#obsessed with them giving us more of the characters they made in season 1 instead of using season 2 to clear the board

[prickly-paprikash]

Castlevania Nocturne really stepped up its game in the second season.

I had two major complaints for the premiere season of CN:

The pacing was erratic. From episode 2 onwards, it seems as if the story is obsessed with giving us nonstop climactic battles, at the cost of letting the characters and pacing breathe. I understand that a central theme of the first season was loss—not just loss of loved ones and the grief that comes with it, but simply losing at every turn. They make the Vampire Messiah feel more like an inevitability, and it works to some extent. But one thing that the original Castlevania series did well was how it handled the flow of conversation and combat.

Seasons 1-3 were all mostly slow, deliberate episodes centered on talking. Characters would simply converse. The very first scene of Castlevania literally embodies this.

Lisa and Dracula, having an organic yet expertly crafted conversation that feels sharp, poignant, and immediately tells us everything we need to know about these two characters. We get one Lisa scene, and then she dies and yet it hits so hard because of how one conversation was written.

Nocturne's first season, many times, felt more like a quip-fest. Castlevania's humor was dry and morbid, to better fit the sarcastic and dark tone of the series. When characters like Trevor or Sypha or even Isaac cracked a joke, it never felt out of place. They had a cold, callous sense to them. Like their humor was a coping mechanism for the dreary and bleak reality they lived in.

Richter on the other hand felt like a Phase IV MCU lead, being unbearably sarcastic and "witty". Watching Nocturne again, I struggled to like Richter in the first half but he really came into his own after he meets Juste.

In the second season, however, the pacing really knuckles down. It becomes deliberate. And when a fight scene happens pre-episode 7, it feels more like OG Castlevania again. It isn't being treated with extreme weight, but it feels more like a part of every day life for Belmonts and their peers. Whenever Trevor, Sypha and Alucard get into a scrap with Night creatures, it actually had a sense of levity to them. This was a job. An occupational hazard. A logical result of living in Wallachia. In Nocturne season 1, fights were treated with more weight than they should have, while character work felt secondary, barring someone like Annette.

Here, it really allows me to fall for these characters more. Being an OG Drolta stan was so rewarding this season. I really also liked Maria and Tera more here, with Tera becoming a vampire creating a really interesting dynamic between the two and pushing their characters into directions that I didn't expect to enjoy as much as I did.

Mizrak, Olrox, and Richter were sidelined a bit more here, but it makes sense. These three dominated the first season, so it made sense to shift the focus on others and let their characters grow and shine. But just because they didn't take up most of the spotlight doesn't mean their characters were ignored.

Mizrak and Olrox's romance was developed in more subtle ways this time, which I appreciated. The writers let the unspoken heat and budding romance speak for themselves here, and I really enjoyed Olrox's sadness and Mizrak's regret and grief here, though of course the best scene between them was at the end. The way the writers made that finale, weaving feelings of heartbreak, lust, love, and fear into that one sentence was so, so good. Mizrak's fear of death and torment. Olrox simply saying that the devil was easy to cheat.

Ugh. That's the good shit.

And Richter? They still let him be the dry, sarcastic quipster, but I appreciate the restraint here. He doesn't crack jokes as much. Instead, they really focus on his feelings with Annette, to the point that he feels more like the love interest rather than the MC for a good chunk of the season.

And I'm not complaining. I enjoyed the budding romance between them in the first season, but with the deliberate pacing here, the writers really sold me on this soft, chaste, tender love story. Richter and Annette feel like young adults falling for the first time and I really fucked with it.

I'll talk about Annette in a separate post, but sufficed to say, she was the best character of this season. Hands down.

My second complaint was Erzsebet Báthory. She felt so... she felt like she paled in comparison to the three other villains of the season.

Drolta was exquisite. She oozed charisma and charm, and she stole every single scene she was in. The animators loved her and I could tell. She had the most costume changes. She had the sharpest lines. She was gorgeous. And even her death felt euphoric because she got to introduce Alucard into the mix. Like, seriously, they used her perfectly in the first season and she was easily the best character by far.

Olrox? Sexy. Gay. Kill me. Him and Mizrak? Perfection. His voice was so smooth and seductive. His dialogue? Smartly written. Every scene he's in, he feels like he's always holding back something.

Rage. Pain. Lust. Desire. Grief. Hatred. Remorse. It is always there, an undercurrent of emotions so thick you could feel it in every scene they placed him in.

Abbott? Worthless. Pathetic. Hypocrite. I hated him every single time he was onscreen, and that was exactly what he needed to be. A counterrevolutionary bible thumper that would elicit powerful memories of unlikable relatives at a reunion. No notes. Perfectly utilized villain, and I fucking cheered when he got burnt to a crisp by his daughter.

But Báthory felt so underwhelming.

So either the writers knew this specific complaint from the fans, or more likely wrote her this way to purposefully hide the true final boss of the series.

Drolta.

See, Báthory doesn't hold a candle to any previous villains of the Castlevania story. Not as complex as Isaac. Not as iconic and important as Dracula. Not as enjoyable to both hate and love as Carmilla. Not as hilarious and memorable as Death. She was just there. I thought it was a waste, and that I wanted to see more of her shine in season 2.

So when the only bit of character work she got was her mourning Drolta and her small flashback, I was disappointed.

Make no mistake, she made a great physical threat. But that was it. She felt more like one of Death's elite guards from season 4 than her own true brand of evil.

Not as hate-worthy as the Abbott. Not as conflicted as Olrox. Not as charismatic as Drolta.

So imagine my surprise and subsequent glee as to when Drolta takes the power for herself. Killing her in the sky. That was perfect.

Drolta, who served Sekhmet. Who broke down at the loss of her goddess, her fellow priestesses, and the people she cared for. Who, blinded by grief, sought to resurrect her goddess by becoming a vampire herself and searching high and low for a worthy vessel.

Drolta became even more interesting. Thinking herself as only a follower, never seeking to gain the goddesses' power for herself. Becoming the first Vampire/Night Creature that gave Alucard, the son of Dracula himself who was leagues above Báthory before she became the goddess, quite a lot of trouble.

The way every villain was handled in this season was excellent. From Abbott's death, to Richter proclaiming his desire to avenge his mother to Olrox's face right after they worked together to beat Drolta, but still letting him go afterwards as thanks—I'm sorry, but that was some raw ass writing right there.

The only thing I have to complain about? Nothing from the writers or animators or directors. It's the production that I hate.

Streaming services fucked everything up. 8-10 episodes for every single show is such a dumb move, and making us wait 2-3 years for every single one of them is horrible.

On top of the fact that they will cancel something on a whim.

Nocturne would be unquestionably a masterpiece had it been allowed to have 24 fucking episodes each season. We could explore France more. See deeper into the revolutionary setting of the show. Really see the world of Castlevania, but no. And now there's still a threat of cancellation when animation has been carrying Netflix's worthless ass for years? Especially through the pandemic?

Watch Castlevania Nocturne. Support the studio. Show Netflix that this is where their energies and money should be going towards.

Their live actions, barring something like the big names of Stranger Things and Squid Game, have been flops. They fumbled the Witcher series. They killed Kaos. They ended Shadow and Bone. They fuck up every single time and it has been animation that has pulled through.

Arcane. Castlevania. Blue Eye Samurai. She-Ra.

Support this show, please. I would love to keep this series going, but it needs the attention it so rightfully deserves.

Please. I need to see Old Man Coyote. I need to see Tera go further into the darkness. I want to believe in the possible Maria x Alucard romance that was in the games that could be written really well here. I want to see more of these characters. I want to dive deeper into this world. But most importantly, I want every single person who worked on this show to keep having a job. To be able to do what they do best and get better at it.

This show is great. It deserves more seasons. More sequel series to explore other Belmonts. Other countries. More sexy vampires. More sexy hunters.

Support animation.

[reingkings]

Why do you ship inhun? Does the ship make sense? I don't kinda see it but I guess there is something between them, I'd really like to know your thoughts about it

Hmm. Interesting question. I do think they “make sense” in a shippable way.

Note that if you’re not into not-entirely-sane ships then it might not appeal to you. However, I can try to answer what appeals to me. I’ll try to put screen caps or links but ngl I’m not gonna try hunting down all of it. Here’s the manifesto:

1. The narrative casting them as character foils

So each character in the show often not only represent themselves, but to some extent the show’s themes. Since before Gi-hun becomes a victor, he is shown to be discongruent with the nature of the games. The first “true” meeting between In-ho and Gi-hun happens to be at this point in S1:

Mind you when this occurs, it’s after the gamemakers deliberately starve the players to incite violence between them. Deoksu/101 just killed a man. This outcome is exactly desired.

In a way this is a microcosm of the rest of their ideological struggle — that being whether or not humans are inherently selfish and cruel.

We later see the theme again during the last fight scene, when Gi-hun reaches his hand out to Sang-woo. Not only is this a moment of ultimate compassion, but for In-ho who we see is an avid lover of the arts. What else does this resemble?

The painting, The Creation of Adam. Aka the creation of man. (Stick with me on this, I promise I’ll explain).

Notice that this shot not only resembles the painting on a superficial level but in spirit. Adam is in repose and God is the one who reaches out, the one making the most effort to make a connection. In-ho’s face isn’t visible but imagine how he, looking down on it, feels at the very moment:

It’s giving new religion. Later on, In-ho will say something along these lines:

Race horses. And yet, besides his brother, at this point Gi-hun is the very first person In-ho takes his mask off for, something he does not do for even the VIPs. This scene also comes after he kills a guard because “when they find out who you are, you die.”

This treatment marks In-ho’s transition into seeing Gi-hun as his only equal (and yes, In-ho is arrogant that’s kind of his appeal, I don’t believe he thinks that highly of the VIPs either).

Another aspect is that in their final scene at Il-nam’s death bed, they are kind of marked at the inheritors of Il-nam’s system.

Gi-hun leaves Il-nam to witness his one failure. In-ho closes Il-Nam’s eyes.

So it’s the end of S1. We don’t know a lot about In-ho. However we can assume a few things. Both he and Gi-hun are both victors and victims of the oppressive system. Both of them went through anguish after their victory (In-ho’s is mostly inferred, but there’s a deleted scene paralleling Gi-hun’s). Both of them failed to save what mattered the most. Both of them can’t move on from the games and returned. They both abandoned everything in their life for this pursuit.

In a way, there is no other person in the world than can understand them more than the other.

And here is where the character foil aspect comes in. Despite their similarities, their character arcs are the opposite. Gi-hun at the beginning was kind but flawed, an impulsive gambler who could steal money from his mother and disappointed his daughter at many turns. In-ho seemingly was a well-loved, upright citizen who made sacrifices for his family.

And yet, of the two the one who became cruel and heartless was In-ho. The one who became more self-less and compassionate was Gi-hun.

How does In-ho react to meeting his polar opposite? It could easily be hatred or disdain. Instead it’s well, my next point.

2. In-ho’s subtextual obsession with Gi-hun

Season 2 within the games is when most of us really saw the ship’s potential but there are many hints beforehand.

I and others have made some posts about In-ho’s wildly inappropriate actions towards Gi-hun even in S1. Why does he have to stuff the bank card in Gi-hun’s mouth, why does he send the invitation through a bouquet of flowers (actually he sends this invitation twice), why does he decide to physically be there when meeting Gi-hun in a limo on his birthday? A day, mind you, that he needs to be prepping for the games. In-ho doesn’t have to be there, he literally talks to Gi-hun through a speaker he could be in a nice hotel room. Somehow, it’s important for him to be there.

