#like in my heart I'm going up to the writers like
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katiascraft · 23 hours ago
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- chapter six - and there was happiness  because of you too, right?
✐ᝰ "You knew all too well i was right where you left me" | CL16 ࣪𓏲ּ ᥫ᭡ ₊
parings: retired!charles leclerc x writer!ex!reader
summary: carlos confronted y/n in front of charles in the worst way possible. but fortunately (or unfortunately) he made what needed to be done to put the two together "by (twisted) fate".
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Charles was scared and worried when he saw your light turning on by the minute. His eyes wanting to leave his face when he saw you in your marvel pajamas again. Your hair was a mess and your face had the darkest circles under your eyes. Your face puffy as if you were crying or you did before you went to sleep and then they woke you up. He felt as guilty as when he realized he left the love of his life stuck in that fucking restaurant you both loved so much. 
His heart was racing in a way he hadn’t felt for so long. He got scared it was about to have a panic attack in front of your house. In front of you, showing how weak he still is for you but like in a very twisted way. Carlos’ voice got him out of his mind abruptly. 
“What the fuck is wrong with you bitch? Huh? Stop torturing my friend!” Carlos said aggressively to you when you opened the front door of your white and pastel green beach house you owned. 
If you thought your day couldn’t get worse, then you were oh so wrong. 
There he was. Standing and cheeks red. His face showed panic. You could feel he was scared by the way his eyes went bigger listening to what his friends had said. Carlos’ face was a work of art. Rage all over his face. His body language was violent. He hated you so much, it was visible. Palpable. Evident. Heartbreaking too. 
Your whole face just hurt. Tears irritated your skin so you looked red. And you were sure you looked terrible. Whole face was swollen and puffy. You felt more depressed in that instant. There so vulnerable in front of two men. And one of them being the love of your life. Or… your past love of your life? You weren’t sure at all after last weekend where you touched and have seen franco in a different light. Your heart still heavy about it and how you treated him. You hated yourself so much. You just couldn’t believe you could make yourself be even more miserable. 
 But you had to stand up for yourself because you were also confused by what Carlos just said. 
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about carlos. And i don’t know what charles told you but we didn’t even talk… and i don't even know why the hell i'm giving you an explanation you don't deserve” frustration was visible in the way you voice sounds deeper than normal. Different from what he heard at the ice cream shop and the way you talked to him. And also your smile was gone. Like every time he appears in your life. Because he only brings you pain. And nightmares. Or at least that’s what he thought. 
“Um, y/n I'm really sorry, really” Charles said, panicked and then turned over to Carlos “c’mon mate, let’s go. Don’t do this. There’s no need, you know?” He grabbed carlos’ wrist and pulled him a bit away. But Carlos was looking straight at you. Hate was converting him into the devil. 
“Don’t play the fool, darling. You know what I'm talking about. You love to make him feel miserable by the mistake he committed! You’re evil! Twisted! Stay away from him!” Carlos was out of control. Charles shook his head not knowing what to do. He looked at you ashamed that he even blushed. Seeing him like that broke your heart. You swallowed hard and just so fed up with everything and anything related to Charles and the bagage of your story, you closed the door on their faces, determined to go to bed and cry. You closed your eyes for a second because your head was pounding. All you could see were his eyes.
But you just couldn’t be like that for long because Carlos started knocking on your door and telling you to open the door right away. You could hear Charles telling him to calm down desperately and telling him to go home. But Carlos was so drunk he couldn’t even think straight. You could hear it in his voice. You sighed not knowing what to do. 
But then silence took all over the place like they were never there. And that’s when after a few seconds you hear deep breathing.
“Just please Carlos, let’s go home” charles’ voice was broken and after hearing him talk you could hear him sobbing. Carlos was silent. Your heart started racing. 
It didn’t feel right  so you opened the door. 
They looked at you. Charles was a wreck. Carlos seemed calmed but worried. He was holding charles’ arm. 
“I’m sorry mate” Carlos finally said.
“Charles, you wanna come in? For a glass of water” you finally spoke out loud without thinking. Like you kinda surprised yourself. Charles looked up at you a bit confused but then he nodded. You gave him a soft smile. And awkward too. 
This whole situation was weird. 
Carlos was about to say something but you interrupted him “you’re not invited. Sorry not sorry” you told him and snapped the door on his face. Asshole. He didn’t even know you and that’s his presentation card? But he knew my name. That must be charles’ work. This is insane though. You turned away from the door to find Charles awkwardly standing there in the middle of your living room waiting for instructions or permission. 
“Sorry” you said softly but he shook his head gently. 
“No problem, it’s okay. He sometimes is an asshole” he explained more calmly than a few seconds ago. 
“Feel at home” you finally said after a few seconds of just looking at each other. It felt strange yet nice to have him in your place. “Take a seat i’ll go for a glass of water” you said to go running to the kitchen to say so. 
Charles looked around. There were a lot of frames of your nephews almost everywhere. He sat on your couch. It was really comfy and soft. Your perfume was everywhere and it was the same perfume you used back in the day. For a moment he felt safe and that weirded himself out a bit. He is supposed to hate you, right? He tried to wipe his face dry. He felt ridiculous there in his ex’ house again after so many years. He knew all too well he shouldn’t be here. But he wanted to. 
He heard how you took a glass from the counter and poured water straight into it from the sink. He played with his fingers nervously waiting for you to come back. He was trying to think straight because he was really drunk as well. Although he was hoping you didn’t notice, it was probably obvious. 
“Here you are,” you said softly, handing him the glass that he took gently. A tiny smile appeared on his face. 
“Thank you, y/n. And I'm sorry again for what Carlos did. I really don’t know why he did that” he tried to explain nervously. You shook your head with a half smile. 
“It’s okay. To be honest, he's an asshole but I am as well. I would have understood if you thought that about me too. So it’s okay. No bad blood. I get you were partying” he watched your lips while you were talking. They were dry and pale. Then he looked at your eyes. “And, sorry for calling the cops i was having a really shitty day to be honest and i needed to sleep”
“I’m sorry, i can go” he was about to stand up in a rush but you took his arm softly not letting him stand up. 
“Stay. it’s fine” he looked at you and sat down in slow motion almost.
·”you’re apartment it’s really nice” he didn’t know what to say. You gave him a real smile now. One he thought he was daydreaming of how beautiful it looked by the warm lightbulb that was involving you two in that living room. 
“Thank you. It took me a few years to figure it out but now I'm really happy with it” you explained and he blushed.  
“It really represents you… I think” he thought this could be taken as disrespectful because he didn’t know you in the current. But he went with it anyway. He spoke before even thinking about it. So many years of pe training yet with you apparently doesn't work. 
“Yeah… I guess” you looked away just trying to think what to say or what to do. 
“I read your book” what he said came out of nowhere and it felt like an ice bucket challenge. You looked straight at him. Not knowing if it was good or bad or why he even mentioned it. “I loved it to be honest. I didn’t know you liked writing but I wasn’t surprised it was so well delivered because you were always good with words and feelings. You’re so talented” he expressed his hands shaking a little for some reason. 
“Thank you” you said through a dry laugh. “Guess I’m not really good with words really, like in real life. And they were never really useful either nor that they were important” you shrugged. 
“They did matter and they do matter i'm sure” he intervened.
“Did they?” You didn’t want to be a snake but you were still hurt and you hated still being hurt because it was ten fucking years ago yet he is still here and now it’s not only on your mind but in your stupid couch as well. 
He adjusted himself on the couch, nervous and uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. 
“I regret it,” he said after a long silence. “I fucking regret taking that decision and leaving you. I don’t even know why I thought at that moment that was the best but I did and I can’t change it but I wish I could. and I know now it’s like a joke that I'm telling you this and I'm the same man that left you there alone and broken. But I can’t stop thinking about you. What you wrote in that book was so beautiful and devastating I hate myself that I put you through all of that. That I hurt you so much that you had to write that. You were important. You mattered to me. But I was stupid. And I’m still am for feeling stuck in that fucking restaurant. I looked for you. Since I saw you that day I looked for you the following days at the coffee shop. I went there and read your book. I wanted to see you again and then I saw you at the ice cream shop. Like fate it’s cruel and twisted. I thought those kids were your children. And I thought about all of these dreams I have mostly every night where we are happily ever after and I wanted to die. I really did. Because I committed the greatest mistake of my life. Losing the only girl who saw me for me and made me feel all those things I never felt again. Everything was just so empty and blue-“ he had to stop when he saw you crying. 
“Stop Charles, please. You can’t come and tell me all of this. Like it is nothing like it can be fixed because it can’t be. You broke me in so many ways you can’t say all that shit, please. You don’t mean it” you just couldn’t keep on listening to him. His words cut through you like daggers. It was painful and unbearable. 
“Nono, I do mean it. I really do, y/n. And I know and I get it - I don’t deserve your apology and I know like saying sorry won’t fix anything I know it won’t but I feel all of these things I need to tell you. I've watched you from Carlos’ house and -“ 
“And are you a creep as well?!” 
“Nono, y/n, please. No, I am not a creep. I just - I didn’t know you were carlos’ neighbor. But he wanted you, that he didn’t know it was you either, to meet our friend Lando and you were there writing in your balcony and my world just went upside down from there. Out of nowhere you started to be everywhere and… and I don’t know what that means but I’m like… I really want it to mean something”
You looked at him not believing your eyes or your ears. You just stood up confused and tried to wipe your face and get yourself together. “You don’t mean that Charles, you don't. Please, just, don’t play with me like this” you were almost begging your drunk ex and you felt pathetic. He stayed silent just watching you. 
“Please, y/n… can we try to be friends at least?” He said with a shaky voice almost in a whisper. He was about to cry as well. You just couldn’t deal with any of this no more. Your brain was rotting. You felt like you were about to die. 
“I can’t do this right now Charles. Just… rest till your head is clear again. There is the guest room, use it as your own. There are pijamada and everything. I need to sleep. Goodnight” you just run up your stairs leaving him behind like some funny paradox. You just throw yourself into your bed not wanting to think or feel anything probably forever but at least till the next day. 
Charles was left with his heart on his hand and his words on the top of his tongue. He watched you while you headed up stairs and disappeared. He was left alone in your empty and unbearably silent living room. He then looked at the door you indicated was the guest room. He took a really deep breath. Was he about to sleep at your place? Funny, huh? He felt stupid. What was he thinking? 
