#i do believe i will be continuing on with season 1 and forgetting this ever happened 💀

[delopsia]

Rambling thoughts on Season 2 🌼

Though I'm thoroughly enjoying all of this new Rhett content, I do not know how I feel about this new season at all 😭 there's a noticeable shift between the directors, and I knew that there would be, but damn there were times when I didn't even think I was watching the same show.

I dunno.

Maybe I need to rewatch it, but this season, it felt like they were using Rhett to get from point A to B. It's like the writers decided they needed a character to entertain Dr. Nia Bintu and reintroduce the BY9 threat, which would then give us scientific reasons behind the hole's existence in a potential S3.

Rhett was their only viable option without creating someone new. That seems to be the point of his character this season, other than being Maria's love interest. We got these deep stories for all the characters about why they're doing what they're doing, but Rhett? He's just there.

Him being a bull rider is essentially never mentioned. He's got new tattoos that weren't there in S1, and not even he seems to notice. Maybe there was more there, and they cut it for time, but I'm just so...disappointed in how they handled him.

I'm not saying that the fanfic writers nail his character better (though I am biased to say that yes, we are), but god damn, a smut fic has given him more personality. The niftiest details we get this season are that he is allergic to cats and got his first handjob in a movie theater.

Why is he suddenly entertaining Dr. Nia Bintu when he wouldn't give her the time of day earlier? What was his reaction to Royal telling him about the past and the hole? Not a clue! He's just out here doing shit, and we have no idea why.

Anyway, it was worth a watch. I still dislike Maria and I was thrilled to see so many of my theories turn out to be true. I'll give it another go later, but in my flimsy opinion, season 1 Rhett was better 💐

[felibrary]

╭──╯ABOUT YOU

PAIRING: sae itoshi x reader

SYNOPSIS: when sae left for spain you were devastated. but suddenly, half a decade later as the sae itoshi; japan's prized possession and football prodigy, stands on your doorstep, realization hits you: you are in love with him.

wordcount: guess | content & warnings: unestablished relationship, both are bad at communicating their feelings in their teens, sae nonchalant era, fluff ; oneshot

author's note: yes i didn't watch bllk season 2 yet, so what??1?1??1 my wonderful babe still needs a fic, hard to believe i never wrote a single one for him

“i’m leaving for spain”

sae doesn't think he'll ever forget this moment; forget the expression that you made as soon as he quietly murmured those words.

how his bedsheets rustled as you immediately got up, the way your sudden movements left creases in his once neatly duvet, and how the blue artificial flavored water from the popsicle dripped down on his bed as you tightly gripped it in your hand.

from initially laying next to him on his childhood bed and watching the ceiling fan spin around in circular movements while sucking on popsicles, to you turning and staring at him in disbelief — it all happened in the span of a few minutes — too fast for either of you to comprehend.

as if the humid summer air wasn't already unbearable enough, the impact of those words had somehow made the atmosphere even more suffocating.

outside there were cicadas who were continuously humming melodies, and the sound the fan-blades created as they spun around made it all seem like another day during summer break.

for a moment everything was how it used to be a few minutes ago; how every summer passed by ever since he can think and remember.

the way you visited his house every day early in the morning — rang his doorbell twice in a row and how he groggily opened it every time you came over as he, barely awake, listened to what adventurous hangout you planned for today.

his mother ushering him to take rin with him to go along as you dragged them to the beach and stayed there for hours. playing, taunting and teasing, and laughing until the sky was enveloped in an orange-pink hue.

building sandcastles like in your kindergarten days, splashing each other full of water until the three of you went to the local convenience store with clothes drenched in saltwater to buy a pack of popsicles, and betting who'd receive one of the “winner popsicles”.

(in all honesty sae always found it a bit childish as he grew older, but seeing the triumphant grin on his little brother's face as he won and how he stuck his tongue out to you, made him crack a small smile.)

and how the days always ended the same: you and sae on his bed, sucking on popsicles as you watched the ceiling fan twirl around in repetitive circular motions. sometimes while talking about what you want to do tomorrow, future plans or sometimes even spending those times in complete and utter silence.

yeah, it's normal for the two of you to stay silent for a while. sae thinks as you don't respond and momentarily everything is just like how it's supposed to be. nothing’s wrong, it's just your normal summer day. an average, regular and peaceful afternoon during summer.

but to his dismay, that illusion of his quickly gets shattered. “when?” you whisper quietly, as if not daring to say it out loud. sae purses his lips, opening his mouth only to close it after a quick moment which surprises him.

was he scared? no that can't be. he wasn't scared when he told his parents and rin because he knew that they'd support him — they knew he was going to be just fine — he knew he was going to be just fine without them.

but you?

sae gulps down the heavy lump in his throat before coughing, preparing to say something — anything. “at the end of summer break, so in a week or so,” he states nonchalantly, as if it were as simple as that. (it wasn't)

although he should've anticipated your reaction — should've known that you weren't pleased at all about it, it still caught him off guard. “and you didn't bother to tell me until now?”

“i didn't think it was important,” he mutters.

“not important, you say? sae, we're best friends. do you mean to tell me that ‘it's not important’ to tell your best friend that you're leaving for god knows how long,” you retort with slight anger in your voice.

“no, that's not—” sae wanted to explain himself; he wanted to tell you that he didn't want to leave you behind, and the fact that he only told you now was because he didn't know how to bring it up — he didn't want to ruin your day and see your smile falter.

he sighs and settles for a curt “just forget it, i’ll be gone in a week, it's been planned for months now and nothing will change it anyway,” it's far from the thing he initially wanted to say, but does it matter now?

sae sees the way your eyebrows furrow in irritation, how you open your mouth to say something but eventually you just scoff and look away. “yeah, whatever,”

a week has passed ever since he told you that he'd leave and ever since then you didn't reach out, and neither did he.

from continuous door-ringing everyday to a silent house; it's been long since the itoshi’s family home has been this quiet. only the sound of water splashing out of the sink and onto the porcelain dishes was audible, sometimes accompanied by the sound of his mother's humming.

“sae, did something happen between you and [name]?” his mother asks offhandedly, not noticing sae who was peacefully playing with his little brother, immediately stiffening.

for a moment sae didn't know what to say, because technically nothing happened. just a small miscommunication between friends, you'd be over it soon anyway. after all you knew about his plans now, so no need to be mad, right? “no, not really. i’m just busy with packing and stuff, and they didn't really text me either, so i guess we've both been really occupied”

“is that so? today, just a bit earlier, they came over, it looked like they contemplated ringing the doorbell but then left as quickly as they came,” his mother chuckled as she turned off the sink and sat onto the sofa to watch him and rin. “you saw them too, right rin?”

sae turns to rin, eyes wide and full of anticipation. “oh, yeah. i think [name] also came over yesterday and the day before yesterday,” rin murmurs. “i asked them why they wouldn't ring and they looked shocked to see me, but then only told me not to tell you that they were here and left.” he turned to his older brother to look at him, big cerulean doe eyes searching for answers.

sae hisses, and fishes his phone out of the pockets of his sweatpants, opening your chat and messaging you.

sae: let's meet tomorrow, 5 pm at the beach

you: ?

you: mind explaining what's going on?

sae: just come there tomorrow

sae: please?

you: fine

in all honesty, you had no idea what sae had planned. his messages came out of the blue after not reaching out for an entire week.

it wasn't hard to spot sae, his red hair shone brightly in the setting evening sun. “you're early for once,” you note as you sit down beside him.

sae looks up and you'd be lying if you said that the small smile he gives you didn't make your knees wobble a bit, still you didn't come here to fawn over your best friend.

“so what’d you want to talk about?” you ask.

sae's quiet for a moment, looking confused. “i thought you wanted to talk about something. rin told me that you came over but didn't have the guts to ring, so i thought i’d do you a favor,”

was he being for real now..?

you get up, irritated. “if this was the reason you invited me i’ll just go. have fun in spain” but before you're able to fully stand up sae grabs you by your wrist. “wait,” and you look at him, questioningly.

“what, wait?”

“let's talk it out,”

the way he says it so softly and that determination that those stupid cerulean eyes of his hold, almost makes you falter completely. “if it weren't for the fact that you're my best friend, i would've left,” you mutter in (faux) annoyance.

sae doesn't respond and only smiles. “sorry, that i didn't tell you earlier about me leaving. i thought it'd ruin the mood, because you always seemed so happy about the stuff you planned.”

(and i didn't have the heart to tell you about it, out of fear that things between you and me become awkward afterwards,)

you let out a huff of relief. “that's really sweet and thoughtful of you, i did notice that there was something that you wanted to get off your chest but i didn't know how to approach it or urge you to talk about it,”

for the first time this afternoon you take a proper look at him, how his turquoise eyes are intently watching you and suddenly you feel small under sae's gaze.

“admittedly, i do think i would've been a bit sad, but still we could've just used that remaining time to make great memories,” this time you return his smile and sae exhales.

“yeah, maybe you're right,”

“sae, what are you doing here?”

in front of you stood sae itoshi. japan’s football genius; its most valuable player — your best friend.

well, former best friend.

saying his name felt weird because the last time you remember saying it aloud was when you were a teenager.

clinging onto sae, and hugging him tightly before his flight departed and bidding goodbye as he exited through the gates.

after that sae barely texted or called you — he wasn't big of a texter anyway, but the only times he's ever messaged you was on your birthday, new years and his birthday as he thanked you for your wishes and congratulations.

contact “officially” broke after a few years, the little messages and short calls turned into none at all. the only times you ever saw sae was on some interviews on tv or magazines at the grocery store.

“can i come in?” he looks at you through low lidded eyes, before looking behind you. his voice got deeper and hoarse. you think to yourself.

you don't respond — unable to come up with an answer to provide him. what does one even say when your best friend comes back after five years without any announcement beforehand? sae takes your silence as an answer — yes, and walks by you into the living room.

there are a bunch of questions running through your head. “how have you been?”, “why didn't you text me?”, “was it hard to adjust to your new surroundings?” but none of these questions leave your mouth, instead you trail after sae into the living room where you spot him sitting on your couch.

