#You want to show me Jamie reconnecting with his dad?

[buginateacup]

This is such good analysis!

I'll say it agian, so much of Season 3 felt like the 3rd season of a 5 season arc. These actions could still happen but they should have had fallout thesame way Beard finally yelled at Ted that YES! These are profesionals! Winning IS the point!

I truly believe Rebecca coming clean to Ted in S1 actually broke him in such a way that whatever momentum he still had to listen and offer real comfort and advice to anyone around him only carried through until the end of the season. And from S2 onwards we see him dragged further and further down into his own emotional spiral and it washes out to darken the people around him too.

Ted has always believed in belief. But after S1 he stops believing in belief as a way to positively influence the world you want to live in, and seems to fall into belief as self delusion. Belief as in "this is the way the world should be. And if itsthe way it should be everything will be fine."

Between S1 and S2 Ted stops listening. And he also stops talking about the things that he could have done better if he had listened in the first place or using them to try and be better.

If he can improve Jamie's and James Snr's relationship that is better for the world because families "should" be together, rather than accepting that family does not mean you can or should be putting your effort into being in the same space.

And it totally destroys what good faith he'd earned or shown to Jamie by even suggesting it.

My main gripe about how Ted Lasso handled Jamie and James’s relationship in the second and third season is that, in a way, it contradicts Jamie’s arc from the first season. And I LOVE Jamie’s arc from the first season. I love how sweet Jamie became later in the show, but if I have to pick a Jamie, it would be season one Jamie, hands down. Even with him being an egotistical jerk. Even with him pushing back against everyone who tried to help him. Because that progression he had from the beginning to the end of that season was the most heartfelt, emotionally gut-punching arc for me. And then they ruin it.

Because what is Jamie thanking James for in Mom City? For pushing him to be a better player? Even if you ignore Jamie literally saying in the bonfire episode that his mother is the reason he works so hard, the whole point of his arc in season one was that, while he was a good player, he wasn’t as good as he could be BECAUSE HE WAS THE PLAYER HIS FATHER PUSHED HIM TO BE. Listening to his father, making it all about HIM, acting like he was the only good player on the team, was actually holding him back.  And even in the second season, when Jamie talks to Ted about how James keeps pushing him, it’s about the wrong things: how long he plays, how long he sits on the bench, how many times he scores. Every single thing that goes against what Ted was trying to teach Jamie in the first season. So what is he thanking James for? Why did they have Ted go from trying to get Jamie to stop acting the way James wanted him to act, to telling Jamie that a lot of famous people’s dads were “real pieces of work” as if that was the reason they ended up working so hard or became great (can you imagine if, instead of telling Rebecca that she’s not the only one who could see who Rupert actually was, Ted told her that a lot of strong, independent woman had ex-husbands who were “real pieces of work”? It’s infuriatingly dismissive)? And if he’s thanking James for pushing him to be a better player, then he’s thanking James for pushing him to be the player he was in the first season, which they spent at least eight episodes trying to get Jamie to not be that way??

And I honestly don’t think the writers really knew why he was thanking James. You can compare Jamie’s speech in Mom City with Ted’s speech to his mom. Ted clearly lists out what he’s thanking his mother for and what he’s angry with her about. Which works out great because the audience has never met Dottie before. The show only gave bits and pieces about what she was like, or what her relationship with Ted was like, so they had Ted clearly state why so the audience could understand better.

But not Jamie. He doesn’t have to state why he’s angry with his father because the show went to great lengths to show why. Nothing good or redeeming was mentioned about James once in the entire show. That character had maybe a grand total of ten minutes screen time, during which he threw a shoe at his son, screamed at him, got angry when his son wouldn’t let him and his buddies on the pitch, acted like he was going to hit Jamie, and BEAT UP BEARD. So, no, Jamie didn’t have to explain why he was angry. But then he says “thank you” and doesn’t offer any explanation. The show didn’t even give the audience any reason why Jamie should be thanking his dad. Unless, it’s somehow for pushing him. Which again, goes against his arc in the first season, and, in way, makes that whole scene feel like it was put in there solely for Ted’s benefit.

And they could have developed Jamie and James’s relationship more in the third season. Heck, they could have humanized James more, the same why they did with Rupert (who the show actually kept as a villain, who Rebecca let go of her anger towards but was never told to start a relationship with him again. Honestly, the parallels between Rebecca and Jamie’s characters and yet how differently the show handled their arcs makes me go insane but that’s a rant for some other day), but they chose not to which is honestly baffling considering how much screen time Jamie had in the third season. Nothing about his arc should have felt rushed or tossed in at the last minute.

And it’s so opposite from the end of his arc in the first season that it’s like watching two different shows? Because that season one finale? That pass he made at the end of the game? That decision to not listen to his father? That carried so much more weight and so much more character development than that half-baked forgiveness arc.

Because that pass? That was a CHOICE, man. It wasn’t something he did because he was trying to make amends with his teammates. It wasn’t something he did because his current coach was telling him he had to. He passed the ball, he gave up the chance to score the winning goal and the glory that would come from that, even knowing his dad was in the stands, even knowing how angry James would be, because he knew that was the better choice. He knew that made him a better player. (It was also a very strategic move. He knew Zoreaux, and every other player on Richmond, would never even consider that Jamie would pass the ball. You can even see how Zoreaux was fully focused on Jamie. In way, it’s kinda similar to that decoy play Jamie was so against).

And that moment between Jamie and Ted at the end surpasses any other moment they have because it was actually about Jamie, and everything that followed after (except for bringing Jamie back onto the team in season two) felt like it was more for James’s benefit. But that was Ted reaching out to Jamie, giving him that bit of encouragement and praise that his father should have given him. That was Ted, essentially saying “Hey, your dad is wrong. You did a good job." And it’s a very private moment. It’s not in front of cameras or the press or even in front of other players. Ted himself doesn’t even deliver the note. It’s as far from “mind games” as it possibly could be because the season is already over. Richmond has already lost. It’s a “good job, I’m proud of you, now here’s something my son gave me to protect me that I’m now sharing with you”. It’s something short and simple and quiet from someone who is usually very long-winded and convoluted and loud, and it is so much more sincere because of that and you can see how much that impacted Jamie. 

And wouldn’t it have been more impactful, for both Ted’s arc and Jamie’s arc, if Ted hadn’t told Jamie to forgive James? If Ted had been able to heal enough to take a step back and look at the situation without it getting tangled up in his own trauma and guilt over what happened to his dad? Wouldn't it have been deeper for Ted, who later would learn that yeah, his son might end up leaving him but he still has to try, to have actually seen a situation where a son chooses to not reach out to his father? Wouldn't it have been more profound for Jamie to no longer let his actions be dictated by his anger or his feelings towards his father. He's no longer angry, but he's also no longer striving for his father's approval either. He no longer cares if his father thinks he's weak or not  (kind of like how Rebecca stopped letting her anger and hurt over Rupert control how she reacted, and yet didn't have to start a relationship with him? But again, they paralleled each other and yet they took them in completely different directions). They could have had a moment that had the same amount of emotional weight as that scene in the last season, but no. Apparently we should just forget everything that happened in the first season because James was actually doing his son a favor the entire time.

[princessamericachavez]

My thoughts about the Ted Lasso finale (no particular order)

The end montage was obviously Ted’s dream for the future and not even subtly so jot that down

Actually just gonna add that this is the show’s way of telling us the potential these characters have and what Ted wishes for them but without his presence it’s up to them now

Roy mouthing alone to Goodbye, Farewell broke me because he’s clearly the one who put together the choreography

Also Dani singing? My most beloved

Jaime and Roy clashing one last time might have pissed some people off but this was always a rock in their shoe that they needed to address and we see that their relationship can and will survive it

I like Rebecca’s romcom ending even if I wanted her to end with Ted.

Ted going back to his son was necessary and the whole point. He always blamed his father for abandoning them. When he came to Richmond he was all but running away from his family in hopes things would magically fix themselves. Instead, he put in the work and healed. But his biggest triggers were always connected to him missing his son’s life. In the end, Ted’s growth was the point so he could go back to them and be the best version of himself for them and for himself.

Ted not talking while Rebecca rambles was actually perfect. Old bitter Rebecca would’ve never opened up like that. But old Ted would’ve also rushed to reassure her or try to make a joke or cheer her up. This time, Ted lets her speak and then sticks to his guns, even if the truth is uncomfortable for others. He allows himself to do this for himself and not to please others.

Beard staying for Jane was foreseeable given the toxic codependent nature of their relationship. Happy perfect endings don’t exist. His story is still developing.

Furthermore, the real growth came from Beard letting himself choose something regardless of what Ted is doing and breaking himself free from a cycle of guilt and feeling in debt.

I know it was in the dream but god I hope Roy gets therapy. We did see the roots of him wanting to change and be better and accept the help he needs so he’s in the right path.

Keeley/Roy/Jamie is still endgame in my heart. Eventually. Once all three are in the right place.

The himbos singing made me cry. A lot.

Even if it was in the dream, if Jamie actually chose to reconnect to his dad somehow I think it wouldn’t be the end of the world. He would get to do it on his terms and only because he chose to have him in his life to some degree. Which might simply be being civil and talking from time to time, so long as his father keeps putting in the work to better himself and takes steps to make amends and apologize and acknowledge all his wrongs. Who knows. It’s an open ending.

Loved everything about the match.

Glad Van Damme got closure from Rani Dojas and that Dani acknowledged his part in what happened and tried to make amends.