Can this be read as anything but a fixation?

Even when he joins the game his sole focus is on Gi-hun. He makes a concerted effort for Gi-hun to like him (playing hero, baring his true wounds, defending him from the ire of other players, even coming up with an flimsy excuse because he slipped up and called Gi-hun by his name). If he wanted to torture Gi-hun, he could easily turn the players against him. According to the director, his goal is:

But in front of our eyes he does shit like this:

He even bullies his guards:

Does that look like a hit to you 😭 I dare anyone to say that a different player would have passed. Especially when In-ho interceded in the first place.

Another victim:

And the looks. so many looks. You’re not behind a camera anymore, In-ho. Gi-hun can see you.

The one that makes me laugh the most is in the last episode of S2. Gi-hun is stressed about the vote, trying to come up with a plan, and In-ho is staring so hard he’s not even blinking, to the point where Gi-hun has to look at him.

And then again. Gi-hun is explaining about the control room upstairs. Meanwhile, In-ho:

He doesn’t even glance up. He just stares at Gi-hun until Gi-hun finally looks at him. Honestly this isn’t even all of them but I don’t have everything saved.

And the ending. Honestly this part is a bit heartwrenching and I think a few of us fans ignore it (I do too), but I’m trying to contextualize canon here. It’s interesting that despite how dangerous Gi-hun is – causing the disruption of the game, killing guards, and aiming to end the games on the whole – In-ho does not kill him. He has plenty of opportunities to. He even shoots his own guards to keep Gi-hun alive (despite Gi-hun in that moment running the rebellion). But he shoots Jung-bae instead and gives Gi-hun this last lingering glance.

Arguably, you can say In-ho does all this because he is sadistic. However, if that were the sole reason, then he has 400+ people he could similarly torture every year. Hell, he could have joined the games any year he wanted, too.

If it’s just an ideological struggle, then Gi-hun lost when he decided to sacrifice the X players for the greater good. Then, we are left to wonder what else he can want with Gi-hun that he has kept him alive.

The fact that the motivations are never stated and are subtext adds a layer to how fans are free to interpret it. Lots of kindling for our fire.

(I’m not necessarily planning to prove if it’s canon in this part, it’s just a treatise on why we see their potential due to this subtext).

3. Gi-hun’s reciprocity

I think if it were just a one-sided fascinating then there would still be shippers but simply not as much. The part that hits with Inhun is that In-ho’s efforts are not necessarily “unrequited.”

In the beginning of Season 2, Gi-hun has no one. He had been isolated for three years. He has no friends. He has no home. Consider this heartwrenching shot:

Gi-hun’s on the phone, calling the only person in the world he has a connection to, and he can’t even say a word to her.

Even before this, he was largely unappreciated. His mother was disappointed in him. His ex-wife resents him. Jung-bae his friend did not help him in his time of need. Sae-byeok was only in his life for a few days, but she was rude to him for a good part of that. Sang-woo – well Sang-woo is complicated. I don’t think he meant everything he said in the fight before the end, but I do think Gi-hun is the last person on earth he wants to meet after his failures. No one really talks to him kindly besides Ali which is more of polite friendliness than looking after him.

So as a #1 Gi-hun fan, it’s really nice to see someone just genuinely seem to want Gi-hun there? Not as a last resort or as an alternative, but the first pick (in a twisted way).

And Gi-hun is so receptive to it? I made a post about this before, but Gihun is starved for affection and I don’t think all that used to being treated gently. Despite knowing In-ho for a short time, he seems so. He just kind of… opens like a flower?

The first time he laughs in this season is over In-ho’s corny last name joke.

The look in that scene in general:

How he reacts to In-ho calling by hist first name:

Or when In-ho confides in him about what happened with his wife:

Or this one, when he’s dealing with the guilt of misleading all the players, and In-ho says this:

But also the moment in mingle where Gi-hun is so worried about In-ho, Jung-bae has to drag him into a room before the timer runs out. He wanted to risk it all I tell you.

And then, when everyone is calling out to him, In-ho only calls out for Gi-hun’s attention. Literally he couldn’t care about the others. He bee-lines to Gi-hun.

Or how he looks when In-ho shoots the guard for him:

Look at his face, and In-ho’s face when he gives In-ho the gun. They’re going to kill me.

4. The versatility

Finally, this is more of a meta point but it’s kind of fun that this ship doesn’t always have to be that serious? We can go from writing about deep at times darker themes of obsession and manipulation and whatnot and then turn around and clown on them for being total losers with a crush (affectionate). Usually, it’s the same person doing it. Like me in this essay. We can also just make AUs with no squid games and still have the freedom with keep the parts we like (be it obsession or devotion or a mutual understanding) and toss out the rest, and they still make sense. They just always make sense (to me).

Honestly there are stuff I had leave out because it would just maybe at tad too long-winded (as if I didn’t talk your ear off lmao).

Again, this is not an argument on whether it’s canon or not, it’s just an explanation of fanon perspective.

[picturejasper20]

So @murcielagatito recently made a post talking about the Phandom and how it is weird that the Phandom created a character like Wes to be someone who investigates who Phantom is when there are characters like Paulina and Valerie in canon that can fit that role.

I want to talk about some of the characterization/moments that Paulina has in the series since we are already familiar with Valerie and i think she fits better as friendenemy- antagonist turned ally role but that's on me.

So one thing about Paulina is that she has a huge crush on Phantom but not on Danny Fenton. In Season 1 episode ¨Lucky in Love¨ has near the ending showing that she has somewhat of an altar dedicated to Phantom in her locker.

So we know from this that she is really into Phantom and she seems to idolize him. I wouldn't say that she is obsessed with him, more like she just really likes him.

This alone builds some potential cool interactions between Danny and Paulina because of how she sees the two halves of who Danny is so differently. For her Danny is a huge loser and Phantom is a hero/idol.

Another very interesting is that in ¨Memory Blank¨ Paulina invites the Phantom trio to her quinceañera (15th birthday), which leaves the teens confused of why she is doing this if she doesn't like them much. Paulina then says the following:

She explains to them that she is inviting Danny because she has noticed a connection between Phantom showing up whenever Danny is close by, so she thinks that way if Danny comes, Phantom is likely going to be there too.

This is worth of noting because not many characters in the series realize this or go to this level to being this close to figuring out that Danny is Phantom, not even Valerie with her technology used to be this precise.

These things alone can set up for potential things to work with, with Paulina finding out who Phantom is and some potential character development for her.

Now this crush thing she has was clearly inspired by Lois Lane from Superman- but it could be written to be one sided crush and her staying friends with Danny after she learns his secret. It could also be changed in a way she really looks up to Phantom and she would like to be more like him. So it doesn't have to rely on the romance stuff that much.

What i'm trying to say is that Paulina as character has more potential to fit the role ¨person who investigates Phantom¨ than instead having to... use a character that isn't even in the series. Plus, it could give some good character development she needs- considering that in the series she was mostly a static character.

[thefishywizard]

can you tell us more about your mcd rewrite/headcanons? obsessed with your version of the kiddos! how does the 7 year time skip work? how old is dante? how old are nekoette and dmitri? does alina exist? is this garrancemau? does aaron exist? well probably since lilith is lycan, but i’m so curious and amazed and definitely sold on whatever’s going on here

OH BOY STRAP IN I'm so excited to talk about this.

for starters, the 7 year time skip is in place of the 15 year time skip, but since its fiction, characters like Travis and Michi will still be adults since we didn't meet them season 1 and don't have to adhere to preestablished ages. the biggest changes are really to the world and the kids. (keep in mind there are some other changes that happen in season one that would effect how characters work or how things play out, for example KC being the traitor or Nichole being a werewolf both heavily effect the plot that plays out around them and how their characters behave. i can hear your screams about KC but just trust me. hold my hand. we'll get through this together)

side note. the reason its 7 years is because that's the actual length they are in the Irene dimension in the episode. technically 7 minutes and 30ish seconds so its a 7 and a half year time skip.

Dante is 22 in season 1 and 29 maybe 30 in season 2. in season 2 Dante is much less in charge of guarding a village and more so, protecting the remaining members of phoenix drop after O'Khasis and Scaleswind burnt it to the ground and most people left. Its important to note that this time, Alexis, Kyle, Levin, and Malachi are not present. The only guard besides Dante is Nicole who was disowned by her father at the end of season 1 due to being a werewolf (its an allegory for being gay but she doesnt know that yet shhhh) and KC is staying out of a sense of trying to make up for her mistakes (she was the traitor in season one because Zane threated to have her deported back to tu'la, (where shes wanted for being a magicks user,) if she didn't put the listening amulets into her dolls and give them to the guard (Dante) so Zane could listen in on their meetings. but she ends up coming clean in the end and refusing to help Zane anymore) anyways BECAUSE of these factors and Dante's closeness with both of his perspective baby mamas combined with the fact that there is NO WAY Dante had any sex ed experience. Dimitri is born earlier than he is in the series. but not before Nicole realizes she's a lesbian and amicably breaks things off with Dante, staying friends (they're roommates for awhile). Dante and KC start dating and its through hanging out with Dante and baby Dimitri that she realizes she wants that with Dante asks him how he would feel about having another child. Which, of course, born-to-be-a-girl-dad-Dante is overjoyed about. Dmitri and Nekoette are both younger than they are in the series by the time we meet them. Dmitri being around 4 while Nekoette is about 3.

Alina does exist! sort of! she's not the same character as she was in the series. instead she is Shad and Irene's unnamed daughter who was turned into a relic. I'm actually shocked that plot point got introduced and the ACTUAL girl who was turned into a relic didn't even get a name. I also think it would be interesting if the people who the relics were made out of could speak to their holders and Lilith is the one who ends up with it instead, making Alina still important just in a different way. (shes also older, like 8)

hell yeah its Garrancemau. they get together near the end of season 1 and the series as a whole ends with their wedding.

Aaron does exist, but much in the way Alina does, he's a lot different. he's not shads vessel (that's Laurance), he IS still Liliths dad and he does still die but this time its for good. Aaron is significantly older than Aphmau and their relationship is not a romantic one, its a mentorship. Aaron is the example of someone who married a member of his guard and it worked out (changing Lily to his head guard because what do you MEAN she was the guards daughter) he's an example of exactly what Aphmau most fears, losing everything and it being her fault. he's actually a FANTASTIC parallel to Aphmau because in so many different ways he represents what her future could look like. and then he dies. and she has to cope with her first ever huge loss. and so does Lilith, and everyone else who had grown to like him. (he's less broody and stand-offish and is known better for his wisdom and advice) and he doesn't come back. we have to cope with that loss the same way aphmau does and find a way to move on without him. while she tries to remember everything he taught her. (also instead of the amulet blowing his town up it transforms him into the ultima and he goes on a mindless killing spree. that's way more blood-on-your-hands than accidently blowing everyone up.) I have more i could say about him but this section is already too long.

I'm happy to go more in-depth on any of this if you're interested! me and my sister have put A LOT of thought into this as we've been watching it together so if you want me to elaborate on anything PLEASE ask.

[transgwender616]

is there anything you want an excuse to absolutely infodump about?

if so go ahead because i love hearing peoples interests :3

(i like sharing interests too lol)

Sorry to make you read a post longer then The Loud House Revamped (If you don't know what that is Google it) also I know this is a a little too recapy

One of my all time favorite characters is Lucifer from Hazbin Hotel. I thought I was going to hate him but ended up loving him.

