#script-writer anon

[dipperscavern]

okay but Cregan butt ass naked-imagine a commercial with that kind of shit, like those ads that try to be funny but the lonely lady who has terrible luck with dating or the wife with the lazy husband wishes for her situation to be different and she hears a knock on the door (a heavy handed knock bc Cregan has that kind of knock ofc) and she goes to answer the door and he's standing there naked asf and is like " hello there gorgeous" in his sexy ass Northern accent

put you in the writers room for season 3 RIGHT NEOWWWWW1!!! this is the kind of action we've been missing.... myess.... *i mutter to myself scratching my head as my advisors watch in horror*

also the mention of the heavy-handed knock im drooling oh my god please cregan its all over the ceiling

[raineandsky]

hi! i was wondering if you'd be willing to write a piece where a hero, who is the older brother of the villain and considered "the golden son," and the villain, who had left home once they were of age, haven't talked for months after a big argument. Then one day, Villain is fighting his brother when his brother has a panic attack. Villain tries to leave, thinking it's a trick (cause his perfect older brother could never be hurt, right?) and goes to hide. but then their parents appear and Villain realizes perhaps Hero wasn't as admired by their parents as Villain would have liked to believe. In fact, it almost seemed like they disliked Hero all together. they're being mean and kind of calling him pathetic, and hero keeps getting more and more anxious until finally the Villain realizes something is wrong and tries to help

god this turned out WAY longer than i intended - i hope you like long stories anon!! and ofc thank you for the request :)

-

tw abuse

“What are you doing?”

The villain thought they were fighting, but now the hero wants to sit on the floor and pant like a dog and clutch at his chest. He thinks it’s a fair question to ask.

“I don’t want to fight you, [Villain],” the hero manages through short breaths. “Please.”

The villain doesn’t see him much anyway. He’s not sure why one fight would take it out of him. He simply rolls his eyes, blatantly unconvinced. “If we weren’t on opposite sides I would maybe consider it.”

“It doesn’t have to be like this.” The words rush out before the hero has to heave another shallow breath. “We don’t have to hate each other.”

He glances up to the villain and– oh god, is he crying? What kind of game does he think he’s playing? The villain scowls wholeheartedly.

“Funny,” he says flatly. “Look, if we’re not going to battle it out I’ll be on my way.”

“No, [Villain].” The hero practically chokes on his name. What a show he’s putting on. “[Villain], please, don’t leave me—”

But the villain’s already turned on his heel to make one of his famous escapes. It’s not quite as extravagant as it usually is, considering he’s walking away rather casually and not pursued in the slightest, but he’s getting the hell out of dodge and that’s all that matters.

Or he tries to, at least. He’s just reaching for the door handle when it swings open with a mind of its own. He just about has the foresight to stagger back to avoid being whacked in the face.

“[Hero],” a voice says coolly from the stairwell.

The villain’s stomach drops in a way it hasn’t in a long time. He’s flitting round the corner to hide before he realises he’s doing it. He hates that his own father can still have this effect on him, even 16 years later.

Two superheroes stalk out onto the rooftop, seemingly oblivious to anything but the hero sagging on the floor in front of him. “Where’s [Villain]?” the other superhero demands after a moment.

The villain shrinks back in his hiding spot slightly. The hero doesn’t even look at his parents. “He left.”

The villain didn’t care what was happening with the hero, but the superheroes don’t seem to even notice. The superhero looks at the hero at his feet like a child who’s done nothing worse than get bad grades in school. The other superhero sighs like he’s simply a stubborn teenager. Of course they do. They never saw anything less in him.

Jealousy isn't the right word. Just distain, maybe. Annoyance that their parents had to have favourites.

“He left,” the superhero echoes coldly, “and you let him?”

The hero’s breathing is in tatters now. He seems like he’s barely even listening, his head bent, his chest heaving. “I couldn’t—”

“What kind of hero are you if you just let villains run out of your grasp?” the superhero snaps, and the other superhero nods shortly. “Villains waltz in and destroy everything me and your mother have created and, what, you cheer them on?”

“H–He’s my brother—”

“He’s vermin,” the other superhero butts in sharply. “You can’t even save the city from a rat? Is that it?”

The villain keeps his emotions carefully in-check. He knows his parents were never going to be happy with his life choices, but it still hurts. Being compared to a goddamn rat is a little hurtful.

And the hero. What’s with the shortness? He’s the best of both of them. The golden child, the star pupil, the one their parents spent all their time building into the perfect son. The perfect hero.

“Answer your mother, [Hero],” the superhero spits coldly.

Even the villain can see the hero shaking even from here. He’s practically choking on his own breath, his sight probably blurry with the tears. The villain’s heart twists in a way it hasn’t in years. He’s my brother reverberates through his mind uninvited.

“He can’t even answer a simple question,” the other superhero says with a disappointed tut. The villain recognises that noise—it’s a lot more of a death sentence than it sounds. “Pathetic.”

He’s my brother. He’s your brother.

The villain pushes himself upright.

“I– I can’t—” The hero stumbles over his words for a moment, a desperate cough pulling from his chest. “I can’t hurt people. I can’t hurt him.”

The villain heaves a deep breath, stabilises himself. “Sometimes you have to hurt people to get them to do what you want,” the other superhero says. She flicks her hair over her shoulder much too casually for this conversation. “You have to whip the horse to get it to move, [Hero]. I’m ashamed we haven’t drilled that into you yet.”

The fact that she doesn’t use his actual name isn’t lost on the villain. He takes a few careful steps out of the shadows.

Don’t leave me.

“You don’t need to whip a horse,” the villain says sharply. The superheroes whip back to stare at him, and it feels like he’s fourteen again; got too dirty, played too rough, liked the wrong thing. The you’re in deep shit kind of feeling. “You can get them where you need if you give them reason to trust you.”

“Ah,” the other superhero says with a disingenuous smile. “The vermin returns.”

The hero’s head has snapped up, tears streaking his face. The villain wants this to be over. “Leave [Hero] alone,” he spits. “Leave my brother alone.”

“Oh?” The superhero smirks. “Now you want to get involved in family affairs?”

“Go on,” the villain taunts stupidly, “show him how a real hero does it.”

The superhero strides towards him, and it takes all his willpower to stay put. “You act like goodness and peace are one and the same.” He says flatly. “Sometimes violence is the only language you animals understand.”

“What a thing,” the villain retorts. He can feel the regret building as he’s saying it like he’s a child again. Don’t draw his attention to you. Stop talking. “To call your son an animal.”

The villain feels, rather than sees, the superhero’s fist on his face. It takes him a moment to realise he’s on the ground, the cold concrete an unforgiving bed. The hero shouts something incoherent, his voice torn. “I would never hurt my son,” the superhero says, emotionless, “but you are no son of mine.”

“Thank god,” the villain says with a mouth of copper.

