#uhhhh I had a lot to say about season 6

[littlerosetrove]

Why season 6 was overall disappointing for me.

To varying degrees, I felt like ALL of the characters were fumbled. Let me explain, and buckle in because this is stupidly long, but I needed to get it out of my system. 🤙

My critical thoughts are under the cut to save your dash. If that’s not your jam, don’t read.

✨ CHIMNEY & MADDIE

Do I like that Maddie and Chimney are engaged? Yes. But do I think the mending and coming back together of Maddie and Chimney throughout season 6 was done super well? Ehhhh it was okay. Even then, this was probably the better handled story for any couple/character this season.

Why didn’t we get to see them working through things in therapy? And then continuing to work on things outside of that as well? It really felt like we had a speed run through them making up for everything that went down in season 5. They both clearly had issues to work on like Maddie’s hesitancy to marry again, her guilt over (needing to) leave, Chimney’s overall self worth and insecurities. It felt like a little too often Maddie and Chimney weren’t talking things out together, weren’t properly communicating, but talking with other people about any issue.

Also Chimney needs to retake his paramedics exam or something because my dude pulled out a bar after being impaled?!? Wtf, you know better Chimney! And he lost a ton of blood, but bounced back hella quick. 🙃

✨ ATHENA

I’m truly drawing a blank on what Athena’s story even was in season 6, beyond I think the first 1-2 episodes of a childhood friend's (or was the girl even a friend of Athena’s??) murder being solved; that was it for her. Even then, the closure was definitely more so for the benefit of the sister of the murdered girl.

Oh wait, Athena’s dad was in an accident, but he recovered. Nothing about that was touched on once the episodes were done. No other mention of Athena’s parents.

Athena honestly just kinda floated through the whole season. Yes she had moments of being a wonderful and supportive partner to Bobby, they had some cute moments together, but that was it.

✨ BOBBY

The story of Wendal in theory was good, but not handled in a satisfying way. Like at all. Why? Because the show really brought in someone we’ve never met, told us he’s been important to Bobby and Athena for years, and then asked us to be very moved by it all in about four episodes.

Before anyone starts to protest, “but the show has done so well getting us to care about one off characters in 911 calls many times before.” Yes, they have, but the big difference is that those are one off characters. Wendal wasn’t meant to be seen as a one and done character, but rather someone that’s been present for years and actually meant something to two of our main characters.

What didn’t help was that Wendal was set up in episode 6x9, the last episode before a 3 month hiatus. Then when the story was picked back up and concluded in 2-3 episodes, I think there was a passing mention of Wendal and then… nothing. We didn’t see this affect Bobby any further. We didn’t see him continue to go to AA meetings, nothing with that.

Another fumble was May confirming I believe in episode 6x11 or 6x12 that Bobby is Buck's dad. He’s a father figure to Buck. However, after that scene the show didn’t do nearly as much with this as they could have. They could have and should have had more bonding scenes between Buck and Bobby. Like yes, has it been pretty clear that Bobby is essentially a father to Buck before May stated it out loud? Yes. But it still would have been nice to, idk, maybe even have Buck and Bobby have a conversation about this in some capacity. Just something you know?

Hell, if the show had stuck to the story of Buck processing his death - which they kinda dropped - then they could have had one or two scenes at least of Buck talking to Bobby about his dreams and everything. Instead we got Buck brushing off his death (because running from and not really processing trauma is nothing new for Buck), having at least two honest conversations with Eddie saying he feels lost and unsure, but then nothing else. But more on Buck later.

Beyond the Wendal story, Bobby didn’t get to do much this season. And he too healed from his injuries in the finale hella quick. 

✨ MAY

I guess this important side character is doing fine at college? Still going out with that young man she had dated in high school?? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

✨ HEN

I think overall I’m pretty satisfied with the wrap up of Hen deciding to quit med school and focus on and remain being a firefighter. Still, I don’t know if this is necessary, but I kinda think the whole doctor thing could have been brought up once or twice afterward? Becoming a doctor had been a big thing for Hen for something like 3 years, and I know she decided she’s happy being a firefighter, but I suppose it feels like the doctor thing has been forgotten all together? *shrugs* Not a big thing, but yeah.

Karen's workplace blowing up was a one and done story. No mention about or fallout from that. Mm.

Uhhh where was the build up to Hen and Karen wanting to adopt? In the finale I really thought, “Who are all these kids running around? Is this a sleepover???” Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of Hen and Karen wanting to adopt, but if this had been discussed at all in season 6, it must have been once early on in 6A or something, because I was confused where this story came from. They needed a little more build up to this because it really felt a little out of left field, and rushed (like much of the finale).

Correct me if I’m misremembering, but didn’t Toni say to Hen, “a boy needs his father”????? What kind of messaging is that? Not a good or positive one, I’ll tell you that. It’s coming across as, “actually these two powerful women, these wonderful mothers, aren’t enough to raise a child.” It’s coming across as “actually, low-key, the nuclear family is the best kind.” This post by @very-feral-lesbian stated that it’s homophobia, and I don’t think they’re wrong.

And this isn’t the first time 911 has implied this, that the nuclear family is right. Carla in season two said, “that boy needs his momma” about Chris and Shannon. In that case, it felt disrespectful to Eddie being a single father. As if Eddie wasn’t enough for Christopher.

911 may be diverse in many regards, but they’re not consistent in their messaging.

Plus, wh - where did this Nathaniel story even come from? We haven’t heard anything about him since season 2, when it seemed Hen and Karen were on good terms with him. But out of the blue in season 6 we have Denny suddenly wanting his biological father in his life? When as far as we knew, he seemed perfectly content with his moms and his grandma in his life?

Another rather awful message is that Nathaniel, a grown adult, a stranger to Denny, thought it was okay to meet his biological son behind Denny’s mothers’ back for months??? And he was forgiven for that????? Yeah Hen and Karen said “do something like that again and you’re out,” but still. Nathaniel has definitely proven himself untrustworthy. I didn’t care for how this was handled at all.

✨ The Buckley Parents & Mr Han

*deep sigh* Good lord, I’ll try to keep this brief. These reconciliation stories were not handled well at all. I’ve seen plenty of people baffled and upset that the show had given these sucky parents a redemption, which means the show did a poor job in making it clear what they were attempting.

