#s4 is a great example of that

[cocogum]

Aurora reminds me of that one kid in middle school who’d annoy the crap out of you for no reason but would never have the balls to fight you back for real if you lose your shit cuz of her.

Every time she’d annoy you, she’d always say things like: “yeah whatchu gonna do about it? whatchu gonna do about it? That’s right, nothing! You’re too chicken, haha!”

So when you had enough of her bullshit, you actually do beat the shit out of her and that’s when she finally looks up at you in fear while she’s on the ground saying: “i was just kidding, dude! i was just pranking! it’s a joke, bro! it’s a joke! i was just messing with you, i didn’t mean any of it, please don’t hurt me!”

[wolfwarrior142]

Holy shit I love the Chasing Shadows short story so much. Of course I'm biased cuz it's focused on Rayla, but it's just so GOOD. Also helps to explain why she was so desperate to and persistent about reconnecting with Callum after she got back to Katolis and was a lot more bold than I expected her to be about walking up on the crowd in the valley and stuff; she deadass didn't stop thinking about Callum in those 2 years. By god did she try, cuz she kept losing focus on stuff when memories popped back in. But she couldn't, and at the end of the short story it seemed like she really realized that she needed to listen to those memories and head to the closest thing she had to a home. Also probably realized she fucked up. And goddamn man, the end of that was beautiful. Not only did it have dialogue from one of my fave scenes in the show, it was also written so well and beautiful and god it was so good. Fuck I'm so glad they wrote that, it's so nice to have this info on at least a little of what Rayla did while she was gone. Especially cool that now we know it happened basically right before she came back. God this was so good, especially the angsty Rayllum that also built up her character and the story more. Gooood shit.

[inbarfink]

After all these years, ‘I Remember You’ is still one of the great highlights of Adventure Time Storytelling. And not just in the basic ‘what???? Silly children’s cartoon does something SAD??? HOLY SHIT MIND BLOWN’ way. But with the execution of that Something Sad. How it manages to pack so many Complex Emotions into just 11-minutes of television. And especially the way it utilizes the basic Adventure Time format for that purpose.

So Adventure Time is a Board-based show. Each episode has an outline pitched and written down by the writer’s room, and then this outline goes to a team of (usually) two Storyboard Artists who develop that simple outline into a full story. And with the show’s art-style deliberately eschewing staying perfectly ‘on-model’ in favor of having the animators take direct reference from how the different storyboarders draw the characters

And the show being generally extremely versatile in terms of themes and tone - AT has allowed a lot of their Storyboarders to really express themselves and their unique artistic vision as part of the Big Collaborative Narrative that is Adventure Time. 

Now, the Boarders who worked on ‘I Remember You’ are Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar. These two were a Storyboarding Duo from the start of S4 and until Sugar left the AT Crew during S5, and they always struck me as a curious combination. I think really from all of the individual boarders working on AT during that time, these two really are the closest to having like… Totally Opposite Artistic Sensibilities as boarders. 

With Sugar favoring a style that is very loose and sketchy and also very rounded. Focusing on expressions and subtle body language and lighting. And being famous for going deep in depth into Big Moments of Emotional Catharsis

And Sanchez having a very clear art style that emphasizes strong silhouettes and clear lines that suggest flatness. Focusing more on major poses and the character’s positions in the space. And having just a really great eye for AT’s brand of silly humor.

Like, I almost kinda suspect these two were paired together so they can each cover for the other’s “weakspots” in writing ‘Adventure Time’. 

And there were a few episodes that did some really interesting stuff with this very contrasting pair - ‘Jake the Dog’ is another example. Giving most of the Farmworld scenes to Sugar and most of the Time Room scenes to Sanchez both plays to their personal strengths as storyboarders and helps to emphasize the strong emotional contrast between these two scenarios. 

And ‘I Remember You’ is actually kinda unique among Adventure Time episodes cause… Most episodes will have the two boarders alternate between working on the episode throughout it. Like you’d have Boarder A draw a bit and then Boarder B and then Boarder A again… But “I Remember You” is divided between Sanchez and Sugar… basically perfectly in the middle.

So the entirety of the first half of the episode was boarded by Sanchez

Until Ice King pushes Marceline and then leaves the room in shame.

And then, Sugar takes over.

And, like, even if you don’t know anything about the Behind the Scenes of Adventure Time or who Cole Sanchez and Rebecca Sugar even are - the Shift is noticeable. The shift in tone, in narrative focus, in the subtleties in which the characters are drawn. 

The entire first half of the episode has this thin veneer of just being a Silly Goofy Ice King Episode. Sanchez’s talent for Adventure Time’s brand of comedy is on full display… but there is also this underlying feeling that Something is Happening just under the surface. And these hints of the Big Emotions of ‘IRY’ expressed via Sanchez’s kinda goofy style really create this balance between putting the audience into a false sense of security that this is just a Very Normal Episode about two characters hanging out and the Tension constantly brewing in the subtext. 

And then it all comes to a blow.

And then the Shift happens. And now we are in Sugar’s court.

And this subtle shift in the artstyle and storytelling also coincide with Marceline finally openly expressing her feelings and the Reveal of Simon and Marcy's shared past. The episode changes focus from Ice King's silly antics to Marceline's feelings. Everything changes, everything in the first part of the episode gets recontextualized and... even on the most basic level, the episode is now Noticeably Different.

I would almost say that Sanchez’s half of the episode has Ice King define the tone, while Sugar’s half of the episode has Marceline define the tone. But more than anything it’s the catharsis. The reveal and release of those emotions that were building up so expertly through the Sanchez half of the episode. All of the Sugar-boarded scenes in this episode are really heartbreaking on their own, just through the tragedy of the story and Sugar’s expert knowledge of howto convey emotion in the visual medium - but it’s so enchanted by what came before it.

“I Remember You” is truly a great testament to how ‘Adventure Time’ could use every aspect of its medium to tell a great story in such a short time.

[rafesbabygirlx]

A Lot of Time has Passed | Part 7B

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Season 4 Rafe x Maybank reader

Summary: Beginning at the time jump, the Pogues seemingly succeeded at something, Rafe is struggling with making amends and being a better person. Jus sister left the island after returning from South America. Returning after 18 months with a secret.

A/N: took a page from @whytheylosttheirminds with separating the part into 2. Because it’s a bit of writing. About 3k words each. I wanted to finish this off before S4 P2 begins so it’s finishing this is the last part until it airs.

Word count: 2.9k

Warnings: fluff, bit of angst, smut (oral m receiving, chest riding, p in v riding) death, Luke Maybank

“Can we please talk?”

You give it a second but you can see the desperation in his eyes, “okay, talk.”

He runs a hand through his buzz cut, eyes heavy with guilt. “I’m sorry. I do want to be better. I’m the man of the Cameron family now, and what am I supposed to do when all the women in my life hate me? Fear me? It eats at me. I should’ve stood up for Kie, set an example that Ruthie and Topper’s bullshit isn’t acceptable anymore, never was, I don’t care about that reputation anymore, not like I used to. When I look at V, all I want is to be better. I have no excuse.

He watches you, searching for a sign that you’re listening. You offer him nothing, forcing him to keep talking. “I took you for granted for so long. Used you, kept you a secret because I was scared of what people would think, all because of stupid titles. I knew Topper and Kelce wouldn’t say anything but that’s always what they’d use to try to piss me off when we’d be messing with each other. You always meant something to me and I constantly pushed you away. I hurt you more times than I can count, some of the times worse than others.”

Painful memories flash between you—He’s talking about the time he handcuffed you to his bed during his downward spiral after killing Peterkin, dragging you with him to Barry’s when he needed to hide out, putting you in the middle of gunfire with the police when he got caught. Drugging you alongside Sarah and bringing you on that ship then standing idle why he watched his dad strangle you until you were blue when you got smart with him about murdering Big John. All because he didn’t want to be alone.

“You came to me for protection from your father, and I failed you. You tried to help me, and I pushed you away. But all I want now is to see you happy. You shouldn’t have even forgiven me.”

Tears slip down your face as you reach out, cupping his cheek. “I told you what I thought your problem was, and I was right. You’ve grown without your father’s shadow. Even before I came back, you’d changed. You are the man of the Cameron family now, and you can be the kind of man your father never was. I need you to be all in, Rafe. No more half-measures. V needs you. I need to know we can count on you. Only then can we move forward.”

You grab the sea turtle V left on the bed this morning, unintentionally but great for the point you’re trying to make. “Because what if she was there, what if she could understand all that happened.” You toss it to him. “Think about her Rafe.”

“I promise,” he says, voice cracking. “Forever and always.”

A bittersweet smile spreads across your face. The words that once comforted you in your darkest moments return, anchoring you both.

I’ll protect you, I promise, forever and always.

I’ll be here for you when you need me, I promise, forever and always.

I’ll kick his ass for you, I promise, forever and always.

“I love you, Rafe, and that’s never changing.” You kneel closer, wrapping him in a hug.