Finally with no other remedy, he got into the guest room. It was beautifully decorated with a lot of paintings. He looked at them closely to see that it was your signature at the bottom of each of them. You painted them. You painted flowers and landscapes. The Mónaco view. The beach. Autumn. All of your favorite things he thought. They were beautiful. Then he turned to the bed, it spooked really comfy. But first he needed clothes so he walked to the closet and when he opened it, there were as you said a lot of pijamada in different sizes. It was a bit weird but maybe you liked to be ready and prepared for anything that happened unexpectedly. Like your ex sleeping here. Totally normal. He laughed to himself a bit. He was sure he was going mad. He finally got changed in the guest’s bathroom and laid in bed. Even the ceiling was judging him. He didn’t feel okay with this but his blind needed to rest so he fell asleep almost immediately. 
⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
‘maybe the invisible string does exist and maybe that’s why he is back at my house snoring loudly in the guest room’
You sighed when you finished writing in your journal like every morning. You were fried. You couldn’t sleep that much because memories of what you and Charles used to torment you all night. But at least two hours are two hours of sleep. You had a few meetings today so you hoped Charles woke up in at most an hour. You are drinking water on your couch, not hungry at all. But you obliged yourself to prepare breakfast for Charles. 
You decided to prepare waffles with berries and blueberries, and a latte. You guessed it was still Charles' favorite type of coffee to drink in the morning. And you hated yourself for remembering that too. For remembering all too well. 
“Morning” his deep voice echoed in the kitchen and you turned around to greet him.
“Morning, Charlie. I made waffles and latte, you want some? I bet you are hungry… and also I have aspirin if you are hungover” you said light and smiley. You didn’t want it to be weird even if you thought of it like it. 
“Wow, thanks. I’ll take everything” he said, showing his dimples. He was already wearing the clothes he wore yesterday. You handed him the aspirin and a glass of water and while he took it, you set his breakfast in front of him. He observed you. You looked beautiful even like this. He saw it was breakfast for just one person. “Aren’t you hungry?” He asked and you denied with your head. He sat in front of you in the aisle and started eating. “Thank you for letting me stay, the bed was more comfy that the one I use at Carlos’. It’s really nice of you all of this and again… i’m sorry but I hope we can talk about it someday if you want to” he said while enjoying what you cooked for him. You half smiled. 
“Yeah, it’s okay. Maybe we can talk about it tomorrow or when you’re able. I think it would be nice if we talk things through and make things clear” you agreed with him. After having the whole morning by yourself, you came to the conclusion that you need to talk about everything. You owe yourself that. The opportunity to clear your mind with him and finally move on. 
Right?
⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
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⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
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⋆˚࿔ 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
yourusername made a post
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liked by nikbff , francolapinto , agosbff , charlesleclerc and other 765,435 users.
yourusername: just a bunch of meetings and watching hours of footage of castings for all too well the movie cast 🤓☝🏻who would you like to see?????
view all comments
agosbff: could you also be casted?
⤷ yourusername: I can’t even lie and you want me to ACT
⤷ francolapinto: stick to writing books ur good at it
⤷ yourusername: die 💋
⤷ francolapinto: but you admitted it! and we still need to talk
⤷ yourusername: we are on main 🙃
⤷ francolapinto: I KNOW 🥰
⤷ yourusername: talk to me in YOUR dreams BYE
⤷ agosbff: can you both talk already?
⤷ nikbff: THAT’s WHAT I SAID
⤷ francolapinto: NO🩷
⤷ user1963: TALK ABOUT WHAT?!?!
⤷ user23: is this a soft lunch?
⤷ user1: talk about when are you going to say ur dating??? That’s it?
⤷ user865: THEY ARE FRIENDS EVERYONE CALM DOWN
arthurleclerc: can I send my casting to play the main character’s brother? I think I can be good at it :)
⤷ jadedistinguinn: I wanna be part of it too :3
⤷ user861: im confused
⤷ user975: still can’t believe bro reads girl books
user089: anybody is gonna talk about CHARLES LECLERC in the likes???? I see you buddy
⤷ user752: maybe Arthur know things
⤷ user23: HE KNOWS
taylorswift: think I’m perfect for the main role actually 🤓☝🏻
⤷ yourusername: check your dms princess
zendaya: girlfriend 😍 ur so pretty marry me
⤷ tomholland: EXCUSE ME ????
⤷ zendaya: sorry im gay just for HER
⤷ yourusername: I LOVE YOU LOVE OF MY LIFE
⤷ tomholland: I want the ring back
user885: if anybody cares i would like to see chris evans and scarlett johanson *like by yourusername*
⋆˚࿔ TO BE CONTINUED 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
tag list: @a-beaverhausen , @annaluna12 , @thehoplessromanticclub , @emryb , @hadids-world , @kaztheemyth , @freyathehuntress , @diorbrxtz , @theseerbetweenus , @sie17136 , @leila-030304 , @charlesgirl16 , @ricciardosheart , @weekendlusting , @flowerpotterr , @aundercover ,
don’t forget to like, reblog or comment! And follow me so we can be friends :3 (and drink mate together)
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kimingyuslover · 3 days ago
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You once mentioned his group name, and now he's down bad for you. The worst part? his teammates seem to always tease him about it, but the best part? you answer his message.
★ omg, last chapter, i want to thank y'all who's been following this multichapter smau, might be doing it again (later). This chapter makes me feel very, very, asdfjklb, and also, it was supposed to be posted on Valentine's, but my ass having a writer-block 😀
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YOU MAKE ME WANNA MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅
Sunday, 15th December 2023
All eyes on him, in every corridor he passes by, he can feel them, from the way all the staff began to stop their activity to the whisper he heard in each step he takes.
The tudding sound he makes from his urbinoblack calf leather shoes from Christian Louboutin that he paired with white crisp button-up and black slack echoes among the silent walls beside him, his aventus creed perfume can be smelled miles away.
His heart is thumping loudly against his ribcage. He's definitely doesn't know how it could end like this, and how the photos of him and you from last night got leaked.
Maybe he needs to file a lawsuit on them, how does the life he lives in have so little of privacy?
Seungcheol hesitates for a moment before opening the meeting room, and when he does all the eyes of the people inside the room gone to him.
He takes a seat, sitting in between his managers, when he looks up, the director irises already on him.
He arch his his left eyebrow as if waiting for him to explain all the rumors that have been surrounding him about the dinner with a female star.
"Yes, i went on a dinner with her, i don't know where's our relationship is going to, but i'm certain that i like her" The director of management team nodded his head slowly.
He opened his mouth, "Okay, so now we don't have to publish a statement because you guys are not official yet, just do a damage control on your SNS"
The meeting unexpectedly ends so smoothly. It's like they're on a meeting for SEVENTEEN's next comeback if he didn't know any better.
Seungcheols walks towards the practice room and finds his members there practicing their rehearsal for GDA 2024.
"How's the meetings going?" Jeonghan said when he saw him through the mirror, and the members start gathering Seungcheol.
He cracked a smile to his members, asking what did he do in the last life, and now he's given a very caring coworkers who he treats as a family and they treated him like one too.
"It's okay, they said that i don't have to make a statement," He pauses for a moment, "but i have to do damage control on my SNS"
He calls out for Mingyu, and before he can respond, the leader tells him to have lunch and take pictures of him so he can post it.
Mingyu's not the one who can deny what his hyung asks, so he nods his head with a smile because the oldest member also told him that he will buy his favorite perfume for him.
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You don't know how many times you sigh today. Every dress you pick seems too casual or too formal, and you don't even know why you would even overthink that. It's not like you have a crush on Seungcheol, right? At least that is what you say to yourself.
Well, unfortunately for you, the paparazzi is still here in front of your agency building, waiting for confirmation from you because they don't have one from Seungcheol's side.
And maybe fortunately enough, the building has a back door, so you can go to your little brunch date (is it a date?) without the photographers knowing.
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"Hi, sorry traffic has gone crazy this day," Seungcheol said as soon as he met with your eyes in the cafe both of you had agreed before.
You sahek your head while smiling softly, "No, no, it's okay. i actually just got here, too." After he sat down, you handed him the menu so he could order with you.
Not long after, the waitress comes to your table, ready to pick up the order, so you tell her your pick of food and drink while Seungcheol do the same.
When the waitress left, you continued the coversation, but before you could open your mouth, Seungcheol had already cut you off.
"I saw it you know, the haters on your comments section, i apologize for that." He then takes both your hands on his, looking straight in your eyes to show the sincerity of his words.
You laugh it off, "It's fine, we know fans these day, it's definitely understandable. I mean, have you seen you? i's be dead if i knew my bias. Who looks like you are hanging out with a woman and the dispatch wrap it on a 'Dating scandal'" As you make the quote in the air gestures to Seungcheol, the drink have arrived and both of you take a sip.
"We are on a date, don't you think?" He bits his lower lip while looking at you with hesitation. Before you can even answer him, he opens his mouth again, "I'm sorry, but i've been liking you since ever the first time you mentioned seventeen on Youngji's show, and i take you to that dinner and this brunch because i want us to meet in person, and i also want it to be a date"
He does that in one breath, oh wow.
"You think so? Don't get me wrong, i'm definitely taken interest in you since our first interaction when you texted me that night." Now it's you who's getting nervous, you can feel the chill air between you.
"So, a date it is." He finalizes his words, "Should we schedule another date this week, princess?" The nickname he gives you made your blood creep on your cheek, and it's embarrassing.
You don't think you can answer him without stuttering, so you nodded your head slowly.
Saturday, 5th October 2024
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The end, xoxo
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suzukiblu · 1 day ago
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With regards to some older fic posts of yours, I have been wanting to write how much I love certain lines or sections, or just yell about how they make me feel, but I worry that too many comments on older sections of your work might be annoying if you get too many, or that I'll be replying on fics your aren't enthusiastic about at the moment and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. What would you suggest as the best way to let you know of my adoration for different sections without getting in the way of other things (i.e. not too often, only on Tuesdays, only on the latest post, don't do it, etc.)
(Sorry if this is silly but, I love your writing, and if I get blocked for being too annoying I wouldn't blame you but, I would be annoyed with myself haha)
. . . . . . . listen, I appreciate you asking, and I'm sure that THEORETICALLY someone could manage to comment/reply on my writing so much that I would parse it as them spamming me, but theoretically Elon Musk possesses a human heart somewhere in that black bitter soul of his, so like, the chances seem slim, hahaha.
