#cf : s2

[the-everqueen]

not tagging the post because i'm not actually trying to start drama but...i find it Interesting that fans who saw the disappointment over s2 casting choices IMMEDIATELY turned to "well don't harass the [white] actors!" a) no one was calling for that, in my case i explicitly mentioned the casting directors and the neilman, b) where was this energy when Vanesu Samunyai got harassed? it's telling that the example is a white-passing man whose fans dug up his background as a gotcha for, again, nonwhite fans expressing frustration with how white (and yes, white-passing) characters are privileged over Black characters. i don't think the fandom OR netflix gets to pat themselves on the back because they cast nonwhite actors in ANY roles. i don't think the fandom should police how nonwhite fans feel or their expressions of frustration in public spaces. i don't actually think sandman is "so diverse"! i think it could be more diverse, and telling me and other nonwhite people to just settle for whatever we get is...well.

[sightkeeper]

hey! first off, js wanna say that i LOVE your art and style, and having just binged chosen faces for the first time, I am. smitten.

and so I had to ask you this question- feel free to ignore it if it somehow has spoilers - but ik that you don't plan to cover s2 apart from short scenes that spark your interest, but do you think your aziraphale would've made the same... decision that he made in canon? towards the end?

also can he take metatron in a fight :D pls say yes :D

Oh man oh man, this one really made me think! I don't think answering this is spoilers in any way, as we already know I'm following S1 canon (even if you don't know what changes to events I've yet to make). So the question is whether or not Chosen Face!Aziraphale would have accepted the Metatron's offer, and tried to convince Crowley to join him and become an angel again. Granted, as of now, we do not know the full story of why TV Aziraphale reacted the way he did. We didn't even get to truly see the conversation he had with the Metatron on the offer, only what he tells Crowley. And I don't trust him to be a reliable narrator. Let alone that we never see him say 'yes'. He just says 'I don't know what to say.'

There's a lot of really interesting theories about the new season and why characters act the way they do, but for the purpose of this ask I'm going to go with the assumption that everything we saw on screen is accurate, without anything happening in the background or death threats or spiked coffees to explain their actions. And to this end, I'm going to bring up these past two responses to Q&As:

Because I started this comic pre-S2, I have their very first meeting being on the wall of Eden. CF!Aziraphale never met angel Crowley. He has no assumptions of how happy Crowley was prior to Falling.

TV!Aziraphale is complex and fallible, which is why I love him, but he also has shown that when faced with the ultimatum of running or facing the threat, he'd sacrifice his own happiness for what he felt was right (the bandstand). The end of S2E6 felt much the same to me in this. The Metatron is obviously manipulative, and Aziraphale has a lot more growing to do (as does Crowley, whose response was again to run off together), but at his core Aziraphale wants to do good. It's just whose definition of 'good' and to what end that he wibbles over. Would CF!Aziraphale react the same? Well, kinda no, but also unfortunately yes. I'm so sorry. I don't think the setup could have been the same. CF!Aziraphale doesn't harbor any notion of Heaven being purely good, and hasn't for a good while. But he does want to believe that God has a plan, and that if he can figure out that plan, he can win the game. By this I mean, Aziraphale's initial goals were to be on the "right/winning" side of the game, so he joined the angels as a tactical advantage. But as he grew to love earth and genuinely wanting to be kind, winning the game meant less of being a "victor", and more "If I figure out the game plan, I can subvert it if need be." He doesn't know what the plan is. But he does think the Metatron would know. So an opportunity to infiltrate their ranks and be able to make real structural changes that wouldn't break reality? Yeah, I could see him taking it. And since giving Crowley the holy water, Aziraphale has trusted Crowley to keep himself safe even when he's not around.

howling screaming slashing at the walls

As for whether or not he'd still present the question to Crowley, I think he would (but without the implication of how nice it was back then). He'd present the option only because it is an option, and he wouldn't want to take away Crowley's ability to choose that fate for himself. After all, he chose to be an angel and found a home in that identity. He'd want to offer Crowley that same courtesy, if that's actually what he wanted.

He doesn't want to control Crowley and make decisions for him. And if Crowley's decision means they have to separate for a time until he can figure out The Plan? He'll be heartbroken but he'll accept it.

Okay but the real answer you're looking for: could CF!Aziraphale take on the Metatron and win?

YOU FUCKIN' BETCHA THAT FLOATING HEAD IS GOING DOWN

[timothyslucy]

SHUT UP MAMA MCCALL IS PREGNANT AND MARRIED BODEN ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!!??!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!

[treecakes]

just so you know this blog will be hell at the end of october and beginning of november

[katsurinssims]

Updating this again? crazy.

Edited these to remove the custom content star that stubbornly held onto the female defaults.

Original link updated, please redownload!

still need to fix that CF mesh though, kinda hate looking at it now

Katsu's new seifuku set ♥

I've been wanting to remake my seifuku uniform defaults for a while, so here it finally is!

Summer & Winter Seifuku (custom)

CF and TF, standalone version or repo'd to TF! Winter version everyday and outerwear, summer version everyday only, skirt everyday, formal and outerwear! 4 curious b colours.

Download Standalone

Download Repo

Blazer pleats outfit seifuku (defaults)

I still liked my old male private school uniform defaults, so I kept them the same! these default tfbodyblazerpleats_pvtschoolblue, tfbodyblazerpleats, cfbodyblazerpleats_pvtschoolblue and cfbodyblazerpleats. Ages are separated and you can choose the summer or winter version, standalone or repo'd to TF (if you choose standalone you could have summer for one age and winter for the other!). Same colours as the winter and summer uniforms.

