#i don't know much about how s2 / 3 were written save that even as s1 was most fully like fly by the seat of their pants

[unproduciblesmackdown]

also marble hornets fun fact #92 like it's fun that for once the neurotypical agenda accidentally got a win: when in that s1 "interview" episode apparently there was no particular plan to have tim be a recurring character before a strong audience response of speculation that there must be something more going on with this guy because his fidgeting with a notebook all throughout the video was indication of Liar's Anxiety or whatever; in reality tim sutton was not making any acting choice (to serve then-nonexistent writing) but was spontaneously being someone often fidgeting with paper. then call that unfolding developments

[eerna]

eerna what's going on in s3 bridgerton your posts and answers making me scared to watch on my life lmao

pls don't hate me, Colin lovers, but I was told by a friend who read the series that he's more fun and chill in the books and also i just....find Polin from even s1 is kinda uhhhhh?awkward?? cuz he's kind of unnecessarily serious and so not chill in the previous seasons?? maybe i don't see his appeal because I'm no Penny but i do not see his appeal in the show

so rn i haven't even watched it and seeing your posts is making me moreeeeeee 😶‍🌫️ it's okay give us the cringey details

Nsbysbbsb NO WORRIES!!! I have a weirdly big amount to say about this show bc I am no longer suffering as much as I did in s1 and 2. Prepare for an essay on my feelings on Polin and thank you for enabling me.

Ok so Colin. Not saying your friend is wrong bc I didn't read the book, but p much everyone I saw talking about it said Colin was very angry and aggressive in it, and for NO REASON since he's supposed to be the "calm brother". I'm glad that the show let him get upset, but never the way he was in the books/Anthony was in s2, where I legit worried about Kate's safety sometimes. Colin was my fav Bridgerton brother bc he was totally different from all the other men on the show, calm and silly and romantic.

Thar being said!!! I never ever thought of him as a GOOD love interest, and s3 only made it worse. First off, yeah, s1 and 2 do NOT show him and Pen as friends nearly enough to warrant the speed of their connection in s3. I blocked s2 from my memory bc I hated it So Damn Much so I can't 100% stand behind my words, but I don't really remember many friendly scenes with the two of them that didn't feel like he was just entertaining his sister's bestie? I remember he once danced with her, and he sent her letters from his travels, and that's it. Then in s3 we are supposed to believe Pen knows him soooo well, she sees through his tricks when no one else does, he can't stand losing her friendship when she stops talking to him. How, when the impression I got from their relationship was "oh she is clearly silly in love and he doesn't care about her enough to notice"!!!

And s3... Oh boy. Colin gets his "glowup" and becomes a rake bc Bridgerton writers would probably spontaneously combust if they wrote a virgin male lead. We see him flirt and smash other women and it is always so so so awkward. I've seen people trying to rationalize it as "Oh he is supposed to be pretending, oh we are supposed to find it cringe" but NO, he is objectified the exact same way Simon and Anthony were, and we as the audience are supposes to think it is sexy. To be fair, Pen finds it concerning but I think that has more to do with the amount of silly, vapid women constantly swarming around him. So now we are even FURTHER away from seeing any reasons why the two of them would be friends. And then we get hit with the "Colin teaches Pen how to find a husband" plot, and oh my god it is so bad, IT IS SO BAD, they have like 2 lessons across 1 episode before they are busted and stop and he literally taught her NOTHING she IGNORED HIS ADVICE AND FIGURED IT OUT BY HERSELF but everyone treats him like a war hero for taking one for the team and teaching the poor unlikeable social reject how to act. We also have the stupid scene where she is criyng begging him to kiss her because she is convinced otherwise she would die without being kissed, and he is trying to elegantly avoid it, and oh my god, I hated this, it is framed as cute and romantic but it is so uncomfortable and bad. AAAAAAAA. Anyway. Then there is this hilariously horrible incident where he saves her from a feral balloon, and if you are wondering wtf am I talking about, its because it is really bad and written like a Scary Movie slasher scene. There are exactly 3 moments that I liked, and ALL of them were bc Colin seemed very lost and desperate. First was when Pen told him they should stay away from each other after the scandal of them hanging out came out (which I liked bc if it were any other girl, some unhinged character would force them to marry, but since it was Pen they were like "Well obviously it's true there was nothing untowards happening it is just cringe haha loserrr"), and he looked like he stopped comprehending English. The second was when he was confessing his feelings, he got on his knees and looked like he was about to cry and I thought that was sweet! Well, he did mention torture which is a very ugly word to use in such a speech, but whatever. The third was after the Infamous Carriage Scene when he says something silly and the two giggle together and I was like PLEASE WHERE WAS THIS ENERGY IN S1 AND 2!!

And may I just say!! The actual Bridgerton Glowup one was PEN and NOT COLIN. In s1 and 2 you could tell she was pretty, but in s3 they made her so damn beautiful that my friends and I would go "Oh wow" several times per episode. And it's not only the clothes, they would put her in rooms where she pops out and sparkles and frame her in shots just perfectly. Idk why they only gave her 1 alternate love interest and then shot her Like That, there should have been at LEAST one more guy following in Debling's trail. Now she's the hot one in the relationship so I can't buy her desperation for Colin's approval or society's perception of Colin as a charity in any way.

With all that said. I think this is the best season of Bridgerton proper. It still isn't something I'd enjoy unironically, but at least it is neither a horrible age gap dynamic feat. SA nor a horrible disgusting juggling of sisters feat. murderer vibes. The only thing I'd say is worse than it used to be is the clothes, which are slowly creeping towards The Reign level of ahistorical and bad.

[the-solar-system52]

Earthspark S3 synopsis spoilers!!

Rotten Tomatoes leaked the titles and synopsizes for episodes 2-7 of Season 3 and I have opinions.

First of all, I JINXED IT??? Yesterday I was literally writing a post complaining about how little info we got about S3 compared to the other seasons before their release. I was nearly done it but got lazy and I saved it as a draft to finish later, cue 1 AM at night when I decide to check again Rotten Tomatoes for any updates, AND THERE WERE NEW EPISODES?? I just manifested them into existence with the power of hyperfixation I guess. So, you're welcome guys. (Although it is pretty cool that I discovered it myself because that usually doesn't happen to me since I don't use Reddit or Discord, it also signifies that the mainstream Transformers fandom doesn't really seem to care about Earthspark that much anymore considering the fact they aren't interested on reporting on new leaks. And that sucks, but I can't exactly blame them.)

