#i also just. love the existence of the romance plotline even if i don't like. care. really?

[anthonycrowley]

genuinely cannot tell if you liked the new season or fucking hated it with every inch of your soul

it's complicated. it's layered.

[writingquestionsanswered]

How do I plot a romance story?

Most advice and plot structures I have found seem to be focused on quest-type stories. Do you have any advice or templates that are mpre easily applicable to romance stories? Do I need to include another major plotline?

Basic Romance Structure

Like most stories, there are different theories and methods about structure, and you can find these by Googling "romance story structure." However, let me walk you through a basic romance structure to show you the differences and similarities with the kind of structure you'd use for something like a quest story or an adventure story.

Introduction/Normal World - Like most stories, romance stories usually open with a peek at the protagonist's "normal world" as a means of introducing who they are and what their life is like. And, as with other stories, this also introduces us to the both characters' internal conflicts. In romance, rather than resolving the internal conflict with growth in relation to the story events, the internal conflict will be resolved via change/growth in relation to the romance. [Example: Sandi is a florist with a four-year-old daughter, navigating single parenthood after her husband filed for divorce and ran away to chase a dream.]

The "Meet Cute" - This is essentially the inciting incident... the moment the two characters meet for the first time, or the first time in a long time. All in one moment, we see how undeniably right they are for each other, but due to their individual internal internal conflicts, they're butting heads big time.

[Example: Sandi meets Brent, the new flower supplier who is adorable, sweet to Sandi's daughter, but infuriatingly inept at doing things the way she likes them.]

Forced Proximity - After the "meet cute," something will inevitably force them to spend time together. They get partnered together on the same job, stuck together in the same place, keep coincidentally bumping into each other... whatever. All that matters is that they're forced to get to know each other despite their head butting.

[Example: they get roped into working together on the town's rose festival.]

Resistance/Rejection - Now that they're forced to interact for whatever reason, they're going to spend a lot of time resisting their mutual interest/desire for one another due to whatever obstacles exist, like being from warring factions or one being in the middle of a divorce. But despite this resistance, we can see the sparks flying between them, even if they can't or don't want to admit it.

[Example: Sandi wants to focus on running her business and raising her daughter; Brent just got out of a long relationship and isn't ready for romance.]

Waning Resistance/Giving Love a Chance - Eventually there's a breakthrough... the obstacle gives way... they have a really fun time hanging out at the Christmas market and almost kiss... they move past the misunderstanding between them... or maybe they just slowly get over their issues and start to fall in love. Either way, they decide to give the relationship a go.

[Example: as they get to know each other and bond through working on the rose festival, they can't deny how compatible they are and an unexpected first kiss gives Brent the courage to ask Sandi out on a date, to which she agrees.]

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back - This is essentially the first date, then another one, then another one... though it doesn't have to be actual dates. It just needs to be some interactive scenes when they're in relationship mode. Each of these interactions will deepen their feelings for one another while at the same time raising new obstacles or re-raising the old ones.

[Example: the first date goes well except that Sandi is preoccupied with the fact that her daughter is staying with a new sitter. The second date goes okay, except Brent is in a bad mood after his ex came to town to pick up the last of her things. Then they pull an all-nighter to make some final preparations for the upcoming rose festival, which leads to a philosophical conversation about the future, wherein Sandi says she sees herself getting remarried one day and having another kid or two, and Brent says he can't ever see himself getting married or being a father.]

This Isn't Going to Work - This is the midpoint crisis... the "all is lost" moment where one or both put on brakes and say, "I can't do this," citing whatever obstacle/s that now stand in the way of their happiness. Sometimes this follows their biggest act of intimacy yet, whether that's simply their first kiss or going all the way. It could even be the first declaration of love, being introduced to family, or some other important early relationship milestone. But then it all falls apart... maybe because one or more of the obstacles become too much, a fear-based retreat, or some other external force

[Example: the rose festival has arrived... Sandi is there with her daughter and parents, Brent is there with his mom and sister. Everyone meets, Brent continues to be great with Sandi's daughter... it's obvious Brent and Sandi belong together. But then Sandi's wayward not-yet-officially-ex-husband shows up and wants to get back together. Although she's ambivalent, seeing him interact with their daughter and her parents makes her realize giving him another chance is what's best for their daughter. Meanwhile, Brent witnesses this from far away, thinks, "I'm not good enough for a family like that," and he and Sandi go their separate ways.]

On Second Thought... - This is the moment when something happens that makes one or both characters realize they belong together... that the obstacles aren't real or don't matter... [Example: Brent finds a drawing Sandi's daughter made of the three of them together that makes him realize he really is worthy of their love. And Sandi sees that her husband hasn't changed, that he's still focused on chasing dreams that aren't what's best for their daughter... or herself, for that matter. ]

The Moment of Declaration - This is where the one character finds the other, or they find each other, and one or both declare their love and commitment to the other, despite whatever obstacles there may be. This is the run through the airport to catch the other before they fly away to a new life. It's the objection at the wedding before the other can go forward with the less-than-ideal marriage. It's the boombox on the shoulders, the kiss in the rain, the "I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on" declaration in a foggy field at sunrise. [Example: Brent hears from a friend that Sandi's husband left again. He goes to the last night of the rose festival, finds Sandi, and tells her he wants all of it... her, the daughter, her quirky parents, the flower shop, marriage, more kids... he is ready to take on the world with her, and she couldn't be happier.]

The Happily Ever After or "HEA" - This is the story's denouement, where we flash forward a few days, weeks, or more and see the happy ending. This is the jump ahead a few months to see the happy couple living their lives together, the one year leap ahead to the wedding, or a leap ahead to a moment even further down the road when the couple is firmly established in their HEA.

[Example: two years later, Sandi and Brent have been married almost a year, and are at the rose festival with the now six-year-old and their newborn twins, Sandi's parents, and Brent's mom and sister, one big happy family.]

Now... like I said, there are a variety of different structure templates for romance as there are for other genre stories. Don't feel like you have to pick one, and if you do, don't feel like you have to stick to it exactly. Story structure is just a guideline to help make sure you hit the important points to help the story unfold.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[lotusarchon]

been rereading svsss soooo combining my current hyperfixations here

everytime there's a reader isekai au it's always them loving the universe they've transmigrated into but what about a reader who's a borderline HATER (me) of black myth wukong or lego monkie kid

(tdlr: this does not represent how i feel about either video game and show, because i like them both, the fandoms are just...eh...but i do think it'll be funny lmfao)

i'm talking a full time hater. they've read jttw and fssy and of COURSE they love those books, they're a huge myth nerd.

then they take one fucking look at the adaptions inspired by them and immediately go "oh fuck no"

a reader who DESPISES lmk's portrayal of sun wukong because what the fuck do you mean he's not a buddhist after his journey? what do you mean he didn't kick the jade emperor's ass and fucking isn't badass and cool? what the fuck do you mean the six eared macaque is his 'best friend' and people SHIP them?? what do you mean no one likes tripitaka and apparently the three other pilgrims were reincarnated when that isn't factually correct??

a reader who positively despises the plot line in lmk because WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN NEZHA'S DEMOTED TO SOME CANON FODDER WHEN HE SHOULD BE BADASS?? or...or AZURE LION BEATING THE JADE EMPEROR?? WHO THE FUCK EVEN IS THE BROTHERHOOD EWWW!? what do you mean this dragon girl has the samadhi fire ew ew ewww what is this plot...

reader who fights with fans because of their (barf) mindset and also shut?? up?? about nezha being a 12 year old?? gross ass??

reader who watches the show religiously but only to find every flaw in it and when people argue about the show being a children's only audience they fight back with "idgaf if it's for kids they should teach it properly dumb fucking cunts gtfo my dms before i doxx you"

same thing with black myth wukong tbh. reader who hates black myth wukong because...no...no, sun wukong most certainly wouldn't do that. graphics are fine whatever but but this is?? inaccurate??

reader who's tearing into fanboys too because shut the fuck up about this character pingping bring sexy and also why the fuck does she exist?? why is red son not actually pif's son?? why is there some fucking random monkey tryna collect those whatchamacallit (relics) NO THIS IS WRONG

reader who's gagging cause...sun wukong wasn't in love with nobody and why is there a brief fucking romance plotline with the monkey 2.0 wasn't this a fighting game ewew get it AWAAAAY

reader who hates and then...uh oh. too much dumplings is making them choke....guys...guys i think they're dying??

reader who wakes up in bmw or lmk as some... rabbit spirit? (so weird) but absolutely SEETHING at being here because oh fuck this bitch ass god awful plot suck my cock we are NOT DOING THIS

reader deciding that avoiding the obnoxious characters would definitely be better for their sanity....only for some blasted loud ass obnoxious stupid cunt fucking google translated voice pings in their head... telling them if they don't participate in the plot they'll be executed

reader thinking they'd rather die but then the system goes "oh, you thought we were joking?" and gives them the worst experience ever that by the end of it they have to swallow their pride and participate in the plot....☹️ Unfortunately

reader who accidentally wifes up the characters and has to deal with everyone forgetting their roles...and the system threatening them about the plot too like bro how is this my fault these bitches are dumb? fuck you mean you're gonna kill me ag- no, no, you're right uh i'll fix it i'll fix it.

Anyways I'm gonna write a fanfic with an OC like this cause it's too funny to pass up and also I'm 100% gonna die with my wipes hahahaha fuck..

[dalekofchaos]

Choices I would've added to Life Is Strange

I posted this on the LIS subreddit and thought I'd post it on here.

I wanted to keep to the same story without altering anything major, otherwise I would've stuck to the original plotline with Sean as the big bad, Nathan knowing about the storm, have Max, Chloe, Warren and Victoria team up to give Warren, Kate and Victoria more screen time and give them romance paths and add a ending where Max goes back to save Rachel, Chloe and the Bay.

I might be breaking a rule by adding more Warren, but cut content suggests we were meant to see Max, Chloe and Warren together as a team. Concept art sketch for a cut scene by Edouard Caplain, depicting Max Caulfield, Chloe Price and Warren Graham

Episode 1

Take photo of David harassing Kate. Rewind. Comfort Kate. Keep photo. To this day it baffles me that this is the only time - the only time - where the game breaks its own rules of "Max keeps things on her when she rewinds." Even small things like helping Joyce make breakfast respects this rule. If you tell Joyce you want one thing, grab all the ingredients, and then rewind to tell her you want the other thing, all the ingredients you grabbed are still in your inventory! You can have the items for both breakfasts in your inventory. Though the game does remove them all once you talk to Joyce and commit to making breakfast. You could make an argument that the photo didn't exist to the point she rewinds to, which breaks the semantics of how the time-rewind works (notably how if you pick up an object off say a table, then rewind to before you picked it up, it's still no longer on the table), but it still annoys me endlessly. Because that was my natural thought on that sequence, and the game just slaps your wrist and says "No. In this game all about rewinding and undoing your decisions and not having to commit to them, you have to commit to one." It becomes more relevant and thematic in later chapters, but it just felt oddly out of place so early in Chapter 2.

