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shaiyasstuff · 3 months ago

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pretend | zayne

synopsis : In a tale of academic burnout, fried chicken, and poor impulse control, chaos incarnate—that’s you—somehow convinces your emotionally constipated med-student best friend to drink half a beer—which, shockingly, nearly kills him. Queue: slow realization that maybe, just maybe, you’ve both been idiots in love this whole time. content : fluff, drunk zayne, i wrote this with absolute zeal in mind, college!au

“Yes!” you exclaim, throwing your hands in the air like you just won an Oscar for Most Sleep-Deprived Human Alive.

Across the table, Zayne lifts a brow and smirks—annoyingly composed for someone who just witnessed you spiral through caffeine-fueled thesis chaos.

“I’m finally done,” you announce dramatically, like you just ended a war. “Let’s go out tonight. I need meat on sticks and bad decisions.”

Zayne closes his book with a soft thud, taking off his glasses in that maddeningly slow, deliberate way—like he knows exactly what he’s doing to your blood pressure.

“I pity the skewers who will die by your hand tonight,” he deadpans.

You snort. “I pity you, who’ll have to witness me demolish a six-pack like a college frat bro on a redemption arc.”

It wasn’t a dig. It was a fact.

Zayne doesn’t drink—ever.

You’re convinced his blood is 80% black coffee and quiet judgment.

So, naturally, you’d assigned him the title of Sir Zayne, Protector of Drunk Y/N, a role he never officially accepted but continues to perform with the patience of a long-suffering saint and the sighs of a man who has seen too much.

Honestly? If that’s not love, you don’t know what is.

But you and Zayne never crossed the line.

Not because he didn’t want to—at least, you hoped that was the case—but because you never let it happen.

Courtesy of your own sparkling cocktail of overthinking, self-doubt, and the lingering fear of ruining something good.

Zayne was tall, handsome, smart—the kind of man who made professors nod in approval and grandmothers sigh wistfully.

And you? You were the chaotic best friend with a penchant for questionable snack combos and emotional repression.

You’d watched him grow up beside you, shedding his shy, bookish shell to become the quietly confident man sitting across from you now.

The same man who still gave you his hoodie when you complained about the cold and remembered your coffee order down to the sugar granules.

And sure, you said you loved each other. Threw it around between jokes and “don’t die today” texts.

But it was always buffered by a safe, platonic bubble wrap. You never dared to mean it the way your heart did—aching and wistful, quietly begging for something more.

Because admitting it out loud?

That would change everything.

And some things felt too fragile to risk breaking.

“I’m gonna take one very relaxing shower and meet you there, cool?” you say, slinging your backpack over your shoulder like the protagonist of a teen drama walking off into the sunset—except sweatier and more sleep-deprived.

Zayne gives you a look, all cool and composed as usual. “Don’t make me wait again.”

You gasp, offended. “It was one time!”

But he’s already walking off like he just won that round—he probably did, and you’re left chasing after him, muttering something about false accusations and revisionist history.

Back at your dorm, you kick the door shut with your foot, strip off the layers of thesis-fueled misery, and step into the shower.

The hot water hits your skin, and for the first time in weeks, your shoulders unclench.

Your body, a battlefield of all-nighters, instant noodles, and bad posture, finally starts to forgive you.

Maybe tonight wouldn’t just be about beer and skewers.

Maybe, just maybe, you’d let yourself hope for something more.

You step out into the cool night air, tugging your hoodie sleeves over your hands and rubbing them together like a gremlin summoning warmth.

The city hums quietly around you—streetlights flickering, distant honks, the occasional bark of a dog that clearly has beef with the moon.

It doesn’t take long to reach the barbecue stall, that familiar greasy heaven you and Zayne have treated like your unofficial therapy spot for years.

And there he is, already seated inside, calm and collected like he hadn’t just been abandoned seventeen minutes ago. Your favorite order of fried chicken sits next to him, still warm.

Because of course it does.

You beam, tapping him on the shoulder before plopping down beside him. “Was I late?”

He doesn’t even look at you. “By 17 minutes, yes.”

You snort, already digging into the chicken like a woman possessed. “Big deal,” you mutter through a mouthful of food, completely unapologetic.

Zayne simply shakes his head, the corners of his lips twitching in the ghost of a smile.

You were chaos, and somehow, he always made room for it.

“So, what are your grand post-thesis plans, Doctor Zayne?” you ask, popping open a can with a dramatic pshhht that echoes like a battle cry into the night.

Zayne glances at you, then at the can in your hand like it personally offended his morals. “Hopefully not babysitting a tipsy gremlin.”

You raise your can in mock salute. “Too late. You signed up for this the day you let me copy your homework in seventh grade.”

He exhales through his nose, which is Zayne-speak for you’re unbearable, but I’ve made peace with it. “I’m thinking of applying for that research position at the hospital. Maybe specialize in cardiac surgery.”

You pause mid-sip, impressed. “Heart guy, huh? Makes sense. You’ve already stolen mine.”

He gives you a slow, pointed look.

You grin. “Kidding. Kind of.”

He doesn’t reply, just leans back and sips his coffee—the man’s choice of poison—and you wonder, just for a second, if maybe your heart wasn’t the only one on the table tonight.

Who were you kidding? Of course it isn’t.

If there was anything Zayne was good at—aside from saving lives, surviving on black coffee, and giving you judgmental looks—it was being honest. Blunt, even.

The guy didn’t know how to sugarcoat if his life depended on it.

So if he felt anything beyond friendship, he would’ve said something… right?

He wouldn’t just sit across from you night after night, remembering your order, walking you home, and quietly watching over you like some emotionally constipated guardian angel—unless it really was just friendship.

Right?

You shove another piece of chicken into your mouth, suddenly feeling very attacked by your own thoughts.

Maybe you were reading too much into it.

Maybe the long stares and rare half-smiles meant nothing.

Maybe he looked at everyone like that.

…Or maybe he didn’t.

But knowing Zayne?

If he wanted something more, he would’ve told you.

And that’s the part that hurts the most.

You finish your chicken in record time, like a seasoned warrior who’s trained her whole life for this exact moment.

Zayne watches you with the mild horror of someone witnessing a natural disaster unfold in slow motion.

“With all that grease you eat,” he scoffs, sipping his drink with far too much elegance, “it’s a wonder you’re still so thin.”

You wipe your mouth with a napkin and flash him a smug, greasy-lipped grin. “Courtesy of late-night study marathons and crippling stress. Better than any diet plan.”

He shakes his head, muttering something about clogged arteries and self-destruction, but the corners of his mouth twitch in that way that tells you he’s more amused than annoyed.

You lean back, arms stretched, feeling the food coma start to settle in. The air between you buzzes with something unspoken—comfortable, familiar, and maybe just a little tragic.

Like always.

You take a long sip from your beer can, eyes narrowing playfully at him over the rim. “You know, you should really start seeing someone.”

Zayne doesn’t even blink. He just turns his head, gives you that pointed, deadpan look—the one that says I’m humoring you, but only barely. “I am perfectly fine, single.”

You snort. “Yeah, perfectly fine sitting alone in your apartment reading medical journals and judging me for my life choices.”

He raises a brow. “Someone has to.”

You laugh, nudging his leg under the table. “Seriously, though. You’re handsome, smart, stable. Tragic levels of emotionally unavailable, but that’s practically a dating app requirement these days.”

Zayne doesn’t respond right away. Just takes a calm sip of his coffee, gaze lingering on you a second too long.

“Maybe I’m just waiting for the right kind of chaos,” he murmurs.

And just like that, you forget how to breathe.

You quickly look away, composing yourself with the grace of someone pretending not to be internally combusting.

The heat crawling up your neck? Yeah, definitely the alcohol. Totally not because of that look or that line.

You take another sip, stalling. “Seriously? I always thought you’d go for the quiet, put-together type. You know, the kind who alphabetizes her spice rack and drinks herbal tea.”

Zayne hums, eyes still on you. “I already have enough order in my life. Why would I want more of that?”

You blink, caught off guard. “So… chaos is the goal?”

He tilts his head slightly, a rare glint of mischief in his gaze. “Not chaos. Just… someone who makes life feel a little less dull. Someone who challenges me. Keeps me on my toes.”

You let out a breathy laugh, unsure if it’s the beer, the tension, or just him.

“Sounds exhausting,” you mutter.

He smiles. “Not if it’s the right person.”

And suddenly, you’re not so sure you can blame the warmth in your chest on the alcohol anymore.

You push all your thoughts aside—shove them into that dark mental closet labeled Feelings: Do Not Open.

With a practiced grin, you raise your can in mock toast. “Well, be sure to send me an invitation to the wedding,” you quip, voice light, smile lighter.

For someone who lives and breathes chaos, you’ve gotten remarkably good at pretending things don’t get to you.

Zayne just smirks, as if he sees right through the performance. And then—without a word—he reaches for a can of beer.

Pop.

The sound cuts through the air like a record scratch. You freeze, staring at him like he just broke the laws of physics.

“Wait, are you—what—you’re drinking?”

He shrugs, raising the can to his lips. “It’s just one.”

You gape. “You’ve lectured me for years about alcohol rotting brains.”

He glances at you, his voice calm. “Maybe I just needed a reason.”

And this time, it’s not just your cheeks that feel warm. It’s everything.

You cough, almost choking on your drink. “Are you sure?”

Zayne glances at the can in his hand, then back at you with that maddeningly unreadable expression. “What, afraid I’ll lose my sense of control?”

You blink. “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. Who are you and what have you done with ‘water-only’ Zayne?”

He takes a slow sip, completely unfazed. “It’s just beer.”

“You say that like I didn’t once watch you refuse soda because it had too many bubbles.”

He shrugs, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. “Maybe I’m evolving.”

You narrow your eyes at him. “Or maybe you’re trying to impress someone.”

He doesn’t answer. Just leans back in his seat, eyes still on you—calm, unreadable, dangerous in the way that makes your heart skip.

And now you’re the one who needs another drink.

Soon enough, Zayne learns the harsh truth of his choices.

Because not even halfway through the can, the damage is done—his face flushed a deep, telltale red, his breath coming in shallow little huffs like he’s just walked through a wind tunnel.

You glance over at him mid-sip, eyebrows shooting up.

“…You good?”

“I’m fine,” he says, voice stiff and defensive—classic Zayne—but he’s blinking too much, his back too straight, like he’s focusing really, really hard on staying upright.

You stare. “You’ve had half a can.”

He shifts uncomfortably, tugging at the collar of his shirt as if the night air suddenly turned tropical. “I didn’t eat much today,” he mutters, clearly struggling to save face. “Also, the ground feels… uneven.”

You nearly snort beer up your nose. “The ground is fine. You are uneven.”

His glare is valiant, but his ears are glowing, and he’s gripping the edge of the table like it’s the only thing tethering him to Earth.

“I told you this would happen,” you say, half-concerned, half-delighted. “You’re like a lightweight legend.”

He groans, dragging a hand down his flushed face. “Remind me never to do this again.”

You lean your cheek into your palm, grinning. “Remind me to never let you not do this again.”

He exhales sharply—half sigh, half chuckle—and despite the mess he’s in, there’s still that look in his eyes.

Soft. Open. A little reckless.

And God help you, it suits him.

The night carries on, as nights with you usually do—spiraling steadily into chaos.

One of your many bad decisions includes convincing Zayne to finish the rest of that cursed can. He protests, of course—weakly, half-heartedly, with the conviction of a man who already knows he’s lost.

“I really shouldn’t—”

“Just a little more,” you grin, shoving it toward him like it’s a dare and not a crime against his entire system.

He sighs, long and resigned, then tips the can back with the tragic acceptance of someone walking into a trap they dug themselves.

Moments later, he’s slumped over the table, forehead resting on his arm, a soft groan escaping him. “I think I’m dying.”

You? You’re no help.

You’re already tipsy, which means your moral compass has long since clocked out. You’re doubled over with laughter, wheezing uncontrollably at the sight of composed, stoic, impossible-to-rattle Zayne looking one sip away from meeting God.

“You look like a Victorian lady with the vapors,” you cackle.

“I hate you,” he mumbles into the table.

“This is love,” you giggle, nearly falling off your stool.

And despite the headache he’ll definitely have tomorrow, he doesn’t argue. Not really.

After a few more cans—questionable choices all around—you find yourself leaning back in your seat, finishing the last of your skewers with drunken determination.

The stall’s almost empty now, the night stretching quiet and still around you, save for the low hum of streetlights and the occasional car passing by.

Zayne, meanwhile, is completely knocked out beside you.

Head lolled to the side, glasses tucked away somewhere, lips parted slightly as he breathes slow and deep.

His usually sharp features are softened, flushed, and peaceful in a way that makes your chest squeeze a little too tightly.

If you didn’t know better, you’d say he looked cute like this.

But you do know better, so you just shake your head and smirk at the very real mess you helped create.

Tossing the empty skewer stick aside, you slide off your seat with a wobble, then crouch beside him.

You nudge his shoulder gently. “Come on, let’s go,” you whisper, voice low, a little fond, a little guilty.

He doesn’t budge.

Just lets out a tiny groan, eyelids fluttering like he’s having an incredibly dramatic dream about betrayal and liver damage.

You sigh, laughing under your breath. “This is what I get for enabling you, huh?”

Still, you loop an arm under his and begin to help him up—because even if he’s heavier than you remember and absolutely no help at all, he’s still your idiot to carry home.

And for once, he lets you.

You somehow manage to haul him upright—well, half-upright—his arm slung over your shoulders as he leans most of his weight on you.

He mumbles something incoherent against your hair, something that sounds like “never again” but could also be “chicken skewers are evil.” Hard to tell.

