#this has just become a rant about Colin

[where-dreams-dwell]

There are so many missed opportunities in Part 1 of Bridgerton Season 3 its frustrating to behold.

As one half of the season is out it’s possible that some of these will be fixed in the second half however having to wait until then (not just in terms of release date but also narratively) is not good planning. Having to wait for Part 2 to have most of the interesting things happen with our supposed 'main characters' makes the structure of the season feel unbalanced, and annoys the audience trying to root for the main couple. And a lack of attention to our romantic leads leaves the audience feeling uninvested and unconvinced in their love.

Spoilers below.

....................................................................

1. No flashbacks: by the end of Episode 4 in S1 we knew all of Simons backstory, why he didn’t want children or marriage, and his key character motivations. This helped us understand why Antony was so against the match (he knew of Simon’s vow), why Simon duelling him instead of agreeing to marry Daphne was actually a sign of love, and helped the audience understand his struggle to accept love. Similarly by Ep 4 of S2 we have had Anthony’s tragic past with his father revealed, explaining his fear of love impacting on those around him and explaining why he is fighting the clear feelings he has for Kate. For both of these romantic leads we (the audience) now know why they are refusing their clear and obvious feelings for the heroine, what internal struggles they are going to need to overcome this season, and by proxy have been reassured that they must truly love the heroine otherwise they wouldn’t be tormented.

This explanation and fleshing out of key character-beats reveals the internal motivations which are governing these characters; this knowledge is essential for future scenes where their actions will appear dismissive or unloving and the audience needs to know that they are operating under their own internal world view in which those actions make perfect sense.

Simon rejecting Daphne's hand? He’s not being cruel, he doesn’t want to deprive her of children as he has foresworn having them. Anthony rejecting his feelings for Kate and continuing to pursue her sister? He’s not unfeeling, he’s actually feeling too much and trying to run from it. This knowledge helps us forgive actions that could make us doubt their ‘true feelings’ and is essential to the audience rooting for the couple. When the romantic lead is being an ass it helps for us to know what may be making them act that way.

No Colin flashbacks means we have no idea what motivates him, what his internal journey for this season is, or any reassurance that his love to Penelope is true. What might have been motivating Colin to act like an ass, not just to Penelope but to other people, and what m ight be be grappling with now which is impacting him either realizing his feelings or coming to terms with them? We have no idea, so his journey to love is a little less compelling.

2. Colin didn’t get humbled: through season 1 + 2 we’ve seen Penelope pine after Colin while he bumbles happily along seeing her as a cherished friend but ignoring her for other romantic options. We finished season 2 with a Colin deeply hurting Penelope and implying to the audience that he actually doesn’t respect her even as a friend - what friend would imply their fiend is unattractive or unmarriable to others, especially in that time and society?

As the audience has been following this one sided romance from Penelope’s perspective we’re predisposed to be on ‘her side’, hence wanting Colon to be humbled and have to properly apologise. We want to see Colin chasing Penelope (in a role reversal from the previous two seasons) and be made to eat his own worlds.

Instead we get one scene of Penelope revealing her hurt over Colin’s actions, and then their next scene together Colin is all but forgiven. He apologises but immediately move the conversation on, asking to atone for his actions by offering help and then bam! For all intents and purposes it’s business as usual between the two again. Penelope is happy to chat and banter with him, smile at him lovingly, and agree to a secret (and scandalous) partnership.

Whats even more concerning is that they’ve set up Colin to property hate Lady Whistledown so when Penelope reveals herself she may even have to humble herself before Colin for his forgiveness. Having started the season (with two years to dwell on Colin’s actions) wanting Colin to have to beg Penelope for forgiveness, it feels disappointing that not only do we not get that but we may get significantly more scenes of her begging for his.

3. Penelope and Colin together: this may be more personal preference but I’m not feeling the same for this couple as I did for Daphne+Simon or Kate+Anthony, or even Charlotte+George. Some of it is line delivery (Anthony felt like Brooding Fuckboy, or Fuckboy who’s fighting their inner demons, whereas Colin just feels sleezy), some of it is script (Colin hasn’t been given nearly as much dialogue and little of it is noteworthy), and some is just preference in that this lead doesn’t feel mysterious or challenging or interesting. He’s really just there.

Simon and Daphne, Kate and Anthony, Charlotte and George they all had this tension when they were on screen together that you could feel through the screen. Maybe it’s the lack of anger or hatred or antagonism between the two of them and due to them being a friends to lovers storyline but the tension just doesn’t feel like it’s there.

4. Time with the main couple: It doesn't feel like the 'main couple' this season has had as much time or scenes to help us understand why they are meant to be together.

This is an ensemble show and as season continue and characters develop or are added this will become a bigger issue; there are more named characters and players than S1 to juggle, plus some characters need time this season to set themselves up for future plot lines.

But Season 1 felt like Daphne and Simons season. Season two felt like Kate and Anthony's season. This doesn't feel like Colin and Penelope's season. Its more like this is a drama-filled season, and one aspect of it is Colin and Penelope.

5. Colin's Character: This is actually a much bigger problem so lets break it down further

5.1 Why Colin? In a friends to lovers plot (a childhood friends to lovers plot too) we really need to see why our heroine is fixated on this man; why is he better than all her other options, why did she originally fall and then remain in love with them for all these years, and why should we want him to realise his own feelings? Crucially what is so special about him?

As Colin hasn't yet been fleshed out, really at all, we don't know why he is this great love for Penelope and why we should root for him to fall in love with her in turn. So Penelope's pining for him comes across as less understandable and more 'I don't get what you see in him but okay'. And that's bad, especially for a show which wants you to go feral over their central couple; fewer members of the audience falling in love with the lead means fewer people understanding Penelope maintaining this crush (especially when its detrimental to her future) which means fewer people rooting for the main couple.

5.2 Colin’s character dissonance: this is kind of a show don’t tell issue but we keep being told all these things about Colin’s character, instead of seeing examples of this behavior ourselves, and on top of that what we are told doesn’t match with what we are shown.

Violet tells Colin he’s ’always putting others first’ but we have never seen this in 2 1/2 seasons of this show. Colin has left to travel in every off season, a very self centred action focused solely on what he wants to do and not what others may want. We’ve seen Benedict put people first more than Colin (being the shoulder for Eloise, helping her out in ballrooms, being Anthony’s second for his duel and his sounding board with Sharma issues) so that character assessment feels untrue.

Violet also calls Colin her ‘most sensitive child’ but we have not one scene of Colin showing this sensitive side. There’s no scene of him comforting Daphne about her failed season or Anthony about his problem with the Sharmas; no moment showing him helping out anyone outlet out of the kindness of his heart, or reacting to another’s pain or worry or problems so again this feels like Violet is describing a totally different character.

Penelope says Colin’s eyes are more beautiful ‘when you’re being kind’ but we haven’t seen Colin be overly kind to anyone. He told Marina in S1 he would have still married her if she had told him of her pregnancy, but this is stated when he’s angry so he’s probably not feeling or looking very kind right then, and it isn’t him actually doing this action, it’s just him claiming what he would have done. When he’s goes to visit Marina in S2 his actions come off more desperate and clingy than anything close to kind. If you argue that his tutoring if Penelope is kind, it’s actually self serving as he offered to do this to atone for him being decidedly not kind at the end of last season. He’s helping her out but he offered this to make up for hurting her before so I don’t think you can view this as a selfless act.

When he reveals Jacks scheme in S2 and demands he pay back money while preserving the Featherington Ladies good name he is undoubtably doing a good act but ‘kind’ isn’t the way he’s portrayed: he’s shown as decisive, protective, angry, courageous, bold, etc.. all very good things but still not that ‘kind’ Penelope talks about.