Legit there is just about nothing I like more than people telling me what they think about ANYTHING I've written, whether I'm actively working on it or not, and frankly getting one single comment on a story I hadn't worked on in a while or had even straight-up abandoned has historically run the gamut from making me go "aw, that's nice, I'm glad people still like it 😊" to ". . . . . . I am immediately going to spend the next six months writing another 120k in this abandoned WIP and actually gd finish it this time", so like . . . BELIEVE me, I am not the guy you have to worry about hitting "too many" with, hahaha. Plus I have so many WIPs rn that I am MORE than used to getting comments on stuff I'm not actively working on and if anything it just gives me a better idea of what people wanna see more of. There are many, MANY WIPs on here that only got past the first thousand words because people repeatedly told me how much they liked them and several that I have only barely progressed in because people just weren't that responsive to 'em. I am just VERY much the type whose writing thrives on acknowledgment/feedback, that is SCREAMINGLY who I am as a writer, haha. Like I am the closest thing to "put comment coin in, get fic out!" you will get in most fandoms, I am pretty sure, lol.
( also-historically, I have only blocked I think two or three Tumblrs in my entire time ON Tumblr and they were all pornbots, so an actual person would have to get prettyyyyy nasty at me for me to decide I wanted to block 'em. like as long as you're not sending me hate speech or death threats we're pretty much good; "too many replies on old posts" is just not a thing that's gonna get me there, hah. )
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randomfoggytiger · 2 days ago
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React: A Late-Canon Reviler Gives the Revival a Try (My Struggle II), Part VIII
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TLDR: Mulder's passenger princess episode.
AGENDA GOING IN
Okay. 
We’re back.  
It’s been awhile (five months) since the last update-- how time flies~. 
My thoughts going in: please, enjoy my suffering. Know that these are the rantings of a mad man and don't take anything to heart. Come, let us all gather to loathe (with snacks, of course) this bloated behemoth that chased its own tail right up into its internal organs.
**Note**: All previous parts can be found under the Revival Reviler's first-time watch through and A Late-Canon Reviler Gives the Revival a Try tags; and all my previously documented react projects are easily accessible under the React tag. 
MY STRUGGLE II
Welp, it’s time to press play. 
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII didn’t miss this. At all. 
Oh, thanks for the succinct summary of My Struggle I-- you forgot to include the fact that Mulder hadn’t had a breakdown or disconnect from reality, that Scully left him fearing he would, and that she waited in the wings waiting for him to have a breakdown for x amount of months or years. And that she’s jealous of a young blonde woman who she effectively stabbed with a medical instrument when that woman as A. in her care and B. afraid for her life and trying to prove her innocence. And that Mulder already knew the world wouldn’t end right before or right after Colonization… so his breakdown (which he didn’t have) wasn’t connected to Colonization not happening. 
And also that he and Scully are and aren’t and will and won’t get together. 
And that she was nearly seduced by an Alex Jones type figure. 
Just wanted to remind myself of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the garbage I had to weed through in a previous post here. Sigh. 
LET CSM DIE. 
You can’t just have Scully start narrating-- well, CC can because My Struggle I was Mulder’s Struggle, and My Struggle II is Scully’s, as he said-- and show me all these cool moments and then… bring us back to present. 
Why would you do this to my poor, woe-be-gone soul? 
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Also… most of the pictures we're shown make no sense because those were from private, no-camera-in-sight interludes between Mulder and Scully. Were there no pictures from interviews, or before Congress, or from identification photos, or on crime scenes (i.e. the one from The End) for the writers to grab, or…? YES this is a nitpick, yes I’m petty, yes this is only 2 minutes in. 
I will say: this is the most recognizable "Scully" voice yet-- Gillian is tapping into that dreamlike, detached, floating accent that her character of yore used to narrate with. …And to know the camera is going to switch over to her off-brand Scully hair and off-brand X-Files story is… not great. 
“Abducted from my home by unknown assailants--” MA’AM, even the FLASHBACK PHOTOS show Duane Barry. YOU KNEW HE WAS THE ONE KIDNAPPING YOU AT THE TIME, NOT THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS BEHIND IT. PLEASE, I’m barely three minutes in, spare me. 
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“Tests [that she was subjected to] that I now suspect are part of a larger conspiracy--” MA’AM. Only now?Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase. 
“Questions remain… about their motives and final objectives.” Um… for a secret cabal focused on “consolidating” power “at home” and “across the globe”... I think, don’t quote me on this, but I think YOU GOT YOUR MOTIVE RIGHT THERE.
...Yeah. Um. Guess alien blinks sound like camera shutters.
THIS IS THE END says the title card. 'Kay.
Oh, so we're focusing on Scully this episode. Mulder's not in the basement (or will be found? in the basement?) ...Does this parallel My Struggle III when Mulder finds Scully in a coma on the basement floor? Is that in MSIII?
That's it, I'm putting this on 1.75 speed.
Okay, six weeks have passed since My Struggle I. ...You know, what is a reasonable timeline? What is canon? What is anything, really?
Go AWAY Tad O'Malley. "What may seem like science fiction is now scientific facts" UGH.
...What's with the strange up-close, snap out, and float in dramatic angles? ...I know it's for the updated show, but sometimes it's too... it's too.... Goofy. There, I said it. It's goofy. They're wasted on inconsequential moments to build artificial tension. Those effects should be saved for times when it matters, not "Character A walks in, sits down, listens to under 30 seconds of alien DNA stuff, ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM, SWOOSH, WHOOSH, PHONE CALL, floooooooooat iiiiiiiiiin."
Ugh.
FURTHER PROOF THAT SEASON 10 HAD THE WORST MAKEUP:
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This, this, THIS is Gillian's up-close shot? THIS?? Crust between her eyebrows creating an almost unibrow??? Cracking under her right eye???? Green poking through her concealer????? Cakey, pasty vinyl on her cheeks?????? Is she molting?????????
Compare to Milagro and you'll see that OH, WOW, the above is bad.
This plot is so mind-numbingly convenient:
Scully shows up at the office, Mulder's not there.
Scully sits down because Mulder's device is playing Tad out loud.
Just as she reaches the pertinent part, Tad calls (not because he's a weirdo who was waiting for his show to reach that beat, noooooo, just because he needed to call her, of course.)
Tad needs to talk.
Scully drives to Mulder's house where Tad is: her partner's missing: he had a meeting with Tad there and never showed.
Convenient. Just soooooooo convenient. And this one minute of drama all conveniently comes together six weeks after the Revival's first episode. Despite other cases she and Mulder investigated that would require a ton of time to solve and catalog. Uh huh.
This is definitely, absolutely, 100% realistic. Definitely.
Tad talking sense into Scully. Nope, don't like that.
1.75x is the perfect speed for this, it really highlights how random and nonsensical all these actions and passing conveniences are.
Scully doesn't listen, calls police to find Mulder.
Skinner and Einstein are in the office? And she's consulting them? Idon'tcaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare.
"I'm afraid he fears my judgment," says Scully about Mulder not leaving a note. "That I might think he's crazy or not."
...
......
.........
..............
You can't hear it, but I'm sighing away Deep Throat and the Season 4 Max two-parter and Folie a Deux....
Scully.
Writers.
Don't insult me.
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Bumping this up to 2x.
"No one has the right or the ability to tamper with your DNA," insists Einstein.
"Unless we gave them that ability."
...What. (Note from the future: That line still doesn't make sense.)
IWTB hospital and first wave of patients (unbeknownst to Scully and Einstein.) Sigh.
Mulder lookin' not too good in his car. Sigh.
I wish I had a 3x opinion.
WHY are we looking at characters through IVF pols and etc. while they deliver (rehashed) important dialogue (again)? Because it's artsy? It's stupid.
I'm not even 10 minutes in.
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"The science that we were taught takes us but a distance towards the truth."
Setting that statement aside-- because it contradicts many high and noble monologues from the original series that Scully HERSELF spoke-- Einstein talks with "ums" and snappy, modern lingo while Scully still speaks as she did in the original run: a touch flowery, a touch otherworldly, a touch pastiche or purple prose.
This not only distracts but frustrates because the Revival dialogue flip flops on this distinction constantly: Mulder and Scully sounding like themselves (sometimes too young and too purple-prosy) one second then "updated", modern mouthpieces-- using words like "homey" and "the internet" unironically-- the next.
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I'm so... look. Okay, yes, we're going there.
Actually, no, I need to go outside for a bit first, then we're going there.
...I'm back.
So. Let's be super, super honest here: Chris Carter is trying to appeal to a (then) mass, general perspective of his intelligence. He wants to be seen as the smartest genius TM when it comes to discerning "the truth" and seeing through "the lies." He did this more deftly with characters such as Deep Throat, Max Fenig (who Morgan and Wong created, actually), and other like-minded tie-ins to a greater conspiracy. Fox Mulder was the epitome of how to do this concept right: Mulder routinely fought to separate his message from the pencil pushers and the quacks-- those who implied he was "in on it" because he was a Fed (and therefore, a Jew) and those who went too far in their conspiracies while on an earnest hunt to expose the truth (the fringe radicals or not-so-radicals.) Carter even played with conspiracy theorist nuts well with The Lone Gunmen (who were also created by Morgan and Wong), three dudes who felt betrayed by the government but could also trip up over the strip of metallic paper in their $20.
Why did all the aforementioned examples work whereas Tad O'Malley does not? It's not because conspiracy theories were on the rise in 2015-- that just removes any excuse from the writers, who could have studied and cleverly built up on that "phenomenon." And no, it's not because CC secretly likes or encourages those fringe or peripheral thought experiments-- his bent leans the opposite way, which makes this situation even more irritating.)
You cannot have a conspiracy theorist be right about everything. Not only does it hinder your message, it then promotes that vein of thinking: that all counter-culture is probably correct because it chooses to explore what others are too afraid to (Scully) or what the government is suppressing for their own interests. And why is this so... for lack of a better word, idiotic?
Conspiracy theorists are just people like you and me: they're human, and they're often wrong. Their motives might come from a universal place, and they can be right about a few things (broken clock is right twice a day, etc.), but that doesn't mean they're infallible, either.
Tad O'Malley, meanwhile, is proven right over Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Fox Mulder. And Dana Scully. Again and again.
What the writers were trying to do is point out our own perception bias and highlight our own ignorance, ala Max Fenig. Why they succeeded then-- Max was right enough and wrong enough-- is why they failed now: Tad is right, always, because the plot needed him to be. His irrationality-- believing in chemtrail and microwaves and etc.-- still serves as a truth machine to the people; and he is still painted as a heroic figure bringing hope to the masses in times of crisis.
I know the writers' point: truth and hope can come from the unlikeliest places because we're all human and we all want each other to survive. That's nice. Put it in the script next time.
