#and i have trust that one way or another we'll get s3

[tonydaddingham]

me in the mirror to myself rn:

[thefirstlioveyou]

i hate when mike's "romantic love" for el is adored and romanticized when it's really the most anxious and unhealthy form of attachment, but his healthy and secure love for will is just seen as platonic

mike with el:

"i'm scared one day you won't need me anymore."

"but what if she doesn't need me anymore?"

"i can't lose you."

"i can't lose you again."

"i don't know how to live without you." (this is devastating.)

given the circumstances mike was put with with el in s1, his statements of love is more of rooted from trauma rather than actual romantic love. he's constantly afraid of losing her the same way he did in the last episode of s1, especially since he blames himself for it for the way he treated her.

he also feels a sense of self worth from the concept of being with a girl - a girl as cool and superhero-like as el that.... but not because it's EL. that's the problem. this sense of worth comes from being NEEDED, and el NEEDED mike to protect her (at the time of s1). THAT'S what he takes interest about their relationship. mike can't even mention one thing he likes about her that isn't about her powers in his monologue. he can't even tell will one thing when he was venting.

even acknowledged by shawn levy, the duffers and finn, mike simply feels a sense of worth when he's helping/saving someone - that's not necessarily romantic because....

and then we have el's side of this. el had fallen into the same pattern as she did in the lab when it comes to needing someone to rely on. she loses her own self-worth when she's with mike, unable to really identify herself. her "romantic love" for mike roots in a very traumatic place. she didn't even consider him in that way before he kissed her. she saw him as a caregiver (and possible family) - this is why she clings so tightly to him, it's reminiscent of her trauma in that sense. but in s3 and s4, she realizes who she is without mike (or feeling controlled by a relationship)

el's whole arc is not needing to rely on someone anymore, which is contradictory to what mike wants. the puzzle pieces aren't fitting with them!!

mike with will:

"max, dustin, lucas - they're great but they're not you."

"i asked if you wanted to be my friends ... it was the best thing i ever did."

"if anyone knows how to defeat this thing, it's will." (mike trusts will even in a dangerous situation, whereas in s3 he's more anxious for el, despite losing them both before. why? because he felt a sense of responsibility for el, not will.)

"if we both go crazy, we'll go crazy together."

"i didn't say it." "you didn't have to."

what he tells will is often more positive, and never putting himself or others down in the process. there's more trust and security.

"but what about s2? wasn't he scared to lose him?" but he never felt loss of control that season. he never held him back from anything and even insisted on things that could've been dangerous, but there was trust. even comparing his monologue in s2 vs s4, there is a sense of calmness and confidence in his words. he doesn't blabber and just keeps his words short and to the point. there isn't dramatic music build up to intensify the scene. it's intimate and genuine, not a performance.

the whole "you didn't have to" part is SOO underrated. it just proves more of what i'm saying! mike is more secure with will and they simply just get one another, whereas mike and el do not!

he also still acknowledges his other friends and how valuable they are to him, while saying will is different to him. (AND this can be backed up, unlike the s4 monologue. we can see throughout the entire show that this is true, will stands out amongst the rest of his friends to him). one of the big problems mike had in s3 was forgetting friendships and his values for the sake of having a girlfriend.

it's also evidently clear how mike acts with el vs will is very different. mike never brings up his interests with el and instead tries to play cool, tries extra hard to be funny and impress her. (pizza box glasses, the horrendous airport fit, "i like- i like presents too," his weird talking/responding patterns with el at the airport/roller rink)

but the actual mike is nerdy. he's part of the av club. he's into science projects. he's into dnd. he's into figures. literally the moment mike tried showing her his figures she did NOT gaf LMAOO (i understand her priorities lied else where but still, it's a showcase of her lack of interest in mike's hobbies). but will knows these things and takes interest in all of them. will KNOWS mike more than el does.. of course he does, they've known each other since they were 5. you're lying to yourself if you believe mike and el know each other more - they don't even know themselves with each other.

and before i end this, i wanna add this one thing:

"but, if mike and el is platonic even if mike was protective, doesn't this mean that s2 byler was platonic too?" the act of caring for someone is what's platonic. there isn't anything necessarily romantic about it, that's true. but byler is more than just what happened in s1 or s2. byler's love doesn't root from their trauma with all that's going on. mike doesn't feel this connection to will because he went missing - it's love that's grown over time even before they encountered the upside down.

byler isn't real because mike cares about will's life. byler is real because mike separates his relationship with will from his friends, his intimate eye contact, his physical contact, his gentleness, his attentive behavior to will's own behavior/absence, him literally thinking meeting will was the best thing he's ever done.

and mike is still needed by someone the way he wants. will needs him, and not for any reasons related to trauma... simply because will sees the good in mike and who he really is as a person and as a whole. mike brings the best out of will and inspires him.

their love starts from simply knowing and getting each other, whereas mike and el's only begins from unhealthy attachment and trauma on either side. THAT'S the difference. it's nothing more than mike needing to save someone.

anyway i just wanted to point out what i noticed between his dialogue w each person! it's very tough seeing what he says to el viewed as peak romance by certain people, watching his trauma being overlooked for the sake another heterosexual romance. but when he showcases actual secure behavior with another person that happens to be a gay character, they're just friends... not gay at all.

[lewis-winters]

Hiii you’re like the person I trust the most to give me band of brothers analysis lol so I wanted to ask about the tension between dick and lew in crossroads. I’m not sure if I’m misinterpreting it or if I missed out on an important detail but the whole interaction where moose and lew go bug dick while he’s writing up his reports confuses me. I get Dick doesn’t want to be behind a desk and wants to be leading easy company again but once moose leaves it looks to me as though dicks’ question about the intelligence being any good ticks him off, prompting him to make the comment about the bacon sandwiches. Do you mind sharing what you think is going on between them here? Both canonically and your interpretation

Sure!

Canonically: Lew is ticked off because he's S2. Intelligence is literally his whole job, and Dick is questioning how well he's done it.

My interpretation (which is largely informed by canonical interpretation): some of the tension of this scene is definitely because Moose is handling the company now, and Dick is stuck behind a desk. You're correct on that one. I think it's a little exacerbated by Lew coming in and making jokes about it-- which is quite an anomaly, since we've seen Dick laugh at Lew's jokes before, even if they're at his expense. But even when you bear that in mind, he's not REALLY that annoyed at Nix yet. He snarks at him a bit, but other than that, he's really just sulky. He'd been bared from the details of almost everything but logistics, and on top of that is having to write a report he really doesn't want to write. Furthermore, he's annoyed at the learning curve of being behind the desk-- you could see it with his discomfort with the aide assigned to him, and with how Zielinski has to hover over him and teach him where to sign or where to write etc (though that's later in the episode). Our poor Richard is a jock, through and through. I'm willing to bet he'd rather be outside using his body instead of waiting behind a desk. But, bless him, he's taking it in stride and really just pouting.

Then, he changes his tune when he finds out Moose is leading the company out on Operation Pegasus. He becomes MORE anxious. He forgets what he's sulking about and immediately starts talking strategy. Those are his boys! He wants to look out for his boys!

And Nix can tell. You can see his face falls when Dick starts asking after times and places. So, he goes over there and tries to calm him while also rescuing Moose from Dick being too overbearing.

AND THEN Dick asks after the integrity of the intelligence Nix has.

Remember how, in the battle prior, on the titular Crossroads, they ran into a whole-ass company of SS? That could, arguably, be Lew's fault. It's his job, as Intelligence Officer (that's what S2 is-- though irl it's kinda conflicting because some sources say he was S3 around this time, not S2, but in the show he is, so we'll talk about that) to KNOW what's there, right? So he could warn the platoon walking into a battle that what they're facing isn't just another platoon, but a whole company.

But here's the thing: I only said arguably. In reality, sometimes intelligence is just wrong.

Other times, intelligence expires. Maybe Lew knew that it was just a platoon the day before, right before Alley and co. were attacked (evidence: Tab knew what was beyond the crest of the hill when Dick asked him, meaning that there was a briefing amongst the NCOs that happened about the lay of the land before they settled in that place-- Nix would've lead that, as S2), but come morning of the next day, he didn't know that said platoon had called for backup, and are now a company. Other other times, maybe there's no intelligence at all, and they all have to make do with expired intelligence. That's just one way things could've gone wrong.

Dick knows that. Lew knows that. There is a margin of error in intelligence that should be accounted for.

But I'm willing to bet Lew feels guilty about it, anyway, so he gets a little defensive; "I think it's pretty good." And then when Dick presses, he goes right for the kill, and hits a sore spot; "Why don't you ask Moose when he comes back?" and even when Dick STILL presses, though little more gently, with; "tell me if anything goes wrong," Lew bites back still; "yeah tell me if you see any bacon sandiwches [that I asked your orderly for]."

Which is him effectively telling Dick to mind his own business-- which is. Behind a desk and with Zielinski.

That being said, I don't think asking after the integrity of Lew's intelligence is bad or malicious because the lack of it DID lead to the previous blindsiding of Dick's platoon. He really is just worried about Easy. And I don't think Lew getting defensive about the intelligence is bad, either-- intelligence is SO fickle, you have no idea. Especially in an active warzone. You will get things wrong sometimes, and people will blame you. No use rubbing it in.

But also? Dick chose to charge into said company with NO new intelligence at all. Like. Richard. Dick. You came up with that attack on the fly. Were you even in communication with Nix while you were doing it? George is literally right there with the radio, Richard, did you ASK him????) I know the show paints that attack as necessary and also a success, but if you read Parachute Infantry, David Webster thought that attack was risky and uninformed. It makes you think, ya know? Biases, biases.