His dorm’s way too far, and in his current state, he’d probably collapse somewhere tragic and inconvenient—like the middle of the sidewalk or a bush with questionable origins.

So, you make the executive decision.

“My place it is,” you mutter, shifting his weight and starting the slow, awkward shuffle back toward your dorm.

He stumbles once or twice, groaning like a disgruntled old man, and you stifle a laugh.

“This is karma,” you tell him, breathless from both the effort and the ridiculousness of it all. “For every time you judged my life choices.”

He doesn’t respond, just leans more heavily into you—like he knows you’ll carry him anyway.

And you do.

Step by step, wordlessly and willingly, until your dorm door finally clicks open and you ease him inside, one breath, one stubborn heartbeat at a time.

You finally manage to plop him down onto your bed with the grace of someone who’s done this exact thing zero times and is running purely on muscle memory and spite.

Zayne flops back like a ragdoll, one arm splayed dramatically over his eyes, as if the sheer emotional weight of the night has bested him.

You shake your head, chest heaving, cheeks still warm from your own drinks. “You’re lucky you’re pretty,” you mutter, mostly to yourself.

Crossing the room, you grab your water bottle—your trusty, slightly dented savior—and take several deep gulps yourself before crouching at the edge of the bed.

Then, without thinking twice, you press it gently to his lips.

“Here,” you say, voice softer now. “It’ll help you feel better.”

Zayne makes a vague, pitiful noise. But he drinks, eyes still closed, brows faintly scrunched like he’s never tasted water before in his life.

You hold it steady, watching him carefully, your expression torn between amused and quietly tender.

It’s such a stupid, intimate moment.

And somehow, it feels like more than it should.

To your horror, he downs the entire bottle. Every last drop.

“Hey—hey! That’s mine!” you protest, trying to pry it from his hands, but Zayne holds it like a lifeline, drinking until it gives a dramatic little hollow gulp at the end.

He sets it down with an exaggerated sigh, flopping back against your pillows like he just climbed a mountain.

“You have legs,” you grumble, snatching the empty bottle. “The water dispenser is literally down the hall.”

“It’s too far,” he mumbles, eyes closed again. “Your bed is nice. I’m dying. Let me die hydrated.”

You roll your eyes, turning to set the bottle aside—and then pause when you feel the weight shift beside you.

Zayne suddenly sits up.

You glance over and freeze. He’s staring at you.

Not blinking. Not swaying. Just… staring.

A little too intently. A little too seriously.

“…What?” you squeak, completely thrown.

He doesn’t answer right away.

Just keeps looking at you like you’ve said something outrageous.

Or like he just realized something important.

And suddenly, the room feels a little too quiet.

A little too close.

He stares into your eyes, and for a moment, everything else fades—the buzz of alcohol, the low hum of the city outside, even the dull ache in your limbs.

Then, slowly, his hands reach out and grasp your arms—not rough, not urgent, but firm enough to make your breath hitch. Before you can say a word, he pulls himself to his feet, swaying just slightly, and starts walking.

Pushing you back with each quiet, deliberate step.

You move without thinking, heart hammering in your chest as your knees bump into the edge of your desk.

You’re trapped between the wood at your back and the look in his eyes—sharp, unreadable, burning through the haze of the night.

“Zayne…” you breathe, voice barely above a whisper, unsure if you’re warning him or yourself.

He doesn’t answer. He just stands there, too close, the heat of him bleeding into your skin, his hands still lingering on your arms like he’s afraid you’ll disappear.

And in that moment, you swear the entire world narrows to the space between you.

And whether it’s the alcohol or the truth breaking free—

You can’t tell the difference anymore.

“Uhm… are you okay?” you ask, your voice uncertain, breath catching in your throat as you stare up at him.

Zayne shakes his head, just once. “No.”

You blink, concern flaring. “What’s wro—”

But you don’t get to finish.

He closes the distance between you in a heartbeat, hands moving to cradle your face as his lips crash against yours.

It’s not soft. Not hesitant.

It’s hungry.

Like he’s been holding it back for far too long. Like something inside him finally snapped loose.

Your back presses harder against the desk as he leans in, kissing you like he’s afraid this moment will slip away if he doesn’t take all of it now.

And for a second—just a second—you forget everything else.

The drinks. The laughter. The years of pretending.

All that exists is the heat of his mouth on yours and the staggering, undeniable truth of it.

His lips crash into yours before you can even finish your sentence—urgent, messy, filled with too much longing and too little clarity. It catches you off guard, your breath stolen, your thoughts scattering like the loose papers on your desk.

At first, you freeze.

Then your hands move to his chest, trying to push him back. “Zayne—wait—”

But he’s already pulling you closer, an arm slipping around your waist, the other sweeping across your desk in one rushed, careless motion—books, pens, everything clattering to the floor.

He grabs your hips and lifts you effortlessly, placing you on the desk like it’s instinct, like he’s done this a thousand times in his head.

“Zayne, stop!” you protest, voice sharp now, your palms pressed firmly against him.

And just like that, he halts—everything in him going still.

His breath is ragged, face flushed, eyes wide with a dawning realization as he looks at you—really looks.

Silence stretches between you.

Then he slowly steps back, as if waking from something he didn’t mean to fall into.

“…I’m sorry,” he says, voice low, shaken. “I shouldn’t have—”

You don’t answer right away. You’re still catching your breath, still feeling the echo of what just happened.

Because part of you is furious.

And part of you is trembling.

And somewhere, buried beneath it all, part of you wanted it.

But not like this.

Not drunk.

Not blurred.

And certainly not like something he’ll regret in the morning.

You try to steady the shaking in your voice, the racing in your chest, and force out a laugh—thin, awkward, strained.

“See?” you say, trying to make light of it, to patch over the tension like you always do. “This is exactly why you should get a girlfriend. Someone to… I don’t know, handle all that bottled-up intensity.”

But he doesn’t smile. Doesn’t look away.

Instead, his gaze sharpens—sober, unwavering, cutting right through your joke like it never existed.

“I don’t want one,” he says.

Simple. Final.

The room falls quiet again. The words hang in the air, heavier than you expect.

Your smile fades a little, the humor faltering on your lips. “Then what do you want?”

He doesn’t answer right away.

But his eyes never leave yours.

And that silence says more than words ever could.

“I want you,” he says quietly, each word deliberate, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

His eyes stay locked on yours as he takes a step closer.

“Only you.”

Your breath catches—completely, helplessly.

There’s no teasing in his tone, no drunken slur, no hesitation.

Just the raw, unfiltered truth of it. It lands in your chest like a drop of ink in water, spreading fast and uncontrollably.

You should say something. Anything.

But your voice is gone, swallowed by the weight of his words and the way he’s looking at you now—like you’re the only thing in the world worth reaching for.

You’d spent so long convincing yourself that he didn’t feel this. That he couldn’t.

But now?

He’s standing in front of you like he’s known all along.

And like he’s finally tired of pretending he doesn’t.

You open your mouth, stammering, grasping for something logical to say—anything to bring the air back into your lungs, to slow your racing heart.

“Zayne, you’re—this is just the alcohol talking, you don’t mean—”

But he cuts you off, his voice low and steady.

“I’m done pretending.”

The words hit you like a sudden shift in gravity.

There’s no hesitation in him now.

No trace of the usual restraint he always wore like armor. He’s standing there—bare, honest, and dangerously close.

You search his face for some sign of doubt, some crack you can cling to. But there’s nothing.

Just the truth laid out between you, heavy and real.

And your heart doesn’t know whether to run or leap.

“I don’t want this to happen just because you’re drunk,” you whisper, barely able to look at him.

It comes out softer than you mean it to—fragile, almost trembling—because beneath all the banter, beneath all the years of pretending, you’ve always been afraid of this exact moment.

Of wanting it too much and it not being real.

Zayne’s expression doesn’t falter. If anything, it deepens—his gaze steady, clear, unwavering.

“I’m not drunk enough to forget this,” he says quietly. “And definitely not drunk enough to lie.”

You look at him, really look at him, and for the first time, you don’t see the walls he always kept between you. They’re gone. Just like that.

What’s left is him.

And the truth you’d both been trying so hard not to touch.

His hand reaches up, fingers brushing against your skin as he gently tilts your chin up to meet his gaze. His touch is careful—soft in a way that makes your chest ache.

“It’s hard to see you trying to push me away,” he says, voice low and raw. “All the time.”

Your eyes widen, guilt and surprise rushing in at once. “I just thought…”

He leans in closer, his breath warm against your lips, eyes searching yours like he’s waiting for you to see what he’s been trying to show you all along.

“No more thinking,” he murmurs.

Then he kisses you again—but this time, it’s slow.

Careful. Like he’s trying to tell you everything he couldn’t say with words.

And when he finally pulls back, he doesn’t move far. His forehead rests against yours, the space between you now completely, irreversibly gone.

“I’m sorry,” he breathes, “about earlier.”

A pause.

“But I’m not sorry for this.”

And just like that, you close your eyes and let it all fall away—the fear, the doubt, the need to overthink every moment.

Because for once, the truth is simple.

He’s here.

He chose you.

And despite everything you tried to convince yourself, despite all the ways you kept your heart guarded—you want him too.

You exhale, slow and shaky, forehead still pressed to his, your fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt like an anchor.

No more pretending.

No more running.

You let yourself fall—not blindly, but willingly. Into him.

Into this.

Into whatever comes next.

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ardienothesieno · 3 months ago

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taking notes on the hermitcraft charity livestream for my friend @pookapufferfish and also just anyone else who had to miss it 👍

these are going to be all over the place lol

i started my note-keeping like an hour or so into the stream so i dont have a lot of stuff from the beginning...

but: grian and scar opened the stream, showed off some of the items up for auction (like real wild life snails. i want one so bad but they're MASSIVELY out of my price range...)

POST-POSTING EDIT: I FORGOT THERE WAS AN IMP AND SKIZZ PODCAST. it wasnt really a traditional podcast though, martyn was asking them questions, a group of hermits would vote on who they thought had the best answer, and whoever lost got shocked by grian.

my most notable takeaway from the shock-cast is that if impulse could have any superpowers he'd want control over time, and skizz would want the ability to heal people. mmm yes food for the superhero aus

and then ren busted out this custom hermitcraft guitar that's also up for auction and played a song by green day

and then we got treebark content.martyn and ren ran the main stream for like 20 minutes

also we hit ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS really freaking fast. and they spun the wheel of chaos and it landed on ✨hermit boxing✨

ROBO-CLEO

okay now all that follows is liveblogging

i keep recognizing people in chat. like not even from mcyt spaces ive seen like three people who i know from skurry streams

martyn using they/them for cleo pog!!

THERE'S A JELLIE MURAL IN THE MINECRAFT OFFICE AWWW

irl guess the build / drawing... drawing things on whiteboards or building things and then guessing

cub is wearing a bob ross wig.

jimmy has built skizz's giraffe...

SKIZZ GIRAFFE REDEMPTION ARC GOES HORRIBLY WRONG

pearl has gorgeous handwriting

grian has obtained a cat keyboard and jimmy is beatboxing along

GEM GIRAFFE REDEMPTION ARC GOES INCREDIBLY RIGHT

they're gonna auction off the terrible drawings. i want one.

round two of guess the drawing / build has the most unhinged prompts ever. including the cursed creature mumbo built in the last permitmaster

it has gone off the rails incredibly fast

grian is just torturing everyone with nerf guns and whoopie cushions

jimmy is left handed

martyn's doing a dollar drive and it's not letting me donate because it doesnt take debit cards. now i need to somehow convince my dad to let me use his credit card... i'll pay him back but. gah. the hassle.

pearl and some person fighting in the background (who was apparently karn, her partner!)

TWO HUNDRED THOUSANDDDDDDDDDDDDD

joe and cub are boxing!! cub is still dressed like bob ross

it's been like 20 minutes and martyn is still going strong with the name reading. and about 30,000 dollars have been raised in that time alone

dimension 20 reference!

martyn's free from yelling names for now... in half an hour we raised SEVENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS

zed and tango hosting the QUIET GAMESSSSSSS. 3 teams of two, imp and gem, ren and skizz, GRIAN AND JIMMYYYY. basically just a bunch of weird minigames where you have to be as quiet as possible. scored on how quiet you are and how well you do

first minigame is moving marbles with spoons but the spoons are attached to a cowbell

gem and impulse did good. skizz and ren did better then i expected. jimmy and grain instantly dissolved into anarchy. jimmy and grian had the most marbles, skizz and ren were surprisingly the quietest

okay the next game is so weird. knocking around ping pong balls with party popper blow kazoo things. but you hold the kazoo for your partner so it's weirdly intimate

someone in the chat described it as nightmare blunt rotation and that the most accurate description yet

someone else in chat has named skizz and ren team rizz and i hate everything

also i realize now that if theyd have done this with commonly shipped pairs the fandom would never shut up

despite the absolute chaos that was happening grian and jimmy won that round on both number of balls and quietness. grian may have slapped jimmy at one point. (he totally did)

the last one is EVEN MORE COMPLICATED. one person blindfolded navigating a minefield of bubblewrap and rubber chickens. another with jingle bells on their ankles and a big stick to smack their partner around.

gem immediately has grabbed the big stick with an evil look on her face

impulse is INCREDIBLY clumsy and gem is just whaling on him

"IT'S ALL BUBBLES!!!?!?" -- impulsesv

ren and skizz have a STRATEGY

ren is doing adorable little shuffley step-steps. "Robo-penguin Ren... Renguin" -- Zedaph

JIMMY IS MOUTHING "HELP ME" OMG.... GRIANS GOING TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM...

but theyve got the best strategy yet actually grian's only kinda beating the shit out of jimmy... they might win this...