The worst was probably Mr. Han because the only “work” he put in was playing with Jee-Yun once or twice. He did nothing else in regards to Chimney. It was just Albert guilting Chimney to give Mr. Han another chance, and Mrs. Han giving a one minute speech about how “you and your dad are both stubborn.” Wow, so satisfying.

Personally I do wish the show would have the balls to say, “you know, some parents just suck, they don’t change, and that’s life.” But nah, gotta allow even the shittiest of parents reconciliation stories.

✨ BUCK

I have the most to say about him because this season gave Buck 5 storylines. These storylines overall were messily executed, and three of them not even resolved.  

— Leadership —

At the beginning of the season, yes, it was set up that Buck wants to take on leadership. However, from that to the finale there wasn’t really anything in between to connect it. So this particular arc felt a bit unearned.

— Donor Storyline —

I do believe it had potential, but it was fumbled in my eyes. In 6A it was really clear that Buck was struggling with donating, wondering if this was a good decision for him. Okay, that right there makes sense for Buck. Buck’s continuous struggle of being seen as parts to be given away no matter how it actually affects him.

However, Buck’s struggle was fully dropped once 6B came back on. Instead it pivoted to Connor and Kameron having the issues, specifically Connor. Connor was the one struggling with being a dad to a kid that’s not biologically his and not communicating with Kameron on how he feels. Keep in mind, we got most of this information in the last two episodes. No idea what other reasons, if there were any, why Kameron and Connor were struggling being married.

In episode 6x17, the show seemingly implied that Kameron and Buck were friends? Friendly enough that Kameron thought it was okay to crash at her donor’s place for however long. I guess she has no friends or family in LA. In any case, it really wasn’t until the last two episodes that Connor and Kameron really “mattered.” Buck became the mediator and pep talk guy. I guess Buck's line of “just love that kid” helped solve Connor and Kameron’s issues. 🙃

And I guess it was necessary for Buck to see the baby, so he could have some realization of “Wow, I really helped create this baby, but I’m okay with letting him go.” Though I honestly don’t think it was truly necessary for Buck to be the one to help birth the baby, but that’s just me. *shrugs* He could have just seen the baby at the hospital after being called up to see, and then peace out.

Overall I just don’t feel 100% satisfied with this story since, again, Buck was struggling with the decision in 6A, but 6B said “no he’s not.”

-– Being at Ease & Finding Happiness -–

I’m grouping these two storylines together. The only concrete thing I can say about them is that they were forgotten and not concluded by the end of the season. 🙃 I’m definitely disappointed because Buck learning to be at ease with himself? Now that was something he has needed to learn, and would have been great to see. It’s a much needed healing opportunity for Buck, but alas.

It’s an added layer of frustration because, to me at least, it really feels like those at 911 are dragging their feet at genuinely allowing Buck to grow and heal as a character in more significant ways. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the growth I have seen, nor saying he’s had zero growth as a character in the past 3-4 seasons. But damn if it feels like it’s mostly one step forwards, two steps back, and sometimes just going in circles.

I’ve seen other fans thinking that Buck has become kinda stagnant as a character, not just in season 6 but for longer. And I don’t think it’s because “they’re stupid” or “they’re just not seeing the long form storytelling” or something. No, if that’s some people's view of Buck? There’s reason and merit to that.

— Bucks Death (and revival) —

Buck died, struggled with his death, and… there was no conclusion or resolution to this. 🙃

We saw Buck not processing his death, refusing to properly process it for a time. He only admitted to Eddie twice that he was struggling, and then… nothing. 

— (unnecessary) Romance —

We all thought when Natalia, the death doula, was brought in that she was going to help Buck process his death - despite the fact that it would have been more narratively satisfying to see Buck figure things out with the help of his found family, but sure. And yet, we didn’t get Natalia helping Buck process his death. Rather she found it cool, they went on a couple dates because Buck is once again in a trauma response mode, Natalia seemed honestly uncomfortable with how full Buck’s life is and ran, but came back and said sorry, and now after 4 dates Buck asked her to buy a couch with him.

??????????????

What bugs me the most is that Buck’s romantic life was not a part of his narrative or story for the majority of season 6. This out of left field romance was shoved in, poorly, into the last 3-4 episodes of the season.

I’ve seen one take that a romance for Buck - at what was potentially the last season - was something the general audience would expect, so the writers put it in. I - can’t say I really agree with that. Given Buck’s story and narrative through most of season 6, would the general audience really be upset and confused for Buck to, for example, be single and happy in the end? I also gotta say I don’t like the messaging that the only happy ending is for someone to be in a romantic relationship.  

Plus, setting aside the fact that season 6 could have been the last season, Buck has been single at the end seasons 2, 3, 5, and arguably even season 1, but he didn’t realize it yet. In season 2 he was sad but not heartbroken over Ali, and I doubt the audience was particularly sad about it considering she was barely present. Season 3 Buck found peace (of sorts) with Abby, and was otherwise fine. Season 5 he’d broken up with TK and was looking really fucking happy and at peace about that.

So why exactly would the general audience “expect” Buck to be with someone, especially in a season that had up until the last 4-ish episodes had zero focus on his romantic life? “Because Buck for years now has been searching for a romantic partner.” Sure, but it’s a disservice to Buck and really everyone that the solution is to pair him off with someone they barely developed, and show/say that he’s happy about it. Like “aren’t you glad we gave Buck someone whose sole purpose is to be a love interest and nothing more?”

But circling back to Natalia. It’s hard to have much of an opinion about her because we’ve been told literally nothing about her beyond her profession. The most we’ve gotten out of her is her only being interested in Buck’s death and being generally overwhelmed at Buck and his life (even a little judgemental), before and after her apology.

We have no idea why Buck thinks “she sees me.” We don’t know what Buck sees in Natalia beyond her profession and being a beautiful woman. We have no idea what Natalia even sees in Buck despite her saying “I like you.” Because we’ve been shown nothing. And I will say what doesn’t help is that these two actors have zero chemistry.

Once again Buck has found himself passively in a relationship with no idea how he’s gotten there. I’ve seen this movie before, four times to be exact. It’s tiring, repetitive and boring at this point. Natalia and Buck are following too many similar beats already to Buck and Taylor.