Download male uniforms custom

Download male uniforms default

Download seifuku defaults standalone

Download seifuku defaults repo'd

JK rainbow colourful seifuku (custom)

CF and TF summer and winter seifuku + pleated skirt with loafers in 10 curious b colours. Winter categorised as everyday and outerwear, summer as everyday and skirts as everyday, outerwear and formal. Standalone or repo'd to TF.

Download standalone

Download repo'd

Sukeban seifuku (custom)

sukeban style seifuku outfit + skirt, TF casual and outerwear. Uses the same texture as the winter seifuku! Standalone or repo'd to the TF winter seifuku (if you want both, but to save some space!)

Download standalone

Download Repo

the meshes are mashed up of maxis, DSB and trapping, for textures I used bits from maxis and @keoni-chan with Curious B colours ^^ Feel free to recolour all you like because they're versatile enough for replicating various anime school uniforms I think, if that's something that appeals to you ♥

Also shoutout to @sadoalicesims who also recently did some cute seifuku (which I only saw when I'd almost completed these aha) ~ also to @brattylulu for the randoseru that I constantly use because I heccin love it

[lunarriviera]

yet another shen yi meta [uts2 spoilers]

hi hey hello everyone i continue to be tormented with obsessive thinkings about s2 Shen Yi so i must holler about them/him some more, feel free to stop reading if you have not watched through approximately episode 11 which is where i still am. it's taking me longer to watch because i keep pausing to rewind/screenshot and/or weep in anguish about Him and What He Is Going Through. and how NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION. or insufficient attention. cf. Ryan Gosling in the Papyrus sketch screaming WELL IT WASN'T!! ENOUGH!!

[more. much more. behind the cut]

let's start here, with shen yi's artwork. in this scene he competed with AI to paint a chosen image and, surprising exactly no one, he won, partly because he's brilliant but tbh mostly because AI art is garbage and always adds dolphins, rainbows, and hands with six fingers.

but here's the thing: is no one going to question this? does anyone think to themselves "ah yes, shen yi is absolutely the BEST person in the world to make a painting in 30 minutes that depicts, quote, a lonely man on a beach." so here is this miserably hunched, despairing figure, surrounded by murky howling early-picasso blue, LOOKING IN FACT QUITE A LOT LIKE SHEN YI HIMSELF—even dressed like him (in the snowy white and dainty pastels he seems to favor this season)—and not a single person thinks: huh, wonder if this guy's okay?

in fact s2 seems to be repeated evidence of the fact that shen yi is Very Much Not Okay, and yet no one is really paying attention. he supports everyone else emotionally and they all seem to assume he either a) has no emotional blowback to deal with, or b) can deal with it himself unaided somehow. (through painting, maybe? but have you seen what he's painting lately? e.g. monstrous abusive parent figures, in some kind of breathless fugue state during which he can psychically hear lines from someone else's traumatic childhood?) he goes to li han's house to help her, which is so like him, and he says:

oh! you might think. well, maybe he will self-disclose a little? tell li han about some of his own personal difficulties that he's had to overcome, just to bond with her, get her to open up? HAHAHA ARE YOU NEW HERE, of course he doesn't, he just listens to her while she sobs out her tragic backstory, gives her a tissue, relates her struggles to a vaguely terrifying metaphor of his own device about a sealed room filling up ineluctably with floodwater, then smiles and takes her out for pizza. (totally unrelated but wow the product placement is heavy-handed this season. xiaomi! pizza hut!)

since we're talking about the li han case, consider this moment, too, when he interprets someone's house-person-tree drawing. does no one ever think, "for someone who talks constantly about love and connection, how interesting that shen yi has no family, refuses to date in very pointed and deliberate way, and lives alone with a cat."

shen yi knows all about love! never shuts up about love! constantly dispensing bromides about what real love should be like! and wakes every day ALONE from horrific guilty nightmares ft. creepy small girl in blood-red dress, pls will no one help this man pls he's drowning.

couple more bits and then i swear to god i'll shut up i'm starting to feel really stupid. but first consider this little story, in three parts:

"an image of despair" um okay well…technically it's just a dead body, albeit after a fairly grisly stabbing, but sure go off i guess

2. du cheng: wow even for you that was unusually poetic and weird

3. also du cheng: back to investigating the murder i guess [wanders away]

this kind of thing happens again. and again. either no one notices assorted horrified/devastated expressions on shen yi's face (in the way of classic extradiegetic reaction shots, where the camera sees them—we see them—but none of the characters onscreen do) or, when du cheng does notice, he's immediately distracted by his actual job, and/or the fact that he doesn't really know how to help his partner, because lbr he has all the emotional intelligence of a pony.

one more mini-story in three parts, and then i really will put a sock in it:

shen yi: why, what did i do. why are you looking at me like that

2. du cheng: bc you just lied your whole entire face off with alarming unsettling proficiency, since when are you that good at being dishonest

3. shen yi: hehe

in an earlier episode we also saw shen yi shouting at a suspect in the interrogation room, so convincingly that afterwards du cheng admits, you scared me. lol! says shen yi in carefree manner, i learned that from you! haha! agrees everyone, and they go about their business.