GRIAN AND JIMMY TAKE THE WHOLE THING HOME!!!!!!!! SKYBLINGS VICTORY!!!!!!! THE ONE NO ONE EXPECTED!!!!!!

wheel spin for 200,000 landed on "tortilla slap challenge" whichll be weird

the artworks from guess the build have gone up on the auction site and scar is very horrified over something skizz drew... a "sentient sock" that looks very... sus.

speed TCG time!!!!!!! i dont know much about TCG so im gonna try and maybe try and study a bit during this part (also also every 1000 dollars donated each player gets an extra item card)

joe is doing live TCG sound effects

neither joe or ren cant flip a coin to save their lives

pearl v cub. ren v joe. ren v cub.

TCG IS TOO CHAOTIC I CANT FOCUS ON TRIGONOMETRY LIKE THIS

also i need to learn how to play this it looks so fun

this is HEATED. and ren keeps getting armor stands and is so pissed about it

REN TAKES THE VICTORY!!! and they raised like 20,000 dollars in the process holy cow "THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAME OF TCG EVER TO BE PLAYED" -- Joe Hills

ONE MILLION DOLLARS RAISED FOR GAMERS OUTREACH IN TOTAL

THREE HUNDRED THOUSANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

300k wheel spin has unlocked NERF GUNSSSSS

also it's "donate x amount of dollars get your name on a sign on hermitcraft" time

cleobot is back!

scar is having a fantastic time running the main stream

GRIAN HAS COME IN AND BARRAGED SCAR WITH BULLETS.

it's tortilla tiiiiiiiiiiime

twich has a personal vendetta against me. it gives me ads right when the exciting things are starting.

scar is apparently on the board of directors at gamer's outreach now!!

IMPULSE V JIMMY. a draw. they are both invulnerable to tortillas.

TANGO V ZED. tango loses through laughter

IMPULSE V ZED. zed didnt get a single slap on impulse. a draw.

also all the hermits really really like to play scissors. in rock paper scissors.

"she removed both of my heads from my body..." -- RentheDog

THE GIRLIES ARE FIGHTING (ren and false)

SKIZZ V GRIAN TORTILLA FIGHT. skizz wins lolol

...im buying a sign

gem signed pearl's ankle.

OKAY I GOT REALLY DISTRACTED FROM MY LIVEBLOGGING. THERE WAS WAR. THERE WAS A MASSIVE NERF GUN WAR. IT INTERRUPTED THE SIGN PLACING.

and yeah... i bought a sign <3

but i dont even know how to cover the half of the nerf war. but there was a lot of hotguy and cuteguy action

grian was even using two pistols instead of a bigger nerf gun... just like cuteguy in ddvau... omg...

at one point scar became a tank. and jimmy wheeled him behind enemy lines and he sniped four people and won the round

and theyre starting to wrap up now, martyn's doing another dollar drive. we're at $375,000...

everyone is signing the pc in the background of martyn's mad line-spitting

TEN HOUR MARK

we need 10,000 dollars... then we'll hit 400k and martyn can rest his vocal cords...

SPARKBIRD GOT MENTIONED

since it's been brought up like 13 times on the stream today. hey. you. you, the person reading this. you just lost the game :3

FOUR HUNDRED THOUSANDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

holy cow. that wraps up day one!!!!

im gonna reblog this post in a bit with all the screenshots i took. because i took a lot of them lol.

link to my day two liveblog

245 notes · View notes

glasskey · 1 month ago

Text

Season 6 - Critical Mass

Fuck me. Season 6. Some loved it, most hated it. Episode 9 in particular really brought the whole house of cards down for this season, and left the writers and show runners with nothing but angry fans and a thousand questions to answer. I started making my own list sometime ago and episode 9 just tipped me over into critical mass. Because it involved the death of not one but two beloved characters, fans were let’s say, a little miffed. The choice to off Nick Blaine in particular has drawn considerable heat and there’s plenty of reasons why. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest reasons that Season 6 broke abso-fucking-loutely everything.

Firstly, I don’t think that it’s an exaggeration to say that at times season 6 just felt surreal and not in a good way. Previous seasons had set up the rules and guidelines for this world and season 6 simply didn’t care about any of them. For instance; how were people just waltzing in and out of Gilead now? That place used to be fucking locked down. Spot lights, dogs, guard towers, drones, Eyes….anyone remember how Emily had to swim over that freezing river with Holly to get to freedom and it was scary AF? Baby Holly nearly drowned. Now June Osborne, Gilead public enemy number one is just jumping in the car to go shuttle Lawrence across the border to a completely abandoned aircraft hangar. But season 6 didn’t stop there, it also didn’t respect the laws of gravity when it dangled Osborne from a crane 30 feet in the air and then hurled her to the ground without a scratch. In addition to disregarding the very laws of physics, Season 6 also gave characters amnesia on multiple occasions, cited off screen occurrences as lore as some sort of “fail safe”, sought to rewrite characters very natures, violated original texts, assumed knowledge, disregarded plot holes and selectively altered the basic moral compass by which characters would be judged. In fact, there really isn’t much that season 6 didn’t do in terms of just breaking all the guidelines that keep a world intact. I can only hope that it will be used as an example of what NOT to do by future writers, because quite honestly the disbelief and anger by audiences has been visceral, and personally I’ve never wanted to smash my television more.

This season was meant to be about people showing their true faces and I am STUNNED that somewhere, somehow these writers have justified that a woman who participated in multiple rapes, stole a baby, and had her hand in the conception of Gilead, has a benevolent “true face”. On Serena’s wedding night she was astonished to learn that her new husband, King of all the High Commanders was a die hard loyalist who liked to keep a handmaid on staff. She had a bit of a whimper but next morning she was ready to kiss and make up, and then her new hubby left for a morning appointment to execute her bestie. Despite this, Serena the baby snatching rapist, was afforded a redemption arc. I was and am, horrified.

Show runners have seen fit to state that Serena and June were actually the love story all along and I cannot tell you how much it disgusts me to hear that they would actually think that a victim / abuser relationship should ever be described as such. I am deeply disturbed that the creators of this show believe it is appropriate to describe the relationship between a kidnapper, rapist, physical and psychological abuser and their victim, as a love story. To say that June is able to forgive her abuser is one thing, to say that she loves her is quite another. If Serena had been a man, a father, she would have pushed her aboard that doomed plane. As it was she was a mother and therefore untouchable so she ultimately walked away virtually unscathed. So the writers message was we could be forgiven anything, even the vilest acts against our own gender, as long as we reproduced. If they intended me to feel all supported and warm and fuzzy as a woman, they well and truly missed the mark. Women like Serena Joy are fucking traitors, because they know full well what it’s like to be a woman, to fight for every single tiny square inch of freedom, and yet they seek to seize power by crushing their fellow women beneath their heel in order to get it.

Next in line is Aunt Lydia, who sanctioned and carried out torture, rape and murder. She arranged for Janine’s eye to be ripped out and farmed women into slavery. Suddenly she was pleading ignorance over what actually happens to the handmaids in their retirement? Are you fucking kidding me? This woman was so far up Gilead’s arse there was literally nothing that demon didn’t know about what was happening to those Handmaids. Atwood’s text reveals the aunts kept secret detailed files on all of them, and having Aunt Lydia now whining about her “poor girls” after tasing them for 5 seasons is laughable. She’d chained a pregnant handmaid in the basement and informed June she’d be shot after giving birth, so all of her sudden crocodile tears about the ex handmaids being sent to Jezebels was the weakest bunch of bullshit I’d ever seen for her entire character arc. But she’s needed for The Testaments, so she had a benevolent face slapped on her at the last moment and was given a redemption arc of sorts as well. Writers also failed to explain how Aunt Lydia was going to be embedded back into Gilead society now that she’s blown her cover.

Next victim is Lawrence. Last season Lawrence shot down the rescue planes for Hannah and told Blaine that it was a free for all to use June Osborne as target practice. He’s responsible for inventing a world of slavery and death, and he kept his wife imprisoned for years, but Lawrence has a strong papa bear vibe with some punchy one liners, so he gets a redemption arc and a heroes death. It’s worth mentioning that Joseph was actually the one responsible for dragging Serena back to Gilead and NOT Blaine as the Show runners would have you believe. Blaine actually spoke up for her, asking if “it was really necessary to drag her back into this”, however this was painted as Blaine’s decision to bring Serena back……despite the fact it was Lawrence who suggested it…..and physically went and got her…..and virtually strong armed her into the car. It’s also worth noting that Lawrence was all aboard the Gilead train, chowing down on that delicious power as a newly appointed High commander, until he learned that all the other commanders (except Blaine) were gunning for him. So it’s really not like he gave a shit about Mayday out of some sense of righteous justice, he just thought it might save his own neck. The martyr’s death / self sacrificial death are the highest value character deaths and quite frankly I’m not sure he deserved that quality of death but he’s cuddly and Whitford didn’t want him to die a villain, so there you go.

Finally we come to Nick Blaine. Out of the Gilead four this season, he was definitely the one most deserving of a redemption arc, but you know clever plot twist, scapegoat required….and guess who gets fucked after 5 seasons. Nick Blaine had spent 5 seasons risking his life on almost a bi seasonal basis for the protagonist, was deeply in love with her and had connections in Mayday. But in season 6 the writers decided to transform him into nothing but a greedy, power hungry, little fascist over the course of 3 episodes, and then unceremoniously had the protagonist kill him off as some sort of true measure of her strength. The writers not only made him the villain and had him killed, but gave him a death befitting a coward. I’m not sure who thought it would be a good idea to serve up this pile of revenge to a fan favourite who’d been a benevolent companion to the protagonist for the last 5 seasons….but it hideously back fired. I foresaw this when I viewed the original trailers and I prayed that they hadn’t been so stupid as to destroy both a character and a couple that over 80% of the audience were deeply invested in with a spin off waiting in the wings….unfortunately they were and the backlash has been brutal. It was around the time that they decided to bring it all home, that I couldn’t help but notice that out of all of the Gilead four, they’d actually taken the lowest socioeconomic character and seen fit to make him the sole villain and then grind him into a fine powder. It was one thing in season 1 when they illustrated how the poor and uneducated masses could be easily targeted and recruited, it was quite another to make the statement that because he came from “nothing” he was more likely to turn to villainy. Reality is, the well spring of most of the worlds evil fuckery lies deep in the hearts of those born to wealth and power. They’re used to it, they don’t like to share it, they’re terrified of losing it and they’ll do anything to get more of it. My nomination for most likely villain out of the Gilead Four was actually Serena. She's used to wealth and power and desperate to send her little spawn of Satan to a decent private school.

Meanwhile in Mayday central the folks there could do no wrong; Tuello fed civilians into the meat grinder that was Gilead’s highly trained military against Blaine’s advice, and yet remained untouched by any moral judgement from the writers. While everyone cheered as Tuello strode purposefully into the room to find Serena breathless at the sight of her little thirst trap, I ground my teeth and felt my fingernails digging into my palms. I just couldn’t help but wonder why on earth would Tuello trust Lawrence after that little incident with Hannah last season either. He’d just been burnt by Nick and his first response is to go pal up with the Architect of Gilead himself? I also didn’t understand why Tuello was skulking around in No Man’s Land in the first place. All the other diplomats were welcome in New Bethlehem, so why wasn’t he running recon or checking in with why Blaine suddenly wasn’t answering his calls? Why not set up a diplomatic embassy in New Bethlehem? Perhaps because IT WOULD HAVE MADE SENSE. This season saw Blaine give up Mayday’s plan. He’d chosen his side apparently and it wasn’t Osborne….after 5 seasons of choosing Osborne (sigh). So I couldn’t help but wonder why this hideous traitor didn’t just tell the other commanders where Mayday central was? He knew approximately where it was and yet there they were all hopping on a plane to DC to work out some intricate plan to curb the rebel operations. I mean the guy could virtually draw a map with a sign that says “bomb here” pointing to the Mayday camp and yet…..Urgh.

The character transformations have gone from zero to a hundred with nothing in between this season. Luke went from wanting to join Mayday, to planting bombs, to running around screaming with a machine gun and hand grenades. Rita went from not wanting to get involved with Mayday, to poisoning the cake with sedatives, to running screaming down the street shooting wildly. Serena got engaged and married in like a week and went from “I didn’t really think about what happened to the handmaids”, to teary eyed demanding to know the “real name” of her new one. Nick proclaimed his undying love for June, 10 seconds later they had a brutal break up, next episode he virtually skipped down the aisle with his wife singing about his new baby and renouncing the parentage of Holly, then he completely ignored the fact that the love of his life was about to be hung (can we just pause and consider how absolutely unbelievable THAT is please), said some BIZARRE shit about commanders being the winners and promptly exploded. Fuuuuuuuck. I mean it would have been hilariously ridiculous if it wasn’t just so fucking tragic to watch all that potential come to such a pointless end. Like so many things this season, this plot line doesn’t make any sense at all. I mean how were these commanders the “winners”? The rebels had just bombed their city and killed most of them, they were practically an endangered species. Somehow the audience was convinced into believing that if the Boston commanders ever made it to DC, Gilead would win and rule over the earth forever and ever. I guess that must have been where they had been keeping their secret special map room and chanting circle. I mean where is the plot? Is the plot in the room with us now? The trajectory on Blaine’s character arc comparative to other seasons, felt like the pilot had suddenly decided to fly the plane into the mountain (excuse the pun). He’d been building to something huge and both of Atwood’s texts indicated that Mayday was in his future, however it was at this point that the writers took incredible licence and deviated from the source material completely. It seemed a huge violation that Blaine’s character was altered from the version in both texts and while all the other characters were carefully manoeuvred into place, he was killed off. Granted Miller and co. had, had the freedom to fill in the blanks between season 2 - 6, various elements of the texts still acted as a guide for these characters natures, journeys and ultimate destinations and there was just no way around the fact that they’d chosen to completely ignore it. Insultingly I was asked to ignore Blaine’s death on the basis that he “had it coming”. Not only was that NOT an answer as to why such liberties were taken with the source material about his nature, depicted allegiances, and you know the fact that he was fucking ALIVE in the book, but that reasoning was also completely riddled with holes.