CANT believe they made me feel sorry for George.

The cold open was a tease but I loved to see what could’ve been (and who says Ted and Rebecca didn’t find each other while running away from all that noise and one thing less t another…)

I wish we’d seen Sam’s restaurant and his cute chef one last time.

Actually wish we’d had a little bit of all the other himbos.

And finally

Finally

I… don’t think it was the series’s finale. I don’t know. I might be wrong but lately all interviews from the cast suggest deep down they hope something else will come and maybe they’ll be like “you know what, this story isn’t over” or something.

That last scene and the musical cue with Ted’s final shot felt so dissonant to me. Like there’s something still unfinished there.

I, like Roy Kent, have all my fingers crossed.

[roseofithaca]

Jamie reconnecting with his dad doesn't irk me too much because 1) his dad is actually trying to change by being in rehab and sorting himself out and 2) no one pushes Jamie to forgive him, it's all his own choice, and yeah there's no guarantee his dad won't hurt him again we can't judge people for not wanting to give up on people anymore than those who decide to cut ties, life isn't that simple. The show doesn't seem to say "EVERYONE can change and you should stick by them to help" because look at Rupert, look at...*sigh* Jack, I guess. The only real uncomfortable one is Beard and Jane because red flags are okay so long as you...find them attractive, I guess? Idk.

What makes me more angry about say Eleanor forgiving her mom in TGP is that, while Donna is trying to be better, she's not making any effort towards Eleanor, she's not apologising or being a better mom to her, just with another kid and for that Eleanor was in the right to be resentful and it was frustrating to have others (her forking best friend at that!) to tell her to just get over it. Not counting the line in the finale about Donna wiping her face, just what's in that episode. Now we don't see Jamie's dad apologise but the fondness and rather sad affection seems to imply it's there.

But by far the WORST offender of this trope is the episode The Idiot's Lantern in S2 of Doctor Who, where we see a man be an abusive a-hole to his wife and son, then when he's finally kicked out at the end, Rose tells the son to go after him simply because "he's your dad." Oh my god, I cannot watch that episode simply for that line, that is an example of this trope being borderline dangerous because its saying "Just forgive them because they're family, even if they've shown no remorse or change whatsoever." Both TGP and Ted Lasso's are wholesome compared to that!

[disasterbijamietartt]

I think the whole love triangle stuff and Jamie’s reunion with Tartt sr left such a bitter taste in my mouth since this show taught us, especially regarding Jamie, that accountability matters.

Good people backslide and fuck up, yep, but they show accountability for their mistakes — but in these instances we didn’t see it.

Roy and Jamie didn’t apologize to Keeley for being dickheads. We are just left hanging. Instead of having them go out on a good note as friends who love and respect each other, we can have some lingering disrespect and conflict, that hopefully (like so many things) was addressed off screen.

The whole thing would have landed so differently for me if it had a follow up—e.g. Roy and Jamie bringing coffee the next morning and apologizing—or had taken place earlier in the season. This way it felt like “Oops, righty, the love triangle has to be resolved by the end of the series and we have only the finale left.”

(In addition, it doesn’t sit well with me, that we spent time on how the boys felt about Keeley, showed how Keeley kicked them out, but never had her articulate HER feelings and what SHE wants. Yeah, women shouldn’t be the ones having to do all the emotional labor, but this took away some of her agency and made it seem like her feelings and what she wanted actually didn’t matter enough to be actually heard. Like, we have to assume she wants to focus on herself and her business instead of her love life, or maybe she really is done with both of them, even though there were signs she wasn’t, but we never actually see her get to any conclusion, which is so unfair to her arc.)

While I had hoped for OT3, I had expected the trio to end up single and that stuff would be left ambiguous. But I’m not happy with the way they did it, not after we saw in Mom City how it could have ended with them.

And we have a similar issue with Tartt sr, who gets to reconcile with Jamie without ever showing accountability on screen.

(Regardless of it being a dream sequence or not, they presented it as a happy ending)

The show did nothing to humanize James before showing him suddenly and miraculously in rehab—they did a better job of humanizing Rupert, ffs.

The way they did it, his stint in rehab came completely out of the left field as if adding it was an afterthought, since this is a feel-good show and, god forbid, a child cutting out his abusive father!

Even though they had the perfect opportunity with Georgie to give him a backstory and positive traits in the same episode he is shown as a reformed man™️

Or, you know, making the reconciliation a whole arc for Jamie and Tartt sr, spanning several episodes and giving it some room. After spending so much time on showing him being an abusive asshole and the effects the abuse had on Jamie, that was the least they should have done if they wanted to go down that road.

But on the contrary, they made him an even worse dad with the whole Amsterdam trip story (that they probably forgot about).

(And similar to Keeley above, we never really get Jamie’s thought process on this, we don’t have him reflecting about his reasons to reconnect beyond the whole “forgiveness is for yourself” speech. It would have given perspective if we’d known WHY he wants to reconnect. Once again we have to fill the gaps on our own.)

And to me that were very disappointing moves for a series finale of a show that teaches how important reformation, forgiveness and accountability are.

[camelely]

The Betrayal of Ted Lasso S3

Yea. The title is a bit dramatic but I have been one of those people who will defend the Shandy and Zava arcs. I thought everything had a purpose, but really really this season felt like a turn, and part of it felt like the plot belonged in a different show...

They keep saying this was the three season arc they planned. But this felt very rushed, and wrapped all these plots up too neatly too quickly. Ted was reduced to a manic pixie dream girl floating in and out of peoples lives teaching them about love, forgiveness, and to believe.

Lets start with my least favorite thing in the finale. Reducing the Jamie/Keeley/Roy story to a fist fight and a "choose me over him" arc. Belonged in a different show. Pheobe said it best in the first episode "Why are you breaking up?" Nothing they did this season was better because of the Roy x Keeley breakup. Even Keeley's bi arc. Like she has always been implied bi, so they could have just made it clear with Jack being an ex that resurfaced instead of a new relationship. Imagine the version of the KJPR plot with Jack being an ex. No out of date leaked nudes plot. Roy can be jealous because he thinks maybe Keeley does want to get back with this ex, but he sees that is his problem not hers and works on it internally/with Dr. Sharon. And Keeley can think Jack is just trying to help and apologize for the mistakes she made in their relationship, but soon its clear Jack wants to get Keeley back by funding her business and then pulling her funding when things don't go her way. This leaves Keeley wondering if she ever had any value as a business woman and Rebecca and Roy are there to support her. Rebecca as a friend and financial backer and Roy as a supportive BF. Then Keeley can return the favor supporting Rebecca when she is deciding to sell the club or not, and Roy when he is promoted to manager.

The leaked nudes plot belonged on a show that came out like five/six years ago when society first started to shift and see that the celebrities were the victims. I understand it was a true story from the real Keeley, but seriously it dated a show that could have been pretty universal otherwise. I know they deal with issues like racism and homophobia but those things aren't going anywhere. We have to keep fighting, but those people always exist. Meanwhile the nudes thing has seen a pretty quick shift already. They built Shandy up as this vengeful character, Why didn't they have her do something to try and blow up Keeley's business? Even something simple like an attempt at wrongful termination? Shandy could have posted on her socials and been like "Keeley Jones claims shes for women but she fired me for no reason" got a bunch 'eat the rich' activists on her side since Keeley is backed by a billionaire and caused a lot of problems for the PR firm in the press.

Jamie reconnecting with his abusive parent. Honestly this did feel in place for a show thats all about forgiveness. But the more we learned about him the more he felt worse than Rupert. Absolutely awful. A better ending would have been his death and Jamie coping with the conflicted feelings he has vs the sadness he is expected to show by the media. Or even just letting Jamie move on. "I don't need him. I have a great mom, team, friends, and step dad/mom's bf" (I can't remember if they were married or not lol).

Nate simply quitting off screen and then being welcomed back like it was nothing. Belonged on another show. This one's been talked to death but I'll say it anyway. We see Rupert try to push a boundary and Nate left the bad situation and then fast forward, Nate quits and Rupert is being accused of impropriety. The start of the season was so focused on Nate being an ass to the West Ham players and then they just brush that under and rush him coming back? I didn't need a redemption arc. I liked the apology to Will and Ted's speech to Beard. But I did need to see the moments with Nate's choices. Nate made zero on screen choices this season. I mean even coming back was influenced by Jade.

Jade suddenly liking Nate, belonged on a different show. Okay I didn't hate Jade. I didn't hate that she started to date Nate. I think its weird the writers wrote a possibly racist character and then didn't address it but I guess the white af writers room just didn't get it. But I also liked Jade, Nate needed a no nonsense strong person in his life. I feel like his sister could have filled the role a bit better. But the girlfriend route wasn't bad.

Rebecca and the Amsterdam guy belonged in a rom com. Yea it worked a bit since Ted's whole rom com speech. But still, part of what I liked about the Amsterdam plot was that he was a great guy and a great time and then he was just gone. A happy memory to look back on and nothing more. It was so stupid that she randomly ran into him and they just magically got together. With Rebecca's romantic past ruined by Rupert's behavior. And the Sam relationship being kinda cute kinda doomed boss/employee weirdness it felt like Amsterdam guy was the true rebound she needed to move on and start a new path. Rebecca didn't need an endgame romance imo, she needed a fresh start. While I think she should have sold the whole club and moved on from the Rupert chapter of her life, I didn't hate the selling it to the fans thing. That was a decent way to end her journey. If they wanted her to have an endgame romance why not let the fans get to know the guy? Or flash forward to a guy we have never met implying that she eventually found someone?