But also you're not welcome because wtf are these synopsizes. I'm trying my best to be positive and stuff, and I know we should probably wait for the episodes to come out before we judge too hard, but these descriptions are definitely raising some red flags. There only seems to be 7 episodes which is very disappointing and doesn't seem like enough time to wrap up all the plot points from S2, plus the new S3 plot points they are introducing. Not to mention that there seems to be one or two filler episodes, which doesn't seem like a lot for most shows but it matters when you have such limited time. Filler can be good when it is well-written, helps develop the characters, and doesn't take time away from the rest of the plot. S1 filler was enjoyable because it had these qualities, but S2 filler however....... I don't think so. Not only is the writing just plain bad, but the writers almost seem adverse to developing their characters because they don't want to break their 'good guys good/bad guys bad' formula and need everything to reset to the status quo by the end of the episode, rendering the filler basically pointless. (See, the end of Togetherness) So not only is the filler getting in the way of the plot, but I'm not entirely sure it'll even be enjoyable.

I don't know if we are going to be getting more episodes after this. Some say we are going to get more batches, some say we are going to get longer specials instead, and some say Earthspark is cancelled and won't be getting any continuation. I think we probably will get some sort of finale, but either way, now is not the time for the writers to start messing around. There are plenty plot points from S2 that need to be wrapped up (The Decepticons, Terrantronus, The Chaos Terrans, The Quintessions) and yet they are already adding some more plot points for S3. The descriptions don't really mention any of the S2 plot points, and obviously we should wait till the episodes actually release to see if they do, but I'm still a bit skeptical. But these S3 plot points do seem interesting so lets talk about them.

IZZY'S EVIL?? Or a shapeshifter Quintession thing?? I'm gonna be real I did not see that coming and I don't really know how to feel. It's more interesting than her just being a designated crush character but I'm still just not really invested enough in her and Robby's relationship to care. I wonder if she's actually a shapeshifting Quintession or just a human working for the Quintession's? (I'm sorta hoping for the first thing tbh since we don't need more human screentime) I also wonder if she'll just be pure evil or if she'll be redeemed by the power of straight people or something. Imagine if some random girl gets redeemed but not any of the Decepticons, that'd be really funny.

There's this new plot point called 'The Hate Plague' which seems to be some sort of disease that drives bots into a rage. It pops up after EP4, right after The Autobot Ship (probably containing Prowl) crash lands. My guess is that the disease stems from Prowl's ship, and also probably has something to do with the Quintession's big plan. That either means the ship had a Quintession stowaway or some other substance that the Quintession's planted there that somehow caused the disease. There is also the possibility that it has something to do with The Chaos Energy from the Chaos Terrans since they are associated with rage?? But we'll have to see. I think the plot will follow The Autobots slowly being taken over by the disease, making them dangerous to the Maltos, leaving them all by themself to find someway to reverse it's affects and bring them back while also fighting the enemy that wants to take Robby and Mo's power for their own- wait a sec HAVEN'T WE DONE THIS BEFORE?? Isn't just the GHOST mind control all over again??? Sure, the Hate Plague makes them more enraged whilst the Mind Control made them emotionless, but it will still lead to them fighting against the Maltos right? It just feels way too similar. And the lines "she (Twitch) realizes she may be the only one who can help" and "Prowl recruits Thrash and Robby to investigate the source of the mysterious Hate Plague" sort of implies The Terran's can't be infected? Which seems worse since it means the Terrans won't benefit by whatever potential character development the Hate Plague could bring. But I don't want to jump to conclusions. I think it would be more interesting if the 'Hate Plague' didn't just make the bots mindless enraged savages, but instead actually make them more hateful. The plague clouds their view and makes them see the negative in everything, but they still retain their cognitive abilities, specifically the ability to talk. This could lead to interesting character dynamics being challenged since everyone would be arguing with each other and their previously-hidden opinions would come to light. This would still install conflict in the Autobot base but it wouldn't make them just mindless enemies and could actually lead to really interesting dialogue and situations. Think of The Spell of Shattered Sight from Once Upon a Time. It would put the Autobots out of commission and they wouldn't be able to help the Terrans but it wouldn't lead to them mindlessly attacking them without a reason, so it wouldn't be too similar to the GHOST mind control. But I'm not sure if they'll go for this angle since the S2 writers don't seem to be a fan of 'complicated characters' and exposing some of the flaws of the Autobots via The Hate Plague would destroy their 'good guys good/bad guys bad' narrative. It's easier to just turn The Autobots into mindless monsters to fight the Terrans for awhile. It'll also probably lead to some "i know your still in there 🥺" fights, which may be good character development if they are written well but they will probably end up being really corny. Like I said, we've done this all before.

No mention of The Chaos Terrans guys. I'm not doing well. We don't have the synposis for EP1 which would be the one they are most likely to be mentioned in, but the fact that they are not even alluded to in the other descriptions has me worried. I don't care if they stay pure evil, I also don't care if they speedrun a poorly written redemption arc, I JUST WANT THEM TO BE ALIVE 😭😭 (istfg if they try to redeem Starscream after what he did......)

The episode I'm most excited for is probably EP4. The plot of going into the Decepticon base and "friendships being tested" might mean we'll be getting some character development between The Autobots and/or The Decepticons? I have a soft spot for snow day episodes, so I'll probably enjoy EP 5 as well. The description of EP6 sort of made it seem like they would go on a full on investigation, so I think it would be funny if it was styled like a Noir Dectective film lmao (idk Prowl's character that well, is that something he would do?)

Either way, I will stay cautiously optimistic and be on the lookout for anymore leaks!

[theoddest1]

I’m just gonna say it I never cared for CaitVi like the animation did so much heavy lifting because all the women in show are fucking gorgeous, but man I don’t know. I think Vaggie and Charlie are the worst yuri you’re ever gonna get but Cait and vi are kinda of a close second. Caitvi was carried by jinx.

