#the bear theory about death

[unladyboss]

NEVER LEFT THE CITY OF CHICAGO: The BEAR SEASON 3

Disclaimer: remember this is just a theory of mine based on what I've been seeing throughout the show and the hints and clues the show runners put in there. Most of my posts talk about this stuff in some way. I happen to believe this theory. It isn't fully fleshed out. However if you don't believe it well you can laugh and move on from it....

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CARMY said that the tables and flowers in the restaurant look like they'd been arranged by someone who'd never left the city of Chicago.

I'm not gonna tag this post with my usual tags. Whoever finds this post and thinks it's reasonable, well you got a reasonable theory

Ok. This is one theory

What if the main character of this show is dead or dying and for some reason they can't move on. For example if he or she got into an accident and have been to surgery and are in critical condition

So one minute to them may seem like months to the bear characters.

What if the person is comatose like Marcus s mom was or locked in. Meaning their mind is functioning but their body is not, so all of this is happening in that one persons mind.

If this person is in a room with a TV, the caretaker could have the tv on food network a lot and it would inform a lot of what's going on with Carmy et al.

If a Chicago med show is on, the hospital scenes and Claire as a doctor could be formed. Claire who doesn't use gloves when giving a child a shot.

We don't even know what the real person would look like.

This would explain all the anomalies and weird things in the show:

Like timestamps being off

Like age differences

Like the existence of claire

Like Richie stating that they moving on Carmy's schedule. Because Carmy is the forefront 'personality' that's helping their PERSON survive right now.

Like Carmy threatening to send them home, or actually sending them home. Which means they have to go into collective corners to wait till he needs them again if he can't cope

Like Nat telling him if things get difficult he can come home. Subverting his purpose

Like the Faks who seem like they are sabotaging stuff not fixing stuff.

Like an abundance of Faks talking about haunting when Carmy regressed after he was stuck in the walk-in.

I posted before about the train system in Chicago before The only two similar systems like it in the world are in Copenhagen and NYC.

That's why it's possible for the trips to NYC and Copenhagen outside of Chicago, because it's like a 'ghost train'. You can theoretically get on it in Chicago and be transported to either two if those places.

Remember they were playing last train home when Richie was having those mobsters arrested in season 1. The song started with A Carmy scene I don't remember but was played heavily when they showed Richie.

That's significant because if these characters are all a part of ONE person and they are how that person gets through life and situations now, Richie claimed to be there first. (Mikey lost his mind, as they like to say. Mikey is gone)

The themes of death and dying (see Richie telling Fak to call his mom and tell her he's dead), are big in this show and hard to ignore.

I think Richie told Mikey to tell Tina she can't cry in there is because she's a 'new death'. The regulars would get uneasy about the passage onto a new realm etc if a new death was wailing etc...

So the show is carrying on as normally as can possibly be with all this as it's backdrop

[rotomartsblog]

You people are lucky I can’t make music or else I’d make the most fucked up, symbolism heavy, metaphorically incomprehensible, insufferably meta fnaf songs

[scarefox]

Koreans React To ‘Thai Y Series’ for the first time | MaDooKi Reaction

[talkingbl]

Since everyone's playing BL Bingo, thought I'd add mine here.

Green = completed

Yellow = completed in part (didn't complete or even watch every couple's storyline but completed at least one)

Red = dropped

[lxvvie]

Simps 'R Us, Between the Sheets edition: Your faves and the wholesome and funny things you two get up to in bed, part I.

Capt. John Price - When he's half asleep and about to snore loud enough to wake the dead (Price vehemently denies this), you like to have random conversations with him because you know questions you ask will do one of two things: elicit a nonsensical answer from the Cap'n or... wake him up from his sleep altogether.

Gaz - Is curling up into himself because you're the big spoon, you're running your hands over his body because he's highkey lowkey ticklish, and your face is buried in his neck because... he's highkey lowkey ticklish. "Darling, please—" Gaz manages to gasp out between... wait, are you giggling, Garrick?

Soap - Your darling golden retriever chaotic good boyfriend loves... to sleep naked. You're not complaining, though, especially because he loves it when you lay on him. You've made a home for yourself between his thighs; his stomach is your pillow, and he usually has a hand rubbing your head. Helps him to relax, y'know, bonnie? And whenever you don't lay on him, it's an affront to Johnny's... everything. His heart is broken. His soul is crushed. You're too far away from him (even though you're still right under him). How could you do this to him? He can't live like this. No other stud muffin can offer you what he can, beautiful. But no really, bonnie, he needs you on top of him like... yesterday.

Ghost - You really like his body. Like... really like his body. You blow raspberries on his stomach, you smack his ass, you talk about his eyelashes—scratch that, you love his body. To you, every scar tells a story, and you've asked him plenty of times to talk about them. And then you did the unthinkable that had Simon wanting to disappear into the fucking blankets—"Si-bear, I didn't know you had a mole on your inner thigh!" Bloody fucking hell, he'll never hear the end of this. And then you kissed it and Ghost's face had never felt so bloody hot before. Christ, you'll be the death of him, sweetheart.

Roach - Nothing but the most sickeningly saccharine stuff to ever stuff happens with Roach. A poke-fest, a kiss-fest, a tickle-fest, you name it, it happens. Roach loves to sleep with his face buried in your chest and arms wound tight around you. Always. You rubbing his head soothes him to sleep as well.

Alex - You're also the big spoon here, too. You're busy talking about conspiracy theories you believe the government is/was involved in and Alex is entertaining you ("That so, Boss?"). In actuality, his eyes are comically wide because the truth is oftentimes stranger than fiction and you may or may not be walking a little heavy there, Boss.

Alejandro - Is the big spoon to your little spoon in bed no matter what you're doing. Loves to intertwine your legs together, too. Alejo murmurs how much he loves you in your ear and kisses the top of your head before telling you good night.

Rudy - Sometimes when he's asleep, you'll whisper "Rodolfo" in his ear which causes Rudy to shoot up, eyes comically wide because the only time someone calls him by his full government name is when he gets into shit but it wasn't him this time, it was that idiot Alvarez— "Didn't get to tell you good night and I love you, Rudy, so... good night and I love you, Rudy." Oh. Oh. Ha. Real funny.

Farah - A cuddle bunny through and through. She loves laying up under you, her head resting on your shoulder or under your chin, or her face in the crook of your neck. She wants to hear you as you sleep. She wants to feel the gentle rise and fall of your chest or the resonances as you speak. Farah simply can't get enough of you.

Keegan - It's really you teasing him because Keegan isn't one to really get flustered or deviate from his infamously neutral expression. Much. Until you came along. You two are relaxing in bed and you're the one randomly calling out, "Hey, Kee-Kee," to which Keegan makes the most surprised and disgusted face in response and you're wheezing.