The choice between Help Warren before jumping into Chloe's truck or not. If you help Warren, Max kicks Nathan in the balls and Warren doesn't get a black eye. If you don't help, Warren gets a black eye as was in canon

Warren romance playthrough. A series of choices to help flesh out Warren as a character and a potential partner for Max. Continuing on the Help Warren choice. Helping Warren also leads to Warren hopping in the truck with Max and Chloe. Warren has a black eye from the headbutt and Chloe offers to use the first aid kit in the bathroom. Cute scene where Max helps Warren reduces the swelling of his black eye and you have the option to hold Warren’s hand or not. Warren takes off when his eye is healed up enough and wishes Max well in reconnecting with Chloe

If you choose to comfort Victoria, this leads to an actual friendship with Victoria. When she sends the thnx but we're not friends" text, you can reply insisting on it. This will prompt you to go back to the dormitories and when you go back to Vic’s dorm, Max and Victoria get to talk, become close, show Victoria the pictures Max has taken, have a laugh over the email situation and get Victoria to see the way she was treating Kate was wrong. Victoria will tell Max that she was jealous over her not caring what anyone thinks of her and thanks Max for coming and invites her to join the Vortex Club as it needs real cool people like her and not snobs and suck ups. Max asks advice on what to do with Chloe and tells her how guilty she feels for not keeping in touch and asks what she should do. Victoria tells Max to suck it up and get back in touch and make it up to Chloe and Max thanks Victoria for the advice and they leave as friends.

If you took Victoria's photo after Chloe proclaims "booyah skank, karma's a bitch" Chloe will ask to keep it because it gives her joy to seeing Victoria brought down to a peg and that Rachel would've loved it.(will add onto this for the other episodes)

Episode 1 ends with Max, Chloe and Warren together as the snow falls(evidenced by the concept art)

Episode 2

Romance Warren path. After Warren's offer to Go Ape, Max gets to explain her powers and the situation with Kate and Nathan. We get to prove it to Warren, we also get to learn more about Warren as a character. We find out Warren is basically the boy version of Matilda. Was neglected as a child, so he chose books and science as his passion and sci-fi and it made him feel whole.(idk this was the best I could come up with, but it’s more than what DONTNOD has given us) then Warren will promise that he will look around and help out with Kate.

Max will take photographic evidence of Nathan vandalizing Max's room and leaving the threatening messages. When Max accuses Nathan at the end of the episode, she presents it to Wells, Wells recognizes the message as Nathan's handwriting and Jefferson recognizes the photo as Nathan's style and this leads to Nathan spending the night in jail as well as being suspended.

Continuing on from Chloe and Victoria's paint photo. We are given the chance to tell Chloe about Kate's situation and let’s say in addition to showing off our powers to Chloe, Max tells Chloe about Kate’s ordeal and Chloe’s just as pissed as Max. Maybe in the Junkyard or on the way back to Blackwell, Chloe will offer Max to mass produce the pictures, post them everywhere at Blackwell and email the picture so she can post it online. She says “let’s call this Kate’s revenge” if you accept this will happen throughout episodes 3-4. -Victoria feels what it’s like to be humiliated and bullied and feels some humility -Everyone in the Vortex Club except Nathan turns on Victoria -Everyone in Blackwell calls her “paintgirl” and some things worse. -Victoria absolutely hates us and when she sends her texts, Max can either apologize or stand her ground and call her out like the bitch she is “karma’s a bitch ain’t it? this is what you made Kate feel. You deserved every bit of it.” -At the party, you can try to make nice and Victoria will learn a lesson that there are consequences for her actions. You can either forgive or condemn Victoria. Whichever you choose, you then choose to warn her or not about Nathan.

Continuing on the Victoria friendship. Victoria is genuinely nice to Kate and apologizes and says she deleted the video. This will prompt a hopeful Kate and a Taylor asking “wtf was that and Victoria laying down the law yelling “be nice to Kate and Caulfield, that’s an order” Continuing on after Max convinces Courtney to let her in the guest list and into Jefferson’s room, Nathan will be his mean self but Victoria will say “be nice to Max, she’s my best friend” Victoria will start calling Max Maxine, while Max doesn’t like it, Max will allow her to call her that if she gets to call Victoria “Tori” Victoria and Max will have a moment to talk before class starts. Catches up, Max shows the photos she’s taken in episode 2, asks how Kate’s doing and finally Victoria personally invites Max to the End Of The World Party and you are given the choice yes or no, obviously you choose yes. Which prompts Victoria to say “congratulations Max Caulfield, you’re officially a VIP member of the Vortex Club”

Episode 3

Warren romance path. Max, Chloe and Warren will be investigating Blackwell together. Warren will use his hacking skills to help them break into school. They each search for clues. In the Principals office of course, but also searching where the last Vortex Club was in search of anything that might help. Warren keeps a lookout while Max and Chloe skinny dips in the pool and Warren is the one to warn them to hide. You get the choice of choosing between going to Chloe’s place or going to Warren’s dorm. In Warren’s dorm, it will open with Max and Warren holding each other, Max at first blushes, but embraces the moment and the two taking a selfie together. We see Warren's dorm looking like this. Max talks to Warren, about how much she appreciates Warren for always being by her side, and Kate's. Warren tells Max that he loves her And a choice prompts to Kiss Warren or Hug. In place of Max wearing Rachel's clothes, Max wears one of Warren's nerdy shirts. They will talk and say they should go on a date to the End Of The World Party as a date and a means to spy on Nathan and make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone again. Chloe texts Max to come over and Max kisses Warren goodbye and says “see you later my white knight.”

Victoria friendship path. In the beginning of episode 3, Victoria sends a text congratulating Max and saying she’s proud she did something, while Max says she did more by the end and saying she’s proud of Tori

When we kiss Chloe, Chloe doesn’t push back, she embraces Max in a kiss

When we choose the “Side with Chloe” option in episode 3, we print out David’s evidence and take pictures of the surveillance footage as proof for Joyce. We talk about it but we don’t show it to Joyce and Joyce automatically sides with Max. I’d also have David snap and attempt to hit Chloe and Joyce stops him and finally puts her foot down with David and shows him the door. Always bothered me that Joyce only begins to side against David by Max's word. She might as well have screamed that Max was the golden child. Joyce spent literal years watching David treating Chloe like crap right in front of her, and even now that he’s raising his hand at her she’s not reacting, but the second he talks a little too harshly to Max, she jumps to take her side and honestly. Chloe cannot not have noticed that. Obviously she wasn’t going to start a scene about this since they were already all fighting with David, but I’m pretty sure she would’ve under different circumstances because. The audacity. I would’ve gone mad.

Max will get to stand up to Chloe. Basically she puts her foot down on Chloe. After Chloe snaps after finding out about Rachel and mocking Kate's suicide attempt/suicide, Max can then lose her shit and stand up to Chloe. Basically says the way she treats her is not okay and if she wants to help her find Rachel and seek justice for Kate, then things are gonna have to change or they are finished. Then Max leaves Chloe behind with Chloe realizing that she needs to change. I just REALLY wanted Max to stand up to Chloe at the end of this episode instead of just letting Max act like a doormat and take her shit.

Not really a choice. But I'd alter one thing about Alternate's Max's look. Give her long hair, and tied up in a ponytail like she was a kid.

Episode 4

Not really a choice, but after the returning from her time jump, Max returns to her dorm and goes to Chloe. Chloe properly apologizes for how she’s been acting since they got back together and agree to put everything in the past so they can work together to find Rachel and give Kate justice. Would've been better than just seeing the apology over text.

Before we begin our investigation in episode 4. Max calls Joyce and David so everyone could let it all out. It’s basically the therapy that Joyce wanted David and Chloe to go to but didn’t. Chloe calls out David for his abuse for the last 3 years of her life and the fact that he made her feel like a prisoner in her own home and how much the cameras made it worse. Then Chloe calls him out on Rachel. “Rachel was my angel. She was the only good thing that ever happened to me since my dad died and you and the spoiled rich kid took her away from me. Worse. You stalked her like you stalked Kate. And now Rachel is missing. Congrats, David I hope it was fucking worth it.” Then Chloe unloads on Joyce. For all the times she covered for David’s abuse, choosing to either ignore or condone the abuse and for the fact that she’d rather pretend everything was fine. Maybe end it with “I didn’t need a fucking step-father, I needed my mother when I needed her most and your first instinct was to chose the worst fucking man to bring into my life. Fuck both of you.” Maybe after David and Joyce say their piece.(hopefully both of them being remorseful) Max can either choose to tell Chloe to forgive them or “fuck them” basically Max calls out David for his bullying and abusive behavior, Max can call out David. “You saw Frank, who was an adult, perving on Rachel, a high school student, you even had the evidence and you did nothing? Kate needed help and instead of being that help, you treated her like shit” David admits he fucked up with Rachel and wishes he could’ve sent his evidence to the police. then Max calls out Joyce for being a shitty mother. “I used to think you ruled Joyce, but you are a terrible mother. Chloe needed a mother and you failed her. She needed you, she didn't need you to bring some man she's never met before, she needed her mother who was traumatized and hurt by her father's death. And you let David hit your daughter and don't even see anything wrong with it? You talk about Chloe like she's a problem, like a burden. She's your daughter Joyce and she deserved better. ” David and Joyce would apologize to Chloe for the past three years and do better for Chloe. I don’t know how forgiving them would play out, maybe it would be therapeutic and would result in closure for the Price-Madsen family and they have a chance to start over after Max helps them in that direction. After choosing condemn them. I think Chloe would tell Max. “Max, thank you. I needed to finally let all that shit out.” “You deserved so much better Chloe.” “I got better Max, I got you.” And if you chose forgiveness. “I will still hate them both for how life went for the last 3 years, but I think we can start fresh. Thank you Max.”

Chloe would enter Kate’s hospital room with Max. We’d see Kate talking with Chloe and we find out that Kate was there for Chloe when Rachel went missing and made Chloe feel a little better, that’s why Chloe said “she’s cool”

Max can warn Kate about the storm and tell her to leave Arcadia Bay immediately.

Reject Warren path. After the Warren/Nathan situation. If you're pursuing Chloe and only choose platonic actions with Warren. Max gets the opportunity to turn Warren down. Max will tell him she's sorry, she just doesn't feel that way about Warren and just sees him as a cool geeky older brother and points out to Warren that Brooke likes him and that he should totally hook up with her, Warren appreciates for gently letting him down and is glad they can still be friends and says that he's glad Max has Chloe. You will see Warren and Brooke together at the party.

Max calls out Frank on his bullshit. Instead of choosing to befriend Frank, Max gets to call him out. Calls him out for turning Pompidou into a violent attack dog, the fact he sells drugs to kids and his predatory obsession with Rachel. “You didn’t love Rachel, you were obsessed with her and whatever you did drove her away and honestly? You’re not just a creepy drug dealer, you’re a pedophile, Frank.” Frank of course would get violent and you have two choices. Rewind and call the police or let Chloe shoot Frank and afterwords Max calls to animal services to protect Pompidou and give him a new home. Either you get the client book off of Frank’s dead body or you get it after the cops arrest Frank. Either way you get rid of a predator. Sorry, not sorry. I have no sympathy for people who prey on children.

Warren romance path. Instead of Warren appearing drunk, Warren waits for Max and awaits her on the dance floor. Max takes Warren to dance with and it's like a moment of peace or like the scene of Alex dancing with Duckie. It ends with Max and Warren kissing and Max taking a picture to capture the moment forever.

Continuing the Victoria friendship path. At the party, Victoria says, she's late, but she's happy Max is there. Max fills her in on what her day was like. Victoria is proud she and Chloe stood up to David and Joyce and that Kate is doing well. Max warns Victoria about Nathan. and as they part ways, Victoria hugs Max and tells her to be safe and call her if she or Chloe needs anything. But instead of going to Jefferson, Victoria goes to the hospital to visit Kate. As part of a culmination of your choices in the relationship with Victoria, you can encourage her to go and visit Kate to apologize in person. It wouldn't even have to be an extra scene, just part of the ending montage to an episode showing Victoria knocking on Kate's door and Kate opening it and inviting her inside. Maybe this could have been what happens to Victoria instead of ending up in the Dark Room. So if you do well enough to befriend her and she accepts your warning, she goes to see Kate and is spared being kidnapped by Jeffershit. if she doesn't accept your warning, she ends up in the DR. Would have been nice and felt more rewarding than what we got! Also? Kate would tell Victoria about Max's warning, meaning both Kate and Victoria would survive the storm!