The conflict/ parallels between Caitlyn and jinx is amazing. Both two sides of the same coin. You felt bad for jinx because it did really feel like vi was replacing jinx with Caitlyn and always picked Caitlyn over jinx. In S1 Vi was ready to let go of jinx, she gave her sister away to piltover, when Caitlin hesitated to give them a name and Silco never would have and was willing to take her place in Stillwater, Vi was ready to kill her when jinx’s hesitated. Vi became a fucking enforcer and gassed her own people to hunt jinx for Caitlyn. Fans argue that vi does whatever people want and she never does anything for herself, so jinx is allowing her to be happy? vi entire character was bout family and oppression she has no violation as a character and gets dragged around a lot. Pit fighter vi is the only time she’s on her own and my favorite because how much she self destructs she has nothing, no family and no gf, it’s poetic that jinx becomes a symbol for Zaun. Something that should’ve gone to Vi she doesn’t try to fight enforcers oppressing and beating up her people she gives up.

Even in the prison scene where jinx is at her fucking lowest and was suicidal and all vi could say was that jinx was snake. Fans are pointing out how jinx gave Vi permission to be happy as an excuse to justify having sex immediately after jinx is gonna commit suicide is red fucking flag. Ekko saved jinx 5 times because her sister gave up on jinx. Caitlyn is kinda under written she’s just ruins the sisters story by third wheeling except as soon as she’s in a scene she takes Vi away from jinx. This is never acknowledged. I was hoping this would’ve been mentioned when they have a sibling spat with jinx demolishing vi but because caitvi is such a huge ship the writers didn’t want to say anything bad about it, plus again jinx is carrying this fucking ship. She’s introduces conflict between vi and Caitlyn. Without jinx, vi and Caitlyn are a boring couple. There’s a reason why people are saying Jayce and viktor is the superior ship because they have the same goal but conflicting ideas. S2 act 3 is a mess ngl I just felt disappointed especially after fantastic start and highs of Act 1 and 2

I loved CaitVi in S1 but yeah S2 genuinely destroys this ship. While I won't say it's on the same levels as Chaggie (that whole shop is a NOTHING BURGER and flatter than a piece of paper) I do get what you mean. Vi is kinda like Vaggie here where she is strung along to whatever her doe eyed partner says, at least in S2. While I GET why she went along with gassing people with Cait, I don't like how passive she is to her outright disregard to human lives once it all settles in. Like sis, she is committing SEVERAL VIOLATIONS to human rights and agency, why are you so chill with that? Several people who have NOTHING to do with what happened are suffering, and you're just CHILL with that? Cauts mom died but several people have to pay for it? So essentially

1 Piltover death = 50 Zaun deaths!?!?

Cait logic and Vi logic too apparently.

That was genuinely so vile, and Cait NEVER really pays any consequences for it outside of getting her ass kicked by ambessa and losing an eye. She still has the sex she wanted, she still wins the girl she wanted, she still gets HER happy ass ending. Vi just FORGETS about people like Ekko who now only has the firelights to rely on now that he is essentially alone. No wonder he calls her a traitor in the game. Jesus christ. CaitVi fans were dealt a dubious hand. They got the sex scene, but at what cost?🫠

[she-of-seidhr]

I have so many thoughts about The Rings of Power S2 SDCC trailer and some of the news that came out from the SDCC panel, but I am so unwell after watching it that I don't remember it all. Here's what I recall though:

The trailer is absolutely the best we've had of all their releases going back to S1. The difference is night and day. I like that this trailer has clear direction of what the general plot is going to be instead of just a bunch of clips that makes no sense whatsoever.

The Rhunic masks looked a bit futuristic to me. It reminded me of some background race in an MCU film, can't remember if it was in Thor 3 or Ant-Man 3, but yeah it looked a bit out of place and silly.

I really am quite puzzled at their insistence in dressing Gil-galad in gold hues when we have Pharazon and/or Sauron, or even the dwarves for that. I am hoping they are saving the silver and blues for the later seasons if we're not getting it now. That would look so striking since they went with the dark hair. Remember Thranduil's silk orange robe from The Hobbit? Now make it deep blue. Ah, a girl can dream.

I know this is a trailer so there's misdirection, but I wonder if that scene where Galadriel asks Elrond to promise he will not stop who I am assuming is Sauron is an indication that she's going to put up her sword (at least in S3 onwards) to do other things, bringing her closer to the Galadriel in the books in terms of character and also what we know she was doing during the Second Age. That will give Elrond and (as it should be honestly) Gil-galad the space to be the actual main protagonists along with the other prominent Second Age characters.

I wanted more of Cirdan instead of just a hand, and I got a different shot of his hand, this time going underwater. Exciting.

Entwives!!! I'm glad to see them featured, but I'm also terribly afraid they're going to show us how they were wiped out lost.

The Siege of Eregion looks fuckin' amazing. The shot of Sauron walking away with an explosion on the background? Sign me the fuck up.

Gil-galad's banners flying amidst the elven charge scene. Fuck me sideways.

Charlie Vickers was the best actor for me in S1, I have no doubts he will serve in S2. Owain Arthur, Charles Edwards, and Peter Mullan too.

I love Gil-galad to death but to be perfectly honest I kinda don't like how Benjamin Walker portrays him. That said, it definitely is also because of how he's being written. I imagine Gil-galad to still have warmth despite the burden of his position that has a 100% mortality rate.

Pharazon better not be fuckin' stabbin' that eagle.

Daniel Weyman's line delivery sounds so Ian McKellen, but I am still hoping he is a Blue Wizard. Then again, maybe he is just taking inspiration from the most iconic wizard portrayal we've ever had (that's not up for debate).

I know I said Robert Aramayo as Elrond is ok, but for some fuckin' reason I'm convinced that those curls is going to make him better in all aspects.

I love Elrond's hesitation about the Elven Rings because it deepens the mystery of just how much of everything we know so far has been by Sauron's design.

Really curious to see what Sam Hazeldine will bring to the Adar because he's got BIG shoes to fill. Joseph Mawle was born for that role. The subtleties and the quiet menace he brought to the Adar was just incredible.

Look, I like Tom Bombadil alright? But am I ever really hyped to see an adaptation of him onscreen? Not really.

Barrow-wights. Why, but yeah cool whatever.

I like that every ring has a different design and we're going to see all of them in their full glory.

Celeborn will show up, as he should. When and where, no idea but at least there's confirmation.

Glorfindel can show up. If I talk about this any more than I already have (although it's to my family members who don't give a single fuck about any of this), I would really start losing my shit.