[mythmerth]

thinking about how some decisions in the show don’t even make sense if you don’t have the context that Merlin and Arthur are deeply in love with each other.

the one that really fucking gets me is when Mordreds life is at stake and Arthur asks Merlin if he would rather have mordred die or accept magic back into Camelot. This is an opinion he values more than any other, an opinion that would change his mind and sway him.

Merlin, described as magic itself, has been tasked the entire. fucking. show. with returning magic to Camelot and pushing Albion into the golden age under Arthur’s rule. This is everything he’s been working towards this entire time- literally. his life, his years and years of protecting Arthur, all (IN THEORY) are because this golden age is what he wanted, and Arthur would have fully listened to him and likely chosen what Merlin chose. Everything he worked for was RIGHT THERE in front of him. It makes absolutely no sense for him not to pick it. But we all know what he picked. So why?

He didn’t do it for Camelot. He didn’t do it for any kind of golden age, or to fulfill the ultimatum of the prophecy in the revival of magic. No. He chose to deny magic and kill mordred solely because he could not bear to watch his love die and was so distraught that it clouded him. Merlin was so afraid of losing Arthur, his friend, his other half, his king, that he denied every goddamn thing he was working for all at the prospect of allowing Arthur to live past the prophecy and not die by mordred’s hand. You can see it through the show- the way Merlin falls deeper for Arthur, the way, to him, the prophecy becomes less about the promised golden age and more about how desperately he wants Arthur to live.

The tragedy of Merlin legitimately only happens because Merlin loved too strongly and protected his king too fiercely. His overflowing love was his bane, and it led to Arthur’s death. People who watch the show and don’t view it under that lens are missing so much.

…Merlin is literally a show about condemning your soulmate’s life because you loved them so deeply and recklessly, like what the actual fuck

[total-dxmure]

ೃ࿔ “INVISIBLE STRING THEORY” MASTERLIST

the marines didn’t ruin ellie. ellie ruined ellie. after being medically discharged she feels lost. being sent to live with joel is more of a last ditch effort to save her and less of a fun reunion for the father-daughter duo. jackson is worlds different than chicago, but the fresh air and sprawling countrysides are a welcome reprieve. ellie finds herself finding comfort in more than just the change in scenery though. after losing your girlfriend due to an accident you feel as though you’ll never find love again- but that was before meeting ellie williams. the two of you figure out that you have more in common than just the fact that she and your girlfriend were both marines though. tethered by some invisible string, the two of you meeting has to be fate. who would have known that you were the golden ticket to ellie’s recovery?

total word count: 13.8k

𖦹 chapter one- grief is a difficult thing for anyone to navigate, but ellie finds it impossible to tread through her bottomless depression. all roads seem to lead to nowhere and everyday is a struggle. after a run in with the law after a ptsd episode, her close friends decide that it's do or die. a quick phone call to joel is all it takes to turn her world upside down. moving back to wyoming is a last ditch effort to save the scarred marine. the woman has no idea what's waiting for her back home. . . or who.

𖦹 chapter two- it's easy to pretend that things are normal when she's with joel. she can put on a brave face. grin and bear it, as they say. your sudden appearance in ellie's life hits her like a battering ram, and she finds it impossible not to be drawn to you. joel lets her know that you are no stranger to loss. the two of you seem to have a lot in common. a lost engagement ring, a smitten ellie and a minor mental breakdown.

𖦹 chapter three- you're tired of waking up in bed cold and alone. abby would have wanted you to find joy again. . . so why can't you? ellie shows up bright and early to help you with your duties on the farm, which is when you realize just how irresistible she is. for the first time in a while you feel comfortable to be yourself around someone, and she feels the exact same way. she shares some hard truths about herself and discovers what was once lost to you.

𖦹 chapter four- to be continued . . .

ೃ࿔ fic "soundtrack"

i fall to pieces - patsy cline

i walk the line - johnny cash

big black car - gregory ivan isakov

blue eyes crying in the rain - willie nelson

streets of laredo - marty robbins

plastic jesus - tia blake

almost gone - my terrible friend

death don’t have no mercy - rev. gary davis

i’m so lonesome i could cry - hank williams

god’s gonna cut you down - johnny cash

[brucewaynehater101]

Red Robin AU: Maximum Angst

Tim left to go save Bruce. It didn't matter that no one believed him. It didn't matter that his loved ones, people he trusted, tried to stop him. It didn't matter that everyone wrote his theories off as some sort of mental breakdown and grief stage denial. None of that mattered.

Tim was right, and he was going to prove it.

Two years after Tim left, Dick gets a phone call. It's from Superman.

During a JL mission, some villain gets away from a large JL team up by mentioning one fact: Bruce died in the timestream waiting for someone to save him. He had left clues, as many as he could given his circumstances, of his continued existence and predicament.

Dick, with the help of Damian and some of the JL, leaves Gotham to gather the evidence. Even after two years, art curators and museums are weirdly tense when he brings up the exact piece he wants to see.

A few months of carefully collecting his dad's last momentos occur before Dick has the realization: Tim was right.

Oh gods, Tim!

He can't believe, with all the responsibilities he had to juggle, that he just forgot about Tim!

This cues another frantic search as Dick retraces all of Tim's steps. The man allows himself a little laugh when he realizes that Alvin Draper is wanted for being an art thief.

Despite the sloppily covered trails, Dick finds himself at a dead end. The last location Tim might have gone to is in the middle of a desert. When Dick arrives at the spot, an LoA assassin is waiting for him.

Batman is glad that he's dressed in his uniform, he's glad that Damian didn't accompany him, and Dick prepares for the attack.

The assassin regards him neutrally.

The vigilante lowers his fists, but he's still tense in preparation. The assassin rolls their eyes and holds their hand out.

There's a com.

"What's that for?" Batman growls out.

Another eye roll from the assassin as they sigh. "Ra's knows you're looking for Timothy Drake-Wayne."

Hesitantly, the retired acrobat plucks up the com. After placing it in his ear, a smug voice greets him.

The Demon's Head cordially invites Batman to dinner.

Great.

Dick, wanting to find out where his brother is, has no choice but to follow the assassin to what's most definitely a trap.

Later, when Dick is haunted by the memories he desperately combs to liberate himself from his guilt, he'll darkly chuckle as he longs for it to have been a trap.

When the doors swing open to reveal Ra's al Ghul lounging at the head of the table, a feast is laid out before the young man. He forces himself to sit at the opposite end and listen to Ra's prattle on and on about how extraordinary Tim is. How the young outcast knew his father was alive. How he had to resort to taking Ra's hand in order to finish his quest.

As the evening is winding down, Dick had only spoken a handful of sentences. Ra's swirls a wine glass and gazes wistfully into its crimson hue.

"It's a shame, Richard, that it took you twenty-six months to scour for information about Timothy. I'm sure the realization of such would bring him despair."

