#but i do think there's plot potential in all of these that we don't necessarily see explored

[unproduciblesmackdown]

ideal scenario is that i like thinking about this like, essential short story adventure where winston and tuk hook up w/a couple [that bachelorette party] members, and as a foursome/quartet because they have these parallel stories of two pairs of friends who are like "sure i'd have sex with you if things aligned for that" and now are living that short story about expanding a dynamic & becoming closer friends for the end of it (of course billions only wrote winston as standing next to tuk next episode, instead of rian as he's often written to be standing with incl in a previous finale, to shove him out of the path of getting material and let taylor have confusing nonresolution w/rian based on this proximity and coincidence instead. but who can't say that that, And winston next not even trying to sit with tmc in the last finale appearance which at this point is probably for the best and instead again hanging out with tuk and then ben, isn't about having been closer for whatever all happened there in obtaining casual sex together)

and they can have perpendicular stories of also just having some nice chats and enjoying other interactions together such that maybe it's just fun for this one night of crossing paths, maybe anyone stays in touch at all, who even knows, if winston or tuk are dating anyone it's probably only going to come up again in how they were last dumped for being too much effort for how unepic they are, so godspeed to offscreen unmentioned dating. but just friendly acquaintanceship, or again this one-time spontaneously crossed paths night's acquaintanceship, is also a lot of fun. and why not imagine that winston "he's not allowed to not feel self-loathing or, by doing basic things like talking or initiating Or oppositng anything, Not operating as though he's too low in a social hierarchy here to be allowed thusly" type of material where his spontaneity, vivacity to bon vivantocity, self-assurance that is apparently arrogance/aggression to every who thinks he ought to be self-effacing instead, etc, is actually just a social success in other less wretched non-work situations, and his personality is taken as a contribution to the proceedings even before anyone takes up his proffered contribution of himself as a potential sexual partner. and lending confidence to tuk as like one person who won't, at any given time, go into hostile mode with him or even like take up the position of issuing this criticism, which is an inherently elevated (over tuk) one when it's a unilateral thing. such that tuk's personality can be a potential contribution as well. and winston and tuk's Friendship Developing Moments can be happening then, too, b/c Maybe they've hung out outside work on their own aleady, but also maybe they've never really been interacting with a larger group outside work, such that that group is less likely to include some people, or entirely people, who will suddenly go sicko mode on either or both of them. and then meanwhile, who knows anything abt this bachelorette party, could be already a cohesive friend group who all see each other all the time, or people who see each other more infrequently meeting up on this trip, or a mix; could be fun and chill or something so scheduled/demanding it's kind of like a work trip, or fluctuate....and of course zero info abt the individuals such that imagining anything abt them is entire OC territory, and i'm bad at that, or at coming up with stories, so not exactly a lot of details here from me but godspeed if two of them unlock another tier of friendship here b/c like parallel to winston and tuk, they're like hmm okay so we're mutually down re: potentially having a foursome here, and spending some time away from the larger group

(or of course the scenario that tuk and winston can also have that moment but just as putting "and/or: a threesome?" as an option, and that tips the scales for someone who might've otherwise felt more indecisive like "hmmmm casual convenient hookup, or spending more time out & about like this / whatever other activity...." but then is like oho Well, if it's a threesome, i'll seize that opportunity, sure....such that then maybe afterwards [winston and tuk hanging out together] happens sooner, if the third member feels more third wheel about things lol, since now they'd be the only two who already know each other. like ooh who knows, round n+1 in the aftermath just one on one (and/or i mean, maybe another thing the third party's still around for, re: further casual sex opportunities that don't just fall into your lap every day), and/or talk, watch tron together, go back out on the town even. where the conclusion of this truly is the essence of "it Is easy to imagine that winston and tuk are real Genuine Friends for the implicit further offscreen time spent together outside work / interactions between them here. and fun" and with that flair of "and give that a juxtaposed parallel in it being the same for a couple bachelorette attendees, why not, good for them"

[itwasntimethatdidit40]

On a razor's edge.

Gif credits

Pairing/Au: Joel Miller x F!reader, no outbreak.

Word counts: 3087

Rating: +18, MDNI, NSFW

Summary: Joel helps you shave. there.

Warnings: pov second person, no use of y/n, smut with very little plot, established relationship, soft Joel, Joel helps to shave your pussy (I also wrote it in the fic but I'll repeat it here, I don't mean to judge anyone's habits, I respect everyone's tastes and habits and everyone can do what they prefer with their body. Do you want to shave? Good. Don't you want it? Good too. For me it's enough that you are comfortable in your body and if you aren't I hope you can be soon), mention to reader's mom who is annoying about shaving, use of a razor, mention of a potential razor cut (it doesn't happen, there’s no blood), unprotected p in v (wrap it up IRL!), I didn't mention Joel or reader’s age but in my mind I imagine them both around 30/40, reader has hair, breasts and vagina, no other specific description of her is given, pussy pronouns, references to pussy as a flower, sex in the shower, oral (f receiving), cream pie, pet names (baby, honey), I think that's all, if by chance I realize I forgot something I'll add it right away.

English is not my first language, no beta, no proofreading, I already know I'm going to notice a lot of mistakes as soon as I post this and I will have to edit again and again because I'm like this, what can we do? 💀

Comments, reblogs and interactions are very much appreciated, please be kind.

Thanks to anyone who will read this!

Archive tags: @pedrostories ♥️

You love Joel.

You really love him with all your heart and soul.

You also love your private time in the bathroom, that little time in your day that you spend alone doing skincare, face masks, tweezers your eyebrows, scrubbing your body and taking a nice shower with your favorite music playing in the background.

You just took off your favorites eye patches and you're ready to shave with your trusted razor when Joel knocks on the door.

“Honey, we’re going to be late, hurry up” His voice is muffled by the closed door but you can clearly hear a certain apprehension.

You hum as you take out your shaving cream and reply, “I’ll be right there”

Your neighbor invited you to his pool party the other day and of course you enthusiastically accepted.

It’s been so hot lately that being able to enjoy his pool for a while seemed like a dream.

Unfortunately, work kept you busy all week so you couldn't make an appointment with the beautician and you've arrived today with a few hairs on your legs and in your bikini area.

You're not particularly concerned when you can't wax and totally respect those who don't, hair removal is a personal choice and everyone should be able to do what they want with their own body.

Joel doesn't care if you have them or not, he's happy to have you either way and is feral with you regardless. In fact, you suspect he especially likes it when you have some down there but still he never stopped you from choosing for yourself and he never made inappropriate comments.

Anyway, today you planned to wear your favorite bikini and you wouldn't feel comfortable with hair sticking out from the sides of your bottoms.

The fact that a woman must necessarily be hairless down there is something that has been instilled in you since you were a teenager and as much as you manage not to care about it most of the time, when you wear a bikini you still have your mother's voice in your ears telling you to make those hairs disappear.

Ugh, your mother.

You shake your head, get in the shower and wash yourself, body and hair.

Then you spread the shaving foam well on your legs. You pass the razor carefully and rinse.

This neighbor is quite wealthy and Joel has heard that he would like to renovate his house so he is fully intent on offering him a quote with his construction company, which is why he is so worried about being late.

He needs some time to approach him until there are not too many people, have a casual chat and throw out the idea.

You also want to make a good impression since his wife is the head of the neighborhood committee and you want to ask her to convince the neighbor next door to cut down some branches that end up right in your yard filling it with annoying leaves. You tried to talk to him yourself but he is a cheap man and doesn’t want to spend money to have a gardener come and do the work. Joel tried too but to no avail.

Joel, on the other side of the door, is still impatient "baby, what are you doing?" you hear him ask after another 10 minutes have passed.

“I’m getting ready,” you say out loud from the shower as you check to make sure there’s no hair left on your ankles.

“You’ve been in there for an hour, what else do you have to do?”

You giggle, Joel will never understand how long it takes to be the way he always sees you. He’s in the bathroom for a maximum of 20 minutes when he decides to trim his beard, otherwise 10 minutes is more than enough for him to take a shower and come out with a towel around his waist looking as beautiful as a God. It’s so unfair.

“I'm making myself beautiful for you” you shout at him smiling at the thought of his answer which in fact comes exactly as you imagined “Love, you're gorgeous, you don't need to do anything, just get out of there”

“I'm almost done,” you reply as you begin to spread the foam on your bikini area.

“You said the same thing 10 minutes ago and yet you're still there,” he grumbles “and I don't hear water running so I don't understand why”

“You don't understand ‘cause you're a man darling, it's not your fault” you grin while you carefully run the razor to the right of your sex, at the point where your leg attaches to your pelvis.

You can clearly see him in your head rolling his eyes, hands on his hips, his weight resting on his right leg while his left leg is slightly jutted forward, his typical pose when he's annoyed.

“Cut me some slack, baby, you know how much I care about getting this job” he replies

“Yeah I know” you say sweetly “but I can’t come around like that, I need to be extra pretty next to you”

At this point he opens the door, just enough to enter and as he does so he replies "no one has a prettier girlfriend than me, I don't know how many more times I have to tell you"

You're all busy shaving so you don't even notice him until you hear his voice closer than before.