“Let’s arrest the rat,” the other superhero says. “We can question him about his associates at the agency.”

The handcuffs are refreshingly cool in comparison to the burning in the side of the villain’s face. The superhero shoves him to his feet with no less remorse than any other villain he’s dealt with.

“Let me take him,” the hero says quickly. He stumbles to his feet, breaths still uneven, sniffling desperately. The words come out choked. “I’m sorry for messing up. I’ll take him.”

The superhero pulls the villain a little closer by the cuffs. It’s almost protective, if he didn’t know his father better. “You realise villains aren’t doves that need releasing into the wild?” the superhero drawls. “They are scum that need stamping out. If you take him, we will find him in the agency, won’t we?”

“Of course,” the hero says shortly. “I’ll get him there.”

The superheroes eventually go on their way. The villain spits on the floor after them.

“Some city defenders they are,” he says flatly. “Why the hell didn’t you leave?”

“They entered me in a race I didn’t realise I was running,” the hero says. His face is pulled taut, sweat beaded on his brow, his voice shaking. “And when I figured it out, it was too late to do anything but live up to their expectations and win.”

His hands still tremble on the villain’s arm. “I’m sorry I didn't see it sooner,” the villain whispers, like his regret is a curse. “You could have come with me.”

The hero laughs insincerely. “I’m sorry dad punched you.”

The villain shrugs as the hero gently nudges him towards the door. “Comes with being a villain. I’ve been punched a lot harder than that before.”

“I don’t know how you live like that.”

“I don’t know how you do either.”

They share a smile, kind of. It’s a little awkward and subdued, but it’s a smile between brothers long since torn apart. That’s all that matters.

“Look,” the hero says after a short moment, “I’m really sorry about everything. I’ll get you out of prison.”

“And incur the wrath of those freaks?” The villain laughs. “No, don’t worry. I’ll break myself out.”

“I’ll get you out,” the hero says quietly, “and this time, I’ll come with you.”

The villain stares at him, unabashedly wide-eyed. “Really?”

The hero looks better than he did ten minutes ago—colour is just starting to warm his cheeks again, his breath a little more even. Relief floods the villain’s heart in a way it hasn’t in a long time. “Anyone who calls my brother vermin is no parent of mine.” They start down the steps, slow, lazy, like they’re putting off getting home from school again. “I’m tired of trying to fit into their perfect ideals of a hero. I’ll come with you.”

The villain grins boyishly. Getting punched was almost worth it to get his best friend back. “We have room for you.” Almost. “But you get the bottom bunk.”

The hero rolls his eyes but he agrees, and it almost feels like nothing ever went wrong.

[fisherrprince]

i adore so much how ven and vani have become your characters. i cant help but think of your little guys when i think abt them now.

IM GLAD SOMEONE LIKES IT I FEAR OFTEN THAT IM WAGGING SOME GUYS AROUND AS IF THEY ARE MINE WHEN THEY ARE NOT

[maxanor]

I completely agree with you sentiment on scripts and canon however these aren't the early drafts these are the final versions of the scripts? Sure some things from the early drafts still made it in but op notes what colors pages they were i.e. when something was written or rewritten and they've talked about how they only took stuff that was of note (or interesting to them) if something hasn't been posted we can assume the scene was the same in the final episode. Just look at how different the episode 1 script was and we know that was the final script. It's clear when the writers cut something out completely or when something was changed based on the aired episodes but a lot of the stuff that's been posted is just the actors playing a scene differently, and correct me if I'm wrong, but they wouldn't go back and rewrite the tone of a scene or the actors's facial expressions or the blocking of a scene?

so i haven't personally been to the WGA library but i have a friend who went there over a year ago to look at these exact same scripts and she said they're very bare bones. you can compare them to other scripts at the same library:

i just grabbed a random black sails episode because that's another script my friend viewed, and you can see the difference between 'final shooting draft' and 'buff pages.' i do not necessarily think these are the scripts they filmed with, i don't know why we're assuming that the ep1 script they released was the final draft because as far as i know that was never said anywhere? i could be wrong, but it feels like an earlier draft than what they filmed with.

i agree that i don't think they would alter a script based on an actors facial expression or tone, but much of what is in the library scripts has different wording and intent. i don't think the actors were just doing whatever they felt like and completely changing the meaning of scenes just for fun.

i love viewing the scripts, i think it's so interesting to compare what was written down and what is on screen. it's fun to use them as a guide to what characters are thinking/feeling, but i just don't think the fandom should be taking these scripts as final shooting drafts. i don't have any issue with op posting these scripts, i just find the claim that certain things in early drafts are absolutely canon to be frustrating and purposefully misleading <3

[wafflesandkruge]

It’s crazy how everyone was still so optimistic after s1 even with the plot changes and then the writers decided to be quirky and piss everybody off because they never read the damn books and actually understand them other than maybe going over the plot points to see what they could steal because they can’t come up with their own IP? oh and how to make their own self-insert I guess. let’s do the south asian women, two of the canon’s best characters, dirty while we’re at it. all the while being like please stream the show like zombies so we don’t get fired 😊

Oh fr 😭😭😭 the actors are out here doing their best but they can’t salvage the script bc it makes no sense

They’re treating alina like the 2010s ya fantasy female protagonist she’s supposed to be the antithesis of and as a side effect, everyone else’s arcs get axed

[hide-in-imagination]

I don't know if it was mentioned somewhere in the series, but do you know how old Simon is? and overall, I was quite confused the whole time about what timeline all three series take place in, and I also thought a lot about whether at least one character in the series has any siblings? And also why there were no holidays like Christmas or New Years etc.. I don't know, I'm just overthinking now, but I wonder if anyone has thought about it too, or if I'm just not remembering these things from the series and in reality it was all there said 🤔

Hi! I'm sure I've talked about this before but I'm not going to look for those asks so I'll just answer again sdkjnf.

We don't know officially how old Simón is. We only know that by the start of the series he already finished high school, so that would mean he is either 18 or just turned 19 or he turned 19 at some point in season 1. I know Lutteo shippers like to believe he is 18 or even 17 and finished High School earlier because they're worried about his age difference with Luna, but honestly? I don't give a fuck.

Actually, I spent a long time thinking he was 21 in season 3 because it just made sense to me that he would have a 2-year difference with Ámbar if she was still in high school for two years after he was out. But I decided to lower it to 18, 19 and 20 in every season respectively so as to not hurt anyone's sensitivities.

I'm not sure if any character has siblings, I don't remember, maybe Jim has some back in Spain, who knows. It is my headcanon that Simón has a fuckton of siblings because otherwise, how would those parents allow their 18-year-old son to just fuck off to another country? They'd be monster parents.

What I can answer is why we never see holidays. And it's a very simple reason: Each season usually starts around the same time as Luna's high school year begins. And in South America, school classes run from March to November/early December, so of course we're not going to see Christmas or New Years Day.