There's a pause as the Detective's successor runs mental calculations. It has been thirty months since Tim left Gotham.

Emerald eyes, not too dissimilar to the shade of green Dick's son owns, bear down on a man too small for Batman's mantle.

"He died knowing his death would kill his father. It's a shame we lost them both that day."

[skylersprompts]

DC x DP Prompt *26*

In one moment everything was good. His parents accepted him as Phantom and were actively reworking their theories. In the next moment he felt like his core was about to shatter in millions of little pieces. His parents, sisters and friends died.

The explosion happened, even though it had been a different day, different circumstances and different reason. They wanted to celebrate his death day, to show him that they cared.

He was in so much agony from losing his fright, that he saw them to late. The Guys in White captured him, before he was even able to transform.

He never got an answer to how they knew he was Phantom, because ecto-scum didn't deserve anything.

Danny didn't know how long he had been there, only that they started to get careless. The GiW wanted to transport him to a new facility, but something happened outside and the Van had to stop.

The agents with him left him alone to deal with what ever had coursed the disturbance and he took his chance.

The door was unlocked.

The door was open.

He bolted.

He wasn't able to use his powers at the moment, because of the bracelet that contained them, but there was enough chaos for him to slip away, even locked into his human form.

After a good distance he looked down on himself. He wasn't wearing anything meant for the streets, just a fully covering medical gown.

So he started to look around the ally and he was lucky. In one of the dumpsters was some kind of costume. It seemed like a Halloween costume, but it was better than nothing.

He looked at it and deemed the Robin Costume a good fit and quickly changed in it. He even found the mask and shoes after some digging!

In his full Robin Costume he hurried to get further away. But luck was never on his good side, so it didn't take long for a rough looking agent to find him.

It only took one small shot out of the agents ecto-gun for Danny to crumble to the floor. And a few seconds later he felt fists and insults hitting him.

And maybe it was the lack of sleep, the loneliness, the pain or a combination of everything. But he knew that the only thing he wanted right now, was his Dad to save him and give him one of his world famous bear hugs.

And even though Danny knew that his Dad was gone, he couldn't hold his cries for his Dad in any longer.

"d-DAD!"

It only took a few seconds before the agent was flying away from him and Danny was lifted in the air, swinging up

"Robin, are you oka-? You are not Robi-. Are you okay chum?"

[queerly-autistic]

I've been thinking about potential pick-up of Our Flag Means Death by another streamer, and how it all might be tying in with the current BBC release, and I have some thoughts about what might be happening and what we can do to give the show the best chance of being picked up.

I think it's important to start by saying that all the whisperings that I heard over the past few months (including from some people who work at/with the BBC) pointed firmly towards a scheduled March release for Our Flag Means Death on the BBC. Needless to say, this means I was extremely surprised when they suddenly announced it was dropping at the beginning of February. I think it's also clear from everything I've seen that the BBC's marketing/social media plan for the release was not ready for February (there was no trailer, which was odd), which, again, really supports the idea that the show was initially schedule for a March release, not a February release.

I firmly believe the release was brought forward. The question is: why? Is it because they saw how much noise and press the show (and our campaign) was getting, and decided to try and capitalise on it? Or is there something else going on?

On top of that, we now have specific questions about Our Flag Means Death appearing on YouGov UK, including asking whether respondents would watch another series. This doesn't just happen. The charity I work for has commissioned YouGov polling (including some very recently) which I have been tangentially involved with, and so I know that this sort of polling is not easy work, and it's not cheap. Someone has put time AND money into commissioning this polling. This is significant. Someone is not only watching, but they are specifically watching the UK response to the show, and putting questions to the UK audience about it.

I have strong suspicions that a streamer (or several streamers) are interested in picking up the show, and are using the UK release as a live case study (Apple, Amazon and Netflix also have a presence in the UK, so we are a big target audience for them in a way we never were for Max). This could account for both the potential bringing forward of the BBC release (they didn't want to wait until March), and the YouGov polling that's going on (bear in mind, the YouGov questions were specifically as part of a wider survey about streaming services).

And this isn't just a passing interest: working with the BBC to bring forward the release, and investing time and money into YouGov polling? That's a strong interest. That's so interested they've already invested something into it.

Of course, I don't know anything for certain, so take everything with a pinch of salt (it's just a theory...a gay pirates theory...), but I think it's something to consider as a strong possibility.

So what does this mean for us?

It means we need to keep streaming on iPlayer. Watch it as many times as you can. Share it with your friends and family. If you're outside the UK, get yourself a VPN and join the party. Watch the live broadcasts on Monday nights (if you have iPlayer, you can stream the live broadcast - this is what I do because I don't have a TV). Keep tweeting about it (add the #OurFlagBBC hashtag to the existing hashtags we're using). Tag and email the UK media (including TV guides and radio shows) and ask them to talk about the show/our campaign. If you're tagging/emailing Apple, Amazon or Netflix, make sure you mention you're from the UK (and tag their UK specific social media accounts).

According to Parrot Analytics, the demand in the UK for the show is rising - let's keep adding to that!

You can also sign up to YouGov and rate the show (more instructions in the quote retweets of the tweet I linked to earlier), and keep answering questions about TV shows and streaming (and marking Our Flag Means Death as one of your interests) as a way to try and get them to give you the specific questions about the show (these start as a question about streaming and streaming services, which then turn into questions about OFMD, so if you get a survey like that, take it!).

It's also worth considering that if there's any validity to this, then there's a possibility that they might be waiting until after the show has finished airing in the UK (the finale is airing on 25th March) to crunch all the numbers together. This means that if we don't hear anything in the next few weeks, do not despair! We need to buckle in for a long fight, and to keep pushing the show and making noise over the next few weeks and months, especially around the BBC release.

This show is worth the fight. Let's get our damned men back!

[shaylogic]

Season 2 Predictions: Niko, Charles & Monty in the Neitherlands ; Niko & Charles' Parents

Borrowing this shot direct from @captainfantasticalright's fantastic Niko costume design breakdown post

Aurora Borealis is often associated with folklore about spirits travelling the sky.

Highlighted excerpt above from here.

In the Toby Litt/Mark Buckingham comics, the Neitherlands are a place between life and death, shown with bird bone snow (I have a theory we will see Monty bump into Niko again in season 2 in the Neitherlands like when they first met).

There's no Niko in the comics, but the combination of Hana & Rosa proxy over to Niko in the show.

Charles saves Rosa from the Neitherlands in the comics.

Charles and Niko are both shown foreshadowed with the bear, probably an allusion to Nanuk.

Walrus = Mick => Niko's costume design parka in the last scene

Aurora Borealis => Spirits of the Dead

I also have a theory that one of Charles' parents will die in season 2 and he'll see them there, like Niko will see her dad

I have a much more in-depth post on my theories about Season 2 and Afterlife Worldbuilding here.