You look up and jump, almost cutting yourself with the razor. “Are you crazy?!” you yell at him. “Joel, I almost cut my thigh because of you!”

“And how was I supposed to know?!” his expression is halfway between embarrassed and horny, his eyes scan your body as if it were the first time he's seeing it, his pupils are dilated, his jaw muscles tense and his lips tight on the verge of curling into a smile, you can see it growing at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing you like this, leaning against the shower wall, completely naked and with nipples hardened from the fright he gave you, his nerves are going away.

“So, what? I have to finish, I certainly can’t go around with only a small part of my bikini area shaved, can I?” you rumble at him feigning irritation but oh, you like the way he's looking at you, hungry and feral. And you like that particular dark shade his eyes take on when they're lit up with desire.

He frowns and asks, “Can I help you?” rubbing his neck.

“Doing this?” you ask, raising an eyebrow, moving from the wall to the center of the shower, razor still clutched in your hand “Joel…”

“Let me try,” he murmurs hoarsely

“Joel, if you cut me…” you say feeling a shiver down your spine, your eyes fixed on his, sparkling in anticipation.

“I won’t. I promise” He is deadly serious.

“Okay” you say with a sigh and you immediately regret having said it.

Joel takes the razor from your hands brushing your fingers slightly and then drop to his knees fully dressed on the wet shower floor without even thinking about it, as if in some kind of lascivious trance. At least he’s barefoot.

The deal, the job, the money seem like a distant, faded memory and the neighbor’s tree? You’ll think about it another day.

His heavy breathing crackles on your skin as he brings the razor close to your skin with the most intent look you've ever seen him do.

He starts with small movements from the bottom up and shaves a small portion of the left side of your pubic area, his hand is firm and precise and he doesn't seem to have any hesitation, however he is proceeding with caution and you are grateful for it, you have been holding your breath since he started.

The razor seems so small in his hand, like a child's toy, yet it has sharp blades that could cut you at any moment if his movements were not precise.

He pulls it away from your skin to shake off excess shaving foam and rinse it under the flexible shower head and you catch your breath.

You flinch for a moment as he brings the razor closer again, “stay still” he tells you in a peremptory voice.

There is something deeply erotic in what he is doing, in his calm and dedication, in his deep knowledge of every curve of your body. It seems like he knows exactly how to move his hand so as not to hurt you.

He rinses the part, then proceeds to take more foam and spread it tickling your skin with his calloused fingers. You're even impressed that he didn't put too much on, just a thin layer, so he can see the part and have full control of what he's doing.

His jeans are now soaked and stuck to his legs and you can see a bulge growing in his crotch.

He stretches your skin with his fingers and runs the razor over you, still in small motions, shaking it, finishing the sides of the top of your pubic bone.

“I need you to lay down, baby, I have to do the bottom part” he says tilting his head to one side to look better at what he has just done.

Joel himself wanted this shower to be big enough for two people, it's his job and he knows how to be far-sighted in this.

It is wide enough for you to lie down and for him to sit between your legs without difficulty.

You bend down and lay your back on the floor “spread your legs” he tells you “keep them raised”

The floor is cool and wet against your skin but you still feel heated.

You crane your neck to look at him and his eyes are focused, deciding how to position you to do the job.

He takes your ankles and bends your legs slightly, if it was a moment when you wanted to laugh you would say that you look like a frog but now you feel like a rose of flesh. A bold, cheeky flower that has blossomed for him.

“Stay like this, can you?”

You nod because you can’t do anything else, you don’t know what to say, you’re hypnotized by his deep breathing and his eyes.

You feel a pulse between your legs.

A heat that starts to rise from below.

He smears a thin veil of foam on the inside of your thighs near your pubic area, he runs his fingers almost absentmindedly near your folds, you know that every movement is thought out, he's purposely ignoring your pussy so he doesn't lose his concentration but you can feel desire creeping through the air between you.

It's thick, heavy, and smells of your perfume that invades your nostrils now that you're playing the obscene dancer for him, with your legs bent as if you had to warm up your muscles before a show.

He draws your edges with the razor, rinsing continuously, you feel the blade glide over you, darting across your skin, only slightly resisting to your roughest hairs.

You feel a glimmer of clear drool dripping between your petals, all the way down to the crack of your butt, that gives away your eagerness.

A couple more gentle swipes and he's done.

You can hear him swallowing nervously, your throat is dry too.

“All done” he whispers, running his fingers over your smooth skin.

You sit up, legs at the sides of his body and tug at his shirt to give him a kiss. You suck his bottom lip between yours, tasting his minty flavor.

You dwell on that ecstatic feeling for a while before you let go of his lips and take a breath back into your lungs.

“Do you want me to shave it all off?” Sometimes you do, you like it when you feel just the soft, just that, that tingles every time he runs his tongue over it.

Shiny as egg white, voracious, naked luscious lips ready to salivate and swallow until they’re full.

But now you can't wait and you know he doesn't care, they're short hairs anyway, you keep them trimmed.

It's just a little line that surrounds your flower to browse.

“No baby, I need you”

The razor is lying on the shower floor, you pick it up and place it on the steel shelf that Joel installed for you to put your things on.

“Mmm tell me what you want” He asks, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling with lust.

He already knows the answer.

“Fuck me” you plead, voice trembling with excitement “fuck me with your tongue and fingers, please. Fuck me with your cock. Fuck me until I see white and I’m a mumbling mess underneath you”

You put your hand over his bulge, running slowly to his zipper strained and you fiddle your fingers on his button.

You feel him squirming, his eyes feral and mesmerized by your touch and your words.

You open his jeans as he takes off his water-spattered shirt and throws it on the floor outside the shower.

Sitting like this, you notice even more the softness of his belly, that little bit of flesh that you love to bite.

He gets up to get rid of his jeans, now soaked, annoying, heavy, he throws them on the floor and they land with a dull thud.

His boxers are damp and have a big stain on the front, but it's not water. It's his pleasure dripping.

He’s rock hard leaking profusely.

He leans down and gives you a long kiss, looking at you. His hands slide slowly over your arms, slipping onto your hips, squeezing your flesh and your body arches towards him, your tongue quivers on his, every fiber of you reacts and bends gently to him.

He brings a hand to your cheek, deepening the kiss, eagerly licking the inside of your mouth, tasting you.

You moan into his lips as you feel his other hand move up and rest on the side of your breast, his long fingers reach your nipple and trace its contours, they move circling it, he does it first with his thumb and then with his index finger. He passes them over your bud, titillating it, making it harden under his fingertip.

He makes space between your knees again, makes you lay down on the floor, caressing your torso, going down to your ribs, he touches the area just below and whispers “you look beautiful here”.

You like that he appreciates everything about your body, even those parts that others ignore, he sees the overall harmony and knows how to notice the details. He knows the map of your scars and every shade of your skin. He goes down, brushing your navel and then unexpectedly goes back up and takes your lips again.

He sucks.

He tastes.

He drinks.

He lowers himself and leans over your opening. He breathes hard as he gives the first lick, with his tongue flat, crawling from bottom to top, lingering on your clit. He spreads your folds a little with his thumbs and looks at you for a moment whispering “God, baby, you have the most beautiful pussy I’ve ever seen” he inhales your scent “and she’s so wet…” and he licks again “so sweet” another lick “and she tastes so good”

You throw your head back, squeezing your eyes shut, wrapping one hand around the back of his neck, pushing him against you.

He keeps his mouth glued to your slit, his tongue seems everywhere, meticulous and insatiable, it seems he can never get enough.

You listen to his movements with your whole body, as if he were speaking to you, using a language unique to yours.

You feel his hand resting on your hip, you grab his wrist and bring him back to your tit, you don't need to ask him to touch it, he silently takes your nipple between his fingers pinching and twisting.

Your ribcage expand for air, you gasp with your mouth wide open and a long moan leaves your lips rising from deep inside you.

You lift your head to see him, looking disheveled and grateful, his beard glisten with your fluids as two of his thick fingers slide into you.

He traces with his tongue that little stripe of hair he left you, which frames your lips, he caresses them, takes them in his mouth, sucking lightly.

His strong aquiline nose is hitting your clit now, fingers curl to find that perfect spot, the one that makes you see white, like you asked.

You moan in disarray “your cock – God – I want your cock, please Joel”

He gives a couple more licks and then moves, towering over you, kissing you with lips that taste of salt and lemon, of you. It’s your taste, all over his mouth.

He lower his boxers and the tip of his cock presses against your hole, slowly making its way in.

You throw your arms around his neck, giving him sloppy kisses on his sultry skin.

He grunts as he thrusts into you, you wrap your legs around his waist as he slides a hand behind your arched back, pushing you, anchoring himself to you so you don't slip on the wet floor, his knee braced on the floor.

You stammer senselessly yes yes yes, you're both close to your peak.

You feel disarmed, completely enveloped by him, by his body, by his scent.

You're sweaty, even though your skin is still wet, your body contracts against his, waves of pleasure modulating your breathing.

Your orgasm explodes in a long sigh, then it goes silent, you bite your lips, you are overwhelmed.

He takes your hands, intertwines them with his and brings them above your head, sinking relentlessly inside you, hitting again and again, deeper and deeper until you feel thick, sticky stems filling you, painting your walls, dripping from inside you onto your thighs.