^^ THAT is most definitely for a whole separate post lmaoooo

Anyway. TL;DR: I think Lew was a little ashamed and guilty about not having had the intelligence Dick needed on hand (to know that he isn't running headfirst into a company of SS) before and got a little defensive when Dick brought it up. So he drops the jokey façade for a minute and does his own lashing out (to the extent that he allows himself to lash out at Dick, anyway-- which, btw? we need to talk about bc the way Dick lashes out at Nix is VERY different to how Nix lashes out at Dick and it's so INTERESTING).

They both apologize, though. Non-verbally, at least, when Nix comes back up for the VAT69 and Dick allows him. Mm. Love Winnix. Love when they say so much shit but never anything they actually mean. Kings of passive aggression and double entendre. Love that for them.

shameless plug: if you like meta posts check out my #bob meta tag for all your meta needs!

[nalyra-dreaming]

Thank you for your consistently detailed analysis and speculation which have frequently calmed me down when I was concerned about the direction of the show. As long time VC fan, I'm not gonna lie, this show has often left me heartbroken- and not in a good way. I've been trying to get through it in hopes when we will finally get to see the real Lestat. But honestly, for me, if the drop is left in, than the character is done. There is no way to redeem him. And it just hurts because not only is it something that Lestat would never do to Louis, but it's something that was actually done to *him*. He suffered for years from that fall and it was one of the main reasons he went in the ground. It's important for his character development. I just don't understand the justification for leaving it as is especially since it isn't canon. I don't think I can take another 2+ years of Lestat being called an evil domestic abuser. How can audiences be expected to root for him. They won't. He will be condemned as the monster who dropped his partner from the stratosphere. Leaving it also ruins the L+L QotD flight. I just don't see the point in irrevocably damaging the main protagonist of the entire story. I'm heartbroken and furious. Please, help me understand.

*sighs* (Sending you a big hug.)

So. Emotions seem to be very high on this already, and it hasn't even aired yet. I'm just pointing that out because... what we have right now is hearsay - maybe directly, maybe over a few people in the middle... but ultimately we haven't watched it yet, right? Other people have. Other people, with their own understanding, and their own takes.

And yes, it was done to him. Exactly. And as just said in another ask, he has not told his side of the story yet. The trial, so also that part of it... will definitely be scripted. And we already know that what we were shown... cannot be trusted. Not a 100%.

Let's watch first and then judge, please.

Because so far this show has excelled at elevating the source material.

Which is not to say that they cannot make mistakes, obviously. And who knows, maybe I'll be disappointed AF after. We'll see.

But... there's a reason why they revisit all that. There's a reason. And, given that we're segueing into s3... and therefore Lestat's story?

I don't know how they re-contextualize it. I don't. But I think we need to see the bigger picture - and that won't be done by s2. (And I have a feeling like it might not even be done by s3...)

IF they follow the book IWTV here... then Lestat will testify against Louis and Claudia at the trial, seemingly out of revenge (but actually under duress), he will witness her burn, he will have the yellow dress. Louis and Armand will break up. Lestat and Louis will meet in the later contested NOLA meeting. Louis will end up alone at the end of the novel.

I don't know how the revisit fits with the trial. You probably know my feelings wrt the diary and the pages etc but it seems they are not used as heavily as anticipated.

IDK. Given the in-universe publication of the book IWTV I think they will follow the beats above - and episode 5, and the drop, are likely part of the accusation then.

Now, we know that it will be revealed later that this was done with manipulation and torture. That it was Lestat who was thrown off the tower later, and who needed decades to heal. Which fits with the "mind call" in 2x05, doesn't it.

IDK. I just want to point out that even if... EVEN IF THAT DROP STAYS FOR NOW - there is a lot more to it and they have already hinted at that.

So.

Yes, I can very well do without another 2 years of shit-show by some people, especially those unwilling to take the step back for the bigger picture. But ... I have become much, much better at blocking.

And I am not going to let them take away my joy. Especially... ESPECIALLY that we know - WE KNOW - that TVL is up in s3. They already confirmed that.

Don't let an unfinished puzzle or some asshats take your joy either, dear.

[ca-suffit]

ohh in that case I absolutely agree with you, there will be a lot of people, especially poc, stop watching, but it probably won't "matter" if the overall numbers rise since they'll get a bunch of white (maybe the racist ones who skipped s2) fans back or in general new people who only see this season as a campy funny vampire show. And yeah, from everything we know so far, it feels like they won't revisit anything from the past, not 1x05, not the trial in any meaningful way. I can see them either pull a "Lestat actually was forced" or they'll just gloss over his involvement since it would completely negate the reunion scene in the finale, wither way, both alternatives are not what I want to see. Watching this show I really had hopes to see them do what is essentially an interpersonal horror story for Louis justice, ultimately ending up for eternity with his abuser who killed his daughter, top tier gothic horror romance, but they seem to have decided to ignore the first two things in that genre. I was also looking forward to devil's minion, but that excitement has also just ended for me. I think in part of why I can't see them go forward with an engaging story is because they killed both of the audience stand ins. Claudia is dead and Daniel is not human anymore, I think that outside perspective is really what made the first two seasons and now we have none of that.

they were always banking on rabid anne rice fans bcuz they're the ones who kept her rich even decades into her books being shit. so they can literally do anything and it'll be "successful." it won't be memorable tho if they rly fuck it and ppl will be more wary of trusting a formula like this again. this has already always been shaky with the race swapping, but they did so well with it up until now. idk, we'll just have to see where it's going.

wrt lestat, his version of IWTV *is* part of his book, so I expect he'll comment on it somehow. we'll just have to see how far. accepting that he was wrong in the fight was a step, but I rly want a lot more out of that. I don't want to say a ton of book stuff theyve hinted bcuz of spoilers but combined with a lot of other stuff it's not making me feel great. sam said some stuff I liked about akasha's arc with lestat. I'm just hoping they give some responsibility for lestat's actions and personality to lestat and don't just always say it was another influence. that would be shit.

"I was also looking forward to devil's minion, but that excitement has also just ended for me."

is that bcuz of the S3 promo or....??

"Claudia is dead and Daniel is not human anymore"

they've heavily p much admitted that claudia will be haunting ppl, so I don't think that aspect is "gone" gone yet. the grief of her death is a constant part of the loustat relationship. so there's some hope there, maybe?? maybe not for what exactly ur saying but just throwing that out there. also there might be hope for daniel too, as he's *very* young compared to the other vampires and we've possibly seen lestat already go after him for annoying him (the coughing). he's still *rly* vulnerable compared to the rest and prbly doesn't have much of any powers or ability to use them well, if he does. idk if that helps any but he's still "weak" compared to them.

[sun-undone]

I just watched the season 4 teaser and I neeed your thoughts

AHHH HELLO FRIEND it's been a fucking minute hasn't it???? obx is back after what feels like a billion years and for the first time in about that long i'm feeling the buzz for it again!!!

SO the teaser let's ramble about it for way too long

before getting into any of the specific content, i just wanna say that this teaser felt SO different from the s3 teaser. and that might sound like a bad thing at first cause imo the s3 teaser is the best piece of promo the obx team has ever put out, BUTTTT i think this teaser needed to have a different feel.

the writers and some of the actors (i think chase mainly) have repeatedly stated that this season goes back to basics a bit and refocuses on the characters and the bonds between them, and it truly feels like this teaser was doing exactly that. it wasn't really showing us many hints about the plot or massive action set pieces, it seemed much more interested in showing us our pogues. THAT is where the hype comes from with this teaser.

it might seem a bit lackluster and small compared to other teasers we've gotten, but i'm very happy with how they're already choosing to promo this season so far BECAUSE it feels more intimate reminiscent of s1 in that way.

i could absolutely eat my words about their intentions with this as promo continues, and i do think they'll still end up doing their usual bigger, action heavy plot heavy trailer, but as a first real teaser??? it's really making me trust their statements about refocusing the show.

MOVING ON

i mean. I MEAN

if this ISNT how the season starts i am going to be absolutely floored. i'm hoping so badly that it's an even more direct parallel to the opening scene of 1x01, with pope, kie, and jj down below ragging on john b to come help them build the dock or whatever. bonus points if john b drops the gold he's holding and almost breaks jj's foot or something. like i want as dead on of a parallel as humanly possible pates if you're gonna go for it, fucking GO FOR IT

i'm very curious as to how much of the time jump is gonna be exposited via montage and john b narration. i assume a lot of the building of the bunkhouse and dock and fixing up jj's house (which is kind of a shame cause how emotional must that have been for him????? but it's fine it's just RIPE for fanfic that way). but according to bts there's at least one scene that was filmed from the in between that might be an actual scene rather than montage (i won't say in case people don't want spoilers but it involves jiara). or maybe that's part of the montage too, we truly have no clue at this point. i'm just so stoked to see these new sets!!!! i'll forever miss the chateau like my heart actually splinters every time i think about it but the pogues having a new home base on jj's land is something really special too.

core 4 scuba mission as yet another parallel to s1 like are we in heaven??? and jiara are the ones that actually dive???????? jj reassuring her beforehand????????????? john b and pope teasing them???? potential jiara cheek kiss?????? it doesn't get better than this

oh actually no it does

LOOK AT HER SMILE AND YOU CAN TELL JJ IS CHEESING JUST AS HARD TOO LIKE HELLO

also jarah b watching from the dock house like proud parents I KNOW THATS RIGHT

we have a fair amount of bts about this so i'm not gonna say too much but john b looks PISSED. and i'm right there with him but hey at least we'll get hot jj bike stuff?? rivalry with rafe (and maybe topper too cause we just can't have nice things) and worried kie having to watch from the sidelines??? it might not all be bad!!!! i'm already pretty sure i'm gonna hate this plot point so i'm trying to get the anger out now so i'll be all out of it by october

IS THIS A POGUE SURFING SCENE MAYHAPS

i swear to god if this ends up being a random extra i will lose my shit

there is no screenshot of this that doesn't look absolutely horrid but that doesn't matter WHAT MATTERS IS THAT JJ FINALLY GETS TO PUNCH RAFE. they fucking heard our prayers i cannot believe it. i REALLY hope this is juicy as hell and leads into a full on fight that the pogues have to try to break up (i would've liked it even better if they had a truly one on one fight with no one else around so we could see how evenly matched they undoubtedly are but whatever whatever this could be super dramatic and fun in different ways too).

also double points if he's defending sarah and/or kie in some way. double double points if this tension has been building for the entire season up until this point cause i've been saying for YEARS that jj and rafe could have such an interesting dynamic but they barely have ANY scenes together. i am desperate and begging and this gives me so much hope oh my GOD also if you saw me edit this into this post cause i forgot to include it the first time no you didn't

aaaaand with that, that's pretty much all i feel like i wanted to talk about, there's a few other interesting things to speculate about but like i said before, this teaser really gives nothing away. or at least it doesn't if you've been following bts

ALSO the song is water on mars by the nude party and it's absolutely perfect which is no surprise whatsoever

[inkedkoi]

Rewrite: Part One

Continuation of "Hold On To “What If”: Overanalyzing and Rewriting Sonic Prime" essay

[Once Again, spoilers for Sonic Prime, all media here belong to their respective creators.]