My headcanon is that Simón's birthday is in February and that's why we never see it. (And he's a Pisces, of course)

I hope I could clarify some things for you! But at the end of the day, nothing is official, so everyone can make up their own ideas about everything ^^

[monte-charlo]

ooh you missed the drama of the last 3 races! Lucky you!

I absolutely did! I missed everything! It was great!

[thesunfyre4446]

Did you catch one of the reasons why Rhaenyra didn’t believe her father changed his mind was “My father loved me” ah so she’s acknowledging once again that her father didn’t love his 4 other children?

It gave Driftmark “Thank you FATHER” all over again.

This overgrown ass woman has never seen those kids as anything but Alicent’s and they were treated by the whole Targaryen and by extension the Velaryon family- like outsiders.

Rhaenys’s little speech about “when it all began” doesn’t acknowledge that it had already began when their whole family decided to ice out a 15 year old girl who they knew was forced to marry the King. She wants to now talk about family and kinship but they weren’t treated as family because he didn’t choose their 12 year daughter to be his child bride. It already started with Rhaenyra and Daemon hating innocent literal infants and not accepting them into the family fold.

Alicent and Criston not caring for Rhaenyra’s sons are treated like a crime in this fandom whereas the treatment of the Green kids is widely seen as justifiable because of how they are as teens and young adults as if they weren’t just innocent babies and children before too and maybe if they had been treated like family then it what they’re going to do during the dance wouldn’t have been so easy for them.

I’m also really tired of the writers not acknowledging that Viserys was a horrible father to Aegon, Aemond, Helaena and Daeron . His unwillingness to to love them out of some loyalty to Aemma and Baelon, yet his willingness to keep making them is one of his if not his biggest flaw. Viserys is getting the treatment of a modern day celeb/politician who has done shitty things but died suddenly so people are now rewriting history. How do they go from Alicent telling Rhaenys that Viserys wasn’t fit to be King, it should’ve been her. From that moment in the script where she tells Otto that Viserys was a weak and his reign was forgettable and she didn’t want people to draw comparisons to Aegon and his father. To Alicent saying that Aegon is half the King is father was and Otto giving Viserys credit for his, Lionel’s, the small council and Alicent’s work?

How is Rhaenyra defending Viserys with her soul to Daemon as if she didn’t live a stones throw away from her dying father and didn’t give a fuck enough to visit him or tell him that she has had 2 more children until she needed a favor from him that sped up his death. As if he didn’t ruin her life by attempting to breed her Mother like cattle until she died?

gghgjghgjggjg the anons in my inbox are going off today!!!! not a single lie was told.

"Alicent and Criston not caring for Rhaenyra’s sons are treated like a crime in this fandom whereas the treatment of the Green kids is widely seen as justifiable" absolutely fucking this.

[atleastpleasetelephone]

You are my absolute favorite Elvis writer. I have a request...😏🙏🏻. Could you doooo smut with either 1964 E ike Frankie and Johnny ...or bde.. I'm torn between the two. Can you doooo like the reader gets really mad at Elvis for some reason and she tries to dominate him but he puts her in her place?

Hot 'n' Cold

A/N: Thank you so much anon, that's so sweet! I went for 1964 E as I feel he doesn't get quite so much love on here. This turned out a little... mean? Perhaps the closest to a yandere Elvis I have ever written (but still not that close!)

Pairing: 1964!Elvis x reader

Word count: 1.6K

TWs: Slapping (reader slaps E), infidelity, rough sex, possessive kink, breeding kink, reader cries, mood swings, p in v sex.

“Don’t be silly, baby. I have to kiss her. It’s in the script.”

Elvis has just returned from filming Viva Las Vegas and he’s already a little frustrated with your lack of enthusiastic welcome home. He knew you’d be annoyed with all the stories in the papers, but he wasn’t expecting to be ambushed with questions the minute he walked through the door. He’s trying to play it cool though, hands thrust in his pockets, a neutral expression on his face. 

You draw yourself up to your full height (all five foot two of it) and shake your head determinedly. 

“It’s not just kissing, El, and you know it.”

“Baby. Come on,” he wheedles, closing the distance between you and putting his hand on your cheek. This sort of thing usually does the trick when you’ve heard something about some other woman.

You push him away, angrily. “No. You can’t charm your way out of this one, Mr Presley.” 

He sighs loudly, letting his hand fall back down next to his hip. “Whaddya want from me, then?”

He’s basically pouting at you now, and you don’t think that’s fair. He doesn’t get to pout, when he’s the one who’s been fooling around. You’ve seen the papers, you know the story, but this time it seems more serious than usual. What do you want from him? Marriage, commitment, babies… the whole fairytale. But right now? Right now you want to get even. 

“I want you to learn your lesson.”

Elvis cocks an eyebrow. “What lesson, honey?” You’ve never spoken to him like this before and he’s not sure he likes it. 

You huff now. “That you can’t mess around with other girls, El.”

He shakes his head. “I’ve told you, I’m not messing…”

You stare at him, angrily, trying to think of the sorts of things he usually says to you and how you can turn them back on him. But you’re too worked up, so you can’t think of anything other than slapping him across the face. 

“Ow!” 

He stares back at you in complete disbelief, his hand moving to rub his stinging cheek. You’ve definitely never done that before and he’s sure he doesn’t like it. 

“You deserved that!”

You kind of enjoyed slapping him, the rush of adrenalin through your body and the look on his face afterwards… In fact you enjoyed it so much you’re about to do it again, but he anticipates it, grabbing your wrist roughly. 

“Uh-uh, no you don’t.”

You try to wriggle out of his grasp but it just gets firmer and he catches your other hand now too, since it’s flying around dangerously close to his face in a way he doesn’t care for at all.

“Elvis!” You just about shriek, as he spins you around and walks you backwards until you collide with the wall. 

“Shush.”

He’s never known you to be like this, but then he’s never had a relationship go quite so public. He certainly didn’t want it all over the papers, it was embarrassing for God’s sake and he’d told Ann as much. But you can’t slap him. Whatever he might’ve done. 

He stands, pressing you against the wall with his body, holding your hands out to either side of your head for just a moment. Your head swims, wondering what he’s going to do next, your body reacting embarrassingly quickly to him being so close and so dominant. You’re supposed to be pissed with him but your panties are already soaked. His lips collide with yours in a bruising kiss and you can’t help yourself, moaning into his mouth. His hand is under your dress and pulling down your panties and then you hear him undoing his belt. He grabs your leg and forces it up as high as it will go (which is pretty high, you used to be a gymnast), stopping kissing you to watch your reaction as he thrusts inside you in one quick movement. Your eyes roll back in your head and you groan. 

“Whose pussy is this?” He growls, lips and teeth finding the skin below your ear.

“Y-yours, El…” you moan. 