His hair is plastered to his forehead, his eyes searching yours as he fills his hands with your ass cheeks, giving the last hard thrusts before he pulls out of you and lets himself go on the shower floor next to you.

You take deep breaths, trying to come back to your senses, your bodies completely exhausted.

“Well,” he says after a while, “we’re officially too late to go now.”

“Do you mind?” you ask, rolling onto your side, tracing his broad chest with your fingertips.

“No,” he replies without even thinking.

You burst out laughing together.

No, this is definitely more important.

[rmgold-blog]

I posted this in a reblog but I worked really hard on it so I wanted to make it into its own post.

Tarot in Episode 7

Before I begin: how Tarot is read in the show is a very watered down version of how Tarot is read irl, so I'm gonna try and keep it within the simplistic bounds of the show.

My thought was when Billy and Agatha were doing pulls - they weren't doing it right.

Billy was pulling with intention - but he was the one pulling the cards, and he wasn't answering any questions. So he was just "reading vibes".

As for Agatha's pulls - she wasn't using intention. To her it was a numbers game. Therefore the cards may not mean anything. But I did attempt to read them since set dressing is important to read.

Billy's Tarot Reading for Agatha

The Chariot

Direction/Control/Willpower

I feel like Agatha has been pretty aimless up until this point. In combination with some of the cards in Agatha's reading. I think this is a message of what Agatha needs - but not necessarily what she wants.

Agatha has been falling to this perpetual cycle of hurt - people say she's a bad person, so she is a bad person, so people say she's a bad person... and Agatha needs to break free from that cycle in order to grow. Take control of her own narrative.

The Seven of Swords Reversed

Deception/Trickery/Tactics and Strategy

Telling the Truth/No Deception

Billy describes it as trickery and deception - but it's reversed so it's the opposite ("but that can't be right"). To me this is the more important one to the story. It's more than just talking about "the truth coming to light" it's saying: Billy thinks Agatha is deceiving him. He looked up to her until Alice died, then he felt betrayed, because he believed she could control what she was doing and she killed her on purpose. That she's been deceiving him this whole time. But this card is telling him she's not.

Before we get to the cards Agatha pulled in the beginning of the episode, let's look at what Lilia read for Billy first, because Agatha's pull has a lot more cards and leaves a lot more things up to interpretation, so it's a bit lengthy

Lilia's Tarot Reading for Billy

Perhaps the most important thing to come out of this part of the episode is this conversation about who you need to have a question - not just on how to get out of here, but something that's important to Billy's journey on earth.

Now - later when Lilia does her own reading we don't see her ask a question. In fact she pretty much already knows the answers. So that means this question was solely important (plot wise) for this reading for Billy.

Billy asks: "Am I William or am I Billy?"

Essentially - Who am I?

The Traveler: The Magician

Willpower/Desire/Creation/Manifestation

Lilia describes this card to Billy as him having enormous potential and the ability to turn all his goals into a reality.

This card is very literal - the question is "who am I?" and the card slot is basically the arrow on a map saying "you are here".

Wiccan's powers deal not just with telepathy, but with Willpower. We see this a little bit in the episode when Billy says "I wish Lilia were here". (Now this could just be a nod to this power, since it's not like they just appeared, we know they had been making their way there before Billy said this. But we also know from Lilia that time isn't linear so idk).

What's Missing: The Sun

Joy/Success/Celebration/Positivity

Now this is obviously the interesting one. Lilia brings up "Reunion", which perks Billy's interest.

Obviously we are made to believe that it references Tommy. However the question wasn't about Billy's journey on the road, or even about his life. The question was "Who am I?" "Am I William or am I Billy"

So this reunion has something go do with Billy's identity. It could be the reunion between Billy and William, as many people have speculated that these two identities - William Kaplan or Billy Maximoff - become one Billy Kaplan.

Or - if my theory about the origin of Billy's soul is correct - it could be a reunion between Nicholas Scratch and Agatha, as I believe that Nicky is the original holder of the soul and is the secret third part of Billy's identity...

Agatha's Tarot Reading

A (Vertical): The Traveler

B: What's Missing

C: The Path Behind

D: The Path Ahead

E: Obstacles

F: Potential Windfall

A (Horizontal): Final Destination

The Traveler: Five of Wands

Competition/Rivalry/Conflict

So right off the bat my thoughts are that this relates to the coven as a whole - or Agatha's relationship with Rio. Therefore I'm going to attempt to read both. Alternatively it could just be referencing Agatha as a whole - as she is someone who likes to stir conflict as her means of survival.

Warning: I am not Agathario fan, and I honestly think they're going to come to head to head in the finale.

What's Missing: The Two of Wands

Planning/Making Decisions/Leaving Home

Agatha: this card really marks the beginning of a journey - so I'm interpreting this as taking the first step. She needs to take the first step away from the life she's leading now. Leaving the familiar.

The Coven: was missing in this group is their ability to work together. Consistently, they're always fighting and they don't trust one another.

Agathario: what's missing is making the decision to leave. Leaving this relationship behind. To stop holding on.

The Path Behind: The World

Fulfillment/Harmony/Completion

Agatha: from my perspective Agatha chose this life because it's what everyone told her she was. They said she was evil, so that's what she became. This was her harmonizing with how the world saw her.

The Coven: after Alice's trial things had seemed to be looking up for the coven - before everything went to shit. They had worked together - literally harmonizing - and around the fire they were bonding. But that's in the past now.

Agathario: their relationship in the past was fulfilling - they both felt loved, Agatha got someone who believed in her, and Rio got someone who wasn't scared of her.

Obstacles: The Wheel of Fortune

Change/Cycles/Inevitable Fate

Agatha: using the mental energy, allowing herself to be curious - what more can she be, who can she become? Restlessness, breaking free from the mold she's been made to fit.

The Coven: they need to learn more about one another - break out of their past perceptions of each other, and think critically. What have they heard that could be lies? Biases? Do they believe that?

Agathario: to move forward Agatha needs to be inquisitive, critical. I feel that Rio is reeling Agatha in - she's trying to simultaneously make Agatha look bad to the rest of the coven, make the coven look like they don't trust her despite how much Agatha is frying, and make herself look better in Agatha's eyes for continuing to be so caring for her. The message Rio wants Agatha to receive is: no one will ever love you like I do. Agatha needs to be critical of that claim.

Windfall: The Hanged Man

Sacrifice/Release/Martyrdom

Agatha: falling into old habits, throwing up her defenses whenever she feels threatened. See: when Billy stopped believing in her, she didn't push being genuine, she decided to play the role again - not show weakness. She needs to be vulnerable to grow.

The Coven: cycles of falling back on assumptions - Jen especially always brings up that Agatha is dangerous, not to be trusted. I'm sure she may feel similarly about Billy, knowing who he is too, and what he did to her. They need to overcome this.

Agathario: Agatha is falling into the same trap - this toxic cycle they existed in. "You kill every Witch around you and I get my bodies" They have a working relationship, and it can be easy to fall into those same patterns.

Destination: Ten of Swords

Failure/Collapse/Defeat

...seems kind of final doesn't it. No matter what way I read it seems like the end of the Road leads to complete and tragic failure.

But that's not the only possible outcome.

Agatha keeps going - it's a numbers game after all - and we see her put down another card on top of the Ten of Swords.

Destination: The Chariot

Direction/Control/Willpower

Hang on... we've seen this before. This is the first card Billy pulled for Agatha. It all comes full circle.

As I said earlier - the Chariot here may reference Agatha breaking free from this cycle of selfishness, hurt, and hunger of power. She can put aside people's assumptions of her and do what she wants, instead of filling the role others have cast her for.

Not a hero by any means - but not a villain.

I think by having two cards here, it references there are two ways this can end for Agatha. She's at a crossroads. Will she lower her guard, accept help and understanding, or will her walls stay up, not allowing for input and change?

[wetcatspellcaster]

Veilguard Thoughts

(my sort-of review, more of a ramble, below the cut in case of spoilers)

I had particularly low expectations for this game, as it felt to me like it was rushed out to try and hit the BG3 crowd and get them to pay £70 at the point where their hyperfixation was failing them. It felt like a very commercially-motivated decision, and I tried to modify my expectations accordingly.

I then started playing... and had to modify my expectations again.

But with two lowering of expectations completed... I genuinely enjoyed this game! I had fun! Sort of! if I squint!!

Thoughts!

I am not a competent gamer, so I like combat that feels fun and engaging without being challenging or a chore (cough, BG3 Act 3, cough), but without being lazy either. I played as a mage in Veilguard and I felt like this hit a sweet spot - moments where I was stressed kind-of invested, no moments when I was bored. The graphics for mage (for spellblade particularly) were awesome and badass, and I loved to new mode of engaging with the mage class in orb and dagger.

