#seb wants to lull people into a false sense of security(and also really just likes to be his complete unadulterated self)

[skitskatdacat63]

I don't know how I'd ever convey this in art but. Thinking very deeply about how in boy king au, a very crucial part of characterization is that Seb is a wolf in sheep(or lamb more specifically)'s clothing and Fernando is a sheep in wolf's clothing.

Seb is very unassuming, very delicate, seemingly very vulnerable and malleable. But, deep down, he can be very ruthless. It's in the the way he hesitantly declares war, with a spark in his eye and a suppressed smirk. In the way he challenges someone to a card game or a horse race, proclaiming that he's not great, but winning every round and prancing around the room and mentioning it ad infinitum. The way he's able to instantly turn the tide in a debate in one fell swoop. By showing all his cards constantly and letting himself be vulnerable, he's making himself invulnerable. No one would ever consider him to be able to make big moves, so he wins every single time, because no one even thinks to expect it from him.

Fernando on the other hand, is constantly committed to having a looming presence and harsh reputation, but deep down, he's soft. He knows what happens to people when they're vulnerable, and he's not going to let himself be taken advantage of. The way he keeps a brave face when being informed of the marriage proposal, but goes back to his room and cries. The way he proclaims that he was always going to be the rightful ruler of Spain, but confides to Flavio that he never thought there was any real chance of it ever happening. The way he takes himself so seriously in public, but inside feels so giddy whenever he can make someone laugh. Everything to him always feels unstable and ready to crumble at any moment, and he's not willing to contribute to that by letting himself relax.

I think thats why it's very difficult for them to get along at first, because they have completely different approaches to how they carry themselves and make their way through life. Seb is confused at Fernando because he feels that he's very bland and overly serious at first, but truthfully he's not really seeing the actual Fernando. And Fernando finds Seb to be naive and easily taken advantage of, but that's because he's never seen Seb at his most cruel. Seb really loves when he eventually gets to see Fernando being vulnerable, and Fernando really admires and respects Seb when he sees him being serious. I think it just takes a while for them to show the other their full and complete selves, even the parts they can sometimes be ashamed of. There's this very compelling dichotomy in Seb laying out all his cards, but still being very difficult to read, and Fernando keeping his cards to his chest, but his intentions often being easily seen through.

[bartsugsy]

I wonder if they were going to write Lachlan out. But then they realised that Thomas is a good actor who can play a villain really well, so it would be worth keeping him around? (I dunno, the whole white exit has been such a mess. Why do a voicemail to subvert in the most uninteresting way possible?) It feels like they were threading water there for a while because they were seeing how people were reacting to things.

they may have prolonged his exit just to keep thomas around for a little bit longer, i guess? i will be endlessly surprised if it ultimately doesn’t come down to them wanting to do lachlan vs rob for one last time though

(is it wishful thinking??? sure but thAT DOESN’T MEAN IT WON’T HAPPEN OK)

i’ve said this a lot before but it’s sort of impossible to try and guess initial intentions or the ways in which plots have been developed, particularly when you’re part way through a plot and don’t know where it’s actually heading or what their intention is yet, you know?

and i think they needed to take time out to sort out aaron and robert and clearly they chose to do that around their anniversary because they could time it nicely with valentines day and also doing a rob christmas special (that’s an assumption i’m making on their decision making, yes, but it feels like a fairly safe one given how little happened for robron between aaron’s birthday and the week of valentines day?)

it just - i know that not many people agree with me here but i’ll keep saying it anyway bc it’s what i think: i think the pacing since chrissie and larry died has been good and also consistent and everything has moved along at a decent pace, so it doesn’t feel rushed and it’s building towards an interesting story.

i can’t really see any treading water~, so to speak, with this story since the crash. they’ve established that:

lachlan feels guilty but also is happier in his new life, with the dingles as a family, than he ever was in his old one with the whites and willing to do whatever it takes including harm his family (i.e. rebecca) to maintain that

robert feels very guilty and also incredibly stressed at having to care for seb pretty much full time and rebecca (and thank god for vic lmao) whilst running his own business (which he has, i think understandably even tho i keep making jokes that it’s to bang aaron all day and night taken some time off from)

rebecca, now awake, is in a bad way and about to cause a lot more problems - enough that although she’s a ticking time bomb for lachlan, he’s been lulled into a false sense of security because she’s in such a bad place

that’s a good place to be in 6 weeks after the fact, i think? i genuinely think they’ve done a good job so far? 

and i liked the voicemail! i mean, only bc thomas was really good at listening to it and crying but u know! it was good! lmaooo

idk dude i’m loving it, what can i say?