There are two possible outcomes of this in season 7, 1) they break up or 2) the folks at 9-1-1 say fuck it and make Natalia and Buck endgame. Neither option is great, and I’ll explain why.

If they break up? Then what was the point? Is it going to be, “Buck learned that Natalia didn’t actually see him for who he is, nor could ever really understand and love all of him”? Hello. We’ve seen this movie before. It doesn’t matter that “Natalia isn’t as bad as Taylor” because we’ve seen this movie before. Introducing Natalia or any new love interest earlier in season 6 would have made it a modicum better, but I still wouldn’t like it. And I’m allowed to not like story choices. I must emphasize that what doesn’t help anything is that Natalia is barely a character.

So if the folks at 911 do decide to make Natalia and Buck endgame? It’s not hyperbole to say they have a shit ton of work to do to make this satisfying in any way.

The show is in such a weird spot because of the writers strike, WHICH I fully support. But the reality now is that the show, as far as we know, may not come back until January of 2024. 911 has always, as best they could, followed a real world timeline. So either the story will jump ahead 6 months, which you can imagine will cause several issues for many characters, or they’re for the first time going to only jump ahead, idk, a couple months into the future. Taking into consideration how the show left things off, they kinda shot themselves in the foot.

Because if they jump ahead 6 months and Buck and Natalia are still together? Great. Then we’ve literally missed a significant portion of their relationship, and the beginning of it has already been a whole lot of nothing.

What’s worse is IF, for Eddie, there is a 6 month time jump and he’s still with Marisol. 1) Eddie may be interested in dating, but not for something serious. If he does end up with Marisol - a character I’m sure a majority of people didn’t remember from 6A, but was brought back to remain a non-character in 6B - and we’re supposed to, what, care about them? Again I must say woof. 2) If Eddie and Marisol aren’t together at the start of season 7, then… there’s something underwhelming in that too. Although option two would make the most sense, even if I’m like, “yeah….. okay.” about it.

Tl;dr of Buck → Buck got a ton of screen time and a ton of stories, but not a whole lot of it was satisfying, to me at least.

✨ EDDIE

Eddie felt a bit like an afterthought in all of season 6, but it was especially evident in 6A.… But really all of season 6.

I think the story of Chris wanting more independence had potential to be spread out over 6A, rather than truncated into I think just one episode. Show us how Eddie is struggling with Chris’s independence, and show us Eddie trying to figure out what to even do with more time on his hands. More time to not be a dad, so to speak. Hell, bring in Ramon and Helen into all of this. 

Ramon got redemption in season 5, but there was nothing for Helen. We know Helen was hard on Eddie too, but so far? She’s gotten a weird free pass. I know this show particularly likes to make troubled relationships with dads (moms too, but majority dads), but they could put a little more focus on the mothers as well. Considering there were a lot of parental stories in season 6 (not all well handled), this was a good opportunity.

I’ve only watched season 6 once, so correct me if I’m wrong, but Eddie’s loneliness really didn’t come into play until something like episode 6x13 or 6x14, right? Even now I still can’t formulate a comprehensive thought, but this aspect and Eddie deciding to date wasn’t handled in a satisfying way. I mean, with the added details and timeline put in about just how young both Eddie and Shannon were with *gestures*, it puts into perspective how little experience Eddie has in dating. And because of this, Eddie, I guess, wants to try out dating? Just for fun?? Okaaay. That could work, that could be something. I just wish it hadn’t been handled so clumsily.

And this is where Marisol comes into it. A person who, at this point, is 1) making Eddie look like a hypocrite because he said trying to date someone you met on a call never ends well, and yet. 2) Marisol is, currently, a blank character. All we know is that she does DIY. That’s it. Her only purpose, at the moment, is just to be a love interest for Eddie, however long it lasts, and that’s boring. 

But I guess we were supposed to be happy about Eddie asking Marisol out? I mean, theoretically sure, it’s good to see Eddie putting himself out there, but only the concept is fine. Let’s not forget that the timeline to Eddie calling Marisol is fucked.

Supposedly they met at the hardware store (but originally on a 911 call), and I guess exchanged phone numbers off screen???? Then, idk, a week later the big emergency happens, where Eddie has broken ribs. Now realistically that would have taken 4-6 weeks at least for Eddie’s ribs to heal, otherwise Eddie wouldn’t be able to dance in his living room as we saw. Which means IF he’d waited for his ribs to heal, then both he and Marisol - despite being “excited” to call each other - had waited nearly two entire months to finally call each other? Haha what??????

My point being? Eddie wanting to go off into the dating world story wasn’t handled well, at least not to me. OH, and speaking of Eddie dating.

The last time Christopher found out his dad was dating, he ran to Buck. Now yes Chris has grown since then, but, where’s the through line? Why is Chris perfectly at ease with his dad attempting to date now? Where was the discussion for that between Chris and Eddie?

Side note, which is relevant here, let’s not forget that in 5x2 or 5x3 Eddie said “my kid loves her” about Ana. We never got to see this supposed love beyond a few brief scenes of Chris smiling with Ana in the same room. Mmm yes, I can feel and see the love. On top of that, we never got to see how Chris even felt about Eddie and Ana breaking up. So this is nothing new, the show failing to have connecting scenes for important issues being addressed when it comes to Chris and Eddie. Which is a damn shame because this is such an important relationship in the show, but in some ways has been neglected over the years. Definitely missed opportunities.

With Ana and mother of if all, Eddie had really only dated Ana because it’s what he thought he should do (because of his parents and heteronormative society). He thought he should give Chris - another mother? Okay, well go farther with that. Since Eddie did have a wonderful healing arc in season 5, we could have taken the time to explore both Chris wanting more independence and explore what Eddie wants in a partner in season 6. Season 6 could have then explored and made it clear that Eddie isn’t straight (because we live in a heteronormative world, so gotta “ease” people into saying “hey, not everyone is straight”).

And yes of course I’m going to bring Buck into this, Buddie into this, because disregarding the fact that the 911 folks didn’t know if the show was going to come back or not, they absolutely could have worked through the entire season to build up to Buddie canon. Hell, plenty of people in fandom thought that’s what was happening even after episode 6x01 (and definitely after the end of season 5). After everything in season 5, it’s not irrational or illogical to think the show can 100% have worked on making Buddie canon in season 6.

