#but the main books are episodic within the arcs

[pinkie-quinns]

(posting some old twitter threads here for posterity's sake)

rocker eddie actor steve fame au p1 | p2 p3 p4 p5 interlude p6

Steve follows Eddie out to LA. Indiana’s home, sure, but Eddie’s got dreams bigger than the both of them. And Steve loves him, wants to be there with him the whole way through.

He does odd jobs to pass the time, nannies a lot, works on sets. Extra work pays the best, quick easy cash, so he dances to click tracks in cut scenes of teen shows and pays for their groceries. 

A producer on one of the bigger jobs picks him out on set, tells him he has a good screen presence. He gives him a contact for a proper agent. Steve books the third thing he tries out for.

It's a small role on a pilot that hasn't been picked up yet. He's excited but doesn't think much of it. Mostly he’s just happy for the paycheck. Corroded Coffin's really struggling to break through. They just got dropped from their tiny indie label and Eddie's really bummed.

And Steve uses some of the money from his big, SAG-approved paycheck to try to cheer Eddie up. Make him feel better about the whole thing. But it does the opposite. Eddie keeps acting resentful. 

It only gets worse when Steve's show does get picked up.

Turns out he tested really well with audiences. So the writers rewrote him into the main cast, extended his two episode arc into the whole season. And Steve's really grateful for it, figures they both should be. Eddie's not really working and they need the money.

Corroded coffin is still labelless and basically broken up by the time the show comes out. 

It's a smash hit. Steve's character is a fan favourite. Overnight, he finds himself within the throes of fame. He gets a manager and a PR team and a personal assistant.

He's away from home a lot, doing the media circuit to promote the show. People start prodding into his personal life. His manager, his team, and the network all advise him to appear single and available. 

Eddie makes it easy for him. He leaves without saying a word.

Years down the road, Steve is settled into his fame. He's done a couple movies (some hits, most misses). His show is heading into its final season. He's dated a lot, mostly other celebrities.

Then he walks into a CVS on Venice & sees a name he's been trying to forget for 7 years.

Right on the cover of NME. Eddie had gone to London, apparently. Finally broke through there. Was releasing his debut album later this month. 

At least that's what Steve could tell from looking at it. He doesn’t buy the magazine. He hops into his car and drives til he’s out of gas.

He used to do that back in Indiana. When everything got too loud. Used to do that with Eddie, once they finally got their shit together. Just drive until the tank is near empty & then pull up to some blinking gas station. Head home.

Steve strands himself in Santa Barbara instead.

He sleepwalks through the next few months. The town is buzzing around the impending arrival of Eddie Munson. His album, Penitence, debuted to solid numbers & has only been gaining traction since. He's promoted it in London, New York, done Glastonbury & the late festival circuit.

It's gotten to the point where it's big enough that its hit single is even terrorizing Steve's local grocery store. He knows the first three notes really well. Knows cause that's his cue to leave. 

He hasn't listened to the album. He hasn't read any of the interviews.

In his head it's a good kind of revenge. Eddie left without a trace. Steve should respect his wishes, right? That's what Eddie wanted so badly that he couldn't even call. 

He should respect that too, be staying dead instead of haunting every busboard like a poltergeist.

But he's Eddie so of course he doesn't. So instead Steve spends all his free time thinking about when he'll inevitably run into him. Will it be the VMA afterparty? Will it be the CBS lot? Will it be the whole foods he keeps running into Michelle Pfeiffer at? (Probably not that)

In the end, it's a knock at his door.

Eddie came straight from the airport. Big duffel at his feet. He looks a decade older but his eyes are the same. He doesn't say I'm sorry, or I fucked up. Doesn't get down on his knees & beg. He just asks:

"Did you listen to the album?"

There's a part of Steve that wants to throw a fit. Be big and loud and start lobbing things at Eddie. He'd seen a movie star do that on set once. Over a PA bringing him the wrong brand of flavored water. But he's not Wahlberg, so he invites Eddie inside. 

And they sit and listen to Penitence.

It's an apology. A long one. Fifteen tracks though Eddie always used to be a real asshole about albums that were longer than twelve. 

And it covers everything. All the regret and resentment and the ego that clouded him when fame happened for Steve and not for him. When Steve didn't even want it. It's sorry over and over and over again. It's I fucked up and please take me back. It's ego death. It's disgust and guilt and self-flagellation. 

And when it's over, it dawns on Steve, who feels just as heartbroken as ever, that it's not enough.

[h50europe]

BUCK / TOMMY - HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A FANDOM SCORNED!

I did some thinking. Never good, but my brain can't wrap around the breakup that came out of the left field.

Recently, it was announced that a spin-off of "9-1-1" is in the works. While no locations have been finalized, Hawaii and Las Vegas have been suggested as potential settings. The showrunner is already working on the project, with filming set to begin in March 2025.

However, one of my biggest fears has come true: the focus of the showrunners is being diverted from the current show to concentrate on this new spin-off. All the energy runs in the new project. Also, at this point, we don't know if the mothership will be renewed. Without an early renewal, we must wait until May for the announcement. That is another reason why they are focusing on the new show. I wonder if this is why the plots feel rushed and repetitive. It's nice to revisit the past, but not ad nauseam. 9-1-1 does it too often lately. What's the point in bringing back Gerard and turning him into the butt end of a joke? What's the point in digging out Abby's Tommy and hanging it around Tommy Kinard's neck when nothing was ever mentioned in the past. The focus is clearly not on the current show. It feels like Tim abandoned the ship to board a new one. It's fresh, it's crisp, it leaves room for a lot of things. Even if the breakup was meant as a shocker. If your focus is somewhere else, you don't see it. Right now, the mothership is leaking and starting to sink. If Tim keeps his focus on the new project and isn't invested in the current show, the lights will go out sooner rather than later.

Bringing in an established character was probably the biggest mistake Tim could have made if he wasn't meant to stick around. Bring in Mary Sue or Marty Stu to be a LI but not a character with a history that connects to so many people on the show. You can't sideline them forever. Especially as Buck's bi-arc was announced as something big. And it was big. A bit too big to be treated the way it was. The fanbase that had built around TEVAN, or BUCKTOMMY, within weeks, was massive. It drew so many members of the queer community into the show. Suddenly, many of them felt seen. Tommy and Buck were different from the other queer characters out there. Different from what was represented on any other show. People were willing to watch to get the slightest glimpse of them. Because they felt real. Their chemistry shot into the stratosphere.

And then you go and end it on such a horrible note? I don't care if the haters call Tommy a plot device. Everyone on the show is one at some point—even Christopher, Eddie, or anyone else from the main or recurrent cast, Karen, for instance, the Wilson kids. You name it. Tommy Kinard came, saw and conquered. So why not give him more room? They did it with Taylor (yes, I know JLH was pregnant then, but that's reason enough? I doubt it). As I said in my other long post, you could cut in a sequence of 5 minutes and show a summary of Tommy's and Buck's life.

Tim makes the same mistake as many showrunners do. Cramming a shitload of plots into 42 minutes of airtime. Is it really necessary to tell that many stories in such a short amount of time? That feels like speed dating. You blink, and you miss an important scene. Every episode, you jump from plot A to B to A to C to B. We didn't have this fast pacing in season 1 or 2. Stop it. Make Quality plots over quantity stuff.

In Tommy's voice: And for God's sake, clean up that mess you created with that shitty breakup, or the audience will wither away.

I'm sorry. I could write a book about what is happening in my head. You'd get Super Brownie points if you made it here.