Throughout the seasons Blaine had been firmly established as an ally to the protagonist via a multitude of mechanisms which were now being blatantly discounted. For example; ALL of the acts of violence that the audience had been shown that were directly and voluntarily committed by Blaine were all performed AGAINST a member of Gilead to either protect the protagonist, at her request or as a form of righteous justice for her cause. Now I was being told that off screen he’d been sneaking around the protagonists back committing horrendous acts on behalf of Gilead….but we just hadn’t seen it….and didn’t know about it…..and SOMEHOW the writers couldn’t understand how that would be confusing..…or even believable. Urgh. The more I looked, the more holes appeared and the more it all just reeked of rewriting history for the sake of a plot twist and a quickly constructed political narrative. For whatever reason it was done, it was sloppy and completely contradictory to the characters original nature, both on screen and in the texts. Even if I did give these writers the benefit of the doubt and BELIEVED their spiel about this character, I’m not sure it worked in their favour to be constantly pointing out that they had neglected to fill in the audience properly on vital character elements during previous seasons.

For some reason the writers and show runners were now under the illusion that their audience had not actually been paying attention while watching the previous 5 seasons, that they had developed some sort of selective amnesia. They also deemed to give the protagonist amnesia, thus making her seem unempathetic, heartless and deeply unlikeable. Blaine had turned up for her countless times and yet was given no quarter. She had simply developed amnesia about what it was like to try and survive in Gilead after a brief stay in Canada. The writers may have intended to make her look strong and assertive, but her failure to extend any measure of compassion or even seek to dig further, made it seem as though the entire relationship had been transactional. It was as if now that Blaine had ceased to serve a purpose, he was being abandoned. This effectively destroyed any integrity to their former bond, it simply made him look like a liar and her an opportunist. I became a bit suspicious that it was not entirely unintentional that these creators were now seeking to change the very nature of this relationship in retrospect, when June attributed Serena responsibility for their relationship in the first place. It sought to completely discount the fact that these two had been circling one another prior to Serena's interference, or even that they continued their relationship despite her objections and efforts to seperate them later.

It was simply more evidence of an almost desperate attempt by the writers to erase this loving connection and replace it with something convenient and superficial. They’d forgotten that Nick and June’s love was actually an act of rebellion, forbidden, a place where both Blaine and Osborne sought freedom and autonomy. Had they remembered this, they might have understood that for a true depiction of a successful rebellion, Nick Blaine should have joined the underground and the two lovers destinies remained intimately intertwined. His true character narrative was as an Eye with connections to Mayday. June / Offred was unsure if she could trust him, but he remained a source of hope, love and quiet rebellion within Gilead. The Handmaids Tale afterword revealed that he’d risked his life to help June escape and gone on to join the resistance. Gilead had tried and failed to kill him at least once and he was later reunited with June and his daughter. The successful depiction of a rebellion that used their relationship as the intended metaphor, was one that had Blaine subvert Gilead as an Eye turned agent for Mayday. Instead his death indicated the success of Gilead to eradicate collective rebellion….by somehow encouraging rebel forces to self sabotage. It simply made no sense, particularly given the rebellions success in the area where Blaine had been stationed. It was like someone had either failed to understand the metaphor completely OR had simply been so desperate to destroy the character and the relationship, that they didn’t care if it meant tearing apart a central theme. Which was absolutely fucking insane.

Fans had followed the writers cues and had understood the underlying message of rebellion in their bond. They’d waited years for the rebellion to succeed and the symbolic narrative to reach it’s natural conclusion, by having Blaine cross the border to join June and Mayday. So when instead the writers chose to start labelling Blaine as a loyalist and gut this relationship, slaughtering this manifestation of collective rebellion, the audience was understandably angry and confused. His role as an embedded Mayday agent in The Testaments stand as evidence that this was precisely who Blaine was and not some dubious fascist all along. Atwood consulted during season 2, but it was only during season 3 that show runners decided to whack a commander suit on Blaine and start using him for statements about patriarchal power that had nothing to do with his original character construct. He was never a commander, not in The Handmaid’s Tale and not in The Testaments either…..but these writers thought they knew better than the author, so here we are. I think about the potential for this story line had it been completed correctly and I could just weep. I could write a book on why the destruction of this character and relationship was one of the dumbest fucking things I’ve ever seen a writer do to their own creation, and how this is one of the biggest violations of an authors symbolic narrative I’ve ever witnessed, but honestly I’ve got a lot to get through today.

The writers and staff scrambled to provide clarity about who Nick Blaine was all along, but what they failed to understand was that it was utterly irrelevant. If they had to tell audiences after the fact who their character actually was and what their true motivations were, then they’d failed their mission. Writers cited story elements that supposedly occurred off screen, as lore when they either should have been clearer from the beginning or just followed the established on screen character arc through without trying to get clever. Now for clarity I believe the rot started in season 5 but only truly set in in season 6.

Come season 6 Minghella would be lucky to get a few minutes of screen time in 6 episodes, and in that time they had to convince the audience that he’d been a totally different person than the one they’d been shown all along. Consider the characters nature, established relationship with the protagonist and everyone around him….over 5 seasons….now with ALL of that think about how impossible it actually is to flip that character in the space of approximately 10-15 minutes, and how insane you’d have to be to green light that shit. And yet SOMEHOW it was my fault for not believing them. Probably because I’d read the books.

Writers asked audiences to reassess characters 4 episodes from the end of a final season. That’s neither realistic or wise and they shouldn’t be surprised if people feel like they’ve been duped and cheated. The fact is that they told audiences that a character had a particular motivation for the last 5 seasons, etched it into to him like it was the very essence of his being, and suddenly they wanted audiences to believe that he was forsaking it in the last moment. That he would simply give it up at the first sign of adversity. That he’d be just kosher with not only giving it up but destroying the object of his obsession within 2 brief episodes. It’s utterly ridiculous, I don’t believe any of it and these writers shouldn’t be surprised by that. You can’t tell me that someone is deep and sensitive in one breath and then tell me they’re angling for an upper management position in a society that enslaves the vulnerable in the next….particularly if the bottom of barrel is exactly where they come from. It makes no fucking sense.

Because of his core nature as a sensitive, loving and loyal individual, the ONLY parts of Nick Blaine’s character that actually EVER made any sense were the ones attached to Mayday, those that loved June, that “would do anything for me and for Nicole”, that were trapped and tricked into signing onto Gilead, anything else just seemed in direct conflict with his personality overall. Blaine cried over a dead handmaid and refused to call June by her slave name, he had contacts in Mayday that he referred to as “friendlies”. What made the writers think I would believe an individual this sensitive and obviously invested in rebel operations, would seek a higher position in this society for ANY other reason than to subvert it? Ambitious greedy ghouls do not smuggle out letters of imprisoned handmaids and they don’t baulk over sleeping with their child brides. They just don’t give a fuck.

Right now show runners are working overtime to create a narrative in which they write off Nicks damning choices in episode 6 as the result of both full autonomy AND coercive control. If he acted with full autonomy, Blaine was a monster who knew what he was doing, sought power and subscribed to Gilead’s rhetoric of slavery. If he was acting as a result of coercive control he was frightened, abused and controlled with little to no recourse. The reason that the writers couldn’t decide which one it was, was because they wanted it to be the first, but they knew full well it was the second. Season 1 and 2 had already shown that Blaine was indeed stripped of his autonomy and yet in 5 10 Tuello claimed that he could have run away with her while he lived at the Waterfords. They were trying to alter the narrative around how much power he had possessed, but it was too late, we’d already seen the dogs, the drones, the spotlights, the checkpoints and all those guardians. We’d already seen all that old school Gilead terror and we weren’t about to forget it.

Show runners claimed that Blaine had full autonomy on the basis that he had many chances to defect, but again there was plenty of evidence to discredit this theory. In season 2 when Blaine took Osborne to the Boston Globe he said "I'm risking my life to save you", indicating he was monitored, restricted and had just about as much autonomy as she did. Had Blaine exercised full autonomy, there was no question he would have been captured and executed. When June boarded the plane to leave, a driver also attempted to sneak on board. He was hauled off the plane and shot by Gilead guards, this heavily implied that Blaine would have died if he’d tried to accompany her. In season 3 Eleanor told June that Lawrence could never leave because he’d be imprisoned for life. In season 4 Fred was arrested at the border and jailed, when he tried to negotiate immunity he was traded back to Gilead and ended up dead. In season 5 Blaine WAS offered a deal from Tuello which he took, but it did require that he remain in Gilead indefinitely. Throughout season 6 the presence of Wharton was inserted specifically to create an environment of coercive control that restricted and monitored his movements. So no I don’t believe he had full autonomy. It also seems incredibly odd for the writers to say that Blaine has full autonomy and THEN have Serena tell June “If he ever thought he had a choice, he would have chosen you”. I mean in what alternative dimension should an audience NOT be confused by this constant mixed messaging?

I was informed through various forms of PR, that the second Blaine knew his relationship was over with Osborne he’d simply sought to lose himself in power, but this was utterly ridiculous. Blaine had been confronted with the reality of losing her many times before and he still hadn’t stuck his face in a bucket of Kool Aid. The idea that Blaine had failed to show up and do anything about June being executed because he considered their relationship over, was laughable. In season 4 he’d strong armed Lawrence into keeping her alive even though he knew she “was never coming back to him”. In season 5 he dashed across the border and signed a contract with Tuello just to ensure her safety even though “she already has people who care for her, I’m nothing”. It didn’t wash. NONE of it washed. Now I MIGHT have been able to swallow that he’d taken solace in Gilead after his relationship with Osborne completely dissolved but there was no period of mourning for the loss of a deep abiding love he’d carried with him for 5 and half seasons. No tears, no despair, nothing….Instead Blaine immediately started rambling on about Gilead like it was Sale of the fucking Century and he couldn’t get enough of those Nazi war spoils. It was utterly baffling. Mid season we all travelled deep into the Twilight Zone when Blaine made some sort of schizophrenic switch from prioritising June to an unquenchable thirst for power. It was impossible to reconcile with his previous manifestation, but somehow this all remained my fault for failing to grasp it, rather than the writers for either not communicating it in earlier seasons or an ill advised quick change.

We were also told that Blaine was a villain because of his role in the original attacks and that well, because you had to be a bad guy to be promoted to a commander. Firstly; scenes of Blaine actually participating in the original attacks were cut and are now being cited as part of the character history, and I’m not sure that works in their favour, as the original ones show him being sick and stunned at the violence anyway. It read more like someone who’d been roped into something that had quickly turned nightmarish and of which he now couldn’t escape. In season 3 Blaine said about the government “they don’t give a shit about us” and “once you get in bed with the government, it’s not so easy to get out”, not REALLY the words of an enamoured loyalist. Secondly; Blaine was promoted from a Eye to a Commander as a form of punishment from Fred for his insubordination, to have him sent to the front to die. These two singular moments should have been definitively painted to follow the writers intention from the beginning, but they weren’t and as a result his characters role in Gilead's conception and growth remained hazy at best. Again, not the audiences fault, the writers. Creators can't keep claiming they had an active loyalist on their hands all along when everything they ever showed their audience said otherwise. They can't keep claiming it in the face of the source material which completely contradicts them.

It’s pretty telling that audiences aren’t so much sad as angry about it. Writers are doubling down because well, they don’t have much choice. What’s done is done and they’re never going to take any of it back or admit any shortcomings. They’re never going to admit they sidelined and significantly altered a character from the source material. They’re never going to admit they out right IGNORED their audience and then proudly claimed to be listening to them. After analysing all of the diatribe and reasoning that the cast, writers and show runners have put forth I’ve come to a few simple conclusions about why Blaine was killed off. Firstly: Certain individuals could not tolerate the idea of a woman leaving her husband for another man, I believe this stems from a deep seated theological indoctrination that is ingrained into American society and consequently into ALL of their writing. It’s most evident in their attitudes to sex and love and these moralistic shackles severely restrict all of their plot and character development. My advice, go and learn from some of our British friends, they know how to write and their final seasons don’t look like a dogs breakfast. Secondly: He was used as a scapegoat for the rest of the Gilead four. Put simply, they had to have at least one bad guy. They needed Aunt Lydia for The Testaments, Serena was a mommy and Whitford baggsied "Not It" apparently. The death of Fred in season 4 created the lack of a necessary antagonist for the protagonist, and these writers simply couldn't use Serena, Lydia or Lawrence. One was a mommy, one was performing a redemption arc and the other was too cuddly. Nick, as the "other man" made the perfect candidate, he was mysterious, inconvenient and could be twisted into a loyalist with some sneaky back tracking. Unfortunately the source material and previous seasons said otherwise, ultimately they should have gone with Lawrence or even Serena as the fall out has been horrendous. Thirdly: they wanted to make a political statement about young males being recruited into neo fascism in America today. They were not concerned about breaking with literary integrity, character construct or even narrative symbolism in order to achieve it. As someone who has taught analysis of media and literature, I can honestly say, they should have been concerned, because it definitely looks fucking broken and it will cost these creators.