The last time Colin did something entirely kind may have been Season 1 asking Penelope to dance after Cressida ruined her dress. If that's it, that's very little to go on and a very long time ago.

It feels like people are trying to tell us that Colin is a good guy, without showing us moments where he actually is good. It comes off as clunky and doesn’t match the character we have seen, so these claims have little impact on our assessment of him as a person and as a lead.

5.3 Colins Writing; Stop trying to make Colin's Great Writing happen. Its not going to happen.

At least not when the only snippet you give us is basically porn.

I haven't read the books but I've heard that Colins writing snippet that Penelope finds, while starting as porn, eventually turns into a rumination on how unfulfilled and alone these actions make Colin feel and how he feels lost. That would have been an amazing moment to have in the show, giving us honesty and a secret from the romantic lead and adding depth to Colins actions (which are a little jarring to watch while we actively want him to be falling for Penelope).

If Colin is this great writer then have him writing more. In the back of conversations at breakfast, have him reading his travel journals or scribbling in a notebook. In the hot air balloon scene have Colin seek out an adventure novelist to talk about his experiences. Maybe he gets a letter from Sir Phillip asking about his travels since they enjoyed speaking so much last season, and Colin sends long and detailed responses people joke are like novels (also great for future seasons).

Right now it feels like window dressing and a throw away comment that he's 'an incredibly talented writer' and doesn't match what we've seen of him.

(Side note: it is objectively hilarious that Penelope reads one page of smut about a naked woman the author is sleeping with, then later describes this page of writing as 'incredible' while claiming she 'would love to read more'. You sure you're 100% interested in Colin there Penelope...?)

5.4 How is Colin a Tragic Hero?: This figure always works best for romatic stories and all other Bridgerton Seasons have followed the formula. Simon had a negligent and abusive father and no good examples of marriage or family, Anthony had traumatically had his beloved father die in front of him and been parentified at a young age, and George had the weight of the crown destroying his mental health. All of these leads had a demon they were wrestling with and it gave them intrigue and interest.

Colin has no demons; at least none we've been made aware of.

There's a vague allusion (from Eloise, Lady Whistedown and Violet) that Colin is in some way 'putting on a front' this season. What would have been amazing for the audience would have been a scene or two showing Colin struggling to fit in (in his family, in the Ton, etc) and him feeling alone or isolated because of it. Maybe traveling was his attempt to have interesting stories to tell, or something to distinguish himself with but upon his return (Season 2) no one had an interest in listening and groaned when he tried to share his stories, and so he turned to writing them down instead and decided to shut himself off from trying to relate to everyone as 'himself' and instead to become 'The Traveler' character and pretend so he can fit in.

This would not only give Colin a Secret or a Demon that he needed to work through, but offer us (the audience) a way in which he would be able to understand and support Penelope; another person feeling isolated and unheard who turned to writing to express themself.

While there are the bones of a great love story here the little work put in to flesh out Colin as an individual, giving us no idea of what experiences made him and what he is currently grappling with, means the audience doesn't have much to go on when Penelope professes to love him. Who is this man, as descriptions of him don't match his actions and those actions he does have are both seemingly self serving (travel) and not fully fleshed out (writing); and both annoyingly happen largely off screen. And as the current structure pits Penelope as likely the one needing to beg forgiveness by the end of the season, while we entered it expecting Colin to begging for her forgiveness, their current relationship doesn't feel as salifying or as earned as we could have hoped.

Here's to Part 2 doing some very heavy lifting.

[howbrightthemoon]

as we expected, EPISODE 5 WAS BRILLIANT

we're REALLLLYYY kicking off things in part 2 huh

SPOILERS BELOW proceed with caution

The intimate scene: we get a love scene not even half way through the episode and it is....SO beautiful, and I genuinely stopped breathing and couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the episode

there's lots of giggles throughout the whole scene because it's Pen's first time, there's check ins, double checks on consent...but Pen isn't totally clueless, she WANTS to touch him but just doesn't know how...and the way he guides her....and the way he makes her feel comfortable first with the ol carriage fingers before asking if she's ready AGHEHREWKENKFJNEWHR

and the way they slowly reveal their bodies to each other....my god it is just incredibly sensual and romantic, he really takes his time undressing her and savoring her, while he really takes his time letting her see all of him (and I mean ALL. OF. HIM.).

they start off slow...but again Penelope is like LETS FUCKING GO and she's giving him the 'fuck me' eyes and he's legit losing himself and honestly, they're both REALLLLYYY getting into it, BOTH. Not only is there the focus on Pen's pleasure, but Colin's too. I think because it's important to show the difference in his sexual encounters at the brothel versus with someone he loves. LN was seriously giving his all in this scene, I was not expecting to see an O face but yeah, he did thaattt

Whistledown mentions: Nicola does an amazing job at portraying the sheer anxiety she feels over this massive secret she's hiding. Now she's part of the Bridgerton family, she has to see Eloise more often and just SEEING Eloise makes her panic. Not even with the 'you have to tell him before midnight' thing, but every time they're in the same room, Pen just loses it. The way she shows how her anxiety builds and BUILDS throughout this episode is so scarily accurate, I really felt for her, poor girl was just trying to enjoy her fiancees engagement speech and Eloise just had to butt in and start ruining the whole night for her.

Cressida's motivations: girl, I get it. I'm sorry she's reverting back to her old cunning ways, but...man no one in that drawing room was listening to her...she had to say something. Can you imagine being in her position? i'd lie that I was whistledown too lol, girl, I get it. It's ELOISE that I'm honestly fed up with in this episode.

ANTHONY BRIDGERTON: Last thing, I wanna shoutout Jonathan's acting in this episode. The way I am so convinced that Anthony is absolutely overjoyed at the fact that he's going to become a father soon, and he plays that joy into every single scene he's in. I could see so much of that playful competitive big brother vibe from season 2 (especially in the charades scene, which reminded me of pall mall s2) from him in this episode, I loved it.

anyways rant over, I am seated for the release of all four episodes later today and you best believe I'm binge watching it

p.s. I just wanna say....Nicola was not kidding when she said she was going to show everything on camera....girl, you are absolutely gorgeous

[hamletshoeratio]

didnt she also say something nasty about the queen when one of her kids had just died

Yeah here's part 2 of this

The way she talked about the death of Queen Charlotte's granddaughter; Princess Charlotte, who was historically only twenty-one when she died in childbirth. The Lady Whistledown commentary in QC is just outright cruel, it's clear Queen Charlotte in the off-season (QC present day timeline being set in the Winter/Early spring break between season 2 & 3) becomes Penelope's biggest target in the aftermath of her fallout with Eloise. There's no other way to describe it.

Ngl the above is really disturbing to me. She's angry at Eloise, has lost access to info from the Bridgertons because of her falling out with Eloise, and she's angry at the Queen for getting angry at Penelope's own words as LW, and trying to discover LW as a result. And so she spends the off-season insulting and attacking a grieving Queen Charlotte. I mean that's one way for a flower to bloom I guess...

Theo, one of the only working class characters in the show, nearly lost his job because of lady whistledown and may have lost it in the aftermath of the season.

A lot of her general commentary as Lady Whistledown isn't clever or witty; it's just outright cruel.

The way she talks about the Bridgerton family, a family that trusts and cares for her, is horrible. Particularly, the way she wrote about Daphne in season 1.

Betraying Eloise's trust for two entire seasons because it didn't start with the Theo situation. She listened to Eloise's frustrations about Daphne and then used LW to attack and belittle Daphne. Speaking as a sibling, I will rant about my sisters until kingdom come to my friends but the minute a so-called friend starts publicly attacking my sister, it's over. I would not be in control of my actions. Like over the course of two seasons, she's attacked and nearly destroyed the reputations of Eloise's eldest sister, two of her brothers, her first love, and the entire family as a result. Judging by the Bridgertons were born to shine line in the trailer, I doubt Francesca will make it through the season unscathed.