He's mentioned and makes voiceless cameos in the pilot so what he's like is hard to tell. I liked how his design didn't look like a stereotypical Devil but instead an angel of light. I also like the small details like looking like an apple core from the back and having a ducktail hair cut.

I was still a Christian when the pilot came out so I was really hoping that Lucifer would be evil. I did some better reasons for why he should be evil like how shitty Hell is and I usually don't like "what if bad guy was good" stories (Ex. Maleficent and Cruella)

By the time the series came out I was an atheist but I still held onto the idea that Lucifer had to be evil. The first episode "Overture" began exactly how I didn't want it to. Lucifer is a good guy that the other angels just don't understand, he formed a healthy romance with Lilith a fellow rebel, and gave free will to humanity.

I was rolling my eyes at this but then something surprised me. Eve eating the fruit still brought sin into the world. Heaven banished Lucifer into Hell meaning he never got to see the good that came from humanity only the evil. The reason he doesn't make Hell better isn't out of malice but depression. I thought that was a pretty good take so I was willing to give him a chance.

In "Dad Beat Dad" we finally get to see Lucifer on screen and he's a goofball obsessed with ducks. I thought it was stupid and I agreed with Lucifer when he said "Oh my God! Who am I kidding? This sucks." Then Charlie called him and I started to like him again. I related to being bad at phone calls. I also liked how giddy he got when Charlie invited him over. I even came around on his duck fixation. He was using his special interest as a coping mechanism for his depression. He just like me for real.

I also related to when he went to the hotel and his social skills were terrible. Him beefing with Alastor was endearing. He accepts Charlie as bi because that's what heroes do. I was still on the fence about him but he was slowly winning me over.

Then he sang "Hell's Greatest Dad" one of my favorite songs from and the show which gave off similar vibes to "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin and he officially became my favorite. Also the song had him beefing with Alastor more! I know this post is making it sound like I hate Alastor but I love him and the beef between him and Lucifer is just really funny to me.

Then Loan sharks come over because Mimzy owes them $50k (Mimzy is Verbalese confirmed!?) which unfortunately undoes the work Charlie did of trying to win Lucifer over by further proving how humans are the worse. I don't agree with Lucifer on this but it's understandable why he thinks this way. He's been stuck in Hell since near the dawn of time. It's also understandable why Charlie calls Lucifer out on this.

This leads to Lucifer's second song "More Than Anything". It shows that he does truly care for Charlie and doesn't want her dreams to be crushed like his was. Charlie then sings about how his stories made her who she was and that's why she wants to redeem sinners so much. This finally gets him to support Charlie's dream and was the moment he became on of my all time favorite characters. The "Looks like the apple doesn't fall far" was a cute pun.

In the season 1 finale "The Show Must Go On" He shows up late (to be fair he does live an hour away) to beat the shit out another of my favorite Hazbin Hotel characters Adam. Or as he puts it "You messed with my daughter and now I am going to fuck you." He was able to show off his shape shifting powers and I love shape shifters! He also reveals he banged Lilith and Eve. Adam got double cucked by a ringmaster lol.

After the battle Charlie gets depressed and Lucifer is able to get her out of her depression just like she did for him. He has his faith in humanity and redemption restored.

In retrospect him being evil would be pointless as the evil Devil traits were split between Alastor, Adam and Satan.

He shows signs of having autism. He's introverted, has a hyper fixations (ducks), poor social skills, is shown stimming, struggles with unplanned events, has trouble lying, was seen as a trouble maker for thinking differently, thinks out loud when alone, was able to pull a bad bitch etc.

He's also helping with my religious trauma. It's hard to be scared of The Devil when the first thing that comes to mine is a loveable goofball.

[dreamwreaver]

godamnit those fans are also getting pissy about a fanart of Verosika x Charlie on Twitter. Goes to show *any* ship of Charlie that isn't Chaggie is apparently bad and not canon so it shouldn't be made according to these people🙄

they're only proving your point tbh cuz normies are sucking all the fun out of shipping

If you're talking about the one deerly depart did then I just have to laugh. Because 1. It's fabulous art and Gin always does fabulous art. And 2. I mean... have you SEEN some of gin's other stuff? That charosika piece is one of the tamer ones. Also, someone paid for it?

I mean this also happened to another artist just a few months ago. This one was I guess a known ra shipper, or at least known for their ra art rather. They've since come out as a multishipper on bsky and are very nice so I always try to give them a like and a boost where I can. Anyways, someone commissioned them for a charlastor piece and it, was, GORGEOUS! It was a nsfw piece but my god there's no denying the sheer talent. Unfortunately, two assholes felt the need to bully them on bsky about it and the piece was taken down. Thankfully the shipping communities on bsky are actually far more civil because I had actual ra shippers in that person's replies saying the same thing we say, "Block the tags and move on this is pathetic"

It was honestly very refreshing. Those shippers I respect, even if because of the ones I don't their ship gives me visceral squick. Not their fault that toxic people are into the same thing. But back to the Charosika piece, like... it's still gay; they're two hot ladies, what's the big fucking deal? It's not gay enough for them now? Or is it just that they're made that yet again; someone saw the chemistry between two characters who have NEVER interacted instead of the chemisuck that their oh so precious canon ship is? And again, I feel like the anger I tend to let out in the asks gives the impression that I hate chaggie. I don't. I really, truly don't. I hate CANON chaggie, I hate the way that the main fucking couple is so watered down you could air hazbin in Russia essentially all unedited. You couldn't do that with the owl house or Steven universe, and Hazbin is a fucking adult animated cartoon! I hate the fact that chaggie content in the fandom is honestly hard to find because I've run the numbers and more than half the fics tagged chaggie are actually stories about other ships that have Chaggie tagged even though it's just a background pairing at best. I hate that a lot of the people who might like Chaggie well enough on its own but have another otp use it to shit on others even though they're pushing a canon sapphic ship yo the side because "Ooh toxic yaoi!" And infantilize one half of a grown ass adult couple! I hate that Viv is now trying so hard to backpedal on how bad the show fucked them up in the first season by going overkill with the chaggie pda when what's really needed is to either fix the writing in their dynamic or let the fucking relationship end because from a solely writing perspective it feels so, so FORCED. Like Charlie cent let go because it's a comfortable if not perfect relationship and vaggie can't let go because this is the literal person who saved her fucking life and being with her means everything even though doing so strips vaggie of literally all character agency and personality!

Deep breaths, side tangent over. But no, my assessment that normies who know nothing about fan culture and don't care to learn because it's trendy are the reason for the rise of fandom puritainism and the obsession with the "it's canon" part of it. And fucking hell I hope they get over it soon.

[itssomeonetofightfor]

Things I hate about part 2 of Cobra Kai (a rant if you will)

This is an absolute deconstruction of everything that was set up for the last 6 seasons!

Johnny and Daniel STILL fighting about idiocies instead of focusing on the absolute fucking mind fuck that has just been played on both their kids ( not blaming Tory by the way) . Robby is her boyfriend and the last I knew Johnny was aware of Sam and Tory's budding friendship. They decided to best do nothing for them except blame each other. YAY! Off to a good start.

Lets follow it up with the least efficient support system in the world for your captain. Apparently Robby is not allowed to be fucking devastated by the fact that the ONLY person that he trusts fully has abandoned him . Apparently they, and by they I mean Miguel and Sam ( who should know better by now) , in spite of hearing endless Johnny sob sories of how he left his child behind, decides to chide him and undermine him about how he doesn't deserve to be captain. Even though we have had to put up with all his girlfriend drama, INCLUDING him re- dislocating Robby's shoulder to get a win in season 1 because he was jealous. You want to be a leader? Prop him up! God knows he needs it after everything, but NOO lets make him feel less than. And please, when he asks you to back him up you stay silent. Thats the way! It doesn't help whem Sam piles on with half winded information. That is enough to get the rest of the team to demoralize him some more..

Hawk and Demetri becoming the most hypocritical and spineless duo of the season, reverting all the work done in previous seasons. They were annoying as all hell and I couldn't care less if they were there or not. If I was an athlete on their team I would rather withdraw...what a draaag. How they acted about Kenny was so ludicrous that I wanted to punch them in the face. They also acted as if it was only Robby's fault they were failing FUCK OFF!! AND FUCK MIT HAHA.

That's how the writers made me feel, undoing all the greatness that these characters once were. I loved Miguels struggles and Sams defiance of her father. I loved the picked kid Eli becoming Hawk. I even loved Demetri's neurotic insecurities maqueraded in a ball of sarcasm. But what the writers did this season is make everybody useless so that one common purpose could be reached...MIGUEL AND JOHNNY! It would be beautiful if it wasn't at the expense of every single character in the show.It was built up only to be flattened down at the end. That's what pisses me off.

Daniel has all but forgotten the he had a mentee once. Let's give him a pointless kiddnapping story only for him to be off balance and be obsessed about Miyagi ( who these writers should not be messing with btw).

Let's keep Robby off balance for most of the five episodes. Which became a fucking nonsensical plot point by the 1000th time he looked at at Tory.

Yes, Miguel shines as the glue and hope of Miyagi-do..the only one who can keep it together for everyone., and it would be fine IF it wasn't at the expense of everyone else performing down and out of character.

But ALAS!! His lightbulb moment comes only after Johnny assures him that he is is top dawg even if he alludes that he supports Robby ( must have missed it, but if you SAY so) and finally he starts giving Robby some encouragement.

Only then, they let Robby have his well earnt moment, not only with his protegeé Kenny but for himself. IT. IS. GLORIOUS! But then, they undo it the next day by returning his rival to the tournament just to swiftly kill him... why all this you ask? Well to set up the next rival. Who for? Yes you guessed it it's for Miguel using Sam as bait.

My question is why the writers went this way and now unfortunately, because the internet internets I know leaks.

 Why? Why kill Cobra Kai's captain in the most idiotic way.

Why make Robby seem like the most undisciplined and unfocused member of the team?

Why make Sam the most irrelevant party in this tournament (unless it has to do with next rival drama).

Why neither Sensei is there for their kids (Except Miguel of course, how silly of me).

Why keep Tory in Cobra Kai?

Because in one season they are going to deconstruct all of this for it to fit Johnny and Miguel winning together as father and son as it was always meant to ( nevermind his own son who he hasn't had a scene with, but they are going to gaslight you into thinking they did)  All in the name of unity and family. They have done all characters dirty, including Hawk,  Demetri, Devon, Kenny and lets not forget..lets get Daniel distracted with Mr. Miyagi ( and ruin his legacy in the process) so that there can only be the sole father and son combo for the win. Why else make a fake miscarriage about if not for them to be reignited in the fight for the win. Miguel and Johnny. Our heroes!! They will never take accountability or flack for anything. Just as fan service in media loves it. Fuck the overarching story.

Don't get me wrong, I love Miguel and Johnny, I just don't love how they want to get to their endgame.

[burningdreambanana]

Find this old rant I wrote about Rhaenyra and Alicent's friendship when season 1 had just finished, still holds up imo

Was making Alicent and Rhaenyra childhood friend a mistake?

I initially liked the idea because I thought it added an element of tragedy to the story: watching two former friends go from love to hate to war is heartbreaking and gripping.

Unfortunately, with the way it was written in the show and how it affected Alicent's character, I'm starting to think that it might have been a mistake.