I understand the frustration with a lot of lore being retconned, ignored, or wilfully erased or moved away from. Some parts I understood: I do think Veilguard tries to make a move away from grimdark, not out of disloyalty to the franchise and it's roots, but bc grimdark is a very different prospect now than when Origins released. it's a genre that gets a lot more criticism and bad press, and that some people feel genuinely uncomfortable perpetuating as a results. While Origins is my favourite dragon age game, there's a lot of insane things you need to just let slide to enjoy it - like the fact that multiple origins begin with some kind of rape and sexual assault if you're playing as a woman. I don't think retconning that stuff is anything other than being politically savvy, and a little more sensitive to how fantasy has changed.

(I also think this is why they've moved away from the chantry conflict to be honest. Like the optics of Christian religions in fantasy has also changed, and let's be honest, Dragon Age had already fucked THAT, multiple times.)

I did however, like everyone, find it a bit disheartening to see how little Keep decisions mattered. Why is there no Keiran with Morrigan? why can't Mythal move to an inquisitor who drank the Well of Sorrows instead? why is my Inquisitor defending Solas when she ended the game hating him? Why is Hawke being in the Fade meaningless? I know this is just echoing what people have already said, but it was sad to see the 'conclusion' to the franchise (that probably isn't the end, let's be honest, not now that people paid £70 for an underwritten game) was even less satisfying in terms of choice and agency than ME3

This game deliberately skewed itself to read as a 'better DA2', than a 'worse, rushed inquistion'. IDK, it just makes me feel a bit grossed out, and manipulated. I mean, we know DA2 can be made in crunch, lads!!!!! :)))

Criticisms!

EVERYTHING is underwritten. The game is woefully short. If I can complete all the sidequests in a game, then something is wrong. The romances, the character arcs, the main quest, the dialogues. Everything was sparse, with the bare bones of a plot, that (in the case of companions quests) was rarely seen through to a full and satisfying conclusion. And I *know* that's not the writers fault, necessarily, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be done better.

There's so much potential, but I found that most of the companions could be boiled down to one or two traits, and while I can see people headcanoning reasons for this in real time, it's just... underwriting, or bad writing. Extremely telling to me that both Emmrich and Davrin were my favourite companions... because they had their own companions. That meant that they had multiple story hooks - their professions, their relationships, and then their little guys. They got three things, when most people only got two.

This was particularly egrerious for me with Taash, because they started out amazing, and I ended up being extremely disappointed as I watched both them and their mother being reduced down to flat one-dimension caricatures and a tired queer narrative of 'my parents hate me'. Only, this time, it's 'my immigrant parents hate me'. when you couple the reductive approach to Taash with bioware's inability to write the Qunari well or without falling into Orientalism??? they're suddenly an evil repressive queer phobic religion after being supportive of trans characters in inquisition???? you're telling me Shathann, a woman who was forced into a more feminine role by circumstance but considered herself more genderless/masculine as a scholar, wouldn't be on board with non-binary identity? just galling tbh.

The romances are underwritten. And they are badly written, to me. Luckily I know we'll have fic, but in Inquisition, each romance was 90 minutes worth of content. In Veilguard, Lucanis's romance is the longest... at 18 minutes. It just seems stupid and strange to me - if this game is chasing on BG3's coat-tails, why don't they know everyone is fucking horny?

While I liked the decision to give companions more banter together and flesh out their interpersonal relationships, I felt that the balance was off... probably bc it's cheaper to have two actors share a piece of scripted dialogue, than voice a decision tree. It meant that to me Rook often felt like a bystander in their own story, or excluded from their own found family. HR Manager-core, as it were.

General uselessness of the Lords of Fortune coupled with the Orientalism of the Lords of Fortune.... big sad.

I think the choice between Lace and Davrin is highly!!!! suspect!! do you go with fantasy racism (kill off the only dwarf, thus meaning all your dwarf companions are dead in the game, including the one who represented to future for her people) or the real racism (kill off the black man). I really wish this decision was more reactive, and perhaps based in faction strength or character bond, not just a pre-set choice.

I'll never care about solas, the way trick weekes wants me to care about solas. pretty dumb decision, to make a whole game contingent on this fact.

The ending and epilogue screens were underwhelming, and left the game feeling incomplete to me.

Joys!

To end on a more positive note...

everyone is hot. I honestly think everyone is hot. No other dragon age game had a cast of characters whom i all found attractive. This is unheard of. This is why I know all the fic will be fucking stellar.

And you know who else is hot? Rook. Genuinely one of my favourite DA protagonists! Maybe bc of the faction thing, or just the chemistry of the VA I chose. I just felt like she was pretty fucking hot tbh, and that more people in-game should be taking notice of it. Everyone should stop having conversations with each other and start desiring Rook carnally.

Weisshaupt was genuinely an amazing sequence and questline. In fact, I loved that this game featured Grey Wardens more heavily, and I loved all the lore about Wardens that was introduced.

Assan!! <3 Manfred!!! <3

Bellara and Neve kissing with tongue!!! No, I will not elaborate!!!

(I think that Bellara and Neve were two characters who did have strong stories, and that they should kiss about it.)

Elgarnan and Ghilanain.... never before has a dragon age game known what it's like to have a charismatic villain. This time, we got two. Ghilanain was my favourite, bc I'm fucking gay, but even interactions with Elgarnan and his boss battle felt engaging. I honestly don't think a dragon age game has ever had a good villain before, and these guys were both fucking cool.

[bobbydagen24]

come to think of it how do you think Branch learnt everything he knows?

in TBT he says in the argument scene that after Grandma died there was no one left to take care of him confirming that he literally had no one after her death.

implying with everything else we know about his backstory that he Raised himself from a very young age likely 5 6 or 7 I'd assume based purely on his looks alone.

but thinking about it how could he have learnt how to do everything that he knows as an adult?

I mean I know some of it can simply be self taught but do you really think a little kid that age would be able to self learn everything that Branch knows as an adult?

like how to build an underground Bunker without it collapsing in on itself? and how to build a working lift in the Bunker?

and just basic stuff like cooking and maintaining a House by himself ( Hell I'm in my early 20s and I still struggle with a lot of that crap 😂😂😂😂 )

I mean do you think he literally is meant to have just been alone? or do you think its more a case where he didn't have a specific guardian per say.

but maybe he was still technically looked after by the village to an extent like he had people to teach him certain things and or bring him food and stuff that he needed to make sure he was still healthy.

but he still sorta just lived on his own and didn't interact with other people unless he absolutely had to due to how closed off he was.

some people like to HC Kismet as having visited him during all those years to check up on him occasionally and bring him stuff and make sure he was properly taking care of himself.

so maybe we could find out something like that was the case in a future film tho maybe not necessarily with Kismet as cute as that would be.

like maybe he did have certain people looking out for him over the years when he was a kid despite him closing himself off from everyone.

IDK it'd just be sorta cute I think he still has large gaps in his Backstory that DreamWorks could potentially work with in the future.

like maybe a future film does actually introduce a new character from his past during that period in his life who tried to look out for him or at least check up on him every now and then to make sure he wasn't literally dead.

as I like the idea of him maybe having a kinda surrogate parent figure in a future film who he didn't even really think of in that way.

but later on its pointed out to him just how much they tried to do for him as he was growing up even tho they had to somewhat do it from a distance given Branch's wishes of wanting to be alone.

like maybe they were someone who also lost loved ones to the Bergens and they were more understanding of Branch's grief and him not being able to move on like the rest of the village did.

plus they just had a basic human amount of empathy and could see it probably wasn't Right to leave a grieving traumatised little kid with nothing to take care of himself with.

and maybe over the course of the film he kinda slowly realises even during all those years he spent alone someone did actually care and at least tried to look out for him.

and Branch comes to appreciate them like family plus Bro zone would instantly like them given how they looked out for him when they weren't there.

so they don't judge the relationship at all and are just kinda happy for Branch. ( I mean they can't claim he's betraying their parents memory or anything he didn't even know them as far as we know )

but now I'm getting more into fanfic ideas territory than cannon based speculation territory lol.

I just want the next film to give my boy some Happiness and a cute little semi surrogate parent plot has been spinning around in my head for the past week now.

I just kinda love the idea even if it would sorta be a retcon to his backstory and more new characters for the future films to have to introduce and develop even tho the cast is already super full.

but like I said I just find the idea kinda sweet plus screw Brozone lol I'd love for my boy Branch to find a found family member in the future.

who actually did try and be there for him throughout the worst periods of his life even when the rest of the village may have saw him as a lost cause.

but like I said that's more fanfic idea territory anyway what do you think in regards to the main question of the post? 😂😂😂😂

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I think we're all deeply disappointed that we didn't get enough of Voldemort and his Horcrux parts in 7th book. the cup, diadem, and locket are no match for the diary. however, do you have headcanons, what would be the protection of the cup and diadem? I wonder is there a need to drink from a cup or wear a diadem for effect and what Voldemort could potentially be like if it would be successful... i think it needs to be explored more even in hcs

Honestly, I don't necessarily think the cup should've had better protections since it was the one given to Bellatrix to protect. So, I would've just improved on the Gringotts break-in instead of making up something entirely different. In the book, if they had broken in without Griphook and Harry just imperio-ed everyone they met, that break-in would've gone without a hitch. This seems silly to me considering how difficult Gringotts is supposed to be to break into. Like, if Impirio + Polyjuic allows you to steal whatever you want, its security is most definitely lacking.

