#alt s5 onwards

[castlebyersafterdark]

Wow, thanks so much for that beautiful take on Will’s attraction to Mike! I love the passion and personal experience you included. 

its definitely true about will being into unconventional beauty, I hadn’t seen that viewpoint articulated before. All the music in the show, and indeed the themes of the show itself - that Jonathan sets in motion through talking about music and outsiders - are reflected in will’s attraction to mike. I think the creators chose Finn as an actor partly for this reason, whether or not the mike and will romance was planned from the off. Mike was meant to be the leader, but he’s still an outcast, and needed outcast traits.

It’s also quite amusing that Finn has ended up being the kind of musician/band guy that Will would have really been into (which is also why I wouldn’t be unhappy if they tried to include these skills in Mike’s character/the s5 story somehow, especially considering music is such a huge part of the show narratively. So far the only hint we’ve seen is the guitar in his bedroom). His appearance is not American Conventional Hot, but he certainly fits the alt camp, which is far from niche (see basically any band musician from the 60s onwards and the legions of people who find them hot). Like you said - Will is into Bowie. He’s into alt. It makes so much sense that he would be into Mike physically. 

You spoke beautifully about how Mike’s height is a physicalisation of his protective instincts too, which I do think would have been a major catalyst in Will’s falling in love. We don’t get to see much of Will’s developing crush in s2, because of his possession, but arguably that is a sort of narrative metaphor for what’s happening (as well as a commentary on his homosexuality overall), and there are plenty of intense moments of Will looking at Mike in s2. It’s there, it’s just not presented as people might expect - but then again Will is quiet, so his attraction is expressed quietly, unless you know what to look for.

And then s4 - I think Will having painted so meticulously really does show that on some level he is very comfortable with his attraction to Mike, and it's just expressing that safely + risking their friendship that is the issue. To me, Will's internalised homophobia isn't a persistent distaste with the male body despite also being attracted to it; it's a frustration with how society views him, and therefore a wish to be 'normal' for an easier life. I think s5 will be feature him coming to revel in being gay - he is already on the way there by acknowledging that loving Mike feels so natural to him and he wouldn't give it up, not even when he's in pain.

Some of my fav moments in s4 are the way he looks at Mike in the van as he unfurls the painting - it’s all in the eyes and hesitance, and it’s just gorgeous and so real for someone like Will. Perhaps the real problem with people not picking up on byler is that realistic shy/introverted romance is so criminally under-portrayed in modern media. And of course what you said about Mike arriving in Lenora - it’s brilliant and hilarious because we have this mix of in love/pissed off + wtf is Mike wearing/Will still can’t take his eyes off him, and I think it speaks so well of how physical attraction often follows emotional. Will might not like Mike’s unconventional features out of context (though I think he does - as said above) but even if he didn’t, the fact that they are MIKE’s makes them desirable. 

A wonderful detail is when Mike comes into Will’s room and sits on his bed - it’s an apology scene, but underneath is this idea that Will would have fantasised for so long about Mike being in his room, on his bed - and now he is, and Will doesn’t quite know what to do with it. 

Thanks for such an insightful take, and for acknowledging the actors in such a mature way. The byler Tumblr police seem to think that isn’t possible, and it’s certainly not common! You express yourself so well. 

I don't have much to add here without repeating myself or parts of your lovely message but yesssssss to everything ❤️❤️❤️ thank you for the kind words and insightful thoughts

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Crisis Redo Pt 1

Okay, spinning off from my idea of what might habe happened if Lena knew Lex would try to reshape the new reality in his own image and took steps to thwart him, I've been thinking.... what if Lena didn't have the time or focus to do much against Lex in that moment? The worlds are colliding, so many people have died, and all Lena knows is that she's ashamed of what she was planning with Non Nocere and that she wishes she didn't know the superhero standing next to her. She wishes she didn't know any of it.

So Lex's reality comes to fruition, with one major aspect missing: Lena isn't there.

He asks the butler where his sister is. The butler asks "whatever do you mean, sir? You've never had a sister."

And the same goes for Kara. She goes to Lena's office to tell her the truth all over again, and finds some nameless, unfamiliar man sitting behind the desk. No matter how hard she googles, the world has never heard of Lena Luthor. Kara is heartbroken, thinking that her Lena ended with the old reality. Alex does her best to comfort her, but is ultimately kind of crap at it.