but ghastly things keep happening to and near him. at least once per episode, shen yi makes a face like this, because people are jumping off cliffs in front of him or abruptly smashing things with hammers or just lashing out with all kinds of antisocial behaviors in his vicinity:

to be fair, he has other expressions. for instance he also repeatedly employs his patented creepy ruthless smile, of the "i am going to fuck you up" variety, an expression reserved especially for criminals:

as well, i'm also leaving out all the ridiculously adorable/domestic scenes with him and du cheng, in which they share candy, roast each other about assorted nonsense, briefly co-parent a child, and, you know. are just generally disgustingly married. but that's a different meta.

also, admittedly du cheng does SAY things. he says, "are you still having trouble sleeping," he says "do i not care about you?" and "don't push yourself so hard" and "if you run into troubles, don't try to take them on alone." (i am sparing you all these screenshots since this is a meta about shen yi but trust me i have carefully accumulated every single shred of evidence in which du cheng is protective.) but, as frequently as du cheng expresses concern, he also just keeps clapping shen yi on the shoulder in a brotastic way and then strolling out. which i fear is just not going to be adequate. ("i don’t think this is literally papyrus. maybe that was the starting point but they clearly modified it?" "well whatever they did, IT WASN'T!! ENOUGH!!")

i leave you with two final images of shen yi, seen here continuing to be very much Not Okay, and to quote the bernie meme, i am ONCE AGAIN ASKING YOU, drama, is anyone going to care enough about this man to stop him going over the edge of the cliff with Evil Art Critic Eugenicist Moriarty Weasel Man? because he will, he will do it. because he's lonely and he's misunderstood and he's—

[cane comes out and drags me offstage]

[starqueensthings]

Episode 12 open discussion under the cut 👇🏼 BEWARE SPOILERS.

The loss of Crosshair’s helmet is so significant. The fact that he didn’t even bother to look for it, even more so.

The animators have always used helmets to represent a dichotomy. Pre Order-66, it was a symbol of a soldier’s individualism, as most troopers opted to paint their helmet to their liking; something to make them easily distinguishable from their brothers. Post Order-66, helmet-wear was used to signify the loss of a soldier’s autonomy. Yes, obviously for cranial protection as well (keep the melon safe during battle, you know), but once Order 66 was issued, aside from Batch members, seeing a clone trooper without their helmet on was a very rare sight.

In Season 1 Episode 1, Crosshair opted to keep his helmet on during the flight back to Kamino after Order-66 on Kaller, and through the halls of Tipoca city until they reached their barracks. I think the writers and animators were trying to symbolize that he had lost a large portion of his control.

Through the rest of the first season, Crosshair was largely hidden behind his new imperial helmet; one that was completely lacking resemblance or connection to his past as a member of CF-99. I think his Imp helmet was something that, at least in the beginning, he wore proudly; it was a symbol of his new role, his new rank, his future, his new ideology.

But in The Solitary Clone (S2 E3), after a poignant discussion with Cody, we see Crosshair look at his helmet with implied contempt, regret, and even possibly, repulsion. This was new.

In the first minutes of Season 2 Episode 12, we see him reprimanded by an imperial superior officer for not wearing it, which I found interesting. Keep in mind, Crosshair was also helmet-less when he met with Cody before their mission to Desix. Same scenario: waiting by the ship for a debrief from his commander before leaving for the mission. But this time, the writers opted to emphasize that his face was exposed.

Now, his helmet is completely gone. In a mission gone sour, it was eaten by an avalanche. And I found it very interesting that Crosshair’s first thought after emerging from the snow, was to find and save Mayday, a reg commander who he’d met only hours previously, and who took all of Crosshair’s imperial ideology and challenged it. He carefully puts Mayday’s helmet back on him, but doesn’t even spare a thought for his own.

In the final minutes of E12, we see Crosshair, and his face in all its glory, shoot his Lieutenant. An angry murder noodle move, yes... but also a desperate, frustrated one.

The presence of Imperial Crosshair feels diminished. The reemergence of Bad Batch Crosshair feels imminent.

*pls note that I used the term “reg” to reference Crosshair’s previous intolerance for regular clones, and was not meant in any derogatory sense*

[novamilano1]

The pink, red rose or the grumpy crown frog ? Love or duty ? Of new beginnings and of choices ! Go Wille !!!

So we have all seen the cute Snow Globe frog, so much drama around it. But have you seen its counterpart, the rose Snow Globe in Simon's house ? Let's partly unpack these metaphors, it's fascinating ! I'm in awe of the writers of this cute addictive show. So the grumpy frog represents duty, the lineage of the royal functions (given to Eric by his grandpa and then given to Wille by Eric). Courtesy of TVM (TV microscopic, go check the blog on substack, it's amazing, phenomenal) who reminds in one of the articles (about "negative space" ? ) that the frog can only turn into a prince if he's kissed. The frog can only be "awakened", transformed, be given his real shape by love. Plus, the frog is an aquatic animal (go check the water metaphor in YR on TVM's blog) but he is also terrestrian as an amphibian. There is a poster of a frog in Wille's room (courtesy of Molly who saw it and of the "kingdom", a group of YR fans with whom, I discuss YR and TVM's analysis). So the choice stands between, romantic love, the rose Snow Globe on Simon's table, at home, in his living-room, and heavy duty. But the show is quite positive about the outcome (it offers hope at least). The bubble of the grumpy crown frog with all its fake splendor (the glitter) will have to be brutally opened. It has to fall from its height. And under whose touch the frog could access the world of the rose, of romantic love ? Under Simon's touch (cf. the way he touches the frog before the love scene of Ep. 5, S2). The rose in Simon's Snow Globe is shown at two very symbolic moments. First in ep. 4 s. 1 just after the scene when Wille becomes the crown prince. Simon watches the televised memorial the day of Eric's burial. And the second time is just after the palace scene when Wille is asked to deny his participation in the video. He has to act according to Kristina's view of his duty. But the alternative comes in the next scene, holy love, the rose near these lit candles on the table of Simon's house. And apart from this obvious parallel between the two opposite globes, the show has a very subtle way to tell us that there is a choice to be made. The broken bubble of the grumpy crown frog that Simon touches with his finger is set on two books. If you zoom, you can read the title of one of the books (janusstenen) = the janus' stone. So Janus is the bifrons god. He has two faces and symbolises new beginnings, the choice between the past and the future, doors, gates. So Wilhelm, you know what to do !! (dixit google). It's janus who gave the month that begins the year "january". What better moment to have a look at this ? What's your take on this ?