[voyagerweek]

VOYAGER WEEK PROMPTS

DAY 1 - JAN. 10: Favorite Episode | Away Missions

DAY 2 - JAN. 11: Favorite Character | Meet You in the Runabout

DAY 3 - JAN. 12: Favorite Relationship | Allies & Enemies

DAY 4 - JAN. 13: Favorite Season or Arc | Time Travel

DAY 5 - JAN. 14: Favorite Quote | Home Away From Home

DAY 6 - JAN. 15: Favorite Holodeck Program | Lost in the Holodeck

DAY 7 - JAN. 16: Caretaker (S1E01) 30th Anniversary | FREE SPACE

Fanwork originally made and posted on Tumblr for this event with the tag #voyager week will be reblogged by this blog. Racism, bigotry, harassment, or discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. Be respectful of other fans and have fun! FAQs ↴

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Threshold Day is January 29 and already a recognized fan event on Tumblr, why are you having a Voyager event that doesn't include this day? The dates were chosen to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the original airdate of the first episode of the first season. This event is meant to share enthusiasm for the entirety of Voyager, and hopefully that will continue after the event week is finished.

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[mifustudy]

Lisa Miller vs. The Screen

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a six-volume graphic novel series that was published in 2004 by Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley. Through the growing fan base surrounding the novels, its story was adapted into four types of media, the most notable being the movie. The franchise boomed in popularity since its 2010 motion-picture adaptation, proving that as the years go by, most of the series' fans come from the hour-and-fifty-two-minute-long self-described epic. Gradually becoming a staple in pop culture, it was difficult to miss in online spaces, but one component of the story slipped through the cracks: a character named Lisa Miller. Completely scrapped from the movie script, fans of the Scott Pilgrim universe who are unfamiliar with the original graphic novel series will be pleasantly surprised if they look back on the source material; Lisa is a far richer character than the other adaptations fail to depict. She is more than a mislabeled "manic pixie dream girl" and contributes to the plot's progression in a major way. 

Zeroing in on the well-known film adaptation, entire storylines were scrapped from the script, one of which follows Lisa closely. Introduced in Volume 2 and then properly utilized in Volume 4, she is established as an old friend of our protagonist, Scott Pilgrim. Meeting in high school, Lisa and Scott became fast friends then created a band together with drummer Kim Pine called “Sonic & Knuckles.” This flashback that lasts about 34 pages gives the audience a peek into how these characters came to know each other while Volume 4 builds on Lisa’s motives and feelings towards Scott.  

Lisa, abruptly entering Scott’s life after around a decade, strains his relationship with his current girlfriend, Ramona Flowers, leading her to believe he is cheating. The couple quarrels on and off throughout the book as Lisa looms on the sidelines. The two have a big fight, leading to Scott getting kicked out of the apartment for the night. Stuck with nowhere else to turn, he calls Lisa, and she lets him crash at her place. There seems like she has an ulterior motive; she dressed suggestively, subtly moving closer to our unassuming protagonist within each panel, causing an alarming amount of tension. Scott comes to his senses and proclaims his love for Ramona to Lisa, rejecting any and all advances and closing the door on her one-sided infatuation. The three of them move on from this, Scott and Ramona remaining a couple and Lisa leaving for California to pursue an acting career.  

This (very) brief summary of her arc fails to capture the depth of Lisa’s character. Discussing her Volume 4 actions further shows that this character propels our two protagonists, Scott and Ramona, through their own respective character arcs. Giving our main characters more than their regular relationship—as regular as “defeating seven evil exes” can be—creates a refreshing plotline within an episodic graphic novel series while simultaneously developing the audience’s understanding of the two. Illustrating a clearer image of Scott and Ramona’s relationship beyond the rose-colored glasses applied to the audience in the first couple of volumes is beneficial for the development needed to maintain undivided attention throughout the story. 

Let’s discuss how Lisa's presence affects Scott Pilgrim’s character arc. Her short-lived appearance in Volume 2 set the stage for Volume 4, with most of the reason Scott decides to reconnect coming from nostalgia. Bringing Lisa around the group shortly after their reunion, this nostalgia-driven get-together expanded their individual connection, branching out into her connecting with everyone else; the only person Scott worries about is Ramona, his girlfriend. The undeniable discomfort present on his face as the two women interact feels uncalled for—considering Scott has not done anything inherently wrong—as he remains on edge the entire time they interact.

The coup de grâce of it all is when Scott stays at Lisa’s place the night after his big fight with Ramona. She finally comes clean about how she has been acting since they have reconnected; her dressing “all tarted up” specifically for Scott because he “couldn’t take [his] eyes off [her].” She felt awful about her actions, but she kept going anyway. When Scott tells her why he is there, he is greeted with a romantic advance. The panels fade to black and open back up to the next morning. Lisa filled Scott in on what happened: he chose Ramona over her—the panel explains it far better than I could summarize. Lisa plays a significant role in Scott's character arc, demonstrating how much he has matured and improved his relationship skills, realizing he feels genuine love for Ramona and should confess through Lisa’s actions.

Ramona’s growth is not as extreme as Scott’s but still offers further characterization absent in the film adaptation. Like Lisa, the two women have little to no character development; Ramona at least stars in the movie while Lisa lands a namedrop. The blonde’s introduction back into Scott’s life damages Ramona’s trust in their relationship, partly due to the fact she had not once heard of her before this, that the two have been spending an awful lot of time together, and that he is too dense to realize the subtle advances Lisa had been making the entire time. Creating friction and hostility between the couple generates a peek into Ramona’s mind, an infrequent occurrence throughout the six volumes. The two women share multiple “manic pixie dream girl” attributes—this is a complicated movie trope to dissect here, but a simplified definition can suffice. The MPDG is a female character portrayed as eccentric and desirable used only to push the plot in a film forward. They have no other character traits besides that, they are sort of like props. Lisa falls into this category and Ramona falls here only in the context of the film; Lisa’s existence prevents Ramona’s mischaracterization in the movie from happening within the books, acting as a character foil or “Evil Ex” for her in a way. 

Winding down from intense character descriptions, Lisa Miller plays a pivotal role in the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World adaptations. While she may not be involved in the most popular portions of the franchise, she still holds up as an important part of the original story. With occasional references here and there, Lisa remains a piece of the oversized puzzle of Scott Pilgrim. Fans of the film unfamiliar with the graphic novel series’ story are highly encouraged to read back on what they are missing: the character of Lisa Miller is far more nuanced than she is usually portrayed as online. She serves as more than just a “manic pixie dream girl” and has an enormous impact on the plot's progression.  

[davinamikaelsonalwaysandforever]

Before I get started, it is my opinion that these prophecy arcs within HotD are more book-based, especially Aegon's prophecy, which is confirmed to come from GRRM.

With that being said, I might be trippin, but after the latest episode, I think Daemon might be the precursor to Bloodraven. We never found out what happened to Daemon's body or if he even died during the fight with Aemond above the Gods-Eye. What if he somehow made it to the shores of Harrenhal or even the Isle of Faces and got hooked up to the Wirewood net like his great-grandson and was guiding events that were to come before Bloodraven ultimately took over?

I mean, who came before Bloodraven? There must've been someone, and what if that someone was his own great-grandfather, and both of these “rouge Taragyens“ ended up in higher-minded places, guiding events that are to come, which will ultimately lead up to Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons. 

And before you say that this is impossible since Daemon doesn't have any First Men's ancestry, that's not entirely true. His great-grandmother's (Alyssa Velaryon) mother was a Massey, Alarra Massey. House Massey is an anicent house that can trace their ancestry back to the age of heroes, and after Aenys I and Alyssa's marriage, the next couple generations of Taragyens went back straight to sibling incest, leading up to Viserys and Daemon.

So yeah, Daemon does have a fair amount of first men blood in him, just like Daenerys has with her Blackwood ancestry. Her great-grandmother was non other than Betha Blackwood, the wife of Aegon V, and of course Bloodraven is also part Blackwood, and then, of course, there is Jon with his Stark blood. The blood of the first men does flow strong in our main Targs.

(Btw, this theory is partly based on GrayArea, who made a similar prediction about Daemon all the way back in 2021 before HotD came out, focusing on the main source material.)