“I love you too, Y/N,” he whispers, his voice resolute. “Forever and always.”

╰☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆╮

You look at him, and he smirks. You kiss him on the lips, then his jaw, then his neck. He coos at the feeling. You sit up and pull off your tank top, laying back down. You stare into his eyes intently as you play with the waistline of your shorts. He goes to reach out for you, but you smack his hand away.

“Uh uh, take your clothes off.” “Yes, mam.” He stands up and rids himself of his own pajamas, now standing completely bare in front of you. “Lay.”

He does exactly as you say. You straddle his legs, running a finger down his length to tease him. Kneeling your upper body down, arch your ass into the air, and he smiles down at you. You grab him in your hand, running your thumb over his tip, smearing his precum. You drop a glob of spit down onto him. You lower your head onto him, beginning to bob up and down. He thrusts up into you at the sensation, and you remove your mouth from him.

“Uh uh, I’m in charge tonight, baby.”

He nods his head and throws his hands up in a mock surrender. You begin bobbing again, taking as much of him as you can, gagging on his huge length but taking him nonetheless. You run your hand that's not pumping him up and down his torso, scratching your nails on the way down. You hear his series of grunts and moans and feel the way he'd tense up trying to refrain from thrusting up.

He was getting close, and you could tell by the way he'd twitch in your throat. When his breathing started to hitch, you let him go and watched for his reaction. As he realizes his orgasm was lost, he opens his eyes to see you kneeling in front of him with a big smirk.

“Not fun being treated like shit, right?” You laugh, and he rolls his eyes but eventually laughs quietly. He goes to sit up, and you push him back into the pillow. You want to tease him as much as you can. You made up, but it's nice to give him a little taste of his own medicine.

You start making your way up him, taking a seat right below his chin. You push down into him and moan. You begin to ride his chest. Rafe always loved to eat you out, and you know having him this close to your pussy drives him crazy.

“Let me taste you.” Gripping his head, moving it up closer to your clit. “Tongue out.” He lays his tongue out flat, and you move a little closer to also ride his tongue. Using him like this feels so good since you'd usually let him take control.

Your movements quicken, digging your nails into the back of his head, and you crane his neck. You're getting close, and you don't plan on slowing down. You hold yourself up on the headboard, and your body twitches. Rafe moans into your clit, and your head throws back. You shake as you come, arousal sticking to his chest. You lift up a bit to his mouth, and he cleans up what's left.

You move back down to his waist. Licking the palm of your hand and reaching back to stroke him. His body jolts at the feelings. You line yourself up with him and sink down onto him. Your nails dig into his chest at the stretching. No matter how many times you do this, the feeling always has you shocked.

You settle on him for a second before you lift up and throw yourself back down onto him. Your pace is immediately quick. You bounce like there's no tomorrow. Taking control of him like this is so rewarding. The feeling is amazing, but you need more stimulation. You begin to grind, feeling his pelvic bone rub against you has seeing stars.

“Can I touch?” You nod, and Rafe's hands roam your body. You're driving him crazy tonight, but his touch is soft. Taking every inch of you in. You're an angel sent from heaven to him. You're both close, and you're getting tired. Rafe grabs your hips and keeps you moving. You lean down and begin to kiss him.

“Love you, baby doll. Forever and always.” You lean your forehead on his as you continue your movements. “Fuck, Rafe. I love you more. Forever and always.” You cry out with a high-pitched moan as you release your orgasm. Rafe follows right behind you, gripping your waist hard and letting out a bunch of grunts.

You lift off of Rafe but stay on top of him. You shift down a little, enough to be able to lay your head on his chest. Following the rise and fall of his heavy breaths and listen to his heart race, while he holds you tightly, leaving kisses on the top of your head. You could lay like that forever.

╰☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆╮

The next morning you and Rafe wake up still tangled up with one another. He’s dressed and doesn’t smell like sweat and sex anymore, which means he left at some point. It angers you a bit but you chose to let it go for now. You take a shower and come out of the bathroom to see Rafe flying V around the room like Superman. You’re downstairs having breakfast, really just talking to V trying to make her laugh. That fell into a bit of a silence.

“I took the deal.”

“What?”

“Last night, I took the deal. That’s why I was dressed. I know you noticed but didn’t say anything.”

Taken aback just a bit. You were still very nervous of what Hollis’s intentions were. But you said you’d be supportive no matter what. “Ok, so now what?”

“She sent the info to the investors. The deposit should come out at some point today. And now I’m in contract with them.”

“Did you read the fine print about murder if this thing goes wrong?”

He laughs at the outrageous statements and goes to reach for your hand. “Yes, I read the whole thing, no there isn’t anything about murder. Not sure it’s something they’d want in paper.”

You smile and grip his hand a little harder. You go to say something but he cuts you off, “after yesterday, after our talk, after last night (he winks and you giggle), I thought this was the best step for US.” I want to be taken seriously, I want to be a strong father for V. Then I saw a photo of me and Sarah and I thought about the things I did to her. How she hates my guts, how she looked at me yesterday. I can’t be that person anymore. I’m gonna do the right thing and this is a stepping stone in that. This is for our family. I know you always hated that I’d tried to treat you with gifts and money, but you’re stuck with me and what’s mine is yours. So get used to it.” He takes a deep breath and smiles at you.

You release his hand and walk to the other side of the table to sit on his lap. “Ok Rafe Cameron. I told you I’d be there with you the whole way. Anything you need I’ll help you. I’m not going anywhere this time.” You give him a big kiss on the cheek when your phone starts to vibrate.

You reach over and pick it up and JJ is yelling in the other side. “JJ calm down!”

“Sis I need you here right now. I’m alone and got this letter and I’m freaking out.”

“Okay, OKAY, I’ll come.” You hang up and turn back to Rafe. “Do you think you’d be ok for a few when I go handle something for my brother?

“I mean sure but I thought we’d celebrate.”

“Ok first rule of the “be a better man” journey is to know that when a sibling calls in distress saying they need you. They probably need you. That would’ve saved you a lot of trouble.”

Rafe looks at you with a blank stare. “Ok- go then. I’ve got V.” You’re shocked at the reaction. Not being able to tell if he was mad at it or not was difficult. You didn’t mean to throw in a little jab about the past. It’s just a good lesson for him to learn.

You lean down to give him a kiss. “I love you.” Looking deeply into his eyes. “Forever and always.” He returns back.

╰☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆ ☆☆╮

Meeting JJ at your old house feels strange. He’s standing in the living room, staring at a piece of paper and rubbing his head. He hadn’t explained anything on the phone, which left you uneasy, but seeing his disheveled state makes your anxiety spike.

“J? What’s going on? Where is everyone?” you ask, voice tight with worry.

“They’re out on the boat, taking care of Terrance’s body,” he mutters, barely looking up.

“Terrance? As in Cleo’s Terrance? What happened?”

JJ sighs, exhaustion lining his face. “Cleo got kidnapped. Terrance was involved but didn’t know who the target was. He tried to save her, and it got him killed. I’ll fill you in later, but I need you to read this.”

He hands you the letter. The first line catches your eye: “Master JJ Maybank. Don’t let that go to your head.” You laugh nervously, but JJ doesn’t even crack a smile.

“Genrette’s groundskeeper brought this to me,” he explains. “Said Genrette left it for me.”

The words on the letter blur as you try to piece together its meaning. “I think we need to find dad,” JJ say, your eyes dart back to him.

“Absolutely not. I’m not seeing him,” you snap.

“Good thing it’s not about you,” he counters. “He’s the only one who might have answers to whatever this is.”

JJ’s expression softens, and he nods reluctantly. “You’re right. Sorry. Any idea where he might be?”

“I have a hunch.”

Minutes later, you’re on JJ’s boat, slicing through the water toward Barracuda Mike’s house. When you arrive, Mike is in his yard fidgeting with a go kart, watching the approaching storm clouds.

“Hey, Big B, you know there’s a storm coming, right?” JJ calls out.

“Yeah, I see it,” Mike responds.

You hang back as JJ pleads with Mike for information on your dad’s whereabouts. Moments later, Mike sighs and mutters, “I’ll call you if Luke gets in touch.” Sending you both off to the dock.

JJ sets the phone on speaker as it rings. Luke’s familiar voice comes through, cautious and calculating, until he hears Mike’s dog bark in the background. Realization hits him too late.

“We gotta move,” JJ says, eyes wide. You both sprint back to the house and bang on the door. Mike steps out, irritation creasing his brow.

“Mike, I’ve got a daughter to get home to. Don’t waste my time with this bullshit,” you says, voice cracking under the strain.

“I’m a grandpa, huh?” Luke’s voice drips with smugness as he steps out, a twisted smile on his face. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“Actually, you’re not,” you retort coldly. “She’ll never know you exist.”

Luke’s smirk falters, replaced by a fleeting shadow of disappointment. “That’s no way to talk to your old man,” he says, trying and failing to sound fatherly.