PS, let's note that the rose symbolises many things but another interesting symbolism (apart from romantic love) which is cohesive to the show is that the rose also refers to socialism. And Simon is the "socialist" who sneers on the one who receives the most on welfare ! Socialism vs royalty ?

[uthseikoashx-goingmyway]

so... about this (Daniel Molloy) (tiny theory + minor spoilers for iwtv s2)

I was a bit out of the fandom when [this TV Insider interview] dropped (a week and a half ago), but even then, I didn't found people talking about this moment in particular?

Eric Bogosian is talking about his favourite lines — and because he doesn’t remember the lines (lmao), he talks about an “intense scene” from Dubai. He explains how Daniel (cf. the screeshots) picked up one of his own books and then, a discrepency appeared:

“When I [from Daniel’s pov] wrote it, I didn’t realise what was I was writing — and when I read it, I realize what it is I’m describing.”

I understand this as Daniel writing something about vampires, maybe in his own autobiography, but lacking some memories to make sense of it. Now that his memories just keep bubbling up — at least, we know he’ll remember the 1973 interview in episode 5 thanks to the NYC Screening — he can grasp things in a new light. And he adds right after that it is a “very intense scene”, something I suppose to be meaningful for Daniel’s character.

That’s one more element feeding the Devil’s-Minion-happened-and-Daniel-doesn’t-remember theory, which seems very (very) plausible, but also the promise of a very interesting sequence I can’t wait to watch (imagine, reading your autobiography and realising that the wife you were talking about is actually the vampire who's your client's husband (quite improbable considering the s2 scenes that dropped recently about Alice but you get the idea))

[the TV Insider video > timecode: 5:09]

[bonus: the NYC Screening video and minor spoiler about young Daniel in episode 5 > timecode: 32:27 (Eric Bogosian is answering to the question "why does Daniel stick around even though he may die during this interview?")]

[ilvero-love]

Vent 😡

So, I’m feeling incredibly down about the news that NF has a new show coming out and it looks suspiciously like they dumped our show for DBD.

It’s hard to see any positivity at the moment. I worry that our numbers just aren’t what they need to be to make it worthwhile for another streamer to pick it up.

I also have my suspicions that NF are such a*holes that they would block it any way possible.

👻BUT then I remember that they only have streaming rights.

👻I remember that Rachel Prior was fighting for this to be made for 10 years.

👻That it took 3 years of writing and prepping to get the first season to air.

👻That it received critical acclaim from multiple quarters.

👻I remember that Georgina Stroud backs us and has openly said she is marching alongside us in the fight for S2.

👻And most importantly, I remember that CF have not yet said, "all bets are off guys, it’s over".

I know we have the books📚. In a way that makes it worse because to see the full story brought to life would have been beyond amazing.

So I’ll keep hoping and praying and manifesting and doing whatever I can to do my part to see our deepest wishes come true. That means actively tweeting, sending emails and supporting our wonderful LockNation anyway I can 🤗💕

Because this story is worth nothing less than 100% effort.

Just reckless enough 🖤💙🧡⚔👻

[takiro-tk]

Your Smile

Resuming my drawing habit... & he is still my muse

Transition from S1 to S2 is really hard to watch...

Really love drawing 1/2 & 1/2 face stuff but really difficult to get it just right.

P/s: I cant even draw OC trading card for CF coz my head is full of Will QwQ)_

[atamascolily]

Thunderbolt Fantasy: In Which I Yap About Swords

(What can I say? Guilty as charged.)

Thunderbolt Fantasy is about a lot of things, actually, but it's first and foremost a story about swords. So many swords. Magic swords, ordinary swords, demonic swords, holy swords, swords that look like swords but are actually something else, things that look like something else but are actually swords... the list goes on and on.

Thunderbolt Fantasy also has many themes, but I would argue that a major one is that swords are tools first and foremost; whether they are good or bad depends less on the sword itself and more on how it's used.

In the wrong hands, even a holy sword created to fight demons with the purest of intentions can be misused; in the right hands, a demonic sword can save the day, as evidenced by Shang Bu Huan's and Lin Xue Ya's clever team-up using Night of Mourning.