Rupert hitting the coach also belonged on another show. Rupert is the guy who has everything work out for him. He's cool and collected and confident. Pushing the guy who wouldn't listen to him didn't seem like a Rupert move. Rupert would have fired him and promoted the guy under him. The big change would be if they had that guy quit and then the next guy quit until Rupert was left with no one. Could have also gone back to the Nate thing. If Nate leaving the toxic environment inspired others to do the same. Rupert publicly loosing his cool might have been fun since hes the worst, but it was too neat a wrapped bow.

Beard and Jane. Why did they literally only tell us everything bad about her if they wanted us to root for them? I'm sure she had some good qualities we could have seen. I did like that Beard was the character that got the ending rom com 'stop the plane' moment.

Colin's coming out. I could have done with less Isaac and more Trent or even less angry Isaac and more supportive Isaac but I liked it overall ngl. The kiss in the final episode was the best romantic moment in all of Ted Lasso. My canon favorite ship was RoyxKeeley but they never had a moment I could turn to. This was perfect and Colin was the best character for it.

The Van Damme thing was dumb. The joke about the mask making him 'Zorro' was dumb. I assume they were making fun of Ron Artest/Metta World Peace/Metta Sandiford-Artest but Zoreaux didn't need that. And it was funny for like one month in 2011, get over it.

Ted. Oh sweet Ted. I loved his talk with Trent about changing the name of the book because its not about him, and Trent taking that note but no others. At the end of the day, Ted's whole thing this season is Jason Sudeikis's whole thing in real life. He has a work family in London but his kids and ex in America. He's still low key in love with his ex and doesn't like the new relationship she's in and even though the new relationship ends pretty quickly it still sucks. And that is exactly what ruined the show. I'm sorry Jason is sad, I get people work through their problems in their art. But what a very emotional Jason sees as a good ending for Jason, is not a good ending for Ted. Ted Lasso the character deserved to decide to report Dr. Jacob (sorry Jason you can't report Harry Styles, he didn't do anything unethical... except maybe spit on Chris Pine...). Ted Lasso deserved a solid relationship with his son and a new partner, whoever you ship him with could work. I mean Sassy could have reported Dr. Jacob and told Ted maybe they could make it work since she is spending some time in the US for work. Or Rebecca with her millions saying she can commute as much as they want. Or a third new person in Kansas. The way the show implied Michelle is single and Ted is single. The 'they are getting along' narrative was a bit much.

The dream ending. Yes Bill Lawrence, this worked for Scrubs because JD was a character constantly fantasizing. But thats not Ted Lasso. This show deserved something more unique and more open ended. The final shot could have been Ted on the plane, smiling and that would beat the weird dream flash forward imo.

Yes the show has a central theme about forgiveness. But in previous seasons the person being forgiven earns that forgiveness. Here it was handed out to everyone regardless of who they hurt and what they did. It undermined Rebecca's s1 arc, Nate's multi season arc, Jamie's multi season arc, etc. The only arc that wasn't undermined was maybe Roy, since he ended up in therapy and actively trying to be better. So I guess good for Roy?

Overall my point is Ted Lasso was special because they marched to a positive and hopeful beat while still discussing hard topics. This season took everything special about the show and garbaged it, creating a messy, bland, and insulting final product that was a shell of the show they created. And they managed to do it in three seasons. Congrats guys? I mean most shows take 5-6 seasons to get truly off the rails.

[scintillatingshortgirl19]

I want to clarify something re: my issues with the James Tartt storyline.

I've been seeing a lot of posts and comments talking about how everyone deserves a shot at redemption and that that should not mean "everyone but James and Rupert" - and I want to say I think those posts are absolutely correct. As a lifelong villain fan I actually have massive, massive issues with the concept of any fictional character being considered by fandom to be truly "irredeemable" (especially since that line seems to be different for every single person), and I often hate the ideas fandoms tend to pass around about what fictional characters do or do not "deserve," so I want to make it clear that my issues with James' implied redemption have absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I think he deserves it. I strongly believe addiction is a disease and that everyone - even abusive, terrible people - should get the chance to change. This is especially true of fictional characters, since exploring concepts of second chances and redemptions within a story doesn't pose any risks to real-life people.

That said, these are the reasons why I think this whole thing was absolutely terrible from a storytelling perspective.

There are stories that are served well by canon leaving some things offscreen and letting the viewer fill in the blanks, but I don't think that's remotely the case here. To do this story justice, they needed to give it time. They needed to give it at least a modicum of buildup. They needed to show us this journey, rather than just telling us about it in a brief, sunlight-doused clip and saying "be happy about this, damn it!" Seeing them happy and smiling together is an enormous leap that should've taken much longer to get to than the show implies, and as a result it feels extremely jarring. Jamie reconnecting with his dad is an incredibly messy and complex storyline that needed to develop over time, and it was a huge mistake to just gloss over it like the writers did.

Show me James hitting rock bottom and how he ended up in rehab. Show me Jamie's conflicted feelings about reconnecting with him. Show me Jamie coming to an understanding that not reconnecting with his dad is also a perfectly valid option, and that letting go of his fear of and anger at James is not dependent on Jamie giving James any more of his time or energy. Show me Jamie being fully, actively aware that no matter what he chooses, letting James back into his life is not necessary for Jamie to move forward and grow as a person. Show me Jamie putting up boundaries to protect himself throughout this process - physically and emotionally. Show me James getting to know his son as an actual person and not just an object to use for his own selfish ends. Show me the emotional journey of this father, ravaged by addiction and his own unprocessed trauma, learning how to love and take a genuine interest in his son for perhaps the first time ever. Show me Jamie talking to his friends about this and getting their opinions and support. Show me Jamie having sessions with Dr. Sharon so I know he isn't undertaking this journey without therapeutic guidance.

You could make the argument that all of the above is implied, and you'd probably be right. But at the end of the day, I maintain that this father and son journey needed to be given actual screentime - especially because James' abuse of Jamie was given so much screentime, not to mention the additional bomb that was dropped on us in Sunflowers about what James did to Jamie when he was fourteen (and then was never brought up again, leaving me to assume Jamie still has yet to even realize that that was an instance of sexual assault). James verbally, emotionally, and physically abused Jamie for years, and the story did not shy away from showing us the effects of that. The story of Jamie reconnecting with this man should have been a half-season arc at minimum, and they had no business showing us that without also showing us Jamie processing the trauma they told us about in Sunflowers.

And it's frustrating because the more I think about it, the more I love the idea of a story centered around a son and his abusive father reconnecting and the messiness of that father trying to become a better person and heal from addiction and the complexity of that son trying to reconcile his love for his dad with his need to fully recognize and process what was done to him. I would love an exploration of James' past - maybe his dad took him to a red light district when he was 14, too. Maybe that was all he knew, and he certainly hasn't processed his own trauma, so of course he did the same thing to his own son. Maybe the cycle of abuse goes back generations and generations, and James and Jamie BOTH get to break it, not just Jamie (although that could only be true for James in a fairly limited sense, considering the permanent damage he did to Jamie cannot be undone). Anyway, my point is that it all has the potential to be so, so compelling - but the way they executed it just felt so oversimplified and rushed and cheap, and also sent some really problematic messages.

Tl;dr: I do genuinely think that, given proper time to develop it, there could've been a way to do this story well. This was not it.

[thetarttfuldickhead]

thoughts on jamie and his dad in the finale?

I do have thoughts, yeah. Have a few of them, nonny, somewhat scattered, because I’m not quite ready to put all of it down into a fully cohesive statement:

First off, I don’t mind it. I am side-eyeing Ted a bit for encouraging it like that (though it is an advice perfectly consistent with Ted’s character, and I do dig that Ted Lasso as a show lets good characters be wrong), but I’m neither oppossed to Tartt Sr. trying to better himself nor to Jamie making the choice to maybe give him a second chance.

That said, I think it’s important to note that this is Jamie’s choice, and only one of several he could have made. He would have been perfectly justified in refusing any contact with his dad, no matter how sober Tartt Sr. got or how much he changed. Jamie doesn’t owe his dad a thing.

And you know, this might not turn out to be the best choice for Jamie, but I think it’s perfectly logical that it’s the one he would make, given who he is as a person. Partly because Ted encourages him to and Jamie does have a habit of actually listening to advice and trusts Ted (rightly, and then sometimes wrongly); partly because he is struggling with how to relate to his dad these days and is willing to give this a go to see if it will actually ease something within him; and partly, I think, out of a sense of gratitude over the second chance Jamie himself was given. Obviously you can’t compare Jamie’s bad behaviour with James’ bad behaviour, but I don’t find it unlikely that Jamie might reflect on the fact that him being a prick was due to his father, and wonder what caused his father to be such an absolute asshole, and want to pass on the grace he received.

And to be clear, I don’t take a moral stance on this, like “of course Jamie should forgive his dad because that is how he frees himself of the pain his father’s caused” or “Jamie should never forgive his dad because his dad is unforgiveable and I’m pissed at the text for showing him doing this”. I’m okay with what happens because it’s a choice that I can believe Jamie would make, and because the ambiguity of their ending leaves the door open for several different interpretations of their relationship moving forwards.

We don’t know if Tartt Sr. is going to permanently change for the better, after all: he could relapse tomorrow (and frankly, it’s likely that he does at some point – recovery is a damned rocky road). Even if he doesn’t, we don’t know that him and Jamie will actually ever repair their relationship, or if Jamie will ever actually forgive him. They��re trying for now (unless it’s all just Ted’s dream of the future he’d like for them), but it could still go any which way. I do like that in a series’ finale: open-endedness, that allows for multiple roads forward in all the fic and meta I hope we continue to have.