We are given the opportunity to enter a photo for the Everyday Hero Contest. We enter at the last minute as Jefferson would give Max the opportunity. So Max with Kate’s permission, Kate would let Max take a photo of her in the hospital. Which wins the Everyday Hero Contest. Max gives an inspiring speech about how everyone can be a hero and that Kate has always inspired her, how much she loves Kate and that she hopes that Kate knows that she is loved by everyone in Blackwell and everyone would cheer Max on. This would also give Jefferson the means and opportunity to drug Max. It honestly works better than Jefferson magically appearing at the Junkyard with no explanation(and it never being brought up).

Episode 5

We are given the choice to save Nathan or let Jefferson kill him. Cut dialogue indicates there was something more meant for Nathan in the final episode. Jefferson says this to Max “Like you Max, I… am a camera. And like some cultures believe I’m going to use my camera. To capture… your… soul. Now take a break. I need to deal with Nathan first. Don’t worry, our session is just… getting started." I think Max could’ve helped Nathan in the dark room, to owe her the favor, Nathan would help Max.

Since I didn't have Chloe killed in Episode 4, Chloe and David would've worked together to save Max. Max and Chloe rush to diner to save Joyce, while also to use Warren's picture to go back in time. While at the diner we get a chance for Max to confess her feelings for Chloe and to tell Joyce while she approves.

While on the journey to the Lighthouse before the Nightmare world kicks in, we are given the choice to save everyone in the diner or leave everyone behind. After you save everyone at the diner, Chloe asks if they should double back to the hospital to save Kate and Victoria, but Max insists the hospital is so far from the storm and they'd be safer there anyway

Third ending. Sacrifice Max. Max screams no, Nathan freaks out and shoots Max. David subdues Nathan and Max is rushed to the hospital. Inspired by this comic and video

An addition to the endings. I wish we could have seen the last entry in Max's journal after she saved Chloe or Arcadia Bay. It would give one last glimpse into her thoughts, as well as clarify the endings a bit more. Also not really a choice, but an addition to the Bae ending. I'd make this ending twice as long, and the extra 5 minutes would be scenes following each other over the next few years. Show how Max and Chloe head to Seattle to visit Max's parents. Show how they help each other cope with trauma (like Chloe comforting Max when she wakes up from nightmares, or Max supporting Chloe at Joyce's funeral, or how they grieve every October 11). Show how Max doesn't give up on becoming a photographer, and Chloe is there to encourage her to follow her dreams. Show how they begin a romantic relationship (including the kiss this ending deserves) if you romanced Chloe. End it on a positive note as Max and Chloe buy the RV and go traveling like they always wanted to, and the last shot is Max and Chloe smiling at each other before hitting the road (as in the original Bae ending). Also among a few shots we might see Max and Chloe hanging out with Kate and Victoria - the former would be if you saved Kate, and the latter would be if you were nice to Victoria. and Nathan appearing if you saved him. What we'd see with Nathan is Nathan in a blue jacket like he has in the alternate timeline to reflect his new change in behavior and redemption. Hugging Victoria, apologizing to Kate, Max and Chloe. Hugging Victoria, Max and Kate and shaking Chloe's hand. I'm tempted to say he could've been in the Brody role in LIS 2, since he kind of fits Brody, cause Brody's line about his family having money but no soul would fit a Nathan after surviving the storm. It would have made this ending more complete, it wouldn't have required their cameos in the sequel, and already in 2015 it would have disproved the theories that death would continue to haunt Chloe/another storm would happen. Addition to the Bay Ending. I like to think it would be a collection of the montages we already got and Chloe’s funeral. But more. We’d see Max dealing with Chloe’s loss, her grief, but ultimately showing Max living her life and moving on. Show that Max still misses Chloe, but show her living her life. And just show Max living her best life with Warren, Kate, Brooke, Dana, Daniel, Stella and Alyssa. Even show montage of a friendship with Victoria. Show Max having a tea date with Kate. Show Max Goin Ape with Warren. Max doing photoshoots with Victoria and shopping dates with Victoria, Courtney and Taylor. Max doing group projects and games with Warren, Kate, Brooke, Stella, Alyssa, and Daniel. Max being Dana’s official photographer. And show Max and her friends graduating Blackwell and living their lives in Arcadia Bay. We just needed to see that despite losing Chloe, Max is okay and that while she will hold onto the memories of Chloe, she can live. The final scene is Max and Warren visiting the Lighthouse. The Blue Butterfly appears and it touches Max and as the Butterfly flies away, Max says "Goodbye Chloe as Warren holds onto Max and shares a kiss at the Lighthouse."

[jess-the-vampire]

For any of your ocs, we're there any What Could Have Beens? Like some stuff that changed over time or an idea you had for them but you changed it because you didn't like it or something?

Sorry, I just like going Behind the Scenes with some things!

Oh there's a lot of that! When you have as many characters as I do and have worked on them for many years, there's bound to be changes and evolutions as you continue to develop them and work on your creation skills.

I guess a good starting point is romantic relationships? Sometimes when I make characters I do design them with the mindset that certain characters will get together with a planned romance arc, and other times I don't plan for it at all and two characters of mine just have such fun chemistry they just kinda....become love interests now??!!

There's a few examples of that, though a notable one is Ashton and Luna, who are kinda beloved by people who enjoy my sky au. When I made Ashton and Cole I didn't even know where to put them (They weren't made with a au in mind, they were put into this au), much less make them into love interests, but everyone loved their chemistry with luna (especially ash) so they have fanart???!! People love them??!!!

I also equally have examples of planned romances that I end up ditching entirely for something else, like another better couple or plotlines outside of romance. A good recent example is currently Dusk has evolved into a bit of a love interest for Archie, giving them a friends to lovers kinda vibe.

But during the process of figuring out these new characters, I first had considered Dusk and Grady to be romantic interests actually. This changed because boy did it not take long before people became endeared with dusk and archie's relationship. (Although really you could still ship them anyway)

Now I also have design evolutions, where I'm not satisfied with a design and they get a nearly complete makeover (edith, melaine) or i add new details to their design over time (once tom was revealed to have a tail in star vs, a lot of his fan kids got them added/ angel was originally created without the spider legs, they were added later)

Though story stuff happens too, like chloe (main character of my original project), was originally a character i made for my video game class in college, and in that game she fought these little slime creatures I called ghouls.

This has.....very little relevance to her story in the project and while I had it in there originally I've basically ditched it because it conflicts with new info I added later. I did kinda evolve it into her fighting escaping creatures on earth before she is returned to the underground tho.

There's also like, stefan, whose plot lines around finding out he's a prince and going to his kingdom to reclaim his crown after his mom kept him traveling with her his entire life and never telling him about his dad. Like he's supposed to just show up and suddenly take a bunch of responsibilities he's not prepared for because he only reclaimed the crown to live a more lavished life. With the royal family having no idea he existed.

And that's all interesting in itself, but I had the concept of him coming home to find out his dad had ANOTHER kid, and stefan showing up means he basically took her place as next in line.

Obviously I've never made any art of this concept, so yeah.

There's a lot of others I could get into but let's get into archie, because his story was ENTIRELY redone rather then partially like those examples.

So all my earlier archie art and content was VERY different and anyone who was there knows it. Originally, hunter created him due to some unfortunate still lingering attachment to belos, seeing archie as a way to almost "give him a second chance at life" kinda way. Hunter was also a single dad still pining over willow, and had a very different job.

However, this is mostly because this early stuff was made during s2, so you kinda had no timeskip ending to build upon.

Archie also wasn't cursed and in fact he had almost an admiration for the golden guards, kinda wanting to be a fighter like them, a symbol of good.

Obviously this is pretty much all gone when I rebooted him after the show ended, archie is now the product of cultists looking to revive belos and was taken in by Hunter, he has both willow and hunter as parents, he's dealing with the effects of his ortets curse, and all stuff relating to hunter's past is...conflicting to say the least.

Though archie is a bit unhealthily obsessed with researching the brothers, obsessed with knowing about them to separate himself. He doesn't want to be compared to belos and yet can't stop looking into them.

There was interesting aspects of his original concept, but i do think this new draft is a lot more interesting for multiple reasons so I'm happy with the change.

So those are just some of the changes and developments of some of my characters! There's certainly more i could discuss but we'd be here awhile, so I hope you enjoyed this insight!

[tangents-within-tangents]

Local Ace overthinks headcanon and shipping culture

Happy ace week, my friends! Imma be posting some aspec hc's this week so I felt the need to overexplain my personal stance on orientation headcanons and such

To start, as with any and all fandom things: to each their own. People can do whatever they want, and (for the most part) I can choose what I do or don't engage with. I know that hc and shipping and stuff is mostly for fun, or for seeking/creating representation, no hate to anyone who does it and enjoys it.

But also sometimes things can be problematic and I can still be bothered by those things. Even things that are 'just for fun' or 'not for you' can impact and reflect our views and behaviors, so it's still worth speaking about.

Aro/ace-spec identities are really diverse and complex, and we're really underrepresented as is. We have historically and chronically been plagued by problematic misconceptions and tropes, both in canon representation (or lack thereof) and fanon mindsets. Some of the main issues to be aware of with this topic specifically:

The majority of (sometimes unintentional) representation being non-human characters (like aliens and robots) implying that sex/romance = humanity and/or a fulfilling life. (Here's some video essays that touch on this: X X)

Related stereotype issues like racist or ableist de-sexualization and infantilization of certain groups like Asian men, physically disabled people, or people with autism. (It's an intersectionality thing bc yes those people can be aro/ace as well but it's still complicated) (more video essays! X X)

Common erasure of historically aspec characters in favor of allo plotlines bc that's "more interesting/realistic". Or ignoring canonically established aspec characters in favor of allo shipping (often excused by the fact that some aro/ace people do have sex/relationships, which is true but the complexities and nuances are often ignored and there's lots of double standards) (Here's some posts that touch on this: X X X)

Amatonormativity's over emphasis on sex/romance as a fundamental and necessary part of life, which is often reflected in how media and shipping culture are generally allo-centric, and it can just get pretty pervasive at times (note: we aren't a monolith obv, some aro/ace people enjoy it and participate too, but others don't and it is hard to avoid) X X

So while I know there's lots of reasons for shipping and headcanoning, and for the most part there's nothing wrong with it and people aren't trying to do these things, there are still issues that exist. Honestly seeing posts talking about these things has been really validating for me bc it let me know like yeah this is a problem other's have noticed too and I don't have to just accept it.

So with respect and awareness of nuance, ship and headcanon however you want. The rest of this post is about my own personal preferences and such. I'm not necessarily trying to persuade anyone here, I just have some thoughts I want to put into words:

For me personally, when it comes to characters' sexualities/gender identities/etc, I prefer just to stick to whatever is established in canon (or in confirmed intentional coding), and, if nothing is specified, headcanons that are based in canon evidence (more like theories I guess, as opposed to reimaginings or straight-up projection that knowingly ignores parts of canon. Which is fine and fun if that's what you like but to me there is a distinction). This is because:

1: While fandom culture is all about freedom and creativity, I do think it's important in this day and age to recognize actual canon representation and strive towards that because that is what will reach more people and have impact (and personally I think that writers' intentions should actually be given more thought/value)

2: I think that shipping/hc/fandom culture in general tends to perpetuate amatonormativity (specifically in devaluing/erasing friendship and non-romantic love), and sometimes leads to harmful parasocial queer speculation in real life (though again, I know that's not the intention but it's still a thing).