“nothing’s changed,” he notes as he looks around. you sit yourself down the sofa, although a few inches away from him. “yeah, me and my surroundings might've not changed but that doesn't apply to you,” you remark.

sae remains silent but if you were to look more closely you could see that the corners of his mouth are twitching. “tell me sae, what made you think it's okay to come here after a period of no contact? without telling me how you've been, without telling me that you'd come over,” irritation is written all over your face, but you don't care, you just need answers.

“also, wouldn't one normally visit their family first, instead of ones—” best friend lies on the tip of your tongue but is that really the relationship you have with sae? “— best friend?” said person who's been plaguing your mind for the past few minutes now, finishes your sentence.

“sorry?” you're caught off guard, because not in a hundred years would you've thought that sae itoshi would ever verbally announce you as his best friend.

“you wanted to ask me if it isn't unusual if one visits their best friend first, instead of their family right?” sae asks. “yeah pretty much,”

he exhales, “i already visited rin. i told him to get his priorities straight,” usually you'd ask what he meant by that, but you have the feeling that you maybe shouldn't this time and settle to answer him with a small hum of acknowledgement.

“also shouldn't it be clear why i'm here? i wanted to see you,” sae says it as if it's the easiest thing in the world — as if it's crystal clear, and states it like it's the obvious. “i missed you,”

if someone would've told you that sae itoshi missed you five years ago, you would've laughed and brushed it off, reasoning it that sae isn't one to say sappy things.

stupid sae and the ways he makes you sway.

but here you are, experiencing it first hand and feeling how your heart races. still there were so many unanswered questions and as much as you wanted to hug him again, feel how his body molds against yours, you know that you couldn't — at least not yet.

“miss me, my ass. at some point you just didn't bother to reach out anymore,” you scoff. “do you know how hurt i was?” you whisper through gritted teeth.

“let's talk it out, okay?” you feel a sudden wave of deja vu washing over you, as if you've already had this conversation once before.

“if you weren't my best friend, i wouldn't hear you out,” you murmur under your breath.

sae inches closer to you, taking your hand in his and pats over it. this is so ridiculous. the sae you knew would’ve never done this. this is strange and a change but..a pleasant change?

just for this once you'll let someone into your heart so easily again, this is an exception — sae's the only one who'll you allow to do some bullshit but still welcome with open arms again.

“fine,” you mutter before burying your head into his nape and your arms sneak around his torso.

a feeling so familiar, so right.

“i missed you too.”

end note: reblogs are greatly appreciated <3 + tagging @azullumi hey fartzul. there are many times when i re-read your messages to reassure myself, knowing that there's someone out there who supports me regardless of what. tbh, i think those messages really strengthened our bond and i love that. i love how we're able to communicate so well with one another <3. + i hope with the messages i send you im able to make you feel loved enough; that im able to provide you that love that some people weren't able to give you, so that you feel appreciated enough and know that the things that you do for others don't go to waste. your heart is so pure, i love you more than anything.

© FELIBRARY 2024. stealing, copying, translating, reposting my works on other platforms or feeding them to ai is not permitted.

[cutielando]

can you please do a carlos friends to lovers? no smut, i can’t find carlos fluff. reader attends all the races & carlos is secretly obsessed with her & lando helps set them up?

just friends? | c.s.

my masterlist

You and Carlos had known each other since you were little children. Growing up in Madrid next to the Spaniard had been the highlight of your entire childhood. 

Carlos had always made sure he had time for you, even between his karting races and training, he never felt to make sure you knew he didn’t forget about you, that you were still his best friend and no distance could change that.

Your friendship continued well into your adulthood, well into his career all the way from karting to Formula 1. Albeit, due to the fact that you also had a stable job back home in Madrid and were building your career, you guys saw each other less and less. Settling for phone calls, texts and FaceTimes, you still felt like something was missing.

You missed all the times that you would hang out together on the balcony of your home, drinking wine and talking about anything and everything. The laughter booming in the air, reverberating against your chest, the gentle lingering touches shared between you that you both ignored, knowing it was for the best.

It wasn’t until Carlos signed with Ferrari that things changed.

He had called you as soon as he had got out of the meeting with the team, excitedly telling you about everything that he was promised, what the next season would look like for him after he departed with McLaren; he didn’t miss a single detail.

Yapping about how excited he was for the future, but also how sad it would be for him to not be teammates with Lando anymore. But the sentence that he kept repeating every time you two would talk broke your heart every time: “I wish you were here to experience this with me”

It broke you every time he would say it, the same longing that he felt amplified 100 times over for you. You loved him, more than you sometimes cared to admit, and certainly more than you would ever have the guts to tell him. You had loved him for a while now, but loving him from the shadows and distance was taking its toll on you.

Which is why you all but jumped at the opportunity he offered you to go along with him, attend the races and celebrate with him. He had claimed that he couldn’t bear thinking about the future if you wouldn’t be there, next to him, cheering him on and comforting him whenever needed.

He needed your stability and comfort, he needed to feel you there with him, no longer settling for phone calls while being on opposite sides of the world.

It wasn’t fair, and he wanted to change that.

And so, you packed your bags, smoothed things over at your job and got on the plane, and met him in Singapore. It wasn’t the best race to choose from for your first, the heat and humidity in the air hitting you like a ton of bricks as soon as you had stepped foot out of the airport.

But seeing him waiting for you, leaning against the side of his car, it made everything worth it. He hadn’t even seen you coming before you completely blindsided him and threw yourself at him, wrapping your arms tightly around his tall frame. You both sighed in relief, the feeling of each other finally back together not being able to be compared with anything else.

“I can’t believe I’m really here” you had blurted out, suddenly afraid that it was all just a dream and you would wake up soon enough.

But hearing him chuckle, feeling his chest booming with laughter, you knew it was real. He was there, right in front of you, hugging you like his life depended on him. And for him, it did. He had spent so much time away from you, being deprived of your presence for longer than he would have liked. And now, when he had you right in his arms after so long, he finally felt like himself again, like he had just found the missing piece of his puzzle.

You spent the night catching up, even though you had been talking on the phone the entire time you had been deprived of each other, he still needed a night of talking to you, drinking wine and forgetting about everything else in his life besides you right in front of him.

Entering the paddock had felt more exhilarating than you would have ever imagined. The roaring of the engines and the teams preparing for the races, the screaming of the fans and every interviewer trying to get a word with the drivers. It felt as exhilarating as it felt absolutely nerve-wrecking. 

“Are you okay?”  Carlos asked you once you had made it to the garage.

You nodded, the smile seemingly not wanting to leave your lips. “I’m good, this is exciting” he smiled at that, nodding along.

He left you alone for a while, going over to speak to his race engineer before the race. You had stayed in place, only admiring the garage you had seen so many times on TV, now standing right in the middle of it. 

When he came back, you noticed he had brought Lando with him.

“Y/N, you remember the Lando I told you about. Lando, this is my best friend, Y/N” Carlos introduced the two of you, coming to stand by your side.

“It’s very nice to meet you, I’ve heard many great things about you from Carlos” you said, smiling at the younger driver who shook your hand.

Lando greeted you back, eyeing the way Carlos was standing next to you and looking at you while you and Lando spoke.

You and Lando clicked right away, you now understood why Carlos loved the Brit and spoke so highly of him. You found yourselves a new hobby by poking fun at Carlos, who seemingly internally regretted introducing you to each other. 

As the time to get in the car grew nearer, Lando bid his goodbyes and returned to his garage, only one thought in his mind.

I need to get Y/N and Carlos together by the end of the weekend.

♡♡♡♡♡

Carlos didn’t know who to thank first for winning the Singapore GP. Should he thank God for finally giving him what he had wanted ever since the start of the season? Should he thank the team for finally managing to beat Red Bull and win? No. He didn’t do any of that first.

He went to you.

He found you in the sea of mechanics and family members that had run out at the barriers, ready to welcome the new winner into their arms. But he didn’t seem to notice anyone else apart from you. 

Scooping you up in his arms, his only focus was on you and the feeling of you in his embrace. He couldn't put into words how thankful he was that you were there with him, witnessing this win that the whole team had worked so hard for. The entire season had culminated into this win, and you were there to witness it.

“I’m so proud of you” you whispered once he had lowered you to the ground, his arms still tightly holding onto your arms.

He mumbled something incoherently in your shoulder, but you paid it no mind. You could only focus on him, the feeling of him slumping and relaxing against your body like he always did. 

Unbeknownst to you, Lando had been looking at you two ever since he got out of his car, smiling mischievously under his helmet while walking towards the two of you.

“Sorry to interrupt, but you might as well stop torturing yourselves and just kiss already” he said, making you and Carlos pulled away from each other.

Before either of you could reply, he turned around and left, walking over to celebrate with his team.

Turning around to face each other, not a word was spoken between the two of you, but your eyes were telling a whole different story. You didn’t even think as you stood on your tiptoes and pressed your lips against his, so many years up buried and pent-up feelings finally being free.

The entire team cheered once they noticed what was happening, but you and Carlos didn’t hear anyone else around you. It was just the two of you in that moment, in your own little bubble.

“We should have done this years ago” he mumbled against your lips, making you laugh.

“Yes, we should have”

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[twilightcitysky]

Everything Is Meant (long S2 analysis, part 2)

Part one here

Okay, so that's how I think the pre-creation scene and Gabriel's arc connect to Aziraphale's choice. I also think the ineffable bureaucracy speedrun exists to prove totally different things to Aziraphale and Crowley: Aziraphale loves that they can love each other but notes they have to run away to be together; Crowley sees this and immediately thinks "hey, we can do that too!", forgetting that running away is not a solution Aziraphale has ever been interested in. It's the mentality of an individualist vs a group-oriented mind, and neither of them is necessarily wrong, it's just that their priorities are different and they HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT, which they don't.

Continued analysis under the cut:

3. Let's take the Job minisode. Why include it? We already mentioned that it proves Aziraphale remembers Crowley as an angel, since he mentions it. And he believes Crowley is the same person he always was, and that he doesn't want to harm Job's crops or animals or children. Crowley tries to convince him he's a Big Bad Demon who is all in on this assignment, but fails utterly to kill even a single goat, soooo... Aziraphale comes to the conclusion that he knows what Crowley wants. Alert! Alert! This is a big problem! Crowley says, "What do you know about what I want?" Aziraphale: "I know you." Crowley: "You do not know me." But because Aziraphale got it right this time, he goes ahead assuming he'll always get it right, which is a crucial failure when it comes to the final reckoning. He doesn't ever ASK Crowley what he wants, he just assumes. When you assume you know what someone wants, you usually assume their priorities align with yours... he couldn't be more wrong about that. The Job minisode sets up this dynamic for them, and they never really manage to change it.