It could've been actually fun and done very differently than the ministry break-in instead of being like, a worse version of the ministry break-in as it was in canon. Like, show some goblin magic, and have them sneak around to not be found more. Like, I would've liked it to be more of a heist than just: imperio + polyjuice. Like, it could be part of it, but, idk, I felt very underwhelmed reading about Gringotts defenses in the book. Even the curse inside the vault wasn't a fun obstacle because it was one where they just needed to suffer through it. There is no satisfying puzzle to solve or a clever way to get past it. And that's really what book 7 was missing in all its heists to get Horcruxes. The plans weren't all that clever and interesting. If they were, these scenes would be, like, 200% better without actually changing any big plot elements.

I also think the break-in to Gringotts could've been improved if they still didn't have the sword and didn't destroy the locket yet, so you had Tom Riddle whispering in Harry's ear constantly. And after he cast Imperio successfully Tom would've gotten so annoying about it and made Harry have more moral questions about it. Idk, it's a fun idea, but if they did already destroy the locket, then it makes sense they'll just destroy the cup instantly. If the defenses on the way there were more interesting and the locket had more moments to shine, I think it would've been fine if the cup didn't get too much of a chance to interact with the trio.

As for the diadem, like, the minimum he could've done is place a curse on it like on the Gaunt ring. Like, seriously, that thing was so under-protected. And, like, the curse could still kill Crabbe if we want. It'll make his death even more creepy and grotesque potentially. Or he can be possessed (I mean, I'm pretty sure Crabbe and Goyle are easy possession targets).

Like, imagine the scene in the room of requirement, but Crabbe or Goyle picks up the diadem first, and a curse starts spreading from his hand upward. He screams in pain, clutching the blackening limb that slowly starts to shrivel like a raisin. Harry, Co, and Draco are all horrified, they don't know what to do and then, picking up the diadem is a Tom Riddle, a Le diary, brought back by feeding on Crabbe/Goyle's death. And then they need to kill the diadem before Crabb/Goyle die so that they won't have two Voldemorts running around. It could've been an epic battle and given Draco a chance to destroy the diadem while the Horcrux focused on fighting the Golden Trio instead of Crabbe accidentally destroying a piece of Voldy's soul. Like, Draco wouldn't even be 100% sure what he's doing, but, like, Hermione dropped a basilisk fang and they were clearly trying to destroy it, so he just kinda goes for it.

And, I mean, we could've had it all with the locket, really. Like, we know the diary spoke to Ginny for months before it took form. Why didn't it feed on Harry and Co the same way? Like, let Tom in the locket try to talk them out of killing him, let him tell them why it's best he stays around. How he's more useful to them this way. Let them fight over who's wearing the locket, but deep down, Harry wants to wear the locket just as he liked flipping through the diary without knowing why — because soul recognizes soul. Have Tom actually talk to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and be his manipulative self to stew tension that feels less manufactured. (Because the tension with the hunger and locket depression felt a little off to me in the book. Like, it felt forced).

These are just some ideas where you won't actually have to change the plot and structure of the book too much.

As for how the Horcruxes feed and if they need to be properly used, like, I'm not sure. The locket seemed to only have an effect when worn, so I'd hazard a guess that physical contact at least is necessary. but I think, just holding the cup long enough would be enough and you don't need to actually drink from it. At least, in my headcanon/speculation of how Horcruxes work.

[madokamagicasecrets]

I have some thoughts about the potential direction of Walpurgisnacht Rising after sitting on it for a while and watching the speculation on the part of Madoka fans.

I have a strong feeling that when Homura changes the universe at the end of Rebellion that my old theory has been confirmed, namely that she's only been able to create a pocket in the universe where things are dictated by her. We see this radius of influence when the corruption from her hostile takeover spreads across multiple star systems until solidifying into a sphere.

This frame of the "mystery girl" also hides an extra detail which may point in that direction, namely a barrier composed of the lizard sigil that represents devil Homura. We already know that Madoka's arrows pierced the veil of the incubation field. Perhaps she's trying to do the same?

Another odd detail is the presence of 2 Homuras. I don't necessarily think this is literal, though. It's possible that a second Homura does actually exist, but most likely only because much like the incubation field Homura's world is shaped based upon her desires and cognition, and this second Homura may be trying to say something about her. But what, exactly? Well, we know that this decision was really hard for Homura, in fact Rebellion implies that she's bordering on suicidal as a result of it. I posit that the second Homura represents her mental conflicts. She loves Madoka and wants to protect her and knows that what she's doing is selfish and that she's imprisoning someone she loves. It's the war that's being waged in her own mind that I think these 2 versions of her represent. I think that's who she's talking to on the phone, in a metaphorical way that's being represented quite literally. Note the way that the voice on the phone implores her to "bring hope" and "release that girl".

Another point of interest for me is the role of incubators in Homura's world. At the end of Rebellion she very openly states that she still relies on incubators as a system, but she's definitely very resentful towards them and is seen abusing one near the end of the film. One detail about the movie that I think is important is the recurring imagery of Kyubey's eyes. Throughout the majority of the film Kyubey is totally silent and we see repeated shots of his glassy, detailed eye. However, when being tormented at the end of the movie the art style changes into something more cloudy and abstract. I've wondered for a while if this would be the start of an incubators developing emotions and potentially contracting itself. I can't say for certain right now if that's the case, given we don't see incubators in the trailer at all, but given they all seem to be trapped in Homura's world with her, we may see something like that emerge in the plot.

Speaking of the incubators, some have brought up the possibility that the contract system now flows through Homura herself instead of Kyubey. It's hard to really verify this yet, but we do have some evidence pointing in that direction, mostly in the form of parallels. Homura's new world is very similar to the incubation field. It even shares some similar golden clockwork aesthetics with it. Note the way the moon is represented split down the middle with clockwork components apparent in the new trailer. I think that this new world is being run much like the incubators did, with Homura in charge of the "experiment". Has Homura become the monster she once hated as a result of her selfishness, trapping Madoka in the very same prison that she was tormented in?

It's also potentially significant to mention what the phone Homura uses in the trailer morphs out of: the same salamander seen in Rebellion that is squashed when she turns into Homulilly, except now instead of the typical purple and black tones, it's a bright red. Does this signal a potential rising frustration and anger, perhaps at herself for the reasons I listed above?

The version of Homura that we see in the trailer has a black hairband. Given she answers the phone and seems very confrontational with the person on the other end of the line, we have to assume that the other Homura has the red hair tie that she wore in Rebellion. This is significant because this hair tie belonged to Madoka and she puts it back in her hair near the end of the movie. The ribbon is her only physical memento from Madoka's existence before she became the law of cycles, and if you've read wraith arc you know that Homura has a significant crisis slowly forming that crescendos in Rebellion where she can't prove that Madoka ever existed. This is exemplified by her new memory manipulation magic rather than time manipulation. Remember, she doesn't have time magic anymore. She only had it in Rebellion because the incubation field caused her to develop a world based upon her memories.

So, if you didn't want to read any of what I wrote above, here's my primary hypothesis for what this movie is gonna be about.

Homura knows that this experiment is deeply flawed and as such her psyche has manifested a second version of her, a more sentimental version that wants this whole thing to come crumbling down and let goddess Madoka take her. In this sense it's quite a bit like Homura trying to figure out the truth behind the incubation field and Madoka and the girls trying to rescue her. But now it's Homura fighting against herself. The black hairband Homura is in charge and the red hairband one takes up the challenge of trying to overthrow her. The mystery girl on the trailer could be Homura. The lighting and framing make her appearance a bit ambiguous, but she has a bow. Many point towards Madoka on that front but Homura also had a bow, featured at the end of the original series. We've just gotten so used to her return to scavenged weapons in Rebellion that this detail has been forgotten. I also feel as though the Walpurgisnacht imagery may be literal in the sense that Homura's imagination may conjure up a transformation, but I think it's intended to be more of a metaphor. Homura's world harkens back to a longstanding theme in the shoe of incredibly powerful beings trying to escape despair through false realities. Homura is the stage master now, whose nature is helplessness (trapped by her own selfishness), and has in a way become the monster she faced so many times. And now she has to stop herself. It may even be possible that the other girls with their altered outfits are allying with this renegade Homura to help her stop herself, much like time loops past. I don't think this will manifest as a time loop where Homura becomes Walpurgisnacht because her existence was represented by a gramophone in Rebellion, aka a broken record. And at the end of the movie it literally explodes because she's shattered literally any chance of this loop happening again. This is the end for all of them.

I think this hypothesis is headed in the right direction but ir definitely neglects some details in the trailer, such as the finer points of the girls and their altered designs, the mystery girl, the role of the incubators and the second Homura, as well as if these signs that I've taken as metaphor may be more literal than I assume. I'm hoping that others can help fill in these gaps for me. Maybe by the time the movie releases we'll have predicted the entire meat of it, lol.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

Like clockwork

Knowing that I nailed every single prediction except the awards bc the time span covered in S3 was too short for the restaurant to even be considered for one (YET) and the apology, which he thought about making to C but chickenshit at the last minute forcing her character to lurk around a little longer next season, unfortunately.