JJ shifts protectively in front of you, confronting Luke about his sudden reappearance and silence. You take a step back to the dock, needing space to process. Pulling out your phone, you FaceTime Rafe and V for a distraction. Rafe’s face lights up with a grin.

“Hey, when are you coming back? I’ve got something to tell you,” he says.

Before you can respond, the sound of sirens fills the air, and you see JJ and Luke sprinting toward the boat.

“Shit,” you mutter, forgetting you’re still on the call. “I gotta go. Bye, V. Rafe, I’ll call you later.”

JJ jumps in the boat with Luke behind him. “Take me home on the way,” you tell JJ firmly as you climb aboard.

Luke glances at you. “So, you’re a mom?” he asks.

“Yes,” you reply flatly, not sparing him a look. “And don’t ask anything about her. You don’t deserve to know her.”

“It’s with that Cameron kid, isn’t it?” Luke chuckles, as if confirming a suspicion. “I always thought that’d happen—the way he used to sneak in and out of your window. And I knew that’s where you’d be when you disappeared. Good for you, little miss new Kook.”

You clench your jaw, holding back a response. As the boat nears your house, you quickly text Rafe: Home. Meet me at the dock.

When you hop off the boat, you wave to JJ as he drives him and Luke off. Rafe and V are already walking down to meet you. You pull them into a tight hug.

“So, what’s up?” you ask, sensing the weight in Rafe’s eyes.

“I’ve been thinking about everything,” Rafe begins. “I’m really sorry for all the shit at the beach. Pogue this, Pogue that. I shouldn’t have put you through that.”

“We’ve talked about this,” you say, tilting your head at him.

“I know,” he continues, “but I need to know we’re good. My dad was a Pogue; that shit doesn’t matter. What matters is I wanna be like him, hardworking and keeping this family together. I want to build things, be better, in my own way. I’m going to patch things up with my sister, and I want you there with me. When the deal with Hollis goes through, I’m keeping a piece for us. For the three of us.”

The thought of the deal makes you pause, the uncertainty gnawing at you. Rafe notices and takes your hand. “Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll make it work—you and me. I promise.”

He leans in and presses a soft kiss to your forehead. With that reassurance, the three of you head inside, ready to face whatever comes next.

TBC

Taglist:

@maybankslover @eringaitskill @luissa266 @lolll505

@dayyzlol @calaryssia @eg-dr3amer3 @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @rafestar @bigbonenative

@writtenbyhollywood @livie4lifestarkeyblyth @leilanizcals

[all-pacas]

while house was planned ahead to a certain extent - rumors of the dibala plot first surfacing in the middle of s5, the slow burn of house's s5 breakdown, the rampup of cameron and chase's relationship from s3-5 and so on - and some things seem reasonably inevitable (it makes perfect sense for a series loosely inspired by sherlock holmes to end with house faking his death) - it's also clear that a lot of things were made up on the fly, right?

an easy example of foreman becoming dean of medicine: entertainment/cast interviews at the time made it clear that lisa edelstein's leaving was unexpected, and that edi gathegi (cole) was in talks to resume his role as dean in s8, before shore landed on foreman as a cuddy replacement. or even the beloved-by-fans plot twist of chase md, which was pretty clearly intended for foreman in s1-5 and only became inevitable in s8. but there's some other things, too: cameron's abrupt mid-series departure, adams's s8 sidelining when the show started to wrap up, thirteen's long absences due to olivia wilde's schedule. it's a credit to how well written the show is that these things tend to feel natural, but... we know (from cast/writer interviews) they weren't.

there's some other things, too. the show was written and filmed in chunks of 6 or so episodes at a time, leading to multiple self-contained plot arcs but few to no season long threads. the show has almost no foreshadowing that isn't (and i mean this affectionately) fans doing a lot of heavy lifting to explain: lots of plots and mini-arcs come out of nowhere and leave just as quickly, vogler being a classic example. it's a great show! but it wasn't that tightly or well planned. kutner's death is another example: while the writers might have intended on some darker storyline for him, everyone is pretty clear that his death was also a way to get kal penn off the show and into the white house. the camchase marriage/divorce also smacks of hasty writing -- why spend so much time on a wedding if we're never going to see cameron again, you know?

and so i'm honestly very curious about what the show would have looked like if it had been planned. if the ending -- cameron and cuddy leaving, foreman as dean, thirteen gone, chase md -- HAD been planned from the start, if the entire show was working towards the s8 finale as aired, how would the show be changed? because i think it would be changed. and in some really interesting ways. just offhand:

if chase was always meant to be the new house, then we need to take out all the instances of him being uninterested in diagnostics (eg, telling cameron she was always the one of the two of them who liked the department), and probably have him move on less totally/successfully in s4-5 -- given him an arc about wanting back on the team, of still wanting to be around house.

if cameron was always meant to leave, she shouldn't have her Dean Cameron arc, she shouldn't spend so long lingering on house. really, you probably should switch her and chase's s4-5 storylines entirely: maybe have her cool on house as early as s2 and stay out of what she feels to be obligation, despite itching to move on.

if foreman was supposed to be dean, then i think his disagreements with house should be less about how similar they are and think, and more about principle: have him be the rat character (instead of chase), have him be a rule stickler, not someone who usually thinks he is above them. give him cameron's arc of befriending cuddy and serving as her number two; have him try to leave the team and not spend most of the series as house's #2.

[markantonys]

3x08 thoughts! full book spoilers

my reaction when the credits started rolling was "oh.........that's it?" which is not the best feeling for a season finale to leave you on! it was a good episode with some great moments, but as i'd feared, they left themselves with WAY too much to wrap up, with the result that it all felt rushed and cramped and not particularly satisfying. in the first 2 seasons, i said that the 8-episode model was just the right amount of time to tell the story, and i stand by that. with this season, it wasn't enough, and it's not just the fault of the model but just as much the fault of the writers who should have been more realistic about the limits of 8 episodes and not tried to cram in so much. obviously the main 4 plots of the waste, the two rivers, tanchico, and the tower all had to make it in, but within that i think there was some bloat and dragged-out stuff that could've been trimmed back. (especially considering that they planned for an entire episode dedicated to rhuidean and an entire episode dedicated to the two rivers battle: good choices that let those events shine, but it means that the tanchico-based characters, for example, only even APPEAR in 6 out of 8 episodes and in most of those 6 they're relegated to the B or C or D plot, so no wonder their plotline felt so underbaked; if they were going to devote 2 episodes to single events, they needed to be more merciless about trimming out bloat in the other 6 episodes.)

now for the episode itself. i'll start with the white tower. personally i don't mind siuan's death, but i understand why people are upset. now i can retroactively say that @butterflydm was 100% right on the money in speculating that the reason they jumped the gun on cramming elayne & avi together so fast was not for any story reason, but rather for the out-of-world reason of wanting to establish that there will still be a big canon wlw ship even after one half of moiraine/siuan exited the stage.

as for how this might affect the story going forward, i originally had a whole theory here of "what if salidar is cut and there's no schism & rebel breakoff faction, just bubbling discontentment with elaida's rule, and egwene just gets kidnapped straight into the tower and becomes amyrlin from there?" but then i saw that rafe confirmed there is a cut scene of leane, verin, and ryma heading off with a group of other aes sedai to found salidar, so scratch that whole theory haha we are indeed still getting salidar and the rebels. but he said that the scene had them planning to gather "on the shores of the river where siuan was born", which means the rebel base will likely be moved to tear in the show.

if this cut scene was planned for s3, that seems to imply there is not going to be a tower battle and it was simply some sisters voluntarily leaving. we'll see how it plays out in s4, but min's viewing about a battle in the tower could very well be the future seanchan attack rather than the coup battle. i wouldn't mind that since a coup battle could feel repetitive with the 3x01 tower battle, but it does make me curious how gawyn's arc might play out since the coup battle was a pivotal moment for him in the books (though the show hasn't set up for that at all, so we're probably looking at a pretty new arc for him regardless, at least in the short-term).