[flower-boi16]

This is a problem I've never seen any hh/hb critics bring out so...both shows lacks story arcs. There are so many definition for story arcs, but I'm going to explain what I mean by that. Story arcs for me is a certain part in the story that works like pieces focusing different journey or problem for characters in the same story. If both shows have story arcs like if season one of helluva boss focus on the imp doing their job and their beef with cherubs, season two focusing on their beef with dhorks. Season one of hazbin focusing on hotel's clients bonding, and season two how angels think of redemption. Each season can have multiple arcs going on, but given how limited episodes they got on each show, I decided to make each season focus on different arcs, but the writers have no plan how to organize different arcs resulting in many conflicts showing out of no where, and rushed payoff because they don't know what they want to focus. If the hh/hb crews know how to utilize arcs, they can put as many characters as they want as long as they can give enough episodes for their development. Imagine if every harry potter's villain showed up in the same book, that's how I feel about hh/hb.

HH and HB are just structured pretty poorly. They cram multiple seasons worth of plotlines into just 1-2 seasons and messes with the pacing REALLY bad. It all feels so...cluttered and unfocused like the shows don't know what they want to be about.

HB is ESPECIALLY bad at this as I've talked about before. The show completely forgot it's main premise and turned into a soap opera about Stolitz. It has no idea what it even wants to be anymore and it comes to a simple lack of structure.

Season 1 laid the groundwork for a lot of the show's issue and Season 2 would go ahead and make those issues significantly worse.

There's just two many conflicts and recurring plotlines for a show that currently has only 1 completed season, with the second still ongoing. It makes it into kind of a mess. Hazbin is at least better structurally but it still faces a lot of the same issues that HB does when it comes to how it's paced; the first four episodes feel like the first season and the second half feels like the second season because it feels like there's this giant gap in between halves where major things happened, but...we just never saw it.

And for HB, conflicts like the Dhorks plot line and Stolas' family drama are conflicts that are already enough to be the main story's of whole seasons, yet the show crams them into one season and it again, gets unfocused as hell. The seasons of both shows just choose to focus on multiple things at once rather than just having one, maybe two major plot lines per season, one show sets up six plotlines into just it's first season and the other rushes to the stuff that feels like it should be saved for season 2.

I just want to emphasize how unusual it is for a show to have this much stuff in just 1-2 seasons. Most TV shows tend to have one or two main recurring plot lines per season, with some smaller plot lines here and there that are typically plot lines for a specific character relating to their arc. HB in just it's first season set up six major plot lines within its story. Let me repeat that. SIX.

There's just. Too much shit going on in these shows. Plain and simple.

[orionsangel86]

I was once again flicking through the Sandman comics and thinking about the changes made to the show (as I am pretty much always doing) and something that struck me as interesting is why they chose to swap out Tales in the Sand for Men of Good Fortune.

In the comics, The Sound of Her Wings is the last story in Preludes and Nocturns. Dream’s meeting with his sister Death closes out the first of the overarching storylines within the Sandman saga, and it ends with Dream finding some measure of peace after speaking with her, and finding joy in hearing the sound of wings.

This can be interpreted as the first bit of real foreshadowing of Dream’s desire to die. Anyone who has read the Kindly Ones knows how important The Sound Of Her Wings is as it is called back to heavily at the end.

In the comics, the next issue can be seen as a one off, but is included in The Doll’s House book. This issue is Tales in the Sand - the tragic love story of Dream and Nada.

Right after Tales in the Sand, we get to the Doll’s House, which begins the exact same way that episode 6 of The Sandman Netflix show ends - with Desire calling on Despair to begin their scheming over the existance of the vortex.

I found it very interesting how the show swapped out Tales in the Sand for Men of Good Fortune - a story which in the comics comes much later within The Doll’s House storyline.

On the one hand, it makes sense to move Men of Good Fortune outside of the Doll’s House story for pacing reasons. But by putting it where they did they have drastically changed the tone of the story in a few ways.

1. It changes the end of The Sound of Her Wings. Show!Dream doesn’t leave his sister to sit and find peace in the thought of death, instead he does the opposite, he immediately goes and seeks out the one person he knows who is quite literally the antithesis of death - someone who finds joy in living. It still ends the Preludes and Nocturns story with Dream finding some manner of peace and happiness, but not in the sound of wings. Instead, it’s in the reunion with his friend who loves life so much he refuses to die.

2. It takes the place of the only love story we are given for Dream at that point in the comics. The Sandman comics have a tendency to avoid revealling too much information about Dream too soon and up until this point in the comics, all we know about his love life is that he condemned a lover to hell 10,000 years ago, based on a very brief conversation in A Hope In Hell. Tales in the Sand is the expansion of that brief conversation, giving us at least one perspective of how the tragedy played out.

I am really curious about why they decided to leave it out of the show completely. Partly I think its because it isn’t exactly a flattering look at Dream as a character. Probably didn’t seem like good business sense to the people who wanted The Sandman to perform well to basically destroy your main characters likeability half way through the first season (imagine all the Twitter puriteens and anti types who would get on their high horses attacking Sandman fans and Neil Gaiman alike for daring to like a main character who comes across a little bit rapey in this particular story - among other horrific character flaws).

Also, Tales in the Sand generally fits better with the Season of Mists story arc overall, and I think we will get a much kinder and more forgiving version of this story in the show.

So instead of being introduced to the first of Dream’s lovers, we are introduced to Hob Gadling. Make of that what you will.

3. It makes the immediate cut to Desire at the start of The Doll’s House story all the more eyebrow raising. Part of the reason why I think Desire’s scenes follow on from Tales in the Sand is because Desire had a lot to do with Dream’s bad behaviour in that story, and what ultimately happened is partly their fault. It is brought up both in comic and show when Desire tells Despair that “Nada was a mistake” but in the show, this comment remains a mystery, whereas in the comic, it goes some way into explaining the horrific story we have just read.

In the show, instead it makes for absolutely beautiful subtext as they cut to Desire’s realm and the song Desire as Desire says “Attend sweet Sibling” whilst we have just watched Dream reunite with Hob and smile the first real smile he has had all season so far. For a split second on my first watch I legit thought Desire was talking to Dream at that point and encouraging him to hook up with Hob. It was a very confusing few seconds!

At the end of the day, I think the change to the order of these stories was a very good idea, even without the added level of shipping fodder it gives us Dreamling shippers. In changing the end to The Sound of Her Wings in the show, it removes the foreshadowing of Dream’s desire to die, which I’ll be honest, so far I can’t see at all in the show version of the story. Instead, we get a Dream who is happy for the first time after reuniting with his friend - who apparently waited an additional 33 years for him and built/refurbished a pub in that time.

I have a bazzillion more thoughts on the changes from comic to show on the Men of Good Fortune issue in particular, but that’s for another post. I just had to get my thoughts down as the more I read and re-read the comics, the more I feel like the show is considering a different direction, a more hopeful happy direction. But I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

[aeraspais]

On Helena, Ramón, Eddie, and Christopher

After last night’s episode, I believe far too much emphasis has been placed on Helena and Ramón in Eddie’s storyline. That is, I think fans in a rush to set the discussion tone shifted which core relationship dynamic is the fulcrum. I have read some very interesting posts that I can’t comment on directly because they’re not wrong — I fully appreciate the angle they’re exploring but they set up this falsehood that Eddie’s parents should be treated as his season’s big bad, when they’ve never fully treated with that much scorn and villainy. Eddie at his core is a family oriented man who does very much loves his parents. Whether they deserve this love is a question we often ask, but strangely enough, things immediately cross over into exceptionalism. Eddie’s relationship with his parents is extraordinarily common, and that makes me sad because as much as I dislike admitting it, I do wish I had a stronger relationship with my parents. We witness him doing what he can to preserve but improve their relationship. For every one step forward, there has been a couple steps back.