Lloyd Owens who plays Elendil made some eyebrow-raising remarks in the SDCC panel in regards to Elendil and Miriel's relationship, so it has me worried about them going for a romantic route between the two. Theirs could be a story of friendship, loyalty, and steadfastness in the midst of all the unrest and danger, and it honestly cheapens the last scene they shared in S1, so I really hope they don't try any funny business with them.

Somebody did ask the showrunners if there's going to be LGBTQ+ representation which one of them answered along the lines of maybe we've already seen one. Is it really necessary? Is it really proper representation? Does it serve the story? There's so many additions to this series already that it's going to be one more thing that takes away from the lore characters who really should be the focus.

I know I'm still missing some shit, but yeah this list is long enough. Lots of good, maybe a little bad, but overall I feel good about this new season and I can genuinely say I'm excited again even after the meh that's S1. August 29 can't come soon enough!

[lunar-years]

💖💚for unpopular ask

💖: What is your biggest unpopular opinion about the series?

uhhh I have many. I would say my most unpopular are probably:

I don't care that the show had no big "endgame" ships. I actually appreciated it being left to interpretation on where we want the characters to go. And throwing them into relationships given where they are at in the end wouldn't have made much sense anyway. (beardjane was terrible but i don't count that as a 'big' ship lol. no one was shipping them. TOMATOES!!! -500/10). the show's focus was never romantic relationships to begin with fwiw so it's weird how much people center that in their conclusion about whether the show was good enough.

Ted going home to Henry was also Really Good and the Whole Point/Natural Conclusion of his arc.

I liked that RoyKeeley broke up. Didn't love where they went with it necessarily, and both of their characters deserved to be written soooo much better in s3, but I do think the breakup itself was a Good Thing that Needed to Happen for these characters to progress.

Given the season and events as they are written, I think Keeley is far more likely to get back together with Jamie immediately post finale than she is Roy. (I don't think she should get back together with either of them right away, mind you. My girl needs some time to not exist as part of a relationship, because she has clearly spent most of her life being in relationships and it has caused Problems to her sense of self worth that i am desperate for her to healthily address. And then I would ultimately very much like her to end up with both of them, lol. But I'm just saying finale Keeley totally WOULD get back together with Jamie).

In a very similar vein to all the above, a criticism i see ALL the time that absolutely drives me UP THE WALL is when people claim the writers fell into the ol' GirlBoss Slay trap with Keeley, where in order to make her an Independent Confident Businesswomen™️ they had to remove all romance from her storyline and claim that's why they broke roykeeley up. The writers wrote Keeley very extremely terribly in s3, do not get me wrong. But this argument that writers just hate romance and don't see how a woman can be successful and also be in love (when Rebecca, a very successful businesswoman with a major arc about wanting to find love is their lead female character, mind you), just feels like baseless ragey criticism from people mad about there not being a roykeeley endgame. Look, if that's what the writers were trying to do, they don't even come close to fulfilling the other end of that promise (trading her romance to make her a Caricature Slay Business Woman) because 1. they don't show Keeley becoming independent with her business at all (Rebecca just swoops in and saves the day) 2. they do a very poor job of showing her overcoming imposter syndrome and coming into her own and 3. after the breakup with Roy, they literally show her immediately jumping into another relationship. sooo. I think it's much more likely that the writers were attempting to show Keeley spiraling in the same patterns of self-destructive behavior she exhibited in s1 and s2. rather than attempting to wash away all her flaws I actually think they were trying to highlight and reflect on those flaws. Unfortunately they just did it very, very badly and left out the necessary other half of the arc that makes it compelling and successful: actually giving Keeley the space to recognize and reckon with those flaws. the problem is they too rarely let their own characters talk and have it out in meaningful ways. anyway.

💚: What does everyone else get wrong about your favorite character?

Roy isn't like THAT but he's also not like that. you know. people are always falling in love with completely different made up versions they've got of him and then acting like their Roy is canon Roy. Idk who that guy is but he isn't Roy!!! ughhhhhh. sorry.

[zmediaoutlet]

Hello and Happy Wincest Wednesday! In the post 5x19 glory days, did the boys footprint on the world change? Were there any obvious or subtle differences in how they interacted with people on cases or the world at large when they were no longer the stars and they were so solid in each other?

ooooooo what a tricksy question for such a happy wincest wednesday! hm hm, let's think about this --

Wouldn't it be so entirely hella interesting if, post-15.19, they lost 'main character' status? Not in the totally shitty Heroes' Journey way but like -- just because Chuck's now a powerless drifter and isn't superpowering their dumb successes like Sam's Super-Noticer power or Dean's Big Pretty Trust-Me Eyes. It might even be a gift from Jack. Non-interference, including in a 'not elevating you to the most important person in the room status'.

But... idk. While they live in a consciously meta and 'written' universe, they still do read to me as largely legible within their contexts. So I don't actually like the idea that Dean's Big Pretty Trust Me eyes don't work, or that Sam isn't supernaturally good at... everything. In a way that would be changing genre, which I don't really like bursting through the fourth wall to do.

It would be interesting though if like -- they know now that no more Big Stories are waiting for them, and that the hunts and jobs they go on really are just jobs, and they do get to decide their own destiny. As a result I can see a lot more of like -- say, Sam finds a job in Illinois and Dean's like, okay, want to go? And Sam goes, eh, isn't Randy out in Illinois? Let's see if he wants to handle it. And Dean thinks, yeah, we were going to watch the s2 Game of Thrones finale, weren't we? Okay, sure, call Randy. And it's not so... fraught, and it's not everything to either of them anymore, because they know that they can help but they also know that the literal fate of the world isn't hanging on every little choice, anymore.

I really, really value the way that *both* of them view hunting as a necessary and worthy job, by the end of the show. They both like the actual process and it is worth it to save people, and they won't choose to do something else because -- the laundry list of reasons why they won't. But: it is nice, in the *definitely real years-long break between end the end 15.19 and the finale*, to think about how it might not be so all-consuming. More like s1, or even more like how I imagine their later teenage years might have been. Making it less of a vocation and more of a literal job. Everything just so much less... world-ending. What a relief. It makes me feel v soft for them. <3

[stranger-chichka]

Gridgate theory: pen, Argyle and Unknown Hero Agent Man.

So, the Duffers wanted to make it clear to us that the black thing on the board is not some kind of a black hole, it’s a pen-holder. But what’s the point of posting so much about it? And why did they put it there where everything’s written in green? Also, why is it located on episode #7 and a green marker is under the same episode. Maybe we should have a closer look at the scenes with a pen? Here’s my thoughts on it.