off to tanchico. nynaeve's block breaking scene was wonderful, but outside of that, it feels like this poor crew was just off on a sidequest all season and didn't accomplish much. mat's doorway trip was fun but felt like a random sidenote in a packed episode, and now that the season is over i can firmly say that mat did not get a satisfying season-long arc and it felt like he was just There most of the time. his memories were his driving trigger for the season but they weren't brought up basically at all between 3x03 and him asking to get rid of them in the doorway, which makes them feel more like a plot device than something that was actively impacting him season-long. there was big setup for the mat-nynaeve dynamic in the early episodes, but it fizzled out in the back half and nothing meaningful came of it and nynaeve didn't get to do anything to help mat like she'd promised. it absolutely feels like mat just got plot-deviced out of the waste storyline because they wanted rand to feel isolated, rather than because leaving that storyline actually contributed anything to MAT'S story. they say they like to vary up the relationship dynamics season to season, but once again it's a whole season of mat-min with each of them only getting brief interactions with elayne and nynaeve. i need mat and min to get separated next season oh my god i loved their vibe in s2 but i am tired of it now! please don't do a third season of it! let them hang out with other people for once! YES i am VERY bitter over min being the one to take over the cauthor cpr lmao (and of course the second mat's cpr-giver is switched to a woman you have several people going "wait are they setting up a romance here?" when none of them said so when rand was the one doing it in the book version! though thankfully the show itself continues to remain firm in the platonic nature of mat & min even if heteronormative viewers are constantly desperate to read romance there. oh how i mourn a vision of cauthor cpr with show!mat being like "wow rand if you wanted to kiss me you could've just asked" because you know show!mat would 100% say that to rand as well haha)

we'll see what they do with liandrin, but i wish she'd been killed off this season. she was a great early-series villain, but has now overstayed her welcome for me and i wish she'd gotten cleared off the stage. i don't mind ending this plotline on a loss with the collar & bracelets winding up in the bad guys' hands (i'd been expecting it), but if we'd at least vanquished liandrin and left moggy as the new big bad, that would have helped this plotline feel like it got more resolution and like it accomplished something. nynaeve breaking her block, while a wonderful scene, wasn't enough to carry the full narrative climax of this entire season-long plotline (especially since there wasn't REALLY that much setup for her breaking her block, just the one line from the seafolk about how her problem is not being able to let go and go with the flow, though i do like that they used that metaphor to set up for her water-based block breaking scene). then again, there literally wasn't TIME for liandrin to get vanquished because they had too much to do this episode.

as i'd speculated a while back, elayne casually mentioned gaebril to thom and he was like "um who the fuck?" and so now elayne knows that a forsaken is holding power in caemlyn. nice! this was a great way to justify thom's return to the story: he contributes something important that only he could contribute, because his history with the trakand family helps point our gang towards the whereabouts of a forsaken.

caemlyn is now teed up to be a big focus in s4, so i would expect that resolution to come next season, unless something happens to significantly delay elayne, but as of now, she's primed to have helping her mom & country as Priority #1. she also has a balefire rod in her possession, which could lead to her being the one to balefire rahvin instead of rand. i definitely want elayne to take part in defeating rahvin, but i hope rand can still be involved in some capacity! and as much as i like the idea of elayne doing the balefiring, i would be soooooo sad if yet another iconic cauthor (& avirand) moment (rand being so distraught over their deaths that he reverses time to save them) was taken from me haha i will have to hope that elayne, rand, avi, and mat can all be involved and i can get some kind of avimatrandlayne rights out of it, however the specifics might turn out.

over to the waste. rand picking the squashes to meet his toh to alsera!!!! but i think i groaned out loud when it was egwene who came to see him in that moment instead of aviendha lmao i am SO disappointed that we didn't get any avirand interaction this episode! they were completely shafted in favor of randgwene & randfear during their own Main Storyline and i don't think i'll ever get over it, though i hope s4 can bring them some good stuff to semi make up for it (like, i wasn't expecting any out-and-out romance between them for s3 once it became clear that randgwene was lingering, but at least stronger relationship development and a deeper emotional connection by the end of the season than what we got). i'd hoped we would get a nice moment this episode to tie off their arc of rand proving himself to avi*, but instead all we get is avi telling egwene about what a terrible partner rand would make for anyone. okay. cool. We Who Know can interpret this as avi trying to dissuade herself from rand as much as trying to dissuade egwene, but to the show-only audience, it accomplishes nothing but throwing them even further off the scent of avirand (which they were never on to begin with because nothing in this season sets up for it unless you already know it's coming) and therefore making it so that they'll be even more bewildered when avirand starts becoming a thing.

(*we DID see avi willingly kneeling to him as car'a'carn, so we can conclude that she accepts him now, but i would've liked a more personal acceptance moment between them one-on-one too. maybe next season. also, her wonder when he made it rain was very sweet <3)

this season has really been hammering on how rand probably isn't in a place where he should date anyone thanks to his destiny etc, so idk how they're going to swerve into him joining a polycule (and a polycule with his messy-breakup-ex's BFF + a woman who knows all about the messy breakup and disparaged rand to egwene about it). so far, they're making it a lot harder for themselves than it needed to be, and my impression that avirandlayne development/seed-planting is getting sacrificed in favor of beating the randgwene dead horse and that it feels like the show cares a lot more about randgwene than about avirandlayne still remains strong after having seen the whole season.

but now time to link this wonderful josha interview! it contains full season spoilers and full book spoilers, because he is a spoiler-loving king who never makes any attempt to censor himself. one of the things he says here in response to whether rand has closed himself off from love after randfear and randgwene is along the lines of "i think he doesn't trust himself to love again, but i know he will do so anyway because it's just who he is" and then he talks about how in the books it's rand's capacity for love that ultimately helps him win. josha's answer is talking about love in general and not necessarily romantic love, but regardless, very very sweet answer that shows his deep understanding of the character and gives me hope for getting well-done avirandlayne in the future! my other two favorite parts of the interview were 1) the reveal that all the "what does the prophecy say?" dialogue in the alsera scene was not scripted and josha came up with it himself and 2) he says Definitely Mat as the ta'veren boy who's the best at talking to girls jdkfjgh extremely randcore to always think mat is The Best Ever and go "well of course mat is the best at talking to girls!" when mat has spent the entire show trying and failing to get laid. i'm going to take my crumb of a cauthor right wherever i can find it since i barely got any in the season!

okay, back to the episode. i loved all of rand's stuff! his confrontation with lanfear where he finally gets to push back on her narrative was A+, i loved his conversation with moiraine, and of course his alcair dal moments were wonderful and he looked very sexy in that sleeveless shirt with the tattoos out. his rain channeling was so beautiful!! again, i do feel like we might be hammering on the "soul of fire, heart of stone" stuff and whatnot a little too much too soon considering that rand still has to be in a good enough headspace to form two whole new romantic relationships, but we DO see a contrast with him very calm and in control of himself, despite egwene's worry, compared to the more unhinged moments he'd had earlier in the season, so hopefully going into s4 he'll be in a place where he's more emotionally stable yet also not so Cold And Hard yet that he's not open to new love. (though ending randgwene on such an ominous and mistrustful note is going to make it a haaaaard sell to the audience that elayne & avi can wind up dating rand and that won't be doing egwene wrong or anything. but if there's a timeskip, maybe we can pick up with rand & egwene getting along better and being friendly, even if there's still a distance between them. still, i wish they'd gotten to clear the air a LITTLE bit during the squash scene while they had a chance to talk one-on-one.)

egwene didn't really have anything in the finale. not mad about it since she had such a big time to shine in s2 and was naturally going to take a backseat in s3, but it does feel like her s3 story was exclusively rand-centric and like she could have gotten more For Herself if they'd just broken up in 3x01.

not much for avi either, very sad about that since i'd hoped the show would give me more on her TSR character arc than the books did, not less. but they are unfortunately hampered by TV's stricter (compared to books) Cast Tiers, i think; story-wise, i'd say avi should be the third most important character in the TSR waste story after rand and moiraine, or even arguably above moiraine for #2, but in the show, rand, moiraine, lan, and egwene are all a Character Tier above avi and so they have to have a bigger role than her even if the story of returning to her homeland and people naturally calls for her more than it calls for some of them.

lan got his conclusion with melindhra as expected, not much to say on that. i like that they made it so that melindhra genuinely IS loyal to him and malkier and feels bad enough about it to betray her dark oaths, rather than keeping it as a full betrayal.

and finally, the moiraine vs. lanfear fight, which got hyped up big time but then ended in a draw, so i did feel pretty edged! like liandrin, this is a place where i raise my eyebrow over characters seeming to overstay their narrative welcome. are they setting up for the doorway confrontation to happen next season, or are they planning to alter the story and keep moiraine and/or lanfear around longer than they were in the books? i don't care for either option as much as i would have for them simply doorway-ing each other or otherwise finishing each other off in this episode. because if it's option #1, then we spent a whole season building up a conflict that we're just going to have to repeat the buildup for again next season (though if lanfear is now fully at odds with our gang rather than precarious allies with both moiraine & lanfear, that might help it feel different enough). if it's option #2, moiraine is going to continue eating up screentime and narrative importance that needs to be going to rand and the other kids at this stage in the story. she was a great character to center the early story around, but i'm sorry, she has to go in order to create space for the kids to leave the nest and come into their own. although, i wouldn't be mad if she stayed on as rand's permanent advisor and cadsuane was cut (but that doesn't feel likely given all the cadsuane namedropping; but maybe cadsuane could appear but in a different role/storyline) since cadsuane basically does nothing but be a walmart knockoff moiraine, so i suppose we could just keep moiraine - but only if they let her step fully back into the role of a secondary character, which is unlikely since rosamund is the biggest name in the cast and they'd probably want to give her a primary role as long as she's in the show. so i don't know, i feel like we do need to fully exit moiraine at some point, but we shall see.