But it gets complicated because swords aren't just tools--or at least not all the time. Season 2 introduces us to Seven Blasphemous Deaths, who blurs the established boundaries--she is a person who is also a sword. Then we have Lang Wu Yao in Bewitching Melody of the West, a person who is explicitly compared to a sword; the climax of the movie hinges on Lang's decision to take full agency for his actions instead of letting unscrupulous people manipulate him.

Bewitching Melody of the West ends with Ling Ya--another character who blurs the line between person and object, and who is sometimes, but not always, a sword--teasing Shang that the Sorcerous Sword Index itself might one day gain sentience. "Any object imbued with strong enough sentiment in time grows a heart of its own! Not that all of them are chatty like me! ... You keep dragging that batch of magic swords around and sooner or later it [the Index] might start talking, too!"

Shang is incredibly flustered by this: "Shut the hell up! Don't jinx me!" He's learned to accept both Lang and Ling Ya as friends and comrades, but the idea of anything more than that scares him. Then he catches himself, "Er, I mean..."

"Mean what?"

And for a moment it seems like Shang is going to tell him, and then he pivots to thanking Ling Y for his assistance earlier and changing the subject. Which is too bad, because I really want to know what he's thinking here. Would it really be so bad if the Index and/or the swords within it was no longer a tool, but a person in their own right? If they could make decisions about how they wanted to be used?

Okay, so maybe it would be bad, given that swords are weapons--they can protect people, yes, but they can also kill them, or turn them into puppets, or generate massive earthquakes. It's only natural they would want to perform the functions they were made for, and some of those functions are terrible. Even holy swords are dangerous, as evidenced by Wan Jun Po being burned alive from the inside out from wielding one of the Three Holy Relics. Good is not soft, to say the least!

Given everything we know so far, it would not surprise me if Shang can "hear" the swords in the Index, and has a sense of their personalities and desires. His restraint in using the Index is entirely justified because these swords are dangerous, even though he has the skills to use them (and this restraint is one reason he can wield them). My personal headcanon is that one reason Lin Xue Ya is such a natural at using Night of Mourning is that he is also incredibly skilled at manipulating people and thus their desires align; he might have more difficulty with a sword that makes other demands of its wielder.

But as we've established, a major theme of Thunderbolt Fantasy as a whole is that even villains can grow and change (cf. Xie Ying Luo's arc in S2) and that people aren't bound by fate--they can and should be able to make their own choices. So why not extend that to the Index as well, especially considering how many people are trying to control it?

And would a sentient Index really be so terrible if it was embued with Shang's feelings? The man who is the moral center of Thunderbolt Fantasy, whom Lin Xue Ya (a master thief) says is the safest place he can imagine? I think an Index that grew out of Shang carrying it for so long would inherit that strong moral center--and I think it would be fitting, given how much carrying it has transformed his life.

One way or another, Shang can't rest until the Index is dealt with. One possibility is that Thunderbolt Fantasy punts the final ending, by having him keep wandering with the Index, but somehow I doubt it--Shang may well continue to journey on, but if he does, I think it will be because he genuinely wants to, or has some other task he wants to do, not because he's still carrying out the same old one forever.

In order for Shang to give up the Index, he has to trust it will be safe from people who will misuse it. We saw how that went at Xian Zhen fortress; even an institution dedicated to preserving the world couldn't keep the Index safe for less than a day, and most of them are worse.

The Index could be hidden, perhaps, or chucked away into the void, but the reason Shang hasn't already done it himself is because the swords are humanity's one hedge against another demon invasion. The swords were created to fight the demons, and they will continue to exist as long as that threat remains. So peace with the demons has to happen first. This is likely for other reasons--see Lang Wu Yao's whole arc--so I feel pretty confident about this. Maybe the swords, most of which originally came from another world, will end up returning there in the end--and like I said, the void of space seems to be a favorite place for chucking stuff you never want to see again (eldritch horrors, Lou Zhen Jie, etc). So it's definitely a possibility.

We also know as of S3 that the swords came from another world, and it's possible that they'd lose their powers if they were returned to their home and be ordinary swords again. So that's also an option.

But given all of the hints and established themes, I'm rooting for a secret third thing: to neither hold on to the Index or to throw it away, but to let it grow up and come into its own. Maybe the Index would decide to leave of its own accord; after all, the swords inside it came from another world and maybe they'd be happier to return there after all. Maybe it'd stick around under the auspices of Dan Fei, Juan Can Yun, and the Hu Yin Shi, who are going to need something to do with their lives once the war with the demons is over for good. I don't know. But I want the Index to have the same freedom as any other character. I want it to be able to choose.

How exactly this would work, I don't know. Maybe the Index is a single entity, or maybe it's a collective intelligence composed of all the swords inside it. Given that Huo Shi Ming Huang's theme centers around this kind of "swarm", and that he seeks the Index, I can't help wondering if the two are connected. But if the Index has to choose between Shang and Huo Shi Ming Huang, I think Shang's influence will ultimately carry the day in the end, though it might get pretty dicey before the end. After all, he's the one who carried it for so long!

(Look, I am but a simple soul--all I want is to see all of the swords flying out of the Index all at once in the climactic battle, preferably under their own accord. Yes, I know that technically already happened in the S2 opening, and it was great, but can we have that as the centerpiece of the final movie instead of 10-15 seconds?? Bonus if that severed arm is still in there and smacks someone across the face.)

All of this is to say, I fully expect that this is going to be a major theme going forward, and I have "the swords unionize" on my personal bingo card.