He’s let your wrists go since you’re impaled on his dick now, trapped between him and the wall, and your fingers find the hair on the back of his head and knit themselves into it. 

“Good.”

He starts to move, short little thrusts, trying to drive himself somehow even deeper inside you. You whimper, fingertips pressing into his scalp, feeling almost uncomfortably full. 

“I decide when I want it,” he continues, his voice low and dangerous. “You make sure it’s always ready for me. Y’hear?”

His eyes are staring into yours now and it’s all you can do to nod and tell him yes. He starts to thrust a little more now, drawing out slowly and then slamming back into you full force. Your body rocks and you cry out. 

“No tellin’ me who I can see and who I can’t.”

You look down at him through tear-filled eyes as he keeps up the torturous rhythm. 

“I’m Elvis Fucking Presley and I’ll fuck whoever I want.”

You’re still whimpering, so he stops moving, grabbing your cheeks with one hand and squeezing them, forcing you to look at him. A tear runs down your face. 

“Did you fucking hear me?”

“Y-yes. Yes. I’m sorry. I sh-shouldn’t expect you to j-just want one girl.”

He lets go of your face, suddenly seeing the tears there and gently wiping them away with his thumb. 

“Good girl,” he says, softly, picking up a much gentler pace now. “Takin’ me so well.”

You try to steady your breathing but you feel all over the place, he’s being so gentle now it makes you want to cry more, somehow. 

“I love this pussy, baby,” he murmurs, sensually. “It’s so good to me.”

You still can’t speak so you just sniff in response. He starts to kiss your neck, rolling his hips into you in a way he knows is guaranteed to make you cum. Your sniffs turn to soft moans. 

“You gonna cum for me, baby?”

“Mmmm. Yes.” You bite your lip, trying to control the tears. His mood swings can be so difficult to deal with.

You can feel the edges of your orgasm as he keeps rolling into you, his heavy breath hot on your ear, little moans falling from his lips as he feels your walls start to flutter in anticipation. 

“C’mon baby. You can do it.”

The words of encouragement push you over the edge and you squeeze him, your orgasm ripping through your body and making you moan. He moans too, feeling you and hearing you, and he knows it won’t take much for him now either. He starts to pick up the pace, quick thrusts that slam your body into the wall repeatedly. 

“You want me to make ya a mama?” He pants. 

Your eyes go wide like saucers and you nod quickly. “Yes, y-yes please.”

“I’m gonna fill ya up… make ya mine…”

You can’t believe what you’re hearing. He’s never spoken to you like this, he always pulls out and cums somewhere else, so worried about accidentally getting you pregnant, so sure about it not being the right time for a baby yet.

“Please… please El…” you can’t believe you’re begging him right now, when you’ve already cum, but you want a baby so much. 

“Can’t wait ta see ya growing that baby inside ya…” he continues, thrusting even faster. “Knowing yer gonna be mine forever…”

“Yes. Yes. Fuck, yes.” It’s like his words alone are pushing you to another orgasm. 

“That what you want?”

“More than anything, El.”

There’s a wicked glint in his eye as he pushes your leg somehow even higher and hits somewhere deep inside you. You cry out in ecstasy and another orgasm hits you, almost as strong as the first, and you find yourself hanging on to him desperately as your legs turn to jelly and he pounds you through it. 

“Fuck!” 

He cries out, shooting his release into you, your walls squeezing it out of him for what seems like minutes. When he’s finally done he staggers backwards and pulls you with him. 

“Lie down on your back and put your feet up in the air.”

You stumble over to the bed and do as you’re told, your brain foggy and confused and unable to fathom why you’re doing what you’re doing. Eventually you ask.

“What’s this for, El?”

He’s lying next to you, holding your hand kind of sweetly. 

“It’s the best thing to do to make it take.”

You look at him, baffled. 

“To make a baby, honey.”

Your eyes go wide again. “You meant it?”

“Of course I meant it, honey. Imagine a little Presley runnin’ around the place. Can’t think of anything better.”

“So… you… are we gonna get married?” 

He nods. “When the time is right. You’ll see. For now you just concentrate on eating right and growing that little baby inside you. And if this one doesn’t take, there’s plenty more chances to practice…”

You smile and let him kiss you, enjoying the feeling of his lips against yours, but you can’t help wondering when exactly the time will be right. As you curl up in bed with him later that night, and he rubs your belly and tells you he can’t wait for it to be full, you wonder if this will mean he’ll stop wanting to be with other girls. Surely if you’re married and you give him the baby you both want so much, he’ll be happy? And surely you will too?

***

Taglist:

@vintagepresley @arg-xoxo @from-memphis-with-love @msamarican @blursedblegh @returntopresley @eapep @everythingelvispresley @i-r-i-n-a-a @sissylittlefeather @arrolyn1114 @jhoneybees @cattcb @polksaladava @lookingforrainbows @jkdaddy01 @ccab @epthedream69 @lustnhim @elvisslut @pomtherine @that-hotdog @ladelinee @angschrof @fairybloodsucker @deltafalax @makethemorning @elviswhore69 @ilovequeen978 @wildhorseinkansas

[bridgertonnteas]

I have gotten a lot of anons about Bridgeton season 3 & the Polin "deleted scenes", so let me make things clear!

I said it again & again there aren't many deleted scenes, it was only one scene in the end of ep8 a lot of people telling me that on reddit someone is saying that 2 long deleted sex scenes were cut, but that isn't true at all & the same person is saying that people who got early screenings of 1-6 episodes had extra scenes, but again that's false

There wasn't any other mirror scene in ep7 & There wasn't any angry sex scene in ep7 either. There was however a different version of when Colin argued with Pen in the streets at night, instead of him just making her get into the carriage, he gets inside as well & makes her go home

By the way in the version that we got of that scene, he just doesn't leave her in a carriage. I have seen some people misunderstanding it, but he has been following her with another carriage and left after the carriage she took with his own carriage still following her, it was his way of protecting her from afar, the other version might be clearer, but both have the same outcome

As for ep8, there was a montage at the end that was mostly Polin making out/kissing fully clothed, & few seconds of them doing more like him going down on her, him kissing her neck and smiling playfully at their reflection in the mirror, them doing it in bed & her riding him at the end ( the few seconds we got of that was from that montage). In those scenes of them doing more during the montage; she was either wearing a nightgown or a robe, she was never naked in those scenes & he was shirtless or covered from the waist down, but the state of their undress was never like ep5 first-time scene

Nicola didn't have other scenes of her being naked or almost naked, that only happened in ep5 & the furniture-breaking scene was the first time scene in ep5, both Nicola & Luke confirmed that and even posted a picture of it, so why doubt what they said!