@lovecolibri made a really wonderful post explaining how the show and those at 911 are essentially “ship baiting” at this point in the game. Not queerbaiting, but ship baiting, which I think is a great term to use for Buddie. Definitely give the post a read.

But no. Instead we got Eddie only showing interest in women, and then calling a woman he and we know nothing about on a date. Okay. Cool. Yes, good for you for putting yourself out there Eddie, but… *helpless shrug*

me looking at Buck: Yep, I sure hope Eddie figures out what he wants in a partner. I hope he figures out he wants someone to always have his back, someone he can be himself with and not pretend. Someone who loves Christopher like he does. I hope he finds someone who he can have fun with and be silly with. Yep, I sure hope he learns that while going on dates with Marisol and whoever else.

— The Buddie of It All —

If they truly wanted to, the writers/TPTB could have made season 6 about Buddie becoming canon in some capacity. Whether that was a love confession, or an acknowledgement of feelings that will clearly lead to more. Hell, the first few episodes absolutely had this fandom believing that is what season 6 was going to do. But it didn’t. 6A was a bit scattered on the Buddie of it all, then 6x10-6x13 was pretty heavy on the Buck/Eddie/Chris aspect, and then there was a hard pivot to, “let’s pair off our super hetero hot guys with some women who are purely love interests.” Nope, nothing to see here.

Like? No matter what stage the people at 911 thought season 6 may be the last, you’re telling me they couldn’t have made Buddie canon work? That the general audience would be disappointed and mad about that? There were 18 episodes to work on bringing Buddie from subtext to canon, again, in some capacity. There were 18 episodes to finally say, “hey, yeah Buck and Eddie? Not straight.” They could have made this work. The fandom at the very start of season 6 thought it could work, as I’ve said, but it wasn’t until nearing the end of 6A and definitely the start of 6B that people had to say, “Oh… well. So they’re not going to work on making Buddie canon because it’s becoming too late now and it would be rushed.”

I am not pointing this out to say anyone has been queerbaiting. No one has. Ship baiting yes, but not queerbaiting. What has been clear since season 2 is that Buck and Eddie have something really special. There are big Buddie shippers for a reason. The groundwork has been laid down for 4 seasons already, so why not take the opportunity now, in season 6? Really, why not? Once again they had the opportunity in 18 episodes to make it make sense, even for the general audience.

✨ CONCLUSION

Season 6 was disappointing overall. As of right now, I do have some trepidation of what’s even going to happen in season 7. I have lost some faith in the writers and TPTB considering what they gave us and how they handled season 6 (yes I understand the cancellation pressure, I’m not saying they weren’t in a tough spot). I haven’t fully given up hope, but……. *sighs* yeah.

[amnesiaskulls]

hehe

tell me about your favorite part of your rewrite:)

ouwggh uhhhh

Ok so you never specified if it had to be angst or not and i live for angst so 😁😁😁

basically my fav angsty part is just all of garrance seasons 4.5-6. Things are finally starting to go normal again and they can finally just be together ( in mine, they didnt get together until season 3 because gar was gone s2 and he was also after aph in s1 (kinda) so they didnt get together until 3 when things died down and they talked to each other), because with s4 garroth was away getting traumatized and laurance was doing whatever with the house to himself (he made a lot of jokes about finally getting some peace and quiet, funny how that works) so during aphs year they mostly just got to be garroth and laurance and do what they could to help aph and for each other.

then garroth and zane tell laurance about the starlight plans, and he understands why he isnt going with, because he wasnt with the lodge gang when aaron got into the “accident” (he “gets hit by a car” or something in mine! It makes a lot more sense!) and he knows that still some of the block will still stay behind, like travis, dante, katelyn, and kawaii-chan. Then a couple days after they all leave on a “camping trip” (the cover up), travis tells laurance and dante that him and katelyn are going on vacation to starlight (no one told them because none of their housemates were involved, laurance got to know so that he would know they would be gone for a while) and laurance just assumes they were apart of the original party and thinks nothing of it, and all of the people left on the block just thing kc went with on the “camping trip”

they leave, leaving dante and laurance on the block by themselves (and the sk’s, but laurance is not about to go over there to just hang out) so they hang out with each other for a while, laurance stays in contact with garroth and they call every night before laurance goes to bed (timezones), and text a lot during the day about updates and just whatever, garroth texts him one day that for some reason travis and katelyn were there and laurance is just like “oh i thought you knew about that” and garroth is dumbfounded

then one day, right before they were set to move to starlight wonderland, garroth had been texting him about being ecstatic for a big dinner and was in the middle of texting him when he just stopped responding. Laurance thought nothing of it, they probably just got to the place and needed to be seated or were eating, and went about his day. Then later, when he was about to go to bed, he decided to call garroth, part of the routine that they had established was to call before laurance went to bed. He calls but no response, thinks “well thats weird, usually he picks up immediately” and tries again, still to no avail.

he’s a bit worried but just assumes that he was tired after the party and took a nap. Then a couple minutes later, he gets a call from garroth. he answers and listens for a second to let garroth speak first, but the voice on the other end isnt garroth, it’s zianna, and she sounds like she just got finished crying. She asks “who is this?” (Garroth did not in fact put laurance in his phone as laurance, but something else stupid like orphan idk) and laurance responds with his name and asks her whats wrong and is garroth ok? She just starts to apologize to him saying that shes sorry for crying and sorry for not telling him sooner, while laurance is gripping the covers of his bed waiting for her to actually tell him what happened.

she tells him that garroth got into a major accident and has a very slim chance of living, all while starting to cry again. Laurance is in shock for a sec and just asks her if shes kidding even though she very obviously isnt. He goes quiet for a moment while his brain goes a million miles an hour trying to comprehend what shes saying. He starts to tear up and asks if he can talk to garroth, but zianna tells him that he’s resting. She tells him sorry and that she has to go, and that she’ll keep him updated, and hangs up. Hes left crying in his bed, trying to piece everything together with the very vague info zianna gave him.