[sickofthistoxicshit]

Yeah, you’re right, anything could happen at this time, we’ll just have to wait and see…

I’m leaning towards Buck being the one to have something with Tommy because Eddie still have Marisol to deal with… and even if I seriously think that they’ll be separated for the final season finale, I think is gonna take some time…

I'm thinking the thing with Marisol will end by 7x04 or 7x05, considering that the next couple of episode are the cruise ship disaster.

And Tommy, by the way, will be their pilot, I'm thinking, like Lucy he moved to air rescue.

If I'm not mistaken he's also the one Chimney talks to when in 2x15 when he sends the air support to put the fir out in the neighborhood from home.

Out of the two of them Eddie is the one with the chopper experience maybe Buck needs exposure therapy or because of his feelings for Eddie he's thinking about other work options like Eddie in S5 (for obvious different reason), I doubt there will be anything there between Tommy and Buck that is on the romantic setting.

And Buck is not yet in the guys mindset, he looks more and more in the Eddie mindset, if 7x01 is anything to go by.

Would be interesting to see how it all plays out.

As I said before, we didn't get to see the 118 with their firefighters colleagues outside the station, they have to have developed connections and friendships, I'm betting Tim is aiming less to the romantic and more to the inter- department relationships outside the firehouse, which we haven't seen so far and, imo, was glaringly missing in the past 6 seasons.

I'm genuinely curious to see what we get this season, because unlike other firefighters shows the 118 is very limited in their storylines and there's nothing to indicate them playing well with others, or having any kind of life outside each other,

Which made the plots run in exhausting circles, because there was nothing left to tell.

FD politics weren't touched, we don't see much of the chief since S2, there is NO talk of promotions, we don't know what ranks Chimney and Hen are, I have so many questions.

Because we get barely any episodes with actual fires, unlike say in Station 19 and CF, we don't get to see them working with other houses, we see people in turnout gears when we get a fire, but nothing that indicates how the 118 works with them,

The lack of the community FD life is glaring, I hope we get more of that.

[latinachiquita]

Could this be TECH?? Maybe 🤔

One reason that would discourage the theory: Crosshair was not successful because he (and CF 99) are known to be defective. It could be possible that Tech was was weak enough at the end of s2 to be brainwashed but who knows.

One reason that would encourage the theory: This operative SURVIVED heavy rocks on top of him, and managed to move heavy rocks easily. I think this is in reference to Tech when his femur was broken. He managed to overcome the pain and still fought.

If this was Tech, could he be unbrainwashed???

Who knows 😭

[savelockwoodandco]

Hi! Do you think the show has a good chance of being saved? It's been a month and 11 days since the cancellation and everytime I rhink about that it drives me crazy

Hi Anon, thanks for the question!

We've said a few times our feelings about the timeline, so I won't go super into-depth here, but we do want to reiterate that a month and change is not at all a long time for a show not to be picked up. Short of B99, shows just aren't picked up in their first month of cancellation, nor announced to be picked up.

This is going to be a months-long -- emphasis on the plural -- fight, but we are still fully confident that we're going to come out the victors. We haven't even hit a month and a half yet; these are early days. Let me state clearly again: we think the show has a great chance of being picked up, "even" at this stage.

However, we get that it can be discouraging, especially since in current culture there's a sense of "if it doesn't happen immediately it won't happen at all" that's rather pervasive, only getting more intense the younger the person in question is. That can make it hard to work towards a goal that doesn't have an end date and that'll take months.

So here's a fun little tidbit to keep our engines revved and moving: CF has been very, very quiet this last week.

Why is that a fun fact? Well, because CF has been relatively aware after the first week or so of the campaign with us fans.

On their Twitter -- which we know some people (Tumblr Mod included!) aren't really involved with -- CF tweeted the phrase "Nice Things" (their capitalization, not ours) with a piece of fanart. Afterwards, a tweet went around praising CF for their use of coded messages in Tweets -- which CF liked. Previous to this, CF had tweeted that they wouldn't try to trick us or falsely build us up, so this like had a number of heads scratching.

And since then, CF has been quiet.

There are so many reasons for a business to be loud on twitter -- it helps build their brand, they enjoy engaging with fans, they're having time between projects, etc etc. For a company as small as CF, it's likely that, unlike Netflix and other Giants, Someone from CF actually is in charge of the twitter, rather than a faceless intern. Many fans have theories on who it might be, but it's not the purpose of this post to speculate on that.

The important thing to note is that while there are many reasons to be loud, there's really only one reason to be quiet: they're busy.

Which is something very much in our favor.

We know that media business isn't something that everyone's interested in, so here's the facts: signing contracts for a show takes a long, long time. Signing contracts for renewing a show takes a long time as well. Meetings are scheduled, meetings to discuss those meetings are scheduled, both sides have to have separate meetings within their teams, then between teams, then company-wide, and then schedule follow-ups with the other party. It's a process and even if both parties (CF and whoever picks it up) agree immediately on terms, which never happens, contracts still have to be drafted, considered, debated, re-drafted...

It's a process, and we don't get to see any of it. Lucky for us, honestly, because it'd probably drive us crazy. The only thing we get to see is the end result -- the show being saved -- popping up like a bolt from the blue.

But we have to remember it's not from the blue, it's from weeks and weeks of hard work and negotiation. If CF is smart -- and CF is very, very smart -- talks of saving the show will include the ability to tell the whole story, whether that's negotiating for 2 more seasons, or for 1 season of ~16 or so episodes.