Even the showrunner & writer of the show addressed that in a recent interview that was released after part2 was released

In the early script draft, there was indeed a scene that wasn't filmed as far as I know of Polin in bed talking about his journals & her editing them, but again as far as I know it was never filmed. if it was filmed then it never made the cut

There were different takes on the epilogue, but all of them had a similar outcome

And by the way, deleted scenes or different takes of some scenes someone either shondaland or the main show account one day, or someone from the cast & crew could post them in the future, but who knows. It's possible, but at the same time don't get your hopes up

That's all I wanted to say because there's a lot of misinformation around and some people sadly built their idea & image of this season based on fake spoilers and got disappointed when those spoilers didn't come true and I think they should let go of those fake spoilers already & rewatch the season & part2 with a clearer mind because it's rather obvious how those fake spoilers are clouding how they think about the season!....

[gunsatthaphan]

.₊ ⟡ ݁ 🏆 2024 Top 10 🏆 ⟡ ݁₊ .

hello! I got tagged by a few people for various kinds of tier-list-posts for this year, so instead of making separate posts that will probably end up being repetitive, I decided to combine them all into one Top 10 list of my personal favorites in 2024. My watchlist was not very lengthy this year, partly because I was busy with work and partly because the quality of many shows was not to my liking. I started a bunch of things and dropped them shortly after, which also included more widely popular ones, for which I did not share the general public opinion. In the course of that, I have become more hesitant to share my thoughts online, as with every mildly critical POV came a number of anonymous people breathing down my neck. Which isn't new for me but by the end of the year I have gotten tired and was debating whether or not I should make this post but then I decided that this is my blog and idgaf about butthurt anons lol. I'm trying to carry this mindset into the new year.

So here is my Top 10 of BL/GLs that I have started and finished this year. A very special shoutout goes to The Heart Killers which owns my ass 100% and I totally would have added it but since we're only on ep6, I feel like it wouldn't be fair to include it in this list - also because I sort of consider it a category of its own lol.

I had no trouble picking this as my number one, simply because it's an outstanding production with an S-tier cast and a very powerful and well executed script. I've always loved Up but Poom took the cake for me in this, I was absolutely starstruck by him and his screen presence, he's a big surprise for me and has become one of my personal favorites this year in terms of acting. I could fill books with reasons why I love this show.

I had to include this even though it's not finished but I'm really blown away by it. The GLs I previously watched were okay but did not strike me quite as much as this one. I knew I would love Film and Namtan together from the moment they got paired as they're both insanely skilled and I was not disappointed. They understand the assignment 100% and so does Snap25 and it really shows. I'm obsessed.

Speaking of masterpieces, this is another one. It didn't get much attention sadly, mostly because TayNew did not deliver the dynamic the general BL population was hoping for. Their loss. This is an amazing production from start to finish, the 4 of them are the best possible casting choice for their characters, the found family trope is one of the best I've seen and especially TayNew delivered another gem with this one. I shall never doubt them again. This is how you do bromance. Certain other shows could never. send tweet.

Ah yes. No year goes by without the obligatory Mame guilty pleasure lol. What can I say. FortPeat as annoying southern scuba boy meets snobby whiny writer on a beach. How can I look away. I genuinely enjoyed this, it feels like the story was written for them, it's a perfect fit for them and their range I think plus I'm glad that Aya finally found a GL partner that matches her energy lol. I loved both couples and even though the plot did lack sometimes, you can count on MMY to serve S-tier chemistry no matter what. A+.

This is my personal hidden little gem, a small production with not a ton of attention, let alone good reviews but sometimes those are the best ones. The beginning was a bit slow but it quickly picked up. I decided to give it a watch mostly because I was curious about Charles' followup bl role and ended up getting very attached lol. So much softness and deep emotions and mutual healing that happened here and that I appreciated a lot. This was also my first Taiwanese BL in I think 3 years(?) I loved it.

I was very excited to watch this and see what Change 2561 came up with after Pit Babe and even though I'm not the biggest fan of cooking plots, I ended up enjoying this a lot! I've been a SailubPon and GarfieldBenz connoisseur since Pit Babe and it was so nice to see them in the spotlight in this. I saw a bunch of people drop it because they found Plawan annoying but I disagree lol. I had a very good time.

I initially tuned into this for Seng and Best, just to see what they're up to these days and it ended with me eating the whole thing up lol. The unapologetic approach to topics like sex education mixed with the sweet love stories that came with it is one of the things I appreciated + enjoyed a lot. I was a big fan of Peak and Thanwa and would definitely watch another show with Seng and Best as I really love their dynamic. Latte and Almond had a good start but fell a bit flat towards the end. Still a very deserving 7th place for me.

I was sooo excited for this and overall it did not disappoint, though I think it could have been better in some aspects. The comprehensive vibe was juvenile but not in a bad way. I anticipated gmmtv would choose a trope-y plot for their first GL to test the waters and it seems they succeeded. The main reason I put it as number 8 is the AylinLuna side story which I very strongly disliked for multiple reasons I won't get into here. But MilkLove did a fantastic job and this was a very nice debut for them. Thumbs up!

This might be the most unexpected gem for me this year. I started watching it because I was bored and nothing else was on and I was curious to see Dunk in his first solo gig. Surprisingly he did a big leap forward with his acting in this and White was by far my favorite character. Lune on the other hand was my least favorite which was another surprise as I previously loved Phuwin as Peem in We Are so I'm not sure why Lune was so unlikable. But anyway this was a very nice combination of different cute little stories, LuneStar were very trope-y but White saved a great deal of it by being the third wheel lol, plus the BL sideplot was pure sugar. I'm sad we won't see Ryu and Java together again and I resent them not giving us that well deserved WhiteIvy endgame but overall I enjoyed this a lot!

Never thought I would put a Siwaj production in my Top 10 but I'm tired of pretending I didn't secretly love this lmao. So much chaos but so much fun. It's a typical ensemble show, mostly aimed at a domestic audience with lots of slapstick and horseplay comedy, but I ended up being quite fond of all the couples. The main crystallization for me was that this is PondPhuwin's territory, this is the type of show they belong in imo. They excel at this kind of comedy and they seemed very careless and joyful in this, which I enjoyed and which made them a decent main couple. The QToey plot was a bit draggy and even though it's a big cast, 16 episodes were not necessary, which is why it gets the 10th place. But overall it still deserves to be in this list.

Thanks again to everyone who tagged me; in this and other things over the year, I appreciate you thinking of me!! 🥺🧡 I didn't manage to reply to every tag but know that I see them all and I try to do as many as possible! Also a big thank you and much love to all the lovely people I talked to this year, especially @lattexalmond, @mayalunas @bl-recs-and-reviews and @my-wandering-rabbit, I love and cherish each one of you! 🧡 Happy New Year to everyone who read this far, here's to a kind and successful 2025 with groundbreaking shows lol. I'm hopeful.

xxxx

[nalyra-dreaming]

Production timeline anon back again. Clarifying its one person sending this I guess. Its been a few years since I left the film industry but still have friends in it so keeping it on anon. Also this ended up long and messy so sorry about that.