✨//🌻//✨

How are y'all holding up, chat? I welcome you to the last stretch of this essay:

The Rewrite!!!

Now, for our sakes, I'll be rewriting S3 since it's the one with the most needed improvement. If you're interested for a rewrite for the whole series, and there's a high enough demand for it, I'll consider doing it. With 7 episodes to deal with, my objectives of this rewrite would be to:

Tie-up loose ends

Character development

NOT have 4-ish episodes of repetitive fighting scenes (I felt so bad for the storyboard artists and animators)

And give a satisfying ending

Lock in, chat: here comes justice Season 3!

[S3 EP1]

(Actually, there are a lot of things in EP 1 I would like to keep because they're genuinely good moments. We'll just have to rearrange some things)

It starts off where the S2 finale (no recap) ended, seeing the landscapes of Ghost Hill, a sort of parallel to the first episode. This time, it is eerie quiet. The Council (yeah, they're still here) takes a portal back to New Yoke. They did come for the Shard but after the Energy earthquake that just happened, something tells them it's best not to stick around. So, they left, without saying anything about this.

[insert title card here, it'll make things omnimous]

Back in the cave, Sonic looked at the area where the portal Nine brought up once was. Shadow comes in, frustrated. After all, he only seen Nine taking the Shards, he didn't get to hear the argument they both had. As the viewer, we don't see Sonic's expression but we do see Shadow confronting him about what happened. How he warned Sonic that it was bound to happen, how Sonic simply let Nine grab the Shards, and how Sonic was naive to trust him. Lastly, he lets out a deep exhale. So much was bottled inside of him and this was one of those times that he felt useless to do anything from his end. He hated those times. Suddenly, Shadow hears soft sniffling coming from the blue hedgehog before him.

Then, we see Sonic breaking down. In between sobs, he agreed that everything was all his fault. If he had listened in the first place, the Shattering would've never happened, none of this would've happened. He only wanted to help, to set things right, but instead, he made things worse for everyone. Including Shadow.

Sonic: "Any chance at bringing Green Hill back is gone... The Shards are gone..."

He tells Shadow he understands why Shadow doesn't trust him, a callback from before. To his surprise, Shadow comforts Sonic (in his own way, of course).

Shadow: "If knowing you has taught me anything, there’s always another way." Sonic, in genuine surprise: "Wait, was that a compliment?" Shadow: [He deadpans at Sonic momentarily, who was starting to smile at this.] "You have to pull yourself together. Nine is still out there. We'll fix this, I promise.

Sonic smiles, feeling a bit better from what Shadow told him. But he knew he would have to talk to Nine and tell him that he was sorry for comparing him to Tails, he didn't consider what Nine wanted. That he should've understood.

x+x

Meanwhile, while minutes have past in Ghost Hill, we see Nine just arriving at the Grim, inside his hideout. Clearly, he looks hurt, but he doesn't let himself break down like Sonic did. It shouldn't hurt as much, why should he care? Carefully, he sets up the Shards into the positions they were in the blueprint, their controlled variable.

x+x

Just as he did, we cut back in Ghost Hill, starting to destabilize. Shadow warns Sonic that they have to leave. For a moment, Sonic could hear the voices of the ghosts outside the cave. Once again, Ghost Hill was tempting him to stay. Sonic tells him that he can't leave his friends here. Shadow reminds him they're just ghosts, and practically drags him out of the cave.

We'll keep a couple of scenes in:

Sonic finding the ghosts again

Shadow trying to convince him... again

Add in a line of Sonic telling him to give him a moment

And Sonic says goodbye to them before the two hedgehogs escape from this world

They make it out into the Void and see Ghost Hill completely collapse. Obviously, Sonic was sad at the sight of it all. He knew it wasn't real but it undeniably looked identical to his home. Shadow, however, seemed vengeful. That fox knew they were still in there and was practically going to kill them.

Shadow: “Nine betrayed you and left us to die, and he will pay for it.”

Shadow didn't know Nine's true intentions, so Sonic didn't take this to heart. But he knew if Nine continued on with his plan, it might destroy the other worlds. And eventually, the Shatterverse.

x+x

We cut back to Nine, tempting to piece the Shards together. But when he tried, they wouldn't stick. That didn't make any sense, it worked when he was back in Ghost Hill. Frustrated, he wondered what he was missing. He came to one conclusion: Sonic.

x+x

Sonic and Shadow discuss their game plan, which Shadow suggested finding out where Nine is hiding. Sonic answers him right away, telling him about the Grim. Perhaps throw in a comment from Sonic that it would make things a lot easier with a Chaos Emerald. But we all know where that is.

Everything after that pretty much stays the same:

Sonic and Shadow finding their way into the Grim

Change the Grim to have it starting to change (parts of the ground floating, crystals flying)

Nine seeing their arrival, Sonic confused at the Grim's new appearance, Shadow accusing Nine of using the Shards for mere power

The two negotiate how to confront Nine (first diplomatically, then Shadow's way)

Rewrite Sonic's attempt to apologize to Nine

(Y'know the drill: altogether now) Nine values ACTIONS over WORDS, especially now, so of course, Nine calls him a liar and Sonic fails

Sonic and Shadow vs. Chaos Sonic 2.0

The fight between them and the other bots

I would like to add in a scene where Sonic discovers the new ability: create hexagonal platforms and shields, preferably when he tries to save Shadow while he's down. Shadow does question about it, and Sonic explains that he gets a different one from every world. Then,

Nine hinting that he needs Sonic's Prism Energy to complete the Prism, being bitter at Shadow because he believed that it was Shadow's fault Sonic didn't want to join him at the Grim. Shadow was the last thing that Sonic reminded him of his old home, the one who gave the idea to put all the Shards back together

Shadow getting on what Nine was hinting at, and tells Sonic to get out of here as he was a target

Shadow sucessfully throwing Sonic out of danger while he stays behind to stall the Grim bots

We add another scene: Shadow gets knocked out by Chaos Sonic 2.0 and Nine decides to keep him captive. After all, Shadow was the cause of all this in Nine's eyes. Nine should might as well put Shadow to good use: to lure Sonic back to him.

(Alright, so, I'm not a writer. Like, at all. So I have no idea how I would split up the scenes I wanted to add into episodes 2 to 5 but I'll try my best)

[S3 EP2]

(again, we're going to stick with some of the canon, just bear with me here)

After being sent to the Void by Shadow, Sonic gets chased by the Birdie bots. He was lucky to be able to lose them but Shadow was still back in the Grim. Shadow's capable of handling on his own, Sonic knew that, but he couldn't just leave him there. But before he could plan a rescue mission, he noticed that one of the worlds close by, No Place, was starting to decay. He apologizes to Shadow (not that he would be able to hear him, mind you) but he needs the hedgehog to stall for a bit more time as No Place needs him.

(we're kinda going the reverse order of worlds that Sonic went through, just so we're on the same page here)

Falling into the portal, Sonic braces himself, thinking he might land in the water again. And he almost did, until he heard a familiar voice calling his name. Rusty and Black Rose come flying in with the Kraken. Well, isn't this a nice change of pace. Sonic goes into a spin-dash and safely makes it onto the deck with a superhero landing.

Black Rose: "Sonic, what's going on?" Rusty: "I warned you about letting the Council get hold of the Shards!" Sonic: "This wasn't done by the Council. Listen, we need to get everyone out of here, stat!"

As they went to find the rest of the Crew in the Angel's Voyage, Black Rose told Sonic that after he vanished — well, Sonic corrected her that he teleported — they decided to go back to No Place. But just as they did, they saw that it was falling apart. That's when they saw Sonic also come in. Sonic asks about Dread, Rusty points to him sitting in the corner, looking... rather dazed. Rusty says that ever since the Shard was taken away from him, it seems that it got rid of any effect the Shard had on Dread, which intrigued Sonic. Did... the Shards have an effect on them somehow?

They finally find the crew, along with other pirates, but just as they approach the sinking ship, more of Nine's Grim Bots start to come in. This time, it was an army of Knuckles and Birdie bots. One of the Knuckle bots made a devasting blow to the Kraken's machinery, causing the ship to drop onto the sea. The Kraken team decides to split up: Rusty goes to fix up the ship, Black Rose handles the bots, and Sonic rescues the pirates and brings them aboard the ship, using his hover ability. Without being given a task to do, Dread remains there in the corner. Seeing how his crew was working together, having each other's back, it made him reflect on some things. Especially on Black Rose. Sonic (also in canon) tries to fight back against the bots so the crew can jump onto the Kraken. Just as one of the crew failed to make the jump on the ship (Catfish, sure), Dread comes in to help out, where he receives an unexpected "thank you". Dread was so used to "everyone follows the Captain" and his own selfish ideology due to the Shard's effects, that he wasn't used to this. He doesn't respond back in return, but this left him in even more thinking.