And here's my theory on Charles' parents in season 2, based off of comic book parallels to the show that I've picked up on.

Update 1: Here's a post on some afterlife lore I scanned from a J Non-Fic book called "An Atlas of Afterlives"

Update 2: George Rexstrew Cameo reading the last two stanzas of "Sack of the Gods" by Rudyard Kipling (the last stanza of which was read in episode 1 of season 1). He did this cameo on the last day, before people could ask followup questions (and later in the week when he would have had time to get permission from higher-ups to drop hints?)

Update 3: George posted a vid of the Collar Scene with the caption "As long as the red Earth rolls <3"

Update 4: George Rexstrew Cameo where someone asked about DBD International Cases (season 1 already was in America vs London) and GEORGE ANSWERED JAPAN (Niko family lore).

[sorchathered]

The Willows Never Stopped Weeping for You

Pairing-Tyler Owens x female OC (Olivia Wright)

Warnings- language, drinking, angst, death, injury, smut

Summary- Olivia let Tyler go to carry out his dreams, but broke his heart in the process. What happens when in the wreckage of a little small town he learns the real reason she left him, and how do they repair it?

A/N- we back at it again on the angst train, third week in a row lol!! I really loved this one, twisters was so good and I am excited to start writing for the fandom! As always, like, comment, reblog anything to let me know what you think!

“We’ve gotta get the hell out of dodge, we can’t sit here any longer Ty!” Dani is panicked, sweat dripping from their brow as they tremble, eyes wild and afraid of what will happen if they don’t make it out.

“I can’t- I can’t leave without her goddamnit and you know it, go ahead of me, you gotta trust me! We will make it out of here, get everyone to safety Dan, I’m serious get the hell out of here!” He yells over the roar of the wind, shoving them towards the rv and as much as it pains the crew, they know Tyler would die in this storm before he ever left Olivia behind. She was his everything, he’d loved her his whole life, and even if things were broken between them he would die a thousand times over to make sure she was safe.

——————————————————————

The crew had been up and down the state the past few weeks, working together with Javi and his crew to test out Kate’s theory and it had been one hell of a ride. They’d mostly been able to help keep the damage to a minimum, but as always with storms like these it was always a risk.

The little town on the outskirts of Enid had been ravaged more than once, but this storm seemed to be hell bent on taking whatever was left of the small community and turning it to rubble. So many injured, and so many homes and businesses destroyed, it seemed like a no-brainer that the government would send aid relief workers to help repair the damage, but what Tyler Owens hadn’t foreseen was the bright green eyes and auburn hair of his first love as he helped people in the aftermath.

Olivia Wright had been his everything since he was fourteen years old, occupied every one of his dirty fantasies and dreams of the future. He’d never been more sure of anyone in his life, until they’d crashed and burned so spectacularly shortly after college. He’d fallen in love with storm chasing, his dreams of working for the NWS had turned into something else entirely as he and the crew of misfits he migrated to became more and more obsessed with the beauty and danger these storms brought.

Liv had their whole future planned, finish college, get married. Ty would work for the NWS and she would become a nurse, fulfilling your passion to help people and getting to be by his side while he pursued his passion for meteorology. The two of them were growing apart, everyone could see it but him, and she knew she’d have to be the one to let go, he was always bigger than the whole sky and Liv couldn’t bear to keep him down. So she broke his heart and her own, and in that time she watched him flourish. His channel and all of his friends, the articles written about his discoveries, she watched it all with rapt attention, he was living out his dreams and Liv couldn’t have been more proud. Eventually she had to decide what was best for her, and watching storms ravage communities just like hers in Arkansas became too much to bear, working in disaster relief and helping to save lives became her passion, she kept her head down and let the work take over, but never lost hope that one day she’d run smack dab into that man that was as wild as the western wind.

It had happened less like a rom com and more like a horror movie, he’d seen her first and lost his cool immediately, ducking under an awning and scrambling to find somewhere, anywhere else to be but near her. Lily, who had been both of their friends in college couldn’t quite figure out what the hell was wrong with him, but it didn’t take long to spot her bright hair and the FEMA t-shirt Liv was sporting as she handed out water to a group not far from theirs.

“Oh my God is that my Livvy?!” She shrieked as she ran for her friend, the two of them erupting in giggles and swaying each other in the midst of the debris-covered road.

“Lily bug!! Oh my goodness what are y’all doing here?! I thought from your last video you guys were over near Lawton!” She said, smacking a hand over her mouth as she realized she’d given herself away already.

“Ooh so you have been watching hmm? Come say hi to everyone cutie pie, it’s been too long and we need to catch up.” She pulled her along but Liv tried to dig her heels in, wild green eyes panicked.

“I can’t intrude Lils, and I don’t want to make Tyler uncomfortable, I’m sure he doesn’t want to see me” she says as she puts both hands up in surrender but Lily is having none of it.

“Nope, you don’t get to pussy out Olivia, life is too short and you know it. Now come on! I want to hear all about your life, and Dani makes some bomb ass burritos so you should try to eat something, it’s gonna be a long day babygirl.

————————————————————-

He somehow manages to avoid her like the plague all day, catching glimpses here and there but mostly staying close to Kate and Javi, much to Lily's frustration if the glares she’s cut at him all afternoon are any indication.

Livvy wasn’t quite sure what to make of it; she had been watching them for so long online that she felt like she knew the crew personally, they were some of the kindest people she’d ever met and it wasn’t lost on her that all of them had been brought together by Ty. He’d made himself a family, it was just another thing that she had missed her chance on and she couldn’t help but feel a little emotional over it.

When Kate had come over to introduce herself later in the evening, it had been obvious to Olivia that she and Tyler had something going on. It was hard to dislike her, she was beautiful and kind, and smart as a whip from what Liv could tell. Definitely perfect for him, so after a while of watching them all interact and being all but ignored by her oldest friend, it got to be too much and she found a way to make her escape, using an early morning as an excuse and holing up in her motel room to lick her wounds and cry.

Lily chases after her with another nasty glare in Tyler’s direction, everyone had questions now and he couldn’t give them, waving them off with a middle finger as he stumbled through the parking lot, a little tipsy and feeling an ache in his chest that he’d thought he’d healed from.

“Liv! Stop damnit, I know this shit is hard but just talk to me honey, tell me.” Lily shouts into the crowded lot and watches her friend's shoulders sag as she turns with tears sliding down her cheeks.

“Oh Lily.” She lets out a ragged breath and lets it all wash over her, everything she’s left unsaid and held deep inside. “I could never deny him happiness, if it’s not with me that’s OK, it’s been a long time and I’ve learned to accept it. If Kate makes him happy then of course I want that for him. I never stopped loving him, so of course I would always want what’s best for him. It wasn’t right back then Lily, that kinda love was unpredictable. We were growing together like two gnarled trees, neither of us were helping the other reach our potential and I had to let him go so we didn’t end up hating each other. “ A shudder runs through her at the declaration, tears are threatening to seep from her eyes but she won’t give them the satisfaction.