he cant stand being alone in that moment, so he goes to dantes house for comfort and to tell him what happened, even though its about 11:30 atp, and dante goes to bed around 10. He rings the doorbell and after a bit, a very sleepy dante answers the door to face a very disheveled laurance, who has been crying for the past 20 minutes unable to calm down. Dante doesnt ask and just lets him in and gives him a big hug (they are bros). After sitting him on the couch with a cup of milk and some blankets and tissues he asks what happened, and laurance tells him everything he knows.

dante is crushed, and they sit and cry and hug until they both fall asleep. Laurance somehow still wakes up earlier then dante o’ clock and makes the both of them some shitty toast with butter (not peanut butter, dantes allergic) and turns on something to watch while he wakes up dante. They eat in comfy silence and just have a chill and cry sort of a day.

ok yea thats all i have for you right now and i didnr even get to season 6 😁😁😁

tune in next time for another AGHUUUGGHH

[bright-and-burning]

thank you k @mecachrome i LOVE to yap and i love to see other ppl yapping!!! f1 tag game time!!!

Who is your favorite driver?: lando's grip on my brain should be studied in a lab tbh

Do you have other favorite drivers?: i am fond of many many drivers... oscar obviously is #2 to me. just the tiniest bit below lando, sorry oscar <3 and then there's a medium sized gap to anyone else but i am extremely fond of the williams guys. and i am studying alpine and aston martin like bugs. and i have a lot of blorbo-in-laws that i feel very fond of...

Who is your least favorite driver?: it depends on the day whether i even dislike anyone or not. today i feel neutral and up about everyone!! sometimes i distinctly do Not feel neutral... (usually during races)

Do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?: i am very driver oriented but obviously my like . internal ideas about drivers are heavily influenced by who their teammate is/what team they're on. and since i've been into f1 the driver lineups have. not changed. so in my head the teams n the driver pairings are pretty immutable (obviously that will Change djfldsakjfa)

If you like teams, what team do you pull for?: i am so deeply attached to the orange bitches 😔 i just watched the season 6 mclaren dts episode and when claire williams went “the likelihood of a team being able to turn around their performance to any kind of significant degree during a season? i can’t tell you how difficult it is. it’s pretty much unheard of” i just smiled SOOOO evil. sooooo evil. i believe in andrea stella's hot nerd vibes bless that man

How long have you been into F1?: since uhhhh approximately one week after qatar 2023. made this account right around cota 2023

What got you into F1?: twitter algorithm put some tweets about the shitshow that was qatar on my timeline (literally one of them was just. a little of names and like . blank threw up. blank was hospitalized. blank couldnt get off the ground.) and i was like:

(why is that picture SOOO large) and also i had been admiring the f1 web weaves for a while bc i would look at the 'web weave' tag and half of them would be f1 and i was like wow. these guys have a collective shit ton of daddy issues. fascinating... tbf!!! i have always been sports brain lol. just never quite rpf sports brained? so the stars aligned for this fr (recommended tweets, f1 web weaves, and me being unemployed, geographically isolated from all my friends, and severely depressed)

Do you enjoy Fanfic/RPF?: yes . i am constantly cooking . everyone here is soooo smart and cool and the writing is genuinely so incredible. and 8104 specifically has just like. a really dope bunch of ppl ive become friends with that i am constantly like. wow i cant believe these ppl want to talk to me!!! (k you are included in that <3)

How do you view new fans?: by looking in the mirror... djfladsj jk. i am a new fan! i am not a ""dts fan"" (have literally watched two episodes Ever and one of them was today) but none of it matters and i don't really find those kind of lines to be helpful. i have disagreed with ""dts fans"" and i have disagreed w ppl who started watching before i was born and i'd do it all again (this probably says more abt how opinionated i am than anything else)

If you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why?: personally i am delusionally confident enough to believe i could run that bitch like the MARINES. at the very least i would not be running my mouth like toto lol. vibes wise idk if i could do it at Any Team (like. imagine mercedes being run by a punchy american woman. LMFAO. imagine FERRARI) (i'd say mclaren for papaya reasons but a) andrea stella i could never replace you and b) i think i would set zak brown's fuckin sports car on fire day 1.) but based on location only alpine!!

Are your friends and family into F1 as well?: uhhhh no. my dad went to exactly one motorsports event when he was like my age maybe a year or two younger and saw a really horrific deadly crash so that ended any family interest. my friends are mega sports ppl but they're into like. american popular sports. and running. i do have a tifosi coworker and a couple friends from high school who are into it but that's it

Are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?: yes!!!!! i am so horrifically extroverted i love to chat i love to make friends!!! i am in so many ppl's dms on the Daily just sayin shit to the point where im like maybe i should cool it. lol.

tagginggggg @monacotrophywife @freeuselandonorris @liamlawsonlesbian andddd @red-flagging if you want !!!! this was fun n i love hearing how ppl got into f1 bc i feel like i might've taken an odd route

[annikuh]

wait omg noooo makes me sad to see the season 3 of clonehigh was no good… what happened

OUGH ROBYNNNNN DONT GET ME STARTEDDDDD

haters will say I’m just mad bc they wrote Topher out almost entirely (I saw a mutual say he had 16 mins of screen time the entire season…) BUT I feel like overall it just took itself a little too seriously & way too far from what the original show was (which was a big issue in season two, with big character inconsistencies & such, but it was still kinda silly and fun so I could live well enough; CH realistically has no place in modern culture bc the type of show it was originally parodying doesn’t REALLY exist anymore, but it was fun if you didn’t think too hard abt that.)

but even so, by the reboot’s standards, it didn’t even really connect with the 2nd season.

gotta put this shit under the cut bc I went off a lil too much LMAO

(1) they set up a subSTANTIAL amount of time with Abe & Topher, & the season ended with a lot of possible dramatic fallout for the two of them, and the last episode gave him a clear in with the bigger friend group, & then they straight up…didn’t interact in the 3rd season at all. they dropped everything related to that.

(2) they built up so much with the other “principal” type character, Candide, & the entire season ended with Joan being chosen to be groomed to be the next world leader, & everyone mad at her bc she tried to kill all of them. & then that just…didn’t matter anymore. That “world leader” plot line was never touched again, and people stopped being mad at Joan by the fourth episode, so it didn’t even matter.