I have seen some concerns that Jamie is actually endangering himself by reconnecting with his father, especially when he first reaches out in 3x11, well before he knows that Tartt Sr. is in rehab. These are valid concerns to be sure, but I’m not actually worried, for three reasons:

1. Jamie texting his dad doesn’t necessarily means he plans to meet with him at that point. I think it is partly motivated by some vague notions of giving this forgiveness lark a go, but that it’s also about his need to know why his father wasn’t at the game, to know where the hell he is. It’s freaking me the fuck out, he notes when he can’t find his dad in the stands. If Tartt Sr. had replied with a drunken rant or insults, I don’t think Jamie would have suggested that they meet up (though unfortunately he might have, because Jamie doesn’t always make the best calls). He’s sending out a feeler, and when the response is (we must believe) far more positive than he could ever have expected, he decides to see where this might lead.

2. I think it’s absolutely vital that when we see them together in 3x12 it’s at the rehab facility. Not only because that suggest that (at least for the time being) Tartt Sr. remains invested in his recovery, but because it’s a safe place to meet. Jamie’s dad is contained, removed from Jamie’s everyday life, and Jamie can see him there and then leave and feel somewhat secure in the knowledge that his dad can’t get to him, can’t see him unless Jamie actively chooses to visit. It can be entirely on Jamie’s terms for now: that’s very important.

3. Jamie does have a much wider support net than once he did. Apart from his mum and Simon, he has the team, he has Roy and Keeley – and they all know about his situation with his father. There’s no need to hide that shit from them, so throughout the process and if things go south, Jamie won’t be alone: he’ll have access to people and help (and a therapist, given that Dr. Sharon is back at Richmond) in a way he never had before. If he wants to take a chance on his father, this is not a terrible position to do it from.

If this doesn't work for you, that's fair enough, but this is how I make sense of Jamie and his dad, for now.

Oh, and a quote from a new interview with Phil Dunster to send you off. Do with it what you will (I personally don't think we actually need to consider actors' thoughs on the text unless we want to, but found this interesting enough).

“I think in the scripts the writers had put that they wanted it to be clear that it wasn’t resolved necessarily, but they were trying. These are two people who have had a very difficult past, and they are trying. James, who is Jamie’s dad, is trying by turning up to the rehab. Jamie is trying by being there to see his dad. It’s starting an old relationship anew. It’s just further character development. As we saw in Episode 11, Jamie, at Ted’s suggestion, tries to forgive his dad — but for himself — and I think that this is him doing that.”

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

For the director’s cut thing, do you want to share just generally how you came up with the idea for The Hedgehog’s Dilemma and if the story changed from your first idea?

Despite the fact that THD is set in season 1, the initial idea actually came from the Wembley hug scene and particularly comparing it to Jamie's reaction to his dad's abuse in 1x10. I figured that a) his ability to put himself back together after these types of incidents probably historically relied on no one witnessing or really acknowledging what had happened, and b) my issues with the way that Wembley was addressed after the fact in the writing aside (ie that it wasn't addressed at all), in universe, the fact that being forced into this moment of extreme vulnerability in front of basically everyone he knows didn't make him lash out or withdraw is a testament to the progress he'd made as a person. Which led me to the question at the heart of THD: how would Jamie have reacted to a similar incident in season 1, when he's still prickly and defensive and doesn't have much by way of actual friends on the team?

The other major part of the fic is the flashbacks. James, Georgie, and Jamie's relationship in this fic was essentially the product of me trying to fit everything we find out about them into a cohesive whole, and a surprisingly big part of that was finding an explanation I liked for the strange set dressing in his childhood bedroom: asides from the Keeley poster, which he probably got in his mid-late teens (she would have started modelling when he was 12-13 but probably didn't become popular enough to have posters available for another couple of years), it looks like the room of a fairly young child. The THD version of Jamie's backstory isn't like. my one definitive take, though there are some I will die on this hill, going to be part of the backstory in anything I write elements. (I won't get into it now because this answer is long enough, but I'm always willing to ramble about my Jamie backstory takes if anyone wants to hear them).

As for how it evolved... After I published the initial one-shot, I wrote chapter 2 to wrap up some loose ends by establishing that Jamie didn't get sent back to Manchester and showing him reconnect with Georgie, but I figured since I was already writing the chapter and he needed time to recover from the concussion in-universe, I might as well also write about him rebuilding this relationships with the rest of the team and with Nate. Chapter three was supposed to be a short epilogue about Jamie taking care of Roy after his knee injury, but that got me thinking about James coming to see the final match of the season and Jamie having to tell him he was transferring to Richmond, and it spiraled from there. And then the epilogue also spiraled and became Flightless Birds, which just hit 20k.

[jamiesfootball]

⭐️ here's a director's cut question for OGYGGI(YHNBGL) (side note: i love this acronym. it may not be convenient to type but i hear it in my mind as the sound of a giant sea monster rising from the deep):

do you have a process for figuring out how to hint at what's going on with jamie and the other characters before roy knows about it? are there any alternate-pov versions of scenes that live in your brain, like with Low Battery?

also, anything you want to talk about with the 5+1 falling asleep fic! i love all the snippets you've posted from it very much

I too love the acronym. Look at it. It's so silly. I love the thought of it as a giant see monster rinsing from the deep - honestly I've looking at it and my dyslexic brain keeps filling in 'Oingo-Boingo.'

do you have a process for figuring out how to hint at what's going on with jamie and the other characters before roy knows about it?

Part of the fun (for me) with keeping everything in Roy's pov is the challenge of balancing how to get across what is happening elsewhere. Which is why I have The Spreadsheet:

(I think I have appropriately blurred this out enough that there shouldn't be spoilers)

(Also this has reminded me I have more notes that need added to it)

So on the left I have my List of Things. On this list are:

-Characters: anyone I regularly check in with and/or who has something going on in the background (Roy, Jamie, Colin, Keeley, etc)

-Character groups: any combination of characters who have plot beats going on as part of their group dynamic (Roy & Jamie, the Diamond Dogs, Roy & his family, etc)

-Specific plots: any recurring plot thread that I need to keep an eye on (Jamie's impending Brazil photoshoot, the Roy & Jamie Book Club)

-Recurring details: anything recurring that changes but doesn't necessarily impact the action (for instance, the renovation and maintenance being done to the Richmond locker room that Roy witnesses over the course of the month)

-The Thesis Statement: this is the BIG ONE for me and it's right at the top. With so many interwoven stories and Roy's journey of big mental health stuff being the big driving focus, I needed some way of making sure I was always moving the story forward for him, even in the chapters where he doesn't have a therapy session. So each chapter has an I-Statement for Roy that is a clear idea of where he's at that point in the chapter. Here's the one for chapter one:

"I am angry and miserable and lonely. I don't know how to show people I care. I don't want to fuck this up. I will change something"

They're not elegant - they're raw and simple and to the point. It helps me keep on task and make sure the chapter is hitting the right notes.

EDIT: realized I forgot to explain- the column headers are chapters.

are there any alternate-pov versions of scenes that live in your brain, like with Low Battery?

YES THERE ARE. The big big BIG one being Jamie's eventual trip to Manchester to visit his dad in rehab - a scene that I have honestly been considering writing just so I have a version of it in my head to reference when he's telling Roy about it. I already have some of it figured out and ooof. OOF I say.

Another one that I've been considering is Jamie and Ted's eventual Talk about what's been going on - both with Jamie and his dad, and with Jamie having finally finished reading The Beautiful & Damned. That one is tricky, because Roy isn't involved or around for that conversation at all, but he does speak to Ted immediately after.

A much smaller one that's recently crept into the running is Jamie's reaction to finally hearing from his dad for the first time, which is.....it's going to be very soon.

also, anything you want to talk about with the 5+1 falling asleep fic!

The big one there is that I SWEAR IT'S STILL IN PROGRESS. For a while there, I had time reconnecting with it, and I realized (this morning actually) that part of my issue was that I was struggling to reach that raw place that wrote most of it. Now that I've let it set a bit, I've recharged, and it's back on the writing block come new years!

From this ask game but specific questions only please!

[roughroadhaley]

If you're still doing the letter meme (I'm backreading and saw it): O, T, Z

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

hit shuffle in my likes and got Seventeen by Sharon Van Etten. That song plays during the reclaiming-the-bus scene in Sex Education with Aimee and Maeve. Two of my favorite girls and a great scene ❤️‍🩹

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

Jamie has dyslexia, Keeley’s parents are divorced, Jamie and his mom reconnected post Wembley, & Jamie sends a new signed kit to Henry each update. I see people talk about Jamie as a girl dad a lot but I want him to have a son if he ever has a child because of the added angst potential (slightly evil of me oops).

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

had a hard time thinking of one you haven’t heard in discord or I haven’t already posted about lol.