“That sounds like horseshit and you know it” Lily says she jabs her finger into Liv’s shoulder, her eyes are full of fire. Liv knows she means well, she’s always been a good man in the storm, someone you want in your corner when things get hard which is why she’s so glad that Tyler has her. Liv lets her shoulders sag and look at Lily full of defeat.

“I can’t change it now, even if I wish I could.”

“Do you wish you could?” She says with raised eyebrow and Olivia gives her a little nod.

“Every day. I miss him every day.” Tears well up in her eyes and she shivers as the wind blows through the camp, but she won’t let the pain overtake her, she made her choice and she can only hope that he’ll be happy.

Olivia doesn’t see it but Lily does, Tyler is half hidden behind the RV, he’s heard it all and she watches as his face goes from grief stricken to angry turning on his heel as he walks off into the dark, the weight of her confession breaking his heart all over again.

—————————————————

He paces the concrete hallway of the motel for what feels like hours, letting the weight of what she said run over him. Had he really been so blind? Olivia hadn’t wanted to let him go, and he’d never thought to question it when she pushed him away. He had been hurt and stubborn, shutting down immediately and saying some of the meanest things he could hurl at her to hurt her back. In hindsight he should have known she was just trying to give him the ability to do what he wanted, but just the fact that she had convinced herself that she was what was holding him back made a fire rage in him. Sure it would have been hard to manage, but they could’ve handled it! They could handle anything together, he’d always told her that, why she would have ever thought otherwise was something he couldn’t reconcile with.

He was at her door before he could stop himself, rapping sharply on the peeling metal and praying that she would listen. The sounds of the lock being undone told him she was still awake, the door swinging open to reveal her puffy tear stained face, hair up in a messy knot on her head and an oversized t shirt full of holes, one that had definitely belonged to him.

“Why are you here Ty? You’d had all day to say something to me, and you waited until midnight?” She said with a sniffle, there was no point in trying to hide what she’d been doing, it was all over her face and his heart clenched in his chest knowing he’d hurt her again.

“You didn’t want us to end, did you?” He said gruffly, he wasn’t leaving until he got his answers, he needed to know the truth.

“What does it matter now? You’re with Kate-“ she said as more tears formed, arms wrapped tightly around her waist as though she was trying to hold herself together.

“I’m not. We tried it, but she’s got her own demons to work out, and we agreed it would be better to be friends. Answer my question baby, I need to hear it. Do you still want me?” He was leaning in close to the door frame now, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his body and smell the beer on his breath. Liv let out a ragged breath and nodded, that was all he needed to push the door the rest of the way open and pull her into his arms, kicking the door shut behind him as he pressed kisses to her cheek and neck while she held on for dear life. Sobs wracked her body as he sat down on the creeky mattress, pulling her into his lap as he rocked her side to side.

“My sweet girl” he murmured into her hair, he let her cry it all out until she relaxed in his grip, tipping her chin up to look at him as he stroked her cheek.

“I never stopped hoping for this, I didn’t want to hold you back but- I can’t stay away anymore. I-I love you Ty, I always will.” She stuttered and he let out a groan as he pressed his mouth to hers, flipping them both so she was on her back and spread out for him, she’d been the star of every fantasy he’d ever had, and nothing would ever be as good as the real thing.

“I never stopped either Livvy girl, can I have you? Please baby I- I need it, need to show you how much I missed you.” He looks wrecked, hair a mess and eyes wild, and she can’t stop herself from pulling him down to her, licking into his mouth and running her hands over his broad shoulders, watching him shiver in her embrace as he grinds down into her.

They make up for all the time lost, re-learning each other's bodies until the early morning, finally coming up for air when Tyler’s phone begins to go off with weather alerts and texts from Boone.

“Looks like there’s another cell coming this way, we need to get these people to safety while we can.” He says with a sigh as he rolls his body off of hers, she’s sated and happy as she stretches her limbs like a cat and moans, he feels himself twitch in his boxers as he watches her. She’s like a siren, calling him back to her and he wants nothing more to than to stay right here between the sheets and ravage her again.

“Stop looking at me like that Owens, or we’ll never get out of here in time” she playfully punches his chest and he lets out a hearty laugh, they’d have plenty of time to talk and catch up, he wouldn’t be letting her out of his sight anytime soon.

“Ok, ok sugar, let’s get back out here, storms a comin’ and times a wastin’.”

——————————————————————-

He should have known. He should have known they’d never get that lucky, especially knowing how unpredictable the storms had been this season.

They thought they’d had more time, weather warnings saying the tornado would likely just pass the town, but it had all gone wrong. What had started out as one had turned into two, splitting off and causing maximum damage to what was left of the area. He’d lost Liv and Boone somewhere along the way, Kate and Javi and the rest of the crew were safely out of danger, but somehow the twister had gotten between his truck and yours, and when the dust had settled you and Boone were nowhere to be found.

He was sick, bile crawling up his throat as he trembled, they’d been searching the perimeter when he’d heard Boone screaming for help, tearing through the field of corn to find your upturned truck, mangled and covered in broken glass. Boone had tried his best to pull you from the wreckage, but his shoulder was mangled; most likely dislocated from the crude angle it hung from.

Tyler pulled Olivia’s limp body out and heard a sharp gasp from her, she was alive, that was good. At least that was what he thought until he got her in his arms and saw the jagged shrapnel wedged in her abdomen, blood flowing like a water hose from the wound, way too much to be a minor wound. She kept lolling her head back and forth as she tried to lift her hand to his face, god there was blood everywhere, he couldn’t take the metal out, what if that made it worse? He yelled for Boone to give him his shirt, tears pouring from his eyes as he tried to stop the bleeding, but it just wouldn’t stop coming.

“Livvy, baby look at me ok?” He says with a gentle pat to her cheek, her eyes keep rolling around in her head as she tries to focus on something, anything, but she just can’t seem to get there.

Finally she seems to see him through her unfocused bloodshot eyes, a small victory and he breathes for the first time since he found her.

“Oh god, Ty there’s so much blood! What happened? Are- are you ok? How do we stop it? We need help!” She cries out as her body shakes in his arms, she’s going into shock and bleeding to death but is still selfless to the end, always worried about everyone but herself.

He’s sobbing so hard now he can hardly speak, just kissing whatever skin he can get to as he holds her tightly, still pressing hard into the gaping wound despite knowing it won’t do anything to stop the inevitable. He’s going to lose her, and he just got her back.