(3) they wrote both Candide and Topher out almost entirely. both of their characters were whittled down to nothing and did basically nothing. I couldn’t even tell you what Candide did in the season. & there was so much potential for Joan and Topher to interact, bc she joined that stupid fucking outcast group that they gave Topher for NO REASON. but even without that group, like here we have two total outcasts, AND even just taking him at his word, Topher did say he had a crush on Joan, but they did nothing with this at all. WASTE.

(4) they completely started making the weirdest pairings on earth. they put Joan with Confucius for reasons I uhhhh didn’t care for. And they did SO much gay baiting with Abe and JFK to a point that it was actually uncomfortable and very much forced. like I didn’t completely hate the idea of the two of them fostering a closer relationship, but it was VERY pushy and sudden and I just couldn’t handle it.

(5) they’d completely forgotten about Scudworth’s “Cloney Island” plan in the 2nd season which was his main motivation in the 1st season (he wanted to make an amusement park/zoo type attraction of the clones). But they decided to bring it back now, which is dumb as hell bc the last season ended with Scudworth being like “these clones are like my kids, I love them so much” so like what gives.

(6)…no musical episode.

(7) the absolute AMOUNT of new characters in an already VERY bloated cast. They added one new guy for Harriet to fall for who took up a few episodes. THEN literally the most insulting awful one was Mary who was the manic pixie dream girl they paired Abe with bc he wanted to fuck so bad, and she turned out to be…Bloody Mary. like are we fucking crazy what are we doing here. Can anyone hear me? Hello?

Idk the whole season just felt insecure, disrespectful to their own and the source material, lazy, weak as fuck, and god so much more. honestly it just felt like bad fanfic.

bad season‼️ peace and love, but hope it doesn’t get renewed. let it die in peace.

(after I binged it I was so upset I was like “I wish they never made this reboot” & everyone was like “but then you wouldn’t have topher” & I was like “it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” I just pretend like it didn’t happen.)

[again-please]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @septemberskye c:

YOU go ahead and do this if you want! I tag THEE. go unto the tag and prosper.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

just the five!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 

164,059. neat!

3. What fandoms do you write for? 

actively just BG3. in the past, Star Wars, and a couple of extremely random, disparate things exclusive to my desktop

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? 

lmao I only HAVE five but A Little Further has the crown!

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 

oh god, I'm sorry, I do reply to a few here and there especially when I see direct questions for me, but honestly I just feel so awkward bc all I can think to say is "thank you!" with varying numbers of exclamation points. and I am extremely blessed in that recently a lot tend to come at once and I feel terrible that I don't have the brain capacity to give everyone a proper reply

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

of the fics I HAVE ended (slides down in chair), I don't think any of them are angsty! I will do some bittersweetness, but honestly, I like a generally happy ending. I like to include angst, but resolve it - even if the resolution is in a next part in a series

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 

I guess that'd have to be find a thread to pull, and we can watch it unravel. takes place post victory against the First Order (in a pre-TLJ AU setting) so everything being resolved is just FEELINGS (and we all know how we resolve FEELINGS in this house)

8. Do you get hate on fics? 

I did actually get I think literally my first purely vitriolic comment the other day (again, I am DEEPLY fortunate) but honestly it didn't sound like they even read the fic it was left on? I guess I was just overdue for the experience lmao

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 

yes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) but uhhhh what kind...I'm not sure how I'd categorize it? I guess my aim is for it always to be predominantly romantic, but I will go where the wind takes me in a particular scene

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? 

nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

I don't think so?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

yes, just one! I wish I could find it but someone translated find a thread to pull, and we can watch it unravel.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

I haven't! and unfortunately I would not wish me as a writing partner on my worst enemy lmao, I'm simply way too slow

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

it's always hard to see beyond the current obsession, but reylo and spuffy are soooo dear to me

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I feel particularly bad about survival season because I was in the home stretch, but man, when the inspiration dies it really dies

16. What are your writing strengths?

I want to say/dialogue banter, especially big group scenes, because that's when it really feels FUN for me and I accidentally go into a trance and do 1700 words of just conversation

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

other than being sloooooooooooow (700 words is a GREAT full day of writing for me), I cannot stick to an outline for the goddamn life of me. I really try and DO outline/summarize future chapters, but in the midst of a chapter suddenly something else will grab hold of me and I realize I actually need to write the complete opposite thing happening

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? 

oh I'm not remotely up to that task

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

babes, it was Teen Titans. and NATURALLY I had an OC that joined the team and whom I (gasp) also freely used in half-baked X-Men stories. 10-year-old me had zero concept of the Marvel/DC divide and honestly I was happier for it

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

I think A Little Further. that one kind of gave me my confidence back and in my head it's permanently associated with that "oh god why am I so obsessed with this FICTIONAL MAN" energy that gets you through the tough times

[alifeasvivid]

fic writer questions

tagged by @fireandiceland :D

1.) How many works do you have on AO3

19... it was 39 but I had a major self-loathing moment

2.) What’s your total AO3 count?

word count? 166,516

3.) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

if you mean currently on AO3? just Hetalia. If you mean only on AO3 ever: Kuroshitsuji, Hyouteki no Finder, BotW, and Hetalia

In total through my whole life uhhh >.> a few more than that

4.) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Thief of Spades Season One

Thief of Spades Season Two

Trust

If It's You

Desperate Measures

5.) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It's gonna be between Last Hurrah and Payback probably... Payback probably wins just because it is incredibly bleak

6.) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Uhhhh hmmm I mean I'd say everything else that's finished they're all about equally happy. I write most fics with the intention of reaching a happy ending that feels earned. From most contrast between the rest of the fic and the ending, I'd say An Impossible Situation

7.) Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Nah, I'm not interested in crossovers.

8.) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yeah. What else is there? XD I hope I write *good* smut. After Kuro, I think was really uptight about it and trying to be "clean," but I've loosened up on that a lot and I think it has greatly improved the quality of the smut I write.

I think I have a slight reputation for adding BDSM elements and of course there's my super hardcore kink of writing scenarios where everything is consensual and all parties involved care about and respect each other. It's pretty intense, pretty niche, not a lot of people are into it. LOL As for gender/sexuality >.> who really cares about that kind of thing nowadays?