A wave of earthquakes unsettled the sea. Rusty attempts to turn the Kraken back to flight mode, and thankfully, it worked. Suddenly a new wave of bots headed their way, coming directly to the deck. The whole crew along with Sonic fought back. In the middle of it all, Sonic was given one of the pirate swords.

Sonic: "Bring it on!"

(hey, look, a black knight ref— *airplane noises*)

When they manage to defeat most of the bots, Thorn and Birdie come in to help finish the last one. Of course, everyone wonders why she was there and Thorn explains that Boscage Maze was in trouble, and since Sonic knew something about the Shard, she figured to go find him. It was pretty easy to track him down: the No Place gateway being in such a horrible state, there was no way Sonic would ignore that, being a hero and all. Oh, and she also saw Rusty and Black Rose go through it as basic confirmation.

Ah, that makes sense. Now that the Kraken was able to fly, Thorn guided them out through one of the sky tears. They make it out of the Void and soon, the world collapses completely. All of the No Place inhabitants just stare at what was left, their home gone. Sonic empathized with them, he did lose Green Hill after all. Rusty did the same, it was because of No Place she met Black Rose, the first who asked her if she was ok (back in S2 EP4), who treated Rusty like a friend. Black Rose didn't deserve to get her home destroyed. The chances of bringing No Place back were very low, but there was still a chance. This was enough motivation for Rusty to get them to Boscage.

And soon, they did. The collapsing of the world was a bit slower than No Place, but it continued on. Trees start pull out of the ground, vines start to tangle onto each other like spider-web. All of it was affected by its distorted gravity. Thorn and the Kraken decided to split to cover more ground. This proven to help as Rusty was able to spot the Boscage Gang trying to hold on to anything from floating to the sky. Of course, the Gang was skeptical of the "flying metal bird" but Sonic told them to trust him, to give the pirate crew a chance to prove them. They eventually do and get out of Boscage Maze. Venturing out into the Void, they saw how their home gateway was slowly dying and glanced at what remained part of the No Place gateway.

Was... this going to happened to their home too? Thorn was the most affected out of all of the Gang. She's done so much to protect the jungle, their home. The Great Green. And now, there was nothing in her power she could to do to solve this.

As they approach New Yoke, another wave of bots comes swinging in, this time with Amy and Birdie bots. It's time for Fight in the Void. Using the crystals and the dark abyss to their advantage, the crew manages to beat them off together. From the "tests" they had back in their own worlds, being in the Void brought it all together. Insert a moment of Rusty borrowing Thorn's hammer to hit one of the bots. Somehow, it felt... familiar to Rusty. Not only that, she felt free. She didn't know why. She gave Thorn her hammer back.

Sonic suggests that all of them go to New Yoke. Whether it was the last world to hide in without resorting to the Void or needing to get help to rescue Shadow, he didn't know. He just knew he had to take them there.

x+x

We fade to Nine working hard on his workstation, fingers typing on his keyboard. His plan wouldn't be complete without Sonic, that's only logical. In the meantime, while the bots he sent fetch for the hedgehog, he'll work on what his new world would be. After pressing a button, he went over to the Shards, preparing to shift them to match what he wanted.

...what did he want? The plan was so simple before: create a new start. With Sonic. Sonic lost his home, Nine never had one. Nine thought he could pay Sonic back after everything that hedgehog has done for him with this. Because of Sonic, he found motivation in his life, a purpose, to find the Grim. When everyone was against him, Sonic was there with open arms. And against his own morals, Nine let himself to not hate it. They had each other. This world would've been theirs.

(Flashback:)

Nine: "Friend? We're friends? Sonic: "You bet we are!"

Nine looks over his shoulder, shooting a glare at Shadow in the tiny makeshift cage Nine created. Sitting in the center was the dark hedgehog, a knee to his chest. He was merely staring at the ground, deep in his thoughts. Something was holding Sonic back from joining him. His heroism? That's just how he is. Green Hill? Nine could've brought everything Sonic wanted into the Grim. His friend "Tails"? ...perhaps.

Nine let out a "hmph", returning to his gaze to the Shards. It was Shadow. The last thing that remained of Sonic's old home, the one who pushed him to bring back Green Hill. It was Shadow. Or... did Nine think that Sonic was lying to him this whole time?

He decides to not think about it for too long, because answering it with a "yes" would break him over the edge. He carefully took the red Shard with his mechanical tails. Whatever Shadow was thinking of, Nine didn't care. Pfft, planning to escape? What good would that do for Shadow, if he himself was the one who was trying to protect Sonic from getting caught. Besides, Nine knows that Sonic would come back on his own, of course he would. As long as he held Shadow captive. And alive. The Shard stopped twirling in his grasp, now that he thought about it.

Shadow was alive, thriving even. And that was starting to concern Nine.

Time is affected differently in between Shatterspaces; while one world may have experienced weeks, it was only minutes in another world. As of today, it has been a few days after Sonic was thrown out of the Grim, and yet, Shadow didn't beg for food or water. Did he even consume anything before they first met? Shadow did tell him that he was the "Ultimate Life Form", but Nine didn't think he was actually serious.

What exactly was Shadow capable of?

Nine thinks it'll be best if he doesn't keep Shadow here for too long. Keep his new plan waiting for too long. He looks at the Shard, now slowly flashing with activity. It's time to send a message.

[S3 EP 3]

The No Place crew, the Boscage Gang, Rusty and Sonic arrive to New Yoke. The world was dying, just as the others have. The only difference was that was it was a lot slower. And... strangely empty. No bots, no civilians. Hell, even all the lights were off. Empty.

[insert title card here :) ]

Moving further into the city center, Sonic looked ahead and saw a bright dome shielding the Council Fortress. Well, that was new.

He suggests that they go check it out and before anyone else could respond, another (yes, another) wave of bots comes in. All of them. As much as they tried, there were too many of the bots, and the buildings weren't helping at all. Not only that, the Kraken can't take another hit like before. Just when all hope was lost, the Rebellion rescues them... with the Council? They're working together?

Probably not a good time to be questioning about that. They worked together to fight them off, as they always did, while simultaneously being surprised to see their familiar "look-alikes". Rebel came to meet up with Sonic and urged everyone to get to the Fortress, it was the only safe place they could be. They did as they were told. Rusty on the other hand pulls Sonic aside, telling him that she doesn't trust the Council at all and he should do the same. Sonic can see why, Rusty was abandoned back in No Place after all. Council is really... something else. Especially that baby. Still, Sonic responds that yeah, they shouldn't let their guard down but they should listen to what they have to say.

Rusty: "Listen? Well, that's a first."

After settling the rescued civilians from No Place and Boscage Maze with the ones from New Yoke, the rest went to the Council Room to talk. Indeed, when New Yoke was starting to break apart, they all knew it had something to do with the Shard. The Rebellion confronted the Council, suspecting that they were the ones responsible. The Council denied it, why would they destroy their own empire? The two groups made a truce, much to their own dismay. The promise was that the two groups wouldn't fight each other, keep all the civilians of New Yoke safe in the Fortress, use all the backup energy for a shield, and wait for Sonic. After all, the only other person they knew who knew about the Shards. Well, except for...

Black Rose, whispering to Sonic: "I hope what you said about the Council not being involved was actually right." Mr. Doctor Eggman: "We didn't have anything to do about it, pirate." Nine: "Sonic."

Out in a sky, a giant hologram of Nine materialized to their world, looking down at the Fortress like they were a bunch of ants.

Nine tells them that he suspected Sonic was here. Always having to be the hero for everyone. Well, not everyone. Nine brings up a hologram of Shadow, a small one that fit on his palm.

Sonic: "Shadow!" Nine, hurt: "You only cared about your old home, your old friends. Let's see how fast you are to save everyone. That is, if you can."

The hand holding Shadow clenches up to a fist, dismissing the hologram completely to pixels. Sonic tries to explain that Nine messing with the Shards is causing the other worlds to collapse. If Nine continues on like this, there will be nothing left. Think about the Mobians from those worlds, they just lost their homes. Nine ignores him, believing that Sonic is lying to him again. He remembers Sails and Mangey, the other look-alikes. They aren't like New Yoke, they have peace in their worlds. Hmph, that's low, even for Sonic, to make him give up by using innocent lives to get what he wants. They are innocent in Nine's eyes. Regardless, Nine tells Sonic that he'll be waiting and he better come alone. With that, NIne disappears.

Rebel: "Blue, what was he talking about?"

Sonic turns to see everyone, looking back at him with confusion. They all suddenly overwhelmed him with questions and comments:

"Wasn't he your friend?" "I knew we shouldn't trust that fox!" "He's a traitor!" "What's going on?" "Is this revenge?" "So much for being one of the 'good guys'." "Why would he want the Shards?"

The Council (finally, they're being smart) answered that last question, drawing everyone's attention,

"He wants to change reality."

They look back at Sonic, wanting an explanation. Sonic took a breath and started to tell the truth (as a voice-over, while we cut back to Nine arranging each of the Shards to his own desire). Sonic tells them how this was all his fault that he was so focused on bringing back his old home that he didn't listen to Nine when he told him about their clean slate. Someone questioned,

"Your old home?"

Sonic continued on, letting everything out:

The Shattering

How Sonic was the one who created their worlds

How Nine was simply a child hurt from the hostility New Yoke gave him [insert a small comment by Renegade Knucks how he thought Nine was an angsty teen, genuinely being surprised. Perhaps he treated the poor kid too harshly].

Their fight in the cave

And, the one thing Sonic hesitated to tell them: the possibility that if the Prism was rebuilt again, they all might not exist anymore.