A scream comes from somewhere, Tyler jolting awake from the world’s most uncomfortable hospital chair. He’s drenched in sweat, and his neck aches, as he looks around the dimly lit room he realizes the scream came from him. He’s replayed that awful night over and over for the past three days, it ends with Olivia choking on her own blood as she fades away and he can’t seem to make his brain understand that while it definitely happened that way, the end result wasn’t quite so gruesome. She’s alive, unconscious, but alive. How EMS found them in time will consume his thoughts for a good long while. He’d been so sure he’d lost her but the miracles just kept coming because somehow the doctors were able to save her and had assured him that though recovery would be long and hard she would in fact recover.

—————————————————————

Months later he would still be convinced it was all just a dream, the nightmares had ceased but the jagged scar along Olivia’s sternum would always be there to remind him of how close he’d come to losing it all.

He lived for chasing storms, he’d convinced himself it was everything he’d ever need after she’d left, but he’d been so wrong.

She’d never ask him to give it up, but he didn’t know if he could continue to run after something that had nearly taken everything from him. He and Kate took a job consulting with the NWS on her research after Ben’s article got traction, and he left his truck to Boone to continue the legacy and the channel. He wanted to prevent the storms from happening before they started and he knew with Kate’s research and the grants from the government they could really dig in and make a difference.

He asked her to marry him on her birthday, 6 months after the accident and she’d said yes before he could even finish his speech. The future hadn’t been linear like he thought, he didn’t have to accept what he thought he deserved and finally allowed himself to accept what he wanted. Olivia Wright Owens sounded damn good to him, and maybe one day a house full of babies. Yeah he could definitely make that his new dream.

Tagging- @sailor-aviator @goldenseresinretriever @hangmanapologist @roosterforme @trickphotography2 @mynameismckenziemae @seitmai @sebsxphia @im-just-ken @kmc1989 @jessicab1991 @dizzybee03 @nouis-bum @attapullman @bobgasm @floydsglasses @withahappyrefrain

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

Can I get some steter with morally dubious Stiles?

You sure can! @kevaaronday made this list.

A Darkness Follows by havok2cat (9/9 | 41,994 | Explicit | Steter) Stiles serves his community service at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. He's assigned to a mysterious patient and finds himself quickly becoming obsessed.

As most wrong theories are by PotatoYoghurt

(46/46 | 35,150 | Explicit | Stetopher) The world takes everything from Stiles.

Stiles decides to take it back.

Null & Void by skargasm (18/18 | 28,762 | Explicit | Steter) In a world full of the supernatural and superpowers, everyone eagerly awaits their 18th birthday to ‘receive’ their gift. On his 18th birthday, Stiles Stilinski comes into his powers and finds out in the most horrific way possible that his gift is more of a curse – one unguarded touch, and he absorbs both a person’s gift andtheir life-force. 

Determined to keep his friends and family safe, he moves away from his home and takes a job with the government, taking away the gifts of those who would abuse them. As one of the most powerful – and potentially dangerous – people in the world, Void feels completely alone. 

Peter Hale’s gift is incredibly prized – mainly because no one is allowed to openly discuss what their gift is. Working within the P.A.C.K. bureau, he keeps his family safe and does the world a service. No-one’s gift can touch him, and he is one of the very few who can tell what someone’s gift is from one simple touch. 

So what does he do with this ruthless but attractive new partner who refuses to let Peter touch him?

To Court a (Oblivious) Werewolf by StilesIsMySpiritAnimal (5/5 | 25,437 | Explicit | Steter) There was no mistaking that this was the Spark.

He walked with a lethal grace, hands in his pockets and head tilted down slightly. His entire body had a soft glow to it.

Three bodies moved in unison to flank him, and they walked the remaining distance to the pack.

As if sensing his perusal, the boy looked up, right at Peter, his whiskey-colored eyes flashing in the sun.

Oh. Peter briefly wondered if the young man hid his face for safety, or because every ‘wolf within ten miles would be looking to court him.

Perhaps by Triskuit (1/1 | 7,168 | Explicit | Steter) Stiles and Peter run into each other when attempting to kill the same people. They get together and go a-murderin'.

-----

“Should we be comparing lists or something?”

There was an amused snort. “Perhaps.”

They stood around awkwardly for a few moments and then Stiles went to get a closer look at the thoroughly shredded Body Formerly Known As Todd.

“You’re not going to ask?” the werewolf blurted.

There was surprise and incredulity in his voice. And was that a hint of disappointment? Stiles bet he had a whole spiel prepared. He smirked.

“About what? You’re a guy who turns into a wolf-bear creature. And? Do you have another trick up your sleeve? Some fascinating hobby?”

The werewolf erupted into a full-body laugh, mouth open and eyes sparkling — Stiles was close enough now to see that they were blue — and he was pleased to elicit such a response. He wanted to hear that sound again. 

Aconite is Forever by threedices (1/1 | 5,636 | Teen | Steter) Magic helps Stiles find his soulmate. Knowing Peter exists is a comfort after his mother's death.

While magic doesn't stop the Hale fire it allows Stiles to bring Peter back when he thinks sacrificing himself for Stiles is a good idea (the fool).

Too Good to be True by stellewrites (1/1 | 5,256 | Teen | Steter) “This is a big fucking job, Ali,” Stiles said tiredly as he looked over the blueprints for the banks. “I’ll be doing you more than a favour if I do this. It’s peak time for tourists, so that means that cops are going to be more alert than usual. We won’t have much time.” 

“So, you’re in?” She confirmed. 

“Yeah, I’m in,” he said

“Who the fuck actually robs a bank in Las Vegas?” Peter murmured, feeling hysterical when he saw the masked group spread around the bank. 

--- 

Peter's on holiday with his friends in Las Vegas when he gets caught up in a bank robbery. One of the robbers has really pretty eyes - not that Peter noticed…

To Captivate a Killer by Noxnthea (1/1 | 2,000 | Teen | Steter) “The problem is that I’m not sure whether I want to kill him or kiss him.”

There’s silence from the Sheriff’s end of the spell before his father says, “Really, Stiles?” 

Stiles has accepted a contract to assassinate the Hale prince. It’s not panning out quite like he expected.

Just Calm Down by SnakePit1995 (1/1 | 1,085 | Gen | Steter) Stiles putting wards on Peter's apartment was easily the best decision he ever made. They worked perfectly and saved them time and time again. The intent wards were an everlasting argument but Stiles was never going to take them down. 

OR

The intent wards don't let Peter into the apartment when he's angry and Stiles finds it endlessly entertaining.

[gojonanami]

SWEET NOTHING - SATORU GOJO

✴︎ summary: satoru always comes running home to your sweet nothings -- except maybe this time. ✴︎ cw: spoilers for jjk 236, discussions of death, fluff, angst, implications of delulu twitter theories of survival ✴︎ wc: 1,175 ✴︎ song: sweet nothing by taylor swift

Satoru didn’t know when it happened.

But he had started running home to you far before the two of you shared one. 