She hasn't felt real remorse. Despite nearly causing Marina's death (as she tried to miscarry in the aftermath of LW revealing her pregnancy), she ends season 1 smirking about being LW. Hasn't written or contacted Marina to see how she has been since, got jealous Colin went to see her and still probably hasn't written or visited her. Not to mention her "I least did something. All you did is talk" speech at the end of season 2 to Eloise. A speech that wasn't even accurate as Eloise had been to meetings, listened to speeches and debates, debated with Theo, shared and read and discussed different political leaflets with Theo, Eloise had grown intellectually from the beginning to the end of the season. It's because of Penelope that that came to an end.

Outside of rescuing Daphne from her betrothel to Berbrooke in s1, what good has her work as LW actually done? It's ruined far more lives than it's helped, and intervened countless times when it didn't have authority to. Many secrets weren't Penelope's to tell.

I could honestly keep going but I genuinely don't know how she's supposed to get redeemed in eight episodes because the character we have at the minute in no way deserves a happy ending. LW didn't really matter in the books as it wasn't as active a plot point as it is in the show. By expanding the LW concept to give Penelope a more complex arc, they've unwittingly robbed her of what made people like her book counterpart and as a result created a villain that they have no intention of trying to redeem, because they don't believe she needs to be redeemed.

[jurgen-leitner1]

hesitant tmagp theory, spoilers below the cut. also it's really long so... sorry ig

Colin will read the next statement.

I dont think he's gone, or at least part of him isn't. whether it's just his voice or some part of his consciousness is yet to be seen.

there are two things that that lead me to believe that colin still exists in some form:

1. I don't think it would make sense, story wise, to develop colin as the character who seems to know the most about Freddie, and also seems to be the most connected to both Freddie and the whole alchemy theme. if colin were just dead and out of the story, him being eaten (disintegarated?) by Freddie would be a fitting end, but having it happen now leaves all of the potential lore and set building we would have gotten had he been alive to interact with the crew would outweigh the narrative benefit of him having a fitting end. also him being trapped in Freddie but still aware is a much more narratively satisfying choice than him just ceasing to exist.

2. this might be nothing, but it struck me that when Freddie was deleting colin, it only stated that it was deleting physical matter. it doesn't ever (unless I misunderstood) say that it's deleting his consciousness. there's also the precedent of the guy in Binary who moved his consciousness into a computer so it's possible in universe theoretically, though probably only due to the influence of The Fears (also the parallel of the guy in Binary eating the computer, and Alice referring to Colin as having been eaten). This leads into my second theory of this post.

Freddie isnt an avatar. It's a domain. of what fear or even if fears are useful parallels remains to be seen. my reasoning is that what Freddie is seems to be an external to reality space (or possibly parallel to reality like the fears) that can absorb or draw people in. Whatever is left of Jon after he apparently died (although could he really die at that point?) and Martin and the mysterious third voice (probably Jonah) are not part of Freddie, they are trapped inside of it. they are in a domain.

which leads me to my third and final theory.

Colin is an avatar of whatever created Freddie.

I think that all of the paranoia and fear that was very clearly shown that Colin held towards not just Freddie but also what was able to possibly create something like Freddie is completely synonymous with how the process of becoming an avatar has been described in both tma and tmagp.

that said I do think it's possible that Freddie simply *is* the fears, and they have been relegated to a digital space because they physically cannot exist in reality, but we're thrust in it without being able to create their own space outside of the tmagp universe.

ok rant over :)

edit: I have also just realized that a .jmj error is not a real computer thing, and it simply has to be John Martin Jonah. so. there's that.

wait but so if jmj is those three what the fuck does a .jmj error mean?! is it because Freddie was trying to integrate (assimilate?) Colin but he wasn't compatible? or are j,m, and j trying to separate/aren't able to be fully merged?

[zarkishere]

I remembered so uh have Ruben rant

TW// Gore, sadism

One of my favorite things when making an OC is thinking 'what do they eat?'. I don't know why, I just find it really entertaining! For example, Colin (my SM OC) is a vegan (which is funny to me, since he's around cannibals all the time), Winger eats mostly meat (small mice and whatnot, since he's a bird of prey), and Ruben...well, he's particular for an interesting reason!

You see, Ruben has ageusia...what's that? well, it means that he can't taste things. No sweet, sour, salty, bitter or whatever else. (which means his sense of smell is also fucked up)

He was born that way--no one else in his family has that, he didn't get an infection or anything, he was just born that way. Because of this, his preference in food comes from the texture of the meal, rather than the taste since he...yknow...can't taste things.

The thing is that in his whole life, Ruben NEVER found out that people Actually Taste Things. He thought when people said 'this food tastes good' they meant the texture, and that it was just some odd language thing where when you're talking about food you don't say texture, you say taste! (he's a little stupid, bear with him)

BECAUSE he relies on the feeling rather than taste or smell, he really likes trying new foods! No 'taste' in the way in case of putrid food, just pure texture. After he saw his mom get killed and ended up alone, even in the short while he was in solitude, it took a toll on him. Ruben is a social creature, so...being alone is the worst kind of torture for him.

At first, hunting was a bit disgusting, and he wasn't particularly good at it at first, so it was even worse. It made him feel guilty. Poor beast, innocent of any blame, getting killed and cooked (poorly) for a sinners' survival. But he slowly started finding it more and more interesting, biting and scratching as if he was a monster himself when the prey dared to fight back. Putting his hands in their guts, feeling the dying warmth of the carcass...not in a sexual way, please don't be weird.

Of course, this moved on to humans too. The feel of the knife at a mans throat, the sound of the blood starting to bubble at their throat, the panic in their eyes... Ruben REALLY enjoys killing with knives. It feels more personal.

His honor is pretty neutral, I suppose. He's not a good person, not a horrible one (although you might think so because of what I just said LOL), BUT, in the main AU his honor is mid-high....why? because of Javier. They talked about morals, helping people, friends and family, revolution! and it really helped Ruben become a better person. He's a follower, tell him something, and he'll stick with it. With Javier, Ruben turns his sadness into creativity; embroidery, sewing, baking, hunting. He's loyal, kind, still a bit sadistic, but he follows Charles and Javier, and they say that's wrong, so he keeps himself in line.

But...in alternate AU's where he doesn't start dating Javier... Ruben sticks with the Callander brothers. And in those AU's he turns out MUCH WORSE. With the callanders that sadness becomes rage. rage at everyone, at the government for taking what he loved, at the people around him for not understanding him, at himself for becoming this THING... He becomes a true sadist (not that he wasn't before, it's just that he lets himself indulge in it). His appearance is different too, much more scarred and a lot angrier.

He kills for fun, hunts people down for sport, just to see how long they can run. He becomes an issue for the van der Linde gang, and after the Callanders die, he just...leaves...

It's not that they don't talk about all that stuff, it's just that for Mac and Davey (who have been alone most of their life, always fighting for survival) life is just dog vs dog. It doesn't matter who you're killing, it's not personal, it's just to survive...and Ruben only hears the 'it doesn't matter who you're killing' part LOL

wahh wahh I'm not proofreading sorry I've been trying to write this since like 10am (it's now 1.30pm) but I kept getting distracted waa waa

[prismartist]

the thing is, guillermo's main motivation is not just to become a vampire. it hasn't been for a while. if that were the case, he would've left and served another vampire a long time ago––which he actually did in season 2 with celeste. the only reason that didn't go through is because it turned out she wasn't a vampire.