5x04. The Nina Project. One of Owen's people is seriously injured, but he wants to warn Owens that the girl (El) is in danger, so he says: "Nina" and takes out a pen. From his pocket. His last words are: "Here's the number." The pen is in Jonathan's hand when Mike says: "He wants to write something" and asks Will to get something which he can write it on, but...

...the agent is already dead. He can't write it. What they don't know is that the number is already written.

Will is holding a pen and High Times Magazine (#1 resource for cannabis news, culture, brands and marijuana legalization laws = it's associated with Argyle, so the Duffers want us to pick up on Argyle's words and actions) while Unknown Agen Man is dying.

He wants to write something. You can't even write it, Mike.

Maybe I should've said something, and if I would've said that thing, then maybe she'd want me there with her, whenever she is.

"Thing" = love. The agent couldn't write the number and he shouldn't - it was already written. Mike couldn't write "I love you" to El because he 1) doesn't love her the way she wants to be loved 2) he hates lying and 3) he already wrote it to Will (I do believe that letter the Duffers posted on Twitter is Mike's letter to Will and @doriandrifting post gives me more hope for this to be true).

In the next scene with our Cali gang we see them burying the body of the agent. Actually, it's three of them who are doing it - Mike, Will and Jonathan. Argyle is panicking. The dead man = the feelings our boys are trying to "bury." I won't focus on Jonathan and his relationship problems with Nancy, which he chooses to ignore, but only on Mike and Will. Mike realises that now his priority is to save El. She heeds him. He likes to be needed. Helpful. So, he should forget about his feelings toward Will. Bury them deep inside. Will is also "burying" his feelings toward Mike for the sake of the happiness of his sister. But Argyle doesn't get it. He knows those two are in love.

Argyle suggests they can't cope with this by themselves. They need help. Help from cops. This moment reminded me of a scene from s2 with Dart (I have that theory that Dart symbolises Mike's feeling ashamed of his love towards Will. You can read it here.)

Jonathan says: "I think we can figure this out, okay?" Dustin thought the same in s2, but it's not how it worked, right? Dart started growing and becoming dangerous = Mike's fear of everyone finding out about his feelings toward Will was becoming bigger and bigger and he even argued with Max because of that fear. And Dart what? Ate Dustin's cat. Ginger cat. We remember how the demogorgon took Will and Barb in s1. Why? They both felt ashamed of their feelings toward them. Coming back to Dart. Dustin called Steve to help him with Dart and they were talking about feelings and love in particular, so there must be a connection.

We see how Mike and Will are struggling with their feelings. They're so crazy in love. Will witnesses Mike's triple take while looking at him longingly and we can even hear his thoughts: "You can't let him get to you." SO. SAD.

The next scene - Argyle with the pen. He is making a headstone while Will and Mike having their heart-to-heart at the top of the car (this moment parallels Jancy and Lumax and I think it's beautiful). Mike makes another try to tell Will about his problem with El, but he can't...and Will understands him.

Sometimes, I think it's just scary to open up like that. To say how you really feel. Especially, to people you care about the most. Because what if they don't like the truth? Mike nods. That's it. He knows how he really feels, but he's afraid of El's reaction. Of everyone's reaction to that truth. Who he really loves.

They're distracted by Argyle and his pen. It's not working, so he can't put boys' names on that "headstone" = their feelings aren't dead.

Mike is holding a green 7UP can in his hand and suddenly, he has a revelation. If the pen isn't working, so why he gave it to him?

The number is already written. We've had it this whole time. The same with Mike's love. He couldn't write it to El, because he already wrote it to Will. Let's look at the number from the pen and do some math. 202-968-6161.

(2+2)+(9+6+8)+(6+1+6+1) = 4+(23→2+3) + (14→1+4) = 4+5+5 = 14. 7x2 = 14. Two 7s.

7→ Love (capital L looks like 7 turned upside-down)→ "It was a 7" - Will's love confession to Mike. Mike's holding that 7UP can. They love each other. And that thing saves El and EVERYONE.

That's not all. Mike's holding the number in his hands and I want you to focus on his POV. Argyle's socks. Rainbow socks. Where the rainbow is mentioned in the show? Neverending Story. Who's the first to sing it? Dustin and Suzie. Dustin who found Dart. And Suzie, in Mike's opinion, can help them with the numbers (and numbers scream BYLER).

+ the scenes in Suzie's house show us a lot of Mike's POV and foreshadow many moments which is really cool.

The most hilarious part is that Will starts singing the song while being literally behind Mike, so he's already turned to him. The mirror of his dreams. But that's not the main thing. We're interested in what Argyle's saying.

The Nothing. No love. it is depicted as a raging storm. In s3 Mike hurts Will's feelings and thinks he lost him - there's a thunderstorm. In s1 Mike & boys are looking for Will the next day he's missing, apparently, Mike blames himself he let Will go that night and thinks he lost him forever - there's a thunderstorm. In s4 we hear thunder during Mike's monologue to El. Will pushes him to say that thing. The thing he couldn't even write. "Don't stop. You're the heart." That's the moment Mike realises he lost Will. That's it.

Will, get something. Like with agent man, Will played his part. He gave Mike the magazine so the man could write the number. He encouraged Mike to say "I love you" to El. But the agent man didn't need that magazine. The same with El. She didn't need Mike's confession. She already knows who Mike's in love is.

Not only that El knows, but she's okay with it. Actually, she wanted to talk about it, before Argyle interrupted them with pizza only for Mike to try it. He calls him Romeo while he's with El. We see Montague written behind Mike. They're star-crossed lovers. Dustin already said it in s4. Now it's Argyle. I think the reason we see El mad at Mike after that monologue is that she didn't want to hear Mike lying to her ("Friends don't lie"). And he did. Not only with "I love you". He also said he felt like his life started the day he met her, which is bullshit. It was easier for him to lie because he wasn't even sure she could hear him. But these words distracted her from saving Max. You're pretending like everything is okay. Like we didn't kill Max. Like we're in love.

But, don't you worry. The actor who plays Papa wrote this about the endgames: "All the kids are together and they realise...ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE." This is a song by The Beatles. And here's the cover.

Clouds. Rainbow. Neverending Story.

"Rhymes that keep their secrets Will unfold behind the clouds And there upon a rainbow Is the answer to a neverending story."