First of all, we see that in episode 3, Alicent still supports Rhaenyra being queen over her own son. That erases one of her main book motivation: Alicent lives in a patriarchal society where according to traditions, law, and the norm, her son was supposed to be the next King. Viserys makes an exception to crown his daughter. He doesn't change the rules for everyone, he just exempts her son. If readers/watchers take out their modern lenses for five seconds, they'll realize that pretty much anyone would be outraged and that wanting her son to have what would normally be his is valid and doesn't make her a villain. All the show needed to do is make us understand where she was coming from. Of course, some fans still wouldn't understand and call her sexist, but anyone watching with a bit of critical thinking would be able to sympathize with her.

Then we have episode 4-5, where the writers, who have made the two girls reconcile, wants to divide them once again and explain why Alicent will support her son now, because they got rid of her perfectly fine motivation. So they make Alicent be overtly concerned with Rhaenyra's virginity: "she swore to me that she remained a maiden". No, she didn't Alicent, she swore Daemon never touched her, which is a lie but Alicent will never find that out. She stands by Rhaenyra instead of her father and even after Rhaenyra got Otto fired (without having the decency to explain herself to Alicent), leaving a still young Alicent isolated in KL, even when Otto points out that Rhaenyra's claim is shaky and she will be forced to get rid of rivals (which makes sense) she's still standing by her. It is only when she finds out that Rhaenyra slept with Cole (not Daemon) that she declares war on her former best friend. Episode 5 really frames her as jealous and obsessed with Rhaenyra and her virginity, so I'm not surprised that a lot of viewers see her that way.

Then we have episodes 6-7, where Alicent spends 90% of her onscreen time talking about Rhaenyra. She's literally obsessed with her, while Rhaenyra is not obsessed with her. I personally wish we would have more to Alicent than "Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra...." all the damn time. She was described to us as "possessing a keen political acumen" before the show aired, how about spending some time establishing that???? Those episodes do a good job however at giving a sympathetic motive to Alicent: she wants to protect her children. With Rhaenyra being a woman and having 3 bastards, their situation is more precarious than ever, because Westeros is both sexist and prejudiced against bastards so it's almost inevitable that a part of the realm will rise in favor of Aegon II. I mean they rose for less during the Blackfyre Rebellion.

But then we have the "reconciliation" in episode 8. Rhaenyra praises Alicent and that's enough for her to forget what she did on Driftmark, or her perfectly good motive of wanting to protect her children. Even though she has even more reason to fear her now because she's married to Daemon, a dangerous psycho who hates the Hightowers. So this leaves me to ask, if Rhaenyra praising Alicent was all it took, was her motive all along just that she hated Rhaenyra? And now that she, for whatever reason, is no longer angry, she's ready to accept her as Queen?

Episode 9 also shows very well those problems: the Green Council is no longer them talking about the danger for Alicent's children (especially with Daemon as King Consort and the Strong Boys), the Great Council, Andal Law....All they talk about is whether or not they should kill Rhaenyra, with Alicent passionately opposing this. I mean, ep6 Alicent was persuaded that Rhaenyra would cut off any challenge to her succession but it somehow never occurred to her that the Greens may have to do the same? I'm not saying she should be wanting to kill Rhaenyra, it's just weird with her behavior in ep6 that the thought never occurred to her.

They create this artificial rivalry with Otto about who gets to Aegon first to tell him to kill/not kill Rhaenyra. This is dumb, Otto can send someone other than Harrold to kill Rhaenyra, he can influence Aegon at any other time. But this serves to show that once again, Rhaenyra is Alicent's primary concern.

"Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra". Alicent is the Jan Brady of House of the Dragon to Rhaenyra's Marcia and I don't like it.

[archduchessofnowhere]

With Sissi media running out soon, I wonder what would be your perfect series about her? How would you choose to portray her, her role, and relationships?

Your answer will most likely be far more informative and entertaining than Die Kaiserin. I also recently visited Vienna so I'm very hyped of all things Habsburg :D

Hello! Some years ago I answered something a bit similar about what my ideal Sisi series would be over here, although now I would change some things + also I have new ideas. But I didn't talk much about characterization there, so let's do that!

Personally I think the biggest problem with the newer Sisi series is that they refuse to give Elisabeth any sort of character arc. They write her from the get go as defiant, outspoken, witty; Elisabeth doesn't change, doesn't learn anything, doesn't struggle with anything, she's seemingly perfect and can do no wrong. And I can't help but side eye how these productions also practically erase all her struggle's with her mental health.

All this is deeply frustrating, specially because Elisabeth has a surprisingly easy to adapt real life "character arc": she was a deeply shy teen girl unprepared for the position she married into, struggled to adapt to the point her health collapsed, got away from the evironment that was making her ill, became confident and outspoken, and came back as a changed woman who took control of her life and stood up for herself. Why do all screenwriters refuse to give their fictional Sisi's this character arc? Why don't they realize how much satisfactory would be seeing Elisabeth go from a timid girl to an assertive woman?

So this is how I would characterize my fictional Sisi:

She has to be shy, this is non-negotiable for me. She will look overwhelmed by how fast her life is changing, she will make mistakes and feel mortified over them. The real Elisabeth was afraid of the dark, a detail I would like to keep for my fictional take, as fearing darkness is often associated with children, and I want the audience to understand that this girl is really young. Is she in love with FJ? She's as in love as a teenager girl can be with a man she only knows an idealized version of.

Elisabeth will "learn" to be an empress episode by episode: in the first episode (her wedding) she will make many mistakes, the next time we see her at an official event she will improve but still be a bit clumsy, and so on until in the Hungarian trip she is a model empress. Except that she isn't made of stone, and so after her daughter's death/during the 1859 War she will have moments in which she visibly will break in public.

Her two most important relationship arcs that season (I'm still using that outline I made as a guide for this answer) will be her husband's and her mother-in-law's. Although there will be romance, I don't want to write my series as a romance. So no sanitization of FJ to make him palatable: you'll get the conservative bureaucrat who can't understand the wife he's obsessed with. Season 1 will have Sisi going from seeing him as a perfect prince charming to a real man who's very imperfect. She'll go from thinking "wow I can't believe he likes me!!! *blushes*" to "wow I can't believe he likes me *genuine confusion*". That's not to say she'll stop loving him, but their relationship will become a bit complicated by the season finale, and on season 2 it will get very complicated as he will start cheating on her.

Her relationship with Sophie is the one I'm more interested in, however. For some reason screenwriters choose to portray them as at odds with each other since the beginning (with the notorious exception of RTL Sisi, they get along fine in that one), ignoring we could have a HEARTWRENCHING FALL OUT instead. Here's how I would do it: Sophie adores Sisi at first, she's the apple of her eyes, and Sisi hopes that her aunt can be like a mother to her. Yes, Sophie sometimes makes remarks about her appearance and behaviour that can be a little bit rude, but they're so sporadic and well-meaning, that Elisabeth brushes them off. But then at court, she realizes all courtiers still treat Sophie as the first lady, and Sophie doesn't try to change that. Suddenly Sophie's imposing personality make the shy Sisi feel powerless, and she starts to grow resentful: why can't she choose the furniture of her own room? why can't she choose her own ladies-in-waiting? why can't she choose her own children's nursery and staff? This is too much for her: the first conflict with her mother-in-law arises.

But she doesn't hate Sophie, and Sophie still is very affectionate towards Elisabeth. Yes, things become tense while they fight, but as time passes she lets it go. When Baby Sophie dies, the grieving grandmother is the person who goes to confort Elisabeth and tells her "it wasn't your fault".

The second biggest conflict between them will be the Italian war: Sophie will be visibly disappointed at Sisi for showing weakness during such a difficult time. Why is she crying in public all the time? Doesn't she realize that FJ will suffer is he learns of her state? Doesn't she realize that she's upsetting her children? Doesn't she realize that she must give strenght to the people? Doesn't she realize that she's hurting the monarchy?

Again, it's not like Sophie will now hate Elisabeth for how she's acting, but she will disapprove of it. That's not how an empress should act; Sisi, the girl that seemed so promising in 1853, has failed her.

Now I think I could sneak a minor subplot of Sophie showing more preference towards another of her daughters-in-law (namely Charlotte as I don't think there's much space to write Karl Ludwig's first wife on season 1, and his second wife should only appear on season 2), but I haven't figured out where, I have to rework that outline jgjglk.

Lastly, on how I would characterize Sophie: she'll be inteligent, an imposing figure, but also kind, and loving to her children and grandchildren. She'll be conservative but not in the "she's responsible for very single oppressive law of the empire" way that Die Kaiserin portrays, but more in a "person who saw a revolution go againts the system she was born and raised in and now can't trust those ideal anymore" sort of way. She'll comment on politics, but she will not be an active political player. And Max will be her favorite son damn it!

These are just some ideas, I also didn't cover the rest of the characters as this is too long already lol. Thank you for your question!

[lollytea]

GUS GUS GUS GUS MY BOY GUSSSSSSSS

How I feel about this character

Gus is so fucking cool, man. I love him!! I especially like his characterization in season 1 as a really cutesy silly geeky little fellow with a surprisingly morbid streak. Like season 1 Gus is probably the funniest character in the show to me. They definitely toned down his chaos a bit in later seasons, but his transition into something more than a supporting comic relief character was also good stuff to chew on.

I find Gus, as he's written in the show itself, to be a character who lacks a solid foundation. Even though I personally enjoy him a lot, it often felt like the crew was struggling to find his emotional core. What makes Gus tick yknow. At least that's the vibe I got from Gus centric episodes where they give him a new complex every time. They knew he was insecure deep down but it was like they couldn't decide on the reason WHY. First they tried "being younger than everyone is hard", then it was "my area of magical expertise isn't taken seriously" and then finally "I'm way too trusting."

I'm not saying he can't be a complex character with MULTIPLE insecurities. I just feel like the writing in this regard is kinda weak in terms of consistency. It really did feel like they just kept introducing new Gus angst every time and forgetting about the Gus angst they had already established. I would have liked to see it all weave together instead, yknow?

Overall Gus is fantastic. I love Gus. When it comes to how the character was ultilized, they might have flopped a bit. But yknow. Gus has potential to be SO interesting. All the ingredients are there. So he's a lot of fun to play with. So much to build and expand on. He is the brightest most neon shade of blue putty.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Rumpelstilskin or whatever that gay little freak is called

My non-romantic OTP for this character

They make me giggle

My unpopular opinion about this character

I kinda like aroace Gus. Idk if that's an unpopular opinion tho. But I don't really have a solid headcanon for his orientation, so sometimes I see him as bi and kissing that one guy. And sometimes he is aroace.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

MAN!!! I've made multiple posts about stuff that I wish they did with Gus in canon. I'll try to briefly repeat a few of them

- I wish Gus and Eda were familiar with each other before Luz came into the picture. Like the Owl Lady who sells human junk and the little witch boy who's obsessed with human junk.

- I wish Gus' fixation on the human realm was used as a parallel for Luz' fixation on the fantasy genre. I wish it was used as the thing that helped them to understand each other. Two kids who feel like a bit of an outsider in their own world and use their obsession with another realm as a form of escapism.

- I wish Gus had an arc involving Grometheus.

- I wish Gus had played a role in the finale. Specifically I wish his problem with trusting too easily had been brought up again and tied into the situation with Belos, who sits on a thrown of lies. Would have been fun. But what do I know

[awkward-sultana]

Scenes I would have liked to see in Magnificent Century (always being updated)

These are just things I would have liked to see, or honestly just hyper specific scenes I’ve envisioned in my own head. Don't come at me about realism. That's not why any of us are here.