(by the way, it's not a plothole that nandor let guillermo go off to be turned by celeste even though being turned by someone than your master is bad. guillermo renounced nandor as a master as per celeste's conditions, so at that point she was his master, not nandor)

becoming a vampire is definitely the thing that drives a good amount of his decisions, yes, but it's not the only one that does. the desire to be a vampire is accompanied––and i'd even say overrode––by a desire to be family.

season 2 guillermo was very fickle. his vampire slayer lineage conflicted with his desire to be a vampire, and at the same time you cannot convince me that he didn't contemplate murdering the others several times. s2 guillermo was willing to drop the gang if it meant an easier way to become a vampire.

but i don't think the same could be said of season 5 guillermo. at this point he had made peace between his nature and his want, having used his vampire slaying skills to protect his masters. he had grown even closer to the vampires, and while i wouldn't say he never cared for them, that care has grown enough so that he hasn't attempted to properly leave since the end of season 2.

and more importantly, the other vampires had become closer to him. as he grew to see them as family, they had grown see him as such too. guillermo knows his worth, and his love for them would have only persisted if they also––slowly but surely––showed their love for him. otherwise, he hits the bricks, or tries to; the one time he tries to leave since s2 is at the start of s4, when they left him in a crate for weeks.

what nadja said to him in the motel comes to mind: "at first, i was just using [the little antipaxons] to get rid of my hex. but then it turned out... i really like hanging out with those guys."

guillermo started serving the vampires to become a vampire. but over time, instead of merely being his masters, they became his family. sticking with them became less and less about becoming a vampire, and more and more about being with loved ones.

he voices his regret to ask derek to bite him. "i really don't want to die," he says about nandor hunting him down, "but i'm more afraid of losing the vampires."

i think it's possible he continued to pursue vampirism if only to obtain this newer desire. but even so, vampirism ultimately didn't do anything for guillermo in the grander scheme of things.

guillermo wants to be fully accepted. he wants to be part of the team, an equal. not pushed away or dismissed. he's worried less about this recently, but judging by his looks during the guide's rant about being excluded, he still had his doubts. perhaps being a vampire would achieve that. but it didn't!

when the vampires came to say goodbye at the motel, they didn't do so because they respected him as a vampire. in fact, when they first found out, they just responded with astonishment (laszlo) anger (nadja) or indifference (colin, the guide). and even if he were turned by nandor, i still doubt they would've outwardly respected him.

no, the vampires each went one by one to say goodbye to guillermo because he was already part of the family. all this time, over the years, they saw guillermo as someone worth valuing, because he valued them. they just didn't show it, as vampires do. it had nothing to do with being a vampire. and even after the full transformation, they went back to putting on an indifferent and uncaring facade. being a vampire has no effect over the vampires' feelings towards guillermo.

in the end, vampirism didn't do guillermo any good. he had all he could ever need and want... as a human. except being a vampire. of course. but as a vampire the vampires didn't treat him differently, and if anything he's further excluded because he's too hesitant to kill. at least as a human, it's a given that he's an outsider. it's worse when you're supposed to be the same and you still end up too different

so in the end, it wasn't worth it. and guillermo chooses humanity once more.

do i wish we could've seen more of vamp guillermo, and definitely more of him building up to make that decision to turn back? yes. honestly most of my issue with the finale is the pacing; the latter half seemed like a separate episode on its own, and i kinda felt it needed to be a whole episode in order to stick the landing better. (can we bring back longer seasons please. even just a tiny bit longer, like 12 episodes :() but overall i am greatly fascinated with guillermo's journey, i am so in love with it, and i am looking forward to how he's going to grapple with the changes he went through this season :DD

[evita-shelby]

We didn't start the fire

Jack and Katie Nelson end up meeting Rose and Samuel Coldwell after getting arrested for the same crime in the same neighborhood

rose and sam belong to @justrainandcoffee

cw: drinking, drunk people, arson, absent dad, arrests

When Jack and Katie decided to track down his father, whom not even his elder half-brother knew, they didn’t think they’d end up in London.

Eva had come on business and while she did what she came here for, Jack had called Katie, who was visiting Colin’s family here, and went pub crawling for old time’s sake.

He should’ve known it was a bad idea when, despite being busy with vlogging everything they did, his sister managed to find his dad’s address. Katie was white girl wasted by now and Jack had reached that point of fuck it we ball moment of the night.

Jack had gotten a bottle of Bushmills Whiskey for the road somehow remembering that was his dad’s favorite drink when Eamon O’Neil met Rosemary Nelson during graduate school.

When they found the nice house empty and showing signs of a happy upper middle-class family it brought up all those times his mother struggled to raise him and his sister and all those times he could’ve used a fucking dad.

“Fuck him! Fuck that guy, you don’t need him, Jack. You hear me!” Katie pulls him down to her height as she assures him that his father doesn’t deserve to even know him.

And suddenly the ribbon in Katie’s blonde hair is shoved half ways into the bottle they were sharing at the curb and the lighter he kept from that day he met Eva in Vegas is in his hand.

The Instagram video has him tossing a Molotov cocktail prefaced with the words, “Fuck you!”. An iconic moment followed by him angrily ranting at the security camera closest to him about how Eamon O’Neil was a piece of shit who abandoned two pregnant women in Boston during his time at MIT.

In the same neighborhood, Rose and her brother had done the same to the house of Samuel Coldwell.

They are put in the same cell and nature takes its course.

Katie leads the way, always the funny charming one who knows how not to step on people’s toes while Jack has the subtlety of Godzilla trampling Tokyo. But with a few drinks in, a shared hatred of their absent fathers and being in here for the same crime two Irish Catholics and two English Jews become unlikely friends.

“Yeah, Jack can make molotov cocktails because he w---” Jack using his sister’s drunk state and his greater height to successfully put his hand over her mouth to prevent her revealing where his skills came from.

“Huge fan of the Good Place.” He says with a laugh that works good enough for the two women who end up changing the topic while Sam Coldwell silently agrees to keep his secret.

He’d been in a gang until he got too good at it and pissed off the leader causing him to end up in fucking Melbourne, Australia to avoid prison. Luckily there had been no proof and Jack was able to return with a masters in finance and a short but lucrative career as a webcam model.

Now he had graduated from Harvard Business College, gotten the investment firm off the ground to great success and would marry the love of his life if she could just get here to bail them out.

“Do you guys need any help getting bailed out, my girl says she doesn’t mind.” He offers after the phone call goes well enough.

“My brother-in-law is already coming, thanks for the offer.” Sam rejects the offer, and both guide their sisters ---who are tearfully bidding each other farewell and exchanging numbers as jumbled as they come out their mouths--- out of their cells.

Jack finds Eva chatting amicably with what he presumed is Rose’s husband and greets his future wife with a short kiss and threw his arm over her shoulder before asking, “How do you guys know each other?”

“We fucked the same guy.” Evie answered far too casually as she led them out the station and into Colin’s car.

[pinkydec]

I wasn’t going to rant about it but here we go

there’s something about this season, watching the characters grow in themselves that just hits home Ted’s whole atmosphere of leaving a place better than you found it.

and he’s just done that hasn’t he?

jamie’s redemption is honestly so brilliantly done I’d be here all night ranting about it, going from an honest douchebag to the man who wore his teammates kit number on his England debut because they took a bribe and didn’t call him up??

Colin finally got embrace who he is and stop being a chameleon, coming out on his own terms which for a queer person is so so fucking heartwarming and important, you hear so many stories and know so many people who have had that opportunity ripped away from them like??