In short: it's because Carter and his writers, all of them, were lazy. In trying to subvert the new norm-- the rising growth in conspiracy theorists like QAnon or Alex Jones-- and trying to prove how they could take an established trope most of the public disliked and invert it (as he did with UFOs in the 90s), CC fell into an obvious trap: he forgot to make it make sense-- or, worse, didn't see the value in doing so and, thus, didn't care.
And why does this boil down to laziness? Because CC has the next goal to reach, the next car to explode, the next up close shot and lens flare to chase!!!!! HE doesn't have TIME for piddly quibbles!!!! He doesn't have TIME to flesh out what should remain a mystery!!!!!!!! He has to chase the mystery, guys, don't you get it, guys, there's ALIENS out there, guys, but it's NOT aliens it's THE GOVERNMENT, GUYS!!!!!! Aren't I so clever??? YOU THOUGHT IT WAS ALIENS THIS WHOLE TIME BUT IT WAS THE GOVERNMENT, HAHA!!! YOU THOUGHT SCULLY WOULD STAND BY MULDER EVEN IF SHE THOUGHT HE WAS CRAZY, HAHA!!!!! YOU THOUGHT TAD O'MALLEY WAS LIKE ALEX JONES, HAHA!!!!! I FOOLED YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
Laziness. Absolute laziness.
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Also: Tad's show is called SQUAD. He and his squad'. I just... wanna die.
Also also: Tad's show sure is getting a lot of press. And do you know why he's getting a lot of press? Because in canon, his show was forcibly shut down by the government.
Hm. Now wouldn't that be a more honest and interesting plot line if the writers wanted to set the show in current-day politics (a show that wasn't about politics to begin with, but I digress)? That Tad might be so wrong that his program became dangerous; and that the government then overstepped their power to suppress those claims and, in effect, gave him a microphone because of that unlawful suppression? And wouldn't it be more complicated if Tad got his hands on valuable information right before everyone became ill, and the public then began to buy into his message because he "predicted" what would happen while the government was divided into two camps: those who were ignorant and those who were effecting global change (i.e. the Syndicate remnant)? Like Kersh and CSM, for example? Y'know, the threads that were established and dropped previously? Wouldn't that fit The X-Files in the modern age, that the government can't get away with outright suppression like it used to? That even those who try to do good can effect evil if they handle it wrongly? Wouldn't that also prove to the audience that Mulder is in a different class than regular conspiracy theory nuts; and that Scully was intelligent enough to clock that he was being duped and save him from swallowing the lie?
Again, absolute laziness.
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Also also also, the vaccines are attacking these peoples' immune systems because they've effectively been immunocompromised.
And while that's all maybe scientifically fine and dandy, you've gotta PROVE THAT, CC. Instead, Scully sees one patient-- who she doesn't know is a military vet-- and just. A. assumes he's a vet, B. that he's had a mandatory anthrax vaccine, and C. that it's the vaccine that's killing him because it's suppressing the veterans' immune systems....
Oh by the way, we're TOLD all that because it would be too much work to devote any time to building up to or even proving that assertion, claim, or theory. ...WE HAD A BLUE PRINT IN F. EMASCULATA, FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, IT SHOULDN'T BE THIS DIFFICULT.
Scully jumps on a global contagion theory... because... Tad's guest said it would happen. And she jumps on that because... Mulder's gone and also because.... she trusts that he's figured out a similar conspiracy theory. And she jumps on this before waiting for Einstein's DNA results because... there's not enough time (despite doing two time-consuming medical tests later on.)
The writers' intent: to show off Scully's intelligence, to prove she trusts Mulder's instincts and her gut despite her scientific brain shooting those instincts down as conspiracy.
The reality.... she just jumped on a random theory to keep the plot rolling. ...WHY.
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Scully... never checked... Mulder's computer... to track... his phone....
And Miller just stumbled across it on Mulder's OPEN LAPTOP.
I'm.
I'm.
LAZINESS. Lazy, lazy, LAZY.
I hate the dialogue in this episode so much:
Characters flip ideas on a whim, seemingly at random because the writers needed to stall the episode's progress.
Characters announce themselves not by name but by, "I was there for you when you needed help [last time]" because the writers needed a "who's that????" for commercials.
Other ugh-ery factors. >:///////
"Agent Scully."
"Agent Reyes. Monica."
Thanks for the unnecessary exposition.
"I wish this were in better circumstances. I wish a lot of things were different here today."
"You have something to tell me?"
"Something you need to know."
...Shut up. This dialogue....
"How long have you been at the FBI?"
SCULLY THIS ISN'T IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW.
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Firstly, literally the stupidest explanation for CSM's return.
Secondly, I don't care about this scene or this reintroduced character because Monica goes full-on villain arc later. Here, Gish plays her as someone strong-armed into compromises for the greater good... but since that doesn't last....
Pffffffft, I don't care.
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WHY. ARE. THERE. SO. MANY. UP-CLOSE SHOTS. OF. THEIR. FACES. FOR. NO. REASON.
Wait, ALIENS ARE BACK ON THE MENU, BOYS. But they were never evil, oh noooooooooooooo, definitely not. We just used their incredible science for evil and blamed THEM. (Despite those innocents abducting and cutting Mulder open. And turning the Requiem population into super soldiers-- yeah, remember those? You're right-- I don't either. )The truest shame the human race ever did. Tragic.
So, Monica compromised because she wanted to be "one of the chosen"/"one of the elites" to survive.... But tries to frame it as she did it to help? Scully? Who was already "one of the chosen" because her genome was already tampered with during her first ever abduction?
So.
Monica effected nothing, is bound to he CSM forever, and will live.
And... how does that help anyone, exactly?
Honestly. What's her plot. she's just a coward. She did nothing and achieved nothing except get "sealed" and serve CSM smokes.
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Lot of unnecessary lingerings on CSM smoking, btw. Could have cut that down so the episode doesn't feel so rough-shod.
"He loves Mulder," blabs Monica. "He sent a man to him to offer him a deal."
Mulder fight montage. ...Okay, fine, nice, you got your punches in, that's okay, fine. But there had BETTER be a reason for this sequence.
I'm waiting--
WAIT, THE GUY'S TRYING TO KILL HIM OR CHOKE HIM OUT, WHAT. CSM SENT HIM OVER TO SAVE MULDER BUT, BUT, WHAT--
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Okay, now the fight's becoming too long and silly.
GUN'S OUT??? How is this supposed to SAVE Mulder, again??
More fighting, uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh, I just know this is going to end with a "Wait, wait, I'm here because--" moment....
Even worse: Mulder gets the upper hand, asks, "Who sent you?", and goes to CSM anyway.
THAT WAS A WASTE OF TIME.
I hate, hate, hate the dialogue. "I've always won badminton"/"You never won, I controlled the game in your and my favor before you were born"/"I don't believe my beloved badminton is rigged"/"You don't want to believe."
Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.
Pause for smoking again.
Do you know that every word on a script's page is calculated for time spent to film, down to a second's worth? That not only do the writers'plot out sequences, but someone else they hire cuts through and marks their writing with that timetable, leaving very little flexibility for too many add-ons or add-libs (unless succinct, quick, and carefully slotted in?)
And the writers plotted for how many neck-smoking sequences?
Wow.
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Mulder smacking CSM's cig away would have been nice if it hadn't been squandered by the up-close DID YOU CATCH IT shots back and forth. And the fact we had a better moment from a better era (Talitha Cumi) that did this, too. SEE, FANS, YOU CAN DO PARALLEL GIFS NOW-- aren't you happy?????
CSM sounds so Canadian. Guess WBD didn't watch out for his vowels anymore? I guess?
At this point, just.... Is there any reason why Mulder doesn't pull the trigger? YES, I KNOW real Mulder wouldn't. But this is Earth 2 Mulder. This is Clone!Mulder. This is... what did I call him in my Weremonster review (post here)? Oh, yeah: this is Ken; and he'd leave a slug in CSM's head for his Barbie. Why not? For me, do it for meeeeeeeeee.
We're back to this: Tad O'Malley 's characterization is, perhaps, THE PEAK EXAMPLE of lazy writing. (That or Scully's continued butchery....)
"The mainstream media doesn't cover" etc. etc. Well guess what? Both sides don't cover what's not advantageous to their narrative; but further, WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULDN'T COVER THIS NEWS STORY? We haven't established in canon if the media is or isn't in pocket with the Syndicate. Regardless, they'd be scrambling with 24/7 coverage for answers or an attempt at a cover up. What should have happened instead was that the media wasn't following the story to public's satisfaction and Tad filled that void, which would reveal a selfish, megalomaniacal streak to his nature-- the classic tale of drunk on power and corrupt with unchecked influence. INSTEAD, he's right.
And Chris Carter, by proxy, turns himself and his writing and his analytical prowess into a mere, perfunctory jape. (I'm not the type to hate, despise, or even dislike CC. I'm really not. But this is a stretch too far; and his later dogged insistence that we didn't get it is an even further, even more insulting stretch.)
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I think? Chris tried to inject nuance-- that Tad was wrong because he deduced the cause of the virus to CHEMTRAILS, of all things-- but... the episode hasn't said it's not chemtrails, NOW HAS IT. You can't have one thing be held up as possible proof without debunking it or, I don't know, at least addressing how stupid that is.
Wait, did they even explain how everyone got sick? Or why was the military hit first? Or why there weren't huge swatches of the immuno-compromised population that came down with the virus first?
DON'T ASK, JUST CONSUME PRODUCT.
I'm only half-way through.
Spartan virus.
Oh, so Monica Reyes told her about the virus. Off-screen. ...So Monica's scene was still a waste because it established nothing important in two or three minutes, then kept necessary information off-screen so Scully could relay it later on x2 speed. ...Got it.
Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazy. And stupid.
Stupid.
"I'm on the king's throne, it's soft like the king"/"On the contrary--" ARE WE IN MIDDLE-SCHOOL??? "MY INSULT IS BETTER THAN YOURS"? "I'M CLEVERER THAN YOU BECAUSE I USED THE SAME WORD BUT TWISTED IT A DIFFERENT WAY"?????? WHAT IS THIS.
CC's trying to have his Grand Inquisitor Talitha Cumi moment but forgot it was David Duchovny, not himself, that managed to pull off those concepts... because they were DD's ideas and interests. And because he was, I dunno, not cringe about it.
Welp, we've skipped past Dostoevsky and gone straight to Leroux. Or more likely Webber, since he popularized Phantom of the Opera.
I'm so.
My Struggle II isn't even angering because all of it is rehashed Wattpad: early elementary and middle school creative writing exercises. At least something's HAPPENING. It's just... eye roll worthy.
CSM's still lustin' after Scully?????? Bro just won't let it go.