[pechebeche]

hello peach i'm sorry to bother you i just wanted to say that i loved st judas and am glad that you were able to post even part of it. it has a special place in my heart. it's okay if you don't want to answer, but i'm curious about two things:

1. who killed riz?

and more importantly

2. when they kissed for the first time... who kissed who 😳

anyway. again sorry to bother you and you don't have to respond. i hope you have a good day/evening 💞

you arent a bother at all!! much as i am just not physically capable of actually Writing Out the rest of st judas, i. still love it. and i will eagerly take any opportunity to share what my plans for it were, in hopes that it will at least provide some closure for people. <3

1. so, the big question, and bear with me here: zayne darkshadow killed riz. and also, he didn’t.

st judas, you gotta remember, was originally written to tie up s1′s loose ends. at the end of s1, the god sol was knocked out. the balance of the celestial plane was completely upset. shit kind of went off the wire for a lil bit.

for a couple of interested parties, that provided a pretty strong opportunity.

the core plot of the villains didn’t center around killing riz - it centered around fucking up the afterlife. the characters who had been canonically killed at some point - kristen and gorgug - both, you will notice, started having major issues with their abilities not long before the start of the story (kristen losing her clerical abilities, gorgug’s berserker exhaustion ability catching up to him long-term in the form of a chronic illness). one of the reveals of the next few chapters was going to be that vine, the tiefling who was at the nightclub fight, had, in fact, been dead for 10 years prior to the start of the story.

(side note - this was also why riz didn’t see anything after his death! when pok got revealed as a spy in hell in s2 you may remember me very loudly shouting abt how Now My Ideas Look Stolen Damn You. riz not seeing an afterlife was a protective measure from his dad, who was trying to figure out what was goin on from the afterlife side, and the only reason t hat riz wasnt affected by the Resurrection Curse TM. dammit brennan. it’s also why bill and hallariel were ‘alive’ and kicking.)

the major villain - the Man Behind The Man - had kind of wrestled their way into the afterlife in the brief period where sol was unconscious & aguefort wasnt doing his job for him, and had, over the next decade, slowly expanded control over the undead and recently-resurrected. the first thing they could control was ghosts.

so it was zayne’s hand that did it, but zayne wasn’t in control of his actions. in reality:

penelope everpetal killed riz.

2. riz kissed fabian!! i never wrote out the scene but i had a very strong concept for it in my head.

after fighting with aelwen and turning her to the side of good (because i was stanning aelwen redemption a year before fantasy high even announced s2 and i may not have proof of that anymore because rip my old blog but i still refuse to let it be taken from me), there was going to be a big blow-out where aelwen laid out for fabian why it’s fucked up that he made decision based on what he thought was best for her without asking her.

for aelwen, who was used as a pawn for her entire life, it was an especially sore subject. it was meant, dually, to be an expansion of aelwen’s character from the s1/critique of the heavy comphet themes that went into fabian/aelwen at the end of the season - the idea of aelwen as a Thing That Fabian Needs To Save instead of as a person capable of making her own choices - and as a parallel to the way that fabian had abandoned riz for what he thought was his own good and ended up essentially ruining his life for a good while there.

the idea was that riz would go to fabian to comfort him after he and aelwen had that argument. st judas was always a lot of a story abt fabian overcoming those toxic ideas (another thing s2 ended up taking care of), and i do think he would listen to aelwen - and make the connection to how he had treated riz. and the idea is that he would be fumbling through understanding himself, and learning, and trying to apologize

and by the end of the conversation, riz, who has been (rightfully!) angry for so long, and still distant even now, and has been hurt and scarred by fabian and for fabian and unrelated to fabian - i think, when he sees fabian trying, in earnest, to do better for riz, when fabian says, “i did what i thought you wanted, but i didn’t know. so what do you want?” and what do you want, riz gukgak?

“this,” riz says, and kisses fabian on the mouth.

[aesthetic-survivor-of-twd]

I love characters development in this season but I feel like it's not the same level like it used to be in Season 1? Don't take me wrong please. I really love Louis development in episode 2-3 but I just feel like in season 1 characters have more of it?

That’s a perfectly valid opinion, anon.

At first I was going to agree with you, but when I actually compare the both seasons objectively I don’t know if I do agree, personally.

I DO think season 1 had the *most* characters with proper development to them, but in terms of actual character growth I think The Final Season overtakes it.

S1 has the most development in quantity, but S4 has more in quality (as in character development is more defined).Season 1 has arguably the more “realistic” written characters in the series. That’s not to say that they are necessarily better than TFS - in fact I’m admittedly biased towards the final season’s cast. But TFS felt very much like game characters (though very complex and really well written ones). Whereas season 1 they felt more like actual “people”.

You could see a lot of familarity in the season 1 cast and it was easier to relate to them as flawed people. I think this makes their development a little more easier to notice than The Final Season.

When I say that TFS cast feel very much like characters, I mean it in the sense that though they ARE very human and relatable, the setting of which they are a part of and the roles each character has in the story makes it harder to compare them to real life like the season 1 cast. This is not a jab at the writers - it’s not even a bad thing. It’s just when you have a group of kids essentially being badass and taking down a group of adults,ect and creating these insane traps and stuff, it starts to drift even farther from the realistic part of the series (I know i’m saying that about a game with zombies lol). Which I totally get given that we are 7 years into the apocalypse and obviously they aren’t gonna be the same kind of survivors as S1.

However I feel like the relatibility of the season 1 cast has a tendency to make people remember more development for them than there really was for the characters as individuals. Because if you actually think back to season 1, though we learned about all of the characters on a pretty close level (unlike S4 where we have Omar, ect who is just kind of there) their actual development throughout the season really wasn’t that developed beyond learning more about them.

Not many of the characters really change much in Season 1. Kenny is the closest we have to a fully rounded character (this is assuming he died in Season 1 and we never even saw him again in s2). His entire arc from protecting his family, to losing them and cracking, to his hatred of Ben, to his sacrifice, to his relationship with Lee, ect all change elements of his character throughout the season.

But besides Kenny we dont really have that for any other character? Maybe Ben I suppose towards the end during the bell tower scene and standing up to Kenny (and maybe Lilly too but I think you can argue against that), but characters like Christa, Omid, Katjaa, Duck, Larry, Chuck, Carley, Doug, ect don’t really go that far with their characters beyond just learning some facts about them.