Would love to hear everyone's opinions and what you would have like to see in the show!

A more intense ending to the dark magic plot point in S3 It was kind of just...forgotten? Hatice literally murdered Nazli in cold blood and then poisoned Hürrem. I think Hürrem should have killed the witch and like put her in Hatice's room or something. So many good plot points are just abandoned with no real or satisfying resolution.

Hürrem telling Suleiman about Leo and him accepting it A big part of Hürrem’s power in the harem in the show is that she got away with a lot of things, whether it be through manipulation or Suleiman’s love for her, but mostly it was through being smart and manipulative. That’s a huge part of her character, but it would have been nice to see a moment where she doesn’t win and has to come clean to Suleiman. His acceptance of Leo would have made their love more genuine in my eyes. He knew she was a slave and had a life before him.

Hürrem's past as a priest’s daughter When Hürrem went to Edirne, it would have been great to see her open the palace to the sick and nursed them instead of sitting there helplessly in literally one spot the whole time. We saw her help Hatice medically in seasons 1 and 2 and she was a priest’s daughter so we know she saw a lot of sickness and has some basic idea of giving aid.

Hürrem seriously going off on Suleiman at least once Again, a big part of Hürrem's legacy was how nuts Suleiman was for her and how she could get away with things other concubines couldn’t. I would have liked to see her really loser her temper at him at least once. Maybe go off about how difficult it is in the harem, being a woman battling for her life and her kids’ lives. It would have made their relationship seem deeper than it was in the show.

Generally seeing Suleiman's absolute obsession with Hürrem That man was nuts about her in real life. True Gomez and Morticia Addams.

Some good moments between young Mustafa and Hürrem Like thanking him for saving Mehmet from drowning in the first season or saying, “Thank you for being such a good big brother to my son.” She protected him during the janissary riots, but we didn’t see much day to day interactions between them. It would have made the distancing between them more impactful.

Another grown sultana in the family, like Mahidevran’s daughter Raziye It would have been great to see the dynamic between Mihrimah and another daughter, especially one that was older but still within her age range. The aunts were older than her and she constantly had to show them respect, so it didn’t feel like a fair fight. And Esmahan had to defer to Mihrimah too because she was the Sultan’s daughter. Another daughter who is equal to Mihrimah in most ways would have been fun.

Hürrem pulling away during the whole Firuze thing Hürrem had to stay on Suleiman’s good side because he’s the sultan, but I would have loved to see her pull away from him in small ways, like not spending time with him or choosing to eat alone and not with him. I’m a sucker for a good grovel.

Suleiman actually apologizing for things he’s done Again, I love a good grovel and it never happens in this show.  He always just got sick and woke up and told Hürrem how much he loved her. This goes into Hürrem pulling away during the Firuze arc and showing Suleiman her love is reasonably conditional. Again, real life Suleiman was whipped for Hürrem.

Ibrahim and Hürrem bonding at least once over being slaves and considering what their lives might have been like at home This kind of goes into my last point of Hürrem pulling away from Suleiman when he was with Firuze. I always thought that would be a great scene when they’re having dinner with the dynasty members when Firuze was in the picture. I envisioned Hürrem mulling about her “home” in Eastern Europe and confusing the dynasty about what "home" to her seems to mean now that's she's pretty unhappy, then asking Ibrahim in front of all of them what he thinks his life might have been like if he hadn’t been taken. This could have given way to a deep scene between Hürrem and Ibrahim as well as a sweet scene later on of Suleiman asking Hürrem to share her memories of her home.

Firuze slowly losing favor instead of an instantaneous decision There are so many deus ex machinas in the show that act as resolutions to issues and the Firuze thing was one of them. I would have liked to see her slowly lose favor, like treating Cihangir without permission from Hürrem or Suleiman, being disrespectful to Hürrem in front of him, or butting in on the family grieving Mehmet’s injury. 

Hafsa and Hürrem bonding over something other than hating Mahidevran, like the loss of Hürrem's unmentioned son It was great to see her realize  Mahidevran’s manipulations, but I hoped for a deeper resolution between her and Hürrem. We only see Hafsa acknowledging Cihangir’s illness like once or twice, which is so out of character, but I know they were trying to keep her firmly in the area of antagonist (crappy writing). Hürrem had another son, Şehzade Abdullah, who died as a toddler. Losing a child would have been a good bonding moment for them and brought them back as mothers.

Hurrem’s kids speaking Russian(?) One thing I always found wholesome is when children speak the language of both parents. It would have been a great homage to Hürrem's roots, since we didn’t see it a lot, especially in season 3. On that note, I would have liked to see Hürrem revert to her native tongue when she lost her temper, since that’s super common.

Mercan going over to Hürrem's side and staying in Season 4 One of Hürrem's best character traits was her ability to make her enemies her friends and Mercan was a great enemy. Convincing someone who was so zealously devoted to another dynasty member to come over to her side? Iconic. His and Sümbül's dynamic was also great and watching them being forced to work together would have been fun.

A reunion between Hürrem and Gulnihal, maybe Hürrem meeting Gülnihal's kids and husband and seeing Hürrem's kids grown Characters tend to disappear and never be mentioned again in this show despite their big influence on characters and their development. She should have gotten a kiss on the hand like Hatice and Suleiman did for Afife. She raised Hürrem's kids.

Ibrahim telling Suleiman to stay out of his marriage during the Nigar affair This is probably the most unrealistic thing I envisioned, but I love when one character beneath another in rank or station stands up to that person as a friend. And Ibrahim was getting bolder throughout the seasons so it wouldn’t have been totally out of character. 

Hürrem helping Nigar escape with her daughter instead of Firuze The whole Hürrem helping Firuze escape thing made no sense but it was in there to prove that Firuze was a spy. I think I speak for everyone in this fandom when I say I would have liked to see Hürrem help Nigar and Esmanur escape instead and the whole kidnapping Mihrimah’s baby thing not happen. But it would not hinge on the writer's hating Nigar's character and making her lose her mind and betraying Hürrem for a man.

Mihrimah being Selim’s valide sultan Mihrimah was well aware of the fratricide law, it was the whole reason she worked with Hürrem to kill Mustafa. She wasn’t so naïve to think her own brothers wouldn't get caught in each other’s crosshairs. Kösem forgave Osman for killing her own son, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of realism to see Mihrimah and Selim get back on good terms. It’s one of my favorite parts of her real life legacy.

Suleiman letting Hürrem do something really shady for him at least once He couldn't get his hands dirty, but he knew at least to some degree how cunning his wife was, even if he was willfully blind to it. Would have loved to see a "I won't ask questions" kind of conversation between them and Hürrem strolling from the room like a hitman for hire.

Cihangir seeing some sort of consequences for his naïve support of Mustafa As wise as he was, he was so painfully naïve when it came to Mustafa, seeing him face some consequences for that would have been satisfying.

Suleiman seeing more negative ramifications of sending Hürrem away in S3 Suleiman tended to send Hürrem off willy nilly because he could and not really take into account for the ramifications, especially in such a charged atmosphere. Seeing consequences to those choices would have been satisfying and would have reinforced Hürrem's importance as a partner, parent to adolescent children, harem ruler, etc.

Mihrimah’s trip back to the palace in S2 after Hürrem was ambushed being more difficult, like an actual kidnapping I really like antagonists being taken down by their own hubris and it would have been fun to see Hafsa suffer real consequences for her fake ambush. 

Hatice going off on Hafsa about how she treats Hürrem at least once in S2 She questioned her a few times in season 2, like when Hürrem's horse was stabbed. She did it a few times in calm ways in season 1 and once or twice in season 2, but seeing her lose her temper even a little would have been satisfying. I think this could have more happened if they had stuck to actual history and Hafsa had come as a slave and not a princess.

Suleiman seeking more comfort in Hürrem Suleiman was described as “weak” for Hürrem and it wasn’t really shown in his more emotional moments. The show expected us to be fine with his speeches and poems and see basic expressions of affection as “weakness.” When Ibrahim died, I would have really like to see him break down with Hürrem, his face in her stomach, the whole nine yards. He really just glared at her in that scene.

Hürrem and Suleiman being more of political and personal partners In the show a lot he tells her to “mind her business” and “don’t get involved in things that don’t concern you.” He also blew her off and treated her like a child when she voiced certain concerns (his condescending little smiles made me feral). A big part of her legacy was being an advisor to him and their abilities to share with each other what they couldn’t share with others.

The real importance of Hürrem's new haseki status and what that meant This was such a thing for me. Hürrem being the first with the haseki status was HUGE in the harem at the time but that whole story line was abandoned for the sake of rivalry between her and Mahidevran, which would have been there regardless. I hated seeing Hürrem curtsy to the sultanas in later seasons, especially in season 4 when Vahide was the actress. It was like having to watch Hafsa curtsy to anyone.

Mihrimah pulling away from Hürrem more during her engagement/marriage to Rüstem "Yeah, I'm doing this for my brothers but do you expect me to happy about it? Gush and fawn over having a kid with a man who kind of repulses me? I have postpartum depression? I'm super unhappy so I can't imagine why." Like I've mentioned before, big fan of having a character's ego come back and bite them and I think Hürrem should have suffered more consequences for basically telling Mihrimah her happiness doesn't matter. She was a little delusional in S4, acting all coy, telling Mihrimah she still loves Rüstem and they would find their way back to each other. Girl...she never liked her husband, stop trying to act like her homegirl and push her to be happy in a marriage she would have rather died than be in.

Gülfem standing up to Hatice at least once Hatice had a real high horse sometimes and even if she was insulting someone else, I could tell it made Gülfem feel a certain way because she was also a slave. This is yet another character I would have liked to see lose their temper in a more aggressive way. Like, girl, have some character development.

Some sort of resolution between Mihrimah and Esmahan Mihrimah had pretty much know other girl her age to lean on, I think it would have been easier to invest inheritance character if you saw her break down maybe once with Esmahan instead of trying to be tough. Like when Esmahan went to comfort her before her wedding. Mihrimha’s fake tough persona in that moment seemed hollow and just like a young bratty kid. Or when Humasah was kidnapped.

Bali Bey manhandle the sultanas a little bit during their questioning about Hürrem's disappearance I’m going to get a lot of flack for this one. I don’t mean him really putting his hands on the actresses, I mean like grabbing Şah's arm when she leaves. I like seeing haughty characters being taken down a peg. They would have seen they’re not as infallible as their status makes them feel.

More bonding between Gülfem and Hürrem at least once Gülfem lost a child and saw what Mahidevran and Hürrem had to go through fearing for their own sons. Hürrem had the chance to pay Gülfem some sort of compliment on the balcony when Cihangir was sick, like "I'm not as strong as you." Out of character, but this is basically an OOC post.

Hürrem let some things take their natural course Like when Mahidevran discharged Esma when she took charge of the harem. Suleiman would have caught on eventually that Hürrem was constantly unable to spend time with him due to taking care of 5 kids, or having to train brand new concubines.

Hatice being happy with her new husband I really liked him.

Hatice getting some closure about Sadika A big part of Hatice’s early character was her empathy for those below her (most of the time). She liked Sadika and wanted to see her happy and I’m sure Sadika had grown some affection for Hatice. I would have like to see Sadika write a letter to Hatice before attempting to murder Suleyman saying something along the lines of “I’m sorry for lying to you, my friendship with you was real but this was more important.”