Okay, I'm gonna say it: CC's setting this guy up to be a virile patriarchal figurehead-- as in, be fruitful and multiply. Mulder's become his Cain son (cursed by God) and he intends to build a new legacy through Seth, i.e. Jackson, I presume; or a second miraculous baby from Scully. BECAUSE THAT'S THE IMPLICATION, btw.
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Scully's alien DNA's gone. It just comes and goes when the plot needs it to, huh?
Tad's back. Microwave radiation as far as Europe. Cute.
The lights go out. Scully remarks they're already in the dark. The lights come back on. Scully has a ground-breaking idea. Subtle.
Einstein's up-close makeup is also crusty and gross. Sigh.
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THEIR SAMPLE OF SCULLY'S ALIEN DNA WAS TOO SMALL??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? THEY DIDN'T FACTOR IN THE POSSIBILITY OF NEEDING ENOUGH TO TEST ON/WITH AND TAKE A LARGER SAMPLE FROM THE GET-GO OR SOMETHING????????????
Oh, Mulder didn't even bother to leave CSM's place?? (In South Carolina, btw. That's a callback for us Earth 2 theorists, as the writers referred to us fans via TLG and Mulder in Blood.) Mulder just gave up and laid back on CSM's comfy chair to die?????
MULDER DIDN''T LIMP BACK TO SCULLY'S SIDE TO DIE WHEN HE KNEW CSM WAS IMPLYING HE WOULD SCOOP HER UP-- NOT EVEN TO WARN SCULLY, AND JUST DECIDED TO LIE BACK AND DIE???????????????????????????????????????? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIS "GET UP AND FIGHT" REALIZATION in AMOR FATI?????? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM ALWAYS GOING BACK TO HER BECAUSE SHE MAKES HIM A WHOLE PERSON????? WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE TO WARN HER SHE'S IN DANGER????????????????????????????????? WHERE IS MULDER, AND CAN SOMEONE PLEASE GET A REFUND FOR EARTH 2 MULDER AND SCULLY?
Miller found him. Just. Peachy.
Why did I just get a flashback to Bill Mulder's death? Probably because Mulder Lite is saving older gen Mulder. UGH.
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Little Mulder Lite has more grits and guts than his predecessor. That's... that.
CSM-- who was just chillin' as Mulder lay fully consumed by the majesty of impending death on a comfy cushion-- lets 'em go, I guess.
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The scientists are just rehashing dialogue. That's all they do this episode, unfortunately.
CSM literally waddled out after them to see Mulder off and tell Mulder Lite to say "Goodbye" from him.
...
.....
........
How far The X-Files have fallen.
That's a fancy car. Guess Miller, too, has a stack of cash we Earth 2 theorists can headcanon that his parents left him after some tragic fate. Whatevs.
Look at the pathetic mew mew-- the absolute wet, sopping beast-- in the passenger seat. Glad it's not Mulder-- that would be demoralizing, ha ha ha....
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Only about 7 minutes left.
Wait.
WAIT.
WAIT, WAIT, WAIT.
Scully's giving everyone alien DNA. How's that gonna--
And also: they already have alien DNA. They were all born with it. It's junk DNA in their system. We learned this from the ORIGINAL SERIES.
Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh.
Tad, I do not CARE.
Scully just stops someone from causing havoc and chaos because she... begs them? To go to the hospital? And promises them help is on the way?
Lady, they don't know who you are. And if these are disaffected rioters and looters, they're not gonna listen to, let alone believe, you.
WAIT.
THEY HAVE A VACCINE?????? JUST LIKE THAT??????? IN A MATTER OF HOURS???????????????????????
Also, Tad O'Malley just got a text and that's how everyone found out? Who texted him? Miller? How did Miller know? Did Scully tell him? What? What, what what, WHAT.
...Is the hospital using Scully's DNA now to make more vaccines? Is that why she's free to run around the city? Free to meet Mulder and Miller and help them? UM.
UM.
Are there even any reported deaths? Legitimately asking that.
It's all so illogical I'm not going to try to parcel it out.
This episode is brought to you by a man who believes only six weeks have elapsed since My Struggle I. More knucklehead comedy after the break.
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Scully meets up with them at the bridge.
Mulder says... Mulder says: "He saved your life. Old Smokey. I suppose I should thank him."
...Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. Yes, it's a quip. At least it's supposed to be one: Mulder, irreverent to the last. EXCEPT HE MIGHT BELIEVE IT BECAUSE THE WRITING'S SO LAZY WE'RE NOT SHOWN WHAT HE ACTUALLY THINKS OR FEELS.
SCULLY takes ONE look at him and thinks, "Ah, snap, he needs more than what I brought, snap. A vaccine might not save him, snap." HELLO, how do you know that, ma'am. How does she know that, writers? IS ANYONE AWAKE IN THE WRITING ROOM?
PLEASE GIVE ME A SHOW OF HANDS BY WAVING YOUR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMAS.
Embarrassingly lazy.
OH, SUDDENLY SCULLY NEED TO FIND WILLIAM. Not because she has guilt for him, not because she wants to atone and make things right, not because she wants closure.... but BECAUSE MULDER NEEDS HIS STEM CELLS, PROBABLY. WHAT???????????????
EVEN IF YOU DO, SUDDENLY, FIND WILLIAM ASAP,
MULDER WILL BE DEAD
BY THEN.
Oh, look: lens flares. Because that's what's important.
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UFO's here, I guess.
Uh.
Also.
Um.
Wouldn't it be funny if that was William and he was riding down to join his parents after the aliens reclaimed him at some point, like Gonzo's alien family in one of the Muppet movies? I wouldn't put it past the show in all honesty.
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What a ghastly but whimsical mess. Aspirational child's first major writing project. It's kind of sweet through that lens.
And then you remember who wrote this and die a little inside.
Let's consolidate this madness:
The Syndicate gained alien technology from the aliens (it's in the name) in the 50s. The aliens were peaceful creatures, I guess, who didn't really want to cause anyone problems.
Colonization didn't happen in 2012 because the aliens weren't going to colonize because humans were going to destroy the planet through global warming.
Mulder knew Colonization wouldn't happen before 2012, which means his depression didn't stem from that. He just got uber depressed (and diagnosed with the wrong depression, ahem ahem) and... yep.
Scully left before Mulder's depression got really bad. There is no mention in canon how bad it got, ONLY that she feared it would be worse and left. The best explanation we're given (in S11) is that she had to work on herself, too.... So, I guess that means leave your depressed-but-not-really-but-maybe-but-not(?) partner without giving us, the audience, a plausible explanation for that break.
Scully is surprised she has alien DNA... despite her knowing she had alien DNA since the original run; and despite she and Mulder knowing everyone has junk alien DNA in their system.
Mulder has alien DNA, so he shouldn't have gotten sick here. Everyone has alien DNA, so they shouldn't have gotten sick here.
Monica Reyes joined CSM to survive and tells Scully about the Spartan virus and... dips? Her scene served no purpose other than to show us formerly-exploded CSM. The meaty information necessary to the episode was given off-screen.
Scully jumps from wild conspiracy to other wild conspiracy without proof.
CSM sends a guy to save Mulder and that guy... tries to kill Mulder? Such a stupid tv/movie trope.
Mulder never disconnects/turns off his phone while driving to get vengeance on CSM... and Scully never thinks to check if his phone location was on.
Mulder drives to CSM's just to collapse on his couch and give up.
The writers wanted a parallel to Amor Fati where Mulder lies "dying" with "the devil" outside his door, and tried to recreate that motif (or straight up rip it off) when Miller arrived: CSM was literally on the other side of the door from where Mulder was dying, again.
CSM just lets Mulder and Miller leave despite wanting to see Mulder die. 'Kay.
Scully manufactures a vaccine in a matter of hours...? From her DNA?
Scully takes one look at Mulder and assesses he's too far gone and thinks she needs to find their son to use his stem cells on Mulder to save him. ...How would Scully know this, given her particular practice, current vocation, and lack of expertise?
While Scully flails and loses her mind (and core character traits) in My Struggle I, Mulder slumps over and gives up in My Struggle II. It's not out of character for him to do so in extreme situations (ala Little Green Men-ish and 3 and One Breath and One Son) but it has to be JUSTIFIED.
Also: the conspiracy theorist is ultimately right all along. He's just mistaken about his chemtrail theory-- it was the government weaponizing vaccines instead. Yippee.
CONCLUSION
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Nancy Yi Fan wrote a better and more engaging story at 11-years-old than Chris Carter (and Glen Morgan-- he signed off on this) did in his 50s or 60s.
Lazy.
Thanks for reading~
Enjoy!
45 notes · View notes
charkoal · 1 day ago
Note
Hi! I've read some of your Arcane posts and I was curious to ask what do you think/how do you interpret Vi rejoining the enforcers after the breakup? I haven't read anyone doing an actual analysis on it, most people complain that she's "washed" or that the writers hate her, which doesn't feel like doing a deep dive into her character at all. Thank! Have a lovely day.
Hi! I'll preface by saying I'm not a league player so while I know general lore, most of this will be my personal take and headcanons to fit what I know of where Vi and Caitlyn up in the game.
Vi as a character has always been driven by her loved ones and her need to protect. It's both her greatest strength and her fatal flaw. And I think initially this may be what causes her to re-enter a system she has always stood against. Caitlyn doesn't ask Vi to put the badge on again, would never ask that of her. In fact, I don't think Caitlyn herself wants to go back to the enforcers at first, what with all the guilt from her time as the Commander. She doesn't trust herself to hold that power, and even if she did, she would make sure Vi is okay with her joining before doing anything. And she wouldn't ask Vi in the first place because she'd never want to put Vi in that position, so she would never go back even if she wanted to. I think it's imperative that Vi approaches Caitlyn about it, decides for herself that this is something she wants to do. That's the only way either of them goes back.
Caitlyn is probably talking about some document or other that's made its way onto her desk amongst the numerous piles of papers, detailing how the council is trying to decide what to do with the enforcers. She isn't in the council, but she is still heavily involved in the relief efforts for both Piltover and Zaun. She mentions reading the council's proposed reforms, how she's weary to trust anyone to execute the overhaul properly, and how she thinks they might be better off abolishing the enforcers as a whole and rebuilding from the ground up.
And Vi just knows. Knows that whoever the council picks will never measure up. Knows that she can't stand to watch another generation of kids grow up in fear of those who are supposed to protect them. Knows that she doesn't trust anyone else with this but Caitlyn.
Caitlyn, and maybe herself.