"Maybe it's for the best," Alex says. This way, there's one less Luthor to worry about.

Months pass, and though Kara moves on, she never forgets. There's a hole in her life where Lena used to be, a mountain of things left unsaid-- things she'll never have the chance to say again.

But then, one day, Kara's in line to get coffee at Noonan's when the barista calls out "flat white for Lena!"

Kara's head shoots up, scanning the counter and the crowd reflexively. It's happened a few times by now, and every time her hopes are dashed by an unfamiliar face, the wrong hair or an unknown smile. This time, however, she spies a flash of fair skin and dark hair near the pick up counter, and her heart starts thudding in her ears.

It's too crowded for Kara to see the woman's face. She shoves her way out of line and towards the counter, only to next see the woman slipping out the door. By the time Kara makes it to the sidewalk, the woman is gone, but Kara knows in her heart that it was her.

It was Lena.

She rushes home that night to tell her sister, only for Alex to poke holes in her certainty. Alex asks question after question that Kara can't answer. She didn't see the woman's face, or which way she went. She doesn't know the woman's last name, nor did she have any other way to find the woman again.

All Kara can do is return to Noonan's at roughly the same time the next morning, and hope that Lena comes again. She waits for hours, sipping on cold coffee and nibbling on a pastry she can barely taste. In the end, even Kara knows when to admit defeat.

She stands to leave, gathering her trash and sweeping her crumbs onto the floor. She's so busy fighting tears that she doesn't see the person entering as she barrels out to leave.

"Oh!"

Kara freezes, her arms hooked around a familiar waist to keep the other woman from falling.

"Sorry, I didn't see you," the woman says in a low, throaty voice. Kara blinks, then stares speechlessly into Lena's eyes. "Please, excuse me."

Lena extricates herself from Kara's grip, straightening her sweater where it had gathered around her hips. Kara says nothing, her voice trapped behind the sudden lump in her throat. Lena's brow furrows in confusion, but her gaze remains cool, without any sign of recognition.

"After you," Lena says finally, taking a step back to hold the door open for Kara.

"Lena."

Only then does Lena do a double-take, her green eyes widening before she scans Kara rapidly. "Sorry, have we met?"

[dyed-red]

7 + 10?

7. Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

somehow, and i'm not sure why, but i initially liked casifer? i think it was the reprieve from the hallucifer version and an overwhelming (completely misplaced) sense of relief that pellegrino wouldn't be acting as lucifer, so i rolled with the casifer version quite happily.

now i'm like ?????? i think there's some interesting things about casifer, particularly when he's attempting to pretend to be actual!cas, but mostly the smarm and the exaggerated expressions and all of it are ... Not It.

the thing about a being as powerful as lucifer is that restraint is so much more effective. jared plays lucifer with cool movements and with restraint, and it comes off as chilling. pellegrino played him more that way in s5 as well, alien and calm. i really enjoyed it. i wish this is the approach mischa had taken, since he did a lot to set the tone for later season lucifer with his portrayal, when we could have had a reset from the hallucifer characterization.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

this is a toss-up for me because i have some real issues with s6-8a, but i think i have to say my most disliked would be the apocalypse world and its fallout. meaning like... half or more of s13-14.

it's just - Bad.

under-realized, at times with weird characterization, it throws mary and bobby together in one of the most awkward side stories to exist on the show, it throws away so much potential for vessels and for what michael could have been, and brings back characters like ketch for us to suffer through even longer for no good reason, and everything it does with the alt-world hunters who live in the bunker is... deeply pointless.

tbh i checked out of most of all that from s12 onward, basically once lucifer was back in play and so poorly written and making crowley lick the floor, and asmodeus was about as interesting (actually less) than if the KFC colonel was written into the show.