The other thing happens at the end of the minisode. Crowley acknowledges two crucial points: 1) he's lonely ("But you said it wasn't!" "I'm a demon. I lied"), 2) he doesn't think Aziraphale would like Hell. Aziraphale DOESN'T like Hell. Aziraphale hates Hell for what they've done to Crowley. He doesn't see Heaven as innocent or benign, but importantly, Heaven has never tried to hurt Crowley directly. They never threatened his safety. They never tortured him (as it's heavily implied that Hell did). Fast forward to the last ten mins of season 2: Aziraphale excited to tell Crowley that he can be an angel again BECAUSE: he never has to go back to Hell. They can never hurt him again, not the way they did before. And he doesn't have to be lonely anymore.

Last point before I leave Job: Crowley has the chance to cause Aziraphale to Fall, here, probably. ("I lied to Heaven to thwart the will of God!" "You did, but I'm not going to tell anybody. Are you? ...good, then nothing has to change.") He doesn't take it. He doesn't want Aziraphale to be a demon. He loves Aziraphale as he is. "Angel" as an affectionate. Aziraphale certainly doesn't use "demon" as a pet name for Crowley. I think they set up this scene to contrast the final one, and show how deeply hurt Crowley is that Aziraphale suggest he change.

4. Moving on to Victorian Scotland. This one confused me at first. I was delighted that they brought back the "the lower you start the more opportunity you have to rise" dialogue from the book, but apart from that I didn't really see the point of it. It seems like the statue of Gabriel and the fact that he and Beelz ended up at that pub in the present were more or less coincidental.

The point, I think, is actually not the girl, but the doctor. He's a person who is trying to do good by working in a system that's deeply flawed, and engaging in questionable moral practices for the greater good. (Cadaver dissection is still an essential part of medical school. You need dead bodies to understand living ones.) He shows Aziraphale a tumor he removed from a child who died, and Aziraphale clutches it to his chest. The camera zooms in and lingers to tell us that this is a guardian through and through. He wants to protect people. He wants to do good with every fiber of his being.

To Crowley, it's enough to just "be an us" with Aziraphale. He doesn't really want anything more than that. That's an issue! For one thing, it fosters unhealthy codependency, and for another, Aziraphale would never be happy without the opportunity to help and protect people. It's an essential part of who he is. Metatron knows that, and he plays Aziraphale like a fiddle. The doctor showed Aziraphale that you can make a difference even in systems that are flawed, and even if you have to do things you'd rather not do. Aziraphale doesn't want to go back to Heaven, but he truly thinks he can change things; thinks he can be a guardian with some real power. In his mind, that's the right thing to do.

Last thing that happens in Scotland: Crowley saves a soul from Hell, arguably, by preventing a suicide. He gets in Big Trouble. Whatever happened to him downstairs resulted in him coming back up, leaning on a cane, and asking Aziraphale to give him holy water. Go back and watch that scene knowing what we know now about the Victorian minisode. Ask yourself how Aziraphale must have felt. He likely blamed himself for what happened, because if he hadn't meddled then they never would have been there in the first place. He knew where Crowley was, and why he was there, and he had to sit with that knowledge for years. He desperately wants Crowley to be safe; is perfectly willing to push him away to keep him safe-- which is what he does do, the minute Crowley gets back.

Now think again about what Metatron offered him. A chance to keep Crowley safe forever. He'd never be harmed again. Aziraphale is going to take that offer, no matter what else is asked of him. He's shown over and over again that he'll sacrifice his own happiness to make sure nothing happens to Crowley. And he'll do it without talking to Crowley about it first, because he is a moron who doesn't know how to use his words. Leading Crowley to assume that Aziraphale doesn't love him. The idiot angel is doing it all out of love, but because he doesn't make himself clear Crowley doesn't know that.

Part 3: Maggie and Nina, and their roles as mirror couple/ Greek chorus!

[circeyoru]

I firmly believe that Lucifer thinks reader (unwanted soul) as either his kid or younger sibling by how he threatened Alastor if he hurts them. Also I find it cute if Lucifer makes reader an unlimited page book since he's worried if they got into a too heated battle they won't notice their pages are thinning. I mean if he can make fantastic rubber ducks with amazing abilities, I'm sure he can somehow make an unlimited notepad for reader to use. Or at least he gives reader a new welcome to the hotel gift, and because he hasn't seen them in a while

Also I wanted to add to the if alastor got into heaven version where he's dead and got redeemed. Reader would isolate themselves so much so that Lucifer visits once a week to check them. And when extermination day hits again (if it happens again), Lucifer would force reader to reside in the hotel for their well-being. That's where they meet Alastor in his all angel-looking feature glory. He probably checked on their old house first, when he didn't find them he definitely raged killed some demons on the way. But he still feels some sort of connection that lead him to the hotel where he finally found reader.

(Can you tell how obsessed I'm with this series)

Go to MASTERLIST for the works. This ask is for {Unwanted Souls}.

Ohh, I wonder if you're making Reader too op.

Part 1: Reader's/your gift from Lucifer

Instead of focusing on the book or notebook, let me direct your attention elsewhere. Ever thought about the quill? If you know how a feathered quill looks, you'll get what I mean. A quill essentially needs to be dipped in a jar of ink to write. Did I ever mention Reader/you carrying one or even using one? No. Never was 'ink' even mentioned in the story or the trivia (asks). Because that quill was a gift from Lucifer. A quill created by Lucifer and gifted to you. It's enchanted to be writable without ink and on any surface, with a camouflage mode to suit your preference, last feature is that only you can use it. Why Lucifer gave you a quill is because he knows you don't have to use pages as your surface to do crazy things (summoning weapons and casting spells). You can write on a wall, blow on it and it disappears to do what you wrote. That includes writing on the skin of a demon. If you read the demon design, you'll know what I mean. The writing on pages part was just a handicap you gave yourself and it was convenient for you to carry around a book or even a small pad to write with. Plus, you don't like attention, so you use a book with limits. You know you'll go overboard when your emotions rule over you, so you limit yourself.

Part 2: Yandere Redeemed Exterminator Leader!Alastor (what a long title for him)

For context, check this ask.

You do isolate yourself to the point it is concerning. Because you don't ask for help and you did when you asked Lucifer if he could provide you with new quarters that was far from where you were or the hotel. So many reminders of Alastor around you, you can't take it.

Seeing you in such despair, Lucifer shared with you that the souls in Heaven were granted the gift of forgetting when they entered the golden gates. You got the idea of forgetting the years spent with Alastor, from the point you saved him to the point you rage-killed for him. Lucifer advised you not to, but you were persistent in your plan. You returned back to the old place, scrolling around to make sure nothing was amiss and took in the final sorrow of nostalgia. Then you wrote down your command on your skin, you watched the words sink in and then everything went black.

Here, you were back to normal, save for Lucifer being the only one (again) who knew what happened to you. Not sure if exterminations continue (since no season 2 yet), but say that it does but further apart as a compromise for Charlie to save more souls. Lucifer visits you, but only to check and see if your memories came back, when they didn't for a long while, he didn't come as often.

When Alastor came down to Hell, he went to your apartment first thing. It was extermination day, so you were definitely there. You were sleeping through the day until your charms alerted you that there was someone in your apartment. You summoned a dagger made of angelic steel, creeping to the living room.

The moment you saw the pair of white wings, you ambushed and knocked Alastor down to the ground. You kneel on top of him to keep him down, the blade at his neck. "I'll give you a chance to leave and your head won't go rolling on my floor. You can fly back to your precious paradise and I'll let you."

Alastor's head turned to face you, a complete 180 without trouble, his smile softened as he praised, "My darling, you're beautiful."

"What?"

"Why would I want to leave you? I've done so much to come back to you. I'll never leave you, dear. If you want, I can give you my wings to make up for my absence."

Your face twisted to confusion and disgust. "What? Who are you?"

Alastor's eyes searched your face, his eyes scanned around, some things and items were missing. His signature red that would be mixed into your apartment. It was all gone. Just as he lost his memory, yours was somehow gone as well. "I'm.. Alastor. Don't you remember me, My Doe?"

[heyclickadee]

A couple things:

1. The thing is, I actually don’t really think we’re done with the bad batch, for a variety of reasons. There’s too much unresolved, for one thing, and “end of this chapter with these characters” is not how anyone says, “We’re never touching this again.” I really do think we’re getting an immediate follow up with more of a focus on Rex and Echo, but that the rest of the bad batch will still pop in from time to time, giving all of them a chance to round out the last little bit of their stories and character arcs—because they are all just a little bit undercooked. (For example: Crosshair doesn’t even get lines after Tantiss, and the last thing he says about himself takes him from implicitly to explicitly suicidal. The hug is beautiful and cements his place as part of the family, but we never get a moment where he forgives himself or no longer believes that he deserves to die. His redemption arc is magnificent, but it needs that last little push to feel fully resolved).

And, for another variety of reasons, I actually do still think we’ll be getting Tech back in one way or another. So much of what is left unresolved in TBB forms a chalk outline around a Tech-shaped void, for one. The writers aren’t committed enough to have come up with a decent reason for why he had to go in the first place—stakes does not cut it and is actively undermined by never treating it like a character death—for another. They were, at the very least, not committed enough to actually kill him. Tech is the only character in a show that loves making us watch who doesn’t die on screen, and the only one who’s “death” moves nothing forward and is never treated like an actual death. And we have no definitive proof he actually died, for another. (Even if he was CX-2—CX-2 got “killed” two other times on screen and popped up five minutes later each time like a daisy. If you do that you’re going to have to burn the body and scatter the ashes for me to think he’s dead, impalement or no. Besides, you can’t definitively kill a main character via subtext. You still have to be clear and direct.) And Tech has too many callback lines and potential survival foreshadowing for someone to never tug on them at some point, for another. You’d have to kill me to keep me from doing something with, “Better late than dead.” Basically, tl:dr, I think Tech will come back someday, whether they have plans or not.