She tells Caitlyn as much. And Caitlyn hesitates, says she shouldn't hold that kind of power again. Refuses to cause any more hurt than she already has, wonders how Vi can still place her trust in her after everything, especially with this.
And Vi just takes Caitlyn's face in her hands and tells her she trusts her because she knows her. Promises she won't do it alone this time, promises "together" and—
And well, Caitlyn has never been able to say no to Vi.
Neither of them are naive enough to think it will be a quick or easy process. Caitlyn is there to make the enforcers better. Vi is there to keep them from getting worse.
Caitlyn creates new policies, roots out corruption, sets the example as sheriff. Vi ensures that that example is followed. She's boots on the ground, leading the enforcers with an iron fist and greeting Zaunites with a gentle heart. Setting her own example even if she doesn't realize it.
Vi couldn't care less about the enforcers. She cares about Caitlyn and she cares about Zaun. Wearing the badge lets her keep other enforcers in check without being framed as an instigator and arrested immediately. She can keep a watchful eye, ensure that at least while she's around, the enforcers won't abuse their power in the name of the law. It might seem small or trivial, one person against dozens, but I don't think Vi has ever been an aerial view kind of person. She can't just trust that the enforcers are getting better, even if there are less incident reports and less arrests being made. She has to witness the change herself, has to look into the face of each and every person she encounters while wearing the badge and see to it that they are not mistreated. She needs them to see a friendly face. And even if some call her a traitor, a deserter, she takes it all in stride. If the price she pays for keeping an enforcer's baton from striking innocent flesh is petty names and the mocking lilt of "lapdog," then she'll shoulder that title gladly.
She wants better for the children of Zaun, better than what she had. That's always been the core of her character, to give to others what she never got. It's even vocalized by her in the first act of season one. She doesn't want kids to grow up without parents, taken by the very people who are supposed to protect. She doesn't want them to feel like they have no one to turn to, no one on their side. She doesn't want them to feel lesser. She wants them to see her and know that as long as she's there, no one will hurt them. And maybe, in the future, it won't just be her and Caitlyn they can go to. Maybe the number of friendly faces can grow.
With Caitlyn spearheading change at the top level, I think Vi believes one day they can achieve that. But it takes a long time for water to trickle from a river to the ocean, and so while they wait for that day to come, Vi will be there to make sure the well doesn't dry up.
That's at least my take on it, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts. Have a good one!
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gracychelse · 22 hours ago
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This is a really interesting post, and I'm going to respond coming from a slightly mirrored position, in that I saw the UK first, and I like it a little better, but I've enjoyed both. Also I haven't watched the YouTube video the OP is referencing.
I actually really dislike the idea that you shouldn't have character development in a sitcom.
I agree that the US Ghosts has a lot more on paper developments for the Ghosts, lots of relationships develop move and change, lots of power reveals, lots of lore elements (possession), lots of different types of Ghosts (car ghosts, attached to a human ghosts, neighbor ghosts), bodies are found and a lot more new characters show up (80s prom teenager who sleeps in the attic, British ghosts in the shed, Carol). We also have a lot of character development. We find out that Trevor wasn't as selfish as he appeared, Isacc comes out and enters a relationship, Hetty opens up more, Thor accepts that his son married a Danish person and Flower accepts being in a couple not a throuple just to name a few.
However, for me at least, a lot of this development looses it's punch because there is so much of it. Part of what makes change really moving is when it's hard won. At the end of the UK Ghosts when Julian comes and doesn't apologise to Alison, but says he's glad that she came into their lives, that feels like real heart wrenching development. He has grown to a point where he can speak from the heart, not just do political bluster, and because it's been so gradual and hard won, it feels a lot more moving to me. Where as Trevor's development is more rushed, and to me, feels more like convenience/retconning. He very quickly is shown to have more to him than the sleazy wall street side, so when we find out that he gave his pants up for the kid being hazed it's nice, but it doesn't feel like as big a moment. We've seen him being moral/sentimental multiple times, so it doesn't massively humanise him.
There was a tumblr post I saw earlier this year, talking about stakes vs tension in a book, and I think this taps into it. In the UK Ghosts (for me) it can give us high tension with very minimal stakes. There's an episode where the steaks are 'Mike bought a zorb ball and doesn't want to show Alison right away, and she's having a back and forth with the neighbor' and the show manages to keep the tension and humor as he creeps around trying to free himself. Where as in the US show, to make it more tense they up the steaks. The neighbor is causing issues on the building project so Sam tried to entertain the neighbor's wife, but she ended up with the wife kicking the neighbor out, and then he stayed at the b&b, and they spoke to the ghosts at his house and worked out that he forgot an anniversary so they set up a romantic meal and the neighbors reconcile and also it was their orgy-versary because they're swinger's.
The writers want to make it more tense so they make the steaks higher (the neighbors might get divorced!) to try to increase the tension. If they had more of the skill of upping tension without upping stakes it would make the show feel a lot more grounded.
My next example is with Flower/Mary. Mary got 'Sucked off' and the ghosts tried to keep going, expressed their grief in different ways, had a memorial, and then she was gone. It was a sad and touching episode and she never came back. Kitty mentions things she learnt from it in forward episodes. In the US version, they saw that somone was 'sucked off' and went looking to see who it was (adding steaks to up the tension, who could it be!?) they worked out that Flower was the only person they couldn't find, so they did a memorial. Then Thor found an owl that the decided was her reincarnated, so they had to keep the owl in the house. He moved through it and decided to let her go (sad, but nicely done) and then half a season later it turned out she didn't go, she was stuck in a well. It takes a lot of the emotion out. She's not gone, and Thor didn't need to let go or learn/grow at all. They upped the streaks to try and increase the tension, but then they backpedaled and lost the oomph.
Another example it with an Isaac/Captain parallel. They both struggle with their sexuality at the start. Then Isaac comes out (Yay!), accepts himself (Yay!), starts dating a British officer (cute!) they get engaged (cool!), they have bachelor parties with some mixed wires about lap dances (a little done, but sure), Isaac gets cold feet and calls off the wedding (what?). Because the show kept upping the steaks when they wanted more tension, they got to the point where I wasn't as emotionally invested in the relationship because they burned through it so quickly. Where as the tension and poignancy of the Captain celebrating the two women getting married on the property was incredible!
I feel the US Ghosts has a lot more crammed in, and by upping the steaks short term, in my opinion it lessens the power of these twists and reveals. I really like when it subverts tropes (which it does far more than the UK one), but I feel like they could have made those subversions hit stronger if they had the time to stick before another thing was thrown on top.
I don't know if this is a side effect of longer seasons with more episodes to fill, or of different approaches to humor, but while I enjoy both shows I find the UK one has more emotional punch because it's a slower burn.
Tldr I think the US Ghosts uses upping the steaks to raise the tension in such a way that it looses its long term punch.
I don't really want to add to us vs uk ghosts discourse but I do wanna comment on something I noticed after reading comments on a video comparing the two shows
Disclaimer I do like both shows. I'm more of a fan of the us version because 1. I'm American 2. I watched it first and 3. I was insanely depressed when I first watched it so I'm attached
So in the video comparing the 2 (I didn't watch the video I just read the comments), the comments, which basically just served to shit on the us version, seemed to express that the character development between the shows is a major point of contention.
The consensus I saw is that people like the uk ghosts because they don't develop that much. They do develop but they stay themselves generally. Fanny will always be fanny, the captain won't come out, kitty will stay perpetually bubbly and obvlious, Julian will stay pretty awful etc.
I think the idea of not wanting characters to fully develop into better people and stay flawed is why so many uk fans are so critical of us show. Character development is major in the US version. Hetty becomes more open and accepting (barely but she's getting there), isaac is open about his sexuality (which the way people criticize that story makes me so mad it's a separate post), flower has more sober coherent moments and depth, and Trevor is shown to be a better person that he is perceived to be. I just used more direct parallels for comparison sake but all the characters have moments like that.
I can see why people like the subtleness of the uk development but some claim that is more intriguing to have flawed characters, which is fine but the us characters also aren't polished, they still have a long way to go. Many people who haven't watched the us show or watched more than 2 episodes think the characters are purely caricatures and the uk ghosts feel more human but both shows feel very human. Though the us ghosts are more distinct in their eras, they feel very human because they face regular human feelings and often subvert the tropes they represent.
But also the fact that are around for decades or centuries, they are bound to evolve at some point. Especially as they interact with other more modern ghosts and observe and communicate with livings.
Tldr many uk ghosts fans criticize the us show for too blatant character development but imo the us ghosts still feel very real and it makes sense for them to change over time
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jungshookz · 1 day ago
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a little thought
HELLO
a lot of these little posts for me as of late, this one is more of a rambling word vomit type but just wanted to share my thoughts with everyone as this blog was and is such a big part of my life <3 i value our relationship as parasocial as it might seem LOL but i have to be honest with you guys and myself before i continue writing this blog and building it back up :')
but first let me say some other things:
i hope everyone had a lovely valentine's day - it's a day to celebrate love of all kind, i PERSONALLY had a great valentine's day celebration aka i ordered dinner for myself and had a sushi roll that they shaped into a heart and was definitely meant for a couple to share. however, did i body that entire roll in 20 minutes? you BET your ass i did
new stories are definitely in the works, it's just taking me a while to balance job-hunting and writing! i promise i still have a whole list of drabbles to get to and as per usual my inbox is always open for suggestions if you want to see any particular scenarios
i am going to be more active on the blog from this point onwards whether that's just talking to you guys or posting drabbles - i know i've kind of been in and out but i was doing some deep reflection the other night and i think i've come to a conclusion about why i've been so in and out which you can read below if you feel inclined to hehe but also it will get a little #deep and #emotional
i think the reason why i've been struggling to come back every time is because i worry a lot about being forgotten or that no one will really care about my stories anymore because there are so many other writers out there posting stories, so me coming back to write wouldn't matter at all?? and also i'm worried that people will be upset with me?? which is totally something that i need to work on bc why is that always my automatic thought that all of you guys are on we're mad at cee island
i am still here, i am still reading your messages, and i am very VERY slowly getting back into writing love stories. i think after experiencing an emotionally abusive relationship and realising that not all love stories are like the ones i wrote about took a bigger toll on me than i thought... i mean there's a reason why i stopped writing love stories and disappeared back in 2022: i was so preoccupied with the tumultuous relationship i was in with an Evil Man and had completely lost my zest for writing love stories which was so sad because for so long they'd been such a big part of my life! i felt i couldn't write them because my stories weren't representative of the "real" (warped) version of love i was experiencing in real life :-/ and i think i've been afraid to admit that bc of how stubborn i am about a lot of things
it's been almost two years since the end of that relationship and i still think about a lot. in fact i thought about it so dang much that my whole thesis was based on it but BOOYAH i've graduated so some good came out of that >:D of course i'm doing a lot better and have built a new life for myself in a new city, BLOCKED his ass after he emailed me with a new email address and cackled about it, achieved things i never thought i would get close to when i was in that relationship, but i would be lying if i said those experiences didn't impact the way that i approach romantic relationships now as well as the way i approach writing love stories!!