I’m still reeling from the fact that so many gossamer threads in this vast story line which could have been pulled together beautifully, were instead clumsily tangled or just abandoned. Replaced instead with plot lines delivered with a clumsy ignorance of how the audience would actually feel. Which sick fuck thought that plane trip into the abyss should be the Casablanca ending they were referring to all along? I’d prefer to leave The Handmaid’s Tale behind me at the end of season 4. Even though some of the constructs of Blaine’s character were already incorrectly portrayed by this point, it was during season 5 that show runners decided to truly begin Blaine's slide from ambiguous ally to Gilead loyalist. One of the biggest appeals of Nick Blaine was his mystery but it seems that during these last 2 seasons show creators were intent on stripping him of it and reducing him to nothing but a 2 dimensional family man who just turned to water at the mere sight of a strong father figure.

Miller’s Wilderness was possibly one of the most amazing television season finales I’ve ever seen, and it just never got any better than that. It set the story line up beautifully to lead into The Testaments, and he could have simply walked straight into his spin off with a few cameos to smoothen the transition. I don’t know why those writers were so afraid of the character dynamic between Nick and June, it was extraordinary and we’ll be lucky to see one like it ever again. From the beginning there was something about these two that the audience emotionally engaged with and if the writers had been smarter they would have truly acknowledged and embraced it. Instead their relationships sudden end, and the death of Nick Blaine, will become the one thing that follows this series around, and sticks in the craw of many viewers for years to come.

#june x nick #max minghella #june osborne #nick x june #nick blaine #osblaine #hulu streaming #elisabeth moss #the handmaids tale hulu #the handmaid's tale #tht season 6 #fuck you season 6

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vivsinkpot · 1 month ago

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How to Write a Redemption Arc That Hurts (In the Best Way)

Redemption isn’t a straight line. It’s jagged. Messy. Earned.

Whether your character is a once-noble hero who made one devastating mistake—or a full-blown villain who slowly realises what they’ve become—a strong redemption arc can be one of the most emotionally resonant journeys in fiction.

Here’s how to write one that lands:

1. Start With the Fall (Or the Flaw)

Redemption means nothing without something to redeem. What did they do?

– Betrayal? Violence? Abandonment? Apathy?

Make the sin personal, and make sure your reader feels the weight of it.

✍️ Tip: Don’t shy away from their wrongdoing. Redemption is powerful because it’s hard-earned.

2. They Have to Want It (Eventually)

A redemption arc doesn’t work if they’re forced into it or if they don’t regret their actions.

There has to be a moment — big or small — when they begin to want to change. That spark is everything.

Examples:

A flash of guilt after seeing someone harmed by their choices.

Hearing a phrase they once said…used by someone crueler.

A moment of kindness that catches them off-guard.

3. Let Them Resist It

Real change is uncomfortable. Your character should stumble, fight it, maybe even relapse.

They might question if they even deserve redemption. That doubt makes them human.

✍️ Narrative tension idea: Just when the reader thinks they’ve changed, let them snap under pressure—and then feel the shame of it.

4. Give Them a Chance to Actively Do Good

Redemption isn’t about feeling bad — it’s about making amends.

They need to choose to do something selfless, painful, or courageous — not because it earns them praise, but because it’s right.

Make them:

Apologise without expecting forgiveness.

Protect someone they once hurt.

Make a sacrifice no one will ever know about.

5. Let Consequences Stand

Redemption is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Let people mistrust them. Let them lose things permanently.

They can change and still face the cost of what they did — and that’s what makes it powerful.

6. Not Everyone Has to Forgive Them

Forgiveness is not owed. Some characters will never believe the change. That’s okay. It’s real.

Use this to:

Add tension and realism.

Explore different reactions to trauma.

Show that redemption is internal, not dependent on external validation.

7. End With Who They Become—Not Just What They Did

The final step of a good redemption arc isn’t about “undoing” the past.

It’s about choosing who they are now — and committing to being better.

They’re still carrying scars. But now, they’re facing forward.

✍️ Bonus Tip: Redemption arcs hit hardest when they hurt. Let it cost something. Let it mean something. Let them bleed for it. That’s when readers believe it.

Redemption Arc Prompts (for maximum angst & payoff)

Need a spark to start the fire? Here are some redemption arc prompts to put your character through it — and maybe, just maybe, let them claw their way out again:

🩸 The Monster Who Chose His Soul

They were never supposed to feel guilt. Their nature was cruel, cursed, inhuman — so when they start to care, it shatters something deep. But caring isn’t enough. So they go in search of what they were never meant to have: a soul, a conscience, something to make the guilt stick. Not for redemption. Not for love. But because they can’t stand not knowing what it means to be human.

Use this for…

Vampires, demons, cursed warriors, AI trying to evolve.

Arcs where the redemption begins after the obsession.

Characters whose change isn’t instant—it’s agonising, feral, and full of relapse.

Key Questions For Writers

What event or moment makes the monster realize they want a soul or conscience?

How does their monstrous nature conflict with this desire for humanity?

What sacrifices must they make to earn or reclaim their soul?

How do others react to their transformation—fear, disbelief, hope?

Does the monster’s journey lead to true redemption, or is it an ongoing, painful struggle?

Emotional Notes

The agony of clawing through darkness for something intangible.

The loneliness of being neither fully monster nor human.

The fragile hope that change is possible — even when the past screams otherwise.

Let their monstrous heart break—and witness the fierce fight to claim their lost humanity.

🕯️ The One Who Survived…and Shouldn’t Have

They lived through the massacre, the betrayal, the war—whatever happened—not because they were brave, but because they were cowardly enough to survive. They made the wrong choice. They ran. They closed the door. They didn’t look back. And they’ve hated themselves every day since.

Now the world remembers them as a hero. Statues, ballads, accolades. But they know the truth—and it’s rotting them from the inside.

So they disappear. Not in disgrace, but in determination.

Not to erase the past.

But to earn the life they didn’t deserve.

Use this for…

A reluctant protagonist with deep survivor’s guilt

A morally grey character trying to rebuild something they helped destroy

An older warrior protecting the next generation to make peace with the last

A spy, a traitor, a deserter who becomes the shield they once refused to be

Key Questions for Writers

What lie do people believe about this character?

What one decision do they regret the most?

What would it take for them to forgive themselves?

What’s the first thing they do to try to be better—and does it hurt?

Emotional Notes

Anguish that simmers under silence.

Redemption through action, not speech.

Consequences that can’t be undone, only carried.

Let the weight of survival shape them. Let them falter. Let them bleed for the right thing this time.

❤️‍🔥 Changing for the Love That Never Was

They were reckless, broken, or cold — maybe even cruel. But when the person they secretly adored barely noticed them, something snapped. Not because they wanted to be better for themselves, but because they needed to be worthy of love they’d never received. They start changing — small things at first, then big. Trying to erase their flaws, rewrite their past, and fit the ideal they imagine the other wants. But love built on self-denial is fragile.

Use this for…

Characters trapped in unrequited love or obsession

Antiheroes who want to become heroes for someone else

Stories where identity and self-worth collide

Tense romance arcs with bittersweet or tragic endings

Key Questions for Writers

What flaws do they try to hide or fix?

How does their unrequited love affect their choices?

Do they ever admit the change isn’t truly for themselves?

What happens when the love remains unreturned?

Can they find self-acceptance apart from the other’s approval?

Emotional Notes

Longing that cuts deeper than hate.

Masks slipping under pressure.

The painful difference between being wanted and loved.

Let your character wrestle with heartbreak, identity, and the price of change—for better or worse.

⚖️ The Villain Who Broke Their Own Rules

They were ruthless, feared, and driven — yet they always told themselves some deaths were “necessary.” But when their actions accidentally kill someone innocent — someone they never intended to hurt — that line breaks. The guilt crashes over them like a storm. No excuse, no justification, no second chance. For the first time, they question everything: their goals, their methods, even themselves. This moment becomes the catalyst for change, forcing them to confront their darkness — not just to save themselves, but to stop hurting others.

Use this for…

Characters trapped in unrequited love or obsession

Antiheroes who want to become heroes for someone else

Stories where identity and self-worth collide

Tense romance arcs with bittersweet or tragic endings

Key Questions for Writers

Who was the innocent? How do they affect the villain’s conscience?

What personal rules did the villain break?

How does this death change their motivations?

Can they ever make amends, or is this their undoing?

How do others react to the villain’s shift?

Emotional Notes

Crushing guilt that can’t be ignored.

A fragile hope born from devastating loss.

Inner conflict between old habits and new purpose.

Let your villain’s cold exterior crack—and watch them fight to rebuild what they’ve broken.

💔 The Final Breach of Trust

He’s broken her trust one too many times — through lies, betrayal, or neglect. Before, there was anger, tears, shouting. But now her silence is worse than any outburst. The cold, emotionless “Get out” is a door slammed shut forever. For the first time, he truly sees what he’s lost — not just her love, but her belief in him. And it terrifies him more than any punishment. Redemption won’t come from empty apologies or promises; it will come from the long, painful work of earning back a love that may never return.

Use this for…

Romantic dramas with fractured relationships

Characters grappling with addiction, betrayal, or repeated mistakes

Stories about self-awareness born from loss

Emotional arcs where redemption means more than just forgiveness

Key Questions for Writers

What was the betrayal, and why was it the last straw?

How does the character react to the silence and coldness?

What does he do differently after hearing “Get out”?

Can she ever forgive, or is his redemption truly for himself?

How does the loss change his identity?

Emotional Notes

Silence heavier than words.

The shattering weight of finality.

Redemption as a path through grief and self-loathing.

Let the moment of loss be the spark that sets the slow burn of change in motion.

A Final Note

Redemption stories are some of the most powerful journeys you can write — they dig into pain, change, and hope in ways that stay with readers long after the last page. Use these prompts to explore the messy, beautiful process of transformation, whether your character rises, falls, or struggles somewhere in between. I’d love to see what you create — tag me so I can cheer you on and share your work! ❤️

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werethecurtainsblue · 2 months ago

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Recently I rewatched the entirety of Naruto (and read some of my favourite arcs), and I noticed something that I JUST have to talk about. This is a rather lengthy analysis of Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship and mindset, so please bear with me 😭

During my first watch, I was guilty of thinking that Sasuke changed his mind rather abruptly during VOTE 2. I didn’t understand how he abandoned his revolution after one single fight. But on rewatch… damn. Kishi might be a terrorist, but he knew what he was doing with Naruto and Sasuke. (Panels attached for proof?)

Rather lengthy analysis of Naruto, Sasuke, and the foreshadowing for Sasuke's eventual redemption:

It all begins during the ‘Five Kage’ arc (suicide pact my beloved). Naruto’s grand answer to the entire dilemma Nagato and Jiraiya posed to him — how will you find peace? — was just “I'll bear the world's hatred. Then lets both fight and die together?” (Insane behaviour. Someone please give my frog boy a hug).

But then, it goes a little deeper. Then slowly, it all starts to make sense? For Naruto, this was never about protecting Konoha. Not truly (I don't recognize any other patriotic canon gbless). We see him struggling throughout the Five Kage arc, grappling with the questions posed by Pein, and the weight of everything he's learnt about Sasuke. Everything his beloved village has done to the boy he loves.

Because now... Naruto finally understands. He's felt the righteousness of vengeance. He's looked at a man and felt nothing but burning hatred. How could he not? Pein killed his master-Jiraiya.

That's when he understands Sasuke.

Pein's question about how Naruto intends to find peace is far far deeper than just shinobi politics. For Naruto, the question is quite simple. How does he intend to save Sasuke, if he himself is falling into the same pitfalls of revenge. If he 'pulls the trigger', then with what face is he supposed to then ask Sasuke to abandon his revenge. (Man I fucking love the pein arc).

(I would like to point out how Konoha has always treated revenge differently when it comes to other shinobi vs an Uchiha. Shikamaru was not only encouraged, but given state support to avenge his sensei. But Sasuke must abandon the notion of avenging his whole family?)

That is when Naruto finally understands. And it almost destroys him. The Naruto we see in the Five Kage arc - taking beatings for Sasuke, begging the Raikage to spare Sasuke on his knees, having panic attacks and nightmares. Perhaps on some level, Naruto is punishing himself for feeling the same anger and hatred that's come to consume Sasuke. Because he understands, and he has no idea how to get past it.

And that pain of not know how to save Sasuke... it's brutal for him.

In that moment, all hope seems lost. Sasuke descends deeper and deeper into his madness. Naruto is a shell of himself just after his most triumphant moment (Saving Konoha).

And then, we get this:

Naruto's answer to the whole dilemma about peace is self-sacrifice?????????? (Bc ofc it is with this boy. He'd rather die before perpetuating the same cycles).

Naruto has begged and pleaded and taken beatings to protect Sasuke. To somehow try and stop the cycle of hatred by sheer willpower. The lesson? The world... simply doesn't care.

Pein said that 'humans can never understand each other', and perhaps Naruto believes that is because of all the burden, anger, trauma, and hatred they carry. Naruto and Sasuke were victims of that hatred. This world shaped them into who they are, irrevocably.

The answer? Humans can understand each other. Naruto and Sasuke can understand each other. But only free of the constraints that hold them back.

Only in death when Naruto is no longer a Jinchuriki, and Sasuke is no longer the last Uchiha, can they let go of all their suffering and resentment, and truly... truly accept each other. Because Sasuke's pain is too deep. His anger and hatred is... understandable. Naruto gets it now. He gets that he can no longer just ask Sasuke to drop everything and return.

He also... can't not defend Konoha. So the solution he lands on - suicide pact - seems inevitable to Naruto. He almost welcomes the prospect of the two no longer having to shoulder their burdens. A world where Naruto and Sasuke are free to love each other without their pasts haunting them.