oh also, sammael died! i completely forgot lmao rip my dude! it feels kinda wasteful to introduce a whole forsaken only to kill him immediately when there's only 8 of them to go around in the first place (now down to 6), but moggy offing him IS a great way of showing just how divided the forsaken are, so if sammael's death can help bulk up the surviving forsaken into even bigger threats, then no harm no foul.

ann ogbomo never appeared, so either she had a scene that ended up getting cut, or wotseries was wrong on her being part of the show (which would be mildly surprising since i don't think they've ever wrongly said that an actor was part of the show before, but when it comes to leaks there's always risk of course). so much for the theory of a semirhage finale stinger scene! we'll have to keep waiting to see when she and the seanchan might enter the stage.

i do have solid hopes for a cauthor reunion in s4! i'd thought they could begin a seanchan invasion of tanchico and leave it open-ended if mat escapes or not and then make that decision in 4x01 according to whether they need to follow the long or short model for the show, but now mat is firmly on a ship with the others headed off to their next destination. there could always be time for the ship to get intercepted or mat otherwise separated from the group, but for now it feels safe to assume that mat is sticking with them, and i find it the most likely that they will meet up with rand's group in tear (to warn rand about the collar and/or to hunt moggy & liandrin who are hunting rand). caemlyn is also a Desired Destination for them of course, but i'd think elayne would want to lie low, gather information, and come up with a plan first, and tear would be a good place to do that since she has a trusted family friend there (per 3x01).

in addition, if the location of the rebel base is moved over to tear, then that puts another Character Group in that area and is all the more reason (out-of-world) for nynaeve & co to definitely be headed there (since whether they follow their book plot of linking up with the rebels or a show-only plot of linking up with rand & co, it's in the same general area and so they could probably hang out with both groups if desired).

this seems to leave us with 3 major locations for s4: tear (rand & co, nynaeve & co, rebels); caemlyn (morgase & rahvin, elayne eventually, maybe perrin & co for his trial plotline?); the white tower (elaida & co)

hopefully, if we get more condensation of Story Groups, then s4 won't feel stretched as thin as s3 did. 3 main groups would be more manageable than 4, even if it's still a lot of characters within each group.

random mat notes since he's apparently the character whose s4 story i'm most concerned with haha (and s4 should be his time to get his Focal Episode anyway!):

rafe confirmed on instagram that they have plans for the band of the red hand. couladin escaped alive (rather than being killed by rand at alcair dal as a couple people had speculated). hopefully, this will lead to mat rejoining rand's plotline, taking part in the battle against the shaido, and forming the band. this would be a wonderful choice of event to center a Focal Mat Episode around, if you ask me!

mat got his medallion for sure, and i missed it but eagle-eyed viewers pointed out that he got the ashandarei too and that's what he's hanging off of. however, he has not gotten his prophecies - will there be a second doorway trip in store for him, or will his prophecies simply not be in the show? i wouldn't mind either way. they did show a good number of doorways in the finn realm that i'm guessing each correspond to one in the real world, so they've given themselves freedom to stick another IRL doorway anywhere they want in addition to the tanchico & white tower ones we've already seen.

then there's the question of mat's memories. he starts with too many memories and ends up with not enough, which is the opposite of his book progression, so i'm puzzled for now, but will wait and see what they're planning to do with this. but i'd been so glad the show had avoided mat losing some of his own memories because that makes me too sad, so i'm heartbroken that that's now the case after all and even more heartbroken because i'm guessing the show might make him forget important things that will make me sad! vs. the books just telling us that mat has holes in his memory but he never actually seems to be missing anything important. at least he clearly remembers min and their relationship even if he forgets how he got where he is, so hopefully that means his memories of his friends and loved ones will be more or less intact and it'll just be little snippets missing here and there. if he forgets his sisters i swear-

update: i just saw a good theory that the finn interpreted mat's problem as having too many memories for one person and "fixed" him by taking away enough memories to leave him with a normal amount of memories, but said normal amount is just a mix between horn & his own memories, and the amount they took away was likewise an indiscriminate mix. i buy that! if so, that means we don't need to do any more Mat Memory Fuckery, just adjust to the fact that he's lost some memories from his own life in addition to some of the unwanted horn memories.

okay, that's all the initial thoughts off the top of my head. this episode was fine, but in my eyes, 2x08 was unquestionably a better season finale and a better hour of television and i'm baffled by all the readers who hated on 2x08 so hard and are now saying 3x08 is the best finale episode by far. what standards are you using to judge that? definitely not the same ones i'm using! heck, i'd even heretically say that 1x08 is in some ways a better season finale than 3x08 since every main character (well, bar mat and lan for real-world production issue reasons) got a moment to shine and a meaningful conclusion to their season-long character arc, everything had enough time to breathe, and no character or storyline felt like an afterthought. but, of course, it's just inherently easier to construct a Season Finale when all the characters are in one location participating in different aspects of one big event together, and maybe that's the very thing i'm subconsciously picking up on when i say that 3x08 didn't feel as cohesive or as well-paced as other finales.

the good news is that TSR is one if not THE densest book in the series, so hopefully future seasons will have an easier time managing to fit everything they want to include inside the 8-episode structure.

[raayllum]

Was originally going to do a screencaps post but then it was getting a little unwieldy so here's a short meta post about Callum's story to Ezran in 7x09, specifically how it pertains to Callum's broader character arc in arc 2 and the show's narrative as a whole.

So we start out with an easily accessible, likely drawn from life sibling scenario. (I too, for example, had a beloved toy accidentally adjacently broken by a sibling.) This also ties us into 4 important things, however:

The game and toy motif, primarily present surrounding Aaravos and the key, as well as other objects of note this season (i.e. Ezran holding onto the elf toy from 1x04 at his angriest in 7x03 and 7x09).

Reaffirmation of Callum's tendency to get fixated on / emotionally attached to objects (old meta on it here).

In the scenario, while we don't whether Ezran was 'at fault' (he was a Baby lmao) the harm caused was. This parallels Rayla's absence and return in S4, as Callum states, "And she messed [things] up" with himself being the party not at fault ("I was so mad" in 4x05 & 7x09)

The concept / theme, to varying literal degrees, of something being broken, whether in people, relationships, or the continent itself (bigger meta on that here):

This is reaffirmed further in what Aanya says to Ezran on the bridge in 7x03:

I know it hurts right now, Ezran. But you need to know that you and Callum are not broken. The both of you will heal one day. You’re brothers. It’s okay to be angry, and it’s okay to be sad.

However, the toy isn't really a metaphor for their relationship. Callum doesn't say that it was mended, or if it even could be. He moves on instead to what their mother told him, which likewise echoes what Aanya says:

Again, there's a reaffirmation of needing to feel, and letting yourself feel, the bad emotions. Anger is not inherently bad and sometimes we need to be angry, even or especially at our siblings. Like Aanya, Callum, and Sarai say, it's okay to be angry and to be sad. But — as we see Karim and Janai are unable to come back from ("all you do is look at me with contempt!") — you can't let the feelings stick. You have to let them go.

Harrow's heart burned with anger (3x06); Ezran has fire in his eyes as he hears Runaan out; and Aaravos wants to set the world on fire. But anger cannot — or should not — last forever... because what is left for you afterwards?

The other implicit message is Callum and Sarai knowing, and now communicating to Ezran, that however much he loved that toy "more than anything in the world," it ultimately meant nothing in comparison to his brother.

CALLUM: You're my brother, and you mean everything to me. (2x06)

CALLUM: I'm sorry, Ezran. I can't be your High Mage anymore... but I'll always be your brother. (7x02)

This is also, in many ways, how Callum frames his relationship with Rayla once he learns to forgive her as well. He knows that he needs her (implicitly) and that they're a team; he reaffirms "it was always her" much the same way he knows he will "always be [Ezran's] brother". His bonds of love are strong and can weather any storm; he still wants them in his life, and will always want them and need them.

This raises an interesting concept to Aaravos, who is deeply hurt and angry at his family (the other First Elves), referring to himself as "their dark brother" (TDP shorts, Patience). He wants them to suffer, and he wants them to hurt... but is there any other way forward? Is there any hope of forgiveness, or reconciliation? He clearly believes that they can never change unless through force... but what if they could? What if they could be brothers again, the same way that Callum ("there is great affinity between your brother and I [...] he understands the need for compromise") and Ezran are?

It'd also tie into Claudia and Soren's sibling dynamic, as their mother counselled a similar message to Sarai: "that my brother and I needed each other."

If Callum and Ezran coming together can represent the continent, and Aaravos + the Cosmic Council, and Soren and Claudia one day coming back together, too.

[afinestoutlove]

things i love about heartstopper 17/?

Oh my god the communication. These kids are doing better than most people my age and I love it. Yeah, I know it's idealistic but that's the point, that's why it's great. It shows us what's possible, without having all the characters be perfect.