I also primarily write UKUS, which many people find extremely offensive. 🤣 IT'S A JOKE!

9.) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I used to forget, but I try to do so consistently now because it shows my appreciation because I really like getting comments.

10.) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

EEEEEEYUP.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! :D I consider it to be quite an honor ^-^

13.) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes. A long time ago.

14.) What’s your all time favorite ship?

USUK/UKUS. Nothing else even comes close.

15.) What’s a WIP that you want to finish but you don’t think you ever will?

T_T so many, but mainly Technicolor Heart. I just really like the concept, but that fic would have been soooooooo angsty..... also I don't wanna get ... fuckin.... run off of tumblr.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

Pacing. I know I just have a sense of how a story should progress so that everything feels earned but there's minimal to no dragging. I get told people like my characterizations a lot which is nice ^-^ also my prose is pretty nuanced, but I don't count that as a strength because I think most people don't even notice.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

>.> speed. or lack thereof. I can't write action scenes, which dramatically altered the direction of Thief of Spades in particular. I don't have a beta so there's always typos I'm catching months after posting P: I struggle with description/creating atmosphere using sensory info.

18.) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic?

I agree with Riva that salutations or endearments are fine, but writing whole scenes that way comes across as pretentious and annoying. Not to mention it can just be really confusing. Write in the language of your audience, it's basically just that simple.

19.) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Pffff. As if I'd say it in public smh. I'll spare 11/12 y/o me the indignity

20.) What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Uhhhh hmmm

I mean the Thief of Spades series is always going to have a very special place in my heart but writing something that long with that much plot over such a long time, there's a lot of things about it I wish I could change.

In terms of canonverse type stuff, I love The Shape of Modern Imperialism. For shameless self-indulgence I think Three-Part Harmony is best. But I actually worked really hard on Precious Thing and I'm still quite proud of it.

tagging whoever wants to be.

[majoringinsarcasm]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on A03?

71! I’ve deleted and orphaned a few over the years though.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

491,986

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently on the Ace Attorney train but I’ve dipped into Good Omens a bit, and I’ll never say no to any of my old faves.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Inside Jokes (MHA)

2. Surprise Party (MHA)

3. Complete The <3 (Haikyuu)

4. And They Were Roommates (Haikyuu)

5. Keeping Up With the Reserve Course (Danganronpa)

And because NONE of those are ace attorney haha the highest kudos fic for that fandom is: the kiss and cry

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to do as many as I can even if I’m late because comments mean a lot to me. I have not replied to every single one but I try my best.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

(currently not finished and posted so this answer will change) Uhhhhh all mine usually have a happy ending with angst being at the start or middle. I guess maybe OH duh

“a fizz and a pop” which is a Crowley pov fic I wrote after the season two finale. “a rumble and a hum” is about equal angst but Aziraphale’s pov and I meant them to be a pair so those two for sure

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of them have happy endings but Happiest in universe is probably Indirect Correlation which is a MikexBill fic taking place in a nobody died AU of the second chapter of the IT movies when they’re all adults. Loved that one and it got lovely reception on the timeline when I shared it. Bike night!!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet. Got some comments that I still don’t know if they were trolls or not

9. Do you write smut?

I do and want to improve.

10. Do you write crossovers?

None currently posted but I had a Free! x Host Club fic way back in the day I ended up deleting. And I want to combine some Ghost Trick characters into an AA fic I’m planning. So I’m not opposed if the mood strikes

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge but I’ve gotten one of those scam “we love your work” comments so who knows.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not. (I don’t think I dont remember anyone asking unless they did and I’m forgetting and I don’t wanna go check Again I keep flipping back and forth).

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Haha does role playing with friends count? Not yet but maybe someday. I’ve written fics that my friends have inspired and I shared the progress with though. Oh no that’s a lie I have once but it’s no longer around. Hope that person is doing well.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

See this is tricky because I have ships I love that I’ve written about and ships I love that I enjoy without creating for it. I’ll say Hinata and Kageyama from Haikyuu though they are a ship for life.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

All of them uhhhh I have a 10k wip that may never see the light of day about cheating and marriage proposals but we’ll see if that ever becomes a thing.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think when the iron is hot my sentence structure for comparing things is really sharp. I love writing people talking and often Hate having to add the proper fillers in between which is why Way back in the day I loved dialogue only fics. And chat fics / social media I LOVE those.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

If someone told me to describe a setting, room or outdoors doesn't matter, or they would put me in a meat grinder I would just jump in. I have a project that will force me to practice though

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I’ve done my fair share of google translate this phrase in the past but I don’t know how accurate that ever is and I’m not skilled enough in any language other than English to attempt it in a meaningful way

19. First fandom you wrote for?

An RPF / Real Person Fiction “couple” and if you don’t know that’s for the better. (It was not Dan and Phil in case people are trying to guess it was specific and niche and that’s all you’re getting bc it’s no longer posted thank goodness)

But aside from that the first fandom is Free! Iwatobi Swim Club. Miss those boys.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

It’s a toss up between Surprise Party (MHA) and you’re in his recent texts, I’m in his shitty car, we are not the same (Until Dawn).

Surprise Party I feel like is the most fun I’ve had with smut and it’s also my first ever fic someone did a podfic for which was so insane I was buzzing for a week afterwards. And recent text / shitty car I just think it flows so well and captures the personalities of Chris and Josh in a way I really love. Not 100% canon accurate but canon in the scenario I put them in if that makes sense.

This was super fun. I haven’t looked at my stuff via statistics in a long while. Makes me excited for the potential of the new year. Anyone who sees this I encourage you to look up your stuff even if you don’t post about it. Helped me remember some of my old favorites

[the-corset-witch]

I honestly just have to vent about this Monday, y’all.  (started typing this and get a dang text “will you look into this tomorrow”) After vent I will hopefully be ready to do these 2 paid readings and my paid readings inbox will be completely empty and I can come back to my freebies! Because they’re just 1 card each I get a lot of them done in a fairly short amount of time & it honestly really boosts my ego because it makes me feel HELLA productive, y’all get my vibe? Yea, I miss doing them, selfish reasons there.