(Cut back to Sonic in the room, his face full of regret.) They all looked at him, stunned by this information. Someone else dared to ask:

"Did... our worlds even exist before the Shattering?"

Sonic remembers Rouge from the OG cast telling him about there being legends about the Prism. So, there was a chance that there was potentially a Shattering before he made this one, but he isn't 100% sure. Despite this, everyone looked at each other, slowly having an existential crisis. Did they have memories before this? Was any of this even real? Or did the Prism just implanted everything in their minds?

"Wait... if Nine's reshaping reality, would we not exist anymore?"

Panic starts to ensue, and some of them turn to fight each other. Sonic doesn't blame them, he didn't want them to find out this way, but their panic was too much for him to handle. It overwhelmed him. Sonic puts a stop to it, everyone turning back to him.

Sonic: "This isn't the solution. Every minute wasted here is another destroying our Shatterverse apart. Soon, there will be nothing left to fight for. Like I said, I'm the one responsible for this, and I'm going to fix this." "How?" Sonic: "I… don’t know, but whatever happens, you guys aren’t going to vanish. I won’t let that happen. For now, you all stay here. I'm going to go rescue Shadow. None of you signed up for any of this."

Sonic starts heading for the exit when Rebel stopped him. She tells him that they may not understand what he said to full extent. The multiverse concept was a rather confusing thing to wrap their head around, but they're not going to let Sonic face Nine alone.

Rebel: "Sonic, think, Nine is luring you there so he could drain your Prism Energy. You can't just go off rushing off."

Sonic nods, seeing that she was right. As much as Sonic thinks on his feet, he can't just go without a plan. They all do feel bad for Nine, but it doesn't mean Nine should be allowed to destroy their homes. Without help. Rebel continued on, telling how Sonic changed every one of their lives, their worlds. If it weren't for him, none of their problems would've been solved. Boscage Gang and their broken trust. The No Place crew and Dread's obsession with the Shard. The New Yoke Rebellion and their needed hope to win over the Council.

Council: "We're still here, you know!"

It doesn't matter if the Prism implanted memories of their past or not, what matters is that Sonic was there to help them. It's only fair if they play him back for what he has done for him. Everyone (even the Council, reluctantly) agrees. Sonic smiles, and they start coming up with a plan. When you get a crew like Sonic's, there's nothing they can't do. And with their "look-alikes" from every world, they're sure to finish this once and for all.

To be continued...

Previous Part || Next Part || Masterpost

[poisonedfate]

To Love Me, I Would Die For You

SO sorry it took me a while to answer, a beam of every possible ship this could be applied to knocked me off of my feet.

at the end of the day, it's sacrifice, right? and what's love in camelot without a little sacrifice? 

just so we don't go completely crazy here, we'll talk about three - merthur, merwaine and morgwen (the holy trinity if you ask me)

merwaine: anyone who's seen my posts lately knows what i'm about to say, but - breakup arc! with this title the breakup arc would go CRAZY. it would start with the big fight between s3 and s4, or i guess a little before that, honeymoon phase merwaine, all sweet and flirty and finally close by.  i can imagine the fight going a couple of different ways, but in this scenario i think i'd make it about gwaine's anger about magic - more specifically, his refusal to watch merlin put himself in danger again and again and again (though a good portion of it would be due to miscommunication about the whole thing), with merlin on the other side telling him he's been doing this for years. i thought about sprinkling something else in there, but this alone has enough drama in it. whisper fights and pained glances and scoffs every time either of them puts their life on the line. also, i'd get to incorporate my favourite imagined scenario where the line "playing soldiers" from 04x07 is said first by merlin during the breakup arc, essentially telling him to stay in his lane. it would all boil down to choosing to protect their own hearts over the possibility of losing one another (n gwaine's case) or hurting the other further (in merlin's case). gwaine would be all old romance about it, pining and hurting, whilst merlin would have burning aches between his bones, pain buried under anger. and so gwaine would assume that that's all there was left - anger. aftera while, he'd start following merlin every time he thought merlin might be putting himself in danger, especially because now he'd no less and less about merlin's whereabouts at any given time . of course, merlin would catch on fairly quickly, pushing back and accusing gwaine of doing it for the wrong reasons. i could ramble on, but to make a long idea shorter - gwaine would end up going on a suicide mission to save merlin from a situation (morgana, perhaps?). an injured gwaine or one miraculous escape later there would probably be something like "it's the big gestures that count, eh?" said, before the actual Big Resolution. 

OKAY. morgwen. i'm gonna try and keep this shorter, but i imagine this as somewhat of a fairytale kind of arc set early in morgana's magic storyline. although i love the idea of evil women, i also enjoy the idea of wlw saving the day (kind of). i'm thinking metaphors of princesses locked in towers paralleling morgana's anger and her world crumbling around her. gwen has always been one to figure shit out for herself, so she'd realise what was going on pretty quickly. they'd have a couple of good fights over it, gwen's ever-lasting belief in kindness and morgana's loss of trust etc etc. from there it could go a couple of ways - a push and pull between the "good" and the "evil" or a continued descend into the darkness. thoughnot to make this so very angsty like i've done with all else, i think a great story would be morgana choosing what she thinks is right or rather necessary, and by the time gwen actually gets through to her, it's just a little too late. i think maybe gwen would be caught with morgana and thus accused of being an accomplice, which would then result in morgana giving herself up for both gwen and all she stands for. (insert big big big romantic speech here)

i should really stop, but quick little merthur here - this one's easy, i mean it's merthur, but big merlin sacrifice in whatever form you please, specifically with a lines about not doing this to show arthur that he loves him or anything, but because he loves him. "it's selfish, really, i can't watch you die, but i can't wait for you to keep loving me" (or a little less cheesy version of that).

give me a self-made fic title and i'll tell you what i'd write about

[tonydaddingham]

I honestly wouldn't be too worried yet. Saying he'll no longer be involved sounds an awful lot more like it's still happening but without me than like it's no longer happening at all. If anything, wouldn't no longer involved suggest there is still something to be involved in? Especially since, if he keeps Sherlock, which ended 6 or so years ago, in his bio, I see no reason why he'd take out GO unless it's for a personal reason instead of a cancellation one. Plus it's so random and out of the blue and the timing's all wrong too. Pretty sure it's not connected to a S3 renewal.

hey anon!!!✨ honestly im genuinely not worried about s3 (ive said in a good couple of historic posts that im like 90% sure that we'll get it at some point - obvs im not privy to figures etc. and hardly work for prime, but im sure the hype of s2 is something that prime wouldn't want to throw away 💀), im only upset (like, empathetically?) that it appears to have been something maybe a little more personal than that. as i said in my tags:

#look im fairly positive its nothing to do re: renewal of [sic] s3 - it feels a little more personal than that #in which case its not for us to necessarily speculate #and i have trust that one way or another we'll get s3 #trust fam Trust

and i stand by that!💕 as michael said in staged, in a general, all-round, affirmation (and as i posted) - we'll be okay!!!

[charmixpower]

Season three's Rivusa writing is so bad and I'm really salty that s3 Riven acts more like s1 Riven than s2 Riven and I want to attack who ever made this decision

These two, right? I love them. S2 made me love them (their relationship was super railroaded but it's Winx Club, that's how all the relationships work), and with the way his character was going I was expecting to see s3 Riven as the sassy/sarcastic team mate who caused problems for the groups enemies (think Riven being a lil shit to the guards when the girls went to confront mind controlled Sky), but that didn't happen

Sure I got the scene of Riven comforting the girls and Timmy after Tecna's death (and you can rip that scene out of my cold dead hands), but I've been dealing with stupid Rivusa drama that should of been resolved in s2, and it just had the worst conclusion

So I'm annoyed that I didn't get my sassy/sarcastic Rivusa making quips and being cute and funny, and I wanna drag the writing for a bit

This season is driving me crazy

Just

Riven: *goes to comfort Timmy who he thinks is in denial of his Gf's death, leaving Musa in the company of her friends trusting them to be their for Musa like he's trying to be there for Timmy who at the moment had no one*

Musa: *looks sad and shocked at this betrayal?*

Later

Riven: *flys into a blind possessive rage bc Musa looked slightly odd in a video of her near another man*

Musa: awwww💕💞 you love me

Like??

I'm sorry Winx club, but are you ok? This line of logic just don't track

Rainbow really said:

"We want bad boy/good girl couple"

"We'll he was bad in the first season, but during the second season he did a lot of self reflecting and he's with the good girl! He's slowly on his way to being a great person!"

"..... Make the good girl attracted to his old asshole traits, and make her annoyed when he does something that shows emotional growth"

"why are you the way that you are"

All this is telling me is that Musa being attracted to s1 Riven and being jealous of the way he was with Darcy wasn't just them rail-roading Rivusa, that was her ideal relationship and she was pissed as FUCK

Girl needs therepy JUST as badly as he does

Somebody has neglect/intamcy/abandonment issues and read way too many bad boy/good girl books as a coping mechanism and now has a warped definition of love

.... Girl me too honestly, media really be fucking up mentally ill kids that need good messages but instead they get weirdo possessive shit

You know it would be so interesting to see Musa and Riven's issues come into conflict with eachother, especially Musa realizing that "hey, thinking the guy who was constantly an asshole to you and your friends is a good potential romantic partner (s1 Riven my beloved little jerkass) is probably an indication that the way you interact with romantic relationships is probably unhealthy 😘" and then have them learn and grow to be better healthier people together!

But that's not going to happen bc that's not a real part of Musa's character, just a consequence of Riven (who they don't want to actually finish his character development from s2) being her assigned boyfriend and the writers trying to keep them as a bad boy/good girl couple

Unless you wanna take that time that Musa got super jealous and hunted down the gf of someone she had a crush on and aside from that had no connection to, and slapped her sister as an indication that Musa is actually a super jealous person and sees Riven doing the same thing as an indicator of love—but the messy writing is giving me a headache, because this reaction definitely was not intended

Just....Make them healthy and happy show...Your implying things you never ment to imply

[raayllum]

I had a thought today about the whole hostage thing. What if things played differently? What if Rayla managed to capture Claudia instead? A message is sent to Viren with an ultimatum. Surrender to Xadian/her own custody, or lose his daughter.