Hürrem coming together with one of Suleiman's's sisters just as a fellow woman Maybe when Lutfi hit Şah, Hürrem was there and Şah let her pull her up off the floor. They were all women and mothers stuck in a patriarchy.

Mahidevran give Helena permission to clap back at Fatma In that scenes when Fatma was like "Did you really think you were going to marry him?" Saying something like, "At least he wanted to marry me" and Mahidevran laughing.

More affection between the concubines and other harem members and the royal kids They were all raised in the same harem, I'm sad we didn't get to see some found family-ish dynamics. Those kids must have had a lot of "aunts and uncles" in the servants. I'm sure Mihrimah saw more than just one or two of the concubines as mother/aunt/sister figures, especially as the Sultan's only daughter.

A better ending for Gülfem Because what the fuck was that?

Mihrimah going off on her aunts at least once While she had to defer to them because they were older and was an unspoken respect thing, she could get away with talking to them a certain way more than maybe Hürrem could. "I know you're trying to kill my mother and that can't happen because then what happens to us?" or "I know you killed Nazil, who raised us, and you thought we'd never find out and see you differently? Stop acting like you give an absolute flying fuck about us when you know what will happen if our mother is killed or Mustafa becomes Sultan. This is war."

Hürrem showing more affection to adult Mihrimah She absolutely had to defer towards her sons' safety, but sometimes she acted like she actively disliked her only daughter in S4.

Mihrimah not being a brat when she was young (S2) It would have made her rise to power more impressive and more endearing. Sometimes older Mihrimah just seemed like a princess who had never been told no so she always expected to win.

Mahiedvran and Hürrem sharing one sincere hug They had more things in common than not. They were both women, mothers, slaves stuck in a patriarchy and both could lose their sons with one decision from a man who has complete control.

Hürrem having more quietly pervasive PTSD symptoms. She displayed plenty of symptoms like hyperarousal, emotional over-stress, emotional dysregulations, hypervigilance, etc, but a lot of symptoms can be more quietly sinister and they missed that chance. The symptoms they did display first and foremost took away from her character because we couldn't differentiate all the time between angry Hürrem and traumatized Hürrem. "She's angry and violent and irritable? Oh, that's jUsT HüRrEm."

More rank-opposite hand kissing One trope I will forever and forever always live for is shows of deference opposite of rank. When Suleiman and Hatice kissed Afife's hand? Loved it. Suleiman kissing Hafsa's hand? Not totally the same, but kind of still love it.

Afife telling Şah and Hatice she was ashamed of them at least once Would have rocked their shit. And you know she for sure was.

Mihrimah being happy with Taşlıcalı in the end Probably the second most implausible head canon. They had both lost a lot and know what war costs, why not end up with another person who can empathize with your unique pain?

More of Gülfem and Hürrem's real historical relationship Always going to touch on sticking to historical accuracy when I get a chance. Leslie Peirce touches on the fact that Gülfem was probably more of a mentor to Hürrem than she was in the show, guiding Hürrem through what was an unprecedented rise in the harem and, therefore, a huge and probably shocking rise in responsibilities that Hürrem didn't know how to manage on her own. Suleiman trusted Gülfem with Hürrem when he was on campaign and Gülfem was most likely there when Hürrem died. Instead of being the dynasty's emotional support pet in season 3, we should have seen her turn coats for the better.

Women lashing out at each other for their children and not for a man The real reasons Mahidevran and Hürrem probably lashed out at each other the most was because the fratricide law dictated every facet of their lives. Love, sex and jealousy were not half as much on their minds as the show made it out to be. Let me see vicious mothers, not jealous girls.

Hafsa and Hürrem having one good hug Self explanatory

More about Suleiman's late children He had I think 2-3 children before Mustafa that all died of the plague that we never really heard about. And it would have given even more credence of the severity of Mahidevran trying to poison Hürrem when she was pregnant.

More about the entire royal family's grief and trauma with Sultan Selim I That man was batshit and you hear offhanded comments such as "I see your father when I look at you" when Suleyman does something cruel. Go more into that. What was it like to fear for your life, your son's/brother's/uncle's lives? Selim I literally hunted half his family down and executed them. It would have given them so much more depth as characters.

Leo haunting Ibrahim In the back of scenes, the blurry character the audience only just notices, the specter standing over this shoulder in a quiet room, the beating heart beneath the floorboards. The start of the death of his innocence given form, standing at the end of the hall as his body is being carried away. Fucking art.

Nigar being on Hürrem's side in season 3 and being totally psycho about it I would like like to see Nigar regrow the brain cell she had in season 1, but maintained her scorched earth policy in season 3, but on Hürrem's side. Would have been great. Snapped: Harem Edition.

The Development of Esma and Hürrem's relationship Esma was one of the harem girls Hürrem didn't like at the beginning of the first season and then she was one of the only people Hürrem ever trusted with her children. I would have liked to see that development, or at least the moment Hürrem chose Esma to be her kid's nanny.

[skyland2703]

AU where I swap Ollie and Javi’s intros in Dino Fury: Headcanons

This obviously means Javi becomes blue ranger and Ollie becomes black ranger. But uh. Let’s avoid that thought for the moment.

Javi is the one who gets stuck in Amelia's ghost net.

His character is still into music and was actually riding his bike to run away from his dad, the warden, who disapproves of his music in the forest.

He’s wearing the poncho.

When Amelia tells him she thought he was a ghost, he doesn't belittle her interests, instead, agrees to go along, something along the lines of, "whoa! You're hunting ghosts?? Can I join??"

Izzy is still Javi’s sister, and Zayto’s role is the same.

Add some sibling angst in eps 3/4 where Javi is a ranger but has to hide it from Izzy.

Ollie, on the other hand, is Izzy’s college friend/senior.

Additional plot of Javi having to hide he’s a ranger from his sister for 4 episodes. Fun!

In episode 4, it’s Ollie’s mom who is having an interview with Jane about that orb thingie, and he's just waiting outside her office, when Amelia along with the Javi and Zayto comes up to talk to Jane about the job thing.

When Javi, Amelia and Zayto meet Ollie, he still outrightly calls out Amelia’s ghost hunting obsession as bullshit and Javi backs Amelia up when Ollie taunts her on it.

Javi applies for the Buzzblast job— gets it by chipping into Amelia’s story on DinoHenge.

Zayto also applied for it but withdrew after he met Dr. Akana who offered him an internship.

They’re still desk mates + now Javi regularly accompanied her on ghost hunting expeditions.

Ollie still annoys Amelia every now and then but it’s not that much of an issue because :D they’re not the main romance of the season TYSM.

The Amelia and Javi romance progresses much like Tyler and Shelby’s. And Amelia does help him hide his musical equipment from his dad. EVERYTHING that Dino fury season 1 promised us for Javelia but didn’t follow up on :(

Not much changes after this. Ollie is still the techie guy, which is fun for once if it’s the black ranger??

Javi just permanently has a crush on Amelia. He’s just simping for her no matter what :3

AND Amelia confides in Javi about her parents situation just before season 1 finale and he tells her “we’ll find them. One day. I promise you.” Because he definitely has her trust and she feels safe confiding in him. She breaks down and they have a little moment.

In season two, Ollie and Amelia do have a “reconciliation” episode as they did in canon— and you just have Javi going green with envy in the background with Izzy going “it’s okay bro it’s okay.”

And at the end of that episode we see Javi working on a new song. When asked what it is, he just smiles and doesn’t respond.

The massage scene stays the same btw.

The Spotlight episode, the reason Javi isn’t able to write a brand new song for the competition but on Zayto’s insistence, he brings out one incomplete song, which he gives to Zayto for review, who goes “dude this is heartbreaking! I love it!” But in the end they decide to not use another song and go with the remix version of spotlight like they did in series.

Episode 13 is Javi and Amelia getting together. But instead of Javi arguing with Amelia like ollie did, he actually writes her a song and at the last moment chickens out to give it to her. He tosses it in trash along with the flowers and goes away embarrassed, Amelia wondering what’s up with him.

Izzy figured out the feelings her brother had for Amelia and decides to talk to Amelia. The remainder of the plot for the episode stays the same because haaaahahh it would’ve definitely made more sense if it had been like this XD

Canon scene 👇🏻

The episode ends in Javi and Amelia reconciling and Amelia asking Javi to play her the song for her, “because I love to hear your voice.”

The plot with Amelia’s parents and the voids continues as it does.

Episode 16-17 are connected. When they make wishes, in episode 16, most of it follows normally until the very end when Javi’s wish comes true, and so does everyone else’s but Amelia’s doesn’t, and she feels the resentment. Ollie tries to keep her spirits up, but Javi sees it from stage realising she has no interest in his concert, and he feels hurt.

This follows into the episode 17 where instead of the entire Ollie-Amelia-Dr. Akana drama, we’ve got Ollie and Aiyon drama where Aiyon goes to Japan because Ollie and his mom are having sone issues and blah blah I didn’t think too much about this, but Javi and Amelia’s bickering continues because he’s annoyed that she doesn’t value him and she’s already pissed off from the events of the last episode.

This episode ofc served as their “problem after they got together” episode, so I think this would be a nice direction to take it.

They finally come to a compromise by the end of it, after talking and communicating 🫶🏻 and they realise they’ve started to love each other very much. And Javi apologies for not being with her when he needed and Amelia apologises for acting selfishly.

Remainder of the episodes follow the same way~

these two scenes are also canon now btw 👇🏻

I just feel like a LOT of things would’ve made more sense if the show was written like this >.<

Anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk XD

[jackabbot]

No offense but sometimes I wish I could go back to being that delusional. They are SO SURE and I'm over here with no hope lmao Still watch the show of course but I almost admire people who keep that strong kind of faith

gotta be honest i just don't get it when people say stuff like this... "hope" and "faith" for queer Eddie/buddie/etc

i have my own opinions and ideas — and i talked about them endlessly, but at the end of the day it's neither delusional nor realistic, because 1) we know Eddie almost got the Tommy love interest storyline instead of Buck. yes, it made more sense and worked out better with the flow of the season and where the characters were at the time to give it to Buck, but it was not out of the question for Eddie to begin with and 2) this is a procedural soap, literally anything can happen to anyone.

and my point here isn't "so Eddie is clearly gaaaay" (tbh i never got the obsession with gay!Eddie in this fandom, men can be queer without being gay and Eddie clearly has been in love with and attracted to women throughout his time on our screens, but anyway) my point is that any character can get any storyline at any given moment

anything they can use to boost viewership and keep the show interesting, they will go for it and that includes relationships forming and breaking up, cheating arcs, coming out arcs and career changes too

like, frankly, it's more of a question of how many possible storylines they can exhaust before they bring the show to a close

anyway, all this to say that people should have zero expectations about 911 and its characters, because the chances of anything is always 50-50: it happens or it doesn't.

(though i'd say that the chances of having hidden cues in the colour of someone's kitchen backsplash or having .2 seconds more screen time behind another character in a scene are probably not that high lmao don't get me wrong; theorising is fun, but taking it seriously is... uhh weird)

plus, you know, we just got a storyline of a character discovering his queerness as a conclusion to all the unease we saw him going through since the beginning of the show... what would be the point of repeating that immediately in the next season with another character?