And also knowing that S4 (which I always considered ENDGAME) might be finally the one where they get those awards and end the show on a perfect note, makes me incredibly happy because even though I do think S3 is the weakest so far, I also fully expected everything that happened in it, except the low Sydney screen time, compared with the excessive Faks screentime, which was the biggest bummer of all times.

I think that Storer is straining along the “non-Sydcarmy” narrative in the right-hand column and leaving about a million Sydcarmy breadcrumbs in the LEFT-HAND COLUMN, so he’s putting all the money on the endgame and that is why most people, including critics, and non-sydcarmy truthers feel underwhelmed after all the build-up excitement and high-expectations that had been forced around it. The critics are mixed, BECAUSE you didn't get exactly what you wanted, both truthers and anties, whereas I got exactly what I assumed I was gonna get from Storer, a TWIST that he will resolve in S4.

As I always said, my ONLY priority is getting my SYDCARMY ENDGAME, not putting Syd’s happiness above all, not even the restaurant getting a star, although IK it will at some point, not even Carmy finding happiness in any other place that is not that meadow Sydney. Etc. I don't play that game. I only want those things to happen in a Sydcarmy context, hopefully, but not necessarily, explicitly, not in a Lalaland kinda way.

What Storer did was open the game enough for a potential Clairmy endgame to happen, which last season seemed impossible, now he forced the narrative to make it fit in S4 if he wanted to. That’s why everyone is soooo underwhelmed, except me. Because I trust my intuition in the left-hand column which is what allowed me to nail all the predictions so far to the letter. Including Carmy being an ass to Syd and Syd not going anywhere, even when offered a way out of The Bear (the restaurant and the man).

And due to this accuracy in predicting Storer’s behavior, I still, like always, feel Sydcarmy is a S4 dish. Fully endgame material. Nothing has changed for me after watching S3. If anything, that belief is even more cemented in my mind now.

Storer is still right on schedule and the Sydcarmy clock started ticking more than ever, exactly as I anticipated HERE. I even nailed the "no sorry sign" thing, which is what we need to watch for in S4, as soon as it happens, we will be out of the woods.

I don't come from a place of wanting to get my needs met or wishes granted by someone as cruel and infuriatingly brilliant as Storer, that would be too naive on my part. I know what to expect when it comes to his writing and he's the Zodiac Killer for me, he can write the perfect crime, and the perfect plot and twist it in ways I can anticipate but no one can control in terms of layout and order but himself. He's a perfectionist and a control freak, incredibly talented piece of shit(sounds familiar?). So I work with what he serves me. I expect from him nothing but asphyxia first, to then give me breathing room for a few scenes, and then take it away. That's what this season was. The chokehold. The lack of oxygen. He's depriving us or making us think he will "on the table", while "under the table" the conversation or unspoken dialogue is the following:

Syd didn't sign The Bear's agreement, and neither did she sign the poaching contract, she's stalling both because she leads with her heart, not her head, which woulda made her get the hell outta the restaurant that has her name nowhere to be found in the reviews that are all about Chef Berzatto, where her business partner is a fucking robot she "can't babysit anymore" and who explicitly told her he's about to crack and where she dreads going to work every day. I mean NOT EVEN THAT CAN MAKE HER SIGN THE POACHING OFFER. I wonder why...

Carmy is still breaking the vow he made to Syd under the table: "You deserve my full focus". He's focusing on getting that bullshit star for her, he's focusing on the bully chef that used to torture him in EMP and ruined him mentally (because according to him it's that asshole's fault, not his own upbringing, and responsibility for having stuck around his bullying and not standing up for himself back then) while Syd is seating right next to him and Luca is flirting with her (I'm OK with that btw) and he's still blaming other people for the choices he made or the things he FAILED to do, instead of taking full responsibility and changing them, which I'm sure he will in S4 and I never expected him to do now because that process IRL for anyone takes YEARS, maybe DECADES, so...

And lastly, we have Chef Terry being the one who tries to open their eyes with her wisdom and they are both still blinking and being blinded by the brightness of it, they still can't see clearly what she's trying to tell them. Especially Syd, who had a full-on panic attack (her getting stuck in a walk-in while everyone else was on the other side of the door moment exactly as I predicted too). Why would she have that if that wasn't her realization moment? → THE ONE WE, SYDCARMY TRUTHERS HAVE BEEN FUCKING PRAYING FOR AND WILL HAVE TO FORCE HER TO FINALLY FOR THE LOVE OF DOG MAKE HER FUCKING MOVE!!!!

So summing up, like I said, I don't come from a place of expecting Storer to please me, my approach to anticipate his moves is asking myself: How can I get what I want while he gets his way because he will get his way regardless, so why fighting him? He will make me suffer, he will play every single string of my heart and he will make me think I've lost all hope and that is not even worth keeping on trying, on the surface. But under the surface, he will prepare THE TWIST and it's gonna be beautiful, and if I play my cards like this, fully expected. That's exactly what I did and what I got, the thing is that this was THE TRANSITIONAL SEASON, S4 is the RESOLUTION of all loose ends because it's ENDGAME. He's right on schedule as far as I'm concerned.

Bonus track: Sydcarmy breadcrumbs he planted: * Menu (heartshaped and best meal Syd ever had) → which is MEAT. * Her panic attack in the hallway after thinking of Carmy and all the history they have together. * Cicero and Nat asking her to sign the agreement once and for all, THEY ARE ASKING HER TO ENTER THE FAMILY, not just the restaurant. * She not quitting, even though someone offered her an easy way out on a silver platter. She can't quit The Bear, and I'm not talking about the restaurant. Even if she eventually does, Storer made it clear that her heart is not in it, she doesn't want to, otherwise, she would have done it by now. * Carmy NOT APOLOGIZING to Claire. Even if he eventually does, Storer made it clear that his heart is not in it, he doesn't want to, otherwise, he would have done it by now. (He did call her "peace" though, which was a cruel way of Storer giving us truthers the middle finger for having told him that the panic attack scene was his way of telling us SYdcarmy was endgame). We shouldn't trust this, Storer is Storing. * Lastly: In the final sequence (CLIFFHANGER), Carmy gets the reviews that will make or break The Bear, which leads to S4 → if the reviews force Cicero to pull the plug, Syd is free to sign the new contract and start over elsewhere. If the reviews are great (they are not because the menu was called INCONSISTANT) then he has a reason to go to Syd's place and show her they made it! Either way, in any of those scenarios he has the perfect motive to jug all the way to Syd's apartment and find her in the midst of her panic attack and CONFORT HER, which I think will be the opener of S4 and then the whole ENDGAME will go from there. This endgame will include Syd signing something that will tie her to Carm. And this endgame will also feature "Andrea". My only fear is: LALALAND ENDING, and I'll tell you why → COPENHAGEN+CLAIRE. Knowing that MG was with JAW in Copenhagen a few weeks ago, I'm sure that shooting some scenes, even though many said they didn't I still believe they did, leads me to think that Carmy, who is reminiscing of his time in Copenhagen like one of the most beautiful times of his life, can go back there with Claire after apologizing to her and rekindling their flame and after Cicero pulling the plug on The Bear letting Syd off the hook for her to pursue the other option presented to her. This will mean Carmy ends with Claire in Copenhagen somehow, sketching and maybe even fully leaning into his artsy side, who knows? And Syd gets her Star elsewhere, which she will find underwhelming because she wanted to get it with The Bear (the restaurant AND the man). This will pave the way for them to give themselves a second chance eventually if Carmy ever comes back from Copenhagen and chooses her over C. Or something along these lines but not necessarily in this order. Either way would explain JAW and C being in Copenhagen recently and would be a Sydcarmy endgame but bittersweet, not spoonfed and cruel, just like Storer likes it. I hope I am mistaken about this since the Lalaland kinda ending is my biggest fear and it's still fully plausible given S3. Still, sometimes I'm wrong... like when I thought that Richie was gonna quit on Carmy after the walk-in fight and he just stayed to spite him and make his life miserable LOL!

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon Upd8 for November 11, 2024

*flops*

Don't mind me.

Just gonna lie here while I do the Homestuck liveblog thing.

I am going to give a heads up. If my next migraine treatment brings me a bit more back in line, I'll be doing VLogs again. I have a bigger video project planned, but it's not Homestuck related. I'll be posting the updates here though, so you'll still know when I blog an upd8. Then you'll all get to see my haggard and aged face.

We begin with the monthly news upd8 from James. Except no! It is in fact an upd8 from Miles! James fades into the background, and apparently Miles will be our flattering correspondent from now on.

It looks like Miles is putting potential spoilers in the news post, so I might have to be careful in the future. Of course these might be jokes. We'll have to see.

Work continues on the planned [S] page and more Beyond Canon merch. We won't be getting an upd8 for December, but they will be running the Patreon. The next upd8 looks like it might be as late as February.

That's all unfortunate. But I fully support if the team wants to take a well earned holiday.

Upd8

Tavvy has decided to join Yiffy on an adventure. This can't possibly end well. His attempts at being her lackey have so far landed him mostly in trouble. And there's a heap of trouble brewing on the soon to be battlefield.

Yeah that's not happening.

Heh! Harry brought the trail mix.

Oh wow. And oh no!

OH NO!!!