Because the thing is, they don't always get it right. There wouldn't be much plot if they did (although I would literally watch a whole series of them just communicating effectively and having fun together). There are challenges, and some characters are better at it than others because even in this idealistic world, the characters are all so human. Charlie literally says he hates being honest about his feelings, and he consistently tries to hide things from people in a way that's hugely self-destructive. Darcy hides their abusive family until they reach a major crisis point. Elle doesn't tell Tao she got into Lambert. Nick doesn't tell Charlie he wants to go to Leeds. Tara doesn't really let people see how stressed she is until she has a literal panic attack. Tao lashes out at people in a way that, with other people, could end his friendships.

But, even when they fuck up, they (eventually) talk about it (well, we know Nick will in S4). They talk about things that are hard, even if they have to be forced to it by a crisis point. They do it kindly. They apologise when they get it wrong, or are unkind.

And it's also super important when they listen to each other. Talking is important, but it's only half of communication. Tao, Charlie, and Darcy are all prime examples of people who needed to learn to hear what people are telling them - that they're lovable and loved, deeply cared for. They each did self-destructive and potentially relationship-damaging things because they wouldn't hear that, and they all had to learn.

Another super important element, especially for a teen show (although plenty of adults I know could learn from it) is that they actively demonstrate healthy consent (and also what consent isn't - Ben and Charlie are the obvious examples of that). "How about while I walk you home we talk a bit more about what you're comfortable with?" This is so good. And it shows that consent can be complicated and also how to deal with those complications. Throughout, we see various characters checking in that things are okay. We see them listening, and noticing more than verbal communication. "That didn't sound very sure." This is the kind of ongoing, caring, attentive communication that is key to consent (and not just around sex either).

Where was this energy in the media that was around when I was a teenager?! Bad communication was so romanticised and it really screwed us up! Everyone my age needed to see this idealised approach to communication so badly, we're all scrambling around trying to figure out how to do it in our 30s and 40s.

I'm so damn glad my kids are seeing this and getting an idea of how they can talk about hard things too. Not just romance and sex but friendship and emotions and navigating this shitshow of a world.

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ Day 13: El's Letters vs. Will's Drawings . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Got this suggestion from @petrichor102, and I genuinely think this parallel is very intentional.

It's insane, insane that they actually included the fact that Mike doesn't visibly keep anything to do with El in his room throughout the show. This would probably be normal enough if it wasn't for El doing the exact opposite.

Her room in S4 is a great example of this, because we literally get full shots of El's room, and specifically her whole self-made box for him which shows just how much she has kept from Mike (pictures of him, his letters etc).

THEN straight after, we get a full shot of Mike's room, almost as if it's to show how different their attitudes are towards this relationship. They show you shots of both their rooms back-to-back for a reason.

We also get the record scratch moment, where Mike literally crumples up this letter that he's reading. Yeah, he's in a rush, but they really didn't need to do this.

This is further done again when we get a very clear shot of Mike crumpling up the LAST LETTER he could ever get from El and throwing it in the trash. We get a full on separate camera shot of it landing in the trash, it's clearly supposed to be something that the audience has to take note of. Later on, the military people find it in the trash, but the writers didn't have to make Mike throw it in there to make them find it.

He's sitting here thinking:

Me and my girlfriend are probably going to break up, she gave me a note that she's off to do something dangerous and has thrown my words back in my face. This note is so important to me that I just keep on staring at it.

Then Will says something about how the note will never change, and that there's no point in staring at it for so long. With that simple sentence, Mike BALLS IT UP and THROWS it in the trash.

It's a very interesting scene to me because he clearly has cared about this note and it's so important to him that he keeps on looking at it in the morning after she gave it to him. BUT only one thing said from Will and he just decides to commit to throwing it away. He could have kept it but just stopped looking at it, or he could have left it lying around, instead they made him throw it away as if forever.

ALSO at this point, they aren't actually planning on finding El. Jonathan, Will and Mike actually plan on going to Hawkins straight after this scene, so they have no plans to find her themselves right now. So he doesn't just throw it away because he'll see her again soon. IN FACT when Will reminds him after he throws it away that he will see her again, he gets really weird and quiet:

So he just treats their relationship so weirdly here. This is an 'I'm not going to revisit this' commitment. It's like he doesn't want to think about what she's angry about anymore, so when Will reminds him that he'll eventually have to say 'I love you', he's a little surprised.

Read this post for more development on that front.

In Comparison to El's Letters...

This is how Mike treats Will's drawings in S1 when he thinks that he'll never see him again:

Instead of having a 'book of letters', he has a binder of Will's drawings. Also instead of crumpling them up (can't believe I have to say that), Mike gently caresses them 😭

Of course, that's just S1, but in S4, this kind of contrast is also apparent if you look closely.

I've already talked about the contrast between El and Mike's rooms because Mike has nothing of El's anywhere in his room, but there's also the matter that Mike has Will's drawings on his notice board and still has them all over his basement walls. Yikes.

(Also some people have suggested that this binder under Mike's bed is the same binder that he has in S1, though it's not obvious. Would be interesting to have it symbolically buried under his bed though)

So what if Will's drawings are still on Mike's notice board? That's just meaningless details right?

The other things on his notice board are also actually clues to what are going to happen this season as well, so it's not far-fetched to think that Will's drawings being on there mean something too.

All of these pics are obtained from @/nataliaslovebot on tiktok btw :)

So YEAH, I think the evidence is OVERWHELMING here that Mike doesn't value El's letters as much as she does. When he's away from her, he feels less pressure to keep up the image of a happy couple and can be himself, unlike when he arrives in Cali where he instantly shifts behaviour. Having the image of a 'perfect' couple where one of them is overly obsessed with the other while one of them is negligent is never ever a sign of an endgame couple.

PLEASEEE LEAVE SUGGESTIONS BELOW FOR MORE POSTS :))

[eliotquillon]

What do you think about the relationship between the ducklings with cuddy & wilson

taking ducklings to just mean the original gang, here. anyway. oh my god i actually have another use for the flowchart i made for my friend group’s niche powerpoint night (wherein i attempted to speedrun an explanation of house, duh):

as you can see on my handy dandy diagram, there’s a pretty big divide between the fellows and the ‘adults’ (specifically wilson and cuddy). i think it was @all-pacas who pointed out the one-way system between the adults and the fellows, wherein the adults are allowed to peer down but rarely engage with the fellows’ drama directly, so i won’t rehash that because her explanation is great and also i’m running on not a lot of sleep atm (it is deadline season). so let’s move onto the individuals.

i’ve talked about cameron’s relationship with wilson before: not really friends, but definitely more than just distant colleagues (which is essentially what wilson is to chase; they get basically zero scenes together until after cameron leaves lol). so i’ll skim over that because that post was pretty long and there’s no way i’ll rephrase it better over here (i’ll drop a link in the replies if i have time). moving on…cuddy and cameron is interesting, because they butt heads not that infrequently in s2 and 3; i’m thinking specifically of cuddy’s general eyeroll reaction to articlegate here, and also cameron’s massive wave of irritation at cuddy trying to intervene during camchase fwb era, but there are definitely way more examples i’m just not remembering specifics about. i think, on the whole, this is mostly because a) cameron and cuddy have pretty dominant, not entirely dissimilar personalities that clash when put together closely, and b) cameron in general really chafes at being judged/told what to do by anyone who isn’t house. absolutely hilarious to me that cameron gets invited to her baby naming ceremony but tbh the pettiness drops off pretty sharply after s3 so maybe they do make water cooler small talk in the background. for everyone’s dignity i will not properly acknowledge the weird ‘does cameron still have feelings for house uwu’ thing cuddy tries to investigate during saviors, because if i think about that episode too long i start twitching and i think it smells fear, but like. that is also a thing, for like five whole seconds. although to be clear if cameron parallels any of house’s other love interests it is stacy (in the grand camchase reenactment of house/stacy). anyway i do appreciate that cuddy is one of the few people who cameron drops the mask with and isn’t actively trying to win over. but also you know what i’m like. i want everyone to be friends and frolic in a field together and i do think cameron and cuddy’s friction is a leeetle bit suspicious (misogyny) when they’re the only main female characters for the first three seasons. but i digress.

onto chase: as previously discussed, he and wilson do Not Talk until cameron leaves. i’m pretty sure they don’t have a solo scene at all until private lives but please don’t quote me on that. and this…makes sense to me. wilson and chase are very different—not in a ‘ooo fight about it’ way but just in a ‘they’d have nothing to really talk about or bond over besides house’ way, yknow? wilson is hyperinvested in his patients. chase really doesn’t gaf outside of notable exceptions (usually children or nuns). and unlike with cameron, chase doesn’t spend anywhere near enough time with wilson for proximity to create any kind of fondness. i’m sure it’s cordial, and i am fond of the idea of them working together with cameron to Gaslight House at the start of s4, but that’s about it. as for cuddy and chase: pretty much the same? i mean chase doesn’t really have a problem with shrugging and going ‘lol not my problem’ to cuddy whenever she tries to rope him and cameron back in to deal with house in s4 and s5, but that’s not personal to cuddy, it’s more about his #boundaries era with house. and chase is like…infamously a kissass. cuddy does specifically say to house in human error that chase is a good doctor (she’s really the one harassing him to un-fire chase), and she clearly liked him enough to give him a position in the surgery department after he left diagnostics, so clearly he has made a decent impression on her…but that’s not really about chase as a person. i think cuddy likes him, and chase is kind of ambivalent about her, but like. even if she were not dean of medicine i can’t really see them hanging out. yknow?