3: Generally, unless it’s explored as a part of a reimagined fic or something, just saying a random character is aspec (or whatever identity) when they did not present that way at all in the actual media doesn't really help me feel seen.

For example, I've seen a lot of people headcanon Mabel Pines as aromantic and that really threw me off bc in the show she is obsessed with romance. Like if other's see themselves in her that is great I won't stop you (the idea is that her crushes are comphet, which is not something I personally struggled with, and maybe I could see it if I rewatched the show with that in mind) but when I watched the show, I specifically did not connect with or relate to Mabel BECAUSE of my ace identity (yeah this post was mainly about her lol) so it just doesn't do much for me to claim her as aspec, in fact it feels counterproductive.

Sometimes it can feel really tacked on too, like 'well it's not confirmed that this character has sex so they could be ace', or 'some ace people do have sex so they can still be ace.' And like sure yes they could be but often it's like a kid show or something so none of the characters' sex lives are relevant or explicitly confirmed. Just bc they aren't not ace doesn't mean that they are, or that saying they are is meaningful if the character/story doesn't actually speak to anything related to the ace identity or experience. (This can happen with canon characters too, like Sponge Bob being asexual means absolutely nothing to me, especially since I get the sense that the creator said that more in a 'sea sponges reproduce asexually' type of way :/ )

So basically, in terms of representation I prefer the theory/interpretation type of headcanons that have supporting evidence of some kind, because that evidence is what makes me see myself in a character and feel represented in some way by them. So that's the type of headcanons I'll be posting, and that's why I'll be discussing evidence and explanations, even though I know plenty of people have fun and find value in just claiming identities without any of that.

Another thing I feel the need to overexplain is kinda the reverse of that. I think it's important to recognize that a character does not have to be a certain identity for you to see yourself in them. Like that sense of relatability and representation is still valid even if they aren't, and I think it's good to leave space for that ambiguity.

This is coming mostly from the fact that I have always valued platonic relationships (between any and all genders) long before I ever knew I was ace. I've always wished that was better normalized and represented in media and real life. I think that is just as important as queer representation, and sometimes they can counteract each other.

Like yes Min and Ryan could be gay and if that's what the writers were going for despite restrictions, or if people see themselves in that, great! But I would also love for this story to give a close friendship this much narrative value for once.

Merida does not HAVE to be aro/ace (or lesbian) to not want to be forced into marriage with a stranger at the age of 16 (in fact she specially says "I'm not ready" and "not yet"). But regardless, aspects of her story are still really relatable to us and applicable to living in amatonormative society.

Mako and/or Raleigh do not NEED to be aspec for this glorious refreshing no-romo moment to happen (nor does one need to be aspec to appreciate it)

And maybe claiming them as aro/ace could even undercut the power of this platonic bond (like saying the only way they could not be interested in each other is if they are not interested in anyone (same if you said they are gay, as if that's the only possible way for a man and woman not to be attracted to each other)). But it's still a moment lots of us aspecs love because platonic relationships AND aro/ace characters do go hand in hand and BOTH are so rarely portrayed in media.

So these ideas also play into my preferences, and I want to acknowledge that my headcanons don't have to be definitive (which like I know that is normal amongst fandom culture anyway) but are more about pointing out aspects we can see ourselves in and relate to, especially in a media landscape that is so lacking in representation and understanding of our identities.

[agentrouka-blog]

Dany fan here: I think other Dany fans think Jonsas are over the top with Dany hate because of pol!Jon. I follow many Jonsas because I’m perfectly fine with Jonsa. It’s not for me but I see the vision. That said I’m a bit of an unusual Dany fan in the sense that I’m a big fan of the Meereenese Knot essays and think the interpretation of Dany presented there is pretty spot on. I personally think Dany has a good heart but that circumstance and experience and terrible coping mechanisms have led her to act in villainous ways and whether or not a character is a villain is determined by their actions regardless of whatever goodness is in their heart. But anyway I do not like the pol!Jon theory. I think it’s out of character for Jon and needlessly cruel to Dany. I think it’s possible that he ultimately kills her and that could be fine and I don’t reject that theory, but I think the idea of Jon deceiving and sexually abusing Dany and then killing her for the sake of Sansa is what Dany fans think of when they think of over the top hate because they assume every Jonsa shipper also believes in pol!Jon.

I do understand why people thought Jon was deceiving Dany in the show though because their relationship was just so poorly executed and Kit and Emilia had no chemistry on screen. Imagine fucking up your show’s romance so badly that people think the script confirming that the love was mutual must have been tampered with.

Hi there!

(I think Dany is a compelling tragic villain, and it's lovely seeing someone loving her for it!)

I do think that pol!Jon (under duress, esentially) is a not unreasonable theory that grew out of the way the show presented their relationship. If there was sexual abuse I think it's fair to say it was in the hands of the more powerful party, though.

That said, I don't see it happening that way in the books at all and I think all characters will be better off for it. I agree it wouldn't feel right.

Certainly not in a punitive "you thought he would love you but he really loves Sansa, now die!!!" way. That cheapens jonsa as much as it cheapens the complexity of the conflict between Dany and Jon.

It's just a deeply uninteresting way to explore their existing conflict or their respective strengths. Not to be a hater but it's not exactly riveting literature watching Dany be manipulated by Daario and it's unlikely to be more so in a repeat performance with Jon who isn't even her type. Same as watching Jon go through a repeat of the abusive Ygritte plotline would be less than compelling.

We'll have instances of romantic manipulation. Littlefinger is practically begging Sansa to use his own obsession against him, and Arya gives us a preview when she lures Raff to his death wearing "Mercy's" face. That's been set up since the first book, and it works as a satisfying response to the way everyone has been telling Sansa how weak and simple she is. It's very personal, very steeped in their respective histories, very poetic.

But for Jon and Dany I think we can expect something more universal and even-handed than that. They are both at varying points manipulative and earnest, highly clever or unexpectly outmaneuvered. And neither will be in this conflict all alone and without advice. Not to mention, we have both of their POVs and watching one just miss all the clues of the other manipulating them would be flat. This only ever works with one POV withheld. The show tried that with Jon Snow live on the screen, to disastrous results. No way is that GRRM's plan.

I'd rather watch two clever adversaries play a big game of chess. And given GRRM's love for that game, I am certain it's also what he would prefer to write.

[genericpuff]

I'm not sure if you've answered this question before but what were some of the things that made you interested in Lore Olympus in the past and at what point did you lose interest?

I adored the art in the beginning, and just like, the really warm-feeling romance that just had me feeling so giddy reading it. There were some red flags in the beginning like the age gap, but I kinda fell for the same mindset of "well they're gods so what does it matter" (obviously I can't in good faith use that argument anymore because if the age gap didn't matter then it either wouldn't exist or wouldn't be brought up in the first place lmao but it took me a while to realize that).

Now, to be fair, LO was also one of my first introductions to webtoons as a format, prior to that I had read mostly manga and left-to-right indie webcomics (i.e. comics that were hosted on their own site) and I was still in the early years of my own development as a writer and artist (I still feel like I'm early in that development tbh) so of course there were undoubtedly a lot of obvious flaws that went over my head (and I was younger and inexperienced so I wasn't as critical of what media I was watching / reading as I am now) but that's been half the fun of catching them now - it's given me a lot more perspective and helped me hone my own skills in my writing by analyzing what's wrong with LO and brainstorming on how those problems can be avoided.

But then there was the Act of Wrath plotline and I was completely sold on it being gold. Anyone who's read my original work knows how much of a SUCKER I am for "dark alter ego" plotlines, I eat that shit up like junk food. But what I like about the dark alter ego tropes is when they're used to explore the subconscious, question one's morals and true identity, etc. That was what I was hoping for and expecting with the AoW plotline in LO - that her "dark self" was gonna be a reflection of how she felt "held back" by her circumstances in the Mortal Realm, and her wrath being something she could use for retribution (in a "do no harm but take no shit" kinda way). Especially with how naive and innocent she was in the beginning, I loved the idea of her slowly coming to terms with her "darker" side and learning not to suppress her emotions until they had nowhere else to go and exploded (which was how I interpreted the AoW).

So when it didn't do that, or even explore an ounce of nuance regarding her relationship with her wrath, I was very disappointed to say the least. When Eris was revealed to be the one who "blessed" her with wrath, that was when the rose colored glasses started to fall off and I realized "wait, does Rachel not have an actual plan for this whole Kore vs. Persephone thing???" And now her wrath is literally just there to... give her the power to bully people?? It just feels so disheartening to see such potential squandered.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not gonna chastise a story if it doesn't go exactly where I want it to go, there would be no fun in that anyways (and that's what fanfiction is for lmao). But when a story is leaving very interesting but connectable breadcrumbs that are VERY clearly leading you somewhere and then just... doesn't, that's when it's disappointing and unsatisfying. LO feels like a "creator vs. the reader" story in the worst way possible, where it's constantly leaving breadcrumbs, getting pissed when the audience "figures it out", so then it overcorrects and tries to "subvert" itself to keep the readers "on their toes"... but the problem is that all it really does is punish the readers for paying attention and investing themselves in the story by giving them a worse story. It's like Rachel's getting mad at people for figuring out a story that she's writing and hinting towards.

And this has been going on for YEARS now, it's like a Shepard tone where it sounds like it keeps getting higher and higher in pitch but then doesn't actually resolve so your brain is just scrambling trying to figure out what in the world it could be "building up to".

There's nothing. It's not building up to anything. It's just constantly putting down new plot threads that are slightly altered versions of previous plot threads and expecting you to keep following along while it makes a mess of itself. It feels like you're going somewhere but you're actually still just running in place. It's just Rachel never learning how to progress past the middle school writing level of "and then this happened and then this happened and then this happened". Not only is it disorganized writing, but it's just... it's so boring. Nothing's exciting or interesting anymore when it keeps distracting itself with shiny new plotlines and characters that never get resolved.

It's like when you were a kid and thought "man , when I grow up, I'm gonna eat nothing but chocolate cake and ice cream every day forever!" and then you get older and you realize you were being silly because eating nothing but chocolate cake and ice cream every day 1.) isn't good for you and doesn't feel good, and 2.) the appeal and novelty of it wears off if you can have it any time you want, it doesn't feel as special anymore as it did when you were a kid and having those things was a treat.

To compare this back to LO, none of its "reveals" feel like treats anymore, they feel like just another half-assed attempt to keep people interested. It's clickbait.

And don't get me wrong, you CAN totally subvert the breadcrumbs you put down for your audience and go in a completely different direction than where the audience was expecting, but it takes a shitload of skill and thought to do it well. Attack on Titan is one of the best recent examples of a story appearing to completely throw out its original script halfway through, only for that script to actually still be relevant in a very complex and thought out way. Especially when there ARE hints towards the big "twist" that make you go back and rewatch it and realize "WAIT, THEY'VE BEEN GIVING US THE ANSWERS ALL THIS TIME?!?!"

(it would be TWO MORE FUCKING SEASONS before this ending would make sense, that's fucking GENIUS foreshadowing and in the CREDITS SEQUENCE LIKE ?? IT'S SO BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT HOLY SHIT-)

Evidently Rachel does not have that skill and is not willing to put in that thought; maybe she could some day, but I don't think she's learning it on the job as well as she thinks she is.

And it's disappointing as fuck because it could have been so much better than this. Rachel is literally the only one getting in her own way of LO being something truly great.