Was it when Suguru left? Was it even before that? Or was he just always by your side at night, sneaking into your dorm room to sleep beside you. He’d tangle your limbs together so escape wouldn’t be easy for you, his face buried in the crook of your neck as you slept all too easy with him. Your soft pants and snores was the metronome that put him to sleep, the weight of your body was the only warmth he needed, and your quiet hums in the morning after he finally stirred was the thing that made him want to wake in the first place. 

“Morning,” you’d mumble, your voice all too thick with sleep, as you tried to pry yourself from exhaustion’s embrace, and he was too eager to help you with that — with sweet kisses and splayed fingers under your shirt. 

“It’s always a good morning baby,” he’d jokingly chide you, as he would kiss your neck, as you always made sure to say the phrase without the ‘good,’ if only to elicit his kisses (though he’d give them to you anyway), “cause I get to wake up with you,” 

Satoru didn’t kiss you for a long time — he couldn’t — he knew it was foolish to date anyone seriously — after everything ended in disaster with Suguru, he knew the burden of being the strongest was only his to bear — no one else’s. And besides, loving someone as Satoru Gojo was as good as taping a target to their chest, and he’d never do that to you — no matter how much he wanted to. 

But what could he do when you were the one to kiss him? Kissed him one night after the two of you shared a meal — barely a meal, scrambled eggs and bread — and he had cracked some stupid joke about Nanami that made you snort. And then you tried to shove him, but he caught your wrist, and you were close — too close because he could practically count the number of eyelashes on your eyelids. And right when sense was setting back in, and he was going to turn away, you kissed him. 

And he couldn’t turn away after that. He never could — you had pulled him into your orbit and now you were never gonna let him go. 

Not that he ever wanted you to. 

He’d come running to you, even after running away, because he couldn’t stay away. Because it was you. 

And it didn’t truly hit him, until he had come home this time, to the home you both had shared, and heard you in the kitchen, the faint sounds of clinking utensils and your humming. He removed his shoes, lips curling into a easy smile, as he stepped inside, opting to surprise you instead of announcing he was home. 

He whispered the words instead, “I’m home,” walking to find you just where he thought you would be. He leans against the doorframe, watching you hum along to whatever song was stuck in your head, as you prepared his favorites cake — only stopping when his arms wrapped around your middle, a small gasp on your lips that turns into a wide grin. 

“Toru—“ and his lips find yours, as they always did, and he could taste the sugar on your lips, but nothing was ever sweeter than you, “welcome home, baby,” 

And he gets the goofiest grin, as he sweeps you off your feet, making you yelp and laugh, a sound that vanished all the exhaustion of the world from his shoulders. From the industry disruptors, soul deconstructors to the voices that implore he should be doing more — only always taking more, and more, and more. But as he kisses your neck, the soft skin against his lips, only with you he could admit, he’s all too soft for it. And he could find more, more to life than the life that was stolen from him because of his abilities, the youth that he lost far too long ago, and the line he had drawn between him and the rest of the world. Because he wasn’t the strongest when he was with you — he was just Satoru Gojo.  

He buried his head in the nape of your neck, your arms curled around him, holding him impossibly closer, his breath tickling your skin, “I’m home now,” he whispers against you, eyes sinking shut. 

He spent his best moments in the company of your sweet nothings — your feet thrown over his as the two of you ate dinner on the couch, swiping food from your fork and stealing kisses between bites; the walks you took in the cool evenings, cicadas singing their symphony as the sun blazed against the sky in its final moments, where his six eyes would narrow to a pin, and all he would see was you; and the moments he spent beside you in bed, your touch, your presence, your being — the only thing he ever wanted to perceive with his entire being. 

Home was not a place, but it was you. And he had remarked that to you when you both were discussing the possibility of moving in the future and he had shrugged off giving suggestions. 

“Come on, Toru, there must be somewhere you’d want to live,” and his lips only curled, as he stared you — beautiful pout and all — and he knew his answer. 

“Home is anywhere you are, baby,” he leaned over and kissed your neck, “so pick anywhere in the world and I’d follow you in a heartbeat,” his hand guides your hand to his chest, “because it’s yours,” 

And now, it seemed like the end was coming. He had to leave home, and he couldn’t go home to your sweet nothings — he thought as he stared ahead at the sky. Death was painless — it was easy for the dead, they held the power over the living, of leaving before being left. But he had to leave his home behind, and he swore he could see your face, could hear your screams, your pleading, your cries. And it wasn’t only yours. His students. His friends. 

Was it enough to leave? He glanced at the departing flights in front of him, his smiling friends and the regrets that were lifting off his shoulders, and wondered was it time? 

And he saw your face again, two words on your lips, “come home,” 

And his lips curled into a smile, as his legs fell back, his fingers twitching, as they had done once before when he had fallen — fallen before the sorcerer killer. He would give it all up — his lower half topples over, closer, closer to his torso — give up all the power in the world to just be with you. And he swore away his six eyes in favor of two legs and one life—

He had to run home — home to your sweet nothings.  

☆ a/n: so i was listening to sweet nothing by t. swift on repeat and got super emotional thinking about how this song fits gojo while scrolling about post-236 fan theories, so this is the result.

[currymanganese]

Fak is too involved in Carmy and Claire's relationship. From giving Claire Carmy's number to showing up at her job with his equally annoying brother. He needs to mind his business and stop assuming what Carmy wants. In s3 ep9 Fak tells Claire he thinks (then later says knows) Carmy loves her. If you don't know Carmy's true feelings about her, why tf are you speaking for him?

Also sometimes it seems like Carmy doesn't even like Fak like that. They rarely have one-on-one scenes together and their conversations are mostly surface leveI. I always thought Fak and Richie were closer. In s2 ep3, when Claire and Carmy are talking on the phone, Carmy says Fak isn't his best friend (but then backtracks 5 seconds later saying he's probably my best friend). Then in s3 ep5 when they are preparing for the photoshoot, Fak said Carmy was #1 on his best friends list. The friendship is obviously unbalanced. Fak is one of those childhood friends you have outgrown but keep in your life due to history and familiarity. This is just another example of Carmy being stuck in the past and not being able to let go. He either needs to set some boundaries with Fak or end the friendship.

I love your blog btw. Your analysis on The Bear are very thorough.

*EXTREMELY HOT TAKE INCOMING*

Thanks for the kind compliments / thanks for the ask, but I'm starting to think that, if my suspicions are correct, that depending on how season 4 goes, that she and The Faks may shape up to be fantastic characters, at least from a trollish comedic parody perspective - and that this may be a huge 'star making role' for Molly Gordon and the rest of actors cast as the Faks if what is being set up is executed well post-reveal, and they demonstrate that, contrary to what we have seen thus far on the show, they definitely have acting range.....