So when it comes to needle drops in the show obviously Rainbow gets the most attention, as it should, and I have a lot of thoughts on the others. I think the Roy-Jamie hug in Wembley should not have had any background music. I think dead silence would have done that scene better. Otherwise there are a lot of music choices I really enjoyed in the show but there are some I would change. I think Roy having Leader Of The Landslide in 1.9 was PHENOMENAL. Him being the first domino and accepting his place on the reserves to that song. Favorite. I think Strange was a great choice in 1.7, especially since RoyKeeley wasn’t endgame. I did not like Somewhere Only We Know as a Sambecca song and think that should have been used in a found family scene, maybe even the final song instead of Father and Son. That may be a little too predictable as a final song though. I really didn’t like Father and Son and go back and forth on what I feel should have replaced it. Scott Street by Phoebe Bridgers is another I think could go there. Ends of the Earth by Lord Huron works but that was the last song in the show Community. I loved that Fat Bottom Girls became the teams song in 3.11 and I wish we got a big scene with that instead of just them all drunk getting off the bus. Harmony Hall was a great bittersweet choice for the teams new unity but Jamie’s unfortunate loan return in 1.6. Another favorite is Diamond Dogs right after Keeley confronts Rebecca. Perfection. Same with Tear it Up with Jamie’s return. I actually like almost all of Jamie’s music moments outside of Wembley.

[liusaidh-writing]

Stay

This fell out of me just a bit ago. It has nothing to do with anything; only a short snippet of a story. Claire comes home after her mother’s died, reconnecting with an old childhood friend: Jamie. Enjoy?!? 

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

She was surprised to see photos of the two of them, lined up along his mantel among antique candlesticks and drawings his sister had done. One photo showed the two of them in a paddling pool in a garden - they were both sopping wet in their clothes, grinning at one another instead of the camera. Another had them standing together on a rugby pitch, he wearing his kit, she in the school uniform. And one more, right before she’d left town for good: a dinner table at Christmas, some distance between them this time, both looking at someone else not in frame. 

Claire remembered how unhappy he’d been that night, though he did his best to hide it. She knew, though. Knew that he’d have begged her on his hands and knees to stay if pride had allowed it. She’d said her goodbyes, however, and left the following morning. A flight to New York held her future; and she hadn’t looked back. 

Not until now, not until the unthinkable had brought her back home. Her mother was dead, and though they hadn’t been terribly close, she was grief-stricken, unable to do much but stay inside the house she’d grown up in, going through things, making sense of her mother’s will. It was just her, now. Her dad had passed when she was young, and with no other siblings she was left to pick up the pieces. Sadly, her first thought wasn’t Jamie Fraser and his family. She had no idea if he’d speak to her again, or if he even want to.

As it was, they met in a pub - one they both went to regularly when she was home. Before all that happened. He’d surprised her as she sipped her whisky, hoping she’d be left alone. 

“Hey, you,” he’d said, just loudly enough for her to hear over the music. 

She’d whirled around, surprised but pleased to see a familiar face, a person who wasn’t only looking on with pity.  She smiled at him, taking him in. He wasn’t quite as thin as she remembered, and his hair had grown longer; but he was the same. The same old Jamie she remembered. He looked tired, and perhaps in need of a shower, but she threw her arms around his neck just the same.

They both held on tightly, neither of them willing to let go; finally, though, Claire sat back on her stool, gesturing for him to join her. He was nervous, slightly jumpy, and unsure about his words. They talked though; about what they’d done since they last saw one another, about their past together, and about the possibilities of the future.

Jamie was still living at his family home, alone - his sister having moved away long ago, and both parents now passed away. Claire was shocked to hear it, apologizing profusely for not having come home to see him. 

So, it seemed they were both alone in life, left behind by those they knew and loved. 

Claire followed him back to his home, a large estate that had fallen into some state of disrepair. He lived simply, he explained, off the land mostly. It didn't surprise Claire in the least - Jamie had always been one for roughing it, for dragging her out into the wilderness to spend a night beneath the stars, to get drunk, talk, and fight the urge to touch one another. 

That same urge simmered just under her skin as she walked inside - an innate need to grasp Jamie’s arm, to feel his skin against hers. Not in a deeply intimate way, but in a familiar, comforting way. She’d realized in her time in New York, devoid of any real personal connections, that Jamie was her home. He was more home to her than her own parents, her own home, her own things that were now boxed up in storage. She remembered spending more time here growing up than anywhere else. It still smelled the same. 

Jamie asked her to sit on the sofa, the same one that had been here the last time Claire had been invited inside. A floral print long outdated, covered in a threadbare blanket. It was welcoming, cozy, and as Jamie held out a beer for her, she didn’t hesitate to sink into the cushions. 

“Was sorry to hear about your mam,” he said simply, talking around the bottle resting on his lips. He took a drink, then set it on the table. 

Their hands were inches apart, though neither moved. 

“Thanks,” Claire replied, so exhausted from hearing it from everyone she saw. The eyes that would stare through her like she wasn’t there, their mouths all carrying those empty words. 

Jamie, though - he meant it. Claire could tell. It nearly made her cry. She hadn’t done that yet. Instead she lifted her hand, placing it atop his. She took a drink, clutching the bottle hard in her fingers, feeling the condensation dripping down her fingers. 

She felt his fingers move, so light and slow, but he gripped her hand in comfort. 

“Can I stay tonight?” 

The words were barely audible, and when Jamie didn’t answer, Claire wondered if he’d heard her. She turned her head to look at him - he was watching her carefully. 

“Can I?” she asked again, the words now being swallowed up by the growing lump in her throat that was too big to ignore.  “We can drink, build a fire, maybe a pillow fort? I just…” 

She sniffed, afraid to continue. Jamie did instead.

“I’ve wanted to see you for so long, Claire. I’ve dreamed of having you here, just like this.” 

Claire only nodded, eyes shut against the tears now falling. 

“I heard you had someone…someone over there,” he mumbled. 

“I don’t care. I’m not going back, Jamie. I can’t, not now.” 

Claire grasped his hand tightly now, pulling it into her lap. 

“You can stay, Sassenach. As long as you like. Forever, I hope.” 

She gave in, then. Caved to the insurmountable pressure to feel her grief, to feel her sorrow. But he was here, holding her together as he’d always done. Burying her face in his neck, the space between them closed, the years apart falling away to nothing.

She would stay, she knew. There was nothing for her anywhere else. Nothing like Jamie.

[dachi-chan25]

Haven't done this in a while but I had the time so why not?

1.- Pizza Girl by Kyoung Jean Frazier

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really did like it, reminded me a lot of "Convinience store woman". Like clearly our protagonist needed thrapy ASAP to help her deal with her dad's death, her pregnancy, her attraction to women and hell just for existing as an Asian woman in the USA, but I liked how messy and obsesive she was and how the author allowed her to be fucked up and take bad decisions, I love to see female characters simply exist, it's also a pretty short read so I definitely recommend it.

2.-The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Daría is a persian teen who is really involved in her cultural background and feels that the most important thing one can be is authentic, so that's the name she and her friends take for their clique. But everything comes crashing down on her when she discovers she is adopted, and soon follows an identity crisis. I loved it so much, it felt pretty realistic, like Daría could be self absorbed and unlikeable at times, but who wasn't as a teen? And we get such beautiful heartwarming moments between Daría and her family and friends. Totally recommend it.

3.- The Mall by Megan McCafferty

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Cassie has her life completely mapped out but nothing goes quite as planned, first she gets mononucleosis and after she gets better gets dumped and fired almost simultaneously. Determined not to let it get the best of her, Cassie gets a brand new job, reconnects with an old friend and even finds a hidden treasure. This one is so much fun, all the 90s references and the growth Cassie goes through is amazing, honeslty i would love to see this as a Netflix movie.

4.- Luster by Raven Leilani

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was hard, Edie is a very raw character, at first she seems flippant even when describing disturbing facts about her past or details about her relationship with a much older man she seems to be talking about something that happened to someone else all this to cope dealing with her solitude, her trauma, her self hate. And gosh it was so intresting to see her interact with Rebecca and Akila, especially Akila as Edie finds kinship in this young girl not only cuz they are both black but because they are both lost and afraid.

5.- Lakewood by Megan Giddings

🌟🌟🌟

Lena decides to participate on a financially compensated medical experiment so her mom can get proper medical care and to lessen their debts after her Grandmother's death.

So I had many mixed feelings about this, on one hand I liked that we are adressing how sistematical racism has permited experiments on black people with no consequences at all and how it has been happening for decades, but there were certain parts of the book that I couldn't enjoy as much because they were very trippy like I get we are on Lena's mind as things are becoming muddled up because of the medications and all those mind games and the words they have her memorize and repeat but all of it took me a bit away from the story. Still I do recommend it just be aware there is quite a bit of body horror in this so if you are sqeamish better skip it.

6.-The Voting Booth - Brandy Colbert

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Marva and Duke meet on election day as she helps him find the precint he is registered on.

This is very enjoyable, the story is very straightforward, and it insists on our right and responsability to vote even if we feel our vote alone can't possibly change all the injustice we see in the world. And also the romance was cute and developed slowly as Marva and Duke are just knowing each other. Really cute and quick read.

7.- Such a fun age - Kiley Reid

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Emira works as a babysitter for the Chamberleins' . She loves her little charge Briar, although she feels preassured to seek a 'real job' by her friends and by her own economic troubles. Emira soon finds herself in the middle of a tug of war between her boss Alix who tries to befriend her, and Kelley the guy she is dating.

So much drama. This is a great example of what performative activism looks like, first Alix is completely nuts, from her obsession to be seen as this wonderful understanding girl boss activist and the down right creepy sense of entitlement to Emira's friendship and intimacy. Like it doesn't surprise me she chose to victimize herself instead of recognizing it had all been a misunderstanding. And even then she still wants to seem atractive to the man she feels victimized by. Girl no.