[fandomtherapy44]

Klaus x reader

Summary: This story is from the perspective of Y/n Marshall the younger sister of Hayley Marshall. Side note I love Hayley one of my favorite characters. Basically Y/n will be pregnant instead of Hayley and I will be changing some things up but then that it should stay pretty close to the series. I hope you enjoy the story! Also, if you like I have a Castiel x reader.

Paring: Klaus x reader

Word count: 3,341

Warnings: Some language, Typical the Originals violence, Spoilers for season one of The Originals, Pregnancy,

I got the divder from

saradika

Chapter 1: Always and forever

POV: Y/n

New Orleans is the heart of Louisiana known for its live music, food, and apparently family history, well at least for my older sister and me. We came here to learn more about our parents but the few weeks we've been here nothing zilch but some tasty gumbo that lately I have had a strong hunger for. “Third time in here this week.” Jane-Anne said, placing down a steamy bowl of gumbo in front of me.“I'm obsessed with the gumbo, Jane-Anne.” I said to her grabbing my spoon and lifting a huge scoop into my mouth while my sister Haley was nursing a bourbon. 

“You know, ladies in the 9th ward say my sister, Sophie, bleeds a piece of her soul into every dish.” She said referring to her sister who was cooking in the kitchen. “We’ve asked around the Quarter about my family......” Haley started to say. “And?” Jane-Anne questioned. “Nothing. Zero. we can't find a single person who remembers them.” I finished throwing my spoon back into the bowl. “Because Hayley, Y/n people like you were run out of here years ago.��� 

“What do you mean, people like us?” Jane-Anne walked around the bar to the other side to stand beside us. While Sophie watched us. Jane-Anne stetted a map on the bar. “In the bayou, they call the werewolves "Roux-Ga-Roux"”. She circled a point on the map. “You head out there, you'll find what you're looking for. Be careful. It's the last place you'd ever want to go.” Haley and I smile in hope that maybe we will finally find something. I order my gumbo to go, and we thank Jane-Anne and leave.

Haley and I are driving down the road and I'm giving directions while she drives. “Okay now take a left...” I said while looking down at the map not sounding very confident. “Y/n the map is upside down.” “Oh, he he I mean right.” She sighs as she hard turns right. “It’s like the mountains all over again.” “Hey, it was not my fault that the map was outdated.” “It was GPS N/n” “Well still the phone was-” As I started to talk, I suddenly started to feel sick. “Haley pull over now.” She pulled the car over and I jumped out puking out all my lunch. “Uhh what the Hell-” And there goes breakfast. “Maybe it’s all the gumbo that you ate when it’s been sitting in the car for two hours.” “Maybe it’s the gumbo y/n shut it, Haley. I was hungry… again.” 

We finally arrive at the bayou and look at the map to figure out where we are. “So, we are here and-” As I held the map the paper got hot, and it became on fire. “What the-” I threw it out the window. Haley and I looked at each other like what the fuck. We start to reverse the car, but the engine starts to smoke, and it stops. “Are you kidding me?” We get out and I take out my phone. “Hey, I'm looking for a tow service?” I didn't even get a response before a loud ringing came from the phone and I threw it down and Haley heard it too and she smashed it with her boot. I didn’t even notice people around us. Haley and I start to get back-to-back. My vision starts to become blurry, and I passed out.“Y/n!”

I wake up gasping. “Y/n N/n you're okay.” “Hayley, where the Hell are we?” I said looking around the room and the walls were made of stone and there were lots of candles around. “In a tomb.” “Why are we in a tomb?” “Because the witches kidnapped us.” “Why would they kidnap us!?” I'm getting angry and I stand up. Sophie devereaux walks in with a bottle of water and a bowl of gumbo and places it in front of me. “If you think I'm eating anything you give me, you witches are crazier than I give you credit for!” I said as I kicked the bowl back. 

“Please Y/n all this anger is not good for the baby.” “You are going to let my sister and I go or-” Hayley stopped. “Did you just say baby?” “Yes, I did, Y/n’s baby.” Wait what? “That’s impossible, I can't be pregnant.” “Well, congrats you are, with Klaus Mikaelson’s.” Fuck “So eat up your baby needs it.” With that she walked away. “Hey, you still haven't told us why we’re here!” Haley yelled at her behind the bars. She looked down at me, who was still in shock. “Klaus Mikealson what were you thinking N/n?” “I don’t know Hayley, I was drunk, and he looked really cute and we talked and one bottle of whiskey later I woke up in his bed.” “Now I'm pregnant and absolutely terrified.” I said as I started to cry. “Shh It’s okay It’s okay.” Hayley said while hugging and rocking me.

Sophie walks in. “Get up It’s time to meet your baby’s uncle.” Hayley and I look at each with confusion and follow her. We walk out to see a man standing there in a press suit and tie.” Who the hell are you?” I asked him. “Give us a moment, please.” The man asked Sophie. “Whoever you are, you aren't going to talk to my sister alone.” Hayley said with a fierceness that I hadn't seen since I was younger. “Hayley I'll be okay.” I said as the man, and I walked into the other room.

“So, have they been holding you here against your will?” Elijah asked me. “They lured my sister and I out to the bayou and grabbed me. And they did all these... weird witchy tests. Not that I understand how this could happen. I mean, vampires are dead. They can't have children!” He turns to me and holds his hands. “Perhaps if you knew my brother's story, it might explain how this is possible. Here, if I may.” “If you open your mind to me, I can show you.” I lean down my head and Elijah shows me.

“In the beginning, our family was human... A thousand years ago, now.” I started to see them as kids. “Although our mother dabbled in the dark arts, we were actually just a family trying to survive in a time when it was quite difficult to do so. And, for better or worse, we were happy.” “That is, however, until one night, our youngest brother was killed by our village's greatest threat.” I then saw Klaus carrying their youngest brother and he was dead. “Men that could transform themselves into wolves during the full moon. Our family was devastated, none more than Niklaus. Desperate to protect the rest of us, our father forced our mother to call upon her black magic in order to make us stronger.” I now see that their father was forcing them to drink the blood to turn them.

"Thus, the first vampires were born. But with this speed, this strength, this immortality, came a terrible hunger. No one felt this hunger more than Niklaus.” The scene was now Klaus killing a human for the first time and with that he was changing into a wolf. He didn’t know of his descent. His father chained him up as Elijah tried to help but he wouldn't allow it and kept on saying horrible things about Klaus. “He wasn't just a vampire.” “He was also a werewolf. That's how the werewolf curse works. It isn't activated until you take a life.” I concluded. “Niklaus was the result of an indiscretion our mother had hidden from us all. An affair with a werewolf like yourself.” I see another thing I did not want to, Klaus was being forced to bury his werewolf side. “Your dad was a massive dick.” I said and we kind of laughed about it. 

“I'm Y/n Marshall, by the way. You should probably know my name if you're gonna tell me your whole life story. I mean, I know yours. Your family is legendary. Your brother is a notorious psycho... who I slept with.” “I cannot excuse his behavior, but you must understand, when our father hunted him – hunted us – for centuries, every time we found a moment of happiness, we were forced to flee. Even here, in New Orleans, where we were happiest of all. Not long after Niklaus broke the spell which prevented him from becoming a hybrid, he defeated our father. I thought this would make him happy. He was angrier than ever. I wonder if perhaps this baby might be a way for my brother to find happiness. A way to save him from himself.” When he finished, I grabbed at my stomach for the first time knowing that I was pregnant.

“I'm glad you feel that way, because we need your help.” It was Sophie. “What, precisely, is it that you want and what does it have to do with this young woman?” Elijah questioned and I wanted to know too. “We want to run Marcel and his vampires out of town. Klaus is the key. Everything Marcel knows about being a vampire, he learned from Klaus. Marcel trusts him, looks up to him, and he won't see the betrayal coming.”

“Yes, well, as I'm sure you're aware, my brother Niklaus doesn't like to be told what to do.” “That's why I brought you here. Marcel drove the werewolves out of town decades ago. Do you really think he's going to welcome a hybrid baby to the neighborhood? Convince Klaus to help us, and no one has to know about the newest member of the Original family.” “That sounds remarkably like blackmail.” “Like I said, I'm desperate.” “Well, then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?” “I will be back with my brother.” And with that he walks away. 

Hayley walked into the room a little worried. “Oh my gosh are you okay did he hurt you?” I smile at her. “I'm fine Hayley. I just feel a little bad.” “Do you need a bucket?” “No no I mean I just learned more about Klaus than I bargained for.”

  We get called back into the front of the tomb and there standing is Klaus and he looks handsome as the morning I left his bed. “No. It's impossible.” He said pointing at me and its funny cause I said the same thing. “I said the same thing myself.” Elijah said. “This is a lie. You are all lying. Vampires cannot procreate.” I kind of wish it was a lie. “But werewolves can. Magic made you a vampire, but you were born a werewolf. You're the Original hybrid, the first of your kind. And this pregnancy is one of nature's loopholes.” Sophie explained.

“You've been with someone else, admit it!” Klaus yelled at me. “Hey, guess what buddy it’s impossible on my side too since I was a teen, I've been told I can’t get pregnant, so it is a hundred percent yours also my sister and I have spent days held captive in a freaking alligator bayou because they think that I'm carrying some magical miracle baby. Don't you think I would've fessed up if it wasn't yours?” I said getting closer, almost getting in his face because if anything I was not going to stand here and be accused of being with other guys when I know my own body. We stare at each other for second before Hayley pulls me back. 

“My sister gave her life to perform the spell she needed to confirm this pregnancy. Because of Jane-Anne's sacrifice, the lives of this girl and her baby are now controlled by us. We can keep them safe. Or we can kill them. If you don't help us, take down Marcel, so help me, Y/n won't live long enough to see her first maternity dress.” “Excuse me what?” I said getting worried about what Sophie just said. “Enough of this. If you want Marcel dead, he's dead. I'll do it myself.” Elijah said, stepping up and I saw Hayley looking at him with a bit of admiration. “No. We can't, not yet. We have a clear plan that we need to follow, and there are rules.” Sophie said stopping Elijah. We looked at Klaus waiting for his response. 

“How dare you command me, threaten me, with what you wrongfully perceive to be my weaknesses. This is a pathetic deception. I won't hear any more lies.” I forgot how egoistic he was. I guess that night was just a side of him that was a one-time thing. “Niklaus!... Listen.” Elijah yells at him and Klaus looks at me and then my stomach listening to our baby’s heartbeat I wonder what it was like. “Kill her and the baby. What do I care?” Klaus walked away with that sentence, and I almost lunged at him. “OH, HELL NO get back here you son of a bitch!” I get held back by Elijah gently this time. “No one touches the girl. I'll fix this.” 

Sophie and this older witch, Agnes, are talking again about this Vampire Marcel and whoever he is, they don’t like him that much. “Marcel and his vampires are out of control. Something had to be done.” “And the solution is to bring in more vampires?” “What makes you think you can control the hybrid?” That’s a good question. It seems like to me Klaus won’t just sit down. “She can't. I'm not entirely certain that I can, either. But now that your coven has drawn his ire, I have a question: What prevents my brother from murdering you instead of cooperating?”

Elijah said, surprising as all. Then I'm surprised personally because Sophie takes out a needle and pricks herself, but I feel it too. “Ow! What the fu-” I said looking at my hand and it was bleeding in the same place that was bleeding on Sophie's hand. Hayley grabs my hand to look at it. “The spell my sister performed, the one that got her killed? It didn't just confirm the pregnancy. It linked me to Y/n. So, anything that happens to me, happens to her, which means her life is in my hands. Klaus may not care about his own child, but it's very clear what it already means to you. If I have to hurt Y/n – or worse – to ensure that I have your attention, I will.” What the hell so the witches are cool to kill people good to know. “You would dare threaten an Original?” “I have nothing to lose.” “Well, I do!” I said feeling like they were talking about me like I wasn't there. “You have until midnight to get Klaus to change his mind.” 