[diamondcitydarlin]

i think probably the worst part of the whole thing is that I just don't really care anymore, the investment I had at the end of season 1 just straight up no longer exists. no, it's not just bc a blorbo got killed off (and there's a lot of reasons to be angry about that), it's mainly bc most of the characters at this point feel like hollow shells of who they were a season ago, including the stede x ed pairing as a whole (which I really just don't care about anymore at all, sorry). and no it's not bc 'Izzy got all the development and there was no time for anyone else' like of course there was time for everyone else, provided that they hadn't opened the season on all those characters making 180 character changes with no real explanation, provided they hadn't overloaded the damn season with nonsense that goes nowhere. JimxOlu was my OTP after StedexEd in season one, both of them were some of my faves, and not only did neither of them even really resemble who they were in s1, their relationship which was of such great importance in the former just suddenly...is something else now. Not people in love, but 'friends who have fucked once lol' and are wingmen for each other now because...??? Oh but Jim's dating Archie who...*checks notes* was in a Snake Cult? I think? That's about all we get on her, apart from the fact that she likes making out with Jim I guess. And I guess Zheng can't just be a powerful woman character that exists in this narrative without a romance of her own, so let's just toss her together with Olu and never explore or explain that with any kind of depth. Jim has neither trust issues anymore nor do they have ANY interest or investment in their revenge scheme or the Siete Gallos (REMEMBER THAT PLOTLINE?? REMEMBER?? APPARENTLY THE WRITERS DON'T) they're just kind of goofy all the time now for no reason. Olu's leadership arc? His being a confidant to Stede? Where the fuck did any of that go? Are they all a polycule or are they all just separate couple friends? IDK WHO CARES THIS IS HOW IT IS NOW I GUESS. Like, why am I supposed to care about any of that? It doesn't even feel like the characters I watched before.

And StedexEd. Jfc there's so much to say that other people have said better but the constant bringing up of conflicts, breakups, and then immediately resolving those issues with heartfelt reunions/kissing as if that's supposed to be sufficient got really old for me after awhile. The lack of explaining how their 'whim-prone' romance to this point was bad, the lack of explaining how they reconcile their different goals was also bad, but oh they can just go RUN AN INN NOW! Yay happily ever after! ????? "Ed, you've got family" which he immediately leaves to go try another life path he's probably going to suck at and hate WOW so romance. Like either figure it out or break up for good, it just makes them an obnoxious toxic couple who never seem to communicate or bother to try but are supposed to be the one we love the most and are rooting for. And that sucks, because I loved them once! GARBAGE!

There's only so much blame one can put on external factors for this. I worked in production once, I edited scripts and was a go-between for notes and writers, and this is the exact kind of thing I would've felt compelled to point out; we only have x amount of time and x amount of episodes to properly tell these stories, we know this, so maybe lets be realistic about what we can fit in here and do justice and what we can't. Maybe let's not just throw every fucking thing we think of at the wall to see what sticks while completely ignoring/retconning character traits and stories we set up in season 1. But nah, that's what happened!

Like, what is there to watch for at this point if s3 gets greenlit? I fail to find anything that I'd care about seeing continued, even the peripheral characters like Frenchie and Wee John and Roach, whom I also loved before and still do but barely did anything, so I guess I can tune in to watch them do more of nothing? Idk man it sucks when it's not just 'wow that was bad I hope next season is better' but instead 'wow that was so boring and incohesive I have no more interest or emotional investment in this to continue'

[destinygoldenstar]

🍀This Is My Fault, Guys...🍀 - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 2 Episode 10 “Popping Trust”

Hello and hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I wasn't too big on last episode. I will definitely say I prefer Season 1. But some of y'all told me it gets... interesting from here on out.

And since we're at four episodes left. Maybe.

NO I DON'T HAVE PTSD FROM ANOTHER EPISODE 10 WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

Also, I got informed that Aiden DID in fact apologize to Karol.

If you saw my answer to that ask, I basically said: "Cool. Too bad I had to be told that outside of the show to know that."

It does, you know, tell me that Aiden doesn't apologize on the show at any point.

And hey, IF I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and he at the very least SAYS he apologized to her in a later episode.

But I am going to say this:

I KNOW these greetings exist as Q&As.

For right now, I do not care about these, nor am I watching these.

Any information I SHOULD know about the story and characters should be IN THE SHOW. Whether shown or told. It's gotta be IN THE SHOW.

Because otherwise, I'm convinced the writers are just making excuses.

If it's about any leisure stuff or stuff that isn't relevant to the plot, that's fine. But if you have to give away vital character information that helps me understand them in a supplemental material thing like a greeting, casual viewers like myself WON'T see these and WON'T know these.

That's where I stand with this.

I don't think that person was lying about Aiden apologizing to Karol. I think that was legit. I just wanted to clarify why I responded the way I did.

Good for Aiden for not being the worst though.

(Jake is still my best boy)

The two I'm the most interested in is Rosa and Riya. They have the plotline I care the most about. Especially Riya after last episode.

Is it bad I don't care about the others...?

Maybe not 'don't care' as in 'dislike'. Hunter's okay even if I'm disappointed he wasn't actually aro. (Not a deal breaker) I want to see Aiden not suffer for once. And James... yeah no he can fuck off.

Anyway, that's enough of me babbling, let's get into the episode:

Oh wait are we final five?!

Oh shit I didn't realize that...

Oh.

Oh I hate it.

I have something for cuddling, okay? I see art of a couple cuddling, I am in awe. (I wouldn't say a kink cause I'm asexual, so I don't really feel turned on by things)

So I'm CONFLICTED right now cause I'm torn between "Oh this is so cute" and "Oh I hate it let go of him James"

"It seems like we fell asleep watching the movie."

What movie? Where'd you get a movie screen in the cabin?

"If we hadn't watched that cheesy drama movie, that wouldn't have happened."

"Oh sorry, some of us like art and not just those bloodbaths you call horror movies."

Oho! They're bickering like an old married couple! That MUST mean they're in love!! That must mean they're healthy now!

"Have you seen my phone?"

"I made you watch the movie so you'd fall asleep. Then I stole it. And SMASHED IT. AND BURNED IT. AND THREW IT IN THE LAKE. AND TOOK IT TO THE HOSPITAL WITH KAROL!!"

"Hey man, didn't your mom ever tell you that you shouldn't play with your food?"

Rosa, I don't think that's how you greet people.

"Are you okay, Hunter?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You just voted off my not girlfriend. That's all."

Idk, I feel like they were so close to making Hunter's story interesting by subverting the plotline a bit. By making him aromantic and struggling to feel the romance the girls feel about him.

But no. It was just a typical love triangle of which girl he wants.

All I'll say is that while I'm not offended by the in paper route they took with this storyline, if I was writing this season and this plotline, I would've had Hunter have a queer crisis and realize he's aromantic, struggle to come out to the girls, and Allyson and Tess bond and find love in each other, bis gotta stick together, and in the end the three accept each other as one happy consensual polycule. Not in the norm of what you expect from a straight relationship, but a found family that satisfies all of them.

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

Wow. Don't do Rosa like that. She offered to listen.

"How is the best intern in the world?"

Oh she is desperate to be nice XD

She even feeds him! She's already better than Chris!

"Om."

XD

Okay the way he sounded when he took that bite was not normal XD

Omg the voice acting in this show sometimes XD

I think since I expected it to be bad, I'm not AS bothered by it, except maybe a few lines. Sometimes it's so bad it's funny, you know what I mean?

I mean it's better in Season 1, obviously.

"All this good treatment feels kind of... strange..."

I KNOW. A boss treats their co-workers fairly and kindly?! Who ever heard such a thing?!

I mean I shouldn't talk. Cause in my work place, my bosses actually consider my feelings and make sure I'm doing well!

"But I think if I win, I will invest all the money in my daughter's future."

And that's why I'm routing for Rosa to win. She deserves it.

"I'm here."

Oh geez.

"I HEARD YOU WERE TALKING TO SOMEONE ELSE, HUH AIDEN?!?!? WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?!?!"

Every time, I swear. Aiden CANNOT talk to ANYONE else besides James.

"I was looking for my perfume, but I think I lost it."

Awwww, honey, nooooooo, I'm sorry.

Okay so there's a thief running amuck.

I thought it would be Riya, but if she lost something too, then maybe it's Hunter and he's trying to get the two alliances to turn on each other so he can stay in the game.

Or Riya or James are bluffing.

"Hunter can't win today's challenge."

Yes. Thank you. He's the only guy that's won immunity all merge.

For bullshit reasons very time.

"Wouldn't that be playing dirty?"

Rosa, no. That IS a valid, impersonal, and good game strategy to have.

It's not like we're killing him.

"I know how to differentiate the game from friendship, but that doesn't mean we should play dirty. And the way everyone accepts so easily scares me a little."

Omg Rosa I love you.

I LOVE how genuine she is compared to everyone else. It's so refreshing.

She's genuine but she's also not stupid, you know?

*Gets a golf ad*

XD

Rosa, you don't want to play the game dirty, go play golf instead!

"Excellent work Oliver..."

XD

"Yaaaaaayyy, that's so great, I LOVE safety..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"

Same, girl.

"James, Aiden, and Riya have agreed to align the challenge for you to be eliminated."

YO WHY ARE YOU TELLING HIM THIS?!

"I understand. I would have done the same if I were Tess and Ally."

Oh, he's cool.

GIRL YOU ARE TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD.

"James, I know you're just upset about losing your phone, but we need to focus on finding Hunter."

Yeah James, it's called withdrawal!

If their plan fails because James is too pissed about his phone, that's ANOTHER point against him.

"What if I told you I didn't lose it?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I mean I didn't lose it."

XD

I'm sorry XD

I KNOW what he's about to say, but I get this out of context thing in my head.

"You didn't lose it?"

"I didn't lose it."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I didn't lose it."

"I know you didn't lose it. how did you not lose it?"

"I mean I didn't lose it."

"Can you say SOMETHING besides you didn't lose it PLEASE?!?!"

"...pumpkin pie."

Idk.

"That's a very serious and rushed assumption."

Yes it is.

One time in school, I lost a highlighter, and I immediately came to the conclusion someone stole it.

Turns out whoever did it smashed it on the floor so I couldn't find it.

And I got accused of false accusations.

I had an AWFUL school life and EVERYONE HATED ME.

Yes even teachers hated me.

"And who do you think did it?"

"You tell me. Who is the only person in the camp with that background."

😨

NO.

UH UH.

NO.

DON'T YOU DARE.

She has an idol! She can just play it!

OH GOD HE'S FERAL.

"What's wrong with that guy?"

YOU'RE TARGETING HIM, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

"Your stress levels say otherwise."

Wait, is being nice KILLING her?!

Holy shit, THAT'S why McCleans are sociopaths! Because if they're nice they DIE!

"I felt bad that the four of us were attacking him."

You're too good for this game!

"This is ridiculous. It's like Hunter had prepared beforehand."

Let's be fair.

Even if Rosa DIDN'T tell him, if Hunter had a brain, he'd figure out that the others would be targeting him. So he'd play like this anyway.

"Excellent Rosa! Just like we planned!"

"So when Hunter is distracted, we all attack him at the same time!"

Oh wait that's smart on Riya's part! Holy shit, SLAY QUEEN!!!

"It's just a game. You did what you thought was right for you and it doesn't bother me at all."

Aw that's sweet.

"You warned me of your joint attack even if it hurt your alliance. You're a good person."

Yeah, about that...

ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU GUYS ARE BAD SHOTS

"It's time to hunt down Hunter!"

👏

HEY QUEEN

HEY QUEEN, I AM NOT WORTHY

SLAY!!!!

SLAAAAAAAYYY!!!!!

UH, HE DROWNED.

How do you keep the balloon underwater?