However, that is neither Eddie’s nor the writers’ concern in my opinion. His story is about looking forward, how to prevent these same cracks from forming within foundation of Christopher's and his relationship, where Helena and Ramón may serve as complications. I had a lovely conversation with a friend this morning, and she brought up a great point that 9-1-1’s primary concern has rarely been our heroes’ parents. Often they exist as an explanation for their neuroses and struggles, but they serve to strengthen the bonds between those who exist in the main cast. Like yes, for example, there was certain catharsis achieve when we witnessed Buck put Maddie’s and his parents into their place. Nevertheless, “Buck Beings” centers Buck’s dynamic with Maddie and solidifies his placement with the 118. Again, the Buckleys are complication, and this ties into “In Another Life.” For the first time in his life, he saw him them not as monsters but humans who amid their own grieve failed him, and that humanization finally allowed him to let them go in exchange for that true family love he’s built with the 118.

All this to say, there will always be fluncations within Eddie’s relationship with his parents, at least as of this moment, because that tension serves a narrative purpose for his relationship with Christopher, his own son. Any hopes for a resolution or closed book on Eddie and his parents should be a secondary or even tertiary concern, because if I want to be honest, even this arc with Christopher functions as a conduit for Eddie’s sexuality arc. I talked about this off and on throughout season seven and the hiatus in bits and pieces. I won’t get into today since this post was longer than expected. And now I don’t know how it should end.

[nalyra-dreaming]

hello! As i'm rewatching season 2 i can't help but to be a bit bitter about them using Louis' Suicide attempt here.They kind of ruined what could have been an horrible but important moment for Loustat to throw it at Loumand and close in a 2min scene.They took the importance of that moment for an Armand who didn't gaf about Louis almost killing himself.

Everything was just about himself''will i be on suicide watch...'' it's not a hate on Loumand,but I really don't understand the writers decisions for this??.

Most people have either forgot about Louis' attempt or are overlooking it.

While I personally don't mind it there being in SF it ... is a disappointing-to-me implementation of the Merrick arc, as said before (for example real short here).

The thing is, that Louis' suicide attempt (almost successful, too), is not "just" about Claudia. It is also about Lestat not being there anymore either. AND, in the books, he has to grapple with three main things afterwards:

Lestat asked him, and Louis accepted when he was turned - it was Louis' choice, something he has a hard time coming to terms with, given the consequences in both book and show. That time, after the attempt, Lestat could not ask (him, he does ask the others there), and therefore took the choice from him. In the show Armand makes Louis beg for the blood, which is also... not the same.

Afterwards (in the books) Louis is - like Lestat - truly immortal. Like, "cannot be killed" anymore. That is something he has to come to terms with as well. And he does so, with some implied difficulties.

Claudia's ghost - or the ghost pretending to be Claudia... Either way, he has to face the diary revelations and her ghost there and come to terms with her anger there as well.

These three points weigh heavily for me, as they are an important point in Louis' arc.

His coming to terms with all of these - accepting himself, his life, his history - has been severely shortened in the show.

I know why they did it.

It frees Louis up for the upcoming arcs. I get it.

But I think the way they did it did not make the importance as clear as it should have been.

Now, maybe they will introduce the ghost part still, for Lestat and Louis. Possible. Maybe they will introduce an event that will make Louis have that power-up that will catapult him within Lestat's range. Also possible. But I doubt there will be an event that will take the choice from him. I sincerely doubt that.

And the original Merrick ending forced Louis to take a long, hard look at himself and face his own story (literally even, in "Prince Lestat" he reads IWTV and comes to terms with his own story and memories) which then ushers in the new era - with Lestat.

And ... while I want them to find their own way, and to get there (of course ™) ... I am a bit apprehensive as to how they might do that, since they like to add things for shock value, as we know. -.- Given what canonically happens with Rhosh, too... mhh.

We'll see.

But I think they shortened Louis' character journey there - and they put it in an episode where, due to the (absolutely justified) DM focus there, the importance of it is overlooked.

[sailormoonsub]

Naturally there's a vast well of potential metaphors that apply here, superimposed on each other and difficult to isolate, but I've been enjoying the interpretation that Mirror Sheriff posed last episode: MT is not a main character and therefore does not get an arc or growth.

Through that lens, this book is a story about stories. The traditional narrative structure would have us believe ALL obstacles are there for conflict, ALL characters exist for a reason, and the story ends when something is learned or changed.

within this framework, MT is the Very Special Episode Guest Character, who exists to act out a marginalized story for the sake of the characters who get their names in the credits, leaving behind nothing but William Shatner idly speculating "but what of Lazarus?" as we pan to an exterior shot and the credits roll.

MT rejects that role. Obstacles and foils aren't there FOR you. Narrative utility is a useful myth. Stories don't end when a comfortable status quo is attained; they continue with a different lead.

[endollvors]

Taking a Propaganda

Propaganda is definitely a thing. It's been covered before, probably more throughly, that the Auradon sponsored Posters and Television channels on the Isle are, kinda wack. Like, that's a section of the budget that's being used judiciously when the main source of food is canonically garbage.

Consider also, the way that Mal, is framed in news footage in Descendants 2. (Rags to riches success story. Aspirational, A triumph of Auradon, look at her now. She's an example. etc.)

VK day in D3 being a holiday. The fact that the applications are Collected the same day as the children are Selected.

That's not what we're here for though. I'm taking you on a journey.

Ok, so School of Secrets, the promotional youtube shorts, not the book series, is I think, technically canon. It's canon the same way a guest passed out in the laundry room at a house party is still attending. They're a minute long and they fascinate me.

This is a screenshot from Episode 9. Where PC culture cancels the school play, (Weird series) which was Supposed to be an adaptation of What's that Spell? a stage dramatization of Maleficent's attack on Aurora's kingdom. Other provided options are 12 Angry Dalmatians, Book of Sultan, and 7 Brides for 7 Dwarfs before they settle on My Fair Lady and the Tramp. May I just say before I get going, fun puns. I would watch the hell out of Tramp's Pygmalion arc.

This begs an interesting question though. Because this isn't, in the world of the series, fiction. Not only are all the plays about a terrible thing that happened, they are about terrible things that happened within living memory to specifically the parents of these kids' peers. Things that caused so much damage that a Generational Prison Island was considered a proportional response and it's an incredibly unpopular policy decision to want to change that. Now, imagine for a moment, being a parent, and going to see your darling pumpkin be an extra in the school play, and then its about how your best friend's stepmother tried to get her killed when she was 14, and also you're a character. Your kid didn't get the role.

They do this twice a year.

Twice a year, the AKs go on stage to replay their parents' story and celebrate the overthrow of a villain. This is some 9/11 Never Forget shit.

[xadian-daydreams]

What's been mentioned for the Dragon Prince Season 6: Book Stars so far...

Having listened and read a bunch of interviews, here's my collected notes (Updated for October 2023);

No current release date, but confirmed 9 episodes, same as previous seasons.

Seasons Four though Seven are all the Mystery of Aaravos arc.

While there's not going to be any real time skip between S5 and S6, there will be a small one within S6. Update - there's a few days time skip between S5 and S6.

Season 6 will be more mature to the point the age rating is increasing. It will also go into deeper emotional stuff - "fans should enjoy the breather before being emotionally wrecked by the next book."

(Most of) Episode 1 of season 6 was shown at NYCC 2023 panel. Notes on summaries people have posted here.

New characters to be introduced;

Astrid - voiced by Boone Williams - Female Celestial Skywing elf. She's mysterious and there's 'something cool' about her design.

Character based off Moonberry Surprise.

A new Startouch elf. Possibly the Merciful One (they/them) from the Sea of the Castout statues.

Upcoming for main characters;

Callum - every time you do dark magic, it becomes harder to come back from it. Info on Callum birth-father. (Callum and learning Moon Arcanum - Giehl's opinion is doesn't want Callum treading on Rayla's thematic territory and stealing her thunder). Rayllum note - how would Callum using dark magic affect the trust and friendship they've been building up?

Rayla - On the curse coins - too spoilery, so they won't answer questions related to that. On Rayllum note. Would Rayla do anything for Callum? And what would Callum call upon her to do if that was the case? Questions getting asked next season, just to make you suffer.

Callum, Rayla and Stella confirmed visiting the Starscraper.