Because I can’t really get on board with the idea that The Bad Batch was just always badly written. I can’t agree with that. It was never perfect, of course, but it was always remarkably well written and thematically consistent for 46 straight episodes and then tripped on the chalk of the finish line. Besides, I’ve never seen bad writing that was perfectly set up amazing writing if all they did was one simple thing—ie, follow through with what they set up. It’s not that the ending is bad, it’s that it’s bad in this particularly insane way. If it was just normal bad, I’d have dropped The Bad Batch like a rock by now and done my best to forget I’d ever watched it. But because it’s bad like this—basically, a non-ending that resolves nothing but Hunter’s Cut Lawquane arc, Rampart (which was good, actually), and the problem of Hemlock continuing to draw breath (which was just the last major obstacle in Hunter’s Cut Lawquane arc, so it’s not even a separate thing) and answers NO questions—I’m obsessed.

And I can’t get behind the idea that The Bad Batch ending is like this and that we got shorted a Tech return because they got shorted a season. I’ve seen many serialized animated shows that got shorted a season or more, and what every one of them did was cut out everything they could in the middle so that they could get to the resolution they wanted, squash the originally planned last season’s arcs into the actual last season—not leave those arcs undone and the resolution out. The only way them being shorter a season works as an explanation for all of this is if the creative team found out season three was the last at the same time we did. And even then, the solution there would have been to take out five minutes of fight scene and replace it with five minutes of resolving everything in the short and stupid but still THERE way.

For example: Give Wrecker and Crosshair one line each after Tantiss that tells us what they’re going to do. Unmask CX-2 as Tech after spearing him (or don’t spear him) and add one line where Hunter says he’s recovering and that it’ll be a long road, but they won’t give up on him. Or! If you don’t want to bring Tech back in the short and stupid but there way, add a line to the epilogue where Hunter tells Omega, “I see Tech when I look at you sometimes. I don’t want to lose you the way we lost him,” which seems like a no brainer, or, “Tech would have been so proud of you,” which is absolutely a no-brainer if you actually want to close things out for Tech. Tech would still be gone, but at least it’d be resolved, and that’s all short, simple stuff you could add to the very last episode to make it feel finished. If you’re shorted a season or even a few episodes, you cut everything that doesn’t matter, you do whatever you can to get your story resolved—unless you have somewhere else to put it. Which, given how open Star Wars canon is and how heavily it relies on recontextualization, is a very real possibility here.

What I think may have happened here is that The Bad Batch ended up being the first part of a longer story that had to be artificially cut in half. Whether it was always planned that way, whether it was something that unexpectedly happened partway through the production of season three, or a secret third option (the creative team set things up to to be resolved in three seasons but always wanted to do a longer version, but the longer version (in the form of another show) didn’t get greenlit until they’d already written most of season three, so all the payoff got schlorped over to that follow up show while the payoff stayed in this one, leaving us, the audience, with this incredibly unsatisfying mess of a finale in the meantime while whoever is in charge of announcing shit at Lucasfilm doesn’t see the problem). Put a pin in CX-2, slap something that looks like a happy ending on the rest, resolve nothing, do it all in the next thing.

(Slight sidebar: If it turns out that the reason we didn’t get Tech back is because something went horrifically wrong during the writer’s strike—basically, the finale got hit with extreme budget cuts and the script patched by AI—I think we’d still get Tech back. Tech in the first two seasons was something of a writer blorbo, and no one is leaving their blorbo dead over that. That’s a good way for them to bring back their blorbo and have that blorbo murder the hell out of a thinly disguised CEO insert.)

And if that’s what we’re looking at—well, okay. I can see wanting to give certain things (especially a Tech return) more time. If this is what’s happening I actually think it will be more satisfying in the long run, from a story perspective, anyway. I’ll be able to live with that.

That said….

2. If that’s the case—if what we’re looking at is a story artificially split in half one way or another and we are getting a Tech return and the rest of the resolution eventually in an immediate follow up, something that will ultimately work really well in the long run—that doesn’t mean I think it works now. Right now, it’s awful, from every angle. We don’t know for sure that anything else is coming, it makes for a deeply unsatisfying story right now because the “ending” we have is all we have to go on, and it’s unnecessarily stressful for most everyone but especially the autistic fans who relate to Tech.

And the thing is, if Tech were neurotypical? I don’t think we’d really be question the idea that he could still come back eventually. He’s a clear writer favorite to the point that they basically gave him the entirety of season two, except the two Crosshair episodes, great lines and moments in other character’s episodes, and they apparently liked using him so much that either CX-2 was Tech or they physically couldn’t stop themselves from writing and animating Tech in a season he wasn’t in. Killing off one of the writer faves and the fan favorite in order to bring them back later is something that happens. But it’s something that hits differently when that writer and fan favorite is also the only canonically autistic character in the franchise.

Which. Is I think where we run into a problem. You see, I never really got the impression that the creative team ever thought of Tech as The Autistic One. Does that mean I think the didn’t write him as autistic? Of course not—they absolutely did, and did so intentionally. What I mean is that that wasn’t the sum total or even the primary way in which they thought of him, otherwise I think we would have ended up with a terrible Sheldon-Cooper-esque. Instead, the Tech they wrote, and the Tech we got, is just a guy. A really amazing guy who’s noticeably different and autistic AF, but treated like any other character. And on the one hand, great! I know people have a lot of different ideas about this, but I personally want writers to deal with autistic characters that way—to just write us like we’re people. And if what they’re doing is bringing Tech back later and on a longer timeframe than what we expected—also great. It means that all the ambiguity, hinting, and complete and total lack of processing or closure makes sense, because that’s how you write a fakeout death. That’s textbook how you write a fakeout death. But—but—

The flip-side of just treating Tech like any other character and, perhaps, playing a long game with “killing” him off and bringing him back later like someone would do with a fan favorite, if that’s what they’re doing, is that you end up in the situation that we’re in right now. The interim situation where it feels like Tech’s sacrifice was never given the weight it needed to feel final or meaningful, where we’re given no closure and no opportunity to let go, where we DON��T know if anything is coming next even if we do get hints, where Tech got dropped, where nothing makes sense, and where the autistic fans in the audience who relate to Tech feel like Star Wars kicked them in the face and told them that they don’t belong here.

So.

I want this to be a long game, and I do think this could, one, be a situation where they team is having to work around some kind of corporate shenanigans to play that long game, and; two, could end up being a fantastic story that I love even more than the version I wanted.

But even if I’m right and that is the case, I also hate that this is where we’re at in the here and now, that it’s hurt people as badly as it has, and think that they should never do anything like this again, because the game stopped being fun a long time ago.

tl;dr: I don’t think we’re done yet, I think this is part of a longer story, I think we’ll get Tech back at some point whether it was planned or not, but I also hhhaaaaaatte the current situation and think it’s been mishandled.

[tapwater118]

The Post-Split Rant, Part 2

a.k.a.: Grown Adult somehow whines about Baby Cartoon for even longer

Part 1

BFB Post-Split is my least favorite season, so I’m gonna keep whinging on about it. As a reminder to all who bother to read this, this is my opinion. It is fine if you disagree with me about something, and you probably will. This is a good thing! Disagreement invites discussion, as long as all involved are willing to discuss.

Ok let’s just get right into it.

BFB 22

THE LEAFY PLUSH IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!!! I don’t have really anything to say about the ad intro other than it’s become a vocal stim for me. Moving on.

erm taco got out and she was my favortie character so this js the wrost epistioe

Ok, but seriously.

Overall, this is a pretty fun episode! “Court case” doesn’t really sound like it would make for that good of a challenge, but they make it work! A lot of funny moments all around. Jet-flying class is a top tier bit.

That being said, I have two VERY BIG ISSUES with this episode that keep it out of my favorites list. The second one I want to save for later (after BFB 24), so let’s talk about that first one.

This episode, and the resulting elimination segment in the following episode, is the biggest middle finger to Bubble Post-Split ever pulls. She is killed off very early into the challenge, and is not recovered until the next episode. I believe this is directly responsible for her elimination. Leafy gets her moment with Firey (more on that later), Lollipop and Gelatin form their Newbie Alliance, and Teardrop has some cute moments with the typewriter. Every Have Cotter gets to do something intriguing or endearing this episode, except for Bubble. She is, quite literally, written out of the show. It’s not even like she did nothing because she’s a boring character; Bubble is a very interesting character! She was just killed off. (Honestly reminds me of how in season 1 they were pretty obviously trying to get people to vote Ice Cube out near the end, only this time they didn’t have to resort to a contestant vote to do so.)

Like I said, we’ll get to that second issue in a bit.

BFB 23

One last one-two combo on Bubble for really no reason or payoff here. Pretty much nobody remembers she even died last episode, and her elimination is by far one of the most anticlimactic in the entire series. No drum roll or anything, and she barely even gets to say bye. Spongy, the character everyone always seems to point to when people talk about characters being mistreated by the writers (rightfully so imo), had a more impactful elimination.

This episode is just bland. Challenge-wise it’s the exact opposite of BFB 22; the premise for the challenge is really interesting (A jailbreak! That’s exciting!), but they execute it in probably the most boring way possible. One team spends the whole time jumping on boxing gloves, and the other basically has a repeat of BFB 21. The Flower and Purple Face stinger is the best part of the episode.

Just wanted to mention Flower here because I’ll probably forget to do this later; she’s actually written pretty well, by Post-Split standards. I’ve seen people say she wasn’t done well by Post-Split, but I honestly don’t really see it. Post continues her character quite cleanly from Pre-Split; she wants to make friends and make amends for her past behavior, while also still being a bit rude and off-putting. Don’t really see where the issue is here. (As for why she’s like this versus her BFDI/A self, we’ll probably have to wait for IDFB to pick back up.)