Writers room starting about three months before filming is a perfectly normal timeline for network television. In recent years a lot of behind the scenes content has mentioned that scripts are done before filming starts, but all that comes from shows made for streaming, or miniseries or shows that work in release schedules that are longer than a year. That is not how network television works (and is closer to the way films do things than regular tv).

To begin with tv shows working on a year long schedule simply dont have the time to do full scripts and pre production before filming. There wouldn't be enough time to finish post production before the season needs to release.

When tv writer rooms officially open it is not to start writing scripts. They spend a good amount of time preparing things before: making sure everyone is on the same page about the story, deciding what the story will be for the new season, making sure they connect plots left open previous season, list all roles that need casting, list locations that need scouting and sets that need to exist, do lots of research. In general they want an outline and lists of everything that will be necessary first.

Only then they start working on scripts. And it is still a while before they have them written. For heavily serialized shows like iwtv writers will start with an outline of where in the story each episode starts and ends. Then break down each episode, do scene outlines, decide what needs to appear in one episode for the next to make sense, basically weave the whole story. Or in the case of iwtv choose which pieces of the puzzle go where. Only then they start writing scripts. Episodes will be split between the writers in a way that spreads out the work among them and plays to their strenghts. Basically episodes get assigned to whoever gets the written by credit but they will still have active support of the rest of the writers room throughout the process.

With 3-4 months between writers room starting and filming starting there is no time to finish full seasons before they film. And thats on purpose because all departments are building on each other's work. For example production design team needs to know what sets and locations are needed. They might know about the important ones early on but not everything. So they will start set design and location scouting for the big ones before writers room but need the season outline to know about everything else. On the other side writers need to know how the spaces will look like before they make certain decisions about scenes. With casting big new roles might be cast in advance but smaller ones need the season outline before casting so that happens in parallel to writers room.

With all that tv shows will start filming with a few scripts, enough to give everyone a headstart on whats being filmed and finish the rest during production.

The other big reason is that tv is a moving thing all through the process. Writers are on set to see if things actually work on camera, and if they don't they will rewrite in the moment, but that creates abutterfly effect on later episodes, so not having everything finished allows them to write considering changes. They will also write knowing what decisions actors are making, how spaces look on camera, what things cant be done within budget, etc. Its just easier to write as they go.

Iwtv has the advantage of working with a full series outline (and we know Rolin Jones has written scenes for future seasons already) so casting for major roles probably happened before writing started. But also we know things like the theater set was being prepared for a fire before those scripts existed so they definitely work in a network tv schedule.

The tldr is filming will definitely start before scripts are ready but that is normal and wont delay the release.

Thank you so much for this (very detailed, love it!!!) explanation and outline!!!

Much appreciated!!

[altf4d3lete]

I'm always suspicious when it comes to lesbian content and streaming services, especially because shows with lesbian characters are usually not promoted or cancelled, while shows with gay male characters are constantly considered successes and renewed, like Heartstopp3r (even though I have a gay friend who insists that Heartstopp3r is for teen girls, not for gay young men like him). That said, there should be a reason why MGM deliberately chose a writer who has a stream of successful novels with lesbian characters to write this novelization. What do you think?

Alrighty anon. I have like two thoughts on this. MGM are the people who created Wednesday, then sold it to Netflix. Here’s what I think is going on.

1. This is the way MGM intended the series to happen. The author used the original scripts before Netflix got their hands on them, and this is how season one was supposed to go down before Netflix essentially turned it into a YA love triangle nonsense.

2. Netflix wanted to have some course correction of some sort and take out the romance that everyone hated so much and instead put in some wenclair crumbs for the queer fans. Everyone knows that the majority of the fanbase prefers wenclair, and Netflix isn’t stupid. Something like this will (and most likely is) getting them a lot of money.

Whether wenclair will be translated to the screen or not, I’m not sure. My guess is they will leave the series open-ended with hints towards wenclair, if nothing else. But to be completely honest, my bet is with the first option. That this is how the series was intended and it was written using the original scripts. I can’t see why else some of the lines would have been changed in the way that they were. It’s possible that the intended love triangle was supposed to be between Enid and Tyler, because in the book Wednesday shows no regard for Xavier whatsoever. But that’s just my opinion. Of course we have no clue what goes on behind the scenes.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Hey Gwen! Can I ask you something? What do you think of this post? https://www.tumblr.com/philhelaena/757011234089566208/thinking-about-how-hotd-introduced-adult-aegon-as?source=share

I don't really agree with it since Dyana is still present in this season and even in the previous season he was the punching bag and scapegoat of the family, but I can't find the words to explain how I disagree. What do you think?

Hi anon. With no disrespect intended to the OP of this post,. I've seen this take floating around for awhile now, that Aegon is somehow completely different from his S1 character and that it's somehow of fandom pandering, and I disagree.

First of all, the idea that half the fandom decided to ignore the fight pits and the sexual assault and focus on Aegon being drunk and funny is just flat out incorrect. At the end of S1 it was hard to write a single sympathetic word about Aegon without someone accusing you of being a rape apologist, and even now, while the casual audiences are more sympathetic towards Aegon, people can hardly say they've been enjoying his character without issuing a disclaimer, "he's a terrible person but ...". Team green has always been in a minority (I think in the polls HBO puts out team green is consistently under 15%), and even among people who enjoy team green, until recently it wasn't uncommon for people to say they loved all the greens except Aegon. On AO3 were more Lucemond fics than there were fics featuring all of the Aegon ships combined. So the idea that the showrunners were somehow listening to the 10 people who admitted to enjoying Aegon back when they were writing the S2 scripts and changing his characterization accordingly is pretty silly.

That said, I do think the show toned down Aegon's awfulness a bit. I think TGC himself probably had as much to do with this as any of the fans. That man is relentlessly advocating for his character, stating again and again that he not simply a villain, that that he is capable of empathy and love, that he is someone who feels too deeply rather than the opposite. The way he talks about Aegon and his children makes it pretty clear that he has a vision for this character and has advocated for certain character choices, and good for him! He cares a lot about Aegon and takes his job seriously and it shows because he has gotten heaps of praise for bringing depth to a character who could easily veer into cartoon villainy, and is winning over the sympathies of people who 2 years ago wouldn't have pissed on Aegon if he were on fire. In fact, recent poll on the main HotD subreddit of all places placed Aegon as the best written character so far and it wasn't even close.

And this is good! Considering what happens to Aegon in S2, as well as the endgame of the whole entire story, it's pretty important that the audience be able to connect with him on some level and feel some level of sympathy for him.