Ezran - sticking to his ideals and pacifism will be tested. Rough and tough decision(s).

At some point Ezran and Callum will visit some 'weird' ruins.

Soren - has had lighter seasons so far, but is about to face darker questions. There is trauma that the writers haven't told anyone about that will come to light at some point. Soren is getting an opportunity to confront Viren about what happened at the Storm Spire (they did meet up in S4E7, which is covered in the short story Strangers, but writers felt it lacked the satisfaction needed, as neither really was in the headspace to talk), but uncertain if this is just a therapy thing or if Viren lives.

There's going to be a funny Soren and Corvus story later on.

Claudia - S5 she was under a lot of pressure, and it's not easing up. How will Claudia be impacted by Viren's decision - further into darkness or pulled back into the light? Claudia being willing to risk life and limb for her goal(s) - and then actually paying the cost of a limb - what does that mean for her and Terry?

Karim - is about to get in over his head. He doesn't realise the kind of alliances he's making.

Amaya and Janai don't get enough love in these interviews. 😢

Zym - Goes with Soren to find Zubeia. Spoiler indicates Zym has a heart to heart with her

Characters we'll be seeing more of;

Aaravos - there's a lot more of him coming in S6.

Kim'dael - 'big plans' that even go beyond the show, though specifically refused to answer if she'll met Rayla again (they met first time in Bloodmoon Huntress graphic novel).

More with the pirates and Scumport (however, Finnegrin while not confirmed dead, won't make a reappearance in S6/7). Scumport set up a bunch of stuff for going into season 6.

Kpp'Ar - confirmed there'll be more stuff about him in both S6 and S7.

Mukho - the mushroom mage, Earthblood elf who's a world expert mycologist.

More shadowpaw content.

Possibly Ellis and Ava briefly, but could be S7.

Lore -

The lore about Stars primal and Startouch elves and other mythology will be explored. How you kill a Startouch elf will be answered - including more info on Laurelion (mentioned in the Death of an Immortal poem).

(Going by how the graphic novels releases are generally introducing things that are mentioned in the next season, Puzzle House's emphasize on unicorns, and how there is a big bit of unicorn lore mentioned in the novels, is a good hint that this unicorn lore is getting explained in show too. But, just to clarify, it's not confirmed this is happening - however, it is a impactful bit of backstory and there's only 2 seasons left).

Most likely information about how Primal Stones are made - specifically how a storm was trapped from the top of Mount Kalik to create the Primal Stone Callum smashed. Ehasz mentioned that something brought up in the second episode will be expanded on in S6, and the info about the Sky Primal Stone is the only info that hasn't been addressed elsewhere from E2 that I could pick out.

More lore about golems (as in the rock guardians and Elmer)

Other notes;

Season 6 will have an explosive start.

Questions raised by Ehasz;

Was the dragang moving Aaravos's prison smart or would it have been safer to have left it? It's something they'll grapple with right away.

Is Aaravos being honest with Viren about what's going to happen? (I'm wording it as being honest rather than saying is he lying, as Aaravos's thing is manipulative truths and misdirections etc, rather than outright lies).

No context: 🔥 (Can't help looking at the use of explosive start by the NYCC notification)

There's stuff in Season 2 that will get explained in Season 6 - while they're not exactly clues, there will be referencing from S2.

Keep an eye on changes in the openers - they're continuing the hints - like when they swapped out Viren with Callum to let you know Callum and dark magic/Aaravos is going to be in the episode.

Season 7 will be Book 7: Dark.

The next graphic novel will be about "family and building trust." Update: Title Dreamer's Nightmare

Can young Ezran and Callum quell the brewing storm in the quiet town of Noct, or have bad dreams come to haunt for good?

Giehl says this story has Ezran as the lead character and the artist said they enjoyed doing the many animals.

There were hints dropped at NYCC 2023 that there may be other projects based on the Dragon Prince world, but they'll come under a different name. TDP will only be the 7 seasons. (Most hints I've seen suggest they may be working towards an Orphan Queen film/series, but it could also be a continuation).

Sources; Hot Brown Morning Potion Podcast E27 Reel James Season 5 interview with Aaron Ehasz AIPT Comics 'The Dragon Prince creators dish on season 5 post-mortem AnimationWorld: The Dragon Prince Season 5, a swashbuckling blend of design tricks and emotional turmoil Screenrant SDCC 2023: The Dragon Prince creators on taking the Mystery of Aaravos past Season 5 CBR: The Dragon Prince creators reveal the secrets of Season 5 and the road to Season 6 ComicBook: The Dragon Prince creators talk season 5 and entering the show's Empire Strikes Back era Game of Nerds: SDCC 2023 The Dragon Prince All Aboard for Season 5 Official Discord Season 4 Q&A NYCC 2023 panel Secrets in the Stars Random tweets and Discord stuff from the creators and official social media.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 38 part one

(Masterpost) (Pinboard)  (whole thing on AO3)  

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!  

OK But Why?

This tale-within-a-tale is excruciating, yeah? So let's start off by considering why it even exists. Yi City feels like, if not a fully separate story, a pretty complete arc that can play as its own little movie. And it's incredibly sad, in every direction. While it may have begun life, in its originally-written form, as a different story exploring some of the same themes, MXTX placed it in the novel deliberately, and the producers of CQL included it deliberately. Why? Other than the, you know, catharsis of a well-wrought tragedy?

I think the answer is that it tells a set of parallel stories, alternate versions of the stories our main characters inhabit, with different outcomes driven by the character's choices. There's an obvious parallel between Lan Wangji's grief and Song Lan's, and another clear one between Wei Wuxian's core donation and Xiao Xingchen's eyeball donation. 

And there's an important comparison to be made between Xue Yang and Wei Wuxian, two demonic cultivators. They share some formative experiences, but have followed radically different paths, shaped, at a key moment, by another person's choice. 

Overall, the Yi City story illustrates how choices made in a moment affect not just an individual life, but ripple outward into other lives. So be prepared for me to point out parallels even more than usual, as we go through these episodes.

Empathy

We start off learning about Empathy and how it’s sooper dangerous, which means of course Wei Wuxian is totally down for it and probably invented it.  He gathers the kids around and assigns Jin Ling to be the person in charge of supervising and deciding when to pull him out of the matrix link. 

Jin Ling is surprised and reluctant so teacher’s pet Sizhui jumps forward and volunteers. 

Wei Wuxian asks Jin Ling for his Jiang clarity bell, which is on a tassel that used to be Jiang Yanli’s. 

(more behind the cut!)

Once the bell/tassel is out of Jin Ling’s hand, however, he changes his mind and snatches it, and the responsibility, back. 

It seems like Sizhui might recognize this tassel? 

It’s like the one Jiang Yanli gave Wei Wuxian when they met up before her wedding, which means Wei Wuxian would have had it with him during their year in the burial mounds. 

Jingyi disapproves of Jin Ling’s mind-changing, which is a little unfair since JL didn’t actually say “no” prior to Sizhui putting in his oar. (Sizhui is entirely loveable, but he is also a pushy brown-noser just like Lan Wangji was at his age. He just does it so sweetly that nobody minds.)

Sizhui, also like his Lan dad, has made it his life’s mission to manage a loudmouth hothead’s temper for him. 

Heading into empathy with A-Qing, we get flashes of bits of the story that we're about to see in depth. Then we jump to "ten years ago" which, given the way this series does math, probably means seven years ago.

Side note: A-Qing has managed to keep her hair looking pretty cute despite being 90% dead. 

Splish Splash

This particular section of the Wuxia River of Sadness is reserved for people who are contemplating the total mess they have made of their lives (gifset here), but A-Qing didn't get that memo, so she's having a nice time splashing joyfully without a care in the world.

A-Qing isn't about drama or being depressed, even when things are pretty difficult. She has found a big rock to sit on and is having a nice day hanging out on it.  

Then she goes skipping along singing "la la la la" (which is the same sound in Chinese as we make in English when we're singing and don't know the words, incidentally). Ok, show, we get it, she's happy and carefree. I sure hope she doesn't get involved in any weird relationships.