[anicocat]

Opinions are subjective. I didn't want to comment on S5 earlier bc I risked being too hasty to judge it. With ep.7 ongoing, I think a fair impression could already be formed. Personally, I think this season's is average on the quality scale, not awfully terrible like S4 but nowhere near as good or amazing as it was hyped up to be. It didn't go back to S1-S3 and wtfockdown, that's a sure thing. I think the best way to describe it is forgettable; once it ends for good nothing about Yasmina's story is going to stay to make a lasting impression

Hello! Yes, absolutely, opinions are subjective, nobody holds the truth here haha. That's why I'm always saying that everyone should just understand that everyone around here has different things they are searching within the season and are all of them are valid. If you find those things, you're going to be happy whether the season is good or bad, if you don't find those things you're gonna be upset whether the season is good or bad. You're watching this show to see the things that make you happy, no less no more!!

I also agree S5 it's not terrible, but most of the time I'm not even sure if I could call it good either, so I guess it is average like you said. But I personally don't know if it's that forgettable tho, I think it's a bit harsh? I think Nora's doing an amazing job and they were making some interesting changes in the first half of the season but sadly, most of it was knocked down in EP5 onwards. So I guess the only salvable ones are Yasmina and Younes portrayals.

I do agree that whatever statements they've been trying to do here are not leaving a good, lasting impression. I'm actually worried because they haven't portrayed Islam in a really good, positive or engaging way (so far). Yasmina's parents are too strict, and they along with Elias are always disapproving belgian people and I'm like okay but what about focusing on the happiness and wellbeing of your badass, unproblematic Yasmina? 🥺 There's also the homophobia: Elias has said homophobic things and Yasmina's mom was made seem vaguely homophobic, and there's the Badr thing. And even worse, all Yasmina's friends and the BA won't stop stamping on her, her feelings and her religion, so what's going to be the statement here? Nobody will believe the "alt er love" bullshit. I'm sorry :/

I'm actually surprised because you know, it seems like Nora was involved or something, but it's already EP7, I don't see they're taking a different approach and the minutes are slipping away, away...

[jensenknowsdeanbetterthanyou]

I’m watching Fringe right now, a show that shares a lot of similarities with Supernatural (largely because it like Supernatural has links to and was influenced by The X Files) and I have to say there’s some stuff here that I suspect was robbed from Supernatural (they were both filmed in Vancouver at the same time) like the Observers remind me a lot of Supernatural’s angels and there was even a sigil that kept one Observer trapped etc, that looked very similar to an angel sigil. 

But, Fringe finished in 2013 when Supernatural was in s8, and 3 years later Dabb took over and proceeded to rehash Supernatural’s old story lines and also steal from numerous tv shows; from Buffy and Angel, to shows like Revolution and Sliders, and now watching Fringe s5 I realise he may have also copied this too. 

Fringe revolved around the idea of alt worlds, with alt versions of the main characters, similar to Supernatural s13 onwards, but then alt worlds is a common trope so I never gave that much thought. 

However, coincidentally after what I wrote about Mary and her return, I am now watching the final season of Fringe (s5) where Olivia is brought back to life after being trapped in amber for 20 years and is confronted with her grown up daughter. Sound familiar? 

Now I get that Olivia is a main character, so they can’t write her out of every other episode, and also of course she has more POV since she’s the lead, but still...there’s some very similar themes here, and it just shows what could have been with Mary. 

It helps that Anna Torv is a terrific actress, who can do a lot with very little, but Olivia’s inner conflict is all there, it’s plain to see both in the writing and in the acting, as is the slight out of kilter feeling as she tries to learn who her grown up daughter is, and yet at the same time there is no doubt, even when she struggles to recognise her daughter, that she loves her and would do anything for her. 

Oh and while some may roll their eyes that they had to introduce a daughter and inevitably turn Olivia into a mother, the fact that she is does not diminish her as a badass Fringe agent, a saviour of the world, and a resistence fighter who has special powers. 

[seasonal-spuffy]

LIVEJOURNAL FOR SCOOBIES #5: HOW TO POST AN ENTRY (TO SEASONAL_SPUFFY)

Join me on a new voyage of the mind as I make 2 mock posts for the LiveJournal community seasonal-spuffy, taking screenshots all the way.

This post might be of use to people who want to know how to make LiveJournal posts in general, but most of the specifics will be Seasonal Spuffy guidelines. If you’re only interested in Seasonal Spuffy guidelines, try the community profile.