That can't possibly count as Heroic though. Getting sniped while performing a purely tactical role is not a hero's end. Still, Rose is probably glad the kids aren't seeing that.

And button.

Interesting view to cut to.

Again, I don't think this will count as Heroic for anyone. But a lot of people are about to die. And let's not forget, none of the trolls currently outside for the Plot Point are God Tiers. This is bad. This is really bad. This is the kind of moment that calls for an extreme, deus ex machina, like the Plot Point has the potential for.

But we're not getting to see it yet.

Edit: @vriedi reminded me that Meenah is a God Tier. Though this does make me wonder, what happens when a dead God Tier dies?

Orange curtains.

Okay! Legitimately fantastic Psyche Out. They actually got me pretty good there.

Okay, we have a new troll it I think.

gavageCunctation is messaging Vrissy. Though that doesn't necessarily tell us much, except that a new player may have entered the drama.

And they're "negging" Vrissy. So this troll clearly sees themselves as a "player" too.

We've got a "game" that's about to be played. A game being run by a TC. Now Gamzee is dead, but that doesn't mean he didn't setup something before Vriska killed him. Still, it's likely these are two completely new troll kids.

We've got a new AA too. So we might be seeing more troll descendants. After all, they used cloning to kick things off. This troll is typing in purple, but blood typing may not be universal anymore. I do find it interesting that we're continuing the nucleotide pairs though. They could have gone for a different motif. Maybe they're trying to symbolize that these are potential paradox clones for a new session?

AA is apparently our chronic auspistice for this group. And potentially our Seer, though we've had fake-outs on that before.

And our actual cliffhanger ending is this new GC's computer exploding.

So yeah. Something has to happen for a lot of our beloved characters to not bite it. I'm also curious how Rose's vision of future events can come true if Jane has unleashed her weapon. But I mentioned last time that Rose is playing a dangerous game here. I don't think any of our God Tiers are in trouble, and I'm pretty sure the Plot Point is fine.

I'm wondering if this is how Calliope ends up sacrificing themself, if Rose was even correct there. Either way, this a dark ending for the year on a community that's already seen some dark endings.

*Returns to flop*

[dust-jacket-analysis]

Watched the London special, and now I'm going to word vomit here, to then eventually (potentially) refine this post into some solid analysis. (Spoilers for the special, obviously)

First off, holy fuck that was brutal. I mean, Marinette?? Girl??/ Get therapy??? I don't think there was a moment I stopped crying. Even when things weren't necessarily sad, I was still crying?

Just the whole scene of Marinette telling Adrien his father died, and that he was hero (tf he was *eyebrow raise*) was soul-crushing. Him lashing out was so... so good. Good writing genuinely. (Also everyone who got mad at Adrien for jumping the gun and blaming Marinette, fuck off *crafting a future post in my mind as we speak*).

The fight scenes were top tier. The part where Marinette leaps through two of the little time tunnel portal things, dodging Lila, was BRILLIANT. Her sass while doing so? God she's so cool.

Also Lila's breakdown was wild. No analysis, just shock (as if there's any semblance of analysis in any of this post).

The end scene was amazing! The little hug and then the "pound it" at the end had me legitimately bawling like a baby. Rip current animation.

Now, I loved the special. But I have BIG grievances. Well, just one big grievance.

WHERE TF WAS ADRIEN THIS WHOLE SPECIAL?

Like why did the writers, once again, backseat him? The thing I wanted most was to see Adrien grieving and coping with the death of his father and how that would impact him as Chat Noir the whole time. I wanted to see him talk more about it, and see him and ladybugs interactions the whole movie.

Instead, It was the fucking Marinette show the whole time. This is not Marinette hate, she is my daughter and I will protect her from all the haters. No this is "hate" to the writers.

They do this constantly and it pisses me off. Because the show started with them clearly being co-leads. Yeah, Marinette was a bit more focused on, but it was clearly supposed to have some semblance of balance. And then season five hits and *boom* Adrien's screentime (Correction: His quality screentime) plummets. And it's never been more clear than in this special.

Like the entirety of this whole arc plot revolves around Adrien. His father is the main villain, his father's motive is to revive his mother, who died using the peacock miraculous. which was used to create him because he's a sentimonster. Mayura is Nathalie, his sort of surrogate mother who is in love with his father. His house is literally the location of that final battle.

WHICH HE"S BENCHED FOR WHAT THE FUCK

And now, in the aftermath of all that, he's benched too. No participation, hardly any screentime. It's sad, disheartening.

All in all, this special has summed up the last couple of years of the show/franchise pretty well. Great emotional impact, more plot, and more intense themes. But also the disproportionate amount of focus on Marinette and the disservice to Adrien, all at the cost of good writing.

Still, I did love the special. It was good. I just think it had the opportunity to give fans what (I think) they wanted and could've been great.

[fuzzywindcat]

I want to talk about Ryou and Yami Bakura as narrative foils for Yugi and Yami Yugi. Disclaimer: I never finished watching Yugioh as a kid (lost interest around the KC Grand Prix arc I think?), but I'm in the middle of a rewatch now. And I am convinced that that the lack of screen time for not just Yami Bakura, but Ryou especially, is the single greatest source of wasted potential in the show. I'm sure this has all been said before and I'm very late to the party lol, but bear with me.

I find it fascinating how the relationships between the vessel and the spirit inhabiting it are so similar, and yet so different. Both Yugi and Ryou are shy and don't have a lot of friends. Both are into games and have some interest in the occult. Both are possessed by an ancient spirit with a proclivity for evil. But while Yugi becomes Atem's heart and his moral compass, Ryou is nothing more than a tool for Yami Bakura. Look at what each spirit calls their vessel: aibou, or partner, versus yadonushi, or landlord. Plus, apparently yadonushi has the connotation of being a host for a parasite? Even more fitting.

Especially looking at Season 0 and how evil the Pharaoh acts in it, I think having this sort of contrast is crucial to the show. That's the whole point of a narrative foil, right? To show what could have happened to the protagonist had things gone differently. Ryou Bakura is a tragedy, forced to commit unspeakable acts against his will at the behest of an evil, sadistic spirit. But from what I hear of Season 0 (need to watch it), it didn't necessarily start out this way. Similar to Yugi's situation, Yami Bakura offered Ryou the strength that he himself lacked, and offered to stand up to his bullies for him. Of course, "stand up" in this case means "commit unspeakable acts of violence." But to a lonely, bullied kid, you can see the temptation. A temptation that Yugi himself could have succumbed to, had things gone differently. What if Yami influenced Yugi to become more evil, rather than the other way around? That's basically Yami Bakura and Ryou.

I couldn't resist watching the church scene that I've heard so much about, even though I haven't gotten that far in my rewatch yet. Oh my god. Being possessed by a demon in the very place you thought you would be safe? The stained glass windows breaking? This is the real shit. But it's less than two minutes long! This is all we get?! The relationship between Ryou and Yami Bakura deserves so much more screen time than this! We get to see plenty of times where Yugi and Yami work together, or butt heads, and again, I haven't gotten there yet, but the Ceremonial Duel, where Yugi gets to show the Pharaoh how far he has come? We get to see how their relationship evolves over the course of the show, and there's just nothing like that for Bakura. Like, the church scene is amazing, don't get me wrong. But what if it was a whole duel! Does Ryou even duel once in the show? Why does Ryou never/rarely fight back against the spirit? At least if we saw the two Bakuras duel, we could get some more character development out of it.

As it stands in the dub, Ryou Bakura is little more than a walking plot device. And that's a shame, because he could have been so much more. I remember reading fanfic back in the day and not really getting why Ryou seemed to be so popular. Like, he's just such a nothing in the show. Now I see that those fanfic authors were taking the few scraps we were given and expanding upon them. Ryou's dogged politeness, with a darker side hinted at by his interest in the occult. His fear of the spirit possessing him, yet his unwillingness to do anything about it. There is so much potential here. Ah well, that's what fanfic is for ;o

[bunneechan]

JJK rant because i'm sad it's ending so soon

i feel like shounen manga these days are too condensed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but JJK just feels like one of those long-running mangas that covers a lot of characters and arcs in detail.

i love the worldbuilding of JJK, it's similar to Chainsaw Man (cursed energy and fear); the sorcerers and their history, this story was absolutely rich in potential. it had a lot of content to cover and a lot of characters that can easily have their own story arcs.

i'm sad to see its ending is rushed. lots of unanswered questions and not enough time. there are plotlines that are kinda just left out and characters who just faded from the picture. as much as i like Sukuna, the story focused on him for too long.

like you're telling me Megumi just recovered like that? not even a flashback to how Megumi was doing during the entire Shinjuku storyline? him seeing his sister get killed with his own hands, killing Gojo, fighting Yuji and everybody else dying by his hand. I kinda wanted to see him have his "all is lost" moment before he slowly gets back up again. i feel like Megumi deserved more screentime during this storyline.

Hakari and Uraume were in the background for so long that when things ended, they sounded like they were friends saying goodbye.

and what about the military invasion? that was honestly such a weird plot to me but i don't remember them actually doing something about it. as far as we know, they still have unrestricted access to take whatever resource they can.

does Yuji even know what exactly Sukuna was to him and his family? or does he even know about his weird family tree?? now even Nobara had some developing tidbit about her mom.

i know there are many more but this is all i can think for now.

sad to see it end but even sadder to see it so rushed.