BFB 24

Unless something really dumb happens in BFB 28-30 that I’m forgetting (haven’t got there on my rewatch yet), this is probably the worst episode in all of Post-Split, and maybe even the whole series. I know this is the worst episode because it was the only one during my rewatch where I checked how much time was left, saw I still had half the episode to go, and audibly groaned. Nothing happens the entire challenge except for people shitting around and talking, and the overall payoff for most of the contestants not doing the challenges is like one and a half kinda funny jokes. We barely get to see any of them getting the supplies for their parties, or setting them up, or even anything related to the parties until it comes time to judge. The intro/Cake at Stake are so much more engaging than the actual challenge portion. The best part is the Flower and Leafy team-up and even then barely anything happens. Definitely up there with the likes of BFDI 16, BFDIA 1, and BFB 5 for the “real stinker challenge segment” award.

Purple Face becomes a mainstay here, so I guess I’ll comment on him. He’s whatever. He has some good bits, but overall feels like he doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Kinda unnecessary for what Post-Split goes for (or at least tries to go for).

I’ll be completely honest and say I completely forgot about this Gelatin-Teardrop “arc” before this rewatch. It kinda comes out of nowhere too; their moments of “conflict” are not brought up as such (not even any subtle insinuation) until this point. But hey, maybe if they expand on it, Post-Split could really have something intere—aaaaaand it’s over. The same episode this “arc” is established, it gets entirely resolved. Glad that that conflict totally got fleshed out and developed to its full potential. Yup.

Ok, I said we would talk about it after BFB 24, so here we go. My second main reason for making this rant:

I do not like how Post-Split resolved Firey and Leafy’s arc

If you’re gonna disagree with me on anything in this rant, it’ll probably be this.

Let’s start with BFB 22.

First off, bozo, she DID try to talk with you, you just slammed the (soundproof) door in her face before she could get a point across. Ok time to talk about the actual writing.

As a whole, this whole scene comes off as extremely biased towards Firey. Yes, Leafy never apologized for stealing Dream Island, but Firey never apologized for both excluding her for an extremely petty reason and for ignoring her in the years since. This SHOULD have been a mutual make-up between the two. Both apologize for their misdeeds towards the other, and both promise to do better with each other moving forward.

Instead, we this one-sided argument wherein Firey is given much more pity than Leafy by the show. He isn’t even all that remorseful about how he’s treated Leafy, he’s more distraught over potentially being eliminated for stealing the diary. And Leafy, of course, offers to throw the challenge to make sure he isn’t up for elimination. Ok. Sure. Maybe that is in Leafy’s character, to help save Firey from elimination when he’s done something the viewers won’t like; she is the super nice one after all.

Anyway here’s a completely unrelated screenshot from BFB 15. Just putting this here for no particular reason.

Episode ends with them being friends again, and Firey’s only punishment for stealing the diary is to clean the railway. Yippee.

Fast forward to BFB 24: Lollipop snarks in Leafy’s direction, and Leafy tells Firey she’s upset about him not standing up for her, as well as all the time he spent ignoring her. And Firey apologizes! Great!

THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE TAKEN 2 MORE EPISODES TO GET TO!!! THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN BFB 22 WITH THE REST OF THE MAKE-UP SCENE (aside from the ferris wheel probably)!!!!! I can only imagine the crew realized how one-sided BFB 22 was to Firey, so they decide to shoehorn in this scene into BFB 24 to try and fix it. It doesn’t, and this moment feels so phoned in.

Overall, my main issue with how Post-Split handles this reconciliation is that it feels sloppy. It’s too biased towards one side, and they try and correct for that too little too late. It feels like rather than something they wanted to write, it was something they had to write, as they (correctly) predicted Firey didn’t have much more time in the game left, and if they didn’t do this now they wouldn’t get a chance to later.

Anyway, Firey gets eliminated so no more of this arc for a bit. Let’s move on.

BFB 25

Just want to mention it here, because this episode has a perfect example of it, but Four has definitely changed from Pre to Post-Split. Here Gelatin slaps Four, and instead of Four giving him a face full of zappies like Four most certainly would have in Pre-Split, Four just kinda insults him and then the episode moves on. I won’t really say whether this is a good or a bad change, but I will say I like Four much more in TPOT than in Post-Split.

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

Meme-slop aside, this is a very whatever episode. More just walking and talking, you know how I feel about these already. I do like both the detail of how Flower’s vomit-repelling sweater was what was causing the vomit-filled totem to run away from her, as well as the fact this detail goes pretty much unspoken. Certainly a nice change of pace from the amount of over-explaining characters tend to do (COUGH COUGH LOLLIPOP COUGH).

The best part of the episode happens near the very end. You know what part I’m talking about.

i need her

BFB 26

It’s the Profily episode! I guess I’ll touch on them a bit. They’re a pretty funny joke character! I can’t decide whether it’s funnier for them to have been there all along and nobody noticed, or for them to straight up be lying about everything. This is a good thing. Past that though, they’re just ok. Some good bits here and there, but after this episode they just become another face in BFDI’s minor character menagerie with nothing to really set them apart.

Nothing really to complain about here. Fun episode! Lots of silly things, and nothing stays still for too long. This and BFB 20 really show how good Post-Split could have been, I think. I do prefer 20 a good bit more, but I’d rank this one above 22.

Time to ditch the Pillary Ruins.

BFB 27

The thumbnail is the worst thing about this episode. Just look at it. Why is there just an ugly chartreuse slab on the side. Why are the characters arranged so haphazardly. What even is this composition. It barely even fits with the rest of the Post-Split thumbnails. I hate it.

What gets me is that there was a scrapped thumbnail that looked a lot better! No clue why they switched it.

I do like the desert as a setting more than the Pillary Ruins, which might be an uncommon opinion idk. The ruins always felt too cluttered to be good default backdrops, so going to something simpler is nice.

Yeah I don’t have much to say about this one, another “whatever talky bluh bluh” episode, but this does have some more funny moments than others like it so there’s that. The Flower and TD montage was silly, and it seems like they kinda set Leafy up for elimination solely because they didn’t want her in the top 3 again. Nothing really much else to say.

Actually, come to think of it, this is the last “regular” challenge before the final all-in-one challenge. Maybe escaping the oven was a callback to BFDI 22’s escaping the volcano? If so, BFDI 22 did it better.

This seems like a good time to stop for now. They’re about to bring back all of the eliminated contestants, so I’ll be touching on both Taco and Firey/Leafy again in the next and final part of this rant. We’ll also get to the third main reason I’m making this rant: BFB 30.

Part 3

[scarletrose-o7]

Soo just wanna talk a bit I guess

It's about good omens I know, I know. Half of the fandom is in mourning 'cause of Aziraphale and Crowley in s2 ep6 but I just want to do a character analysis of both for some more added information (ig). Now, I don't know if someone has already done this analysis or not, but fuck it, I'ma just do them anyways. I think we can look at Crowley first since most people do relate to him more than anyone else. In season 1, we are introduced to the fact that Crowley is the snake from Eden. That in itself makes him very important, but in season 2 episode 1, his importance rises so much. We find the fact that they were the ones who geared up the universe, "Let there be light" and stuff, he also said that he worked very close with upstairs. In the final episode of season 2, he could also open a confidential file that could only be accessed by a throne, a dominion, or above. This means; that before falling, he was extremely important/had a high status (whether he was Raphael or not doesn't matter). Again, in the last episode of season 2, during their breakup, he says, "I understand it a lot better than you do." to Aziraphale when he suggests that Crowley go up to heaven with him. Crowley, in this scenario, knows what's going on. He has clearly seen what heaven is like, top to bottom. From Crowley's point of view, both heaven and hell do not understand that there doesn't need to be a war. That Armageddon doesn't need to happen. He has always seen things in grey, from the beginning. Questioning God and her plans; not fully abiding with hell, like, ever; doing whatever the fuck he wants. Now, before I continue, I think I should give Aziraphale's character some more context. I have been hearing about the coffee theory in the fandom. in simple words: Metatron put something in the coffee and manipulated Aziraphale to become the supreme archangel with it. it definitely is an interesting theory, but there isn't much proof I can see. Mainly because, we see their conversation (in bits a pieces, sure), and you can see Aziraphale acting normally. He's wary and concerned. But from the beginning, Aziraphale has always (mostly) seen in Black and Whites (contrary to Crowley). Even if he denies it, he does (it's hard to forget what you believed since you existed). The only person who's shown Aziraphale that, "Hey, there can be more than one option" is Crowley. Only with Crowley has he ever had the choices (not just good and evil). Even then, he believed Heaven is always good and hell's always evil (he has made multiple remarks about him being good and Crowley being evil, for example, in the flashback of the Edinburgh surgeon, he has made that remark. Even when they met in season 1, he said, "Well obviously, you're a demon." after Crowley said that hell just said to go up there and make some trouble). This in itself proves that Aziraphale always thought in black and white even when he tries to divert himself to not think like that. In his eyes, Heaven is good, and Hell is evil. But the angels and the demons can be in between those shades of grey. That Heaven is currently corrupted, and Hell, even more. He doesn't want another Armageddon, he wants heaven to understand what it means to be "good" (good in atleast his eyes). In very simple words; Aziraphale believes that Heaven isn't working properly/is corrupt and wants to/thinks that he can infact fix it, and Crowley believes everything is working the way it's supposed to since he has seen it personally displayed infront of him, since he has been a high ranking angel in Heaven. Or in much simpler words: THEY DON'T FUCKING TALK TO EACHOTHER.

If the both of them could've had a heart-to-heart talk earlier, it could've ended so much differently. Neither of them knows what the other feels and just assumes what they think the other one thinks. It in itself is a toxic mindset to have. They both didn't "break up" because Metatron manipulates Aziraphale or because Aziraphale couldn't return Crowley's feelings (man's (non-binary) literally fell first). It was because neither of them understood eachother. Aziraphale sees Crowley as a demon who wants desperately to be an angel (many indirect remarks have been made like in Job's arc and such) and someone who accidentally fell (which is true at some level). AND Crowley sees Aziraphale as a simple-minded angel who needs rescuing from time to time (which, again, is true at some level). They both are literally forgetting their own nuances and beliefs, and assuming what the other thinks because, say it with me, THEY DO NOT TALK. The reason Crowley felt betrayed was because he didn't realize that Aziraphale wasn't exactly who he thought he was. After all, Aziraphale isn't a simple character, he's a complex character with very strict (too strict) morals. And Aziraphale realized that Crowley really didn't want to go to Heaven OR Hell, since he always thought that Crowley only hated Hell, not Heaven aswell. So it was a shock to him. WHY? BECAUSE THEY DON'T FUCKING TALK TO EACHOTHER. So, when people say that it's because of the coffee, it pisses me off a little. It practically refuses the idea of nuances existing within these characters. Listen, if it's actually because of the coffee or Metatron doing/saying something sinister to Aziraphale, I'll take my L. But for now, I wholeheartedly believe that it was fully Aziraphale's decision to go to Heaven.

so yeah, that's all, I might add to this later, might not.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The Bear's legacy

The series finale has already been announced

I still think Sydcarmy will be endgame, of course. But most importantly, I also think that all Carmy said in this scene in regards to HIS LEGACY (because that's what he was talking about, not just legacy in general but his own based on what he learned from the legends that taught him well) is the clearest foreshadowing of what Storer has in mind to wrap The Bear up.

