father figure- he didn’t think he could be a Dad. He devoted hours of his life reading everything he could to prepare for this new role.

Amanda went into labor early. Thirty hours later, Wyatt Arlo Berzatto was born. Carmy was in love with him the moment he saw him.

Parenthood was more challenging than Carmy originally thought. With New York reopening, The French Laundry was determined to get back in the green. Carmy worked 14-18 hours a day, and for the remaining hours of his days, he dedicated himself to being the best Dad he could be. He had a routine for the most part. He’d take care of Wyatt’s first feeding and change him before getting some morning snuggles in. At work, he turned his brain off. He was a machine; every plate was perfect, and every chop was precise. After work, Carmy would go home to a crying baby and a crying pseudo-girlfriend. He took care of Wyatt while Amanda locked herself away in the bedroom. Carmy got used to it; he didn’t realize what was happening until it happened.

The day Amanda abandoned them was a memory burned into Carmy’s head, not because of his feelings toward Amanda but because she’d left his eight-month-old son alone for who knows how long. He walked into the apartment to hear Wyatt’s crying- it didn’t register at first; this was a different cry. It was a high-pitched, intense wailing that Carmy had never heard. He scrambled into the nursery. He wasn’t sure how long Wyatt had been crying. Carmy had scooped him up in his arms and tried his best to soothe him. Wyatt hadn’t eaten or been changed since that morning. Carmy wasn’t sure how long Amanda had left Wyatt alone; all he knew was she was gone. 

With Amanda's limited support, fatherhood had been hard enough, but it was a whole other can of worms without it. He was worried that Wyatt would be traumatized for the rest of his life because of his mother’s actions.

As soon as Carmy had finally gotten into a normal routine again, he got the call. Natalie had been bugging him to come home to visit with Wyatt. Carmy was going to ignore her call that night while he lay in bed with one of Wyatt’s feet in his face, but his gut said to answer. Mikey was gone. Carmy sobbed; he felt like he was going to throw up until he was met with a stubby finger poking his eye. 

Wyatt didn’t know what was happening, in his short life, he’d never seen his dad like this. He poked Carmy’s eye again before pushing his stuffed duck in Carmy’s direction, babbling something before screaming ‘Dada’ at the top of his lungs. Carmy watched his son throw himself against his chest as tears poured from his eyes; he had to be strong for him.

[ainxis]

Angsty Boostle AU that lives in my head!

Okay so everything preflashpoint stays +/- the same except Booster blames himself for Teds death because he thinks that if he wasn't friends with Ted the league would have treated him more seriously and would help him with Max's situation when he came to them for help.

So when the timeline resets Booster who remembers everything (including all that happened in Booster Gold vol.2) tries to stay away from him even though he's still madly in love with his former best friend. Ted on the other hand doesn't remember much from before so he only knows that they used to be teammates.

Ted joins the Justice League as one of the main members, while Booster is more of a "in case of emergency, sometimes visits the watchtower if he's needed member". So they interact from time to time on the job, but Boost always either avoids him or acts like a jerk. And Ted has no idea why this guy has a problem with him and why does some other superheroes give him weird glances every time they interact.

Meanwhile Booster continues his job as "the greatest hero you've never heard of" joggling superheroing and photoshoots with secretly raising Rani (14y) and Rip (1,5y) and trying to keep a current timeline safe alongside Michelle. Rip Hunter is still active but keeps his distance from them for obvious reasons.

There is more (including big Rani section) if anyone's interested...

[flytohurt]

Everest update!

apr 11, 2025 | the trek to base camp has begun! Darby, Zach, Michelle, & Ang made it to Namche today. their helicopter arrived late yesterday, so they had lunch in Lukla then began the trek. they spent the night in Phakding before setting out this morning.

Darby is having "an amazing time" hiking with his family 🥹

everest timeline | all updates

[coraniaid]

idk if youve gotten this one yet but 🔥 dawn

I'm never totally sure what counts as an unpopular opinion about Dawn, actually. I like Dawn a lot, I think she's a good addition to the cast and I think the (apparently?) commonplace idea that she's ever somehow unrealistically annoying or overly dramatic is very silly. Is that an unpopular take? I wouldn't have said so, but until very recently I was still seeing posts on here defending Dawn in ways that suggested she was a lot less popular outside of my bubble than I'd have otherwise realized.