Rebecca? oh my god this episode has killed me, she’s let go of the anger she held and she looks so much happier for it

Isaac? he’s stepping up to be the captain Roy saw in him, one step at a time and I think that his part of Colin’s storyline is so so important to that, in helping make the locker room more inclusive

Sam? he’s broken my heart more times than I can count this season but each one he’s come back stronger and watching them become more of a team to support him when he needed them most? devastating

Roy? as much as he annoyed me with the keeley comment last week, it was more a foot in mouth moment and he’s learning how to express his emotions more and more and it’s beautiful watching him not bottle it all up anymore but instead opening himself to others, whether it’s Jamie, keeley or rebecca

Keeley as well like?? to pick yourself up when you are down like that is so hard sometimes, especially when it’s everything you’ve ever wanted, but it’s so important to not give up and that’s exactly what she’s doing, she’s not giving up

Let alone nate?? I’ve wanted to fight that man at times but seeing him today quitting on his own terms? Such a boss move and such a fuck you to Rupert I love it, sometimes it takes hitting the lows to realise you’ve not been a nice person and that’s what he’s done, he’ll only build himself up further and become to Nate we knew and loved. 

if this really is the last dance, then I’m so thankful to see this wonderful team flourish and become people they want to become, not just mounded to suit others. if this really is it, ted’s done the one thing he wanted to do since day 1, leave this place better than it was when he joined

[titikawai]

Why show Polin disappointed me :

Hi everyone, back on another long as rant. I just finished this season and felt betrayed so I decided to type !

I read the 4th book not really knowing what to expect as I boycotted season 1 (left traumatised from reading half of the first book) only watched season 2 (which I love so much) and didn’t like the Queen Charlotte season (sorry not sorry).

To be fair, when I started reading the book, I couldn’t care less for Polin as I did not like the way show Colin treated Penelope like a dog, only there to make him feel better about himself. I had hopes that Penelope would run away to find a better suiter after that terrible finale on season 2. I actually loved the way Eloise confronted her about being LW and the fact their friendship is challenged.

Even though I heard Colin was going to be an ass in this book I still gave it a go. I was surprised and ended up loving the book so much I bought it to put it on my shelf. I found out that, in the novel, Colin was way less of an ass and a much more sensitive character that sometimes did not understand his own feelings. I absolutely loved the plot involving his jealousy towards Penelope’s writing in comparison with his own. I understood his fear to become a nobody, to not find his purpose or something he would be « good at », known for. His need to prove himself to his family and others that he is more than a pretty face.

I also loved how fervently Penelope defended her work as an extension of herself, someone she wanted to be, had always been but was to scared to be in real life. I loved how the book explained how one would feel if they had never received loved and thought they were doomed to never get it so much so that they do not even try anymore.

Finally, I loved how pure their loved felt. In that regard how their relationship was more love than lust (even though there was still some heavy smut scenes). I loved how they did not just f*ck, but MADE love! I felt like their relationship wasn’t the « passionate » type which to me is a good thing because it means you love the person much more than you love their body that you worship because of the soul that inhabits hit. I felt like Polin was the perfect couple as they completed and accepted each other (apart from that scene where he grabs her by the arm and every mention of anger management like WTF stop giving main male characters toxic traits to try and make it seem hot to the audience, it is not). Also, I especially loved how Colin made it his priority to protect Penelope and especially her emotional state. He is often portrayed fearing for her reputation as he does not want her to isolate herself and go into a pattern of self hatred. He hates the way she speaks ill of herself and will not let anyone, that involves her mother, to disrespect her.

I now realised why I didn’t like show Polin as much as book Polin : it is because Show Colin has nothing in common with his book alter ego. In the show, Colin didn’t even realise how bad he hurt Penelope and managed to rekindle their friendship by telling her how SHE make HIM feel (here again taking the spotlight from her and drawing it to him) and not how much he cared about her well-being and self-image.

I absolutely hated how they turned Colin into just another rake turned right by the « ugly girl who had a makeover and that he now notices because of that particular reason and how fuckable you now look ». This storyline should have stayed in the 2000s ESPECIALLY with Polin. Indeed in the book Colin gets feelings for Penelope once he grew up and became more mature enabling him to love someone. While Penelope matured and started to loved herself and that helped her accept love from someone else and expect nothing less.

In the series, I hated how helpless Penelope felt. Firstly because she did not clap back to haters as she did in the book but also because Colin did not come to defend her once. He didn’t not care to stand up to Cressida or his friends / the gentlemen when they insulted Penelope. Wouldn’t you stand up for anyone if they were insulted and ran of crying!? ESPECIALLY if you are supposed to be in love with her. He did not care to embarrass her before a room full of people and her potential future husband while he could have just asked to see her in person (this element was added for drama but still gives huge red flags)

I hate how they turned Colin’s passion for travelling into a joke or a metaphor for sexual tourism. This only makes him appear more shallow (even though he came up with gifts for his family which I found cute). It makes it seem like him travelling is just an excuse to appear deep in society and this gives such fratboy vibes it almost made me ill. Where is the poet, the writer who paints landscapes in his mind and puts it on paper! He was turned into a smut writer!!!! How disappointing!

Why is it that he didn’t get to find out LW’s identity before he asks Penelope to marry him?!? What about their common love for writing? Him wanting to marry her anyway because her being LW makes him love her even more : because he loves her for her, their relationship and not because he had wet dreams of her. I wish they put in scenes where they had openhearted conversations about for instance : her feeling bad because of her spinster status, how she is scared no one will ever love her; his writing; his quest for purpose and put in none of that rake or Lord Debling/husband nonsense they created because they needed to fill a whole they dug!

Oh and WTF was that carriage scene music choice!?!?!???!!!!!!?? I cringed so hard. I liked the carriage scene overall even though I didn’t like the events that led to it

On what I loved…

I ugly cried when Portia was surprised her daughter ever believed someone would love her and refrained from holding her when she desperately needed a hug => if you are the child of a narcissistic mother, this hits so freaking deep

I loved Francesca’s storyline with the earl!!! It was genuinely sweet

I loved seeing Show Colin jealous

The modiste!!!! I love lady Delacroix so much and would have liked to see more of her friendship with Penelope. She could have helped her boost and confidence past the physical makeover level

I liked Cressida’s backstory and the comment on internalised misogyny

Wished there was more Penelope / lady Danbury moments

Loved Penelope’s sisters and her mom. I like how they portrait her toxic relationship with her daughters by focusing on her small remarks (it makes it much more realistic)

Kanthony

Wished Polin dance scene on Snow on the beach lasted longer to show their attraction without needing to make it too sexual (the eyes are the door to your soul)

Costumes, décors etc. As always

Weirdly enough, the first kiss scene

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk

[sbbarnes]

On my other blog I'm having a fun time live-ranting about Bridgerton while I watch (summary: I really enjoy Bridgerton the show, I really do not enjoy Bridgerton the books, and there are a lot of moments when the source material makes the show do dumb things). But it's brought to mind something I have noticed both about romance novels and about children's/young adult literature. I call this phenomenon "what actually is a character trait?"

In Bridgerton, the one that's getting to me is that in the books, prior to becoming a main character, Colin's main trait is that he likes to eat. This is only an acceptable trait in a man, or a thin woman, and it's quite jarring in Colin especially because in the books, Penelope has to lose weight before he finds her attractive.

Also, in my opinion, it's not really a character trait. Not an interesting one at any rate. It's very flat. If Colin liked to eat because he was sublimating some other feeling, like being looked over in his big family (a feeling he does canonically have), that would be something. But that's not the story that's there.

Another big one I recently read in an M/M romance novel is clumsiness. And...I don't know, that doesn't strike me as a real character trait either. How many people view being clumsy as a real, big part of their character? I've only known people to mention it when we're sharing meal and they spill something, or from elderly people who are struggling with a loss of motor control.