saved the best for last: FOREMAN. i love that we see foreman calling out wilson’s bullshit in the pilot. one of my favourite gags in lines in the sand is foreman’s half hearted wave of acknowledgement when wilson walks in and sees them all ddxing in his office. it’s so cheeky. obviously it must kill house to have to answer to foreman in s8 but yknow what i bet it killed WILSON just as much. ultimate passive aggression vs straight up aggression-off. i think they both die inside at the knowledge that, by s5 at least, they’re the ones best equipped to deal with house’s nonsense but equally i think wilson is secretly thrilled that foreman stands up to house all the time. they’re so frenemies coded. and as for foreman and CUDDY…they crack me up sometimes. i love love their powerplay with each other at the start of s4. i love seeing cuddy relish in dangling promotion over him and then yanking it away in s2. in another life this could’ve been such a great forbidden ship dynamic. as the kids say, she is just always clocking his tea. i so wish she could’ve given foreman the telling off of his life about his misadventures with the huntington’s trial. foreman is just so allergic to Not Having conflict it tickles me!

[searchingforglendowerwithleah]

so im following you for trc mainly, but i did used to watch 911 too (this was long before bucktommy even happened and i stopped somewhere around s4) so i really have no context for the current drama taking place. i am curious though - why are people so unhappy with bucktommy? is it just cause most people are buddie shippers or is there something else? not trying to stir the pot or anything im honestly just curious

Bahahah omg sorry to my TRC people I have been actually going off the rails about 9-1-1.

Ok so I am definitely a Buddie stan however, my most prominent reason I don’t like Tommy is his behaviour in Season 2 (in case you forgot Tommy is in Hen Begins, Chimney Begins and Bobby Begins Again having been apart of the 118 before Buck joins). In these episodes Tommy is very antagonistic to Hen and Chimney with some hella racist and sexist moments. HE LITERALLY REFERS TO CHIMNEY AS THE DELIVERY GUY. Whilst not nearly as bad as Gerrard he is not at all likeable (or interesting). This behaviour is pretty much shrugged under the rug when Tommy is randomly brought back to the show 5 seasons later as a love interest for Buck.

Tommy also seems to not really undertand Buck. The best example is Chimney’s bachelor party when he doesn’t get dressed up with Buck for the 80s theme Buck planned. And then Eddie literally plans to do a couples costume with Buck in comparison. Not to mention at said bachelor party Buck and Eddie are all over each other (watch that ep ‘There Goes the Groom’ if you want a comparison in chemistry).

Frankly I think a lot of people just got hot and heated over Buck kissing a guy and that immediate gratification became a vehicle for the ship to gain popularity. There is no care for the romance. I’m not going to get into some of the politics of the fandom fights however there has definitely been some xenophobic attitudes towards Eddies character and just the Eddie hatred from Bucktommy fans is super weird. There is way more stuff surrounding this and in general just examples of Bucktommy being a bad ship and Tommy being condescending. Him calling Buck Evan, getting him basketball tickets when he hates basketball, low key pressuring him to come out.

I’m not apart of the community so my input here probably isn’t that comprehensive but I think the conversation around queerbaiting is notable. Bucktommy kind of feels like a bandaid on the queerbaiting allegations surround Buddie. The show notably has lots of representation but none of the queer ships are between two main characters. Like no the most popular fanon ship can’t become canon but you can have this half assed ship. Although in the long run I do think Buck coming out as bisexual first and having this relationship is a great potential segway to Buddie, especially if they pull of Eddies repression storyline.

Buck and Eddie out of the main cast have had the most tumultuous record of relationships. None of their relationships feel important compared to the other relationships because they aren’t paired with other main characters so they aren’t as pivotal to the story overall. All of the other MC’s (I’m talking like the MAIN CAST) are paired up with other MC’s. This excludes Hen and Karen (with Karen technically being reoccurring) however, their relationship is notably pre established.

It is so clear to me that Tommy is a distraction for Buck from his true feelings for Eddie. The show needs to actually let that romance play out. No relationships Buck or Eddie get into outside of eachother will ever live up to the other main ships because they cannot compete with the the history that the show establishes between the two.

At this point Tommy has even brought up Eddie as the competition and accused Buck of having feelings for him. As long as Eddie breathes then Tommy has to settle for being second best in Bucks eyes because Bucks only defence to that accusation is Eddies alleged straightness.

Imagine your ship hinging on the fact that one of the characters was settling because the person they truly want doesn’t like them back. What strong foundations! Especially strong when Eddie’s arc this season feels like an inevitable coming out is upon us.

Like Buck literally says “I don’t have to sleep with everyone I have feelings for and I don’t have feeling for everyone I sleep with” after this. He has in canon essentially said I have feelings for Eddie — I don’t have feelings for Tommy and then Tommy leaves. If that isn’t the nail in the ship coffin I don’t know what is.

If Buck and Eddie go canon it will genuinely be one of the greatest queer slow burns on television. They deserve to have a dynamic relationship that is equal to the other main ships on the show in terms of screen time and importance.

Overall it’s definitely a bit of a ship war and like people are entitled to their opinions but it actually has larger implications for the shows representation and character arcs as a whole. Tommy is not the epitome of evil but the slander is defintely valid. Honesty I just don’t understand why people prefer him and Buck when Buddie has such rich history and potential. The only thing going for Bucktommy is that it’s canon — well WAS canon rip.

Sorry this was so long and unedited and I’m definitely missing loads of stuff!! I’d recommend you start watching the show again however the last three episodes have been TERRIBLE so maybe just go watch some Buddie edits on TikTok.

[charcubed]

wait I'm sorry I just got kicked in the face. There's gonna be more sherlock?

LMFAAAOOO

Okay so. Yes because real ones know that that's always been the case!!

Here's a list of some of the ancient lore quotes from Mofftiss about the 5 season arc:

"instant series commission, a guaranteed 2nd series, a cuddle, a guaranteed 3rd series, and a whispered invitation back to 'my place' (where I'll explain that really I've got a 5-series arc in mind, & a spin-off)" –Moffat, 2009 (one year before Sherlock)

"Having started off with Sherlock and John much younger men than they are usually presented, it would be rather lovely to keep going. I love the idea of them being in their 50's and still doing it." Mark Gatiss, 2013

“…we just got out of the rain and sat at the top of the [Sherlock] production bus… and we just started plotting out what we could do in the future. And we plotted out the whole of series four and five.” –Moffat, 2014

Moffat: "We've had the most sketchy discussions on what we'd do." Mark: "We have an idea for season five on a Post-it note. That's as far as we've got. Unless I'm lying?" –2016

Moffat: "Thank you for showing more patience than any other fandom in history." Mark: "Stay tuned!" 2020, celebrating the 10-year anniversary

Those are just the quotes I have on hand right now, of course, but I do enjoy trotting them out lmao.

And yeah, after s4, basically Moffat or Mark or Sue Vertue all pop up in press every now and then to essentially publicly say "yeah we'd love to make more Sherlock but it's so hard to get ahold of Benedict and Martin :/ someday!" and everyone on the internet goes "OH MY GOD SHERLOCK IS COMING BACK???" and those of us who have been here the entire time are like "yes. it's a matter of when, not if" looollll. (There was an article with quotes by Sue a few days ago so that's why everyone is discussing it again.)

Of course, quotes by the creators (who are also notorious liars) are arguably not what matters most. The biggest evidence that there will be more Sherlock is the fact that the show indicates a 5-season arc and always has. Lowest hanging fruit: "The Five Pips" of The Great Game, for example.

But! Required reading: I humbly direct you to this post by the brilliant @devoursjohnlock. It continues to be my favorite summary about what this show is doing, as a queer story that acts as a queer adaptation/interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle's work to bring the subtext of the original stories to light as text – amongst other things. And it talks about how/why the story remains unresolved.

Aaaaand I also direct you to this post by @bisexualmindcabin explaining how/why there may be a 10 year gap before s5 – a.k.a. just like Arthur Conan Doyle brought Sherlock Holmes back 10 years after killing him, if Mofftiss wanted to recreate that, they'd possibly aim to bring the show back 10 years after "killing" it.