Because I'm like 88% sure now that Claire x Carmy x Sydney's love triangle is an allegory/deconstructed (in part) version of Lilith x Adam x Eve from apocryphal / Jewish tradition. And that 'Sammy' Fak may be an archangel Samael figure

Lilith is Adam's first wife apocryphally and in Jewish mysticism that left him and became a she-demon / mother of demons / the "queen of the night" after being impregnated by / becoming a consort of the archangel Samael (whose name means Venom of God and is a seducing/destroying angel).

My thoughts are too incoherent right now to make a post about this theory in its own right, but all of the above could explain why the scenes where Claire is physically intimate with Carmy are shot in darkness and low light, compared to warm /well lit scenes when Syd and Carmy are emotionally intimate; it could explain why the songs that play during Carmy and Claire's scenes are frequently morbid or are outright about death, or lyric less ambient scores that invoke the feel of psychological horror,

and why mostly love songs are played for Carmy and Syd's.

I've made some posts /edits pointing out the parallels between Claire / Carmy / Syd and these biblical / mythological figures, and a post on why I think John Cena as Sammy Fak is a case of good casting (from a comedy perspective) if the Faks are really meant to serve the function that I think they are meant to below;

but some additional similarities between Claire and Lilith are that they were 'created' in the same way, 'formed from the same dust', as their 'Adam' (whose name can also mean red clay/earth and Claire's last name means mud or muddy fortress) - since Carmy and Claire both come from the same neighborhood/highschool and, depending on how much we see of Claire in the future, they may have both come from dysfunctional homes / be the adult children of alcoholic parents.

The posts I linked below are:

1. A webweaving on Sydcarmy + Adam x Eve parallels;

2. A fan edit that I did that was inspired by the webweaving; side note: if Carmy's words to Sydney at the end of their first convo was foreshadowing for them starting a literal nuclear family of their own, and how many kids they're gonna have, I'll scream;

"We're gonna make family, it's meat, (👀) plus three, and we'll eat around two."

3. A reblog add-on to @espumado et. al's @thoughtfulchaos773 @vacationship @kdbleu 's etc. thread on the theme of haunting / religious / mythological imagery and parallels in the show in season 3.

4. Another thread on religious symbolism in Season 3 and Claire and Syd / Carmy's relationship kicked off by @vacationship.

5. Another reblog add on I made in response to @glitterslag about the episode Review in Season one possibly representing/parodying the biblical "Fall of man".

6. A fan edit that I made for clairecarmy with the intent of being humourous at first, but unexpectedly turned out pretty nightmarish / psychological horror-esque without much work because the material/ dark imagery is there; including an eye opening parallel between Claire and Donna.

7. A post on the Bear being a super deconstructed Shakespearean pastoral comedy e.g. like As You Like It.

8. The religious symbolism of Carmy's red string of fate dish for Syd possibly being a visual allusion to the sacred heart of jesus, which is an emblem of God's long suffering and passionate love, an add-on to @twokisses post

Tagging @ambeauty @angelica4equity @imliterallyjustablackgirl @devisrina @ripley-stark @bootlegramdomneess @gingerylangylang1979 @outmakingmoonshine @pureseasalt @augustmonsooning @brokenwinebox @whenmemorydies @mod-doodles @bioloyg @caiusmarciuscoriolanus @post-woke @myloveismineallmine @turbulenthandholding @anxietycroissant

@moodyeucalyptus @ago0112 @unbeweavvveable @blackjack-15 in case anyone wants to chime in.😭

[bonefall]

Do you think the clan cats having less kits per litter/less litters in general (they already have less kits than real cats) would fix the bloated cast issue? Because I look at Ginga and the cast is also bloated and only a few characters have offspring but the author keeps making other dogs join Ohu and refuses to kill the old as fuck dogs

I don't think there's any one particular "solution" for stopping bloat in series that manage large casts through generations like Ginga or WC, it's actually a few things

The #1 MOST important thing I think about bloat, though, is that it's about a ratio of quality to quantity. NOT raw size.

A long while back I made a couple of allegiance lists for certain eras. In spite of my Clans having the same (or even higher!) population as canon, I NEVER struggled with those lists being bloated. If anything, sometimes if a Clan's below 30, they look too small.

(I'm sure you can find those lists if you look, they're probably tagged BB!Allegiance, but they might be a bit out of date)

That's because in BB, there's dozens of HUGE cultural additions to Clan life. In "administration," alone, there's 3 new major divisions of skills (hunting, cooking, construction) ALL with their own "head" of that patrol, plus canon's leader, deputy, and Cleric. Not to mention subtitles like the Educator and maybe a Chaperone/Permaqueen!

So to bring it back to that "Ratio Theory," If our Clan is 30 cats, those 8 major roles immediately give at least a slight amount of character to a little over 25% of our group, with each role being something that the other 75% of cats can desire and compete for.

Canon's measly 3 is 10%, and you can ONLY vy for deputyship if you want any power. There's nothing else to BE ambitious about.

You can make the ratio higher by having hobbies, drama, skills, arts, etc. Basically; characterize background characters! Which should be obvious!! Give them traits that are useful and interesting and show the community being valuable.

It won't feel like "bloat," it has the sense of communities living their lives. Even if they go quiet for a while, when they return (just look at how much people like seeing Sedgecreek or Hallowflight mentioned lmao) it feels like meeting an old friend again.

WAYS TO MAKE BLOAT FEEL WORSE;

Giving too many "opportunities" to old characters.

Think of every relevant role a cat gets as a meal, and the bigger the role the more they've eaten. If you're only giving value to your old fanfavs, you're not doing much for them because they're already full while the rest of your cast starves.

Haphazardly killing off characters.

I actually strongly resent the "trend" where people conflate good storytelling with an author's willingness to suddenly kill characters off. I think it comes from the same place as needing to "outsmart" your audience.

If you kill off a character with VALUE, an unfinished arc, interesting connections, it's just unsatisfying. The Erins have this problem of killing background characters with some established lore or value (like Harelight and Briarlight) while leaving uninteresting background nobodies behind that they never build back up.

Before killing a character, ask yourself what their role in the cast is, and their dynamic with others. Try not to axe them without a plan to fill that "role" and/or comment on their absence. Replace what you take.

EASY REPLACABILITY

This one is HUGE, this is why Ginga is so bad with this. If a bunch of dogs die, 100 random soldiers can replace them from somewhere. That is REALLY bad, because all the random influxes of new characters do not have a chance to replace what was lost.

It also makes death feel cheaper. Oh no! Background dog 7446 got eaten by the newest type of bear. This won't make battles harder to win or cause us to lose any valuable skills though. Also a new dog just walked in from offscreen.

Population Growth outpaces Death Rate

AKA your cast is growing too fast and you're not getting rid of old characters. This is what anon was asking about-- and it CAN help to make births less frequent and litters smaller. Make sure to pair with preventing lots of new, adult characters to casually wander in, too.

ALL of these tips have exceptions and places where they can (and should) be subverted and broken. But these are just things I think about