Kelley is the ultimate fake woke ally. Dude Robbie was wrong period, he had no business inviting people over to someone else's house no matter the color of his skin. You don't get to talk over Emira on matters of what a person of color should do or feel on certain situations. That said it was so funny when he and Alix called each other out for their fetishization of people of color and yet none of them actually gave a damn about what Emira thought/felt/percieved. They just wanted her stamp of approval so they could pat themselves in the back for being such good allies.

8.- The Life and (Medieval) times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton

🌟🌟

Kit is working as a serving wench at the Castle, medieval themed restaurant run by her uncle, though she really wants to be a Knight, not only cuz the better pay would help around the house but because she really admires Joan of Arc, problem is the Castle management doesn't allow for anyone who is not a cis male to be a knight. Kit is set on changing that.

Ok so I feel a bit lukewarm toward this. Kit in my opinion doesn't get much growth, it seems she just can do whatever and her friends have to be ok w it, her romance w her friend feels pulled out of nowhere like Jett at one point tells her he is not intrested in dating her and then he is ???, those GoT references killed me, I get it I watched the show and sometimes even enjoyed it but it's not representative of anything medieval and Kit was always talking about how much she liked the actual history of the medieval times so...

Also as much as this book was about feminism and how we should fight for equal job oportunities, it feels as though Kit only cared about medieval woman who fought physically and not on the badass medieval woman, like idk it feels as a rejection of tradicional feminity like even the girl playing the Princess is a jerk. But I did like some parts, like her decision to confront her asshole dad to help her mom and the girls training together.

9.-Cien años de soledad de Gabriel Garcia Marquez

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

En Macondo, una población Colombiana a un lado del río, vemos como una de sus familias fundadoras crece, se expande y cambia a través de cien años.

Me encanto, hace mucho tiempo que no leía una novela de realismo mágico que me provocará tantos sentimientos. Creo que todos los personajes reflejan aspectos de la humanidad tan diversos y complejos que sería inútil tratar de enlistarlos todos.

Ultimadamente siento que lo que condenó a la familia Buendia a cumplir las profecías de Melquiades fue sus propia naturaleza que ellos nunca tuvieron intención de pelear, siempre sucumbian a las locuras o pasiones que los inundarán sin mesura alguna o consideración por las consecuencias. Y creo que aún así lo prefiero pues es lo que hace a cada personaje por confuso que a veces llegue a ser la repetición de nombres (que para mi es el simbolismo de una naturaleza y destino continuos) único e intrigante. En verdad espero que se den la oportunidad de leer este libro por lo menos una vez en sus vidas.

10.-The Monsters of music by Rebecca F. Kenney

🌟🌟🌟

This is a gender-swaped modern retelling of the Phantom of the Opera.

It was creative to make Mel, our Phantom, a true magical creature, and the singing contest was also cool. Like don't get me wrong I did have fun reading this but it also felt pretty unpolished like most characters were teens on the contest and that kinda made me roll my eyes a bit, like unless it's the Voice Kids age ranges are quite ample on this kind of shows, also kinda clumsy the addition of the magical elements with the modern setting, Kiyo didn't make much of an impression with me even when Christine is my fave on the original book. Still if you are a Phan like me you might wanna check this one out.

11.- Anna K by Jenny Lee

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a modern americanized ya retelling of Anna Karenina.

Not gonna lie this made me cry so much at the end. I really liked Anna and Vronski together so much, and I don't like the love at first sight trope, but here it felt so inevitable. Anna was so self contained until she met him and could truly explore being herself and they really loved each other so much. Also I liked the treatment of the side characters Kimmie and Dustin were well developed and I really enjoyed this one can't wait to get to the second book.

12.- Wonderland by Zoje Stage

🌟🌟🌟

It was ok, but I was actually a bit disappointed cuz I had such high expectations for it. Like for about half the book I was really into the atmospheric vibe the book pulls you into, but as we get the reveal it started to go down hill for me, and the ending left me feeling meh. But maybe it was just not my cup of tea.

13.-Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book is so well crafted!!! I love how it goes back and forth between past and present , first it feels as if history is repeating itself, then as both narratives unfold we start to question and discovering things and the twist at the end was chillin and masterful, I truly and wholeheartedly recommend it.

14.- The Girl with the louding voice by Abi Daré

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Adunni, a teenage girl, flees from her husband to work as a maid in Lagos, though everything she has ever wanted is to study.

This broke my heart, as it reflects how people coming from rural backgrounds get taken advantage of in the City, like similar things happen here in Mexico, but also it made me glad to see Adunni fight and keep her spirit so no one could ever silence her.

15.- The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Immanuel does her very best to fit in Bethel, follow the scriptures and the Prophets words, but nothing seems to be enough to erase her mother's sin especially when the Darkwood seems to pull her in. As a plague starts to ravage Bethel, Immanuel has to face her past to save her people.

So frickin' good !!!! This story is great, mainly about the explotation of woman and young girls by people in power (in this case a church), the atmosphere is always tense, Ezra and Immanuel 's relationship is very well developed and one can really see how loyal they are to each other. A great option for horror fans.

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Rainy day gyroids

Rainy days are the perfect excuse to stay inside with a cup of warm tea and a good show to watch while letting the day pass on by. How fitting is it that the theme of this gyroid event happens to be rainy days?

Joining us on this rainy day adventure are Robert and Mace, two former members of Jamie's entourage back when she lived on Peace Coast Island. Robert Azarias is a writer and actor, best known for his work in the TV show Faerie Town, which just ended earlier this year. Mace Callaghan is an actor whose career kicked off thanks to people like Jamie and his cousin Amelia, who's also an actor as well as a producer. Both have been super busy as they're on a new show that's set to premiere in the fall so they're at the camp for a short vacation after pretty much working nonstop for the past several weeks.

The new show is called Mount Barley, RFD - which stands for rural free delivery - and it's about a journalist who moves back to his old hometown to take care of his aging father and reconnects with his old friends. Mace plays the main character, Alex, an ambitious creative who has a tendency to get carried away with his ideas. Robert's the co-executive producer/showrunner and has a recurring role as Jerry, a friend and colleague of Alex's who sometimes gets dragged into everyone else's problems due to bad timing. Other characters include Alex's dad Emmett, the wise father figure everyone looks up to, Blossom the pharmacist who's a neighbor to Alex, Leia, a childhood friend and work colleague, and Deedee, the hairstylist who serves as Alex's source for gossip.

Having insider information is kinda a blessing and a curse. Well, what I mean by curse is that I can't say too much about something because of non-disclosure stuff, which means I have to be careful not to let anything slip. Especially with a lot of show creators, writers, and actors being active on social media, it's kinda easy to accidentally reveal something that wasn't supposed to publicly come out yet. It's not usually anything super confidential but some companies are more particular about what people say more than others. While being able to interact with crew members has its perks, it also has its drawbacks - then again, that's social media in general.

Robert's previous show, Faerie Town, ended last year after five seasons. A good number of the entourage members were in that show like April Wingate, Melody Muto, Linus Cooper, and Cecelia Argent. Robert was a writer on the show as well as a recurring character who became more prominent from season three onwards.

Ending the show was one of those cases where they were told ahead of time that they weren't going to get renewed. By then, the overall story they wanted to tell was coming to a conclusion so it made sense to start wrapping things up. Being an ensemble show, it kinda suffered from a large cast - I'm overall satisfied with the way the main characters were handled but at the same time I felt that it could've been balanced better. And I'll admit, the writing during the last two seasons were weak, but not to the point where the show went downhill.

The way I see it, there's a difference between a show going downhill and a show where the writing isn't as top notch. Downhill is bad, as in this has a negative impact on how I feel about the show in general. An example of downhill is Popular Besties, which, looking back wasn't entirely good, but I enjoyed it as a kid. It was one of those shows which the quality dipped a lot - and knowing the issues going on behind the scenes, it makes a lot of sense as to why - and it gets to the point where you're watching a new episode out of obligation or dropping it all together.

Hogan Family Values is an example of a show that has fallen to weak writing. Like Faerie Town, it has a big cast, though it struggles more in terms of having too many characters to handle. It's ending after three seasons, which has ten episodes left. Season three started out pretty strong, but since then it has been a mixed bag. We all kinda suspected that it was ending as some of the episodes kinda had that vibe and that was later confirmed by the creator just recently.

I think the biggest problem with this season is that the pacing's kinda rushed and I feel like the show has kinda written itself into a corner by trying to wrap up various plotlines while introducing a bunch of new characters/plot points at the same time. On one hand the show could use another season just to pad things out a bit, but at the same time it makes sense why they would end it there.

The show's still good though, it's just season three doesn't have the same spark as the first two did. I mean, the stronger episodes of this season are some of the best in the show overall while the weaker ones aren't entirely terrible, just mediocre, or at worst, somewhat boring. And despite my reservations at the moment, I have faith in the crew that the ending will be satisfying, even if rushed.

A show with a satisfying ending is Star's Universe, which has become one of my top favorite shows of all time. I think, if it wasn't for the network, the show could've easily run for another season to even out the pacing towards the end. It also suffered from the uncertainty of being renewed, which then led to a movie. While working on the movie, the network decided to order an additional season at the last minute to fully wrap things up. There's still a lot the show can touch on but it's all extra stuff - and while it could've focused more on the supporting cast, I can understand why they couldn't because it's essentially not their story.

As for the overall story the show wanted to tell, they not only succeeded, but exceeded my expectations. The conclusion's satisfying in a way that it's open enough to revisit but if that's the end, then I'm happy with that as well.