And to be honest, I'd challenge the idea that Aegon had some huge personality switchup between S1 and S2. People have to remember, we had a grand total in S1 of about 8-10 minutes with Aegon. He was not, at that point, a fully realized character. Some people envisioned a much darker character than the show ended up settling on, but those headcanons are as much headcanons as the silly goofy drunk Aegon was, as "good loyal brother" Aemond was. And I have to stress, people can interpret characters however they like, and they can certainly disagree with the direction the writers go with a character, but a character who has 8 minutes of screentime ending up having more facets to him once he appears in a primary role in S2 is not the same thing as a character assassination. And perhaps, just perhaps, the child fight pits were the OOC part and Condal etc. pulled back on that characterization because it was incongruous with the guy who was genuinely baffled when Aemond threw him under the bus for the bastard remarks, the guy dying of embarrassment when his sister roasted him at dinner, crying over a slap from his mother, trying to run away rather than take the crown, and asking Alicent "do you love me?" before crying his way through his own coronation. Aegon was a depressive alcoholic in S1 and remained a depressive alcoholic in S2. Was there a chaotic element to him? Certainly! He's got massive substance abuse problems which completely skews his judgment and inhibitions, making him self destructively impulsive. Is there a darkness in him? Of course! If nothing else, he's a Targaryen prince, someone who has grown up with the power of life and death at his fingertips. And we see this! The show has not allowed us to forget about the ratcatchers (and as you mentioned OP, Dyana is still there too)!

Finally, I will say that people who think Aegon is being shown to be a pure buffoon this season haven't been paying attention. Aegon was gaslit by his family members for four episodes straight because they wanted to keep him weak, and the way to do that was to undercut his confidence and trash his self worth. He was correct about nearly single issue he raised -- Harrenhal, the blockade, the smallfolk, needing to be informed about the battle plans Cole and Aemond were making. Hell, even the assassination attempt is something that Otto himself was planning, and Otto himself ordered landed gentry executed for refusing to bend the knee before Aegon was even crowned, a much bigger deal than executing a few ratcatchers! Aegon has a class clown demeanor a lot of the time, but he's not stupid. The thing is, Aegon could have been spouting the most eloquently worded arguments and they were still going to resist him because they whole entire point was to discourage him so that he would lose interest, Alicent even says it point blank to Otto. The thing is, Aegon has good instincts but lacks the confidence to not second guess those instincts because he knows he doesn't have the experience or the training necessary to be an effective king on his own. Aegon's ability to listen is one of his better qualities as a king in fact (I'm sure the council is missing it now that they have Aemond), but he is too concerned with winning the approval of not just his subjects, but the people he cares for, including Alicent and Aemond. Aegon is remarkably perceptive, and he does have a good sense about people, but this is his weakness and unfortunately his family has zero problem exploiting it. Now, will that continue going forward? Unlikely! Aegon is still evolving! In the span of a few months he's been crowned king, lost a child, been undermined and diminished, and has become permanently disabled due to the betrayal of his own brother. Certainly, he is going to change, for better or worse.

[chaifootsteps]

(incoming rant, apologies)

anon who said Stolas is not a "goodie pure angel who does everything right" - that's not entirely the problem his critics have, tbh?

the creators have said he's flawed but ultimately a good person, which is basically the narrative the show runs with: that Stolas is just a bit flawed and made some mistakes, but they're ultimately minor and he deserves to be happy

what his critics contend is that Stolas is not just a bit flawed but is abusive towards Blitzo and neglectful of Via far beyond just regular divorce upheaval. but the show never owns up to that - it never seems to think all that deeply about his behavior or how hypocritcal or neglectful he is

second the anon states that just because the show depicts his reactions doesn't mean the creators are saying he is innocent.

this completely ignores how framing works and how it can be used to send a message. when the camera shows Blitzo leaving the Anti Blitzo party while looking at Stolas smiling and surrounded in glowing light, what is the framing trying to say? it's not "the relationship was fractious and these two need time to themselves", it's "Blitzo has made a huge mistake and missed out on the love of his life due to his own flaws". when the camera favors Stolas crying when Blitzo chews him out, what is it trying to say? it's not "Blitzo has a point here", it's "Blitzo has gone too far and his cynicism is costing him love". when it shows a perspective shot from Blitzo's eyes looking at Stolas while he cries about wanting someone to want him, what is it trying to say? it's not "Stolas is still failing to tell Blitzo what he loves about him in particular", it's "Blitzo does want to be that person for Stolas but won't admit it"

the framing communicates what the writers mean and it favors Stolas, every single time

the part about "anyone who babifies him is in the wrong" - idk if this is aimed at his stans or in universe, but if it's talking about the characters it definitely doesn't seem that way. Verosika literally calls him "baby" and she's framed as being correct when she tells Blitzo he should just let Stolas go and sleep with someone else if he wants. she's the voice of reason in the episode as far as the framing goes - if she wasn't supposed to be, Blitzo would be allowed in the script to fill her in on all the context she's missing about the "relationship" and point out the amount of projection she's doing. but he's not and frankly I don't think the show has earnt the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the writing being secretly sophisticated - they literally had Stella say out loud 'I like tormenting you'. it's not that deep and acting like where they're going with Stolas will be is ignoring the consistent pattern around how he's been written or rather, rewritten

and this is a repeated pattern with Stolas - anytime someone could make an obvious rebuttal to something he says, they never do even when it makes little sense.

Stolas claims it wasn't cheating because Stella never loved him? For some reason Andrealphus and Stella don't point out it was still cheating no matter how he tries to spin it and he hurt Via to boot, in a scene where they're trying to assign blame to him to get more in a divorce settlement

And that's not going into the numerous times this happens with Blitzo. The opening of Apology Tour is basically an argument between the two and Blitzo, who has been characterized as a combative and defensive person to this point, suddenly doesn't pull out anything but vague notions about Stolas looking down on him despite the many, many things he could have said to point out how shitty Stolas has been?

even when Stolas pulls the ultimate self-centred card of 'I can't believe you prioritized your daughter's health over me even though you literally sent your employees to help', Blitzo responds with something the writers can use to make him look worse (that he didn't tell Stolas about the Harvest Moon assassination attempt, which is another retcon why he didn't but let's shelve that for now) instead of what you'd expect him to say: that Stolas is being a selfish jackass who thinks the world revolves around his entitled, ungrateful self when a prince like him should have had his legions rescue him instead of making a working class imp risk his family to help him

that example above really zeroes in on the dissonance. they've written Stolas to be a petty, vindictive piece of shit who's portrayed as somehow in the right for judging Blitzo for not immediately LARPing as his white knight and being at his beck and call whenever he asks for it. any writer who had an objective view of their own characters would not let Stolas say something as awful as he said in Apology Tour (and that's just one of many awful things he says in that scene alone) and just let it slide

but they do, because as far as they're concerned Stolas' petty behavior is just him being sassy and finally standing up for himself against...*checks notes* the person he coerced into sex who made no secret of the fact that he found Stolas' attentions repulsive from the start.