the good news is that i did a little bit of writing the other night and for a second i felt the old cee returning (i make fun of her all the time but love her and admire her productivity, idk how she was pumping out like three drabbles a week), i had a good flow going on and i realised how much i missed y/n!! i am slowly starting to feel like myself again when it comes to writing stories and it's such a great feeling
anyway this was just a long way of saying i'm going to try and be better and i'm determined to write stories again and rebuild my relationship with you <3 our ceety will rise again!!! i'm sorry that it's taken me a while and i'll probably have to fall and get up a few more times before i get back into the groove but i hope you'll stick around for the long run, you don't know how much it means to me to know that some of you have been here from the start and are still checking in from time to time
lmk your thoughts, you know my inbox is always open!
cee
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mblematic · 1 day ago
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if i asked you to pitch lymond chronicles to me how would you do that. if you wanted to. <3
!! I literally always do so thank you
They're sorta adventure-y romp-y historical romances? They were definitely SOLD as romances (probs cuz Dorothy Dunnett was a woman.. sigh.. ) but they fall much more into the historical thriller category. They all follow a character (Francis Crawford of Lymond) very closely, and he gets embroiled in various wars/schemes/romances over the six books. They're full of just incredible SCENES, so beautifully written and perfectly paced... there's a rooftop chase scene... lots of sword fighting ... pranks .. parties.. lots and lots of excellently described yearning .. it's like. if your favorite sentence writer was ALSO your favorite scene writer.
But really the ultimate appeal is that Dunnett looooooves Lymond, like she made him up and then she fell in love with him, and because she's a whump writer at heart she imMEDiately put him in a meat grinder. and then she did it again. AND AGAIN. she wanted that man MISERABLE. and it RULES.
there's so much to say about her style (she rarely lets you in Lymond's head, you're always observing him as an outsider; she writes a hell of a mystery so you spend a lot of the books confused as fuck; she's the funniest writer I've ever encountered!!) but I feel like that's all fun to discover as you go!! they're perfect books. literally perfect. they changed my liiiife
(and I'm not alone!! there are ladies who have been chatting about these books for literal decades! dunnett could be your favorite author's favorite author!)
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icewindandboringhorror · 6 months ago
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I made a few new wax seal stamps out of clay (like the ones I did for my worldbuilding stuff forever ago), this time just of random symbols that I thought might look good done in the style of painting over the raised part of the wax or etc. :0c Some of them aren't carved deep enough to really show up that well, but overall they worked okay for being clay lol
#wax seal#crafts#wax stamp#stationery#Window one is kind of stinky.. I was imagining like a swirly night sky sort of looking thing so it would be a surreal contrast of a night#sky with a window in the middle that shows a daytime sky - but the silver and purple wax kind of mixed too much together#with the black and it just looks very plain black and not all that starry or anything hjbhj.. Of course the eye is probably my favorite#since all I ever do is draw eyes and still like eye imagery for some reason. The four leaf clover is very lumpy and skrunkty but also it wa#the smallest in size out of all of them so was easier to do multiple stamps of just to try it out.#The heart with eyes wax is actually more swirly in person. I wanted it to be a mix of light pink and red and white. and the wax#did kind of all blend together but in person you can definitely see MORE of the intentional swirlyness. in this it just looks plain pink.#I was going to do one eye in the heart but it looked weird. but now two seems too plain. i could have done 3?? in a pattern.. hmm#alas. I wish I could make actual metal ones. With the clay i have to paint them in a thin layer of olive oil before stamping because#otherwise the wax just kind of gets stuck in the grooves of the clay and then you can't pull it up. Very wacky ''unprofessional'' looking#set up where I'm hot gluing circles of sculpey clay to short stumps of a wooden dowel that I sawed apart with a serrated bread knife#and then using an old paintbrush to put olive oil on them whilst holding a spoon over a yankee candle flame hjbjh#ANYWAY.. I think if I were middle class/rich/etc. this would be one of the main things in my crafting room is like.. SO many colors#of wax. and all different custom made stamps designed by me. which could be much more elaborate in actual metal.. muahaha.... >:)c#RHGghhh... I actually don't want to talk much about it since (this is probably just my Obsessed With My Own World Artist Delusions) I#think I have a really cool idea for a game that could genuinely be successful if i ever get to make it and I don't want to give#everything away and spoil the whole plot/concept in hopes that one day I can actually do it - BUT - a game that I'd like to make after the#visual novel I'm making now has partially to do with the main character working as a sort of writer/scribe/artist assistant in an elven#city (set in my world/with my worldbuilding species and versions of elves and etc) and I was thinking of maybe incorporating#somehow being able to collect little writing type items like these like.. you can get different wax seal patterns or pens or etc. when I do#stuff like this in Real Life it always makes me think of that like.. ouh... this is good research.. what it shall be like to be a littol#elf collecting wax seals and such.. indeed... GRR i need to be finished with my current game NOWWW... i MUST work on other#thingss... aughh... ANYWAY.. yay. accomplishment to do One Single Thing other than Sit In The Summer Heat And Rot#though also hilarious as this was the first cool-ish day that was below 80F in a while hgvh#waking up like 'wow.. i actually feel okay today?? like I could do things?? how mysterious.. I wonder why..?? :0'' Its The Weather You Fool#Tis Always The Weather
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psychopomp-namine · 27 days ago
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yingdu episode 5 spoilers
ohhh my god this is everything I want from cheng xiaoshi. yes. perfect. sorry, but I'm a cheng xiaoshi whump liker and link click always brings out the best of them in episode 5 of each season.
there's just something cathartic about how when cheng xiaoshi becomes an emotional mess, it's also when he's most disconnected with the people he knows (physically, as he's diving in a photo and his only link to his home timeframe is a disembodied lu guang in his head) but it's also when he's most connected with strangers (when their own personal trauma lines up with his). to me, it's a showcase of empathy and a strange manifestation of his own agency. something about how the disconnect gives him the space to blow up, and the connection heightens it and grants him permission, almost, to express his anger more freely for his own sake and for another person's behalf.
like. listen, okay, I'm gonna ramble now because cheng xiaoshi is my favorite character in this entire show, but listen. sometimes some fans will conflate adjectives to his character that are usually associated with his character archetype, but they aren't necessarily true about him as a character. and I don't mean it in a, "he's not like that because he grows out of those traits" kind of way. I mean it in a, "he was never like that" kind of way.
one of those adjectives, for me, is when people call him immature. he isn't! to me! imo! he's got big emotions, yes, but I personally don't think the presence of big emotions indicates anything about maturity. because you know what? as long as his primary trauma (feelings of abandonment) isn't touched, he is very good at handling interpersonal conflicts, and that's what's interesting to me.
qiao ling hides relevant information from him? he removes himself from the situation to give himself space and sort out his feelings. he tells her he's fine and that he'll be back.
post-earthquake arc? I'll just copy paste what I already said in a previous ask:
what initially got me was when I was first watching S1, I thought the earthquake arc would have devastating effects on [shiguang's] relationship. listen, I didn’t know what I was getting into with link click, but I thought that was expected. it’s ripe for drama! but how do they handle the fight? they put their side business on hold but they still keep being roommates. they still do their day job. they still talk. they’re still upset but they give each other space but not to the point where they can’t stand existing in each other’s spaces. that’s when I realized that oh, they really trust each other. they have a very solid foundation for their relationship that not even the earthquake arc can break. they’re pretty level-headed about this, actually, all things considered? all the doomed yaoi stuff came later, but that’s just the cherry on top. it’s the way they handled conflict and disappointment in S1 that got me.
okay, protect-namine, why go through that whole tangent? BECAUSE! circling back to yingdu episode 5, we finally, finally get to see cheng xiaoshi let out some of his anger. and it's precisely because his primary trauma point was on the table. he can forgive a friend lying, and he can forgive being told not to change the past. because at the end of the day, qiao ling and lu guang stayed. they never left him.
but he cannot handle abandonment. he cannot understand why people leave. he cannot understand why he's been clinging on to false hope this entire time. and more importantly, he cannot understand how someone can be such a hypocrite about it. "a man who'd rather be kind to strangers than face his own son" like fuck man. cheng weimin you fucked up so bad.
it's the disconnect/connect thing again too. thematically, it makes sense. when does cheng xiaoshi blow up? when he's alone, far away from the people that ground him. alone, the feeling he hates the most. he's not even in his own body. he blows up when he's inhabiting a stranger's. he doesn't even get to be angry as cheng xiaoshi.
how fucked up is that. man. I love him so much.
also I'm going crazyyyy over the family themes going on in link click. much to say about the show itself across all seasons (the twins, qiao ling and cheng xiaoshi, even the liu siblings), but for this episode... god. okay this is slight speculation territory now and I'll try to keep this very short, because this is only tangential to the post. but. imagine xia fei getting the good parent figure in cheng weimin that cheng xiaoshi never had. and he doesn't know!! he's bitter inside about his dad and he's having hotpot with xia fei and he doesn't know he was in that school!! fuck that's so good. that's so juicy.