Otherwise, well. I think it's good that Dawn never got supernatural powers as a result of having been the Key. I think it's good Dawn wasn't a Potential. (In both cases because being a normal girl -- the girl Buffy can't be -- is the whole point of Dawn as a character; that doesn't work if it turns out she can open portals with her mind or that she's also a possible Slayer.) I wish Season 7 had focused more on Dawn, and that she'd got to have fun high school era adventures with Kit and Carlos the way Lessons teases that she will. But, again, in my circles these are just the obvious mainstream takes, I think.

Uh. Sometimes I see people explain the retcon from Season 6's Normal Again -- about Buffy's parents having had her sent to "a clinic" pre-Season 1, after she tried telling them about being a Slayer -- as being something that changed in the timeline because of Dawn. And I really don't like that at all. I think the Normal Again retcon is pretty ridiculous (it doesn't fit in with anything we've seen about Buffy and Joyce's interactions for the last five seasons; it doesn't even fit with what we know about Hank -- why wouldn't Buffy's nightmare version of her dad in Nightmares have brought it up? she only experienced it a few months earlier, allegedly, and yet ... nothing -- and it's really obviously not an idea anyone on the writing staff had before this episode or will ever be interested in exploring again). I really think it's best explained away as a false memory Buffy was briefly having because of the monster of the week.

But honestly, if you don't just ignore it, making it somehow Dawn's fault, even if indirectly, is worse than anything the episode suggests.

First, because: well, if either Dawn or Buffy knows that she's responsible for her sister being institutionalized (and I think there's a comic of dubious canonical status that claims Dawn found Buffy's diary and outed her to her parents or something?) then that also poisons Buffy and Dawn's relationship in ways the writers never intended.

And second, and maybe more importantly: Dawn as a concept only works because we can assume her presence didn't change anything more than the minimum it had to. Yes, previously Buffy was an (at times somewhat stereotypical) only child and now she's an (often irritated but deeply protective) older sister, but that's it. Otherwise these have to be the same characters we knew before who remember going through essentially the same experiences -- with Dawn present somewhere in the background, sure, but not actively involved in a way that substantially changed anything -- or why are we still watching? Why should we still care about these characters if they're not fundamentally the same people we've been following for years?

On paper, the introduction of Dawn sounds like an idea that really shouldn't work at all. It obviously wasn't planned from the beginning (I don't think much of the show was planned in advance, really). There were so many ways it could've gone horribly wrong. That it does work, against all the odds, is partly a testament to Michelle Trachtenberg's performance and partly because the show goes out of its way to makes her addition to the cast as seamless and non-disruptive as it possibly can. We're told repeatedly that the gang all remember Dawn always being there, but we're not told explicitly how anybody's memory of events has changed or what exactly they remember Dawn doing in specific episodes. Once you start bringing up "oh, the monks changed everyone's memory" as an excuse for plot holes or last-minute lore changes like this, that whole illusion collapses.

I just don't think that's a good idea.

Oh, and I wish Dawn's supposed "best friend" Janice Penshaw appeared in more than one episode. Or that Season 7 had at least explained what happened to her. (Though there's a certain grim irony in the fact that, unless I'm forgetting something, the very last time Janice is mentioned in the show is in Normal Again, when Dawn claims that at least Janice's family "like having [Dawn] around" ... and then we never hear about Janice or her family again and she seems to vanish from Dawn's life completely).

[anthurak]

Roseknightshipping in ARC-V Ideas (using heavy AU/rewrite elements)

Imagining Roseknightshipping in ARC-V is really fun and silly thanks to the existing AU setting causing an apparent lack of Yliaster and a definite lack of Yusei Fudo. Meaning that all we really have to go off of is Aki’s and Sherry’s shared Rose/Flower/Knight motif and potential for mutually fucked up backstories.

So for my now-rapidly-snowballing ARC-V AU/Rewrite, I’m having Aki and Sherry show up to the Friendship Cup in Neo Domino as basically the ultimate wildcards. Their backstory is that they were both in the same fucked-up Boarding School/Duel Academy that was run by this timelines version of the Arcadia Movement and basically went through a whole-ass Revolutionary Girl Utena plot together before finally hooking up, blowing up the academy, feeding Divine to Black Rose Dragon and riding off into the sunset together.

And now they’ve entered the Friendship cup together as the big mysterious wildcard duelists who nobody is quite sure where they stand. Like they’re clearly not working with Shinji or any of the other Commons, but definitely want to make a lot of trouble for the Topsiders. Maybe Aki is using a retooled version of her ‘Black Rose Witch’ masked-persona, with Sherry possibly using her own take on a secret identity.