[museum-of-dreams]

A lot of people have been speculating who the character thats going to die is, and I have done some Long, Hard, Thinking, with what has been presented to us in the show and the information that has been given to us.

❗️Potential Spoilers ahead as I give my thoughts!❗️ (also a warning that this is long)

(Also, please be nice. These are just my opinions. Please tell me what you think!)

Some of this is also just me assuming, don't take my word for fact unless proven otherwise.

So I am going to jump right in and say that, while Vivzipop DID state that a major character death may possibly occur in the show, that doesn't necessarily mean the end of season one.

However I will also take into account that they didnt realize a season 2 was happening untill halfway through production of season 1, so they tried to cram A LOT into 8 episodes (and that's why it's so fast paced)

So if a character death IS to happen soon, here are my thoughts, by process of elimination of course 😊

I am first going to start out with Nifty. I know many people are rooting for her to die instead of their favorites. However, that's why I don't think they would kill her off.

To put Nifty in the original main 6 cast just to never touch up on her character, give her depth, or give us her full backstory that lets us connect to her character more. Unlike the rest of the main 6 casters, where we are exploring their personalitys and connecting with them, we don't really get that with Nifty just yet. Her episode is still to come. So, to put her in the main cast just for the purpose of never touching up on her character and killing her off would be very bad writing, why put her in the main cast at all, then?

I don't even think I need to talk about Charlie. She's supposed to be the main character (but that's a talk about that for another day)

Third, I am able to most likely cross off the list is Vaggie. Much like Nifty, she has not gotten her episode yet (however for both Nifty and Vaggie's cases, at the time of writing this the last 4 episodes of Hazbin are yet to realease), however we do know that vaggies story is supposed to be a deep one and there is still a lot to go when it comes to building her character up to the audience and just building in general. So I dont believe it would be her neither.

Fourth that I can pretty much cross off the list is Alastor. With the whole suggested connections to Lilith, there is definitely a much larger plot that surrounds Alastor that will keep the series moving forward. He is too much of an important character to kill off right away.

I will not be talking about Cherri Bomb just yet (however, sence 2 episodes ARE about to release with one apparently being the one she is introduced in, I may edit this later and share my thoughts)

Our last three options would be Angel Dust, Husk, and Sir Pentious.

I am going to talk about Sir Pentious first. Sence, they sped up the pace of the show quite significantly, his character progression has also been a little fast. Sir Pentious wasn't even supposed to be in the main series. He was supposed to be a one-off character for the pilot. However, people just loved him so much, but the idea of his character being anywhere near some sort of impulsive "I must save my friends" moment during an extermination or something similar, would just be bad writing and wayyy to fast even for the paceing the show is currently at. they would have to do it just right.

I do know that Vivzi wants to go somewhere with his character, though, the idea of Sir pentious developing a crush on someone in the show (suggested to be a woman, but not confirmed) is somthing that has been brought up multiple times. So I do think they actually plan on going places with his character. Also, this is NOT by any means confirmed, and just something that I have heard a couple of times, is that the potential major character death announcement was made BEFORE Sir pentious was even planned on being in the offical show (remember one-off character). So, a character was planned to die before he was officially a part of the show. With all of this, I dont think it would be him either.

WHICH LEAVES OUR LAST TWO.

Husk and Angel Dust are both very impulsive and very attached to one another. However, there is a certain character building that goes into stuff like this. And I don't think Angel Dust has this character building.

I dont think it will be Angel Dust because

1. I dont think Vivzie would want to let him go so soon

2. While he is a fan favourite and people do connect with Angel Dust, I don't think his character has been built up for dying just yet. He still has a lot of stuff set up for his character.

3. I think his character is supposed to be all about being in a cycle of abuse, and his character development is getting out of it and healing over time until eventually his soul gets redeemed and he goes to heaven. Yes, he has husk, but that doesn't mean that anything with Valentino (or in Husks case Alastor) has stopped by any means.

When it comes down to Husk vs. Angel Dust, I would say it depends on the next couple of episodes, really. You can argue with husk that he still has not gotten out of his thing with Alastor.

However, I still lean towards it being Husk that dies because 1. I really don't think Vivzi would want to let go of Angel so soon

And 2. His character is kinda built up for it? I can't explain this one all too well, and most of it is personal opinion.

While they have angel dusts character set up to go through rough times trying to escape Valentino. They don't really show this with husk and Alastor. Sure Angel and Husk relate to each other's situations, but most of Husk and Angel in episode 4 (the last 4 episodes are yet to be released at the time of writing this) was mostly Husk comforting angel, he talks about how he regrets his decisions and how he related to Angel Dust, but unlike angel dust, they never really build his character up for any kind of potential attempt to escape from Alastor. While Angel dust has that character buildup, Husks just isn't there.

They also painted husk in a way that was very likeable to a lot of people. For example, if you were to ask someone who their favourite Hazbin Hotel character is, saying Husk is a VERY safe choice. A lot of people are very sympathetic for him. They buttered him up just for us. If anybody is theoretically going to die at the end of the season, it would be Husk.

There are still some unanswered questions of mine, though. My opinion can be changed A LOT by how the next couple of episodes go. Thank you for reading this much!

I will probably keep you guys posted. :]

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Who do you find the easiest & hardest to write as and/or what is the hardest topic for you to write about? Your page covers a wide variety of topics so I'm interested in what you enjoy writing most.

Easiest to write would probably be anything that doesn't take too much brain power. For example, if I'm just being excited about new upcoming Twst content, that's pretty easy for me to keyboard smash about. I don't like to do this often though, as I feel it can get too chaotic and difficult for readers to follow along with what I'm trying to convey. In terms of creative writing, I find fluff (especially character dialogue) very easy to write because you don't really need to focus on weaving intricate plots or complex feelings that may come with fics covering darker or more serious subject matter. However, I do really like writing emotionally challenging or angst fics or analyses that focus on inner turmoil and character growth; those just take significantly more time and energy to capture the vibes I'm looking for. (Just because something is easy to write doesn't necessarily mean that's what I most enjoy writing.)

Hardest for me would be action scenes (for creative writing). There's a certain rhythm to fights and it's hard to keep that pace. Go too fast, and the scene seems short/the fight is seen as not serious. Go too slow, and the scene seems dragged out/the fight is taking forever. Action scenes also require a lot of usage of verbs; it takes a particularly skilled hand to not constantly repeat "punch", "kick", etc. All the usual culprits. I admire anyone who can bang out an extended action scene like it's nothing, haha!

I also find writing my own theories hard, but it's for a very personal reason. I would consider myself very pragmatic, so little details that other people could easily blow into a crack theory, I perceive as "there was literally no meaning behind that and you're overthinking it". It also takes me a long time to gather the information I need, since I like to back up my theories with hard facts (like voice lines). It just takes so much effort to put together! It's easier for me if people come with popular fandom theories already prepared and ask me about those, since there would already be a pool of evidence for me to refer to. It cuts my research time in half, essentially.

Another thing that's challenging for me to write are replies to questions that involve real-world concerns. For example, I have been asked numerous times to weigh in on fandom discourse as well as to discuss potentially sensitive subject matter. The thing is, people often come to me already thinking one way about the topic. The challenge for me, then, is researching these topics and then conveying the information from as many sides and with as much nuance as possible. Sometimes I also offer my own opinion, but ultimately I would like to just provide the information and then allow others to come to a conclusion for themselves, or at least offer a counter to preexisting sentiments, to show there are other ways of thinking or seeing the same issue. I get anxious when others put such immense weight on what my take is, so I feel as though I have to be especially mindful about how I phrase things. I'm not an expert on everything and I often have to remind people of that 💦

Of course, there are also those few topics that make me uncomfortable so I choose to not respond to them altogether. I try to not completely discourage “dark” subjects entirely though; I feel it is important to discuss them from an analytical standpoint so we can better understand them, as well as ourselves.

[sophsicle]

you mentioned being jealous of the idea of the marauders in the hunger games but couldn’t you still write something of the sorts? i feel like a bunch of fics occur in the same spaces…or is it like when you see someone’s paper and can only think of the way they’re formulating an argument? also all this hate is so stupid literature is subjective and we should all love eachother🤓❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 you, zar and all the other fic writers deserve all the love!!

Yeah i mean, of course, you can always write your own version of an au.

but i think for me it's only fun if i feel unfulfilled by the versions that already exist. like if i read something and i'm like "there is so much wasted potential here to explore this plot or this character arc or this relationship" then that makes me want to write something, but that is not how i feel with CR

it's a bit like, obviously people can, and do, write long canon compliant wolfstar fics, but for me, atyd already exists, and while it's not necessarily my version of those characters, it's close enough that i feel like that story has been told 4 me, and i don't really see any new stuff for me to add

i don't think i could write a better cross over than zar did (in fact, like i said before, i think in general i would have written a worse au, because i don't think i could have mixed those stories as cleverly as they did), literally all i would add is more death and tragedy and like, no one would get married at the end and everyone would be sad and depressed :)