#hoping for the best expecting the worst

[portinastorm]

I'm so glad I don't even have the option of watching live. I can just catch up with the abridged notes and vibes on tumblr

[pierregaslays]

idk anything about the race or what happened during it but is it worth watching yes or no <3

[lullaebies]

Aegon in the books i feel had more complexity as a character and as a villain but Tom does a really good job with facial expressions that the character while on script seems very one-dimensional but Tom is capable of making it more fleshed out due to his talent

Tom is a very good actor, I agree. He did his homework and gave much thought to how he would portray Aegon and that is something I will always appreciate - I said it once before, but we won by having Tom as Aegon II, if nothing else. He desperately needs better writing next season because he is very much carrying Aegon's character and to make a proper character you cannot rely on improv, but he certainly brings much emotion to Aegon and I am at least glad we can be assured we will have wonderfully acted scenes from him.

[writingonleaves]

bruins soon. unhappy about it

[clairedsfield]

sdl ep. 299

[simpingresponsibly]

the more I think about it the clearer it becomes that this relationship is Not lasting 😭

[thorough-witness-enjoyer]

I. Am. Going. To. Be. SICKKKKKKKKKKKK

[v88sy]

There are some blogs optimistic about Tommy back at some point, what are your thoughts about it?

I don't want to get too optimistic, because that's how we got ourselves here in the first place. Let's be honest. This was always a possibility and was even laid out as a possibility in the articles/interviews, we just chose to get too high on the hope. We were treating it as a sure thing and that was never the case. We duped ourselves a little on this one, and yes, I'm absolutely including myself.

Now, as many have pointed out (which I absolutely agree with) if you were to be completely oblivious about the articles and/or what they said, the breakup very much looks like it's open ended. It looks like something that's unresolved or meant to be resolved at a later date. They made it something that could be resolved. Something like moving away or wanting completely different things in life is a lot harder to work through and more definative. They clearly both want to be with each other. Tommy said he wanted to be Buck's last. He said he wouldn't be able to deal with the (what he thought was inevitable) heartbreak. You only get hurt that deep when you lose something you wanted that bad.

This is honestly the first time we ever heard Buck even utter the words "engaged" or "married" to any of his SOs. I do think it's something he wanted down the road, I just don't think he was there yet, and that's absolutely fine. The relationship was still very new. There was clearly a lot they didn't know about each other yet.

It was far too soon to make the commitment of moving in, and Tommy was just trying to stop things from getting any further before he got too deep (too late, me thinks.)

If you remove the clear bias of the journalists writing these "exit interviews" (is that even a thing in television?) they start to sound much like your run of the mill interview they do with every main after they have a major storyline play out on screen. Look at the direct quotes, not what the journalists are inferring for themselves.

All that being said, I'm not getting my hopes up, and I'm not planning on watching live again until I have a definite as to where the storyline is going, and if that takes until the final episode ever, so be it. I will get back to it eventually. Until then, I'll be keeping tabs on what's going on through Tumblr.

Now, this is just a little thought in my brain that has absolutely nothing to back it up whatsoever. I think maybe either Lou needed this break to get away from the bs and finish his role on SWAT, or they gave it to him and he's taking it.

We know he was surprised, but what he was surprised about was how soon it happened. Tells me that at least a temporary break was planned, just not until further down. Or maybe he only meant the disagreement.

We very much know Tim likes to plan out his story about 5 seconds in advance, there could be a tentative plan to maybe bring Tommy back down the road, say, after the midseason hiatus. Could even be the "project that may or may not be happening" that Lou had mentioned.

Buck is my favorite character, but I'm not interested in seeing him regress or go through the same storyline for the millionth time. If he doesn't at least try and fight for Tommy or talk things out with him, it's just more of the same season 5 Buck. I love 99% of the other characters too, but they also suffer from the Groundhog's Day writing and I'm just old and tired.

[chaoticneutraltor]

I know 1 person that definitely won’t survive onyx storm and that person is me

No matter what I know with 100% certainty rebecca will destroy me into a million pieces just like she did before

Can’t wait to set myself and onyx storm on fire once I’m done reading it

[adore-gregor]

not sure this post reaches the right target audience

[sunnysideaeggs]

I saw speculation that Aegon will claim Cannibal in the next season, and as much as I love Sunfyre, I don’t hate the idea.

Otto said this : "Aegon Targaryen sits the Iron Throne. He wears the Conqueror's crown, wields the Conqueror's sword, and bears the Conqueror's name. He was anointed by a Septon of the Faith before the eyes of thousands. Every symbol of legitimacy belongs to him."

However, since his 'sausage' burst into flames and his only male heir is dead, Aegon's claim has been weakened in the eyes of the Westerosi lords and smallfolk. Because of that, he may need another symbol of legitimacy—Cannibal, an 'untameable beast' and a black dragon (similar to Aegon the conqueror), could serve that purpose...

i love the foils of sunfyre/the cannibal, one being a literal golden symbol of loyalty and bravery for the targaryens and the other being an abhorrent creature that eats its own young. my personal hc is that the cannibal, as a westerosi dragon, can only be claimed by a westerosi rider. like a half hightower, it would fit perfectly.

but i have to ask, how would the cannibal improve aegon’s reputation in a way sunfyre couldn’t? the dragon is an outsider, considered undesirable and a kinslayer (if dragons can be so). it would highlight the slander aegon’s enemies use against him.