Note: the LiveJournal version of this post might be easier to read. https://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/631381.html

STEP 0: Things to do before posting to Seasonal Spuffy

Create a LiveJournal account (sometimes, we’ve allowed participation elsewhere, but the Fall 2018 round only happens on LiveJournal);

join the community (currently optional, but makes posting easier);

(optional!) sign up for a posting day;

or wait for the free-for-all days: Nov. 22&25, Dec. 1&2 for Fall 2018;

create a new Spuffy work of almost any kind (detailed guidelines here).

STEP 1: Open the post editor

Click “Post to Community” or a pencil icon at the top of the recent entries page of the comm, or click “Post New Entry” in the top right corner of any LJ page.

There are currently 2 post editors.

The new post editor may look like home if you’re used to tumblr. It looks like in screenshots 27-28, and it produces posts that are formatted like this. If you start in the new post editor and change your mind, click "Switch to old version" at the bottom of the page. Your post-in-progress will open in the legacy editor. You cannot switch back with the same post.

The legacy editor has 2 modes - visual editor and HTML. You can switch between them freely, using tabs at the top of the area where you write your post. In the mobile version of the site, you only get the HTML editor. Compared to the new post editor, the legacy editor gives you much more control over formatting, and it lets you preview the entry before you post.

Most of the screenshots in this tutorial post are from the legacy editor.

STEP 2: Select the community

See screenshot 18. If the community isn’t set, click “To Community” above the subject line of your entry-in-progress and select seasonal_spuffy.

STEP 3: Write a title (”subject”)

Ideally, the title describes your entry. Here are three good examples:

Four Banners

Icons: Night & Day

Fic: Buffy and the Bloodmobile (2 of 4)

However, any entry title you like is fine as long as the entry has a header.

STEP 4: Fill in the header (the version for fic)

If you're posting fic, please fill out this header at the top of your post: Title: Author: Era/season/setting: Rating: See screenshot 20. For "title" and "author", please give us the info that you’d like us to use when we link to your entry.

You might need to add another header line for warnings:

if your entry includes Spike/Other or Buffy/Other pairings;

if your entry is explicit/ not safe for work.

You can continue the header if you want, e.g. add a line for "Author's Note".

STEP 4: Fill in the header (the version for art etc.)

If you’re posting art or other work, the basic header is only 2 lines: Title: Creator:

We will use this title and name when we link to your entry. 

You might need to add another header line for warnings:

if your entry includes Spike/Other or Buffy/Other pairings;

if your post is explicit/ not safe for work.

You can continue the header with other info if you want.

STEP 5: Insert your work (the version for fic)

The visual editor preserves formatting if you paste text into it. Sometimes, it keeps too much, like the font or the background color. If you want to find out whether this happened, scroll to the bottom of the page and PREVIEW. If there’s too much formatting and you feel like cleaning the post up, you have 2 options:

paste text without formatting instead (paste in the HTML editor, or right-click in the visual editor and Paste as Plain Text, or copy from Notepad),

or, after pasting into the visual editor, switch to the HTML editor and remove the formatting tags that you don’t want.

See screenshot 20 and 21 for an example.

STEP 5: Insert your work (the version for artwork)

See screenshot 22. After clicking the image icon in the toolbar, I dragged and dropped the image from my computer, set image size to 600 pixels, and put a checkmark in “Add a link to fullsize picture” so that people can click my image to view it in full size. I left the other settings as they are. Then, I clicked “Insert Pictures”.

The visual editor now shows an image in the entry, while the HTML editor shows some link code where I can insert descriptive alt text and hover text for the image if I like.

As an alternative to uploading, you can insert an image from various hosting sites by selecting “Paste URL” or one of the other options.

STEP 6 (optional): Add some end notes

If you like, you can add some notes below your work, like credit for images used. Screenshot 23 shows how to add a link.

STEP 7: Add a cut

Cuts are “read more” links that will hide parts of the entry when people see the entry in a feed. Cuts are a big deal on LiveJournal, and you should use them.

For Seasonal Spuffy, cuts are required for all stories, large graphics, and NSFW content. You can’t go wrong if you just “cut” everything except the header.

Unlike tumblr, where a “read more” link hides everything from that point onwards, LiveJournal cuts have both a beginning and an end.

To add a cut in the visual editor:

Highlight the part you want to hide.