Grifting

She sees a couple of women walking on the path and she starts pretending to be blind. In the book, this pretense was facilitated by her having completely white eyes, but in the show she has normal brown eyes, until she actually is blinded by Xue Yang. So her entire pretense of being blind is to unfocus her eyes a bit and wave her hands around...

...with frequent intervals where she thinks no-one is watching her, and she acts 100% like she can see. Somehow she is almost never busted for this. 

The ladies give her a steamed bun and whisper loudly to each other about how pitiful she is. 

Then she heads into town for a little grifting, picking a wealthy douchebag as a mark. She bumps into him and steals his money bag, which he doesn't notice because he's too busy creeping on her. 

She's annoyed and disappointed that he doesn't have a lot of money.

Hey Pretty, Don’t You Want To Take a Ride With Me

Next she bumps into (and robs) Xiao Xingchen, who is actually blind, so he doesn’t notice her noticing how extremely pretty he is. 

He does notice that she has robbed him, however. 

Did you know if you have your eyes removed or even just damaged so you can't see any more, your eye sockets and/or tear ducts will bleed pretty much forever? Yeah, me neither. 

Xiao Xingchen immediately takes charge of A-Qing, telling her to walk more slowly and then telling her - kindly - to return his money purse. Before she can answer him, the rich douchebag comes back to yell at her and try to hit her. Xiao Xingchen stops him and smooths over the situation, and then lectures Ah Qing about stealing and how it's bad. But he tells her to keep his money, so - mixed messages, bro. 

She calls him gege and says that since he's blind and she's blind, she's going to follow him forever. He’s like, okey dokey, and they walk off together. Is she really the first person (since Song Lan) who’s had this idea about him? He is *very* pretty, after all.

It's unclear to me if she's calling him gege in the sense of “orphan girl who wants a family,” or in the sense of “mostly-grown-up woman who would like to Hit That.” Xiao Xingchen appears to take it as the former; he is too gay virtuous for the other option.

Two seconds after they decide to stay together, they encounter Xue Yang lying injured by the side of the road. A-Qing pretends she didn’t see him, and almost successfully wangles a piggyback ride out of Xiao Xingchen. 

But then he hears Xue Yang and immediately decides to rescue him, like the do-gooder Xue Yang despises him for being.

Xue Yang gets the romance-tropey piggyback ride that A-Qing was hoping for. Girl, the time to stop trying to seduce your gay male friend is 5 minutes before you started, ok?  

So...why was Xue Yang lying by the side of the road with a stab wound? Who gave it to him? If Jin Guangyao was sick of him, he would have stabbed him 100% fatally, and he wouldn't have let him hang on to Tiger Seal 2.0. And presumably Xue Yang wouldn’t think of him as a friend any more. It’s a mystery.

The new throuple decide to go to the creepiest abandoned walled city that has ever existed, and head past all the regular houses to set up camp in the morgue, for some reason. Not even inside one of the buildings; just out in the courtyard with a bunch of possibly-occupied coffins. Xiao Xingchen is so fucking weird. 

Each Unhappy Family is Unhappy in its Own Way

Xiao Xingchen gets to work patching Xue Yang up, and Xue Yang wakes up and recognizes him. A-Qing explains that they are blind and tells him not to be rude about it.

Xue Yang takes a second to process the situation, and then decided he’s going to hide his identity and make nice with Xiao Xingchen. Proving that found family can also have hideous toxic dynamics.

Xue Yang is very careful to keep XXC from touching his hand, since that would give away his identity. He has a...prosthetic finger? He wears a black glove and keeps his pinky finger straight so we know it's a replacement, or injured, or something. 

I think this is a concession to Wang Haoxuan having ten functional fingers and the show having a limited CGI budget. In a real sword-based society, missing a finger is probably not particularly uncommon, and he would probably just rock the nine-fingered look without having a special glove.

At this point, the complex interactions of the trio get rolling. Xiao Xingchen is honestly kind, Xue Yang is fake-kind, A-Qing is fake-unaware with Xue Yang and is unable to make Xiao Xingchen understand the problem, and Xiao Xingchen is genuinely unaware of everything. 

We spend a fairly large amount of time with Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen playing happy families. As part of his false persona, Xue Yang adopts a coy and whiny tone when talking to his pet white-clad cultivator, remarkably like another demonic cultivator we know.

I’m pretty sure Wei Wuxian has never managed to cop a feel while his sweetie climbs up a ladder, however. 

Then again, neither Lan Wangji nor Wei Wuxian has ever needed a ladder to get onto a roof, so maybe it’s just a lack of opportunity. 

This relationship, on the surface, is cute and sweet, which just makes the reality of it more disturbing. It’s super uncomfortable to watch, but there’s more than manipulation happening in these interactions. As Xue Yang flits around doing domestic tasks like patching the roof of the crappy outdoor shelter that they absolutely do not need to be using, he tells Xiao Xingchen various true things about his early life, and we begin to see what shaped him. 

Xue Yang (like OP) is obsessed with candy. In Xue Yang’s case, he was a hungry street kid who loved candy but couldn’t usually have it because of poverty. We learn that he has skills in patching up inadequate housing because he did it growing up. 

And we learn that he was beaten a lot. 

So he and Wei Wuxian have these things in common - except now Wei Wuxian gets his sugar from alcohol, not from candy. And Wei Wuxian’s handyman skills are used to make a home for his former enemies in the burial grounds, while Xue Yang’s are used - also in a cemetery, of sorts - to manipulate and trap his enemy. 

I Want Candy

In classic predator form, Xue Yang uses candy to lure A-Qing into coming within stabbing range, because he thinks she’s faking her blindness and wants to test her.  

I find him super attractive right here in spite of his evilness. I’m pretty sure it’s because he’s offering candy. (OP goes and gets a jolly rancher out of her purse). 

After calling her over, he draws his sword with a super-loud "sshshk" noise that she inexplicably doesn't notice, and she bravely walks up to, and nearly on to, the point of the sword. 

This shocks him and convinces him that she's really blind. He sits her down with apparently sincere gentleness, and gives her candy, while quizzing her about her hot gege.

A-Qing tries to warn Xiao Xingchen about Xue Yang being a bad guy, pointing out that he's a cultivator and won't tell them his name. (She can’t say “also he tried to stab me” because she’d have to come clean about being able to see.) Xiao Xingchen, because he is a condescending prick--albeit a very sweet one--pats her on the fucking head and laughs off her extremely useful warning. 

Xiao Xingchen came out into the wider world with a set of ideals that he lives by, apparently without examining them. He’s humble, kind, frugal, and wants to eradicate evil. He also believes that the majority of people are good like him, and that detecting evil is simple--as simple as following his sword toward it. He doesn’t allow A-Qing, who is experienced in the wider world, to teach him anything, preferring to keep his ideals untarnished.

Contrast this with Lan Wangji, who also starts his journey into the wider world with a set of ideals (codified as rules), but does not make the mistake of assuming that other people shares his beliefs. Once he’s away from the Cloud Recesses, he follows Wei Wuxian’s lead when dealing with new people, rather than insisting on doing things the way he did back home. In general, he is open to having his beliefs challenged, even when it makes him upset or uncomfortable. As a result, he grows into a righteous man, not a naïve one, and he’s fully capable of identifying enemies even when they appear to be friends.

Bonus: 

In this brief long-distance shot we learn that A-Qing sleeps in a coffin, which is some next level goth girl shit. 

Soundtrack: 1. Hey Pretty by Poe 2. I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow 3. Cheap Thrills by Sia

[dreamerdaria]

Bridgerton season 3

All right, I loved the season so far, but that's my take, what could be improved with storyline (there were lots of bad writting choices as well as good one, but I want to outline my thoughts). So, I'll try to sum up, what could be written or added, that could make narration style more elegant and truthful to the viewers. Free to disagree. Sorry for the mistakes in advance. English is not my first language.