I think Viren would take the threat seriously since Rayla did kill him after all, but whether he would act on it is another matter. Maybe he's too far gone, maybe Aaravos interferes, whatever the reason Viren doesn't comply. And I can only imagine what that does to Claudia.

She sacrificed so much to stay by his side, and now he's abandoned her. Maybe she'd turn around and help out everyone in retaliation. They all might not take it at face value, trust needs to be rebuilt and whatnot, but it's helluva shorter bridge to cross compared to her going full supervillain.

It's a lot of wishful thinking I know, but it could be a genuine possibility of how things turn out. Claudia has been manipulated and blinded by her father for years after all. We know how deeply she is hurt by betrayal, or at least what she sees as a betrayal, so it could happen.

That and give Soren back his family. He has suffered enough.

I don't think so, because 1) how would Claudia know it was Viren specifically not coming for her, and instead not Aaravos' interference? and 2) Terry would do anything for Claudia tbh. It's also not Rayla's play (Claudia is the type trying to kidnap people on purpose, not her) and she would have very little to gain from it, if she could even manage it (Claudia has the sun staff, and that's just in a 1 vs 1 fight).

I think what will realistically happen in S4 is that Viren starts to doubt and question what they're doing, Claudia grows increasingly frustrated / more desperate. It strains their relationship, she gets closer / trusts Aaravos more, or Aaravos reveals Viren lied to her in S3 about Soren and the princes. She goes ahead with helping Aaravos either bc she's still determined to save Viren, or because now she wants to achieve Aaravos' aims partially to spite her father - but I don't see Claudia getting better before she gets worse, tbh. I expect we'll see her be a full villain for a season before anything starts to change, tbh.

The main reason I like the idea of Rayla being taken as a hostage is because it can propel character growth for her, Viren, Callum, Terry, and possibly more. That’s not really the case if Rayla just takes Claudia hostage; all that would really change is maybe just Claudia and even then, Claudia is quite adept at prioritizing her father over herself

I also don't think Rayla would take Claudia hostage because she knows she's inviting two dangerous mages purposefully into her space in a face-to-face confrontation, rather than being able to stealthily sneak her way in to try and taken Viren out before he can even realize she's there (which is likely her one hope of getting out of the whole thing alive, tbh)

[archangelween]

>The Metatron is trying to end the world that Aziraphale did everything he could to save in S1.

Nah, I don't think 2C (second coming) is Metatron's goal. I think that's why what I said makes no sense. My Metatron, my belief of what's going on with him--he does not give three shits about the second coming. All he wants is to free his family. A by the book 2C where heaven wins means his family are damned and tortured for eternity, which is bad for Metatron. That is not what he wants.

As far as I'm aware, putting events into motion to start the 2C, getting it going, is how Metatron frees his family, following biblical tradition. So starting it is good, but it going full steam ahead is bad. Just like what god said in s1: working to bring about the apocalypse is all well and good, but it's another thing entirely for it to actually happen. I think the same thing is going on with Metatron and 2C: he's working to bring it about, but he does not want it to actually be successful. Just like Aziracrow in s1: they both went ahead and followed orders "cheerfully" to bring about the apocalypse, but they certainly did not want it to actually happen.

This is why he has his own agenda, this is why he's on his own side, this is why he does not want a by-the-book perfectionist like Michael in charge as archangel. He wants to be able to fuck up heaven's Plan as he likes. What is Written must not be.

Putting Aziraphale in charge, the guy who has a track record of fucking up What Is Written....that's a great way to make sure What Is Written won't Be. Az could even be Metatron's ally, if Metatron knew the truth about him. Is that the angle the show will go? I don't see Metatron trusting Az like that, but I do think we'll see the same implied "you could have just told me and avoided all this bullshit" in s3 the same way we saw it retrospectively with s2.

>but with the clear intent of making Aziraphale believe he wasn't meant to hear it.

I just don't think he's muttering at all. He says the "second coming" at the same volume as he says the rest of his lines. The only difference is that he's saying that last bit as he's walking away instead of while facing Az, and in a different tone. That isn't muttering, muttering implies a lower volume, under your breath, literally trying not to be heard. He was not doing that at all. He absolutely meant Az to hear him say everything he said.

Saying it while walking away, to me, implies "quit trying to stall and get a move on". It doesn't mean "you aren't supposed to hear", which requires a huge volume drop.

>Remember how the camera holds on Aziraphale's horrified reaction?

He's not horrified because he heard something he should not have. He is horrified because of what Metatron just said to him. He knows what the second coming is, what that means: the big one. I think it also means here that Metatron may think Az does not yet know about 2C, and so Az is putting on the appropriate "surprised" face at what should be news. But I think Aziracrow knew it was on deck.

The only point to quibble on here is whether Metatron meant Crowley to also hear, because the way this is shot and framed, I think we are supposed to think that Crowley is able to listen in. We see both Az and Metatron walking away, talking, and as we're looking from over Crowley's shoulder aka his POV, we hear them talking. I do think Crowley heard everything they said, including the bit about the second coming. Metatron may have turned away to say his 2C line, perhaps because he knew Crowley was listening in, and he didn't want Crowley hearing that. But he meant for Az to hear, that's clear.

I also think both Az/Crowley knew this whole season that the 2C was on deck and in motion, if not that Jesus himself was already on earth. We don't know what Crowley knows about the antichrist and apocalypse events; maybe there's stuff that says both happen at the same time, he's certainly expecting it by the end of s1, given his lines about "the big one". I think his reluctance to get more involved, be more open, with Az may partially be due to that: he knows it's coming, he has no plan, and he knows he's going to lose Az, so thus he doesn't want to get more involved because it'll hurt more to lose him. Az thinks, on the other hand, why not use the time we have.

>I don't think we can rely upon Biblical stories verbatim in Good Omens. Imagine if you did that with Bildad the Shuite and Job… you'd get a very different story than the one Good Omens told in S2.

True, but the shape/feel of Job's traditional story is still there. It's just got a little twist to it. It's still generally the same thing: Bildad saves Job from falling to doubt, Bildad is a shoemaker, he's their friend, etc. Enoch's story, I think, will be the same way, because what's been invoked in GO is strict interpretation of the bible, ie fundamentalism. The particulars of how Enoch came to be an angel, why god chose him, what sins his family committed, etc--those are all up for grabs, but that's not the same as rewriting "Enoch was a human chosen by god whose family was punished for sinning". That's gist vs detail, and Gaiman is commenting on trad beliefs--to do that he has to put the actual beliefs in the show. Satire doesn't make sense if it's not the same shape. I'm not saying literally everything in the bible will be in GO, I'm saying broad strokes will be there, just as creationism was, just as Sodom was, Eden, etc. We're talking a difference of the summary vs the script matching. No one can predict what the script will be word for word, but Enoch is one of the big stories, just like Job and Eden are. The shapes match, they're just a little fuzzy on the color. Think of it like foreshadowing: to foreshadow, you're not matching detail for detail, what you're matching is the shape, the feel; one character does a thing, later another does something similar but not exactly the same. Enoch will be similar to the trad bible story, but it need not be exactly the same for every detail. Broad strokes.

>Why wouldn't The Metatron just put Michael in charge of Heaven? Michael will do whatever he tells them to do.

Michael would not blindly follow Metatron, no. Michael is a by the book hardass, which won't work for Metatron's personal agenda to thwart god. Michael will not tolerate deviance like that, and will stick their nose into everything they want. Michael as Archangel means they will make everything their business, which isn't what Metatron wants. Metatron can't get away with murder if Michael is breathing up his ass (technically, he'd be getting away with forgiveness, but in heaven that's a sin equal to murder idiomatically).

>Why would he waste time and risk ruining his Armageddon 2.0 by putting in charge the one angel who ruined Round One? It makes zero sense to think that Aziraphale would ever be considered a viable candidate to be the Supreme Archangel of Heaven.

Metatron isn't trying to have a perfect Second Coming. Metatron wants someone who will fuck it up, but whom he can manipulate so that he can do his own fucking up too. I don't know if Metatron has his own "heaven will win, but I get what I want" plans, or if he's intending to have hell win, or if he's intending to stop things partway along. All I know is he's got his own plans, and a perfect 2C would ruin his day. Putting Az in charge lets Metatron screw things up because Az is a known fucker upper; Michael would not let him screw things up. Az is NOT a literal viable candidate in heaven's eyes, yes, we agree there. Az is a viable candidate in Metatron's eyes because Metatron has his own plans he wants to carry out, that he believes Michael or anyone else would sniff out and snuff out.

>I'm so confused as to how everyone knows The Metatron is the bad guy and doesn't trust him and yet believes the bullshit he sold Aziraphale. Make it make sense? Please? I'm desperate here lol.

I don't think "the bad guy" means the same thing to everyone here. Metatron has his own agenda, but that doesn't mean he's working for hell or that he's evil or whatever. It just means....he has his own side. Metatron is the bad guy because he's acting selfishly, IMO. He's got his own agenda, his own side, just like Crowley and Az had their own side against everyone else for most of history. Aziracrow aren't the only ones with their own side, as we saw with Gabriel and Beez. I would bet Metatron's been playing his own side since always.

I don't think anyone believes that he truly thought Az was a leader, or anything else he said. That was bullshit in the sense that Metatron was lying about it....but it's literally true in that when Az gets it in his head to do something, he does indeed carry it out easily. So Az IS a leader, when he wants to be, when he has to be. That isn't what Metatron believes though; Metatron thinks Az is either a total fuckup wrecking ball or completely pliable, both of which are useful to him.