We have no say in contracts or anything like that for S2. What our presence does have a say in is helping out CF with negotiations. The louder, more passionate, more demonstrative, and yes, more consistent we are, the more negotiating power CF has. They have great numbers to present for the show itself, growing every day, but because of LockNation, they can demonstrate the ongoing market appeal of Lockwood & Co. That translates to the opportunity to earn more money and clout for whoever it is picks us up, and that puts CF is a very good position.

We're of the firm belief that the best mindset going forward is not "it's already been X amount of time", it's instead "it's only been X amount of time".

It's only been a month and 11 days.

The things we do help. The things we do matter. They will continue to matter as long as we do them.

So let's help our show out as best we can, and be cheerful about it. Take breaks -- please, please take breaks, or you'll go crazy -- and take care of yourself.

Good things are coming. Or, to use CF's words, Nice Things are coming.

[shrinkthisviolet]

Backstory on how you came up with Morgan as a character, and how you decided to showcase her character? (Like, why you chose those scenes in particular for her fics)

Or anything else you want to share about Morgan and her story?

Oooh yay an OC question! I'm happy to answer this :D

So Morgan is a character I came up with while watching Jesse in s2 and going "huh. Wouldn't it be cool if she had an E1 doppelgänger?" And then I read a couple fics that fed that idea. And ofc that then spun into "what would her backstory be? How would she fit into the story?" Etc and so forth.

Funnily enough, I wasn't going to write her story at first. It was just something between me and a mutual of mine...especially once my plans got ambitious and I started envisioning multiple fics spanning who-knows-how-long. It felt too big for me to handle, so I decided from the jump that this was just gonna stay a concept I talked about but didn't write.

...hey past me, about that...😅 (further discussion below the cut!)

Anyway, the first things I figured out about her were that she'd be Eowells's daughter, obviously. I've always headcanoned that Jesse did have an E1 doppelgänger in canon, but that she died in the car crash that killed Harritess. Here, though...she survives it, and she's raised by Eowells.

This fic gave me the idea to make Tina her godmother—the fic doesn't outright make her such (E1 Jesse in that fic is an adult, so it's not pertinent), but it's a similar thing, with Tina offering the E1 Jesse of that fic a place to stay and a job. Obviously there are differences between my AU and that fic, but I did link the fic as inspiration because a) it gave me the godmother idea in a roundabout way and b) it's the E1 Jesse fic that really sparked this idea in a way I couldn't let go. My idea was so much different than theirs, but I wanted to do something with it, more than just as a concept. Still not a fic (haha past me), but...something.

Morgan kept developing. Her name was decided as "Morgan" pretty early on—Jesse Morgan Wells would be her name, following the same principle as Jesse Chambers Wells (Tess Morgan on E1, Tess Chambers on E2), and then Eowells would have her go by Morgan instead of Jesse because, per canon, he knows about Jesse Chambers (in this AU, the Jesse Chambers he knows is not from the comics, but from the multiverse of the show. But...is it Jesse? Morgan? Another Earth's Jesse or Morgan? Who knows...👀 well, I do, but I shan't say. You'll find out in the s4 arc!). I also decided she’d be the same age as Jesse (17 in s2), but a year behind her academically, to add some bones to the jealousy plotline in s2—Jesse has 5 majors and is a year ahead of Morgan? Oof yeah that’s gotta be tough.

Morgan’s powers...started off as super strength. However, this got nixed when I finally decided to make this into a fic series, because...Morgan can't have Griffin Grey's powers, she wouldn't live very long 😅 and I can't pseudoscience her a solution, because then the question becomes "why not use it on Grey, who's only 19 when he dies?" So I waffled for a bit on what her powers should be...and I settled on forcefields. I've never looked back since. They fit her personality...for better and for worse (I have a feeling some of you know what I mean 😅 if you don't, though, I'll elaborate in the notes if asked!)

Another fun wrinkle about her development is that originally, the first fic was gonna be from Tina's POV, in present tense. I still have the fic in my drive, and I often strip it for parts (for the CF AU in particular) 😅 but ultimately, I remembered the wisdom of "the character you start with is often the one the reader gets most attached to", so I decided to stick with Morgan's POV and occasional forays into other POVs once readers were sufficiently attached to Morgan (mind you, this isn't an ironclad rule! But I'm glad I followed it in this case).

From there, I started with s2, since that's where the intrigue came from. I wrote some Morgan & Jesse and Harry & Jesse...and then it occured to me that rather than leave s1 as an implied "yeah this happened but idc" thing...I wanted to actually go back and flesh it out.

And MAN am I glad I did! That decision brought about so many changes that were for the betterment of this AU (Barry & Morgan, Morgan & Iris, Morgan x James, fleshing out Morgan & Tina), and I just...I truly can't imagine the AU without them. Genuinely, there are future arcs in this AU that I can't imagine how they would've gone if I hadn't gone back to write s1 and made these changes because the muse led me that way. It's remarkable.

Writing her taking up the mantle of Sentry was important too. I've talked about how important it is to me that she was named by both her mothers (Tess gave her the name "Morgan", Tina gave her the name "Sentry", even if the latter was unintentional), and that's another reason I'm glad I went back to s1—before this, the implication was that Cisco named her, but I like this better. Sorry Cisco 😅 you can name (almost) everyone else!