Flash-forward to VOTE 2:

After their fated clash. It's exactly as Naruto prophesized. They're both beaten, bloody, and on the brink of dying. The anime goes further, and shows that Sasuke believes they're both dead. And for the first time... The first time since VOTE 1... we see him show explicit care towards Naruto? Because now that they're dead, he can finally breathe. He never hated Naruto. He just couldn't... let him in. Because of his anger. Because of his trauma when it came to Konoha and his clan.

They're no longer an Uchiha and a Jinchuriki. They're Naruto and Sasuke. Orphans. Their closest bonds. Finally, Sasuke is allowed to feel Naruto's pain, and care for him.

Finally, he doesn't need to be strong. Only in death is he free to be Sasuke.

Kishi himself even calls back to the suicide pact moment, tying it all back beautifully.

Again, Naruto thinks they're both dead:

And that's when Sasuke laughs. Now that - believing he was dead - he'd allowed himself to feel all the care and love and affection he had for Naruto. He just cannot go back to the place of isolation he'd been trapped in before.

Perhaps that's why Sasuke was so stubborn about cutting off Naruto. Because he knew that he loved Naruto so deeply that if he let himself feel it, he'd drop everything in an instant for that bond. Now that he's let himself feel it, he can never go back. So he finally lets it all go:

Naruto was always right. In a different way. To finally understand each other and accept each other, they had to let go of all their past and trauma. Perhaps death was the answer. Not literally, but metaphorically.

To all those who claim Sasuke never loved Naruto, or was 'toxic' to him. Sasuke loved Naruto: deeply, unconditionally. He loved him so much that he knew he'd drop all of his revenge in a heart beat for him. But his past... simply wouldn't let him.

In hindsight, the moment Sasuke let Naruto in, he was always going to change his mind. That is what Naruto knew all the way back during Five Kage arc. It's why he stopped chasing after Sasuke, and waited for him to come to him first.

In a twisted way, Sasuke's strong love was exactly the reason why he was so intent on cutting Naruto out. But in the end, I'm just glad my boys worked it out lol.

Anyways, if you read this far, thanks for coming to my ted talk lmao.

(Yes, I was sobbing as I typed this out. I just love them both so much).

#naruto meta #naruto #naruto uzumaki #Sasuke meta #sasuke uchiha #sasunaru #narusasu #sns #Kisha is a terrorist but he's a bl first terrorist #someone give Naruto and Sasuke a hug #Blue’s analysis

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thieves-never-say-die · 2 months ago

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Weekend in Paris Watch-Along

A summary of everything talked about in the Weekend in Paris watch-along, video here, with Dean Devlin, John Rogers, Aldis Hodge, Christian Kane, and interviewer Brittany Catallo.

Under the cut because it is long.

First question: how do you feel the latest season of Leverage: Redemption is relevant to audiences?

John: [sarcastic outrage] How is a show about evil oligarchs relevant!? I can’t-!

Everyone laughed, and Dean said Leverage was always a show that predicts the future, like The Simpsons, and he specifically mentioned The Mile High Job when Hardison hacks the plane remotely, and The Jailhouse Job which was about the prison industrial complex. At the time of writing those episodes, neither of those things had been done/talked about yet, but soon after the episodes aired both of those things became major news stories.

Dean said the difference this season was that Leverage was actually meeting the current moment, but in the show the good guys win.

John interjected that the good guys can still win! The only time anything is guaranteed is if you give up and accept it will just happen, otherwise the future is always unwritten.

Aldis: So basically Leverage is laying out the blueprint? We just need someone out there to follow it?

John: No! Do not send John Rogers to a foreign prison because you were inspired by something on Leverage!

Q: What can viewers expect this season coming off of last season?

Dean talked about how this season they got to see a whole new side of some of the characters, and get to explore some interesting arcs. He noted that we will be going deep into Parker’s character this season.

John said it’s an advantage of having a show that’s gone on this long, we’ve gone on a journey with them, and the actors give some really nice character work.

John then explained that they chose Paris because they were shooting most of their exterior shots in Belgrade, which is where The Librarians: The Next Chapter is shot.

The intro shot of the team moving throughout the hallway was all one shot that didn't cut, and the cast managed to get it in two takes because they practiced a lot. Everyone had a great time filming it, even if it was stressful knowing one small mess-up would make everybody start over.

When they wrote the scene they didn't have the set yet, and after John turned in the script to director Marc Roskin, Marc called John and said "this is impossible", to which John responded "yes! And that’s what makes it cool!”

It was a lot of exposition dump, but John knows Aldis is the best at it and could do it, which allowed them to use Hardison as the anchor character for that scene.

They talked about how everyone had to race around the set, specifically mentioning Beth scrambling to the top to hang through the vent.

The set itself wasn't as big as it looks, it was a big T that they digitally extended and shot well.

John: The room was like “so it’s Scooby Doo” and I was very hurt, I was like “No, it’s a challenging heist sequence built around an impossible bit of geometry!” And the writer’s room was like “No, it's the Scooby Doo door bit, we all know what you’re doing.”

John pointed out how these characters are now all peers, in comparison to the original show, which means Hardison can give Sophie crap about her relationships in a loving way.

He also pointed out how everyone else is distracted by personal stuff, but Eliot is the only one who stays on mission.

The shot of the team running out of the auction house and into the van was a reference to The Long Goodbye Job.

John: You know, I don’t think many fans will catch it, but we’re basically giving them a horrible flashback to the most traumatic moment of their life.

Aldis: You got the wrong audience for that on this show, because they watch everything.

Dean loved that they went from this long, beautiful one-er to the best action scene they've ever shot.

They were able to film the whole car chase downtown in the center of Belgrade.

The idea of the episode opening in the middle of a busted con was something John wanted to do since the original run of the show but never got to do.

Christian came up with the bit of Eliot recognizing and lamenting the waste of expensive flour.

Christian and John talked for a bit about shooting the fight scenes, and Christian said fight scenes are like a dance, it's less about the violence as it is about working with your scene partners.

John learned from Jackie Chan to shoot fights along a fight line, which helps avoid having the fights all be close up shots of punches. He also makes sure to write Eliot fight scenes with fluidity in mind, because Eliot fights to control the space, not to win.

Aldis shot his line in the van ("how was your first day at school?") in New Orleans six months after Christian shot his reaction outside the van in Belgrade.

When coming up with the bad guys for the episode, one of the Amazon execs said "you may have made them too evil," to which John replied "there's no such thing."

Q: What is the significance of Eliot getting seriously injured in this? What was the motivation behind that?

John wanted to make sure there was adequate build to Hardison's speech later, and talked about how Eliot can take a beating and keep working, and has taken a beating for ten years, but sometimes it's taken for granted. Eliot can handle business while injured, but it's a reminder that he's not bulletproof, and it gives the audience a visual and physical reminder of it for the end of the episode.

Hardison and Parker's waiter uniforms reminded Dean of the Season 1 finale of getting the Davids.

Aldis mentioned he gets nostalgia when thinking about where they started, how far they've all come since then, they had a good time and he misses that time.

John said that the bad guy of the week (Arizona Mike) was an example of the banality of evil. He's a generally likeable, smiley guy who has no idea he's a monster.

Sophie's alias Violet Cesario is a character from 12th Night, which is a clue that Sophie made the alias because she takes names from Shakespeare.

They needed the team to make fun of Harry's beard to explain why it was shaved by the end of the episode. John enjoyed writing Sophie giving him crap for it without even seeing it.

Q: Where did the evil water stealing hot sauce salesman come from?

John said that people always focus on Big Crime when writing, but there's a million mid-level evil dudes out there. The bad guy was based on a certain type of farming in California (which John won't name so he doesn't get sued), but no one ever goes directly into water, they get into it through other means. People have an idea in their head of secret office buildings in Vienna and backroom deals, but there's a lot of mid-level millionaires making people miserable for their own money.

Q: How much of yourself is in these characters, and how much have the characters influenced you?

Aldis said that he's part of Hardison more than Hardison is part of him. Since they've been filming Leverage for so long it allowed them to influence their characters more, especially when Redemption started they got to help plan the maturation of their characters and where they would be ten years later. His performance of his characters is made more natural when he puts some of himself in it, and being able to help build the characters helps with that as well.

Dean pointed out that Aldis filmed several TV shows and movies at the same time as Redemption, and mentioned how he would fly out on his days off just to be in a few scenes. Aldis' other commitments were much darker and more tense. Dean asked Aldis what it was like to come and be this happy character for a week?

Aldis: It was like a vacation.

Aldis continued and said that he enjoys his other work, but being able to come back and work on Leverage is a gift. Leverage is just fun, and gives him nostalgia for where they started, and it gives a strange sense of "we're really doing this?" Because he rarely gets to play a character with so much history, and it's a very different experience at this point in his career, but it's a joy to do.

In response to the earlier question, Christian said that a lot of himself has bled into Eliot, and a lot of Eliot has bled into him. Christian helped create Eliot, and Eliot lives inside Christian's body in a way no other character does. Christian didn't know it when he started, but Eliot is the character he came to Hollywood to play. He wanted a role that had action and heart, and said that the bad guy is usually more fun to play, which makes Eliot great because he is both the good and the bad guy. He doesn't feel like he goes to work, it feels like he's showing up to have fun.

John talked about how on a lot of shows, actors just show up to read the lines given to them and that's it, but on Leverage it's more like a jazz band, and the actors know how to play an instrument that the writers don't know. They give the actors the score but encourage them to make it their own. Over the years the writers have learned how to write to the actor's rhythms as well, and all of that helps sell the characters. This has also kept the characters from getting stagnant after 15 years because they're not just characters that live in the writer's heads, they come from the actors as well which lets them grow and breathe.

Christian can’t imagine what it was like to read the Leverage pilot for the first time, because when he thinks about it now he pictures the actors as their characters. They've worked together so long that at this point he knows how Aldis will improv a line.

The line "the law just sucks, now get in the hole" might be one of the darkest lines on the show, according to John.

Q: What was it like to work in New Orleans? How does that setting affect how the show is now?

Dean said they went to New Orleans because he'd had a great experience filming one of the Librarian movies there, and it made sense for them. The only original art form ever made in the US is jazz music, and it came from New Orleans. It was important to put the show in a place that is culturally so important to America, but is also such a huge place for art and corruption and bad guys and people who fight for good guys.

John knew Aldis and Beth would be able to sell the Eyes Wide Shut bit, and could make it creepy and weird, so he just wrote the bare bones script and let them have fun with it. Beth specifically did it as "this is Parker's idea of sexy", and he loved that because he never could've come up with it.

Dean asked Aldis what it was like to film the conversation between Parker and Hardison about wanting to do something different.

Aldis said it was a really important scene, because they've had so many years together and understand each other so well, they're very aware of the weight of what they'll miss together. It juxtaposes well with the previous scene where they worked together really well. They know they make each other better, but what does it mean for Hardison if his heart isn't in it anymore?

John mentioned that the technique of backtracking money laundering accounts is real.

John then talked about how they wanted to write Parker and Hardison, because they didn't want to do the typical shocked significant other plot line. When you love characters and love people you don't want anything to change, but life is change and the world changes all the time. Change is natural and it isn't bad, but it's okay to recognize that some people need to get off the train at different stops, but you still love them and are still with them. It was the same conversation they were having with the fans through the show. You don't have to abandon each other or stop loving each other just because people are doing different things.

Dean interjected to mention how much he likes how Christian played Eliot not wanting to be in this house, with these people, doing this con, all while injured.

John's favorite version of Eliot is when he's annoyed. They missed it earlier but the exchange between Sophie and Eliot ("Oh, sorry, I was focused on the terrorists!") was one of his favorites.

John: Eliot tough and scary is fine, but my favorite thing is when Eliot is annoyed with everybody.

Aldis: Everybody tunes in to watch him get annoyed.

Christian added that he loves acting annoyed, and Aldis is his favorite scene partner for that.

For Harry's scene at the fence with the tanker, everything past the fence was CGI, it was really just an abandoned golf course behind the building.

Q: How do you see comedy and its role in Leverage?

John said a big part of it was because he and Chris Downey started in sitcoms, and they didn't know any rules about "don't mix comedy with drama", so they decided why not have the corny flashbacks and the cool drama. Back when the show started it was hard to get the execs on board, they didn't really understand the tone, but they got it eventually. All the actors can hit jokes, and if you have actors that can hit jokes, give your actors jokes!

Dean said when they filmed the pilot he didn't know how funny Christian could be until the IT guy, and didn't know how good at improv Aldis was until they filmed.

John loved Harry's side-con here. It's not important, it's just a B-plot, he's having fun, we don't have time or that, it’s whatever you want it to be!

Christian's favorite scenario on set was when Eliot and Hardison were dressed up as cops (The Morning After Job), everything in the car and with the call they responded to was so much fun.

John said that episode was a Chris Downey episode, he wanted the comedy of them working together and told John to make the plot work.

John gave credit to Gina, how she masterminded the hell out of the episode, we get to see how terrifying Sophie can be.

The fight with Eliot, Hardison, and the giant security guard was John's vision. He wanted the Cap/Bucky/Iron Man fight from Civil War, and finally got to write that sequence. Two guys fighting in sync, as a pair, who have known each other for 15 years, and know their rhythms.

Christian said it's hard to coordinate a fight like that, but he and Aldis have worked together so long that they figured it out.

Dean loved that Hardison really went all in on the Vulcan neck pinch thing.

John: Hardison believes the Vulcan neck thing is gonna work, and Parker believes it's gonna work, and that’s what love is.

The interviewer asked a question about how Christian does his stunts, and he confirmed he does all his own fights, and as many stunts as John and Dean allow him to.