I think Star's Universe has ruined me in terms of judging series endings. It still kinda doesn't feel real that the show literally just ended less than a year ago. The writing has also remained consistently strong for the most part and it's just a brilliant show. Now I feel like binging on a bunch of episodes. I guess you can say it's one of my comfort shows.

While collecting gyroids, we got to talking about Mount Barley, RFD a bit as well as catch up on life in general. Robert's got an interesting backstory that Hollywood has been wanting to make into a movie for years. He was known as the Etienne Falls Baby as he was born en route on the ill fated train that crashed in the desert. His father died in the accident while his mother passed away shortly after, leaving Robert in the care of three friends who helped bring him into the world. Only one of them survived and he, while carrying Robert, made a dangerous trek through the desert to find help. After the tragic ordeal, he adopted Robert, becoming somewhat known as a hero.

Mace is the nephew of actor Gary Stewart, who's well known on stage and screen, as well as his daughters Amelia and Lesley. It was Amelia who helped Mace pursue his dream of acting by helping him stand up to his father, who was against it. At the time he was going through a lot and as a result of everything, he finally had enough. It wasn't easy going against his father's wishes, but he had to or else he'd be stuck working at the bank being his father's successor.

He's still hoping for a reconciliation, though it seems unlikely at the moment. Since moving to the island, Mace rarely spoke to his father, who has pretty much disowned him. Back home he heard that his father's not too crazy about Mace having his own show as that'll make him more well known. At least his cousins and uncle have always been supportive of him - he had always been closer to them, especially after his mom passed.

It's been raining all day, though it started out as a light drizzle at first. I don't mind the rain too much - it adds to the rainy day theme! I love how gray and cloudy the sky gets - there's just something about rain that's calming and cozy. Also, it was the perfect excuse to break out my new umbrella - and it was worth every leaf ticket because not only it looks pretty, it kept me dry. Aside from the mud, collecting gyroids in the rain was a lot of fun!

When it started pouring we headed back to the cabin to begin crafting some stuff. I was surprised that we managed to collect a lot of gyroids today, then again, I think the rain might've helped some. We also managed to do some fishing and bug catching as well, which the guys had never done before. Robert's a fast learner when it comes to fishing - and a lucky one too as he managed to catch two king salmons!

Aside from collecting gyroids, we didn't get to be able to do too much sightseeing today. Once the weather clears up, I'm thinking of setting up a picnic in the meadow and a short hike along the trail. Then, depending on Gulliver's schedule, I was hoping we can catch a ride with him and explore an island or two. Robert mentioned that he always wanted to try out sailing so I want him to experience that. As for Mace, he says he's content with anything the camp has in store and he enjoys running errands for the campers.

With the rain pouring, we all were in the mood for some tea so I put on the kettle as soon as we got inside. While waiting for the tea we set up the TV to watch some shows while helping Daisy Jane package orders from her shop. Nothing like cozying up with a nice hot cup of tea on a cloudy rainy day!

[knightthunderis]

Welcome to “Thaddea”

Chapter 6 Welcome to “Thaddea”

My Thunderis aura was seriously beginning to show and I knew they could feel it.  It just angered me to have to compete against a bunch of snarky snobs for the hand of the man my Reimeiko won over centuries ago.

“Look, no offense, but I have seen girls like you come and go.” Derrick replied. “It never ends well, not for you, Karyson, or the royal family.”

“Let me clue you into something, Buster.” Reimeiko snarled. “One, I am not a girl, I am a woman. I am different from those girls, the crown does not hurt, and to be honest, you are more my type.” He rolled his eyes in disbelief at her statement “I am serious.  I do not usually go for rich boys much less royalty.  The ones I came across before were too arrogant, conceited, self-centered, and stuck-up.  But Karyson is different, Karyson being royalty does not bother me in the least.”

“That is exactly the kind of naive thinking that is going to land you in trouble here.” he replied.

“Shove it up your rear, I am NOT naive!” Reimeiko snapped angrily. Then she thought.  “I do not think I can keep up keeping the true identity hidden.  This competition should not even be happening.”

“Do not worry.” Tristan said. “Jordan and I are going to be close to Karyson, as his personal guards until we can reconnect for good.  Relax and be your best Reimeiko.  The more time that you spend with him, the more he will remember until finally the reconnection will be for good.”

“Do not listen to Derrick.” Malachi replied. “You will be fine.  Between me and my brother you are in very good hands.  My brother Duke Byron.  He is the head of the house you are a part of thanks to yours truly.  You will see him after we land.  He will be excited to meet you.  Look you can see Thaddea out the window.  You will not want to miss this at all.”

She looked out the window and her breath was taken by the sight of the majestic Thaddea.  It was as majestic and beautiful as she had remembered, but so much more.  But she suddenly felt seriously uneasy, something was off.”

“That is Thaddea?” she asked. “It is as beautiful as something out of a fairytale.  The sparkling ocean, the swaying trees.  I am just saying that it is very beautiful.” 

The plane descended, landed, then pulled up to the stairsteps.  Reimeiko looked out the door and saw the ThunderStar being taxied into a nearby hangar.  A town car was waiting to take Malachi, Reimeiko and Derrick to the royal palace.  Black Thunder spoke to her through the ear piece.

“It looks like it is not just our Universal Knights who are here to help in the investigation.” Thunder said. “Look, Pepper D’Angelo and the Genesis Knights are here as well.”

She put her turned off phone to her ear so she looked like she was on it when she could respond. “Hey, I thought I would let you know, we landed and we are at the palace even as we speak.” Reimeiko said. “Can you send everyone’s location and ETA to my computer when you get it?”

“That will not be a problem.” Black Thunder said. “In fact, I will send it and everyone’s locations to your computer right now.  I will even include the fleet’s various locations so you know you will be safe.”

“Thanks B.T.” Reimeiko replied.  “Do not forget to let Macc and Serenity know how they can tag me too for their own piece of mind?  You know how they tend to worry when I am away.”

“Do not worry, you are fully covered.” Black Thunder said. “Your guardian companions will be there to greet you when you get settled and will be with you when the rest of us cannot.  I will relay to Pepper the seriousness about keeping your true title under wraps for now, maybe use the Amaryllis name instead of Thunderis.”

“Keeping the first one under wraps is fine.” Reimeiko replied. “But not changing the second.  The second will be a lot of help during this time.”

“We just found out that the Universal Alliance Council was meeting to decide if a long time friendly kingdom of Taboria will be accepted or rejected where the alliance is concerned.” Black Thunder said. “Because of what happens here, if the prince decides for you then not only will Taboria be accepted into the Universal Alliance, but they will also be allowed access to the fleet to protect them from their outside enemies.”

“Whoa, wait a minute.” Reimeiko replied softly. “How does Thaddea’s prince deciding for me help Taboria gain access to the Universal Alliance?”

“This just came off of the wire.” Black Thunder said. “During the rest of our background checks, Macc and I came across the connection.  I will relay the information to your tablet.”  Turning on her tablet, Reimeiko checked into the email Black Thunder sent with the information inside. 

“Whoa, is this accurate?” Reimeiko asked. “I did not see that coming. I knew that Seidre’s sister had gotten married, but I did not know they were twins and her sister ended up being connected to Deon and Ceres Mitchell or Samuel and Francine Walters.”

“More the latter than the former in this time, when everyone was reborn and the memories of each other were not known.” he said. “Seidre’s sister Coradae is Samuel and Francine’s stepmother.  She gave birth to their half brother Garyson a few days after Seidre or Rhiana gave birth to Karyson, Racine, and Coridon.  Or as you have come to know them, Tristan, Erin, and Jordan Llewellyn.”

“Oh shoot fire, that is serious.” Reimeiko hissed. “So in reality, this competition is for gaining Garyson.  But what I do not understand is why is Karyson here in the line of fire instead of his cousin?”  She clammed up when she noticed Derrick and Malachi staring at her back on her phone. Black Thunder sent a picture of all of the children together and the resemblance was uncanny between the Thaddean twins and their cousin Garyson. “Well now, that explains everything.  Well almost everything.” She lowered her voice.  “Are they running as decoys for him?  And if so, what is the reason behind it?”

“We are still trying to figure that out.” he said. “But Kisiana and Talisan will be there to help Karyson regain his memories of you and your past together.  They should be reconnecting with him right now in their human forms as guardians.”

Reimeiko switched to speaking in Thunderian. “Alright, get a hold of Taryn and our Lady Knights.” Reimeiko ordered. “I want them in on this too in order to help run interference in this sham of a competition.”

“I will get right on that and keep you posted.” Black Thunder said. “I think you ought to know that you have arrived at the royal palace.  I will be within earshot should you need me.”

The limousine pulled up to the gates and the red carpet of the royal palace where photographers, and reporters clamored to gain interviews and take pictures of the competing suitors. Once there, Derrick opened the door, hopped out and quickly walked away as Malachi helped Reimeiko out of the car.  She spoke quietly to Black Thunder who was parked close behind.  “Okay now, besides our Pepper D’Angelo and her crew,” Reimeiko asked. “Who are the other photographers and reporters and where are they from?”

“The fancy suited lady is Tamera Loren from Sheen Scene magazine.” Black Thunder announced. “She is also a very well known fashion designer like Tessalyn Larson.  She is the main media liaison for the royalty and nobility.”

“Is it just me, or does she seem to have a snobby kind of air to her?” Reimeiko asked.