Ooh and as for scenes that show her character...I'll pick out a few that I haven't talked about before:

Though, perhaps the most confusing day for her friends was when she showed up to first period absolutely glowing because she’d gotten to meet Dr. Martin Stein the previous afternoon and learned about an intriguing project he was working on, tentatively called FIRESTORM. She couldn’t talk about it to anyone, at least not by name...but that didn’t stop her from gushing about the project in concept to her friends. “We’ve got years before we go into the sort of thing you’re talking about, Mo. Maybe you should slow down?” “Oh, come on!” She insisted. “Haven’t you considered how cool it would be if we could perfect something like that? Think of the implications!” “It would be pretty cool to have superpowers,” another of them pointed out with a grin. “Being able to shoot fire from your hands? Epic!” “Well, yeah, of course that’s cool. But sharing a body with another person? Like…that could be life-changing. Life-saving, even!” They were less enthused about that idea, but Morgan figured she probably could’ve done a better job of selling it.

Her meeting Stein here is, ofc, me setting up their reunion in 1x14, when she's a bit ahead of Team Flash in terms of knowing who Stein is. She doesn't know a lot of details, because the project is hush-hush...but she knows enough that it sparks her curiosity. Because that's another thing—she's a genius for a reason, and I wanted to show that! She's precocious and endlessly curious and follows logical threads down all sorts of trails...and I wanted to show that rather than just saying it.

Another scene:

In the end, she didn’t call Tina about Dad’s treatment of Hartley. It was certainly jarring that Dad, who had once favored Hartley even above her at times, had now suddenly turned on him, but Hartley had always been arrogant, and Dad had always enabled him. It wasn’t so unbelievable to think that he thought he knew better than Dad, sought to prove it, and got burned. And everyone at STAR had been under a lot of stress with the impending launch. If they were acting out of character…well, she couldn’t exactly blame them. Still, it lingered in the back of her mind, unsettling her in ways that she wasn’t quite ready to think about yet.

It matters that Morgan is observant, insightful. This is a trait she picks up from both Eowells and Tina (for better and for worse—yes, being observant can work against you, but more on that later)...and it means she notices that something is off about Hartley. But, since she's a teenager, still susceptible to manipulation, and isn't fond of Hartley, she brushes it off as arrogance on his part (it's an impression he encourages, after all).

Another scene:

But a strange thing happened as they got close enough for Richard to let go of her hand and run toward his parents. Morgan looked up, saw a bolt of lightning coming for them, and cried, “Look out!” She shoved James and Richard out of the way, shielding them both as best as she could. And then the strike hit, and she screamed.

This is when she gets struck! I thought quite a lot about how this could've happened. Ultimately, I decided that since the other metas get their powers by doing something related to their powers, Morgan should too. Thus, she shields James and Richard, taking the blow herself...and she gets struck and gets forcefield powers (it's not real lightning though, just concentrated energy. Hence why she gets forcefield powers and not lightning powers)

And another:

“Someone has to stop them.” “Someone has to protect the people they hurt,” she corrected, clenching her fists. “What that…that superhuman did…it was terrifying. He terrorized and probably hospitalized people. Because of powers that my dad gave him.”

Every hero needs a Call moment, don't they? Well, this is Morgan's! Well, specifically, the scene before this when Jitters is attacked is her moment, but this is her reaction. She's a hero at heart, that's our girl! It shows what kind of hero she'll be...and that her powers suit her so very well.

This next one is a long one, but I couldn't justify chopping it even for this:

There was a lot to figure out about her powers, as it turned out. She and James had already figured out that her powers manifesting was an expression of adrenaline, a defense mechanism that was likely connected to her sympathetic nervous system—thank you, 9th-grade Biology. So her powers had an emotional element—a strong one, judging by her outbursts—and they relied on concentration to remain stable. It was something she needed to improve over time…if she actually wanted to use them. James thought she’d make an awesome superhero and wasn’t shy about telling her so. Morgan, however, had no desire to dole out vigilante justice with non-combative powers she barely understood…especially as a teenager who didn’t want to seriously hurt anyone. “It’s not vigilante justice, Mo,” he insisted. “It’s heroism.” “You’re basically saying I should be this city’s Spider-Man,” she retorted. “Your powers are completely different from his.” “James.” “Morgan. Do you seriously think I don’t see the look on your face? That I’m not listening when you rant about how much the explosion has destroyed so much, how your dad isn’t doing a lot to fix it, and how you wish you could?” “I can’t fight. I won’t. I don’t have time to learn all that from scratch, I’m not…I’m not Spider-Man, my powers aren’t combative like that!” As if to demonstrate, she shot a blast outward—it materialized into a shield. “See?” James nodded, looking sheepish. “Maybe not Spider-Man, then. But what about your other wish? To protect the people superhumans hurt? You’ve got the power of shielding and forcefields, who’s better suited for the task of protection than you?” She hesitated, then sighed. “Sometimes I think you know me too well.” He grinned.

The dynamic duo!! Funny to think that if not for James, we might not have a Sentry (this is also true in all the spin-off AUs) 💞 he's so very important as being Sentry's first guy in the chair, her first cheerleader, and her strongest supporter always (he and Barry might have to fight for that title later, but...hey Barry, James was here first 😂). There's a reason Morgan and James are soulmates in the soulmate AU—they're important to each other!!

And as far as scenes that really show her character. those are the higlights! Thank you again so much for asking this 💞 I love Morgan to pieces, and I love talking about her.

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