I say all of this now because I believe S4 will be the last one and after this S3 we were just served my mind keeps wandering to: HOW CAN WE GET OUT OF HERE?!?! HOW WILL STORER GET US OUT OF THIS. HOW WILL HE CLOSE THE OPEN LOOP HE LEFT US STUCK AT IN THE SEASON FINALE:

I already went over my idea of how the endgame for the entire series may look like here, before watching S3. But that was just an assumption (yet fully compatible with what I will elaborate on below).

These previous posts of mine, also tap into The Family tree concept and I suggest you check them out for context as well:

The tree

Found Family

What I think will happen in whatever way Storer wants to go about it is that even though The Bear, the restaurant will not go under, at least not as a result of this bad review:

Eventually, it might close its doors like Ever did (after getting 1 or more stars for Sydney), so Carmy can live and escape the prison of his own design that Richie mentioned:

Now, I'm prepared to make a formal prediction based on the script presented in ep 03x07 → Legacy, which I cross-referenced with LWTH.

And the parallelisms, which would take a way longer post than what I have time to make right now, all point in this direction:

The team will spread around the world/country to open their own restaurants/bakeries, etc. - This happens either in the post The Bear era or even if The Bear remains open.

Or in other words, like Storer Carmy said:

This will be the case for each member of the family:

And because the show is about "found family", they still find a way to remain together, even if at some point they go their separate ways to carry on with The Bear's legacy elsewhere as Carmy foreshadowed and just like Carmy carried on with Michael's at some point, which was the kickstart of the whole series.

Thus, it will be a full circle.

IMO, and this is unrelated to the book, The Bear will close its doors eventually or change its name and Sydney will open her dream spot, maybe where The Bear once was or elsewhere. Carmy will change careers and will crossover into other arts, such as painting. Let's not forget that he's already an artist of the culinary arts, so it will not be too much of a stretch. He seemed to have found his peace once in Copenhagen doing this and he keeps coming back to it, even now, as he hits rock bottom, he keeps turning to this type of art to try and cope:

He never seems to drift too far away from it.

I think this is where he's headed post The Bear. Back to his solace (which will include Syd too).

And this is what comes to mind → an Austenian happy ending for the entire family that was foreshadowed in 03x07 "Legacy".

The ending will be all about carrying on with Carmy's legacy or better yet, "Sydcarmy's Legacy", one way or the other. Kinda like this fic narrates here.

And I can't wait.

Bonus track: I hope they leave the door open to continue telling this story on the big screen, which if you didn't cheat and carefully read the Found Family context post I linked at the beginning, you now know was Storer's original idea for The Bear. This, unlike all I mentioned above, is indeed a stretch. But... a girl can dream.

[thealogie]

I'm sorry but I'm about to treat your ask box like a confessional.

You kind of deserve it, though, because due to your Sherlock rewatch posts I've been forced to remember that 1. Sherlock is a show that exists and 2. that I wrote Sherlock fanfic when I was 13... about SHERLOCK and MOLLY.

In my defence, I was a deeply deeply deeply repressed bisexual who hadn't realized it yet - so all of the obvious and insane gay stuff between Sherlock and John just completely sailed over my head. Also propaganda worked really well on me as a child - so basically I was the ideal viewer for Moftiss lol. There'd be scenes where people mistook Sherlock and John for a couple and I'd go 'huh that's kind of strange that keeps happening' but then it would be played off as a joke and I'd go 'oh yes of course, silly me! Gay people only exist as the punchline! Sherlock and John would NEVER be interested in each other that way. I can't believe anyone would ever think that haha.'

Flash forward to 2017. I'm 17 years old. I've kissed other women by now and have had my brain chemistry rewritten by copious amounts of slash fanfiction. Still young, but wiser to the ways of the world than I once was. The last time I watched Sherlock, I had been 14 years old. Sherlock season 4 airs. I watch it with my mom. It's so bad my brain immediately initiates a trauma response and wipes all memory of Sherlock away. This continues for years. The only times I remember Sherlock exists is whenever I joyfully watch hbomerguy's Sherlock Is Garbage video while I'm knitting or painting or something. Also whenever I have to type in a password for an account I made when I was 13 - because my go-to password was 'SHERLOCKED' back then, unfortunately.

Flash forward to now. I'm 24 years old. And I start seeing your posts about Sherlock. Like a sleeper agent, it awakens something in me. Yesterday, I spent a perfectly good Saturday - one I could have spent doing literally anything else - reading Johnlock fanfiction. I am suddenly re experiencing the show through new eyes, seeing all the queerbait I never did before. Getting hate-crimed on the daily. I'm thinking about Sherlock at work, at my adult fucking job. I'm watching scenes from the show on youtube in my office, quickly and guiltily clicking away whenever a coworker comes to chat. I am considering doing my own rewatch. I am realizing for the first time that John and Sherlock were literally in love. It's the only lens through which you can view the show and still have it be somewhat enjoyable. They literally put Mary in a wedding dress shooting Sherlock in his mind palace on TV. I feel like I'm having a religious experience, I feel like I'm insane, I feel like I'm 13 again. This is all vaguely November 5th-ish for me lol.

Anyway. I just thought you should know the impact your rewatch is having on the population. Sorry for the novel in your inbox. I've been desperately trying to find my old Sherlock x Molly fanfic to read for the lols but I think I deleted it off ffnet. I am both having the time of my life while also desperately hoping I forget Sherlock ever existed again soon. So, basically - thank you/curse you for this.

This is perhaps the best ask I’ve ever received?? I converted a sherlolly shipper in the year 2023? Listen I’d never wish a season 4 rewatch on anyone but I would highly recommend watching s1-2 and the wedding episode for a truly out of body experience. I felt more strongly about this show/ship than any other in my life and it was STILL worse than I remembered

[tvfangirladdict]

I finally watched the first 3 episodes of season 8, and it was so much better than I thought it'd be with all the bee promos. And I was so excited to get on here and share in the excitement. But I kept coming across so much arguing that it ruined my good mood.

I don't keep up with any of the promotional stuff the cast does, so I'm just finding out about the new magazines and interviews and stuff that some people seem to think points to Eddie coming out soon. And the reaction from a lot of people? Not loving it.

I realize there's Die-hards on either side, BT or Buddie, and that they can take things too far. They're so focused on their chosen ship, and so dedicated to validating it and themselves, that they can become mean and unreasonable. They're stubborn, you won't change their minds, and they will do anything to defend their ship even if it means misinterpreting reality and twisting it to support their needs.

But that some of them have somehow tuned into the same bigoted people we were fighting before BT, even using their same lines to deny any chance of Eddie being queer just makes me so angry.

It continues to boggle my mind how people conveniently forget that just because someone uses one label in one part of life to identify themselves, that they can't change that label in the future. Just because someone labels themselves as straight, doesn't mean they can't still come out later with a different sexuality. Like, we see it all the time?????? For years we said that Buck and Eddie were portrayed with queer hints, and they said we were crazy, just seeing what we wanted to see. 'Why do you have to make everything gay?' they'd say.

And then Buck kissed a guy. A guy who everyone believed to also be straight up until that point.

And then those people blamed us. Said we forced the producers and writers' hands into 'making Buck gay'.....Oooor maybe we just saw the truth and forced them to admit it.

Still, they want to argue, he was never gay, he'd only dated women, Oliver described his character as heterosexual, etc etc..... And? I'm fairly certain adults have been coming out of the closet later in life for like, ever?

Are we conveniently forgetting Michael? You know, Athena's first husband? The man she had two children with? The one that came out as gay and left her for a man?

But because it happened in season 7 instead of season 1, with Buck instead of Michael, people are claiming it's wrong and impossible and unrealistic?????

Like, the closet is the closet for a reason, no one is supposed to know????

I expected this from the biphobic and homophobic crowd right away. I'm from the suburbs of Ohio with rural parents who hate having gay shit "shoved down their throats" and being "forced to accept people just cause they're gay". You know, the 'it's not wrong, I just don't want to have to see it' crowd. I saw those kind of reactions coming from a mile away.

But never in a million years did I think I'd see people who ship two men together, fight so hard to deny a different characters queerness??? Where did all of this hate for Eddie come from? Like, before BT, we were all on the same side. At least I thought so? Which in my mind meant we were accepting of gay and bi men finding happiness and love?

But then the idea that Eddie might have a gay revelation too, and therefore become a threat to your new ship, meant you're willing to oppress a character that's now been here for like 7 years? That you were rooting for at one point?

Don't get me wrong, I was literally screaming and crying for joy during BTs first kiss. That was groundbreaking and so important, beyond just 911.

Don't I think they'll last? No. Do I still believe Buddie is endgame? Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't understand how important this relationship is to the world and television and Buck's character.

So I never had any hate for BT shippers. It was new and exciting and you want to hold onto it, I get it. But you can't just turn around and become the same people that called you crazy for seeing the signs in Buck, now that we're seeing more of it in Eddie.

'Eddie's only dated women, Ryan said Eddie's straight.' So what? We've literally watched two, male, main characters come out later in life, why can't Eddie?

Maybe he will, maybe he won't. These aren't real people, they're characters under the thumb of producers and broadcast networks and people so far up the food chain they probably don't even watch the show, so at the end of the day, they'll make Eddie who they want to benefit themselves, not to stay true to Eddie's character. But why attack us for hoping Eddie gets the same chance as Buck?