Brittany: Legally?

John: No! No, no, past that!

Dean hates that Christian does his own stunt. He'll tell Christian not to do something, and then get dailies of Christian doing that thing.

John: And then I get footage of Aldis and Beth running on top of trains! (The Big Bang Job)

Christian told a story of when they worked on The Office Job and were filming the scene on the roof. They had crash pads down, and after they were done filming Christian just jumped onto it without telling anybody. A few seconds later, Aldis followed.

John facepalmed at that story.

Q: Did you work with a lot of the same crew for this season as past Leverage Redemption season?

Dean said they have a lot of the same crew and appreciate it because it’s a great crew.

John said the key to making a good show is hiring smart people who are good at their job, and then getting the hell out of their way. Dean very rarely harshes anyone's insane idea and lets everyone work collaboratively.

John also noted that Breanna and Becky (Harry's daughter) are now best friends. If they had more episodes the two would've had a whole adventure together.

It was also fun to write Hardison giving Breanna the big brother talk, while Parker's in the background like "tell her about the bomb!" and Hardison shushes her because he knows if Nana finds out he told Breanna about a bomb he'd be in trouble.

They shot the end of episode 1, the end of episode 3, and the last scene of the season finale all within a day and a half of each other because they wanted Aldis to be there.

Dean said he loves the pretzels bit, and John talked about how it started as a one-off thing that was just there, but then it became a thing in the show and in the fandom and now it's a whole callback and shorthand for their relationship.

John talked about the ending scene, and how he didn't want Hardison to just bail, he needed to have an honest conversation with Parker.

It was Gina's idea for Sophie to be dating again, and it comes up several times throughout the season.

John liked the way Christian and Aldis played their conversation, of two guys who care about each other and aren't very good at emotions but still have to talk about emotional things.

John repeated that Eliot isn't looking for redemption, he knows he's damned and he's accepted it. It's hard for Eliot to accept or process that other people see him differently.

Christian chimed in that Eliot's redemption is getting other people to a place where they can be redeemed. They can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and even if he's stuck in the tunnel forever as long as everyone else gets out then he doesn't need to.

Q: Is that something we’re going to see more of this season? Exploring everyone finding their own version of redemption?

Christian said his role is more in the background, he's talking people off the ledge, he's giving Hardison advice, he's talking to Sophie, making sure Harry doesn't screw up. Eliot is especially protective of Harry because he's not as far along as the others, and is really trying to give him a leg up out of the darkness.

Dean talked about how it was very important to them that they never betrayed the truth of Parker and Hardison's relationship.

John mentioned that the actors found that relationship. He hates writing backstory and tends to slow-play relationships, because once you get into a relationship it becomes a soap opera and you start screwing with the relationship in order to get stories, so that's why they waited until season 5 of the first run to get Parker and Hardison together. They don't want to mess with their relationship now to get stories, and it was interesting to write about a mature relationship because everyone knows they're not going to break up. He knows you can't screw with such a central relationship for cheap drama.

John: They're in this complicated, emotional relationship, with them and Eliot—however you want to define it—and they are going to die together.

That was the end of the episode! Dean reminded everyone that a new episode will drop every Thursday for the next 7 weeks, and thanked the fandom for supporting it, as the fans are the only reason they got to come back.

Q: Any hint for what we can expect this season?

Christian said there are some great character arcs coming up. He especially loved the second episode.

Dean pointed out how they've made over 100 episodes of Leverage now, and the thing that most surprised him this season is that they're still doing things they've never done before, he's shocked they can still find new places to go, and says that some episodes this season are completely wild.

John said all the writers loved being back with these characters, and we're going to see some unexpected but not unbelievable turns from the characters as they expose their vulnerable side. We'll explore a bit more for the newer characters, and Breanna especially is going to be great.

#leverage redemption #the weekend in paris job #leverage commentary #john rogers #dean devlin #christian kane #aldis hodge #leverage #redemption spoilers #leverage redemption spoilers #rs3

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muletia · 4 months ago

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pocket spouse au. i keep thinking abt what systems they would or wouldnt use to match a bot to their spouse. personality tests to see who you would match best? the miner bots probably dont get that same luxury tho and get whatever human that has signed up for the program thrown their way. a mismatch could still easily happen even if it looked like a good match on paper.

imagine ending up with someone like dreadwing. you do not like him one bit, so you end up searching for better company elsewhere. you dont try to hide it either. the bot who you officially belong to gets rightfully so pissed, they worked so hard for you and youre avoiding them? neglecting them? hanging around other bots instead?? bots like d16, or worse, orion pax??!

oooOoOo drama

I like the idea of a personality test! It would probably be very detailed to make sure you're as well-matched to your giant spouse as possible and would include questions about everything. Hobbies, interests, favorite ways to spend time. Maybe even what you're looking for in a partner? What your ideal partner is like, etc.

I also thought about the fact that before you're assigned your final partner, you could have the chance to browse a catalog with pictures of Cybertronians who also signed up for the program, but I scrapped that idea. The ratio of humans willing to become pocket spouses to bots interested in having a human partner would simply be too low. Probably. Maybe. So I stuck with the idea that spouses are assigned in advance, and the human has no clue which bot they'll end up with.

The exception is the OG pocket spouse (Sentinel's) and a few others after them. Your meeting was ugly and not as cute as when all the papers were signed and consent was given to be sent to another planet. Maybe Sentinel's human just happened to stumble under his pedes when they started searching for energon on Earth, and the self-proclaimed Prime decided you were adorable. The next thing you remember is waking up in Sentinel's habsuite, where he showers you with gold. Word about humans spreads — maybe Airachnid wants one for herself, kidnaps them, but as it turns out, kidnapped humans refuse to cooperate, and that’s how the pact is made. From then on, humans can voluntarily sign up for the program to make sure they won’t be walking around miserable and depressed 24/7.

Please, Darkwing would be so anxious. Like, what do you mean his pocket spouse wants nothing to do with him?? Idk, maybe start treating miners with respect and stop tormenting them? It either ends in you living in a toxic relationship or Darkwing going through a redemption arc thanks to the powerful forces of humanussy

#be silly #transformers x reader #transformers one x reader #pocket spouse au #sentinel x reader #darkwing x reader

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bibi-the-pooh · 11 days ago

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I just finished listening to Hunter’s iHeart podcast, and I’m fully convinced that they adapted Tyler’s storyline from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s also worth noting that the podcast was released after they started filming Season 2, so by that time, Hunter had read at least some of the scripts.

Based on the book’s storyline- and everything we know about season 2-, here are the most plausible theories that come to mind:

1.Hunter said that by the end of Season 1, Tyler had "kind of lost all his humanity." I doubt Hyde responds well to solitary confinement in Willowhill. So, during Wednesday’s first visit, she’ll likely encounter the Hyde persona—not Tyler. Still, considering how deeply they got under each other’s skin in Season 1, it’s possible that something Wednesday says might trigger the real Tyler. That 'something' could relate to Donovan or Francoise.

2. Maybe I’m overanalyzing, but the way Hunter said, “Can you redeem someone who murdered some people?” was suspicious—he was literally giggling and kicking his feet while saying it. I genuinely believe that this question will be central to Tyler’s arc this season. I’d even bet money on it, especially since this season’s main theme is 'losing control'.

3. There has to be a nerve-wracking event in Tyler’s life to reawaken "the real Tyler." I’ve prepared myself for Donovan’s death, but I doubt they’ll kill him off so easily. If it does happen, it would require buildup—and once it happens, it needs to launch Tyler into a whole new emotional level. His mother is already presumed dead, so if he also loses his father, it could be the final blow that unravels him, this wouldn't fit into the agenda. That said, I’m pretty convinced Donovan won’t die—not yet. There's too much left to resolve: Morning Song, Willowhill, the stalker, and Tyler’s redemption arc. Plus, Hyde is too big of an asset for the show. Season 1 practically revolved around that violent little cutie. Tim Burton has built his entire career on making people empathize with morally grey—or even black—characters. I don’t think he’d let his hand-drawn "sensitive monster" go without a glorious send-off.

4. Either Francoise is still alive, or Donovan is in a situation where he needs to be saved. I believe this will connect directly to the people running Willowhill and the Morning Song cult. These two organizations are probably linked.

Willowhill definitely isn’t innocent. I believe the hospital is run by Morning Song cult members, elitist outcasts, or xenophobic normies. And all of them have a motive to abuse the outcast patients—especially someone like Tyler Galpin.

Laurel was just a pawn in a bigger game. Since she was able to access Francoise’s files, someone powerful must've been behind her. I suspect it’s the normies, but they likely lack Laurel’s personal vendetta. They don’t have strong emotional motives to oppose outcasts, they might even work with them if they see any benefit for themselves.

I think Dr. Fairburn might turn out to be a decent character, but Heather Matarazzo’s character is probably a sleeper-cell spy. Wednesday will likely uncover both her scheme and Principal Dort’s hypocrisy soon enough, and she may offer a quid pro quo to secure Tyler’s release. She wouldn’t risk being on the wrong side of history—if outcasts were abusing normies and suppressing their own kind, that would be a declaration of war in Wednesday’s book.

5. I’m still unsure how Wednesday would manage to keep Hyde under control, though. Maybe Bianca could use her siren song, or perhaps Hyde would choose to cooperate with Wednesday of his own accord. I pray the latter turns out to be true, because there’s something delicious about Hyde choosing to side with Wednesday while still being unreliable — and Tyler occasionally surfacing, messing with her mind just because he still resembles the boy she once knew.

6. And then there’s Karloff—that Frankenstein wannabe. How thrilling!

I have to admit, I have no idea how he'll come into play. I don't want to dwell on what the leaker said about him, I refuse to accept that bizarre "He accidentaly becomes Tyler's master" bs. For the second time, LET MY BOY LIVE ON HIS OWN WILL! (or Wednesday's...wait, who said that?). Though if he does get out and starts wreaking havoc around Jericho, I can definitely see why Wednesday would want Tyler on her side. You can only beat a monster with another one.

7. The stalker and the Addams family secrets also come into play. We know they’re trying to pave the way for a Fester spinoff. Maybe the stalker will turn out to be Debbie—but that’s just a wild guess. In any case, I don’t think this storyline will have a major impact on the season finale. It’ll more likely feed into the Red Death/Slasher/Camp episodes.

#why is there so much going on in here?#weyler #wyler #tyler galpin #wednesday addams #wednesday netflix #tyler x wednesday #wednesday x tyler #wednesday addams x tyler galpin #shipping #wednesday #wednesday s2 #wednesday season 2 #fan theories

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extensionallydefined · 1 year ago

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Okay, so, I need to talk about the relationship between Persona 5's ending and Persona 5 royal's ending, because I think it isn't discussed enough how one puts into question the themes of the other and in doing so it elevates everything that came before.

Spoilers are coming, you've been warned.

The main thing that's given me an outlet to think about this is a few quotes from the Phantom Thieves when they're in the Velvet Room after being Thanos-snapped by Yaldabaoth. Specifically these quotes:

Ann: "I... I never want anyone to have to go through what I did!"

Yusuke: "Just as art is meant to break boundaries, people should be saved even if they frown upon it. I won't allow the justice I believe in to be shaken any further!"

Ryuji: "We're doin' this to make sure people don't go through the same crap we did. It doesn't matter if they think we're just or not. We gotta do what we believe in!"

Futaba: "I can't let people suffer like this, even if I don't know them personally"

They mention some core ideas: 1. They want to prevent people's suffering because of the suffering they've felt. 2. They must do this regardless of if people want it, because they think it's the right thing to do. 3. Their justice is worth fighting for by virtue of being what they believe in.

Does this seem familiar? Maybe makes you think of a certain therapist who shows up in Royal?

I think Takuto Maruki serves a decent amount of purposes narratively and thematically, but one of the most genius things about him is that he serves as a foil to both the Phantom Thieves and Akechi, and in being that foil, he is, deep down, following the principles that the Phantom Thieves fought for - In the end, it was largely Joker who inspired him to fight for his reality.

Maruki fights for a reality where suffering straight up doesn't exist, because he doesn't want anyone to feel the suffering he's had to endure. Maruki wants the Phantom Thieves and Akechi to never feel suffering anymore, regardless of their stance on the matter. He is "saving" them regardless of their wishes, and will fight them to keep the reality he wants. He thinks the world is unfair, so his "justice" is to make a perfect world for everyone - and that's what makes it worth fighting for, because that's what he believes.

Maruki's rationale to fight against the Phantom Thieves and Akechi is (partly) the same reasoning that the Phantom Thieves use to regain their motivation to fight the Holy Grail/Yaldabaoth.

So, narratively, Maruki serves as a mirror that's telling things not to be told for the Phantom Thieves to look into and to see the ugly parts of their own way of acting. Can they really fight Maruki, knowing that he is just acting how they did?

I see people sometimes refusing Maruki's reality because it "wouldn't actually work" or "it's imperfect". But as far as I'm aware, it's imperfect because it hasn't been completed yet - I think the game is a lot more interesting under the pretense that Maruki truly has the power to erase all suffering, once his reality is complete, past the deadline. I also see the argument, and even the game uses it, that Maruki's world "isn't reality". But did we listen well to Morgana's speech before he disappeared in the Yaldabaoth arc? The world itself is made up of cognition, reality is born from the points of view of everyone. Maruki *can* change reality, and the real question of the game is not about the logistics or "ontological dignity" of his reality, but rather - Do you want a world where all your wishes are granted and no suffering exists?