I'm genuinely curious where this 'critics take any line Stolas says in the worst faith possible' thing comes from, or claiming critics don't think comes from. It's because critics think about the episodes on more than a surface level that we criticize Stolas, because we don't accept what the framing is trying to say and nothing else.

In what way can someone take Stolas shaming his love interest for taking his daughter to the doctor in good faith? Or him engaging in literal abusive behavior by rewriting reality to favor himself (and being only nominally aware he's even doing it) and doing DARVO on Blitzo? If it was just one thing - just Stolas doing a classism occasionally - then it might be easier to think it was just him being insensitive.

But Stolas is a character who coerced someone into sex in a show that categorically refuses to use the words 'coercion' or 'rape' to describe what he's done, while showing blink and you miss it shots of Blitzo looking violated and furious at what he has to do to appease Stolas, during a musical montage that's once again framed like Blitzo is the one realizing he's wronged Stolas and getting teary-eyed about it.

this isn't critics claiming Stolas is being treated like a perfect angel when the show makes it clear he's flawed. this is critics claiming Stolas is abusive and the show is bending over backwards not only to hide it, but to act like he's this great catch Blitzo is missing out on and Blitzo is more in the wrong

One moment of Stolas saying 'well maybe I did something wrong' during that song doesn't make up for the fact that the writers act like someone who has had all of season 2 to put it together that he's screwed up and has been told multiple times what the problem is, is 'just not being self aware enough', like it's some minor thing he's trying to claim Blitzo was the one to make it all about sex or that he never looked down on him.

someone who rewrites reality as much as Stolas does and lacks apparently any ability to self-reflect and actually apologize and improve is abusive. period, kill shot, end of.

the only thing that would convince me at this point that the writing isn't trying to retcon Stolas into a better person than he is (and failing harder than ever) would be if in the upcoming storyline where he presumably loses everything, the writing spares no quarter that he messed up:

that the power dynamic between him and Blitzo is pointed out and how stacked the deck was in his favor is said explicitly without victim-blaming Blitzo

that using the fact he was getting shot at to make the deal is acknowledged for the aggravating factor it is

that he was gambling with Via's inheritance solely to get more sex out of Blitzo and him claiming to support his business is self-serving claptrap and he knew that all along

that he doesn't love Blitzo, he loves the idea of love and anyone who will save him from his loneliness will do (or at the very least he sucks at communicating why he loves Blitzo)

that Blitzo had every right to not only be confused but angry with him when he confessed and Stolas expected not only immediate forgiveness, but his love - love he felt entitled to and threw a tantrum when he didn't get it

that he's a neglectful father who promises to do better and not only fails to do so but prioritizes his affair over her and drinks himself into oblivion when he's sad even though there's a possibility she might need him

that he didn't tell her about Stella or the assassination attempt because he was again prioritizing Blitzo

that he's failed to raise his heir and teach her magic properly, the literal only thing the Goetia family wanted out of him

that he abuses his imp servants and sees the lower classes as invisible objects for him to use - when he isn't busy extorting sex out of them, that is

and finally that he blames everyone else for his problems and fundamentally never changes. Blitzo is still an object who should meet his needs and Via is still his neglected daughter who should accept the bare minimum from him when he remembers she exists

this isn't the profile of a flawed but sympathetic character, it's one of a deeply unsympathetic loser who takes while giving virtually nothing back. and that's what the show refuses to own up to. we're supposed to think Stolas is tragic but want him to turn his life around, while I would rather see Striker finish the job so Blitzo can be free of the miserable Stol1tz plotline and become a better person in other ways that actually matter, instead of finishing his transformation into Stolas' very own Emotional Support Poor

tl:dr but Stolas' critics don't think he's a Mary Sue. He's a Jerk Sue, a Black Hole Sue. He's a far worse person than the show wants to admit and they've sunk to truly pretzel levels of mental gymnastics trying to prove that to the viewers with all their retcons and insane troll logic lately

Excellent writeup. Stolas's writers say he's one thing, his words and actions say another, and it really is as simple as that.

[randomfoggytiger]

If you had to put a number on it how many times do you think Mulder and Scully slept together in season 7? And, if you are so inclined what episodes would they have slept together in? Asking for a friend (me) 😊

The answer is probably "frequently." XDDD My reading of canon points to post-Millennium shenanigans.

But I believe we can pick up purposefully placed clues from Scully: she is late (or last to arrive) in Rush and The Goldberg Variation and The Great Maleeni-- which is a marked change from their routine; meaning, imo, she had to drive back to her apartment, get properly dressed, then catch a flight later-- and she's often shown crashing wherever Mulder lands-- all things's opening sequence, Hollywood A.D.'s ending, Requiem's motel room scene, etc.

Furthermore, I believe that Mulder and Scully spent more nights at his apartment than hers due to to his isolatory and her level of comfortability there. (And it's just brimming with MSR memories and moments, which makes it thematically more important.) As mentioned above, we see her gravitate to his apartment more than her own, particularly in all things (which was the first on-screen confirmation); and Scully is the type to go to him rather than call up and ask him to come to her. Gravitating of her own accord to his place would be a measure of half-admittance-- effectively appeasing her own sense of independence (and shame at fessing up to weakness.)

But post all things, all bets are off; and we see that increased level of "who honestly cares about hiding anymore" when they arrive at the office, late, together, and when they shack up shamelessly in the same motel room because Scully feels sick and knows Mulder's a bed warmer. (The latter's script even notes that they arrived with extra hurry to the next morning's crime scene; meaning, they had to rush to get there on time. Which could point to them either having sex that morning or choosing to sleep in-- or Mulder sneakily letting her sleep in-- because Scully was still a little unwell.)

I will note: I'm further bolstered in my assertion by their behavior in Season 8 (gasp, horror.) Wrote a post about it here, but the first time we see Mulder using a key to Scully's place is at the end of Existence (now that they have a family) while Scully is shown openly crashing at his apartment, heartsick, from day one (Within.) Season 8, out of necessity (the baby's arrival and DD's looming second absence), began the transition away from Mulder's place to Scully's (Three Words is the last time we see his apartment, if I recall correctly.) We watched him always dropping by her apartment (Empedocles, Alone) and eagle-eyed his toothbrushes and shirts (Essence)-- which subtly pointed to that transition-- yet, the important part of their history at Hegel's Place was never truly resolved. It's a shame that canon dismissed it out of hand without a proper goodbye. ...But, again, that might be selling the writers and actors short: Mulder himself was detached from apartment 42 in Three Words (only noting "It's clean" and standing or sitting everywhere as compactly and insecurely as possible); and trekked from Alexandria to Georgetown constantly of his own free will. There just... wasn't enough on-screen to justify that write-off. (Add it to the list of micro-changes that weren't allowed to be explored. >:////)

I hope this satisfies~. But if not, I open the floor: does anyone want to take a crack at anon's question?