Colin's character arc. A lot of the things we got was told through the dialogue or was subtle, but not in between. I had a feeling that they haven't developed him enough to really show his inner conflict. Sometimes he was a side-character in his own show(part 2 did him bad), while the thing he should be the main one, because it shows his dynamic with Penelope/Lady Whistledown and key to understand their dynamic as a couple and his character arc. Other leading male characters had that physiological touch/depth to their character, while Colin somehow didn't. What we needed: flashback to his travels and small plot about loosing himself there or maybe gaining false confidence(could be done with him alone reading the lines of his letters), study of the middle-child complex(scenes with small Colin and Antony, who was the father figure for him, or brother dynamics with parents that could outline his people pleaser arc), more journaling, including the scene we got, but also about his writting challangies, more details about his likes and dislikes as a writer(favourite authors, could be the scene with Benny, because writting and art is quiet close). Maybe, not him tellling of his jealousy, but again creating scene that show views that he feels inferior. All other thing they did alright, I guess.

Penelope's character arc. I guess I kinda like a lot of things, but I didn't like the ending with the message of 'woman couldn't have dreams, but their husbands could'. It doesn't matter for me was 'child; in the ending or not, but they should have given her character career arc plus. It might have been just a hint of her, talking about wrtitting a book or developing her gossip column into somethins more serious, like critique. Not her mentioning JUST editing Colin's book with a happy smile on her face, watching a newborn. That was the worst writting decision, because it proves Portia words. The whole point of Lady Whistledown was hiding under the mask and trying to gain control and power through her her, because Penelope was too afraid to bloom. In fact that power was within her, and although they did the choice of her uncovering face and name in the end, it didn't end well in her arc. It could have done way better, considering the point they made in the begining. I would also love to see more of her experience sexual awakening after episode five as a slow process of gaining that condifence and gaining control in bedroom(that will be my 3 bullet point about them together) by proceeding it through imagining, talking with friends or dreaming. Besides, I'd like to add that tv show would have benefited from scenes, where she's not only writting, but also looking at the mirror, kinda trying to see, what she really is every now and then(we had one of that scene in green dress). Could be in her bedroom before mirror scene, but after carriage one. It would have made sense, how perception of her body changed, and the mirror scene would have hit stronger. Could be done during her struggles of Whistledown reveal too.

Now let's focus on main couple, and what could have gone better, if writers didn't try to fit 10 storylines in 8 series and literally tried to write their leads attentively and thoughtfully. Polin. First and foremost, that talk about how they met (again bad creative decision, story should show, not hit right between your eyes) MUST have been a flashback. I don't take no as an aswer. It was the only part lacking through their development from season one. This one flshback could have fixed lots of things. + I think audience need a bit more warm-up with just the two of them in the first part of the show(more charming lessons, at least one more befoe the kiss, where Colin starts to get confused about his feelings, and it would have worked perfectly with all the other things). + him really going through the process of figuring out that she is Lady Whistledown. I feel like Luke played subtle emotions perfectly, but we didn't get build up of him, slowly noticing things from his POV(there were chances in the show and lines in the dialogues, ink scene, where they could have hinted on Colin's expression, even in the 1 part, that he could have found some of the Pen's action suspicious, but didn't question it or didn't want to believe in it because of the feelings, until finally he would have followed her to the dark streets of the town). Next thing, they should have shown the process of following her to raise the suspense, him hoping that was another person, her being in shadows in her cloackm, and that at the same time this build-up would have made Luck's acting incredible fulfilling and impactive) + after the reveal it's out of his character to leave her alone, and I guess writers lost themselves elsewhere + more dialogues with them not talking about their relationship, but art and craft of writting(again they share many common interests, why didn't they show us that before the fight and after they made up) + more dialogues with them being cute and teasy as in church and after the sex+ prolonging scene, where he reads her letters, but not just showing the letter, but hearing her voice in his ears + longing should have had more scenes and more touching and being hot and cold, not only him sleeping on the couch(this just one creative indea, but it's not enough, but by talking also), going back and forth after the fight, just the night encounter next to modiste and blue gown(in this particular one they didn't embodied the tension, my idea that although Colin wouldn't like the intimacy, when he is angry, but the stare wan't enough, he should have come, touched her and then made himself stop with a line or without it), these scenes were not enough to show their struggle there + longer scene of them making up after the ball and chage of sexual dynamic, because this is important to her character arc and him accepting her. This scene should have been the third long steamy scene, not 20 seconds with the attention to the details and how they do through trust and communicating with each other, it could have been wrtitten beautifully and releasing the tension of conflict between them by swapping roles, and Colin by that finding out he loves it, while Pen finally taking control as she wanted and as her real character is after revealing her indenty + having him coming to his senses before her speech and him holding her hand instead of her mother + the love confession which is not about just drama, but also bout them as friends and their dynamics

I am not sure I need to write the second part, about other nuanciens aspects and acrs, but this what I would have done if I had a chance to be in the writting room with them

[physalian]

So you want to turn your one-off book into a series…

As a writer who decided only after publishing book 1 of a trilogy, to then make it a 4 book saga, here are my thoughts on series planning, or at least the insomnia-driven process I went through to reach this decision:

Firstly—I prefer to write multi-book stories with the structure like Lord of the Rings over something like Harry Potter. As in, it’s one long story with various hurdles to overcome split into multiple books, instead of each book being much more self-contained, with a reliable time skip, like years of schooling.

With that in mind, the very first thought I have is this: What are the new threats going to be? I don’t think about my heroes or any subplots or new characters. Priority one is my antagonistic forces: Do I have enough to each carry their own book?

A hero is only as compelling as their conflict, after all.

In my sci-fi WIP, I had 6 main characters and five books planned, and I based it off the structure of the OG Teen Titans cartoon—Everybody gets their own season and while not every episode is about them, the main threat is theirs first, with the rest of the team backing them up. The threat was always a twofer, both an external threat and an internal conflict that they had to overcome in their book. For example I had a character who “lead” book 2, and the external threat was Bad Guys from a different team member’s war, dragging her home into it. The internal threat was her “suffer in silence” tendency and extreme self-reliance, which becomes too much for her to handle when her powerhouse teammate is out of commission physically and unable to help her emotionally.

ENNS doesn’t have an ensemble cast and was not meant to. In this style, if it’s one long story, I’d need three major incidents in books 1-3 that all led up to a final conflict in book 4, all building off each other. I needed essentially two whole “Helms Deeps” for books 2 and 3. Not just in terms of story but literal conflict, as I write high fantasy and not having a big climactic battle for a whole book would flop. But now I need two of them, and I struggle with action scenes.

And without spoiling myself, I have them vaguely defined. For me, at least, so long as I have my little compass pointing toward my “North” of “this is the thing that every major scene should be dealing with in some capacity” it doesn’t matter what path I take to get there, I’ll figure it out. Heavily outlining only ever leaves me with plenty of outline but no book.

For me, once I have my main threat, I then have my main theme. Example for ENNS being that book 1’s main theme/question was “What makes a monster?”

Have yet to narrow it down and split the original 3 themes now into 4, but one I intend on exploring is “Can vampires change?”

Doing this, having your big picture at least in a foggy idea, helps with cohesion across multiple books, and within the same story. If you keep your theme in the back of your mind and relate as many character arcs and mini conflicts back to it as possible, it’ll really start to look like you know what you’re doing.

Otherwise you end up with a bunch of loose ends and dangling plot threads that get abandoned, or characters that feel out of place as their arc has nothing to do with the rest of the story, it’s just here because they had to do something to participate.

So if you want to see now book 1 of 4, check out Eternal Night of the Northern Sky on Amazon.

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The Lady Whistledown Papers : 2x01 Capital R Rake (Part 4)

Welcome back, Gentle Readers, to The Lady Whistledown Papers, where I’m taking an in-depth look at Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton’s character arcs and romance within the show Bridgerton!