“No, she does eat up all of the gossip given to her by the royalty and nobility that flits around here.” he replied.  “The suitors and their families never tire of bragging to the reporters about all of their constant achievements to make them look appealing to the present prince.”

“I am surprised they do not strip themselves naked and parade in front of him to try and make his eyes bug out.” Reimeiko teased. “Knowing Karyson as well as I do, flash and flare was never his style of woman, least of all flesh and flare.”

“Reimeiko, focus!” Aaron scolded. “We have got a job to do and you need to get your head in the game.”

“No worries, brother, we have got this.” Reimeiko said. “Now who is the next reporter in the game?”

“His name is Bondo Drayson.” Marco reported. “He heads up the International Broadcasting Company.  He has got quite a flare for the dramatic and is always coming up with some comedy quip after another.  Watch out though, between him and Jaelene Rozaro keeping yourself in the shadows is not going to be an easy maneuver.”

“It is just my true title that is staying in the shadows for now, not me and my personality.” Reimeiko scoffed.  As she set her feet on the sidewalk, she was immediately greeted by a thick crowd of people and paparazzi including Pepper D’Angelo from KTSE news.  Reimeiko, catching Pepper’s eye, subtly raised her hand to the ear that hid the earpiece.  Ahead of her, the beautiful women and suitors strolled down the red carpet to the palace gates pausing to sign autographs and pose for pictures for the magazines.

“This is Pepper D’Angelo for KTSE News here in Culdera, Taboria.” Pepper announced. “It is a fantastic showing of the newest fashion, showcased by none other than the various nobility.  Even our very own Princess Amaryllis as always lights up everywhere she goes in the world.”

Malachi took Reimeiko’s hand and gently tugged her forward.  She started walking, falling into line with the other arrivals.  Several cameras flashed in her direction.  She smiled and waved whispering to Malachi.

“What is happening?” she asked. “They are looking at me.  I always knew that I was destined for the spotlight.” To Tristan she said. “Have you found any sign of your royal counterpart yet?”

“The tracker you hid on his watch was ingenious and is working at the highest capacity.” Tristan replied. “Be careful going in there Jamie.  Mom and Dad said Thaddea was being ruled by Uncle Cecil until Dad got called back.”

[disasterbijamietartt]

It hurts my heart how excited and happy Jamie was to go for a beer with Roy and whennRoy said how proud he was of him. I'm preferring to ignore the following part, but it did make me happy them realising they were being stupid and going for a kebab so Im hoping that was just a stupid lapse of sense. Although it is making me side eye Roy especially for behaving that way knowing Jamie's past.

Ugh, yes, the latter half of the bar talk really didn't sit right with me.

It started out so great, but then it made a u-turn …

You know, I understand why they brought up the love triangle with Roy and Jamie, since their feelings for Keeley was something that was still standing between the and that they needed to talk about, but I didn’t like the execution of them getting needlessly sexist about it (bringing up the sex tape, really? And Roy’s whole “stay away from her, we are talking again so she is clearly mine — although, women, who understands them?”).

I could even accept the fist fight as some sort of necessary catharsis for them, if it wouldn’t be for Jamie’s history with abuse and him just two minutes earlier saying how Roy gave him something positive he didn’t get from the other older men in his life. (I’ll assume Simon wasn’t that much into football, so he wasn’t as motivational and didn’t train with him etc., otherwise just … ouch.) And the thing is also, all of Roy’s jealousy aside … they never actually fought over Keeley, which was the part I found so refreshing about the way the love triangle was handled. But, yeah, I can see how there was some lingering animosity that had to get settled before they truly could be best friends. But they could done that without actually fist fighting …

The whole asking Keeley to choose thing was … quite arrogant of them and icky, but good for them to realise they were being idiots and that it apparently didn't mess with their friendship.

Still, I would have preferred if they hadn't come to the conclusion, that Keeley should chose (with her choice being neither for good reason), but that they had used this opportunity to talk with her about their feelings for her and that they needed to know where they were standing with her to find closure. And then them having an actual conversation adressing their conundrum and how it would be best for all of them to stay friends, yadda yadda.

Like, the thing that annoys me most is, that we didn’t get a follow up, no apology to Keeley for acting so stupid. She kicked them out, which was the right thing to do, but I'd wished they had actually talked things out.

It is nice to have it so open that you can interpret it whichever way you want, but after seeing the trio's blooming friendship last episode this felt like such a step back in their relationship. I just would have loved to get a little bit more resolution, to have them properly established as friends.

Especially if you read the montage as something only happening in Ted’s dream—like, that is the only way I can excuse Beard’s and Jane’s wedding (with Ted not being present on top?) and Jamie visiting James and laughing with him. (I saw so many people on reddit being moved to tears by Jamie reconciling with his “dad”, like, yeah, applause for years of abuse and trauma being ignored in order to get a sappy ending. Like, if the show had at least acknowledged the abuse and shown James taking accountability, BEFORE Jamie decides to reconnect, but yeah, no one has to ever be accountable to Jamie, soo … And it is especially upsetting considering they added sexual abuse to the long list of James’ crimes just to … completely drop this, as if it didn’t matter. They could have made Jamie’s first trip to Amsterdam traumatic in other ways, if the contrast between bad trip with dad and good trip with mum was all they wanted to accomplish …)

On a side note: Jamie enjoying and missing drinking beer threw me off, since he never seemed to be too fond of alcohol, but they probably wanted to get the Darsteiner callback in. Way more important than consistent characterisation.

[gra-sonas]

Any ideas who will discover they're not straight?

Hi nonnie!

Not ideas exactly, more like hopes and wishes?

1/ I hope it’s one of the main cast members (meaning a member of the Pod Squad, or any of the other regulars). This show could do with a lot more queer rep, and whoever it is who realizes they’re not straight, and however they’ll identify, I want them on the show permanently, and I want them to explore and represent that part of the lgbtqia+ spectrum as part of their role for the whole run of the show.

2/ I know many fans are hoping for Kyle to be the one, but I don’t think it will be him (not yet anyway), mainly bc of two of Carina’s tweets from May:

So while she didn’t categorically rule out that Kyle could discover that he’s actually into Alex (I mean, who could blame him, LOOK AT HIM!!! 😍)

I don’t think that’s what we’ll see in S2. We know there’s a guy with blue hair coming to Roswell who catches Alex’s attention, and while it could very well be that Michael’s not the only one who gets jealous (that’s a given, right?), I still don’t think it’s gonna be Kyle who realizes he wants to be more than Alex’s bff. However, if it turns out to be Kyle, I WON’T COMPLAIN (tho I’m strictly team platonic Kylex, sorry Kyle, Alex belongs with Michael, I love you, but you can’t have him xD)!

3/ I hope it’s gonna be one of the girls. Simply because while we’re blessed with more and more mlm content on mainstream media (not always great rep, mind you 😒), there’s still significantly less wlw on TV, and I hope that’s what the show’s going to give us. Just… give me all the sapphic content, y’know? (I’m saying this fully aware that the not straight revelation could of course also mean that someone will identify as ace/aro, which would also be really cool!)

4/ So, since I hope it’s a main/regular character, and one of the girls, that leaves Liz, Isobel, Maria, and Rosa (sadly I can’t add Jenna bc she probably won’t be around for as much of S2 WHICH IS A REAL SHAME!).

4a/ I don’t think it’s gonna be Liz. If I remember correctly, they ruled out new love interests for Liz and Max in S2, and I think Liz will be too busy figuring out how to bring back Max. We might get some Kyliz action tho, and I’m SO here for that, ngl!

4b/ Rosa would be really cool, although she’s probably going to be busy figuring out how to be alive a decade after she died. Idk, we have no idea how Rosa will be re-introduced to Roswell. I kinda doubt that Isobel’s gonna mind whammy the whole town, so they’ll have to come up with another explanation why a supposedly dead girl (or a girl looking very very similar) is in Roswell. Rosa might also be busy with getting/staying sober, reconnecting with her - now older - younger sister, her dad, and a half brother she didn’t know as such before. But who knows, it could be Rosa.

4c/ Then there’s Maria. Who I think has never been straight to begin with tbh. IDK, just the vibes she had with Rosa in the flashbacks, to me it’s always seemed like she felt more for Rosa than friendship. Not to mention THE INSAAAAAANE CHEMISTRY SHE HAS WITH ISOBEL??? 🔥🔥🔥

Maria was so confident here, like she knows her way around a girl’s hands 😏

4d/ That leaves Isobel, my no 1 pick for the reveal. Isobel’s gonna have quite the journey in S2. We saw her practice powers that are not hers initially at the end of S1, then there’s all the Noah trauma she’s gonna have to unpack. And maybe there’s a more personal revelation in the cards for her, like her attraction to someone of the not male variety? I mean, last night Carina reiterated that

but Isobel could still discover that she’s not actually straight, right? @andrea-lyn came up with the brilliant idea that agent Grace Powell - played by the utterly amazing Jamie Clayton - could be Isobel’s queer awakening, and holy heck, I WANT THAT! 🔥🔥🔥

Anyway, it’s all a guessing game (this hiatus has been nothing but that 😩), and it’s hard to make any profound assumptions. I just hope this won’t be another instance of ‘queer rep hype’ where we there’s teasing of queer rep beforehand, but what we actually get is not even the bare minimum. With all the queer writers on the show I have hope this won’t be the case, but I won’t get my hopes up too high for now. Maribel would be the dream, but I’m not holding my breath…

Another 70 days of this dreaded hiatus… WHERE IS THE TRAILER?

Thanks for the ask, nonnie, have a great day! ✨💚👽