In the end, the game shows the Phantom Thieves that "sticking to their justice" will make them fight against people with similar ideals as theirs. It's funny, in a way, how Akechi was the one fully willing to fight Maruki from the start. His rebellion has always been more individualistic in nature than the Phantom Thieves' - he wanted revenge for himself, then redemption for himself and now he wants a reality where he isn't under anyone's control anymore. To him, Shido's country, Yaldabaoth's ruin and Maruki's world are all the same - Maruki just has a nicer, more therapy-speaky way of presenting his proposal, and sees people as his equals rather than as insolent masses, but his goal is the same. They're all worlds that shackle you for the "greater good". And in the end, Maruki, and Royal, force the P5 gang to become more like Akechi - to value their individuality in the face of the public's "justice".

To fight for what you believe in you will face people with the same determination as you. They will be your equals in many, many ways. In the end, you can only stick to your guns and hope that what you believe in is worth more than what they believe in.

I have a lot more to write about these topics but I'll leave it there. Maybe about the relationship between Maruki's reality and individuality next? That could be fun ^^

Btw - Special thanks to @thedaythatwas for inspiring me to write up stuff about Persona 5 Royal!

#persona 5 #p5 #p5r #persona 5 royal #persona 5 spoilers #takuto maruki #dr maruki #p5r maruki #akechi goro #goro akechi #writeup #damn this turned out long as hell

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luciaintheskyainthi · 4 months ago

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Hi!!! I LOVE ECM!! I'm completely down this rabbit hole now, (spider web?) And I'm reading jason/peter fics 🫠 I'm not really a fan of DC so this is a 1st for me to love 🫠 I initially went through a peter/danny phantom thing then peter/harley mostly because tom's been my person for spidey now, you can imagine those pairings wouldn't necessarily deal with the morality debate like it does with jason/peter so this really made me think how they'd work

But then, in my personal thing, for the DC, it's not really a question of who's right or who's wrong or who deserves the privelage to live or how to solve the question of who's morally superior but who can endure and live with the decisions they make you know?

One thing i see in like my general knowledge of DC and what you've opened my eyes to regarding Jason and Peter, is that they're the type of people who mingles with the community. They want to save or help people because these are THEIR people u know? They grew up in these streets, mingled with what would constitute as background characters and npcs at most to the dc world, just statistics as u say, but they're people to them even the villains

Jason in my head in these case, will understand that while the 'bad guys' can be redeemed, he's not willing to take a chance that it will cost other people's lives. Innocent people that don't deserve to be just part of a redemption arc of a criminal and he can endure killing, what that does to him and other's views of him but he's someone who survives and can do this as long as it saves those future victims

Peter on the other hand wants to help everyone because he believes and has seen those that can be saved from 'villainy'. He can endure continuing to try and continuing to save possible victims but that's because to me, he's kind of op in his possible abilities and smarts u kno, he has the option to think of a way to help both 'villain' and victim and keep standing up after he's hit. In a way that Jason, as a relative normie can't. I think peter's experiences and what he witnesses in marvel verse shows the type of power and ability that allows them to help what other's would call iredeemable, like how he did in nwh.

It's a matter of how well they'll be able to endure either killing someone who could've been redeemed or allowing someone to live who continues to kill.

They're both stubborn tho, so I imagine in these scenario they'll just be each other's support 😃 in a happy place, that's what I want to think anyway.

How would you happen to see them in this context? 'Cause honestly, in bruce and tony's case as people who don't technically mingle with the community the way the other 2 do, they kind of come off as sanctimonious pricks who has a privelaged view of how to handle their criminals.

Considering they think that the people they fight with will target them and everything they may or may not do is associated with them, they certaimly don't think about the 'background' people affected in their actions the way I imagine peter and jason do. Sorry I rambled too much I'm not even sure I explained mythoughts properly ��

Still ur an amazing writer 🥹 thank you for your generosity in sharing your worls with us

Finally getting to this ask! 🫣 I loved it very much and have been waiting for the right bandwidth to respond because I knew I'd end up writing a damn essay ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 (and would you look at that? I HAVE)

Let me start by saying I LOVE how you've put the moral debate that lies at the heart of Jason (and of course the Jason/Peter pairing!):

it's not really a question of who's right or who's wrong or who deserves the privelage to live or how to solve the question of who's morally superior but who can endure and live with the decisions they make you know?

I DO know and it's something that I've had Jason touch upon a few times previously (but also more in later chapters). He's long since accepted that burden - in some respects, because of his training with the All Caste I think he sees it in part as a responsibility, too (the All Caste kind of exists to fight against the Untitled, who are meant to embody evil, so there's a bit of that going on with Jason, too).

At this point, I think Jason understands that Bruce isn't someone who should take on that burden like Jason has. And he understands too, that the world is better without a Batman that's willing to kill. But at the same time, he also sees Bruce's 'inaction' as hypocritical and harmful because he DOES prioritise the lives of mass murderers over the lives of their inevitable future victims. Unlike Bruce, who is an optimist, Jason is a realist and a utilitarian. The greatest good and all that.

(Of course, I don't think that was entirely his motivation throughout the events of Under the Red Hood, but I'd like to think he's matured in the 4 years since then... Of interest: the Batman: Urban Legends issue covers pretty well the reasons why comics!Jason would stop using guns, after he lets his temper get the better of himself and he kills an admittedly shitty guy, but someone he knows shouldn't have been killed. While I still have Jason use guns here so that event's non-ECM canon, I do think it made a good argument.)

I do see Peter as a hero who should be very firmly community-minded (certainly far more than he was set up as in the first few showings of MCU Spider-Man), which does bring him into alignment with Jason, despite their differing views on killing villains. The thing is though, and I said this in an earlier ask, Peter's recent villains have been men who have been changed/altered, and its primarily this alteration that led to their villainy (with the exception of Beck and Toomes). Likewise, Peter is stronger, and that's meant he's not been made a victim in the same way that Jason has. So the way he views villains has been tarred by the belief that they can change.

But the thing is... while, sure, there are Gotham villains who are like that, there are also some who are just... irredeemable assholes. There's no 'fixing them' because there was nothing 'broken' about them. Or not broken in the way Peter's used to....

I think you also bring up a great point about the fact that Peter and Jason, living in the heart of Crime Alley, and community-centred heroes, would see Bruce's POV as sanctimonious because those future victims aren't just faceless victims, they're their neighbours. They're friends. They're the petty passive-aggressive arch-enemy whom Jason's in a constant battle with for the final parking space on the street.

There's no ivory tower for Peter or Jason. And that means something. To both of them.

I would also note, that while Peter's against killing and certainly would never bear the knife himself, he's capable of nuance. Because LBR, both MCU and comics Peter has associated with characters who've killed. MCU Tony killed Thanos, yet Peter never decries that decision. He still hero-worships the man after death. Same goes with all the Avengers, which there's no doubt Peter was aware of, yet he still wanted to join the roster in Homecoming.

Likewise, comics Peter still associates with killers like Deadpool, and though I've not read the comics, from what I'm aware it's not so much that he's antipathetic towards Deadpool because he kills but because he's a mercenary.

(Of course, one could make comparisons between Jason and the Punisher, who Peter canonically hates, and thinking of the Jason from UTRH, there's no way Peter would associate himself with the Red Hood then. Because like the Punisher, the Red Hood was indiscriminate when it came to killing 'bad guys'. But the Jason of now is a very different beast from the Jason of UTRH.)

To me, that says that the motivations behind having to kill someone matters to Peter. As of course, do the circumstances. Though you never saw that conversation from Peter's POV, he was immensely relieved when Jason confirmed that he wasn't interested in just breaking into Arkham and killing the villains inside executioner-style, even if that would still prevent them from creating any more victims.

Anywho, all of this to say, that while Jason thinks himself capable of taking on the burden, he doesn't think that should be the case for every hero. Likewise, while Peter would never allow himself to kill someone, even in the heat of a battle, that doesn't mean he's going to immediately condemn someone else for being forced to do the same.

#existential crisis mode #peter parker x jason todd #spideyhood #spiderman in gotham #really digging into that morality debate again

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armadillo-arts · 12 days ago

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So, I'm gonna preface this ask by saying: the beautiful Pony!Calamity Trio art you did on the Amphibia shared-canvas-thing got me thinking A LOT about the finer details of the Trio as Ponies–

That being said, after spending far too long pondering the subject myself, I'm curious— do you have any ideas for what the Trio's names would be as Ponies?

— @knave-of-clubs

(doodles in question for those who weren’t on this aggie a while back)

thank you!! they were fun to design! i have colored fullbodies of their show-age designs in the works too (sasha’s is done, marcy’s is lined, anne’s is sketched), so i wanted to try out rough concepts for their future designs as well. i’m sure i’ll make fullbody refs for their timeskip designs too at some point, though these are just kind of a “whenever i feel like it” project more than something actually on my to-do list, so not sure when that’ll be. i HAVE to make a darcy design too tho, it just sounds like the coolest thing ever.

the designs were mostly just for fun, so i don’t have a lot of the details figured out about the au as a whole, except that their species were chosen to align the “hierarchy” of their respective amphibians with the “hierarchy” of the pony species. plus they just fit the vibes this way.

it seems like it would be pretty similar to the show, honestly. they would still look just as weird to the amphibians as they did as humans, and the plot and character arcs wouldn’t change much from thinking off the top of my head. andrias’ desire for human tech would be a moot point because ponies don’t rely on tech of the same kind/the same way, but that’s not to say he wouldn’t absolutely find use of the ponies’ magic, especially if he found a way to harness it. i can see him really being intrigued by it after befriending marcy and seeing the power she holds in her horn even while possessed by the core (especially since unicorn marcy is likely to be incredibly gifted in magic)

i don’t think anne would gain her wings and horn when using her partial powers throughout tc and s3, but i think it makes sense/would be cool for the calamity powers to grant all three of them temporary alicorn status when fully activated. “the powers must stack when used in tandem! classic synergy buff” as marcy would put it. but the power isn’t everything, of course, and anne’s heart and sacrifice are still the factors that ultimately win the war for them.

as for names, i’ve thought some about it but haven’t really gotten to any definitive conclusions. their warrior cat names came to me pretty instinctively but pony names feel much harder 😭

it would be really cool if each of them had something tying back their calamity trait ingrained in their names from the start, tying them to the prophecy long before they became remotely aware of it, but i’m not sure what words would make the names still sound natural and not obvious. ofc the prophecy’s not the only substantial thing about them and shouldn’t define them, it’s just cool in a “woooaahh it’s always been our destiny” kind of way. but not sold on it bc i can’t come up with any particular ideas lmao, plus i was already planning on incorporating the “three stars” part of it into each of their cutie marks so it’s not a concept i’ll likely likely end up sticking with. but as for specific thoughts for each girl, here’s where i’m at:

• i can see the “bright” from waybright being used as part of sasha’s name, and can see it suiting her. i feel like a fiery, warm, powerful feeling to her name in general suits her really well, both pre and post-redemption. she’s a protector at heart, it just takes her a while to learn to do it right, and that feels like it should reflect in her name. bright, wing, ember, blaze, flame, spark, etc. are all words i’ve considered for her, just haven’t settled on anything that really feels like her yet even though she’s the one i have the most ideas for

• anne is transfem to me in every universe, so her name needs to feel to me like something she would pick herself. pretty and feminine but not dainty. maybe floral. Lilypad Lotus is where i’m leaning. lotus like in my warrior name for her ties her back to her thai culture again which i’m also all for, and it just really suits her. i can also see her liking lilypad as part of her name, chosen before amphibia just because she thought it was pretty. her being kind of inexplicably drawn to it, only for the tangential relation to frogs to become such a massive part of her identity later. her “first name” being her own like in the show with her “last name” still being hers but also a draw back to her heritage, which would no doubt be different as a pony, but still could parallel the thai culture as much as possible

• marcy on the other hand has me completely stuck. she feels like she should be easy, but she isn’t. her character is too big to simplify her name down to her hobbies and interests like some pony names. the principles i used choosing her warrior name don’t really align here, because her warrior name is sparrowflight but she’s not a pegasus, so it doesn’t feel correct. i’d like some option where she can keep her plethora of nicknames (mar-mar, marbles, marshmallow, etc. having marble in her name somewhere might even be good), because that way she’d also have some tie back to her human name like if we were to use bright and lotus. some sort of name highlighting her intelligence feels right (i would probably say “bright” if it didn’t feel more right to give that to sasha), but it’s also not her only characteristic and shouldn’t be treated like all she’s good for, so it would have to be a healthy combination. a name highlighting her energy and hyperactivity as well makes sense pre-amphibia, but she definitely mellows out a lot after, so it would still need to be flexible enough to still feel like marcy at every period in her life. she’s still excitable and bouncy (eventually), but she’s an artist— she does Not have that kind of energy anymore 💀 we don’t know how connected to her culture she is, but we know she’s canonically fluent in mandarin at the very least, so there’s definitely a case to be made for choosing a taiwanese/chinese-inspired name somewhere in hers too, though i wouldn’t have any ideas without doing some more research first. and the whole thing gets even MORE complicated when you realize her name has to easily change to something else to become darcy’s name. there’s so many angles you could take marcy’s name in that there really doesn’t feel like an obvious answer

i’m definitely open to name suggestions for all three and cutie mark ideas for marcy and sasha (i already have one for anne. vague idea for sasha that i may just need to develop more, but once again stuck on marcy) if anyone has other ideas! i have a lot of fun making crossovers like this so i’m happy to receive more potential inspiration lmao

#asks #armadillo art #art backlog #technically i guess??#never posted it elsewhere tho #amphibia #calamity trio #sashannarcy #anne boonchuy #marcy wu #sasha waybright #mlp #mlp:fim #darcy wu #the core #headcanons #amphibia mlp au #mlp au

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