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okay, sorry, I have a lot of feelings about cheng xiaoshi. he's my link click blorbo of all time, and I love when he experiences The Horrors™ because it's also when other sides of him gets to shine.
on a brighter note:
VEIN AND CHENG XIAOSHI MEETING AGAIN!!! their greeting was so cute. also omg does xia fei know? that his boss is maybe possibly a cannibal? actually, wait, I don't think I'd be surprised if he does know.
ah and finally. finally:
I've been having many thoughts on how yingdu approaches "friendships" and their transactional nature (mostly with regards to liu xiao) but I mostly thought they're headcanon stuff. but now. I'm so so happy that episode 5 is bringing out more of the quid pro quo theme. liu xiao with the gift giving. wang qing's "friends" (bullies) demanding her to cheat on the exam for them. and now, vein and cheng xiaoshi having a friendly greeting but also exchanging favors. so good. so good. it goes along with how there's so much handshakes and handholding this season (not just with lu guang and cheng xiaoshi, but with cheng xiaoshi and the the antagonist trio too, who have all met him by "helping" him in some way). something something trust and favors. probably something that deserves its own post though, but I wanted to point this out because I am soooo here for that. it's goes hand in hand (ha!) with the whole fraud/lies vs innocence/honesty theme this season, and deals/contracts being an equalizer to the two. very good. very tasty.
edit: ooh they also point to this in the YE6 trailer too. nice, nice. if you knew someone's true colors, would you still be their friend?
man, I love episode 5. it just hits all the stuff I personally wanted to see. the only flaw is that we still haven't seen the older version of wang qing, but yeah I kinda expected that they'll hide her until episode 6. they're giving her the liu xiao treatment from season 2. sigh. really wish she'd keep showing up in S3, we need more female characters in this show 🙏
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welcometogrouchland · 21 days ago
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I'm going to be so real I do not understand tim & steph shippers who feel that Steph dating Tim again would save her character. You can make an argument that giving Tim a more compelling love interest would be beneficial for him! And you can at least make an argument that the fujo mischaracterization of Steph would stop. However she'd still, inevitably, be treated as a prop character/extension for someone more popular 😭 it also wouldn't make her appear in more books! Tim doesn't have many frequent appearances at the moment either! You can just say you like the couple and want them back together without acting like you have some kind of moral stance
#ramblings of a lunatic#dc comics#dc#NOT character tagging. for reasons j feel are obvious#honestly i shouldn't even be posting this here I'm responding more to twitter sentiments but they'd cook me on there if i posted this#anyway sometimes i think ppl (again the twt ppl specifically. tumblr timsteph fans mostly normal) are doing that thing-#-where you get so deep into a hyper online discourse cycle that you end up reproducing mainstream sentiments from scratch#''let men date women!'' this is what some of you sound like when talking about timsteph to me /j#there's a lot to critique about how Tim's been written since canonizing his bisexuality!#personally I've noticed (and seen other ppl notice to) that some writers seem unaware that tim is bi#not in the sense of making him straight but in the sense that they seem to think he's gay bc none of his relationships w women-#-are acknowledged as having been. relationships#or if they are there's an idea that tim was using them to 'hide from his true self' or something#genuinely problematic sentiment!#i also don't really find the ''he should cheat on bernard!'' jokes funny#like lets bffr Tim's cheating was NEVER acknowledged as cheating he was seen as a good all-american boy#so like. bringing that trait back and acknowledging it as cheating ONLY after he comes out as bi? i get it- ironic homophobia but-#-i really don't like it!#anyway. close your eyes and focus on the daminika like the rest of us /j#or the stephcass jason dancing image which will live in my head and heart forever despite arguably being ooc as well <3#bc it's funny <3 and at least I'm self aware <3#also much MUCH more importantly DC POWER SPECIAL EXTREMELY GOOD GO READ IT FOR DUKE#and jace but i haven't read future state yet bc i tried and got. extremely bored 😞 sorry jace you seem really cool#but he's great in the story dynamjc duo with duke. loved it love them want more#special was sold out at my comic shop tho so i couldn't grab a copy. might hit the other shop in town today to see#BOOST THE NUMBERS WE NEED A POWER COMPANY ONGOING GANG#anyway yeah. tim & steph thoughts. you can just say you like them you don't have to do all that
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butterflysonnets · 1 year ago
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yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.
to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!
i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.
also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.
they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.
they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.
i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.
#eve text#elmike#stranger things#byler#only tagging byler because i feel like yall will like this take lol#tagging tagging tagging WHAT ARE EVERYONE ELSE'S THOUGHTS#god i can't believe i'm making a post about stranger things. this feels like poking a bear#i'm not particularly anti m*leven but like... they'd have to do something pretty special at this point for me to feel like it's viable#i'm seeing the bts of s5 and it's got me Having Thoughts#elmike friendship is something i am so passionate about#even before i ever liked byler (didn't ship at all until s4 even though i knew it was a thing before) i've felt this way about elmike#i always believed they were close friends at heart and needed to break up#the romance part of them felt very distinctly young and very much “he was a boy she was a girl” to me#and it hasn't deepened into anything more mature and i don't see how it could based on the current state of the writing...#the fact that lumax exists — a young relationship that is actively maturing and is healthy — makes that clear to me#and the “love confession” in s4 and how disingenuous and miserable it felt was just the nail in the coffin#also the fact that will (who is IN LOVE with mike) was instrumental in making it happen? ... uh... okay... interesting choice…#fucked up and reductive if they make it another queer unrequited love sacrifice for the sake of pushing the heterosexual agenda YUCK#so i really hope the speculation about a m*leven breakup is real!! i think it just makes sense for their characters but who knows#i don't believe in the notion of love at first sight or one true love and i think the writers don't too???#love to me is an accumulation of experiences and we inevitably choose it at some point rather than fall into it... but idk#tv is so fixated on keeping couples together... sometimes it's just not reality guys especially with young people... LET IT GO...#like i said though i'm not 100% sold that they're going to give up their “golden couple” LMAO#stranger things hasn't historically subverted too many tropes if i'm being honest#anyway i seriously need this season to come out quickly... i'm so bored and getting my master's is crushing my soul#i need frivolity#ALSO btw i won't respond to hateful messages about this so please don't bother. it's not that serious. this is a netflix show
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riddlebanshee · 19 days ago
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I can't believe I've had the exact same intense, recurring interesting in One Specific Piece Of Media since I was 10
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parkitaco · 1 year ago
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i had to go look up what you're talking about lmao but like the anon was obviously a mean spirited asshole but you straight up asked people to tell you their opinion on your steve voice....
yk what anon i see where ur coming from but i also said be nice. and that's a real fucking easy thing to do. so you can fuck off too <3
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noblest-roman-of-them-all · 6 months ago
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Contemplating the concept of "potential" when it comes to intelligence and realizing how heartbreaking Logan's "Dreams come true, that's news to me" line in the Crofters Musical.
#screaming into the void#definitely not okay today lads#i'm finding myself grieving my intelligence and contemplating if it was ever there to begin with#when i was younger i excelled in science so everyone assumed that i was a gifted kid despite my very obvious struggles in math and spelling#i was told over and over if i could just apply myself to other subjects the way i did with science#then i would do better in those subjects and reach my full potential#my identity was hung on my intelligence for me by the adults in my life none of them even considering a learning disability#now as an adult it all feels meaningless#especially having been forced into going to college where it was made very quickly and abundantly clear that I wasn't actually gifted#i was just average#that was absolutely devastating to me and it's a thing i struggle with and i want to be angry about it but i dont know how to be#i was told over and over in childhood that i could be anything when i grew up that i could do anything if i just put my mind to it#then recieved little to no actual educational support for any of it especially when i discovered writing#and i dont know if i was never as smart as i was told i was or never even had the potential i was told i had#or if i just didnt have enough support#i dont believe in myself anymore and i dont think i was ever actually believed in by the adults in my life either#i think they would have supported me better if they had#or maybe they just didnt know how to#my dad has wondered and questioned me about where my drive ans passion went and i dont have the heart to tell him that#it evaporated when he told me i wouldn't be successful as a writer when he told me that i would only be successful by going to college#when he constantly questioned everything i did and made me doubt myself over and over again#i dont know how to combat this feeling of worthlessness that comes from feeling lied to about my intelligence as a kid#i dont know how to comfort myself in the face of realizing i probably didnt have all then potential i was promised i had#and even if i did at one point have it i lacked the support necessary to nuture and grow it#how does one grieve being promised the world only to find out that was never truly an option?#how does one become comfortable with learning and growing again when it's been made to feel unsafe#and a threat to their frail sense of identity?#how does one find peace and contentment in an ordinary life when they were promised so much more?#not just promised so much more but expected to be so much more and now feel the weight of expectation on them?#i feel like i was promised the world and told that it would be easy to conquer and when it wasnt it was due to my own fault and failings
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pyrriax · 8 months ago
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ANYWHO goodnight tumblr i'll be back on the art grind tomorrow i think 🙏
#haunted ecosystem#i'll take a burst of creativity in a different form than usual than the burnout slump i've been in for a few months#<- part of why my fandom stuff has taken a smidge of a backseat#dont get me wrong i am still very excited about my fandoms im just having fun off in oc hell (affectionate)#its nice to just be able to create and not really worry about perception. and also i feel Less bad about just throwing ocs into the wringer#((blame the fact i've been REALLY interested in whump recently and i have been. fixated. on one of my characters.))#and ALSO i've been! rekindling my flame for wtds. i've been putting off thinking about it since that fic got.#nothing bad happened? but it was still very devastating that somebody who i considered a friend from that fic just. evaporated.#but i'm gonna finish that fic for him :) even if it takes a year. even if it's the one thing i finish ever. it'll be wtds.#for where its gotten me and the fact its what got me out of my shell and is the reason i trust that my writing is good!#i used to really hate rereading my work. i catch flaws that are obvious to me. but that fic. i just think about how *good* the story is#that story means. a lot to me? as a person? like the main character is not a good person. but people care about him anyway.#and there are so many little things. so many sentiments. so much that is a love letter to people who've done bad but learnt to do better#because. god knows i wasnt a good person even just a few years ago. and maybe i see myself in him a bit.#he came from a place of paranoia and fear and pain. and maybe its a good thing that i've found it difficult to write him recently.#because god. i've been HAPPY. even with the rough moments and bad days. i've been happy. i mean fuck.#my birthday's what. ten days away? god damn man. i'm going to be 18. that's an achievement.#i want to look the kid who thought it was over at half my age and tell him we fucking made it. and there are more years to come.#there's a life ahead. even if it's going to be a bitch. even if it's going to be tough. there's love in your heart and people who care and#you're going to fucking live and you're going to feel better one day. you have people to meet properly and thank and cherish.#because for every day it feel like the world's ending there are a dozen more where the sun shines just the right way through the rain#and you can't help but smile because it's just so god damn beautiful.#and fuck it. you're sick. your hands hurt and your legs don't work right. and it's tough sometimes. but you have people who understand.#you have people who honest to god love you for who you are and appreciate your company. and 18 is the first step.#you've spent half your life unlearning things and you've spent half your life relearning how to be what YOU want to be#and if you're a mediocre artist and passionate writer then you'll be fucking great at that. taking the time to learn when it strikes you.#and maybe this is for me. but its also for anybody reading it too. please god if there's one thing you take from this let it be that#somebody out there cares. *I* care. god i care. even if we've never spoken proper i care about you.#i practically have a list of everybody i see in my inbox. i love seeing familiar names show up. i.#i dont know how to neatly wrap up this tag ramble. but. i am so damn full of love it hurts sometimes. its scary to be happy but thats ok!
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