For previous issues, follow tag : The Lady Whistledown Papers

Portrait of the Featheringtons

Lady Whistledown is particularly vicious -- going after Anthony (Pen and Anthony don't really get much interaction, it makes me wonder what their dynamic is like) and then continues to goad the Queen (which, girl is getting incredibly bold). Meanwhile, we cut to the Featheringtons lounging around -- and I feel like is this what they do most days? It seems like a very boring existence.

While reading LW, Finch giggles and snorts as Penelope has made another plant pun in her writing, to which he appreciates. I kind of love that he is a LW fan, and really, he seems to enjoy Penelope in general. I kind of love that. Penelope is thrilled as his amusement, and is glad someone appreciates her cute, little plant puns.

But maybe more importantly, the juxtaposition is that at the ball, she's being clever and witty, while being ignored not only by suitors but by literally everyone. Meanwhile, as LW, everyone is reading her, and enjoying her. And, I should say -- the usage of the same kind of plant pun humor is also a reminder that Penelope and LW are the same person.

Btw, I love her little smirk and book snap as she jumps up at Finch's compliment. She must really enjoy when her family actually appreciates her.

Penelope might be in good spirits, but Portia is not -- and begins asking Varley if they can get anything for the candlesticks, as she's now starting to sell anything she can to get some income.

Penelope notes this - and while her sisters aren't alarmed, she is, and she is well aware that her family needs some good fortune and quickly.

Also, side note -- I want to know what Penelope is reading!! We get no good shots of the book. Though it looks like the book she was reading at the very beginning of the episode.

[I just want state that the scene in between this one and the next is a delightful Bridgerton family scene -- I still adore all the family dynamics, as it remains one of my favorite parts of the show. Also, Anthony is a great main character.]

Letters

Can we take a moment and appreciate how beautiful Pen looks in this scene? Like, seriously, look at this girl. There's a reason they show puts her in ugly dresses and has her hair in weird configurations -- because it'd be hardly believable that anyone wouldn't notice her if she looked like this at the balls.

Anyway, Penelope's in her room when she hears Prudence's irritating singing coming down the hallway. (Omg, I love the throwback to Season 1.) She just knows Prudence is going to be a nuisance, so she has to act quickly, as she's doing some LW things. She scurries to get the floorboard closed and covered again.

And... this makes me curious. Did the house just happen to have a loose floorboard there, and little Penelope discovered it one day and uses it for her secrets? Or did she make an effort to cut the floor open to have herself a hiding spot? Yes, these are the kinds of questions I think about.

So, Prudence does barge in and the first thing she asks is why Penelope is being so quiet. And... it's a very weird question. How could Penelope be loud? I realize Prudence probably spends a lot of her time singing badly, but there are only five of them in that very big house -- it's hard to believe there's any way that any of them could be making that much noise.

But anyway, Penelope tries to ignore her and states that she is reading. Prudence continues being invasive, stating that Penelope is incredibly boring, and then goes on to why she's really there -- she wants to complain about how Phillippa is now preoccupied with Finch -- and I have to imagine that Prudence isn't really thrilled that she's losing the sister she's bffs with.

Also, the look of annoyance on Penelope's face when Prudence says petrified wrong. Like, the levels of her sisters' stupidity grate on her ever last nerve.

Prudence then decides to snoop on Penelope's desk, and finds that there's a letter there she's amused by. I kind of wonder if the show wants you to think that Prudence has found a Lady Whistedown column? But I mean, Penelope is pretty smart and would never leave that writing out for her sister to read.

It is interesting, however, that she leaves her letter to Colin out in the open, however. But I suppose that is less scandalous? (Though it's pretty scandalous -- as unmarried men and women who weren't related to each other and aren't courting don't write letters to each other. Just another example of the two of them breaking the rules.)

It's also interesting that -- Penelope has been writing him for months now, and no one in her household has noticed. I'm guessing that Penelope is always jumping for the mail first, because he's definitely writing her back, and there's no shortage of letters there, and she must be getting the mail every day, because I'm sure someone would be suspicious that Pen would be getting so much mail.

I also kind of love that this is such a sister moment with Prudence taking the letter and Penelope crying for it back. Idk, it just reminds me of the times I've fought with my siblings like this.

The noise brings Portia into the room (and, lol, Portia looks like she's got a constant headache these days) and wants to know what the fuss is all about. Prudence spills the beans about Penelope writing Colin.

Portia's reaction is... fascinating. She isn't really that alarmed by it, and the first thing she notes is that all the letter writing has gotten her hands dirty. And then she kind of eye rolls about it -- as though she doesn't understand why Penelope would be wasting her time and energy.

Penelope defends herself -- exclaiming that Colin is her friend (which is kind of an extraordinary statement for the time period).

But, I mean, I love LOVE that the show made sure to add this piece of their relationship. The correspondence that Penelope and Colin have been doing while Colin's been traveling is so important and so special. (And I kind of wonder who started writing to who? Did Colin think to send her a letter as something reminded him of her while away? Or did Pen start writing him after Eloise grew bored of giving responses? I'm so curious as to how this all happened.)

The letters, however, are integral to their story. It's a place where the two of them can be themselves without the confines of what society allows. It's a chance for Penelope to be her clever and witty self and express the person she is without fear. And ironically (?) it's the same voice that she probably uses for Lady Whistledown.

And I'm of mind that through these letters are how Colin really fell in love with her. And it's somewhat fascinating that he unknowingly fell for her and Lady Whistledown at the same time. It's clear that he never reads the column, because how could he not pick up on the same phrases and the same sense of humor and the same writing style. She probably does not mask her writing as her Lady Whistledown persona is a reflection of her true voice, and undoubtedly her letters to Colin would be the same way.

Anyway, these letters are something that is very important to her. If you watch how she clutches the letter as her mother scolds her about it, how she has it close to her as she defends herself, and calls Colin her friend. The fact that Prudence is making fun of her and the fact that Portia is completely dismissive of it is incredibly hurtful to her. This relationship means everything to her.

It's interesting that Prudence rolls her eyes -- thinking that Colin would waste time on her, because clearly she doesn't notice the amount of mail that Penelope is getting back. But also doesn't notice that the only one who does pay any attention to her is Colin Bridgerton.

And another side tangent though - I do wonder what Prudence and Phillippa's opinion of Colin is, especially after the whole Marina thing. I mean, I don't think it's much -- but they are aware of how much Penelope spends time with the Bridgertons. And I can see them thinking it's hilarious that Penelope seems to be infatuated with her bff's brother. (I'm guessing, too, that Eloise didn't spend too much time over at the Featheringtons -- and encouraged Pen to spend time with her family instead.)

But, I mean, again while Portia is a bit blind to it -- she becomes completely distracted, asking if she could sell the books because the money issue is way more an actual thing to be concerned about, I do wonder if Penelope's sisters picked up on her feelings towards Colin. At least as so far as her being enamored when he was around would be another thing for them to make fun of her about.

Anyway, Portia scolds Penelope for wasting her time with 'silly letters'. And declares that if Colin is her friend -- then she is, in fact, Catherine the Great. And, I mean, that's the saddest thing. Her own mother doesn't take her seriously. In any other context, this would be seen as a scandal, but Portia finds it frivolous. She doesn't believe that her youngest daughter would find any kind of connection with a man and that's just... sad.

And poor Penelope is just deflated. She had been riding high on all the success of Lady Whistledown, but the reality is that in reality, she is just a girl clinging on to what little stability she has while those who should love her the most mock and ridicule her. It's incredibly disheartening.

Portia leaves by telling Penelope to clean her hands because how dare anyone think she would be a commoner. It's like the finally needle into Pen's side, like Portia has to take one last jab before she leaves. And, oh, how Penelope just has to stop and take a deep breath to reorient herself. She has survived another day of torment.

Penelope uses writing as a way to escape her life, and as a way to deconstruct the world around her. It makes me wonder what she does next -- write a scalding LW column to release her anger? lose herself in fantasy writing to Colin? Or does she have a journal for thoughts too private to even share with anyone at all.