"The camper with the most intact balloons wins."

Oh okay, so don't shoot. Rosa and James have two.

Sorry, Rosa and AIDEN have two, my bad.

I'm not high this time, I swear.

"Let's wait for time to run out, and let Aiden win."

That is a perfect plan.

YOU FUCKING BITCH

YOU MOTHERFUCKING HYPOCRITE

Murder him. Murder him. Murder him.

Don't actually murder him, but slay him! SLAY HIM!

THAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU JUST SUGGESTED YOU BITCH

SHE IS YOUR ALLY!!

JAMES, I FUCKING HATE YOU!!

"And that was for stealing my phone!"

YOU DON'T KNOW THAT SHE STOLE YOUR PHONE

YOU JUST DECIDED TO ACCUSE HER, WITH YOUR ONLY PROOF BEING "Well she shoplifted before"

I HATE YOU JAMES

If James gets away with this, let alone wins, I fucking hate this season.

Okay maybe that'd be too mean. But I wouldn't like it.

And now you all lose.

Good job.

Good FUCKING JOB.

...wait what?

NO WAIT I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON

IT'S RIYA, IT'S GOTTA BE RIYA BECAUSE RIYA WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH ROSA THE WHOLE TIME AND COULD SHOVE THAT STUFF IN HER BAG-

SHE SABOTAGED ROSA

OH MY GOD...

DID MY QUEEN SLAY?!??!

DID SHE MISUSE HER SLAY PASS?!?!?

Wait... how many slay passes did I give her again?

No no, I don't care that Hunter won. Big whoopty do. I need to see how many slay passes I gave Riya throughout the season.

THIS IS TOTALLY MORE IMPORTANT

"I... want Yul to go to the Orange team."

YUUUUUUUUUUSSSS

SLAY QUEEN

SLAY QUEEN👑

DUMP HIS ASS ON THE LOSING TEAM AND GET RID OF HIS ASS

Counter: 2

"We can dominate the game together and you can beat the shit out of us in the semi-final."

Oh so you WANT to lose to Riya?

Heyo, don't tempt her to slay, Rosa. SHE'LL DO IT.

"Huh, now that you're encouraging me to slay, I think maybe I should slay, you know? Helps with my broke-ass career. People LOVE IT when people SLAY."

Counter: 5

I'm sorry for the disrespect, Riya! You can slay! This is my way of saying sorry, queen!

I love Rosa and don't want anyone to slay her, but I'm also like "DO IT YOU WON'T. DO IT YOU WON'T."

Counter: 7

"Karol is right. I must not forget my goal. I haven't stopped failing in my work, that's why I came here. This is my last chance to be someone! And I don't want to return to India with my family!"

SLAY GIRL!! SLAY!!

Counter: 9

"So when Hunter is distracted, we all attack him at the same time!"

Oh wait that's smart on Riya's part! Holy shit, SLAY QUEEN!!!

Counter: 10

HEY QUEEN

HEY QUEEN, I AM NOT WORTHY

SLAY!!!!

SLAAAAAAAYYY!!!!!

Counter: 12

I mean, it wasn't as many times as I said 'Steal The Idol'

Which, I'm pretty sure THAT counter is a meme on my Disventure Camp Blogs now...

(Either me or someone should do a counter of how many times I said something along the lines of 'steal the idol' throughout these reaction posts)

BUT STILL.

HOLY SHIT THIS WAS MY FAULT

I MEANT SLAY AS IN FLEX HOW GORGEOUS AND SASSY YOU ARE 💅

I DIDN'T MEAN SLAY AS IN BETRAYAL🔪

I could be babbling about nothing cause they didn't say she did this yet. Then I'm making a lunatic out of myself.

BUT DID I FREAKING CALL IT FROM WHAT, EPISODE 3? (Yes, it was Episode 3)

"You better pack your bags, because you're leaving tonight."

GODDAMMIT BUT I ALSO LOVE ROSA AND DON'T WANT HER TO GO.

I'M SO TORN.

I mean, she has Hunter on her side, right? So if Riya doesn't flip she's fine and they can boot James here.

GEE, IF ONLY ROSA HAD AN IDOL OR SOMETHING THAT COULD NULIFY THE VOTES.

IF ONLY, AM I RIGHT?

Add that to the counter.

UGH HONEY NOOOOOO I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO

I THOUGHT SHE WAS GONNA WIN

WHAT ABOUT HER DAUGHTER?!

"It's about Tess and Ally, they both like me. I think I feel the same way about them too."

HUNTER THEY'RE GONE, I DON'T CARE

I'M CONCERNED FOR ROSA

"If the three of you are happy together, why change it?"

THANK YOU ROSA.

"I don't know, because it's normal, right?"

This man doesn't know what the LGBTQIA+ Community is, I swear.

"Connor said I had to pick one."

Well screw Connor, who cares?

"Maybe it was inappropriate to bother you with my problems."

You and Jake would get along.

And you and me, probably.

But YEAH. I want the focus to be on ROSA.

"I wouldn't worry about that."

"Yeah, unfortunately, I don't have any advantages on me that had the power to negate the votes against me... you know, like an immunity idol or something. It's very unfortunate."

YEAH, SHE'S DYING. SHE'S ACTUALLY DYING FROM GOODNESS.

"If someone has a totem..."

SAY NO MORE!

"Me! I have an immunity totem and I want to use it now!"

LET'S GO!

"It's right... here? What?"

YOU DIDN'T CHECK YOUR POCKETS BEFORE YOU GOT TO TRIBAL?!?!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!?

ROSA NOOOO

I WAS SARCASTIC

I WAS BEING SARCASTIC BACK THERE, I THOUGHT SHE ACTUALLY HAD IT

THIS IS MY FAULT, NOOOO

"Did someone steal it from you?"

Of course no one steals idols around here. Because nobody here takes my advice ever.

Also fuck off, James.

'ROSA'

🎵I fucking hate my life and everyone here...🎵

'JAMES'

🎵I hope it's James but I think it won't because🎵

🎵Because these shows fucking hate me...🎵

🎵Why the hell am I singing? I have no idea🎵

'ROSA'

🎵Maybe cause I don't want to listen to this BULLSHIT🎵

🎵Lalalalalala I'm not listening...🎵

'JAMES'

🎵PLEEEEEEEEEEESSEEEE OH BAAAAAAAABBBYYY DON'T GO🎵

🎵SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE WAY THAT YOU'RE-🎵

😭

I'm not actually crying, that's just the emoji. Imagine me making a whining roar that sounds like a dying cat.

I THOUGHT ROSA WAS GONNA WIN

I WAS ROUTING FOR YOU

HER DAUGHTER TOO, OH MY GOD

SHE CAME HERE FOR HER DAUGHTER

"I just want to say that I'm leaving with a clear conscience. I played fair, I did the right thing, helped everyone I could, and didn't steal anything!"

Tell em.

GIRL HAD A FOOLPROOF GAME STRAT, AND SHE STILL LOST.

She had a secure locked in alliance. The team swap did not shake her. She got along with everyone to prevent herself as a target. She was a strong player. She was finding idols.

SHE HAD EVERYTHING GOING FOR HER.

AND SHE STILL LOST.

"I don't know what happened, but you have to be careful of James."

I know, right?

"Don't worry, I have a plan to deal with James."

AS SHE SHOULD SLAY.

"Riya, I didn't steal anything."

"I know, Rosa. It was me."

*I got up and paced around*

BITCH WHAT THE FUCK

I KNEW IT!!!! I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!! I CALLED IT!!!!!

I FUCKING CALLED IT!!!!!!

OH MY GOD NOOOOOOO

I WAS RIGHT?!?!??!

Guys, I swear this is blind. I swear. I swear on my oath.

Look. There's NO BAR ON THE FUTURE EPISODES.

THIS IS BLIND. I SWEAR. I DID NOT KNOW.

THIS IS PROOF.

DON'T THROW ACCUSATIONS.

RIIIIIIIIYYYYAAAAAAA

WHY DID YOU SLLAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY?!?!??!

WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO ME?!??!?!??!

I'm torn.

I'm so torn.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT MY BEST GIRL SLAYING MY OTHER BEST GIRL?!?!

Do I side with Riya going forward??? I-I don't know-I feel like I have to! I feel like because it's my fault, I'm OBLIGATED to side with her!!

She has me wrapped around her finger!! I don't know what to do! Because I want to hate her, but I JUST CAN'T!

I don't know what the popular take on Riya is. I only knew what the takes were on Ellie and Jake. I knew people hated Jake. BUT I LOVED HIM. I knew SHIT about the Season 2 cast.

But I NEED to PROCESS THIS...

RIYA I DON'T KNOW IF I LOVE YOU OR I LOVE HATING YOU OR I HATE LOVING YOU, YOU HAVE ME QUESTIONING MY SANITY, GIRL!!!

ARE YOU EVIL?! IS THAT IT?! Or are you just playing the game?

"I stole James' phone and put it in your backpack along with my perfume. I also took your immunity totem."

...

Okay?

Idk what you want me to say. I have nothing to say about that.

"Did you frame me?!"

What do you think she's trying to say? She's coming clean.

"Did you make me look like a thief in front of everyone?"

I mean that SUCKS because Rosa had to steal to survive, so this is some TRAUMA for her.

But also, getting pissed over a PHONE, I think is still on James.

Holy shit I'm defending Riya right now-holy shit I AM stanning her still, oh shit...

Oh no... oh no what has happened to me...?

"I was acting, Rosa. The boys didn't doubt it for a second."

I mean she's right. I can't say that's invalid of a strat.

"Riya, why did you do this to me?"

"We can betray each other inside the game and still be friends outside of it. Just like you betrayed the alliance by spoiling the plan to Hunter."

I... SOUND. Okay. That's sound.

CAUSE HEY, JAMES CAN PUT PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL AND CALL IT A STRAT, BUT RIYA CAN'T? LET'S BE REAL NOW.

"These are things that happen in this game."

Yeah. Yes it is.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

"The problem isn't the game. It's you Riya."

OH SHIT.

"You let the competition change you. You may win the million, but you will be alone again."

OH SHIT...

SO THAT'S WHERE THIS IS GOING...

"Come on Rosa! Don't be mad!"

"Hmph, I am not mad, I am disappointed."

SHIT...

And that's it.

She lost her ONLY friend here.

SHE'S SO UPSET ABOUT IT, OH MY GOD...

"Everything went as planned. When I stole the things, I didn't know whether to blame Hunter or Rosa, but I came up with a plan that could take me far, and unfortunately, I had to sacrifice Rosa."

I mean, I have to give mad respect that she's owning up to it.

"Yeah. I played dirty. Whatcha gonna do about it? I AM A QUEEN AND I HAVE GOLDEN'S SLAYING SUPPORT. I HAVE A RIGHT!"

Oh the goodness killed her. Well, RIP.

Okay, after thinking about it... HOLY SHIT RIYA IS SMART.

Seriously, think about it!

Final FIVE. Hunter KEEPS winning immunity no matter what they try.

Sure, she's allied with James and Aiden as well, BUT if Hunter wins immunity, which is what ended up happening, James and Aiden WON'T turn on each other.

So it'd either be her or Rosa. And since everyone likes Rosa, then Riya would go 5th place if she did nothing.

So her best move was to pin the blame on Rosa and get everyone to turn on her.

And if they find out she did this or Hunter wins immunity again? DOESN'T MATTER. SHE'S GUARANTEED FINALS ANYWAY.

IT'S ACTUALLY SO SMART.

I mean, I HATE this plan because it sacrifices Rosa, WHO DESERVED TO WIN OUT OF ALL THESE GUYS.

BUT

I HAVE to respect the hell out of her.