Click the scissors icon "Insert Cut" in the toolbar (screenshot 24).

Change the "Read more" text if you like or just click Insert.

See if there are cut lines now: dotted lines with little scissor images (screenshot 25).

To add a cut in the HTML editor:

Add  before the part you need to cut and  after it,

OR highlight text and click the Insert Cut icon. This will add the cut code.

To add a cut in the new post editor:

Go to an empty new line at the start of the section you want to hide.

A toolbar should open (see screenshot 27). Click the scissors icon to add the start of the cut.

Then go to an empty line where the cut should end.

In the toolbar, click the scissors icon again to add the end of the cut.

STEP 8: Add tags

Please add these kinds of tags to your Seasonal Spuffy entry:

creator (creator: yourusername with your username)

form (form: banner/wallpaper/manip, form: fanmix, form: fic, form: icons, form: meta/recs, form: other art, form: poetry, form: vid)

era (era: ats s5, era: btvs s1,..., era: btvs s7, era: comics canon, era: indeterminate, era: post-series, era: pre-series)

rating (rating: nc-17, rating: other)

(optional) genre - for fic if applicable (genre: alternate reality, genre: amnesia, genre: baby/kid/parent fic, genre: crossover, genre: holiday, genre: post-apocalyptic, genre: shanshu!Spike, genre: time travel, genre: vamped character, genre: wishverse)

You don’t have to memorize these tags. If you type the first part of the tag, like “era”, the available options will show in a dropdown. See screenshot 25. You can also click “select” and see all the available tags for the community.

If you're posting for the first time, your creator tag might not be available yet. That's okay - we will add it later.

If tags bewilder you, it's okay to skip this step or skip some kinds of tags. The mods can clean the tags up for you. If there’s enough time, it’s also okay to ask for help. :) You can contact one of the mods, like thenewbuzwuzz or Rebcake, or email sspuffy@gmail.com, send us an ask here, etcetera.

STEP 9 (optional): Preview

Once you're done, it's a good idea to click the white button "Preview Entry" at the bottom of the post editor (see screenshot 26). This option is only available in the legacy editor. The preview will open in a new window, and you'll have to close it and return to the editor to finish posting your entry.

You can't see cuts when you preview a post, because they won’t be visible when your post is open. This is normal.

If you have time and you want to make absolutely sure everything is fine before making the real post, you could make a private test post on your journal. The option to make the entry private is under Security near the bottom of the window, and you’d have to edit the “Post” settings at the top to post to your journal. After that, if you see everything *is* fine, you can open that post for editing, go into the HTML editor, and copy everything for posting to the community.

STEP 10: Post

Double-check the text on the blue “post” button right before you post. The button caption should say “POST TO SEASONAL_SPUFFY”.

For Seasonal Spuffy entries, we don’t require you to do anything with the various settings that are available directly before posting. See screenshot 26 for an explanation of what some of them would do if you did use them.

If your entry is finished but it’s not yet your posting day/ not a free-for-all day, you can schedule the entry to be posted on the right day.

To schedule, use the setting "Date" at the top of the post editor.

Right after you schedule, LiveJournal will offer to view the post, and it will kind of look like it's already posted. If you go to the main page of the community, you should be able to see it's not there yet.

If we're between rounds and we've turned entry moderation on, you won't be able to schedule an entry. You can contact us (message a mod, e.g. thenewbuzwuzz, email sspuffy@gmail.com, or get in touch with us elsewhere), and we can change the setting. Currently, in November 2018, you can schedule.

STEP 11 (optional): Check and fix as needed

It’s a good idea to look at your entry in the recent entries page of the community, so that you can see if the cut worked.

To edit your entry if necessary, hover over its title in the recent entries page and select the pencil icon on the right, or click the title to open the entry, then select the pencil icon in the row of icons above the title. After editing, click the blue button "Save Entry" at the bottom of the page.

In case of urgent problems posting, message one of the mods, for example, thenewbuzwuzz or teragramm; or email sspuffy@gmail.com, or comment on one of the latest mod posts on LiveJournal.

If you have time and you prefer to figure things out on your own, try the LiveJournal FAQ.

See the community profile for more information on how the community works.

If you have other questions about the event or posting, please feel free to ask!