You don't ship Buddie, fine. You want BT to be endgame, and Eddie could mess that up for yall and you're afraid, I get it. Just say that. But don't come and try and gaslight us into thinking we're all just seeing shit again with Eddie the way they said we were with Buck.

This isn't for the multishippers, or the BT shippers who are more open minded. I understand there's some Buddie shippers who are pulling the same shit on the opposite end of the shipping pool and that's not okay either.

Basically, I just hate seeing all this hate for Eddie. People have always been more aligned with Buck than Eddie, even before BT. And that's always sucked because I think I identify more with Eddie. But since BT, it's gotten worse. Now that there's another option for Buck in a gay relationship, it's like some people can finally admit they only ever liked Eddie for the chance at BiBuck and I hate that. Eddie coming out would be so important for so many queer people. From the Latino community, to those with Catholic or other deep religious roots, to single dads and more.

We're not crazy for wanting to see Eddie come out, okay?

[phoenixlionme]

Caitlyn Is Constantly Underestimated

Something that I (and probably other Caitlyn fans) have noticed is how often and constantly Caitlyn is underestimated by everyone she meets.

Her parents, especially her mother, genuinely love her and want to protect her from danger. But they never fully supported her job as an Enforcer, her mother being more open about her disapproval. And her flashback as a child implies that her parents had a habit of paying off her competitors so she could win. They may love her, but their actions also show they don't fully respect her.

Her and Jayce have a playful and loving big bro and lil' sis bond since she was a young teen but even, he's not immune. He may be more supportive of her Enforcer job, but it's also implied from his wording that he didn't try to stop Caitlyn's mom from kicking off her force. I understand he was worried, and I am NOT demonizing him for it but it was still against Caitlyn's wishes. And despite her pleas for help, Jayce refuses her request to help Zaun, so he won't upset his political alliances with the other Council members. However, when Vi calls him out on his inaction, he doesn't defend it and looks away in shame.

Marcus and the other Enforcers see her as nothing more than an entitled, rich brat only taking up being an Enforcer out of boredom. Marcus doesn't even try to hide his contempt of her and when she tries to engage in conversation with other Enforcers, they smugly deny her the chance.

While not elaborated on, a teen Caitlyn calls herself a "misfit", implying she was friendless and ostracized since she was a young child.

Jinx only thinks of her as some "stupid Enforcer" who "stole" Vi.

When they first meet, Vi is nothing but rude and belligerent to Caitlyn for her background and doesn't think much of her. And while her opinion of the Piltie changes, their breakup in the rain further shows Vi still has a mindset of (to an extent), underestimating Caitlyn - Vi thinks they won't work out and tells Caitlyn to forget her.

I think this trend will continue in Season 2. Most of everyone she interacts with, will only see her a naive child with no idea how the world works. I think something will happen to Caitlyn to shed the last bit of naivety she had in season 1. And I think it will ultimately lead her to saving both cities. Now, I have a theory that Caitlyn will play a key role in stopping the conflict between Piltover and Zaun for a number of reasons:

In the official LOL lore, her bio refers to her as "Piltover's best peacekeeper"

Arcane co-creator Alex Yee says believes she is the bridge of the two sides of the two cities. Sorry, I don't have the official link.

Her magnetic personality - Despite just being excluded by the Enforcers just a second prior, the moment she warned of a fire, they follow her lead immediately. How she managed to easily charm one of the Zaun prostitutes. Despite his hatred of Piltie Enforcers and general distrust, Caitlyn's kind words managed to convince Ekko to trust her, probably the first time he ever trusted one. And do I need to mention how Vi fell for Caitlyn's personality despite them only knowing each other for 1 to 2 days.

She is deliberately meant to draw parallels between herself and Vander, another well-beloved leader with a similar personality to Caitlyn's.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Season 3 Rewatch Drabbles: 3x14 The Tower

Summary:  A series of 100-500 word drabbles to accompany my    rewatch of season 3 of Once Upon a Time.  There will be a drabble–either a deleted scene, a “fix it” fic or a character musing for each episode of the season.  Focus will be on Emma, Henry, the Charmings and Killian–with an emphasis on Captain Swan’s epic love story.

Word Count: 915

Other Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The past year without her had been hell.  He’d missed her every day, every moment of every day.  He’d tried everything he could to forget her, to alleviate the ever present pain, but the only thing that had brought him even the smallest modicum of comfort was the remembrance of their parting.

Good.

That one word had told him everything.  Despite her walls, she did care for him, she would miss him–or at least she would have had she retained her memories.

It was that reminder that had gotten him through the early sleepless nights.  It was that promise that had given him hope when he’d finally been given a chance to return to her.

He would like to believe he’d be pleased to learn she’d been happy, that she’d found love again, but selfish bastard that he was, it had cut like a knife through his heart when she’d told him the eight months she’d spent with Walsh had been real and that she’d loved him.

Now, reunited, back in Storybrooke, memories restored, the walls she’d built around her heart were tenfold what they had been in Neverland, and in his lower moments he almost wondered if the year without her–but with the memory of her good–had been less painful.

“You know what Swan?” he asked peevishly as they stomped through the snow-covered ground searching for a trace of the witch. “Whenever you’re around, I inevitably find myself trekking through some manner of woods or forests courting danger.”

She gave him a sardonic grin. “And here I thought you weren’t afraid of anything, always looking for the next adventure.”

“Oh, is that what this is?”

“Isn’t it?” she asked, her words dripping with sarcasm. “What the hell were you doing on that ship?  I’m guessing it was one swashbuckling tale after another until you decided to come back and save me.”

He couldn’t stop the stab of pain her words gave him.  He knew this was a defense mechanism, but gods above, did she truly think that of him, even in part?

“Exactly,” he answered shortly.  She wasn’t the only one, after all, who could employ defense mechanisms.

She stopped abruptly and turned to face him, all trace of mocking sarcasm wiped from her face to be replaced by a seering intensity. “You’re lying.”

“Excuse me?”

“What happened back there?” she pressed. “What aren’t you telling me?”

The shame washed over him as he remembered the sordid business with Blackbeard, Prince Eric and Ariel.  The last thing in the world he wanted was to see the disappointment and revulsion in her eyes when she heard the tale.  More deflection was certainly in order.

“Nothing,” he said shortly, turning to continue his walk. “That’s my tale and I’m sticking to it.”

“I still don’t believe you.”

Killian mentally groaned.  She was not giving this up.  It was time to take drastic measures to change the subject.  “Let’s leave it at that, and you can just say thank you.”

“For my memories?” she asked, “I already did.”

“For saving you from a loveless marriage,” he said, turning toward her, looking into her eyes, looking for an indication it was true.

“Is that what you think you were doing?” she asked.

“He was a flying monkey,” he said flippantly.

“I didn’t know that,” she answered, and he could hear the pain in that statement.  It made him feel like a cad, pressing on her still open wound.

“Were you considering it? His proposal?”

“Does it matter?” she asked.

“Humor me,” he answered, both needing and dreading the answer.  He knew this woman, knew her better than anyone.  He saw the festering wound her walls hid, knew it needed to be lanced in order for her to heal.

And so he pushed, even though the act hurt him nearly as much as it did her.

“Yes, okay?” she finally answered, her tone steely. “I was in love, so of course I was considering it, but as usual, he wasn’t who he said he was and I got my heart broken. That enough humor for you?”

Killian let out a long breath, feeling the pain and betrayal coming from her in waves.  Behind that thick, nearly impenetrable wall lay a heart that was bruised and bloody, but one that still beat, one that would heal, one that could find happiness again.

He could only hope she’d allow him to be the one who helped her find it. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad to hear that.”

If anything, her frown deepened. “You’re glad to hear I got my heart broken?”

Killian took a chance.  He stepped forward, letting his feelings, his sincerity, his care for her shine through his eyes as he looked deeply into Emma’s. “If it can be broken, it means it still works.”

For one bright shining moment, he thought she might kiss him.  Her breath caught, she swayed into him, her own feelings, which she’d been trying so desperately to hide, to banish, shown through her lovely green eyes.

And then abruptly the walls came up again.  

Without a word, she turned away, stepped past him and continued on toward the farmhouse in the distance.

The disappointment washed over him, and he allowed himself to feel it for a moment before sighing and moving forward.

The woman he loved–the one he knew loved him–was still in there.  He simply needed to be patient.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[min-kit]

The whole “Buddie buildup for seasons!” thing is so funny to me as someone who’s been watching from the start. The very moment Eddie appeared in the first ep of season 2 and talked to Buck (which was pretty charged and slightly negative) people started shipping them and demanding for them to get together based on chemistry alone, with no build up or backstory. It obviously continued as the show went on and more moments happened but as someone who shipped them back then they actually made MORE sense when the ship and chemistry was fresh imo, in seasons 2 and 3, and no one debated it as then. Now that Tommy appeared now suddenly it’s all “3939 seasons of buildup!”. Especially weird when there were some seasons where there was negative buildup for Buddie. Again, I used to ship them so it’s not like I’m against the idea but saying Buddie makes more sense than BuckTommy only because of madeup is BS.

warning: this is long!!

I actually came into the show with buddie goggles on. I think my first episode live was 4x4? It was either Future Tense or the episode RIGHT after Future Tense, idr which but I had a mutual or someone I followed on twitter who was really into the show & would share ppl's edits. Now I knew they weren't canon & even then I didn't need them to be (i like a good "queerbait" as the kids call it, tho i have arguments for what actually constitutes queerbait. I simply call it "shippable"). But as someone who went in knowing about their ship, I looked at EVERYTHING with those goggles on. So yeah I shipped them hardcore for those seasons. Then s6 happened and I packed my bags on that ship to ever actually happen in canon and resolved to watch the show a bit more casually season 7 onwards (and I would've done too had I not heard the rumors about bi Buck!! haha)

But I did start rewatching the series through the reactions of someone who did not have those goggles on a few months ago and it really shed some light on certain things. All that is to say, I do agree with you. If it was something that was ever gonna be done, during s2 & 3 makes the most sense. I think ppl forget that fanon is not the same as canon & things that work in fanfiction do not work in the actual canon world of the show. Now that Buck is bisexual, I do fully believe & adopt the headcanon that he had feelings for Eddie early on & just didn't realize it, but they developed fully into friendship.