I feel like the quantity of characters combined with getting to know almost everyone gives the impression of more development than there really is.

Whereas TFS is the opposite where we didn’t spend as much time with a lot of the side characters as we did in s1 but the characters we did spend time with really changed throughout the season.

Louis and Violet both go through major development in this season based on who you spend time with. We learn about them both on a very deep and personal level - their flaws, their insecurities, their wants/needs, ect. Hell they are almost deconstructions of the season 1 cast where you think you know them from a few convos - only to find even more layers beneath how they portray themselves outwardly to people and may even take some people by surprise.

But not only do we get that up close and personal with them, but we also get to see them grow and show visable change (hell, in some routes it’s *literally* visible) each episode and by the end of the season they are very much different people than who they were at the beginning. Louis steps up and becomes a far more reliable member of the group and eventually stops pushing problems away and goofing off to distract himself from issues as if nothing’s wrong (and because of Clem drops his “act”). Violet learns to become more vulnerable around someone else and learns to truly trust people again, and she and Clem are basically co-leading the school together. They have so much character development you can literally write an entire essay on them individually.

Outside of them we also have Willy who takes on much more of a prominent role when Mitch dies after appearing in the season as just the odd kid who hangs out with Mitch. He goes from being a sidelined character who gets his idea mocked by Aasim into the dude who created the bomb that saves us all and like Louis - seems to step up more in the group.

Tenn to a lesser extent is also this if AJ lets him survive in episode 4. Though maybe not as prominent, the ending definitely implies he is losing that naive streak of his and depending on your choices will start improving more as a survivor.

James also counts. Especially when you compare him to episode 2 James and Episode 5 James if he lived. Though his development is interesting in the sense that his story ended the way it began when he is back to staying away from groups (since usually the cliche is that they will eventually join the group by the end).

And these 2 characters are a little different because we didn’t really get to see them before their drastic character development in the game but I want to include them since the others inform us of their previous versions of their character that we see - Marlon and Minnie.

Both season have an amazing cast of characters with great development. However I feel like TFS has more actual development with the characters that it does decide to focus on, whereas S1 focuses on all of the characters but the actual development for most of them doesn’t really change as much.

It’s interesting and fun to compare them both, for sure though.

[bievamohn]

Hi! First of all I wanna say your blog is really cool! But I wanted to ask: I gather you ship Eva and Sana so I was wandering if you'd mind telling me why? I feel like all of tumblr started shipping them overnight and I don't really see them together myself so I'm curious because I feel like if I've missed something. Thanks !! xx

I’d written a long ass thing for this and then accidentally pressed return. I somehow managed to write a really long post anyway, so I’ll put some of it under a cut.Disclaimer: I will be using the word q**er a lot, because it is a word the I personally am comfortable and identify with.

I’m just so in love with the idea of the two of them together, because I think it’s the kind of relationship that no one expected, but is great anyway. There are so many posts that I want to write about these two, but I haven’t yet. There are so many points that are central to why I ship Evana, but I can’t possibly fit them all in this post, so instead this has just become the backstory of my Evana shipping, and I’ll probably make another long ass post tomorrow.

First off, as I said, I’m queer. Plain ole gay. I love girls, and I love wlw ships, however many shows don’t really care about women characters and I am bitter.

But the girls in SKAM, god. As a young scandinavian, it is so refreshing to see an accurate portrayal of someone like me in a mainstream show, and I especially recognised myself in Isak, but that’s not what this post is about.The female characters of SKAM are (or were…) so well written, and while I initially did not actually expect to like the show, I did, because of the characters. Eva seems like what I would call one of Those Girls™ (I hate saying that, but you know, we’re all a little prejudiced), but we’re shown that she’s lonely, that she’s eats ice cream alone in her bed while watching Dr Phil, and that her skirt accidentally gets stuck in her tights. Now enter Noora, who’s kind to Eva, who ID’s as a feminist and I’ll say is definitely queer coded, more specifically coded as a lesbian. Eva get’s all excited about her accepting her friend request on Facebook and basically I’m head over heels for this ship before I even realised it. (rest is under the cut)

Come season 2, I find myself hopeful and then endlessly disappointed. I hated that season. I genuinely thought that Noora was going to be revealed (or whatever you say) as a lesbian, but no. Instead self-proclaimed feminist Noora falls in love with Willhell, after the way he has treated Vilde, the creepy shit he has said to Noora, and after him basically blackmailing Noora into going on a date with him. Excuse me, what?? Noora is a smart girl, and a lesbian I thought. He was terrible and Noora was so lovely and I just couldn’t comprehend it. Anyway, I didn’t let Noora’s sudden infatuation with Mr Terrible take away all my hopes. Bi, pan and ply people exist, @asianbambi recently introduced me to the idea of pan Noora, which I am absolutely not opposed to, or Noora could be experiencing comp het, which is a very real thing for many lesbians. With Eva kissing Vilde and also just being overall Great and Bi™, Nooreva still very much has my heart.This is probably where I should mention, that I didn’t like Sana originally. I thought she was too agressive and dominant, but as we got to know her more as a character during s1 and s2 I started liking her more and more, and at the end of season 2 I definitely liked her enough that she and her yellow hijab and sunshine smile in the last episode had me deceased.

Season 3 came with not a lot of girls, but a great deal of gay and also Sana. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of Eva & Isak friendship, but it is what it is. Season 3 was so so good and important, and I can’t even begin to express my love for it. O Helga Natt had me bawling for like a solid half hour and I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.I’m getting sidetracked, bc this is about Sana. I loved Sana in s3, everything she said was even more iconic than usual, and a thing that really made me love her was the talk she had with Isak about how homosexuality actually plays a natural role in evolution, because it showed us, that while she is an opinionated and independent character, she’s not afraid of admitting that she’s wrong. Throughout the season she’s just overall great and smart and beautiful (sorry i just love her sm) and she becomes my favourite character after Isak (who is mainly my fave because I recognise myself in his struggle with his sexuality and all that).