Aki and Sherry here both use the fully-expanded ‘Rose Dragon’ and ‘Fleur’ archetypes, with Black Rose Dragon and Chevaliar de Fleur as their ace monsters. Along with using Ruddy Rose Dragon and Baronne de Fleur as super-aces.

(Alternatively, in a similar vein to how Jack uses an alternate version of Red Dragon Archfiend in ARC-V, Aki could use a similarly retrained version of BRD. Say, ‘Black Rose Revolution Dragon’, for obvious reasons XD)

They also have a shared ultimate-ace that they summon when dueling together that is basically Baronne riding Ruddy Rose. It also uses their own flashy gimmick take on Synchro Summoning similar to Accel Synchro or Double Tuning that I admittedly haven’t fully thought out yet. Thoughts so far is that it’s a ‘Hybrid Synchro’ method that uses two Synchro monsters that are both also tuners.

Either way, it’s definitely meant to be a VERY unsubtle metaphor for lesbian sex and both Aki and Sherry being switches XD

Ultimately it’s revealed that the Roseknight duo’s motivations are that Jean Michel Roget was the one behind this version of Arcadia, or at least co-opted/bankrolled them as part of his plan to take over Neo-Domino and betray Academia (somewhat paralleling how Arcadia in 5Ds was trying to oppose Yliaster), and Aki and Sherry are here to completely wreck his shit. Which they do in epic fashion during the climax of the Synchro arc (probably replacing Reiji’s/Declan’s duel with Roget in this version of events) before also feeding him to Ruddy Rose Dragon and mysteriously vanish into the night.

Notably, Sherry and Aki don’t really ‘join’ the heroes following the events of the Synchro arc. Mostly because I made them a just a bit too OP and having them stick around makes thing a bit too easy for the heroes. I mean Sherry runs Baronne for Ra’s sake!

Instead, in this version of events Aki and Sherry are meant to show up, be awesome/hot, kick ass, make every girl in sight start questioning her sexuality, leave and refuse to elaborate. And then make a triumphant reappearance in the final battle to help beat down Zarc.

Again, it is honestly kind of funny just how EASILY you can make a whole-ass Utena-AU with Sherry as Utena and Aki as Anthy:

Sherry LeBlanc is a new student at the prestigious/mysterious/overlydramatic ‘Arcadia Duel Academy’, gets into a duel with some seemingly random asshole, kicks his ass, and suddenly finds herself engaged to the mysterious ‘Rose Bride’; Aki Izayoi and just like that we’re off to the races. Just replace ‘sword duels’ with ‘Monster Duels’ (though Sherry can still do a bit of swordfighting, as a treat) and maybe have Sherry driven to be a Knight rather than a Prince, and we’re set XD

I mean if you think about it, Aki is kind of PERFECT as an equivalent to Anthy? Rose-themed, mysterious powers, super-traumatic past, manipulated by a total scumbag, the true ‘power’ at the center of the academy that everyone is fighting over, she even has a secret identity!

Heck, because we’re in the Synchro-verse, we can easily switch out RGU’s fixation on cars for 5D’s fixation on motorcycles! Maybe not with Sherry or Aki actually turning into a motorcycle, but maybe Black Rose Dragon can do that instead?

As for more specific/random character interactions, ideas and headcanons;

In the present of the show, Aki ends up playing a key role in Rin’s new arc/role/focus as the Synchro-protag and wielder/partner of Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (for a reminder, in this AU, Yugo got kidnapped by Yuri/Academia instead of Rin) as an older, more experienced rival/mentor figure. Essentially paralleling Jack’s role in Yuya’s arc.

Like Rin’s route in this version of the Friendship Cup at first has a very similar trajectory to what Yugo did, with Rin dueling Celina and pulling off a win via Clear Wing evolving into Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon much like what happened with Yugo. Only for Rin to then go up against Aki and get completely trounced, forcing her into some character development.

Specifically; Rin goes into her duel against Aki riding high off her previous victory, believing that Crystal Wing combined with Windwitch – Snow Bell is unbeatable. And in fairness, a Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon with effect-destruction protection IS pretty hard to deal with.

Only for Aki to slap down Mark of the Rose to take control of Crystal Wing. Which incidentally, is visualized through a rather homoerotic sequence of the spirit of Black Rose Dragon basically seducing Crystal Wing XD

And if that wasn’t bad enough, after blasting Rin with a direct attack that drops her lifepoints nearly to 0, Aki proceeds to get around having to give Crystal Wing back next turn by using CWSD as synchro-material to summon Ruddy Rose Dragon. Which to add more injury to injury, banishes Rin’s entire graveyard, including Crystal Wing, plus all the Windwitches that Rin was going to use for her burn strategy. Leaving Rin with quite literally NO way of dealing with the 3200 ATK Rose Dragon.