Oh my god I love Riya... I-guys, I think I might be supporting Riya.

I genuinely want Riya to win this season.

I get she might be evil, but it's Total Drama so who cares look what show you're watching, BUT THAT WOULD BE SO POETIC AND BRILLIANT.

She came here as an outsider outcast with no social life and desperately wanted it. But because of the game and what her career needed to succeed, she had to ditch both that and her morality so she could find success.

SHE WINS AND SHE SLAYS, BUT SHE WON'T BE HAPPY. HER LIFE WILL BE MISERABLE AND AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF ACTING SHE CAN'T BREAK FROM.

I WANT RIYA TO WIN NOW. THAT WOULD BE SUCH A GREAT ENDING. TOTAL DRAMA WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

As much as I would LOVE it if Julia had something like that, but you know, Season 2 of the TDI Reboot fell off the deep end at the third act. I KINDA warmed up to it, but I still don't like the last third of that season. (Episodes 1-8 were great though)

I feel like I'm obligated to as well, because I'm the one that kept telling her to slay. So I've been pushing it XD.

But yeah, RIYA SUPPORTER AND I DON'T GIVE A SHIT. THIS WOMAN SHOULD WIN AND THIS WOMAN SHOULD SLAY AND THIS WOMAN SHOULD GET HER UNHAPPY ENDING.

YOU WANT TO WIN THIS GAME, YOU DO IT SWEETIE.

YOU WANT TO DESTROY THESE BOYS, YOU DO IT SWEETIE.

YOU WANT TO BE A COMPLETE PIECE OF SHIT GOING FORWARD, I WILL PROBABLY BE TOO STUBBORN TO HATE YOU.

I'm a damn hypocrite for this, aren't I? How the fuck is James still here?

Also NOOOOO ROSA I'M SORRY

Rosa was so good too... it sucks. It sucks so much. I LOVED Rosa. She deserved to win, too. And I thought she was gonna win.

She was kinda giving me Owen and Wayne energy. Except she was actually a bit strategic with her alliances and finding idols and making good terms with everyone. She would've been a GREAT winner.

AND SHE HAD A SYMPATHETIC MOTIVE TO HELP HER DAUGHTER. LIKE, WHYYYY?!??!

Though let's be real. Riya hurt her personally. Riya could donate the ENTIRETY of the million dollars to Rosa if she wanted, and Rosa STILL would not forgive her or accept her back.

So props for Rosa having a backbone.

Alright, this show got my interest again. I want to see how this plays out. I'm supporting a mastermind, oh my god...

[gayofthefae]

A fight like Mike and Will's in season 3 is actually very common. If you've watched the new season of Bridgerton, you'll see it as well and it's used for the exact same function: to shift a power dynamic by breaking out of idolizing your crush.

In season 2, Mike was in a sort of caretaking and protective role over Will. This isn't a bad thing but it also isn't exactly equal. With that, in the story itself, Will didn't see enough of Mike's flaws. This is the contrast to what is often complained about in Mike and El's more immature love: conflicts like this are used to shift from infatuation to love, loving someone with their flaws instead of being blind to them. In saying "you're being an asshole and you need to stop, I am in the right in this situation and deserve better" you are acknowledging their flaws and positioning yourself as not dependent on the idea of them. Then you can come back by choice (the romantic theme in the show) and as more of equals, the audience feeling secure in the idea that you, despite historically idolizing that person, would call them out if you had to.

Mike and El don't have that, not until season 4 at least - and that pacing is too late for their story. I thought they were having it in season 3 on a first watch and that it would expose those flaws and move past them, but they remained issues in season 4. By season 4, El is secure in her independence and is choosing Mike with the acknowledgement of his flaws, but Mike is still idolizing El. The idolization isn't just an issue as has been discussed relative to "superheroes", it's used frequently across romance as an issue to be overcome. He sees her as out of his league as opposed to seeing them as equals and until he sees them as equals, they can't have the relationship they need to have. So that is their season 5 arc. Their final arc will be him seeing her as human so he can actually love her like she wants him to, inclusive of her flaws and not ignoring them - because when someone ignores your flaws, you start to worry that they're ignoring them in order to keep loving you because they know if they acknowledged them they would see you as a monster.

But it is also of note that this is a trope used consistently in preparation for a love story or romantic arc, to get the audience in the mindset to properly root for them - NOT a climax itself. You'll notice these fights between Mike and Will happened early in seasons with time to spare for their plots. The same seemed to be true for Mike and El, except they didn't use that time to resolve the issue the same.

Mike and Will fought at the beginning of season 3 to clear the slate, actually - of any pre-existing feeling of inequality or unrealistic perceptions in the eyes of the audience that they would be concerned for the characters over. The did that knowing they had time to spare and that the plotline they were setting up hadn't started yet.

At the BEGINNING of their romantic buildup in season 4 Will calls Mike out explicitly. They are on even footing and willing to tell it like it is and expect better. Then they do the romance. El believes she deserves her treatment and Mike sees himself as needing to say exactly what she wants in order to keep her, something he is desperate to do because she is so out of his league and he doesn't want to waste the opportunity. They both have conflicts but they demonstrate very different things about the characters and their relationships to each other.

Mike and El love the idea of each other and they need to love each other. Mike and Will used to love the idea of each other but had a year of loving each other before the romance came into play. All of their decisions are being shown to the audience as sound of mind and informed, even when impulsive or out of the loop. Mike and Will find equal footing before starting their romance plot. Mike and El told their entire love story and more first. That screams - "we do not want you to trust our characters' choices as informed and self-aware".

Mike and El were cute at first because they were innocent. But innocence is also naivete, and audiences aren't meant to trust decisions made by the naive.

Will has a heartbreaking scene where he physically destroys his innocence. But he also isn't naive anymore. And the audience needed that in order to trust him.

Lucas and Max face the severity of her depression and come out the other side less naive. That's why they got a second love story. One innocent and one mature.

I started to trust El when she broke up with Mike and after her dad died, didn't fully trust her with Mike until the end of season 4. I still don't trust Mike with El. At best, they would need to quickly break Mike's view of El then match Lucas and Max in giving them a second love story (something I've mentioned they could have done in season 4 if they had broken them up more similarly to Lucas and Max, giving a conflict more like Mike and Will's to him and El), now more mature.

We NEED a mature love story. We need one for all of them. Lucas and Max got one because they had one innocent and and now got one mature. Mike and Will had an innocent relationship but their love story was allowed to be entirely mature. Mike and El had got an innocent love story. And nothing else. They got more plots, but never any that matured them, and as they grow out of the word "innocent", they become naive, untrustable.

dldr: To quote Lucas Sinclair in his mature relationship from middle school, "I see you". Every couple was too innocent to see each other so deeply for a while. But they saw each other before either falling in love or falling back into love, because after truly seeing someone, you fall in love with them - even if for the second time. Mike and El still haven't seen each other, and they don't have the time nor the audience's energy to fall in love a fourth time finally seeing clearly.

[gunsatthaphan]

Just wanted to speak up on your comment about The Heart Killers trailer being subpar from a trailer perspective--because I agree. It feels like a trailer made with intention that you already know a lot of context as opposed to being for someone who has no idea what's happening going in.

I watched it knowing that there was going to be some sort of Shakespeare interpretation and that it was likely going to be Taming of the Shrew; knowing that, a lot of the plot elements and dynamics came together more clearly in the trailer. If you had no idea, you'd be totally lost because it's using TOTS as a conceptual basis rather than something totally literal, and then it's also using that concept to jumpstart a rather big plot that isn't well explained. So much is happening that it looks like nothing is happening at all. Essentially, even though First and Khao may be representing the "secondary couple" of TOTS, the reason is because their characters are actually driving the plot. Jojo is using the scenario to jumpstart his story.

Lucentio and Hortencio are combined into Kant, who is initially less interested in ensuring he woos Bison/Bianca because he's in love and wants to court them like the original; rather his goals as a "spy" are the priority (ergo all those conflicted shots of Kant because he inadvertently fell in love in 0.5 seconds but still has a job). Bison is more central in wanting to play matchmaker for Fadel because he's invested in Kant (warping the "daddy won't let me" passive plot of the original into a more active "big bro won't let me (because we're assassins)" and creating a very different dynamic that we see in a few scenes; though Bianca is involved in TTIHAY to an extent). Kant's conflict between his job and his heart is probably going to take center stage in their portion of the story.

Joong and Dunk's Katherina and Petruchio have a dynamic more reminiscent of TTIHAY than the original TOTS with its intention to develop a genuine romance between Petruchio/Style and Katherina/Fadel and bring Kat/Fadel out of their closed off shell pretty clear and not...legit tame the shrew. And all of this is not even mentioning the dynamics arising from the practicalities of the assassin vs. infiltrators plotline (which was under-explained--like it seems like vigilante work given the context clues). "Trust" is probably going to be a strong theme across the board. Jojo, as you well know, has strong credentials in balancing drama with comedy, so I think this has a lot of potential. Everyone emphasized that this is a rom-com dressed as an action drama.

It's pretty clear to me that the four of them are going to be treated pretty equally (strong 4-person plot with lots of intertwining elements) and it seems like Aof weirdly even went out of his way to imply on Twitter that FK having strong scripts/characters was a priority for all of them.

Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I just wanted to put words to why you might be feeling the way that you did about the trailer and maybe even allay some fears. I never want to have too high expectations (I did the same with Only Friends lol), but I don't want to sell this short either.

okay so anon sent this back in April on the day of the lineup/THK announcement and I put it into my drafts with the intention to revisit it closer to the THK premiere date, but eventually forgot about it lol.

I didn't want to delete it however because obviously anon took some time to write this and it's intriguing to read. So in case you see this anon, thank you so much for this detailed analysis and sorry for letting it sit for so long, I think you're making some excellent points. I have not read the original TOTS but it's interesting to compare your notes to the final show and assigning the TOTS/TTIHAY characters to the ones in THK.