How people view the Metatron gets confusing because people take various positions on whether he believed what he told Az, and on why he wants Az as archangel, and on what Metatron's own plans are/whether he aligns with heaven or hell or another side. He's painted as a villain by the music and other devices, but why that's the case is debated. Everyone's got their own mishmash of ideas: you think he's someone else, I think it's his traditional backstory. If any one of these pieces about him isn't clear then what someone's saying about him will be confusing, especially because I don't think there's really any correlation with any of the pieces: believing one thing about Metatron doesn't mean you have to believe another thing. It's all piecemeal.

>but, at the end, he had to mention The Second Coming so that Aziraphale was aware of what was really going on and what it would really mean to get into the elevator

Metatron would not have said anything about 2C left to his own devices. He only says anything because Az asks. Metatron was all ready to go up without saying anything about it. He's only trying to shut Az up and hurry him along. It could even be read as Metatron thinking that because all angels love the 2C, telling Az about it would get him to hurry up because all good angels fall over themselves to help with that.

I do think there's something to the "it has to be your choice" to Fall, to choose hell, to deceive god. Not because Metatron is the devil, he's not, but because turning your back on god IS a theme. Sin is also a theme, but I think the idea is that people can do that accidentally, just as Az accidentally walked into the nazis and almost got killed--it was only a REAL miracle that he didn't die, just as Elspeth was only saved by a real miracle, and just as Morag only died because hers was a bit late. How far can people be pushed before they will suffer any consequence? How dire a consequence must people suffer before nothing will stop them from cursing even an all powerful entity? And who won't ever do that, and what does it say about those people? What kind of person is it that calls that "strength of character", that calls that loyalty, who will let a tyrant do anything and call it just? Who will pervert the definition of justice and love and call that righteous? Is that despair, or is it despair that causes the cursing? Is it both? Does it matter? What kind of people say fuck it and embrace their accidental fall, what kind of people try to claw back up the rope? Does it actually say anything about either of them, or does it say more about their environment and the expectations they're held to? About the people around them and how they're treated?

Who do you think played "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" in the car at the end of S2: Crowley, Aziraphale, The Bentley?

Aziraphale. It's a reference to Crowley and the crows in the Job minisode, imo. Between them, I mean, not just a parallel scene (which it also is). It's a reply to "no nightingales." Shot in the same 'looking at each other across a space' way:

Probably should also throw in the fact that this is happening in the street in front of The Dirty Donkey with the elevator being just inside it and The Bentley involved so it also has ties to 1967 and that other time they had a conversation like this that we've seen... and the fact that Aziraphale gets into a literal elevator, which the British call...

...a lift. *dark laugh*

*breathes*

Let's all lean heavily on the word 'fabulous' in that sentence that makes this more S3 foreshadowing than anything else lol...

[wearevillaneve]

Okay so based on all we know so far, do you think they’ll evolve Villaneve’s relationship, and if so, in what way?

In Laura We Trust. These are the four little words I've lived with for my emotional nourishment in the Long Year of Being Killing Eveless. By way of this week's Entertainment Weekly (a daily website,, but a monthly magazine) we received our first official look at the upcoming and final season and begetting as you might expect the fandom had...thoughts. My own thoughts are I am not worried, but I am concerned. Phoebe Waller-Bridge was the sun, moon, and stars and while Killing Eve wasn't birthed by PWB, she nourished it and allowed it to flourish into la grande ossessione we've all surrendered to. Waller-Bridge begat Emerald Fennell who begat Suzanne Heathcote who begat Suzanne Heathcote who begat Laura Neal and if that seems like a lot of begetting, it definitely is. Since then Killing Eve has lost altitude like a balloon leaking air as each season has been progressively more incoherent, maddeningly inconsistent, and hopelessly falling into bottomless sinkholes. What was once the most brilliant show on television has become a frustrating hot mess.

I think we are not going to get another fucking six-month time jump. This is good. I also think Jodie Comer knew something when she said in one of the post-S3 interviews, "I think they walk away" and S4 will open with Villanelle and Eve be going their separate ways (again?). This is not good. In fact, it totally sucks, @dayyneee. Maybe it's time to stop blaming the head writers. Maybe it's time to start blaming the one constant in the show beyond the actors, writers, its creator and certainly the fans.

Ladies, and Gentlemen, this is THE Architect. Sally Woodward-Gentle. Put some respect on her name, but she ain't no Aretha Franklin is she? Or don't respect SWG. It's not as though she will ever have to give a shit. She's running things her way. SWG isn't accountable to anybody. Our approval doesn't matter and neither does our disapproval. Same for your praise or damnation. If Jodie's getting paid and Sandra's getting paid, you had best believe before they do Sally is getting paid too, and much more. So what does SWG care about Villanelle and Eve finally arriving where they have been trying to get to for four seasons. Take your frustrated sapphic longing over to Gentleman Jack, Dickinson, or even low-rent Wynonna Earp for that sort of thing. We'll get there when SWG is ready. Or maybe we won't. So I'm more than a little worried and starting to be very concerned what head writer Laura Neal wants does not matter and what Kayleigh "We're Very Gay" Llewellyn wants does not matter, because keep in mind she already said writing KE meant she could not do some of the things she might want to because it's not her show.

"With something like Killing Eve you're working on someone else's baby. You might want things other people don't want. You're a cog in the machine, to an extent..." Wonder what might be that a queer woman might want on Killing Eve that other people do not want? Maybe some more queerness that is direct and isn't ambiguous? Maybe something other than yet another season of Villanelle and Eve split up and chasing after or running away from The Twelve just so they can end up back together for a few minutes in the final episodes? Fuck The Twelve. I don't give a shit about them and never have. But maybe SWG does and that is what matters. After all, at the end of the day, Killing Eve isn't Phoebe's show and it's not Sandra and Jodie's show and it's not really even Luke's show and it's certainly not our show. It's her show and if you don't like the direction it's taken, who's to bless or blame for it than Woodward-Gentle? So if you're feeling a bit...uneasy about getting our long-delayed and much-desired Villaneve Magic Moment, it might be you are probably not alone in feeling like we're getting further away instead of closer to it. That's something to be concerned and worried about.

In answer to your question, I don't know if we're going to get Villaneve Beginningame, Endgame, or any damn game at all. Not if SWG doesn't want us to have it and so far, and with all this babbling bullshit about Villanelle singing hymns and Eve putting those around her (who's left?) at risk, and blonde wigs and Villanelle in cardinal drag shit in a plot nobody asked for or wanted, I am very worried and very concerned we are going to go into Season Four even further away and not closer to what we want and what we deserve. The final season will either redeem Killing Eve or prove the first season was merely a lucky, happy accident that was never going to be repeated. Neal will either be the Next Best Thing to happen to the show or the Worst Thing Ever. I hope that doesn't happen, but am I worried and concerned that it might? Hell yes, because to this one fan's eye's we are getting further, not closer from what Phoebe said Killing Eve's main reason to exist was.

But at least now you know who to blame if you don't get it.

(illustration by chenckino)

[loving-villanelle]

After s3 Sandra was also talking about Villaneve saying things like "the only person I can rest with is you" and "they can only trust each other". So it absolutely baffles me that s4 is the way it is. Like you said, it looks like they will come to this same conclusion and realization at the end of this season as they already were on the bridge. That's so f*cking stupid I can't

Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. That has ALWAYS been the downfall of Killing Eve. Because you can't keep the cat and cat game going forever. There has to be progression. And for all the terrible things we say about s3 (and rightfully so) the one thing that can't be denied is that it is the only season that has ever dropped the cat and cat game long enough to give us any sort of progression. It's the only season that ever let us witness two honest, soul bearing conversations between these women where they both let down their masks and surrendered to this pull between them. The BIGGEST mistake the show made was having them turn back. If they had walked away from each other on the bridge and never turned back, this would all make perfect sense! Villanelle literally said "now we walk and don't look back". This season, for Eve anyway, has been all about not looking back. But Eve not only DID look back, she was the first one to look back! She was the one not willing to walk away. She wanted or needed Villanelle so much that she looked back!!! That act was so monumental! It was so incredibly groundbreaking and introduced such a shift that we all spent 2 years building up what it could all mean. When walking away was an option that Eve didn't take, how does it make any sense to revert back and be like "well yeah she looked back, but then was actually like hmm yeah I am still going to walk away though". It literally doesn't make any sense, because they both so clearly were not willing or able to let go of the other! They weren't able to walk away and not look back. Yet that's where this season picked up. In the most jarring of ways, because again, that choice to look back gave us every indication that walking away was not an option.

So I don't get it. I want to scream because they were given a gift with the s3 finale and the progression that transpired during it, only for them to ultimately decide to hit the reset button once again. It made sense when Villaneve were still dancing in circles around one another and hadn't faced what exactly it was that draws them together. But once that happened, the logical move would've been to delve further into that and explore it. And to say that wouldn't be interesting is such crap! I've never had more fun on this show than when I watched Villanelle and Eve work on the Aaron Peele case together. There was drama, comedy, tension, attraction. You name it and it was all there. So for them to claim that there was no way to have Villaneve together this season without it becoming boring is such complete bull. I can't tell you the fun I would've had watching them they do this investigation together all season. Villanelle telling Eve she looked cute in her disguises, Eve getting annoyed at Villanelle for being impulsive and going offscript from a plan they laid out. Villanelle helping Eve to train to improve physically, while Eve helps Villanelle master the investigative side of things. All of this would've had me giddy and intrigued and invested and over the moon! But we didn't get it and never will at this point. Not enough of it anyway. And it just sucks that there was so much build up with no payoff. But unfortunately it's something we'll just have to live with

[matchstickdolly]

Lucifer 5B: Cutting off Touch to Spite Your Fans

Spoiler warning: This post assumes you've watched all of Lucifer, season 5, part B.