Again, this could become a compelling trait when given more depth. Like, this character is clumsy when people are watching because it makes them nervous to be observed, or around a family that treats them poorly, and overcoming the nerves or the family situation solves the clumsiness. This isn't super deep and I have seen it done before! It's not hard to make this kind of trait compelling!

In my opinion, these not-really-character-traits make sense in books for very young readers who are just learning what it means to have character traits, but at the latest by adolescence, books become a lot more interesting when characters are given more depth by grounding superficial traits in something that tells you more about the person.

[strange-and-off-putting]

Smegtober Prompt Twenty-Two: Bad Habits

“It’s abhorrent,” Rimmer rants, somehow making a show of not looking at Lister. His face twists in a grimace, which in itself seems completely genuine, as does the slight green coloring his cheeks. He wasn’t entirely sure that hologram could vomit, but by God, Lister certainly seemed set to test that ability.

Lister sat, his toenail clamped between his front incisors, and worked his jaw back and forth, gnawing his way through the thick keratin until he found sufficient purchase, and then tore a thin ragged strip of it away. Rimmer lurched forward in a silent heave that was, for once, not theatrics. He covers his mouth and looks away.

“God, you are repulsive,” he groans. Lister spits the nail over the side of the bunk and curls his toes, pulling his second toe straight so he could work on that one.

“Come on, Rimmer,” he says wearily. “It’s my body. It’s all… me.”

“And all of you is repulsive,” he shoots back, opening his astronav manual, just for something else to focus on. “You are positively foul, Lister.”

“It’s basic grooming,” Lister counters. “I’ve seen mothers do it to their babies.”

“Their babies aren’t thirty-two year old men with athlete's foot,” Rimmer counters, shaking his head in disgust. “Honestly, I don’t know how you even fell into habits like this is the first place. It’s like you were raised in a barn.”

Lister pauses, nail gripped tightly between his teeth, and thinks for a moment. He shakes his head as if to dispel an unpleasant thought and pulls, the nail tearing away in a satisfyingly uniform strip.

“No,” Lister murmurs, spitting out the nail and wiping his mouth. “Not quite.”

—

Dave stands, hair still wet from the bath, in his pajamas before his housemother, who is brushing and braiding Samantha’s fair hair before bed. She scowls at Dave, who shuffles uncomfortably on his feet.

“Honestly, Dave, you’re old enough to do it for yourself,” she scoffs, separating Samantha’s hair into three long strands before plaiting them intricately together. “Didn’t you get a pair of clippers in your comfort case?”

“Lost it,” he said, his voice tight with discomfort. “Pretty sure Colin nicked it, actually, but he says that I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on in court.”

“You and Colin need to spend less time together, I think,” she mutters, wrapping an elastic around the end of Sam’s braid and shooing her away. She takes her glasses off and puts them on top of her head, motioning him over and sighing.

“Here,” she pats her lap, “put your foot up here and let me take a look.”

Dave puts his foot gingerly on her lap as she pulls on a pair of nitrile gloves. She takes his foot gently in her hand and turns it from side to side.

“Christ, David,” she sighs, “how’d you let these get so bad?”

She pulls her glasses back on, bending closer to examine them.

“These are bad, Dave,” she murmurs. “God, how do you even walk with them in your shoes?”

She looks up at him, her eyes stern and owlish behind the lenses.

“First off, they’re thick as bricks,” she sighs. “You’ve let them go, and they’ve developed a fungus. They’re also starting to curl down the front of your toes – you’re lucky they’ve not become in-grown.”

She takes off her glove and stands with a groan.

“This has become a medical issue,” she says wearily. “I can have one of the health care aides look at them in the morning, but it’s too late to do anything about them tonight.”

Dave stares down at his feet, something like embarrassment pooling in his stomach.

“They hurt,” he says. His house mother sniffs.

“I should think so,” she says. She looks at him, softening.

“I’ll grab you some paracetamol,” she sys softly. “I’m sure those are hell on your nail beds. But you’ve got to get to bed, Dave. We’ll take care of them properly in the morning.”

Lying in bed, waiting for the painkillers to kick in, Dave squirms in discomfort at the pressure of the blankets on his toes, and the pressure of his toes against the mattress. Somewhere nearing half-eleven he threw the covers off and looked down at his feet.

You’re old enough to take care of them yourself, Dave.

He squared his shoulders, took a breath, and pulled his foot to his mouth.

[tending-the-hearth]

If I'd a known I would've been ranting and raving about the Richmond lads! I would like your every thought and feeling regarding the show if you fancy rambling? Isaac, Colin and Sam are my faves!

Richmond lads my beloveds!!!

I feel like it's illegal if Sam ISN'T one of your favs, I absolutely adore him, i think his entire character is like a warm hug, and i especially love that he gets a little more cheeky and teasing with the rest of the team as the show goes forward! god the scene when Sam and his dad walk into the restaurant and the entire team is there helping to fix it, and then there's the little montage of them eating together and just being the happiest group??? sobbing

and I have to say Isaac as well, mainly because of his friendship with the other members of Richmond! Also because he has some of the FUNNIEST moments

unsurprisingly Jamie is my absolute absolute favorite, I'm a sucker for a really well-done "antagonist to hero" character arc, and they nailed it beautifully for Jamie. I just love how he goes from being such an ass to being so genuine, and caring so much for the people around him. Speaking of Sam, his and Jamie's friendship is possibly one of my favorite things overall about the show, how they started off so separated, but the second things are all good between them, they become best friends (favorite game is how many scenes show jamie invading sam's personal space)

also it feels like i can't talk about Jamie without talking about his friendship with Roy, how it goes from them hating each other to also becoming best friends?? The episode that made me really emotional was when Zava came, and Jamie kind of just... faded to the background and was hiding his emotions about it (he is me i am he), and Roy immediately knows that something is wrong.

the prick signal™️ will always be one of my favorite moments

HONORARY MENTION TO MI AMOR DANI ROJAS HE IS THE GUY EVER I WANT TO HUG HIM AND SPEND HOURS LISTENING TO HIM TALK HE IS THE SILLY EVER HE IS ALSO JAMIE'S BEST FRIEND i could talk about Dani forever and ever

i just think it's such a well done show, the characters are great, and they do character arcs and growth phenomenally (also adding Nate's arc in there as well)

Rebecca and Keeley are my beloveds, I love their friendship with each other, and how it goes from amicable "see each other once in a while" to them planning a women's team and having such a beautiful connection. Rebecca especially had a lot of moments that spoke to me as she worked through the divorce and her relationship with her mother

(also... tedbecca... you are everything to me...)

i watched the show with my brother, and the amount of times we quote the line from the sewer episode to each other??? "It's just poopy, so let it flow" "just like in the sewer!" "bingo el ringo"

i could watch the show over and over again i love it so much

[pupkinpumpkin]

Ted Lasso Finale Spoilers!

Alright! In honor of the beginning of Pride Month and Ted Lasso ending, you're getting a rant that I just screamed inside my house! Yay! And also a drawing, but that doesn't really matter

Ok so people are very concerned about Ted getting back together with Michelle at the end of the series, basically erasing the progress they both have made, which is a fair point but also a bit paranoid unless I missed a ring in that ending sequence or something.

So when Michelle visits Ted after getting with Unethical Unmoral Jacob, you can tell she enjoys talking to Ted and banters with him a bit, which some people have taken as evidence of them eventually getting back together, but here's the thing. Michelle, among other reasons, divorced Ted because he was constantly positive, which is justifiably exhausting, but now that they're only seeing each other in bits and pieces, of course Ted and Michelle will get along well! She's not around him constantly so she isn't fatigued by his positivity, plus he's been working on himself with a NOT HORRIBLE AND DISGUSTING therapist (this makes it seem like I am mad at Michelle for choosing Jacob, but I just really really hate Jacob, he's the one who should know this is an unethical relationship, but that's a whole other rant).

