#i live in hope though!

[pynkhues]

What are you hoping to see from Yellowjackets S3 to get the show back on track

Yellowjackets s2 is sort of a funny case to me, because so many of the plot points and the characters and themes should have worked, but they didn't, and I've been percolating on why since you sent me this ask, and ultimately I think it comes down to the fact that there's no conflict.

Sure, there are things that look and sound like conflict - there are kidnappings and police investigations and cannibalistic chases through the snow - but it's all set dressing. The kidnapping is immediately resolved by Natalie and Lottie rebonding, the police investigation is immediately resolved by having Jeff and Callie become completely, unfalteringly complicit in Shauna's crimes, and the cannibalistic chases through the snow is a narrative cocktease because Javi falls through the ice. They might make the decision to kill Natalie, but nobody does the act, which means they're back to circumstantial choices as opposed to having characters make choices that tell us more about them and drive story and character arcs forwards.

The characters are, in that sense, only really making choices that ultimately compliment everyone elses', meaning they don't have authentic conflict with each other, none of the girls show any deep internal conflict over what it is they're doing, and while you can make the argument for the pack mentality in the past timeline, it reveals itself as a narrative flaw when it's literally the same in every other aspect of the show this season.

Even when characters do occasionally become points of conflict, they're written out of the main narrative or done away with entirely. Crystal dies accidentally the second she finds out Misty broke the box, Ben's lost to hunger dreams that made him narratively functionless until he burned down the cabin in the last episode, and Taissa almost kills her wife and then just seems to completely forget she and her son exist.

Even external conflicts such as the survivors versus the weather is currently without any sting (pun, ha), because we're told they're starving, but with the exception of eating Jackie and the dream sequence where Shauna couldn't breastfeed, the show, in my opinion, fails to actually explore what that means or feels like. It flirts with cabin fever, with starvation, with the freeze, but it never actually leans into it in a way that generates narrative tension or authentic conflict.

Season 1 did have genuine conflicts, and ones that usually made for the most interesting dynamics and scenes of the show, so I'm hopeful that they can find their way back to that. I think what really needs to happen is for them to look at all these points of tension and push them hard enough to break - break relationships, break characters, break some narrative conventions, because right now, we're being told things are bad, but without internal, interpersonal and external conflict, the story isn't moving forwards in a way that carries any meaning.

[datcravat]

SCIENCE BEGETS TRUTH✨

[anbaisai]

local octopus shot on sight

Bonus of said prefect:

[nancywheeeler]

hopeless time loop. the way out isn’t to save everyone. the way out isn’t to save even one person. the way out isn’t to change anything. the way out is accepting how it happened the first time is how it always will be. that’s how you acted, that’s how they acted, that’s how you would have acted every time if you weren’t given the curse of hindsight. the way out is accepting you can’t fix the past; you can only forgive yourself for it.

[puppyeared]

act 4 :(

@chipper-smol and i came to a realization

[aeteut]

sirius is soo silly for believing remus is the traitor and still loving him so much, not leaving him or telling anyone

By likeafunerall, and reposted with permission.

[wyvernity]

quick personal update -- i've been in chinaaaa for the past few weeks! plus a few days of layover in tokyo, so i got to visit japan for the first time! good experiences good food all around \(^_^)/

now that i'm officially back, i can share some of the soulsilver i've been stockpiling since march..... and since i'm too lazy to make multiple posts, you guys get the full dump. warning! there are a few!

[mxtxfanatic]

The return of Wei Wuxian after his 3-month disappearance is meant to evoke this terror and sense that something is wrong, and it definitely does, but like…

Do you not see the playfulness in which Wei Wuxian handles the ghoul child mirrored in how he later handles A-Yuan in the Burial Mounds?

A white child squatted by his feet. Like a young, carnivorous beast, it was gnawing on something that Wei WuXian fed it. Wei WuXian took his hand away after patting on the white ghoul child’s sparse-haired head.

—Chapt. 62: Evil, exr

Lan Sizhui replied, "I'm not sure either, just that when I saw Chenqing, I thought that it was extremely familiar......" It was unsurprising that it was Chenqing that made him remember. Wei Wuxian said, "Oh, of course you'd find it familiar, back then eating Chenqing was your favourite habit and you would drool all over it and make me unable to play it."

—Chapt. 111: Wangxian - Everyday Means Everyday, chiaki_himura

Do you not see the gentleness in which Wei Wuxian handles the blue-faced woman mirrored in how he handles Wen Qing when he takes her to the Qiongqi Path labor camp?

When she had been fighting, her face was almost hideous, but now, with her dark face against Wei WuXian’s lap, she somehow seemed to be a charming concubine, obediently pleasing her master. Giggling laughter came from her mouth as well. Wei WuXian sat leaning to one side, his right hand stroking her soft, long hair over and over again.

—Chapt. 62: Evil, exr

The shock that Wen Qing received was too strong. Finally, she couldn’t hang on any longer and passed out. Standing behind her, Wei WuXian caught her without saying anything, letting her lean onto his chest.

—Chapt. 72: Recklessness, exr

And then they both go on to reciprocate that care via over-protectiveness, even when Wei Wuxian isn't actively controlling them:

The curvature of Wei WuXian’s lips dropped slightly as he glanced at him. Jiang Cheng had also heard the dissonant tone, “Second Young Master Lan, what do you mean by this?” Lan WangJi’s eyes were glued to Wei WuXian, “Answer me.” The ghoul child and the blue-faced woman began to stir. Wei WuXian turned around and looked at them. They backed off slowly, reluctant, and sunk into the darkness.

—Chapt. 62: Evil, exr

After reading the entire novel and seeing how he maintains this same level of care towards everyone he has no antagonistic relationship with, alive and dead, how could I not be moved when circling back to reread this moment?

[blobbei-art]

Venom is back!!!! He's looking stylish!!

[estie-posts-shit]

reminder canon grantaire is bourgeoisie. He lives in furnished quarters near the musain, has a specific waist coat for revolutionary occasions, and enough money to drink two (three?) bottles of wine in one afternoon.

[xxplastic-cubexx]

chat if i may speak

[tea-cat-arts]

You know what, I've read enough fanfic. I'm confiscating Madame Yu from you guys

Free my girl- she did the things she's being accused of, but not as frequently or severely as the fandom pretends, her actions are being taken out of context, and her depth is being reduced to that of a Colleen Hoover antagonist

[the-roadtrip-system]

broke: plurality is a form of possession

woke: plurality and possession are two entirely different concepts

bespoke: possession is a form of plurality

[burningfaith]

[alicethenobody]

I’ve seen a lot of people think Trish left Devil May Cry because she got fed up with Dante or something but the real reason she left, according to a drama CD based on the anime, is because she wanted to prevent more people from falling victim to devil arms. This also explains why “Devil Never Cry” never stayed as the name for the shop.

I wish this was an actual episode in the anime tbh. It answers some questions like what Enzo is up to and why Dante stopped working with him, why Trish left the shop, what happened to “Devil Never Cry”, etc.

Plus I like Patty learning a bit more about Dante, this guy completely shrouded in mystery from her POV, through Morrison and she ends up wanting to learn more about him.