I was ecstatic when I found out Sana was going to be then season 4 main, and I was excited to see more of the girl group. While I was aware of some of the nasty shit Vilde had said, it just became so clear this season and also her and Magnus kind of make me want to barf (sorry), so let’s be real, Vilde high key cancelled. Evilde had been a minor ship of mine, but it never really took off because Nooreva had my heart and Evak took over my life (whooops). The first episode of season 4 was everything I’d hoped for, but then Julie wouldn’t let Noora and Willhell fucking go. Like it was bad enough with her interrupting Isak and Even in s3, but like it was an intersting way to build tension and I get it. But now? This is Sana’s season, and Sana and Noora weren’t very close before, what is happening?? Until recently, I didn’t really see Sana with anyone, but Yousef happened and boi was I excited about Yousana. They were cute, Yousef seemed to genuinely care for Sana, and I just want the best for her, so I was all aboard.Then episode 5 happens.

Noora? Cancelled. Yousef? Cancelled. Sana? Heartbroken. Me? Likewise. Evers since season 1 I have lowkey headcanoned Eva as bi, especially after the Vilde thing (you can pry bi Eva from my cold dead hands. god i love my url), and since Noora is now fully cancelled (or just don’t exist after s1, idk I suddenly haven’t seen her for 2.5 seasons) my bi daughter is all lonely and w/o a gf. But then @sanaseva saves me with a post about Eva x Sana and I’m like HECK YEAH. Because I love both Eva and Sana, and Sana deserves so much better than Yousef, and to me Eva is better. I’m very disappointed in the party girl Eva is currently being reduced to; basically Julie is making her one of Those Girls™, which is such a shame. But I love both Sana and Eva, and I am all about gal pals, to be honest I just see an opportunity. Sana is a smart sciency gal, can be a bit quiet, but is also fierce as fuck, and I think Eva compliments her nicely with her extrovertedness, her gentleness, her respect and loyalty to her friends, and the maturity we see at the end of season 1.

Also because I Sana was interested in Yousef and I don’t want to discredit that, I see her as bi, and tbh two bi people dating is great, regardless of their gender, because having someone who undestands that part of yourself is such a great feeling and so validating.So in short, Sana and Eva are bi girlfriends and they’re both great separately and together, and I love them..

[aosficnet2]

I want to start writing fan fiction but I just don't know where to start. Any help?

How To Fanfiction

Sure, I’m happy to help! I’ve got 3 major pieces or ‘categories,’ I guess, of advice (for now at least). I only put the first one above the cut bc it’s the most direct answer to your question, but there are two other additions below it that I think might help a beginning author even though they’re not as directly related.

The answer is structured as follows:

What if?

The Process

Posting & Protection

I hope it helps! Feel free to ask for more detail, follow-ups etc.

1. What if?

I find that all fanfiction (and tbh, all fiction) can be boiled down to ‘what if’? What if there was a wizarding world hidden from our eyes? What if time travel were possible? etc. But that also opens up a huge big world of possibilities, even where you have source material to work from (ie in fanfiction). In terms of actually looking at a blank page and going “where do I start?” I find it’s easier to start specific, at least until you get into the swing of things.

What does this mean? Well, I’d suggest either a) something you disagreed with or thought could have been done better and/or b) a possibility you’d like to explore. Again, it is often best as a beginner to be specific.

For example, the first fanfic I ever wrote, was based on the idea “what if the showdown at the end of Breaking Dawn (yes the twilight one) actually transpired in a physical fight?” It was super melodramatic but very satisfying. Some AOS fanfics I’ve written are based off ideas such as “what if Fitz did actually die in the end of S1?” and more recently, “what if LMD-Fitz is anti-Inhumanist” and “what if Daisy was pregnant at the end of S3?”

Other ideas that could be interesting but are also specific include:

what if Fitz or Simmons actually had been Hydra in S1?

what if Bobbi hadn’t been there to extract Simmons in S2?

what if a different person/people had or had not been LMDs in 4x15?

what if May suffers brain trauma or amnesia from the Framework?

Some less specific hypotheticals include:

what if one/some of the characters were not straight?

what if one/some of the characters did not exist?

what if they were in (x) universe? - picking out courses of study, jobs, and events that parallel canon but aren’t necessarily the same is a load of fun!

what if one/some of the characters did not die?

Pick a hypothetical that is interesting to you and see what you can do with it.

2. The Process

Fortunately with fanfiction, almost anything goes. Of course, people have their own ideas about things that aren’t okay, from ships to behaviours to the politics of representation, and while it’s wise to be conscious of these things, they will probably bleed into your writing anyway. You will for example have things that you will feel uncomfortable writing, or things you feel like you couldn’t capture properly. Different people will like or not like your work. That’s okay. You can’t please everybody and fanfic is critically underreviewed, so it might feel like you’re shouting into the void even if you’re not.

Take risks. Again, be aware of The Problematic, but try not to let it sanitise your writing too much. Also, don’t be afraid to be super melodramatic, ridiculously angsty or pathetically cheesy. People don’t often read fanfic to experience real life or canon. They want to be sated, whether that’s by drowning in their fan-tears or squealing with happiness. Bring it on!!

I would say however: please for the love of all that is holy, spelling and grammar are important, including punctuation and the biggest of all beginner fanfic writer crimes PARAGRAPH BREAKS. If you need to seek out a beta to check these things, please please do because shoddy grammar makes for a painful and less immersive reading experience, and may even result in readers abandoning your story a few lines in, even if it’s otherwise good. Also, consistent characterisation is somewhat important to me, but that tends to come the more you write as you find your voice for a particular character.

3. Posting & Protection

Post your work on tumblr, but also on an external site like AO3 if you can. This gives your work a wider reach, as well as giving readers somewhere else to go that won’t change if you change your tumblr url, and that might be easier to try to read on than some tumblr themes.

Tag well. You want to be tagging the main characters and/or ships, and maybe the fandom (especially if your blog is very multi). Also try to tag triggers etc which makes for a more reader-friendly experience. If you are in a network, tag that too - these can be great places to share your work in a positive community. Some AOS-based networks include @thefitzsimmonsnetwork @buskidsnetwork @thehuntingbirdnetwork @yoyomacknet and @quakeridernet.

And finally, one thing that took me quite a while to learn: don’t be afraid to block people, delete comments, or only allow moderated comments to appear on your work. You are creating for free, out of love. You don’t have to fight people for that space. I’ve fortunately had very few experiences with flaming (unreasonably negative & harassing commenting) but I have found that moderating comments, blocking, and turning off anon for short periods of time have saved a lot of hassle. Look after yourself as a person and as a writer. (Although this isn’t intended to scare you; most people are very flattering, enthusiastic and kind. It’s just something to be wary of.)