So I'm just gonna post this into existence for anyone who's interested - feel free to comment your thoughts below! 😊

xxx

[loveislandthegame]

thoughts on today’s volume ! now why the hell are we a girl going to casa and not a casa girl !? we didn’t even get the season 6 treatment of being able to show up first. FB is so nasty for this

moving on, yash, larson, and caleb are all very cute !❤️ everyone’s already pointed out that yash looks like zeph, but how about larson lowkey being the guy version of lisbeth 😭 just imagine him with amber eyes

raunchy races was pay to win, to absolutely no one's surprise. the free option text being something among the lines of "i am not a main character" truly sums up this season 😭 i chose to have the underwater kiss with lisbeth

bare minimum but i love when the islanders actually remember specific things about MC, like her job

dean is… let’s just say liam-esque 😬 i actually don't mind islanders that are not romanceable, not attracted to MC, whatever whatever, but disrespecting her by acting like she doesn’t exist is not it. at least tristan served cunt 💔

up next is tea spilling with lisbeth, one of many "pay to find out what happened" scenes. i have no idea why MC couldn’t have just watched this stuff happen on the TV in the hotel, even if it was still paywalled it would've made more sense. also tristan and sofia being dumped offscreen is some of the most ridiculous bullshit ever, especially if they don’t end up returning (which i'm not sure about honestly, i'm split between either #tristofia coming back, or dean & whoever is stupid enough to bring him to the villa replacing them) why couldn’t MC take them down herself ? why couldn't we witness them melt down ? there's no way FB seriously thought this would be satisfying to players

anyways, the game does acknowledge that both jesse and lisbeth are into MC ! but the way it's worded would make more sense if MC hasn't been pursuing him at all, like idk why my girl is so confused. i literally picked the "reveal that you've always fancied him" option before leaving the villa 😭

party time ! i chose to dance with lisbeth, and then there's a diamond scene with dean spilling the tea in the most obnoxious way possible. moving swiftly on

then there’s some more grafting on the guys, i really enjoyed the scenes. afterwards we reach the point where we’re forced to pick a casa guy. i like all of them but they're just gonna be a placeholder for me. i used a number generator and got a 1, so caleb it is !

we have a compatibility challenge, and obviously MC and caleb won ! the drink was cute lol

but where is the option to throw hands with dean ! i can deal with him treating MC like trash, but lisbeth ?! 👹👹👹 he is legit a liam clone, down to the weird "tormenting our female LI" thing

(and isadora & nyah being like “he’s just joking teehee 😍” is so gross)

i chose to sleep with lisbeth ! i only snuggled her because FB’s lazy asses keep reusing whatever MC does at bedtime in casa for her movie night clip. i may be romancing everyone in sight, but i'm evading the consequences of my actions classy about it 😏

…as an OG islander ??😭 we were a bombshell, the AI is AI-ing. anyways, i wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up exactly like “umagate,” where we meet the casa girl that wants our partner. it would be nice to see jesse though 🤞🏽

overall, we're at the point of the story where everything starts taking a complete nosedive. call it the casa curse, i guess. and to make matters worse, a bunch of the worst plotlines from previous seasons have been reused, this is certainly the season of all time 😃 but for real, the only upside to this volume is that we could spend a lot of time with lisbeth ❤️ (and for me that's pretty much the only positive thing about us not being a casa girl) also, caleb's such a sweetheart, he deserves the world ❤️

[dc-al-coda]

watched Bloom Into You a lil while ago & it was super adorable and melted my heart. The aquarium date was the cutest thing, it made me so happy I could cry. Also that ending theme is a total bop. I haven't read the manga, just saw the 13-episode series - still, it makes so much sense that the author started out writing Touhou doujinshi.

Considering the show on its own, without the manga to add context, it feels kinda incomplete. The characters have complicated discussions about romance that never really get resolved. It's most glaring with Maki: a character who reads as basically aroace, but doesn't really get enough screen time to exist outside the context of Yuu and Touko's relationship. But Yuu also expresses feelings that feel aroace-adjacent, spending so much time talking about having never felt love with anyone.

The story has drawn some criticism about how those aspects of the characters are handled, and I'd agree that if it were fully about exploring aroace identity then it didn't do a great job. But, that's not really what it's about - it's about the particular relationship between the two main characters, and their understandings of what "love" means.

From the very beginning of the show, Yuu talks about how she "knows what love means", basing her understanding on music and stories. She talks about how love feels like fireworks, like floating and reaching the stars. Because of this understanding, she then believes that the feelings she has for Touko aren't love, because she doesn't feel those specific things. What interests me, though, is the potential that Yuu might be wrong about love - or at least, it isn't as universally consistent of a feeling as she makes it out to be. Maybe "love" isn't some explosion of passion, but something more down-to-earth. At least, it feels that way for me.

In fact, I think the questioning and uncertainty, and the attempt to understand it all, is the driving force of the show. That's why the central plotline is about the student council holding a stage show. Both Touko and Yuu find themselves trying to follow pre-existing "scripts" for their lives. Touko tries to follow the script of what she though her sister was, and Yuu wants to follow the script of how love manifests. Both of them are challenged to move past those scripts -The show makes a point of how Touko's view of her sister isn't based on reality, but her own perception. Similarly, I've come to realize as an aro person that "love", as Yuu and I understood it, was simply thrust upon us by the world and shrunk the possibility space of how we could be. I had to work to break that script in my own life.

The show never explicitly states this idea - I wish that Yuu had been given some more explicit realizations along the same lines as Touko. I do think the final episode leans in that direction, though. Especially when Yuu says "People are self-contradictory. It's normal." She claims things are "normal" a few times throughout, but this instance feels the most genuine. Before, when Yuu said something was "normal", she meant that it was normal in the understood script of the world. But finally, in the aquarium, she makes a claim about normalcy just based on her own observations. The following scene, where Yuu and Touko improvise a scene from their stageplay, really enhances the feeling of accepting uncertainty.

If we don't read the show as being about a specific idea of "love", or the specific identities of the characters, then the whole thing feels more consistent. The plot of the stageplay even directly parallels Touko's arc: the main character, played by Touko, doesn't know her own identity and feels forced to choose one ("subtle" is not a word I would use to describe this show). Yuu is so determined to figure out how to love Touko, but how can she love someone who has such a tenuous grasp on her own personhood?

Maybe that's why Yuu and Touko are so compelling as a pair of characters - Yuu basically knows herself without knowing love, but Touko knows love while not knowing herself. Sayaka works as a contrast here - she knows how love feels, and knows herself, but Touko doesn't find love with her. Yuu and Touko both become interested in, and want something from each other, but their goals also contrast. Yuu wants to learn more about the experience of love with Touko. Meanwhile, Touko seems perfectly prepared (if not exactly happy) to just bask in the feelings she knows. She tells Yuu multiple times not to fall in love with her, because she doesn't like herself. In spite of this, Yuu's motivation shifts throughout the show - from trying to fall in love, to helping Touko come to terms with herself. The relationship feels a lot less one-sided once this shift happens.

The balance is important because initially, when Touko is expressing her feelings, she comes on REALLY strong. This has been noted by critics, and it's hard not to read Touko's constant attempts to touch and kiss Yuu early on as a little pushy. Especially when Yuu makes it explicit that the feelings aren't mutual. It's a risky tone for the show, and lasts a surprisingly long time - even up to the athletics day. And when Touko says stuff like "I don't know if I'll be able to hold back", it's kind of a red flag. Still, a lot of effort is made to have the characters discuss what is okay, and Yuu is able to establish some boundaries which Touko respects. By the end of the show, the characters have a much better understanding of each other, and they both seem mutually invested in a relationship of some kind.

As cute as the characters are together, the relationship doesn't seem to me like one that'll last very long. It feels more like a whirlwind romance that sweeps these girls up in newly discovered feelings. I think it does end up lasting a long time in the manga, which likely tracks with the added context. But even if the relationship does or doesn't end, it'd still be meaningful to both girls. That's why I like that the show ends on an inconclusive note. Yuu and Touko never form an explicit relationship, no identities are ever explicitly realized, and we never even see the stageplay that constitutes a majority of the plot. It works, though, because this is a story about a journey instead of a destination. Just watching these characters try to parse their complicated emotions and relationships (and their queer experiences) is captivating. It can be a little cringe-inducing to watch high school girls going through awkward phases, but that's ultimately what makes it relatable and utterly adorable as the characters make mistakes, learn, and grow. Through the journey, the characters find ways to bloom into themselves.

Anyway, thanks for reading

[ink-splotch]

Hi!!! I just wanted to tell you that seeing your new game reminded me that Stay? exists and that it's soooo good. It's been a while since I played it, so I don't remember the details, but I do remember being amazed at how much variation there was, how every detail was perfectly woven into the story, and how human the characters felt despite us not getting that much time to know them. Plus, I personally love war plots, and yours DID NOT disappoint. I also really loved how the different "career paths" impacted your story, and just how many different details and paths you could get depending on what you did at every step of the way. I don't know, I just remember liking it a lot and feeling really accomplished once I managed to beat it.

Also, out of curiosity, who are all the LIs? In my lifetimes, I remained pretty faithful to Myka (love of my life, she was so great!!!), but I imagine Esteban, Jo, Suzette and Gemma to be romanceable. Did I miss someone else?

Another question I have is: how did you get the idea for the game? And by that I mean, what was the inspiration for the plot and all the different characters + why did you even decide to make a CYOA in the first place?

Because, again, it was incredibly good and I'd like to know which stars do I have to thank for it existing.

Anyways, once I'm really excited to play More a Haunting than a History, and I just know it's gonna be as great as Stay? was!

Thank you so much and have a nice day! ~ 🍪

Hello there! Thanks for writing me. There are five major romanceable characters in Stay?: Myka, Esteban, Jo, Gemma, and Suzette. Technically, there are some minor romanceable NPCs (ex. the different folks you can live your life with in the "fuck off into the hills" ending), but those five are the main gist of it. The main five can also also each be platonic life partners for you, rather than traditional romantic partners, if that's more your style.

Myka is my wife's favorite love interest in Stay? by far, so great taste.

Stay? actually has a very clear origin story for me. My friends and I played Outer Wilds, which I highly highly recommend, and I was so delighted by its balance and structure that I wanted to see if I could make something built on the same bones. I drafted up my @sortinghatchats quiz to get used to the ink system, and then dove into Stay?. It was the most fast/obsessed I've ever put a story on paper (so to speak) and I admit I may still be chasing that high.

I built the basic structure first, and then added on the setting, characters, plot macguffins, details, etc. on top, trying to interweave and connect them. I like how it turned out. The plotline with the southern lands, to be vague for spoilers reasons, was actually a very late addition and I think it, in many ways, is what made the game work for me.

I hope you enjoyed MAHTAH! It's a very different game than Stay?, in some ways; and I'm proud of myself in different ways in terms of what I tried to build there.

[charmwasjess]

22 for Jin-Lo!!!

and then 3 & 17 for Jocasta :D

22) headcanon for Jin Lo!!

JIN-LO RAYCE MY BELOVED!! So, maybe this is a broader head canon than just Jin Lo, but I picture the Temple as almost a magic entity itself - an absolute maze of secret passages, fake doors, hallways that seem to go nowhere, hidden chambers that are used for something specific and then lost for generations and rediscovered. And the Archives being one of the oldest existing parts of the Temple and such an important place, they're some of the most riddled with secrets.

Jin-Lo spent his Padawan years with Jocasta determined to find as many of its secrets as possible, and every so often, when Jocasta thinks he needs a pick-me-up, she just casually reaches over to scratch the nose of one of the busts and a giant secret door opens in one of the bookcases. Jin-Lo's mouth drops. She just laughs. "Enjoy." She'll probably expect to see him again in another few days.

3) NoTP?

I think you meant generally, but I was already thinking about Jocasta for the second half of this, and got mad. :D

This is a funny answer because obviously I ship Dooku and Jocasta in all kinds of various iterations - as a couple, as a polycule with Sifo-Dyas, as friends with benefits… (hell, I might love writing them best as bitter exes in Thunder Answered Back) but I think I would have really hated whatever they were going to do with the love story between them in AotC. Like ughhh, can you imagine how annoying that plot would be for me personally?? First, the 1.0 reheat of the Romance Leads to the Dark Side plotline (already fraught) and how little that makes sense in Dooku's greater story. Also, what it reduces Jocasta to.

Even now, some within the fandom have pinned the Deserving Fall of the Jedi Order on her for being checks notes ah yes, lightly snarky to Obi-Wan that one time, so I can't imagine the hate she would have got for being a female character who has the audacity to exist onscreen taking up plot while being older who bore some "responsibility" for Dooku's fall. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see expanded screentime in AotC for either of those characters, but I shudder to think of the takes.

17) What's a book, movie, or show you think Jocasta would like?

Actually, like Dooku, I think Jocasta reads EVERYTHING. I think her ability to consume books is legendary and she has an opinion on everything from Space BookTok to Palpatine's ghostwritten and highly fictional memoir Sheev: an Understated Courage to poetry and lit crit. She manages to stay on top of this impressive heap of reading despite her Archive responsibilities because she does not sleep.

And yes, ahem, Bride is on her holds list. She makes direct eye contact with the Archive acolyte who hands her the holobook and thanks them politely. She's going to read it in her office over lunchbreak with her salad. Why not?