Ya know when Trent said that after he came out to his ex wife, they are now good friends? I believe the same logic applies here. Ted moves back to Kansas and doesn't get back together with Michelle, but instead becomes friends based off their incredible understanding of each other and love for their son where Michelle isn't surrounded by his upbeat attitude constantly and they can help each other grow as people WITHOUT JACOB. I still believe wholeheartedly that Michelle no longer has any romantic feelings for Ted, but gained a platonic love for him once they separated.

So, I'm like 90% sure that whole showing everyone's ending scenes is a dream sequence? Why? Because Ted isn't Beard's best man at the wedding, he's not even in it at all. Do you REALLY THINK BEARD ISN'T GONNA HAVE THE MAN WHO SHOWED HIM FORGIVENESS AND LOVE AFTER HE STOLE HIS CAR ISN'T SHOWING UP TO HIS WEDDING? Plus I really don't like Jane and Beard together unless they get some serious relationship counseling and Beard has said before he doesn't really want marriage.

So, I may be entirely wrong and maybe the creators wanted Michelle and Ted to get back together, but it makes sense that Michelle and Ted become close friends after he moves, co-parenting Henry, and who knows! Maybe Ted goes "Hey Michelle I'm bisexual!" And Michelle makes it her life's mission to set him up with someone or Ted visits London and Trent asks if he wants to go out for a drink to which Ted responds

"If you're talking about tea or sparkling water, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to say no thank you, but if it's anything else, I'll be happy to take you up on that offer"

and then they get together and Trent moves to Kansas or Ted does Rebecca's plan of moving everyone to London! And then Keeley and Roy and Jamie get together and become best friends with Dani and his girlfriends who are also in a polyamorous relationship and Colin and Michael can live together in peace and everyone lives a queer happily ever after! You never know! It could happen!

Basically, if we count the ending scenes as a dream sequence, we have a lot to theorize on and make some great fanfiction about, but overall, I don't think Ted and Michelle will get back together but I do believe they'll become wonderful friends who support each other.

Anyway, here's a drawing of Ted and Trent (separately, I have trouble drawing Trent's hair so I couldn't do his head leaning on Ted's shoulder like I wanted) I tried to do

Happy Pride Month!!

[feathered-moths-ablaze]

Traitor Spooker AU

Yippee explanation time!

The main premise of this AU is "What if Spooker was a part of D.I.E?" He does have a motive by Ghost hating him for seemingly no reason, and he would be the easiest target for Cranky to convince. So how would it play out?

--------------

Throughout the years, Ghost has been nothing but an asshole to Spooker for no reason, and despite Colin's (and sometimes Toast) best efforts to soothe his hurt feelings, his patience is starting to wear thin.

So after one big argument between the two, Spooker heads off outside to cool off and calm down. Only he bumps into Cranky. Thinking it's Ghost at first, he tells him to go away, he doesn't want to talk to him right now, but looks up when he gets a reply of, "what? I'm not Ghost." and realises that oops! That's not Ghost.

Cranky looks a little concerned for Spooker and asks what's wrong, and Spooker spills out about the argument. Cranky suggests coming around to his house to calm down in peace, and Spooker agrees.

At his house, Spooker talks about what started it, but by the end it becomes a kind of rant/vent about how much shit Ghost gives him. Cranky suggests joining DIE as a kind of revenge. After all, wouldn't it be nice to get your own back at him for everything he's done to you? It takes a bit of convincing but Spooker agrees to joining with one condition: he's joining to get back at Ghost, not to disband P.I.E.

So for a few months he's a spy for D.I.E, smuggling out important folders and any extra info. Cranky is alot nicer than Ghost. Sure he has moments where he shouts at him, but at least he stops and apologies for it! It is a little awkward during the meetings since you know... Billy is there... And the guy in his basement technically works for P.I.E. but it's fiiiine! It's great!

It's... Actually a little bit better than how P.I.E treated him. Here he's listened to and given credit, which is something that he rarely got before. Maybe... Maybe Cranky has a point.

Cranky also gives him more responsibilities as he starts to trust him more and more, something Spooker never got back at P.I.E. He even gets his own personal mission: get P.I.E cornered.

He takes a chance where during a mission turned dangerous, Spooker deliberately starts sabotaging their progress. Starting small with a slight change in direction, and getting bolder and bolder until it culminates into deliberately sounding the alarm, which gets Cranky's attention and after some back and forth, he strikes.

During the scuffle, Ghost grabs Spooker and demands to know what he's playing at. Spooker angrily yells back the reason why: he treats him like an Idiot! Cranky gave him the basic respect he deserves, something he never did! Why the hell would he help someone who sees him as scum?!

P.I.E manages to escape and regroup. They're a little bit shaken, but alive and missing one. Spooker is worried about Cranky's reaction to this, but instead of Cranky blaming him, he just says that there's always a next time and takes him back to D.I.E's base. It wasn't his fault they got away after all.

--------------

So yeah, Spooker has turned to the dark side. Yay!

Compared to my other AU, this one is alot more story driven, and alot is left out such as Colin's and Toast's reaction, and the dynamics within D.I.E that I hope I can explore later. Hope you liked it :>

[marvelousmatt]

It Took a “Huge Science Project” for What We Do in the Shadows to Bring Back Colin Robinson

BY WHITNEY FRIEDLANDER

JUNE 5, 2023

In this epic battle of nature versus nurture, nature has won.

The third season finale of FX’s vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows saw the death of energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) as well as his rebirth into a slimy, screaming, and time-consuming infant. The most recent fourth season saw him grow quickly from there, going from an energetic toddler to a tap-dancing tween to a sullen teen within a season.

All of this happened while his de facto parents, the more canonical blood-sucking vampire Laszlo (Matt Berry) and the vampires’ human bodyguard, Guillermo (Harvey Guillén), tried to keep this version of their roommate from becoming like his annoying and frustrating predecessor: a supernatural being who gains energy by draining you of yours.

But that season finale, titled—what else for an episode about vampire parenting?—“Sunrise, Sunset,” saw Colin Robinson complete his metamorphosis into the grating-voiced and flatulent creature whom his housemates already knew. (The character is always referred to by both his first and last names; co-showrunner Paul Simms, who wrote this episode, has said that the fifth season, which premieres July 13, will get into whether these are even actually his names). To make that transformation complete, the team needed a Styrofoam wall, some “turn off that racket” music, and as little dialogue as possible.

Room Rager

Shadows has already established that these aren’t just vampires; they’re vampire hoarders. The characters’ dilapidated Staten Island Tudor is overcrowded with animals dead and alive, musty furniture, candelabras, and dusty books.

It’s hard to put a value on specific things when time has no meaning. And Colin Robinson’s quest will only reinforce this notion.

It begins as he’s banging holes in his bedroom wall whilst blasting death metal, a music choice that serves the dual purpose of covering up the first action and really irritating his roommates, (or, as episode director Kyle Newacheck puts it, is an example of how the character was “starting to learn how to feed in that state”).

The look of bewilderment when one of his holes uncovers a film canister suggests Colin Robinson is operating out of instinct rather than with a known purpose. As the show’s score quickens, he rushes through the house's tight hallways to find a projector and lug it downstairs.

The found footage has more clues, pointing out where else Colin Robinson should hit and in what order. It’s then that he discovers energy vampire nirvana: a long hallway lit like a fluorescent-hued forgotten side room of a public library. There are meticulously hung beige and brown sweaters and slacks (some Proksch had actually worn on the show), and detailed diary entries that, among other things, suggest one of the character’s boring rants was the impetus for the events in the movie Se7en.