SO YEAH

TL;DR: THERE'S GONNA BE MORE SHERLOCK

eventually

[egberts]

when you say you are checking mods for updates.. do you mean that you regularly go to the sites you downloaded mods from and check on them?? 😭 i just started downloading mods and cc for sims and i def haven’t been doing that. idk how to manage mods or have good file organization habits, but it seems like everyone online already knows what they’re doing 😢

oh yeah bud, you gotta bookmark those websites, especially if you are downloading more than just hair, clothes and furniture. lots of mods break all the time, mostly after updates. curseforge has the sims actual, legit mod manager now where if you download the mods through it you can update them through it too, but there are also a few homebrew managers out there that are amazing - one even has a companion phone app to swipe away cc you don't want anymore with ease! another essential tool is sims4studio which can batch fix any broken cc, for example in one update all cc beds broke but with s4s it was easy to click a few buttons and have every file combed through and fixed automatically by the program instead of me! there's another tool called "sims 4 tray importer" which is great for manual deletion too, just put everything you don't want on a single sim or lot and then delete it en masse. all of these things are super easy to find with some googling (especially now that I've pointed you in the right direction) and I'm pretty sure most of them have comprehensive tutorials by any random person on YouTube. as for organizing your cc folders, part of it is preference and part of it is for ease of finding and fixing things. there are also plenty of tips/tricks/tools/tutorials for this aspect of simming out there too.

[anewkindofme]

I understand not everyone views media the same way as me, but sometimes I get annoyed when people refuse to realize that character growth is not the same thing as being a hypocrite.

This is one of my biggest examples and the trigger for this post...

At the end of S4 of Gilmore Girls, Jess goes to Rory and asks her to run away with him. Look where Jess is in that moment. Things didn't work out with his dad, he doesn't have stable work, he's just barely worked things out with Luke, his relationship with his mom is a mess. He realizes how badly he crewed up his life. So, in a manic state, he does something stupid.

BUT! Rory says "no", turns him away, and Jess is forced to grow up. Look at what he does between that episode and when we see him again in S6. He moves to Philly, gets a great job, publishes a book! Things are great! He's so happy. Deep down, he knows that Rory was right to reject him because that wasn't what either of them needed. They needed space to grow. He's thankful that she turned him down.

So, imagine his surprise when he shows up and she DROPPED OUT OF YALE! She pushed him on this grand path and now she's living with her grandparents, hosting tea parties, and dating some guy that, to him, seems to be a prick. (And I want to be fair to Logan here, Rory put both guys in a shitty spot, plus we know Logan was in a bad mood. Still, all Jess sees is a dumbass with a Porche who is potentially grooming Rory to be a housewife) Yeah, he gets annoyed. And yeah, he gives his famous: "Why did you drop out of Yale?!" speech.

Because he ISN'T the same guy that begged Rory to drop out. He knows what a horrible idea it was. Rory was always someone he looked up to and admired in a way. And now, she's seemingly lost it. So, he gets frustrated.

Not because he's a hypocrite, but because he's finally the guy Rory knew he could be. She even says that herself. It's just that, now, she isn't the person that he wanted to change for.

Jess isn't a hypocrite. He just has some awesome growth.

[bluedalahorse]

Felice Week Poll: Who should be Felice’s S4 Love Interest?

Posted for YR characters month, hosted by @youngroyals-events.

This is part analysis, part poll.

I have contradictory emotions about the way Felice’s brushes with romantic relationships are handled in Young Royals.

On one hand, I like that Felice’s storyline does so much to center friendships, especially her friendship with Sara. I’m aromantic, so these kinds of stories that privilege friendship matter to me, especially in stories where there’s a heavy emphasis on a romantic plot.

On the other hand, we never see Felice in a fulfilling romantic and/or sexual relationship. Neither August nor Wilhelm treats her 100% great, and we are informed that many other boys have crushes on her, but we never get to see her enjoy casual moments of flirtation or fun.

Unfortunately, these writing choices don’t exist in a vacuum, and also I can’t help noticing that Felice’s story falls into a broader trend of Black characters frequently being unlucky or unchosen in romance. Martha Jones and Bonnie Bennet are other characters who are emblematic of this trend, but the more you look, the more you see it all over.

I highly recommend watching Princess Weekes’s videos where she discusses this trend in more depth with examples from lots of different TV shows. She does an especially good job of addressing how people will say “but isn’t it empowering for a female character to be strong on her own, without a romance?” For white female characters, who are often sheltered and framed as delicate by the patriarchy, forgoing a romance is often empowering. On the other hand… for Black female characters, it’s different. Black women and girls are often discouraged from showing vulnerability or softness and often end up as the unlucky leg of a love triangle, so it’s a departure from the status quo to actually have Black female meaningfully engage in an onscreen romance!

Which is why, in some parallel universe where YR gets a season 4—or at least in more fanfics centered on Felice’s POV and set in the future—I’d love to see her get to have a storyline where she falls in love with someone and they love her back in return. Big swoony teen drama first love stuff, like we get to see Simon have with Wilhelm and Sara have with August. Maybe with a little less in the way of princely drama, but I think you know what I mean. It doesn’t have to be a love story where we assume the relationship lasts forever, and it doesn’t have to undermine Felice’s friendships. Simon getting together with Wilhelm doesn’t undermine his friendships, after all, and Sara and August aren’t together at the end of the series. The point is it should be significant. Let Felice feel the big feelings! Let someone else also feel them back for her!

(I’m also in favor of Felice having an aro or ace storyline as long as it is explicitly named as such, although that isn’t the focus of this post. It is the focus of my fic Doubles Over Couples though.)

So with all that established, I now ask you…

I left off options where Felice would be breaking up an existing ship (wilmon or stedrika) or dating a character we assume to be gay (Nils or Marcus, who both I guess could be bi, you never know.) But you know what? If that’s your jam, go ahead and tell me in the tags. I hold nothing sacred after all.

You can also tell me why you chose the character you chose in your tags. Maybe you have an idea for giving a character a lot of development and taking their arc in a new direction. (Like, idk, why not envision a story about Felice and Alexander?) If you do, I’d love for you to share it and tell me the arc you have in mind.

Please reblog the poll for reach! This should be fun.

[forestleavescat]

Took time to think on Moominvalley S4. it still feels bad

I’ve thought about Moominvalley season 4. Seen other people respond to it. I still don’t feel great. There was a great journey from S1-3. But this season sorta fell off. It felt like character development disappeared. And I’ve seen people say it wasn’t queerbaiting and I disagree. I mean, you gotta trust that a lot of people have dealt with it before. We know what it is. And the argument that snufmin never had a chance isn’t true. I was starved for moomin content between seasons and listened to the team discuss moominvalley. There were podcasts where they would chuckle and say that they were a little in love. They know the fanbase. The argument that it would never happen because they never stray from the original story isn’t true. Each version makes changes. And I don’t think that people can argue that they wouldn’t stray from the source material when the finale was what it was. They completely turned that story on its head. I wanted to come back to the topic because I decided to rewatch the earlier seasons. I saw some of the ‘it’s not queerbaiting. They were never more than friends’ posts and I started to think that it was true. That I read too much into it. And then I watched The Spring Tune. And just. no ??? Ain’t no way there wasn’t anything going on there. And previous iterations usually had some level of pining while not committing to a romantic development. There were 100% moments, but it wasn’t like moominvalley. If you don’t care for the ship. That’s fine. If you liked the final season that’s great. But don’t tell fans that they can’t be upset about how this was handled. Don’t tell them ‘well you set yourself up for disappointment’ or ‘did you really think that would happen.’ It’s like you’re telling people who are disappointed in this happening that they were just delusional about it?? A lot of people, whether new to the community or not find a sense of belonging in queer media. It’s something welcoming and friendly. Especially if you’re either trying to figure out your identity or find comfort in media that embraces similar identities. Maybe it’s fans that grew up with it and found a sense of comfort with the close and romantically ambiguous relationship between snufkin and moomin and when you start to watch moominvalley it really does seem like there’s a chance compared to other iterations. The creators seem to support this. They acknowledge it outright. It seems more possible than ever. Or you’re just getting into the moomins. The way this show explores their relationship early on is something that really did help people with their identities. And when a show seems like it’s heading there and then pulls back completely in the final season it sucks. And it makes it so much worse when people say ‘well duh, of course it wouldn’t have happened.’ And moominvalley felt even worse. Because the creators outright acknowledged it on multiple occasions while older examples of queerbaiting didn’t. The creators wrote what seemed to be gay ships but dropped it after securing money and views. But the team didn’t wink and nudge the way this team did. And just look at the Lonely Mountains. That episode was not only the largest step towards it being canon but it didn’t finish what it set up. Snufkin never did finish that chat that got interrupted. Which made it seem like something they’d likely save for the last season. If season 4 handled them exactly like season 3 without their relationship going farther that would still be an improvement. They lose all of that subtle ‘what are we’ closeness. You gotta know moomin fans live throughout the world. Shows that are explicit with that tend to get censored overseas. But it’s easier to get past that when there’s an implicit thing that other members of the lgbtq community would pick up. Then America in a time where laws are censoring gay stuff. I feel like it’s important to consider how important queer media is and to observe past instances of queerbaiting and why that’s as harmful as it is.

S4 felt like the July 1st of moominvalley to me. Just ‘okay we’re done no more gay’