I don't think they're going to make Eddie canonically queer too. I just don't. I'm not sure why I ever thought they might give both coming out stories (maybe it's because I watch a lot of Asian BL). Unfortunately, that is just not how network television works in America. The fact they made Buck queer 7 seasons in is already HUGE. I'm not gonna hang my hopes on what's probably an impossibility when I have this beautiful canon queer storyline happening on my screen already & I genuinely like Tommy & think he's the perfect LI for Buck.

I think here is what people need to realize too. Once again fanon =/= canon. There are no so many years of build-up. Unless and until they make buddie canon, those years of build-up do not exist because, currently, they're not trying to build anything up. Tim has said they aren't currently planning it, Ryan again and again has said how much Buck & Eddie's friendship means to him to see on television because you don't see male friendships portrayed that way (and you don't! especially not friendships between 2 "macho" men both in their 30s, 1 of whom is canonically queer. This too is an important storyline to tell).

People watch this show with buddie goggles feeling like they're owed these 2 to get together but that just isn't the case. Tim will tell the story he wants to tell & ppl viewing are signing up to watch THAT show. If you don't like that show, stick to fanon because that's something you can control.

And, one day, if they do decide to go in that direction (and I'm firmly in the camp they're not going to & if they do it's gonna be in the final season, but I truly think ABC wants 911 to be another Grey's Anatomy; something that can go on for 20 seasons so who even knows if these actors will want to stick around that long) it's not going to be the story of Buck & Eddie realizing they've had feelings for each other all this time. They won't be able to convince the GA of that. It'll be them falling in love for the first time on screen. But first they need to convince the GA that Eddie is whatever brand of queer they decide on (it's not going to be gay, I will say that right now. As much as I understand why people headcanon him as such & even agreed for a long time, that is not the reality within the show's canon. The show is not trying to lie to people about Eddie enjoying sex with women, they would make it more obvious for the people who don't sit online analyzing if that were the case. Personally I've started reading Eddie as aromantic but I know most ppl here would never be cool with that since it puts a damper on buddie too).

If people want to continue living in a delusional world where these things will for sure happen, then that's on them and is their right. Have fun with it! Fandom belongs to the fans. You can do anything here. But to get upset and angry because other fans might not agree, or the people in charge of the show don't go the direction you want? Well that's just silly. We are viewers (& also writers can NOT use the things fans say. They could get in serious trouble for that). You can be active in a fandom space, but at the end of the day, being a viewer is a passive job. The writers write the show, then they film it and put it out to the world & a viewer views it & enjoys the art that these hundreds upon thousands of people created.

And, also, there's a lot more passive viewers than there are active members of fandom. And people forget that. If every single hardcore shipper stopped watching right now, the views would hardly dip. They won't lose anything just because they decide not to make fandom's favorite ship canon.

[theha1r]

🔥 - i'm evil ... so ... steve

( send the fire emoji for an unpopular opinion )

oooh boy oh-ho-ho, okay buckle in everyone - this is gonna be a long ride -

1 - gonna go ahead & get this one out of the way ... steve would in no universe, under any circumstance, in any way - shape - or form ... date fucking b.illy h.argrove. i really feel like i don't need to explain this one but yeah thanks, he would never. he wouldn't even CRUSH on him (eddie is his one & only (canon) bi awakening thank you!!!)

2 - steve is not an asshole. he can be bitchy, he was a douche in school & definitely not the greatest person - but he is not an actual mean person. like - maybe if he was in a bad mood or in a fight with someone, he could say something really mean - but it's not something he'd do normally. like he's not just some giant asshole who treats people like shit

3 - steve wouldn't accept anyone being an ass to nancy. he wouldn't accept robin shunning her bc of their past. he forgave nancy a long time ago & expects other people to as well. just because she hurt him, if he forgave her - they need to as well. after all it's HIM she hurt & it's not like it was done intentionally

4 - steve isn't stupid. he struggles with learning & school, yes. he's not the most booksmart, yes. but he's not fucking stupid. he's not some braindead idiot who can't tell right from left. he might not always spell things right, he might not know big words but acting like he's a five year old child who's never been on the planet earth before is a bit much. not to mention he canonically showed off his smarts SEVERAL times. everyone forgets if it wasn't for him, they never would've figured out the russians were working at/under the mall

5 - steve being in love with nancy still, or again, in s4 was lazy & stupid writing & never should've happened & makes no sense. he was canonically over here & trying to move on a season before. literally admitted while on TRUTH SERUM that he wasn't in love with her anymore. it literally shows no growth for him to just reduce him back to a shipping box & have him revolve around nancy again. especially when nancy herself has moved on & is in a happy relationship

6 - everyone claims steve is the d.uffer bros favorite, but he is NOT. he might be a fan favorite but the duffers don't give af about him. they wouldn't have done above if they did. they wouldn't continuously put him through hell & back if they did. he's literally a marketing ploy to them/st in general/netflix. they know everyone eats him up & uses those stupid 'steve harrington has to live' or whatever type marketing things to bring in the money

7 - calling steve a 'fan favorite' is even a bit of a stretch because genuinely most people only like him because he's hot. or bc joe is. & they crush on him & think he's attractive & the whole babysitter thing does it for them. or they also just think of him as 'haha goofy stupid funny hot guy who gets beat up all the time'. that's how most people outside of the actual steve stans see him, people don't give him depth - including the writers themselves

8 - FOR ST/CANON/80S VERSE SPECIFIC - i genuinely don't think steve would know what being bi was or that 'liking both' is an option or whatever without meeting robin. or another 'already have figured out they're queer' person. like i just simply don't think he'd just have that already known without some help. like - maybe he could know he liked guys for certain ships getting together pre-robin & all but i don't think he'd know the details of stuff already without a queer person in his life

9 - slight usfw but probably one of my most controversial, in the steve/steddie/st fandom at least, STEVE IS A SUB, & HE'S ALSO A BOTTOM. THAT'S ALL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

10 - this is going to be the most controversial thing i've ever said on this blog bc it's going to surprise & shock the fuck out of so many of you & no one's going to believe i'm actually saying it but .....................

steve should've died in s4 instead of eddie. NOW HEAR ME OUT - obviously there's no universe where i want steve to die & this is ONLY IF someone 'had' to die. but i think it should've been steve. steve is a character that's been around since s1, who was - in fact - supposed to die in s1. we know him, we love him, but we've got to watch a life for him play out on screen before us. maybe not the best life. but still. he was canonically in a good place by the end of s4, for the most part. like generally seemed happy & all. he gave that whole speech to nancy that literally screamed a 'i'm about to die' speech. it would've been sad as fuck, but i think it would've been a better narrative. to watch a character we've gotten to know & have at least four or more so years with die. & it still would've given dustin the whole 'losing older brother type figure' situation. we'd get to watch the characters grieve someone we actually knew, not someone we only knew for nine (eight? idk i'm tired i forget how many s4 eps rn) episodes & most of the characters barely knew -. it would've been a lot more impactful & shown that the duffers weren't afraid to take risks & actually kill off their mains & show us no one was safe. & then eddie could've stepped into steve's role & wouldn't have lived such a short time & would've shown that the duffers could break out of their 'we're gonna kill off this character you just me this season' trope ...

[girl4music]

Just finished watching episode 1 of Season 2, Act 1 of ‘Arcane: League Of Legends’ and we are off to one hell of a start. Jinx made her choice and in sending that Hextech bomb straight into Piltover’s parliament she’s effectively killed three councillors - one of which being Caitlyn’s mother - which has put a significant strain on CaitVi’s romantic relationship even though Vi does agree Jinx needs to answer for her war crimes and may even believe she needs to be put down. But when it comes to that critical moment will she even have the strength to do it or be able to let Caitlyn do it? In Caitlyn pulling that badge out on Vi and asking her to stand by her side along with all the rest of the enforcers, she’s really asking her to forgive and forget about her past - but forgiveness needs to be earned from her side too. So even if Vi has donned the uniform after a terror attack at the fallen councillors’ memorial in their honour (led by Ambessa to fuel the fire in forcing them to use Hextech to fight back - what the hell does she even get out of this?) it means having to put aside her own feelings on the mistreatment of the Undercity of which she was - and still is in all respects - apart of. That’s not going to be easy but she’s concerning herself with what she has to do for the time being. Which is protect her loved ones. Nothing’s changed there. That’s who she is. It’s just the shoes on the other foot for who those loved ones are now because of all the violence and betrayal.

Topside or Undercity - it doesn’t really matter. Their worlds have collided because of Vi’s love for Caitlyn. She’s in it now. She can’t back down or she loses her too and after all the loss she’s already suffered, adding Caitlyn to the list of loss would absolutely destroy her.

Exceptional storytelling telling yet again from Riot Games. High stakes and jeopardy, authentic drama, and a real reason for contention between the couple. And we haven’t even seen Jinx yet to know where her mind is at on all of this because she can’t be doing so well. To think Riot Games has achieved such emotional and complex storytelling that they’ve actually made me sympathetic of a cold-blooded murderer. That I am able to care about how she’s feeling right now is remarkable. But that’s what writing moral ambiguity into the story and building on grey characterization achieves when it’s done really well. Getting the audience to care about and understand ALL the characters even when they do not agree with them or condone their actions because in real life, there is no true heroes VS villains. Great stuff!

This is only episode 1 of a new season but once again Riot Games and their partner studio Fortiche have proven that they know what they’re doing and hopefully can continue that streak on until the very end because they’re really putting every other TV show showmaking production team as of right now to shame with ‘Arcane’ and Netflix won’t only be criminal for letting them go but would also be downright fucking stupid if they do. However, I am aware that it was only ever meant to be two seasons and nothing more than that. But surely Netflix will be able to see the potential for a Season 3.

Quite a funny scene amidst all the drama and intensity:

VI: “How did you know my name?”

MADDIE: “It’s on your face.”

Honestly, I didn’t even think about that. I just thought the tattoo was Roman numerals for the number six.

I laughed. I love to see some comedy in drama when written in well. I’m used to that with watching Xena.