As he makes himself at home in an uncomfortable chair for innumerable hours of reading, teen Colin Robinson’s hair falls out and his posture changes. Behold: The energy vampire’s metaphorical butterfly wings begin to flap.

“The Color Within the Darkness”

Newacheck says he and the production team had about two weeks to build “the huge science project,” which was a wall of Styrofoam blocks that could smash open, plus the secret room, which had to be constructed so that it connected to the bedroom set. Audiences had already seen Colin Robinson’s room, which is tiny and sparse, with only two pieces of art that hang on separate walls. Newacheck decided that those paintings could be what he calls “visual coding” for the character to learn where to line up the projector. Music supervisor Nora Felder chose “Forbidden Lies” by A Creatures Cage and “Killing Engine” by Andy James, Jan Cyrka, and  Christopher Clancy to play during the hammering, both of which exude a “turn off that racket” vibe.

Newacheck was inspired by the last scenes of Darren Aronofsky’s film Requiem for a Dream, which uses a soaring score amidst stark lighting and shadows to create what he calls a “big, revelatory feeling.” He says he worked with director of photography D.J. Stipsen, who was also the cinematographer on the 2014 film that inspired this series, to find “the color within the darkness” of a purposefully bleak interior.

The mockumentary format helped too, Newachek says. “Sometimes, when you’re trying to figure out what’s important in a scene, it’s kind of nice to have less choices in terms of shot coverage or shot selection,” he says. “It makes you realize what’s very important about the scene and focus on that.”

Silence Is Golden

Shadows tends to be a very loud and chatty show (Who knew hundreds-year-old vampires could be so needy? Guillermo did). Juxtaposed with this scene is a storyline involving one of Colin Robinson’s other roommates, the vampire Nadja (Natasia Demetriou), and a lot of flailing and hissing. But Proksch embraced the lack of dialogue in this transformation scene.

“There was a moment where we talked about throwing in some ad libs,” he says. “And we just came to the conclusion that it should just exist how it was written. It should be a bit of a heightened moment.”

He adds that it’s even debatable how cognizant Colin Robinson was that he was being filmed, both because “he was so in the zone that he was not paying attention to anything other than his quest” and because he’s now, technically, the youngest vampire in the house. Much like actual children, “since he was reborn, he has been on camera,” Proksch says. “I think he also considers them to be commonplace and not as much of a novelty as the rest of the characters do.”

Learning and Relearning

Colin Robinson’s final moments of transformation might solidify that Laszlo and Guillermo’s efforts were always going to be in vain. Proksch speculates that, even if his character hadn’t wanted to read those journals, “he would have then been compelled” to do so because “it's in his DNA to relearn the process of becoming an energy vampire.”

They also help him hone in on what kind of energy vampire he is destined to be; leaving behind the days of teen angst and moving full-on into trapping his prey with mind-numbing conversations.

“I think it’s something like when you’re in school,” Proksch explains. “Up until college, you're in school and you learn a bunch of different things…. When you get to college, you specialize.”

Proksch doesn’t know how many times Colin Robinson has been reborn, although the show has established that this happens to energy vampires every hundred years, and some images from the opening credits suggest he might have been alive in the 1700s. But he does think it’s interesting that he never looks any older than Proksch himself, who is in his 40s.

Are humans the most boring when we’re middle-aged? “I think middle age is particularly boring,” he acknowledges.

[mariemariemaria]

OH MAN DONT GET ME STARTED ON NATE AND REDEMPTION. i so badly want nate to be redeemed!!! i was all for jamie being redeemed. all of season 1 i was wondering when and how it was going to happen. and then in the last ep of season 1 when he makes the extra pass for the win against richmond it was such a bittersweet moment because like HE IS CHANGING BUT RICHMOND LOST. but it gives you hope! and then jamie finally got that redemption in season 2 and i was so happy for it. and all through season 2 watching nate just getting lower and meaner and angrier was so rough but in the time between season 2 and season 3 i have been anticipating a nate redemption. and once season 3 trailers came out and more people started talking about predictions i heard so many people say shit about how much they hate nate and how they DONT WANT a redemption for him?? like i started feeling like i was the only one REALLY HOPING for nate’s redemption. which SHOCKED me because isn’t this whole show about kindness??? and forgiveness and all those warm fuzzy feelings? we got a rebecca redemption and a jamie redemption and so WHY would we not get a nate redemption?? it makes no sense to me and it frustrates me to no end. part of what made his descent so painful to watch was because he was so endearing in season 1. and i want to see him become a better person! i want all of them to become better people!! SO DOES TED. once again, isn’t that like. part of the point of the show. it’s not about soccer and the winning and losing (except when it sometimes is) it’s about the characters and their relationships and lives and overcoming hardship and trauma and getting better? anyway thanks for letting me take over your inbox for all that. i just saw your post and had to agree and RANT.

I agree with you about EVERYTHING. Watching Jamie be redeemed (though I do think he still needs to apologise to Nate) was brilliant and it was so emotional to watch that process, especially as it was revealed that his behaviour was largely due to his abusive father. Him working through that toxic relationship and getting support from team members like Roy, Higgins and Ted was so imporant to his development, and I am sure that this season we will also see Nate stand up to his father and start defining himself outside of what other people think of him.

I am honestly still shocked when I see people hating on Nate so much, and saying that he is beyond redemption. I have no idea how someone could watch the show and think that, because to me it's very obvious that there will be a Nate redemption arc. I mean, series 1 ended with Rebecca being forgiven so quickly by Ted that it pleasantly surprised me; Higgins was forgiven by Rebecca; Keeley forgave Rebecca (and Nate); as you said Jamie has been improving throughout both seasons, as have the other members of the team. Though I think we need to remember that while it's great that Jamie, Colin, Isaac and everyone else have been evolving as people, they still bullied Nate and never apologised. And the other players watched and let it happen; Roy only intervened when Ted "manipulated" him into it, and he was the Team Captain! I'm not hating on them here, I like them all, but this all contributed to Nate's insecurities and subsequent actions. I mean, can you imagine working with people like that for God knows how many years, making a hell of a lot less money than them, and then seeing them all go on their own ~personal journeys~ and not apologising to you once??

Nate has so many unresolved issues, to do with his father, with the players, and the misunderstanding around the picture he gifted to Ted. I understand not liking him, because betraying Ted like that was nasty, but that doesn't mean he is beyond redemption. I mean, Trent Crimm didn't have to write that article just because he was given the power to, but he did face the consequences of his actions and seems to have been forgiven. Ted definitely wants to talk to Nate, and wants to forgive him, and I don't think Nate really understands that. I think he wants to feel powerful, and to make people know how much power he has over them, because he was so belittled and disempowered for so long. He's going to be a very unpopular coach at West Ham, even if they are successful in the League (which they may not be, seeing as loyalty and compassion are important in teambuilding, and Nate also doesn't explain to players what they did wrong, instead just calling them stupid).

Also I'm lowkey nervous for him. If West Ham don't do well Rupert will turn on him so fast. Perhaps Rebecca will play an important role here, seeing as she clearly still hasn't fully recovered from her relationship with Rupert? (I wonder if Rebecca will forgive Rubert this season, not because he deserves it or is seeking forgiveness, but in order to allow herself to truly move on and be happy?) I also think/hope Jamie will be integral to Nate's redemption, seeing as he's partly responsible for his fall in the first place.

So yeah you are most definitely not alone in your Nate appreciation. There's a a good few people who like him as a character and believe he will be redeemed. That's what the show is all about.