 “His time is up. What're you gonna do now, Sophie?” Agnes asked Sophie and I was very scared for her answer. “I'm gonna do what I said was gonna do” Shit “What, kill the girl? Kill yourself?” Sabine this other witch asked. “Klaus does not care about the child.” Agnes added in and it was making me pissed off that they were barning with our baby like this. “I do” It was Elijah, at least one brother of this crazy family cared. He came in carrying the body of Jane-Anne.  “And I bring proof of my intent to help you: the body of your fallen friend, which I procured from Marcel himself.” “Jane-Anne. “ 

“May she be granted peace. Klaus will agree to your terms. I just need a little more time.”  Elijah I could tell was a smart man and thank God for that. “You had your time. It's passed.” Agnes said to him, and I wanted to wolf out on her for that. “Shut up, Agnes.” Sabine added in which kind of surprised me I mean I wanted to say it, but I had a baby to look out for. “For now, accept the deal. The girl and the child and her sister remain unharmed, or Klaus will kill you all.” He went to go walk away again but turned back. “And I will help him.”

Elijah came back to collect us and brought us to a grand old white house that felt like it hadn't been inhabited in years, probably so. Hayley was exploring another part of the house while Elijah was showing me the nursery. I went to the crib and pulled off the sheet and about a hundred years of dust came off. Cough' cough. “Are you alright?” Elijah asked me. “Oh fine, there are a lot worse places to stay in then here.” “Yes, it should serve our purposes. It's a sanctuary from our business in the Quarter. Right now, you are the most important person in this family. You need a good home. So, I'm curious... in all this time, has anyone asked you how you feel? “Like usually about how I could have a one-night stand with someone who doesn't usually do that?”  “About being a mother.” 

“Hayley and I were abandoned when we were born and for the most part of our lives we were in different parts of the system and I-I when I activated my werewolf side I was kicked out and thought of as a monster. And I didn’t find Hayley until I was eighteen so I really don’t know how to feel about that because I never really had a mom to rely on.” I looked back at him and he looked like he had sympathy behind his eyes. “I will always protect you and your sister. You have my word on that.” 

“And noble Elijah always keeps his word.” It was Klaus. “Is it done?” "As a matter of fact, yes. Your underhanded deal worked quite well. Marcel was only too happy to accept my blood even as he accepted my heartfelt apologies. His man, Thierry, yet lives and I remain a welcome guest in the French Quarter. My only concern now is this coven of impudent witches. "Great that’s just great “I believe them to be honorable. They did release Hayley and Y/n to me. Although, they haven't been entirely forthcoming. Marcel obviously has something that they need. They don't want him dead. There must be a reason why” I leave the brothers and go to talk to Hayley.

“Hey, how was talking to Elijah?” She asked me. “It was actually not that bad, it seems like he actually cares about us.” “Really?” “Really, which is good because it seems like you were checking him out.” “Yeah, well look at us both looking at the vampire brothers, we must really be sisters.” She finished with a smile and we both laughed.

I walked back into the nursery and just stood over the crib staring at it when I felt a presence behind me. It was Klaus. “Oh hey.” “Hello” He responded back. The thing was I didn’t know how to go beyond hellos. “Look I know this is super weird you probably didn't think you would ever see me again or think about me after our… time together I just wanted to say that I will stay out of your way.” I finished awkwardly. He walked closer to me. “Is it really mine?” “One hundred percent” We stare at each other for a second. But he backs away. “Right well If you just stay out of my way there won’t be a problem.” “Right.” He goes to walk out. 

Hey Yall, I really hope you liked this new fanfiction I'm trying out. I love the Vampire Diaries universe, especially the Originals. And of course, Klaus, I can't wait to develop the relationship between Y/n and him. If you want to be tagged for this series, comment nicely and I'll put you down. And if you like supernatural, I have a Castiel x reader series too.

[lunar-years]

Roy’s been so obsessed with Jamie the whole time, actually. Keeley ‘s a little bit weird about him too.

- While flirting with Keeley in the press room, trying to get her to give him a second chance “Because I like you more than I hate him”

- Keeley being turned on by Jamie offering an inkling of vulnerability after showing up at her door

- “Every time I wanna kiss my girlfriend, I can’t stop thinking about Jamie fucking Tartt”

- In the middle of making out with Keeley, literally on top of her after he’s just walked in on her masturbating, “What did you tell the prince prick of all pricks about going back to Richmond?”

- Jamie thinking Roy and Keeley started dating just to make him jealous which. Well. Keeley technically had sex with Jamie to get back at Roy in Season 1

I’m probably missing some moments but They Are Just So Weird About Each Other. And in retrospect, the love triangle angle could’ve been done soooo much better. I hate that Jamie’s apology for the video leak is diminished when he tells Roy about it in the bar, but I do understand it shows their character regression and serves a greater purpose for Roy’s arc. And maybe it’s an unpopular opinion, but it would’ve been more interesting if Keeley and Jamie had sex after he apologized in S3 (although the hug was really sweet).

idk why but the way you worded it "Keeley's a little bit weird about him too" actually made me laugh out loud lmao. Thank you for that anon. I think Keeley ALSO being unhinged about Jamie is something that is underrated!

I think my favorite is the scene where Keeley masturbates to Roy's retirement presser because the whole thing is SO 'Jamie is the third person in the room right now even though he is not actually here in the room.' Like. Let's compile the Evidence in that scene alone:

Keeley's vulnerability kink is activated so hard by Jamie having traced her to her coffee shop to seek her advice specifically that she immediately goes home to have a wank about it. Except she can't wank to Jamie can she? That would be bad because she's In a Committed Relationship. So she pulls out her old reliable Roy vulnerability video to wank to that instead. (Already it's pretty crazy.)

But then Roy comes home and Keeley tells him how hot she finds him when he's vulnerable, suggests again he take a chance on the pundit job and then uses JAMIE AS THE COMPARISON. literally fully well knowing how Roy can Get about Jamie Tartt, she's on about 'Jamie is brave.' 'At least Jamie is trying to get better.' 'YOU'RE JUST LIKE JAMIE.' i mean, GIRL?? insane. this is all after being walked in on mid-wank mind you.

In midst of all that, let's queue up another super sexy roykeeley kiss. at this point the conversation has MOVED ON. only for roy to BRING JAMIE UP AGAIN. 'what did you tell the prince prick of all pricks?' WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO KNOW ROY. whyyy are you still thinking about him. unbidden. as you are right in the midst of foreplay with your girlfriend.

Insanity on all sides of the triangle ❤️

But all of your examples are spot on and I fully think the weirdness about one another started even before any of that and got FAR WEIRDER from s3 and beyond. For instance, Keeley in the season one bar scene openly getting turned on by Roy with Jamie right there... one could argue that she was already leaning towards trading in Jamie for a nicer model but frankly. I think girl was angling for a threesome even then. And good for her!

Keeley and Jamie sleeping together after he came to apologize would've been a MESS. I would love to read a fic of that!

Part of what is so fun to me about the three of them canonically ending the series single is that the possibilities and configurations for smooshing them all together remain endless. maybe they all three figured it out at the same time and got together in a very romantic and cute and non-angsty way. BUT. if you want to be messy. roykeeley or jamiekeeley or royjamie can get together first, and whichever one is left out can just absolutely without a doubt be Going Through It. Meanwhile things aren't going fully well for the couple, and it's far from bad but they still can't get it RIGHT because it still feels like something (hint: someone) is missing. The someone who is currently off to the side thinking they aren't good enough aren't lovable aren't ever going to be okay again but at least their favorite two people are happy :( without them :( :( glorious

[fantasyquests]

Rewatching Season 1: Some thoughts on episode 8 1. Lifting the veil. Two identities are revealed in this episode: we learn that Halbrand is Sauron and that the Stranger is one of the Istari. Nori knows intuitively that the Stranger has come to Middle Earth to help, and while she does not have a precise understanding of what it means, we are led to conclude that he has been sent by the Valar to counteract Sauron's evil. The Mystics promise the Stranger that the veil which prevents him from remembering his past will soon weaken. Halbrand/Sauron uses a similar metaphor when he says that what he and Celebrimbor are doing in the forge "softens the boundaries" between the seen and the unseen world. It is interesting that when Celebrimbor uses Sauron's phrases "power of the unseen world" and "power over flesh" he believes that they are his own. When I first watched the episode, I thought that this was just Brimby's vanity, that he lied about it and claimed those were his ideas because he didn't want to admit he learnt them from a human. But now I think that at this point Celebrimbor is already bewitched, and that Sauron has implanted these phrases into his mind. In Season 1, Celebrimbor is not one of the characters through whose POV we follow the story, so we don't get an insight into his inner world; but the scenes with Galadriel show us what it looks like when Sauron messes with somebody's head. He can create an intricate illusion, make a person believe they are somewhere else or at another point in time, and assume the visage of a loved one, as in the scene where he makes Galadriel believe that she is talking to Finrod. We can only conjecture what is happening in Celebrimor's mind, but I believe that from this point onward his actions and thoughts are no longer his own.

2. True creation requires sacrifice. This is a phrase first used by Celebrimbor in episode 2, and he repeats it now in order to convince Galadriel to surrender Finrod's dagger and allow it to be melted so that its silver and gold can combine with mithril. Symbolically, it means that Galadriel needs to sacrifice her urge for vengeance, and work instead for the well-being of all Middle Earth. The dagger has been a part of her storyline from the very beginning, when Finrod used it to lift the soaked paper boat in Valinor. In Galadriel's hands, it represented her obsessive need to hunt down and destroy Sauron - but ironically, it was also a means which Sauron used to get an insight into her past and manipulate her. That she is ready to give it up now is a clear sign of personal growth. Elrond will likewise make a symbolical sacrifice by adding the piece of mithril (for him, a token of Durin's friendship) into the mixture. It may appear that at this point, Celebrimbor makes no sacrifice, but we know that in S2 his own life will be sacrificed by Anatar in the process of making (or obtaining) the rings.

3. The road which every man must walk. Two leaders die in this episode: Tar Palantir, the king of Numenor, and Sadoc, the trail-finder of Harfoots. It is interesting that the two communities use similar metaphors when talking about death: Pharazon speaks about the road "which makes an end of every man who walks it", whereas Sadoc announces that he will be "wandering off-trail". However, in spite of this apparent similarity, their views on death are rather different. We know that Numenoreans will become obsessed with death, mortality and finding the means to transcend it, which eventually leads to their downfall. In LOTR there is also a great speech delivered by Faramir where he describes this obsession, which the rulers of Gondor have also retained:

"Death was ever present, because the Numenoreans still... hungered after endless life unchanging. Kings made tombs more splendid than houses of the living, and counted old names in the rolls of their descent dearer than the names of sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry; in secret chambers withered men compounded strong elixirs, or in high cold towers asked questions of the stars."

In the Harfoot communitiy, there is a much healthier attitude to death and the transience of one's existence. Sadoc is mourned and lovingly remembered, but there is no obsession. A new trail-finder is established and the caravan moves on. If the Harfoots even think about immortality, they find it in their ability to love.