when it comes to aegon vs baela, how will it be justified that the cannibal loses against a baby dragon when that’s just his regular diet? it made sense for sunny because he was injured, but i doubt the cannibal will be so damaged by the fight. if the cannibal lives on, then it would be expected that aegon gets his wounds patched and flies to burn the tullys and starks.

sunfyre is *the* symbol for aegon because he’s the best boy, and he is good for aegonoptics because of his resilience in fighting and his loyalty to his rider, crossing hundreds of miles to reunite with him. he also allows aegon to show a softer side by grieving him and refusing to ride another non-sunny dragon. if he just dies and is replaced then we lose a good part of the og story.

let’s make another story then: a golden dragon being burned and melted and twisted into a terrible vengeful thing. the gold is gone and only the bitterness remains. he raises again from the shadows, ready to spill the blood of everyone that went against him. he has nothing else to hold dear, all his softness burned out long ago. he knows his end is close, yet he holds to his crown with all his might, terrorizing the hatchlings that are trapped in his den.

aegon switching the sun, the golden legacy of his house for the cannibal, the black dragon feasting in the rot of his house. he’s the stranger on a dark horse with burning eyes, ready to cleanse king’s landing of sin and demons. prayers and tears can’t stay his wroth, only blood can quench his fire.

[just-gay-thoughts]

Shoulda been a business major, they just go straight to interviews, they don't need to complete a coding challenge to move on in the application process

[lukolabrainrot]

The DM↔️A connection prob means, with another rehash of papgate, A will probably post uninteresting pics of Italy. She needs a lead up to make her feel more important (and try to snag some eyeballs) since no one else cares. Maybe there'll also be word on L career wise and she wants to capitalize on his focus. 🙄

I hope that's all she posts 😅😅

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[lunabug2004]

You said that according to you there is a way to make Mileven stay together and have all the characters have a good arc at the end of the show. Could you develop that? cause in my opinion if Mike's arc is about falling in love , changing his personality after meeting a girl and at the end being the protective paladin to "fix" his bad behaviour then it's really bad writing (coming from a straight person)

I'm going to be completely honest here, which I hope is what you want lol, I do think I say this (sans the "good arcs" part bc I don't think I've ever said that there's a way to make Mileven happen where all the characters have good arcs) to more-or-less make myself feel better bc I have so much Byler doubt (& Mike love) so yeah, take this as you will, this is just what my brain has come up with as an arc(?) I could mostly cope with. I mean, there's a reason I put "(mostly) happy" but yes, I'll try to expand.

I love Mike and I have a feeling I will continue to love Mike whether Mileven or Byler is endgame. This is purely because I do not believe Mike is a bad person or bad character just bc he's made some bad decisions/said some things he (canonically) regrets. I don't think Mike would be a protective paladin to simply "fix" his "bad behavior". While I do agree that this wouldn't be the best writing choice, I think, in-context, he would be trying his best to keep everyone he loves alive. He is an extremely traumatized teenage boy whose biggest fear is losing those he loves. He has been smack-dab in the middle of the action until s4. Finn Wolfhard himself has said Mike is depressed and pushing everyone away bc of it.

Anyways, all of this to say that I don't think it'd be too farfetched to say all of his "bad behavior" is simply untreated trauma symptoms. And yes, you could say something about other characters being traumatized and them not acting like Mike, but trauma, and this is a fact, effects everyone differently. One person may lean into their life before going through said trauma, like Will in s3, while another may block it out, like it's shown with El in s4, and another may completely change themselves while being stuck in a loop of wanting those he loves close to him but also wanting to keep them at a distance bc he is so terrified of losing them. Dr. Owens even says in s2 that a sign of PTSD is change in personality and lashing out, which we see both in Mike. Plus all the parallels bt him and Max in s4, it's safe to say this boy is struggling mentally.

I do think it would make sense, when we finally get Mike's POV in s5, for a lot of his controversial moments to be fueled by his mental health struggle. Now, do I think this is an excuse? Not necessarily, but it does make sense, and as far as I know, anytime Mike's actively made anyone upset he's apologetic (like I said earlier, lashing out). I believe that if the show solely focuses on Mike's mental health issues, then Mileven wouldn't be out of the question.

I do want to add that this is not how I want the story to go, I would much rather his story go the Byler route, but I've said before that his character is not solely dependent on either Byler or Mileven, and I still stand by that. He should not simply be seen as a 'romantic interest' character bc he is more than that and he has his own problems (that we aren't necessarily shown) that have nothing to do with who he's in a romantic relationship with.

Now, again, this is probably mostly just something I've convinced myself I'd be alright with, but I am aware that this in and of itself would be boring and not very good writing. I also do not know, in this case, what would happen on the Byler side of things, this why I say "(mostly)". I am fully a Byler shipper and would prefer Byler endgame to anything really, but I'm a Mike-stan first and foremost.

Sorry if this wasn't too clear, I feel like I just rambled and repeated myself a lot. Thanks for the ask, though! And pls if you or anyone else has questions about anything I said, pls ask me! Trust me, I know this isn't foolproof and I'm probably just dumb 😂

TLDR: I think it's possible they could go more towards untreated PTSD and trauma/mental health related route for Mike in a way that would make Mileven possible. Doesn't mean I'd think it's necessarily good writing, but I could see it going that way.

[sailforvalinor]

Idk if this is controversial, but studying for a English/writing degree at university shouldn’t make you NOT want to engage with writing or literature. Just a thought.