On her next turn, Rin tries to restart her burn combo using Windwitch – Winter Bell, which she also summons in defense to buy time. Only for Aki to use Thorn of Malice (which has been retooled to work with any Rose Dragon) to give Ruddy Rose Dragon piercing damage and finish Rin off.

Later, Rin as well as Celina end up running into both Aki and Sherry, leading to Aki giving Rin the character-development advice she needs. As well dropping cryptic, mysterious and juicy hints regarding her connection with Black Rose Dragon that parallel Rin’s developing bond with Clear/Crystal Wing, which actually parallels some additional advice Jack gives Yuya.

In this setting, it turns out that both Aki and Jack have variations of their Dragon Signer marks, but rather then representing them being chosen by the Crimson Dragon, they instead represent the bond each of them have with their respective dragon partner. Which is made even more interesting by the fact that Rin has had her own mark ever since she summoned Clear Wing for the first time, while Yuya has had a mark flickering on and off for some time now.

Basically, it’s all meant to imply that Black Rose Dragon and Red Dragon Archfiend are similar to the four Dimension Dragons as powerful monster spirits in their own right, and hint as to what might come later for the characters.

Also, the whole meeting definitely starts with Rin and Celina accidentally walking in on Aki and Sherry making out and the OTHER half of the conversation comprises of Rin and Celina learning that girls can like girls. After the whole discussion, Rin has a whole HOST of new thoughts weighing on her; how to improve as a duelist, this strange bond she has with Clear Wing, and also girls might be hot now?

Meanwhile, all that Celina is thinking comprises of ‘Holy shit, girls are hot’, ‘How long have girls been hot?’, ‘Holy shit all the girls in my deck are hot’, ‘I want to make out with girls now’, ‘Can I smooch the girls in my deck?’, ‘Hey Rin do you wanna make out?’ and ‘Oh shit I said that out loud, didn’t I?’

Needless to say, things get a bit awkward XD

[noangeleither]

think i finally figured out sydney’s age using real evidence and not just vibes and voices in my head. and it’s crazy bc i guessed sydney was 26/27. and I wasn’t that far.

Sydney earned her culinary arts degree at CIA located in upstate NY. Apparently, it takes less than two years to earn that degree. Assuming she graduated high school at 17/18, this would put her at about 19/20 when she graduates and also when she goes to NYC for a food tour.

i got to this conclusion trying to make a timeline for carmys career (which made my head hurt). We know Carmy is 28-30 bc he’s the same age as claire a doctor who’s in her residency and that’s usually the age at which you start. I was confused about how long he spent at EMP. Fishes takes place about five years before s2 , and carmy is said to be in Copenhagen working at NOMA, putting him at 24/25 in this episode.

His cousin Michelle offered for him to come to NYC. So assuming he made the change in the following year that would mean he was at EMP for about 4 years until he has to go back to chicago after his brother dies.

I still dont know where the french laundry or any other of the places or cities carmy has worked at fit into this timeline. I know he leaves his house after high school and doesn't go to college or culinary school i believe so I wonder how he got his start, to be featured in food and wine at 21 and also work at the best restaurant in the world by the time he's 24....insane. i hope we get a clearer picture in upcoming seasons.

back to syd....

So we know about 4/5 years before the start of the story, Sydney and Carmy are in NYC. Sydney is 19/20 and Carmy is 24/25. They have about a 5 year age gap. Therefore Sydney currently is 24/25, possibly 26. And I only say 26 because i cant believe she worked at so many places (including Michelin star restaurants), drove for UPS (or was that when she was at school? after?), started a business, and then had that business fail all in the span of 4 years. crazy. my girl needs a hug

also makes me wonder how far removed she is from Sheridan Road? like when she applies to be a sous chef at the Beef was this something that happened a couple months before? a year?

all things will be clearer with future episodes i guess.

i just find their lives before they met extremly intresting and love how intertwined they are 5 years before they even laid eyes on one another. fated fr

i want a flashback episode of sydney herself but i also think a flashback episode of the day sydney went to EMP would be cool too. Like dual POV we see Carmy being miserable, Sydney becoming inspired. also would be cool if they really played into the fated aspect. have them cross paths without ever meeting. like have Carmy get on the subway the same time sydney leaves it to get off at a stop (SCREAM).