CW: There's plenty I like about season 5, but this is a negative post. I know not everyone is up for negativity about the things they love. I also generally avoid it and (try to) keep my mouth shut about things I don’t like in most spaces. It’s good etiquette. But this is my space, and I have thoughts specifically about purity culture and the treatment of sexuality and trauma in fiction. You’ve been warned!

---

I'm a professional writer (not in TV). I've worked with enough bad clients, editors, and other writers to recognize some hallmark behaviors in how both Fox and Netflix gave Lucifer's writers incredibly difficult, unfair, and frankly weird situations to create through.

Fox did them dirty, interfering and ordering too many eps in S3. Netflix did them dirty, ordering 10 eps for S4 when it clearly needed ~13. Then Netflix ordered 10 "final" eps for S5—then, just kidding(!), 6 more after they'd done their writing for the 10. (What the fuck?) And then Netflix ordered 10 more for a "final-final" S6 after the writers had done their best to tell their whole story in S5. (MORE what the fuck.)

Talk about whiplash for creators, and half of those who consume content don't even care to understand such creative pain.

So, there are problems on multiple fronts. There's much I'll forgive writers, accordingly. I go into most shows expecting plotting/pacing issues. I look, instead, for characters and relationships that will triumph over those issues.

Heart is what the show Lucifer has always had in spades, both in its characters and in the immensely committed, wonderful ways the actors have tried to realize the characters' humor, love, trauma, and—most importantly—struggle to find healing. Yet, when given the opportunity to show health alongside another in a relationship, the writers/directors of 5B chose to remove most sexual humor and physical intimacy from their female lead and bi/pan characters to, I feel, sanitize them and troll fans. What happened?

Well, for one, say hi to showrunner Joe Henderson bragging about how the writers decided to be colossal dicks to the fans who helped secure their jobs:

From CBR's 'Lucifer Showrunner Joe Henderson Dissects Season 5B's Chaos'

Have we not suffered sidelined/repressed female characters, "bury your gays," and, oh, Chloe fucking a serial killer enough? Must we also say hello to neutered relationships once characters find stable love (whether same or opposite sex)? The result of withdrawing more sexual humor and physical intimacy from paired characters is an uncomfortable suggestion that they're reformed by "pure" love—more chaste and aloof, more acceptable in polite society. This is only done to end-game committed relationships.*

The writers seem to think they're edging the viewers, but the reality is they're taking traumatized minority characters who rejoiced in sexual freedom, but lacked and craved an emotional connection, and showing they can't have both, or, if they find both, it will never last. They've taken hypersexual characters and said, here, even they can have the love and commitment they desire, but some physical intimacy, especially sexual intimacy, is what they must trade for it.

There's always one more case, phone call, or coincidence interrupting intimacy. Traumas or deaths deserving emotional and physical comfort go on to receive none or only one aspect. Done sometimes, it's fine. Done always, it's sick. Dan dies, and there's no hugging? Really?†

Don't craft characters who crave a full range of emotional and physical intimacy, only to rob them of related scenes every chance you get. That's not complexity. That's bad writing. To even achieve this in 5B, they must squash banter and sideline their female lead yet again.

What a gift to purity culture, which tells us to be more palatable by bottling and buttoning up. That sex should be taboo, but violence glorified. That there is no heated desire among "Good Women," that sexual minorities of all genders shouldn't experience it much at all.

5A is so good. At the very least, it's on the right path (clearly, since the plot payoff from 5x01 to 5x16 is great). It shows a couple working through difficulties and trauma, toward each other emotionally and physically. It even pokes fun at people who think an established relationship means the death of romantic and sexual appeal (a tired and hugely sexist trope). And then... And then 5B reverses that, pretending established relationships are barely physical during emotional struggle and that the honeymoon phase doesn't exist. It robs characters of joy and comfort through physical intimacy when they need it to move through or push beyond trauma.

It's telling that so many fan wishes for Deckerstar are about healing touch and existing in each other's spaces: amending Chloe's spicy PDA history with Cain, Chloe caring for Lucifer's wings, soft family scenes a la Monopoly night and shared meals, morning-afters, etc. Reasonable fans aren't asking for porn; they're asking for connection and humanity. They're asking for writers not to forget characters (and, yes, including hypersexual characters) on their way from Point A to Point B.

That 5B lacks these things isn't a "tee-hee frustrating" slow burn or a cockblock. It is, in so many scenes, excising from characters a core part of what nearly every human and fictional monster craves. And it's a slap in the face to the "found family" trope. When you remove or tamp down a casual physical intimacy that was previously there, characters and their relationships fall flat, even if only partially. They become blunt weapons creators wield against watchers or readers begging for scraps of warmth.

Minorities shouldn't be killed off with ease, and they shouldn't be stifled with ease, either.‡ And maybe there shouldn't be deep trauma driving a wedge in a romantic relationship if you're not going to explore it through that relationship, too—physical intimacy included.

I'm still reserving some judgment. I loved the family drama and the end. (Although, again, where was the physical intimacy? No intimacy when Chloe or Lucifer return from the dead? Really?) I see where they could do awesome things, and could have done more if not for network BS.

But I no longer trust Lucifer's writers and directors. They thought S5 was the end. And what they gave us of Deckerstar, of the relationship that symbolizes health and healing in their fictional world, is this: cold distance. And they got a kick out of doing it, apparently.

If this is a "love letter" to me as a fan, I'm burning it. I can only hope S6 course corrects. If not, the writers who made these choices shouldn't write sexual minority and/or traumatized characters again. If you don't understand most of us, you should stop fucking using us.

---

* If you don't believe me about the differences between casual/short-term relationships and end-game relationships in Lucifer, go back and look at how Lucifer and Maze are with strangers in all the other seasons. Look at Chloe's sex dream, her propositioning of Lucifer in a library, her sex with Pierce in the evidence closet. Look at how much physical intimacy there is between Lucifer and Eve, and then between Eve and Maze (if only as a ploy). Across seasons, there are sex/kink jokes and scenes galore.

Compare this to how these same characters are portrayed when with their end-game loves. Notice the gentle pecks on the lips and the huge general drop in sexual humor between 5A and 5B. How boring. Where's the spice these characters had? Also, give me a damn break. Buttoning up in a relationship is contrary to four and a half seasons of emotional character work that's been communicating security in our relationships is personally freeing.

† I'm not just talking about sexual intimacy in this post, though that is a big part of it because of the characters. 5B lacked crucial found family scenes, too.

Chloe should have been at God's family dinner, but being so would have prevented more ham-fisted angst. Chloe never even has a one-on-one with God, probably because that would demand a straight answer about her miracle status, which I would guess will be used to drive yet another wedge between her and Lucifer next season, but we'll see.

In multiple before- and after-work scenes, there was no reason for Lucifer and Chloe to be apart more, even, than they were in S1 and S2. Monopoly night was in S3, for crying out loud. Most horrifying of all? No one touches Chloe after Dan's death, but Trixie. Meanwhile, Linda, Amenadiel, Ella, Maze, and Lucifer all receive physical comfort. No wonder Chloe's tired of being strong.

‡ If you don't think it's offensive that they stuffed all their wlw content for two hypersexual characters into a few clunky, irrational, and chaste scenes that rushed I love yous, a marriage-like proposal, and the mention of soulmates, I don't know what to tell you other than get off my lawn.

[givefangapuppy]

I think that makes a lot of sense! I *also* think we'll get a little of both, though. I've spent this whole year reading queer romance, been on a real kick, and I've found that there's another trope that often happens, and when it does it can really kick both drama and the comedy into high gear. I don't know what it's actually called, but you could maybe describe it as the storm after the calm. The heroes fall for each other, finally get past all their insecurities and fears and obstacles and actually get together - confess their love to each other, start to consider what a life together would be - only for yet another misunderstanding or conflict to occur and drive them apart again. Often a conflict based in differing visions for what their lives and their relationship will or could be. Based on knowing they love each other, but being unsure or poorly communicating what being in love actually means to each of them. Which is usually the narrative spur for one or both of them to really truly examine who they are and what they want, and how much they're willing to change or give up to be with the person they love.

So I think that one way this could go is that s2 has Stede find Ed, declare his love, the two of them get together for real, maybe have sex, maybe cohabitate, maybe truly try to be co captains - but then the reality of what it's like to be together and build a life together gets hard and messy and filled with misunderstanding and misplaced assumptions and insecurities - from which an awful lot of comedy could be mined, along with conflict - and that drives them apart again. But also leads to enough growth through adversity for each of them (I'm looking at you, Ed's unresolved parental issues) that they can come back together in s3 with a much clearer, more real, more open set of intentions based on loving each other for who they are, not who they each think the other is (not to mention who they each think the other wants them to be).

The best romance stories aren't just meeting-obstacle-confession-happy ending. They instead have a penultimate act (your season 2, your Empire) where things get hard and complex, where the heroes have to confront their assumptions and identities and values, before they can get to a happy ending that really means something, that's really about seeing their love for what it is, and their lover and themselves for who they are, so that their ever after is built on trust and honesty and shared goals, not just an impossibly perfect fantasy.

(Particular recommendations for books I think do this sort of thing really well: first and foremost The Will Darling Adventures by KJ Charles, but also A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske and - silly as it is - Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall. All gay, and all very interested in exploring not just falling in love, but being in love and it's complexities. They also all have some extremely hot scenes if that's your bag 😜)

look. logically i know ed and stede will end up together and happy by the end of the show, but david jenkins said he needs about 3 seasons to tell the whole story. so what if they don’t completely iron things out this season? like maybe they will make up in s2, but s3 is more about navigating a serious relationship? or maybe they WILL patch things up this season and season 3 will be about overcoming another problem?? but then again it’s a love story so it will probably be relationship related??? i have so many thoughts FUCK. anyways gay pirates