Vent will be under the cut, to ykno.... be kind :|

SO what happen was man, fuck, jesus, just fuck, this day, lordy, this day.  The basic info you need to understand this rant is cast, location, and frustration.  Cast includes JP (Bossman, English, Colonizer), M (Finance Dept, she n jp fuck, i call it what it is which is sexual harassment on his part), L ( ♥ friend ♥ ), D (Photographer for products, handles amazon/online orders), and the new, literally this is her second Monday, uhhhh... I don’t even know her last name.  We’ll call her NewGirl for her anonymity. Her name starts with a D too, so also not trying to be rude there, to the point.  

So we show up, I’m late (and the oldest, what a splendid example I set), and despite D having the most time at this company, I am kind of the senior staff member because I am the only one that understands the full day-to-day. About thirty minutes in we get what could constitute as our Morning Meeting, just Via Text. After this I help NewGirl with her phone, help her open the call log, help her figure out how to take an order, etc etc etc.  I am basically giving this girl (woman, actually, I will learn at the end of this day she is 29) all her training she should have possibly gotten Day 1? or Day 2. The reason I am back is because the woman who took over my position went out in a blaze of F Bombs (Gina, if we ever meet, please let me shake your hand and let me buy you a beverage, please) and that happened on NewGirl (its shorter, easier, sorry) first day, which was last Monday. Straight into the fire, but she seems to pick up ezpz, doin great!  But into the rant, away from how this sweet woman does not deserve what this job will do to her.

So in our “morning meeting” texts...  JP says he has “authorized overtime until 8pm” and after making sure that D & NewGirl took their lunches (I worked thru mine cos if I miss a call JP will be up my fucking ass, he’s a delight like that) I bring this up separately to them.  NewGirl kinda laughs with me and is like “Yea I have to leave by 5:30, I have plans.” and I was like “Yea, and he acts like I don’t operate my own business.” D & I do eventually decide to stay until 6, but yea, I got a life to live that isn’t this job. 

When D & I are alone for those maybe thirty minutes alone, ohhh the goss.  D is the only person who would have been firmly out of the loop of my leaving, he would have had only the information that JP would have given him, so to really shed some light on what went down and how really fucked it was, oh a pleasure! And this is when I learned that D, an educated man (youngest in the office, but still grown!) is making $15... as in, the least of everyone in the office. Like...  What. No.  Not correct, not right, no sir, no sir. 

So now here I am as we walk out telling this guy about five years younger than me all about where to find information on his worker rights, to save the websites into his phone, look up anything that seems fishy. 

I am just... I want to blow this place up, I feel like Toot from the end of Season 1 of Drawn Together.  Biding my time, playing along, but I want to blow it up. I want to educate every person secretly on their rights, on what to look for, and eventually, I want the complaints to TWC/EEOC to just destroyyyyyy this fucker.

[raayllum]

So, now that we have that shot of the Orphan Queen with the cube, and with Zubeia’s account relating how “a dangerous deceiver was revealed” right as the Key is shown, you think it’s safe to say that the Key isn’t what will get Aaravos out of the mirror, but is instead the thing which will put his grand post-escape plan into motion?

After all, the scene is portrayed as something which takes place before his betrayal is revealed to the rest of Xadia.

That does leave the questions of how he will get out in the first place and what exactly the Key is for, but I suppose we might get a clue by the end of the season (I. Do. Not. Trust. The. Big. Fat. Rock. Lizard).

Though, if I may suggest my own crackpot theory, after having watched the most recent Hellraiser film, and with the Key being associated with Dark Magic a couple of times and now probably being related to Aaravos’s master plan (and with him most likely being the person who introduced the world to Dark Magic in the first place), I can’t help but think about what the scary box from that franchise was all about and have my mind go to some creeeeepy places.

We do have 7 seasons in total, after all. However, we only have 6 primal sources, with 6 elf races and 6 dragon types… which makes me wonder what or who exactly will be the focus of that final season (which we know will be a separate, third arc, like how seasons 4-6 form the second arc of the series). Dark Magic is considered by some to be a sort of “seventh source” though, so uhhhh… *ahem* dark “elves” *ahem* demons *ahem* the Key to the “gates of hell”… maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It would fit with the show growing darker as the series progresses. And Aaravos does draw a lot of parallels from Lucifer…

See, the visuals of the flashback don't actually tell us much by way of concrete details. Is the Key what the Orphan Queen discovered that help her realize and then prove the treachery? Was it something gifted to her initially by Aaravos or something the elves and dragons gave her in thanks? But then, there's clearly things Zubeia doesn't know (or isn't sharing) like the girl's name... or the fact she started Harrow and Ezran's royal line. Rather than just hide the Cube away, it was something she passed down in her family and rather irresponsibly, since the Key is something dangerous, and although Harrow still knows the name (which Viren does not) he has no idea what he's just handed his son.

Moreover we know that Aaravos had some kind of grand plan in mind for 700 years leading up to his banishment... and given that Claudia needs the relic staff and Aaravos has some measure of foresight, he was likely betrayed once in the past, and Idk if someone could pull that over on him again (like the Orphan Queen). Part of me wonders if they knew the ship was going down and he let her throw him under the bus in a way to keep some things in motion, but that seems too much like an actual partnership

As for the underworld associations: Umber Tor is a mountain that means Shadow Tower in Latin. And many legends have Prometheus (Aaravos' other mythological analogue) being freed by Heracles at a certain point. I think the key will lean more into 'apple' associations in some ways, which I've written about "devil and the lovers" as a prospective aspect in the future / S4

I'd be more inclined to agree about the Key possibly unlocking something else related to Aaravos if it wasn't being emphasized so much this season, specifically, in which the goal is to keep Aaravos from being freed, but we know it inevitably happens anyway. Like:

As well as lines like:

However long it takes, I'll go find a key! (Callum, 1x04)

Spell to break the chains... As fun as it would be to turn the chains into snakes, I guess I'll just use the key. (Claudia, 1x03)

It's a toy, a piece from a children's game. I hope it was worth it to you, putting everyone's lives in danger. (Rayla, 1x04)

Again, I think the cube could have multiple purposes (just as it's able to detect multiple primals) but I think the primary one is freeing Aaravos, I think it makes sense when it comes to forcing hard choices, and I think this season is the best shot for a "Callum coerced into helping" for a variety of reasons. More thoughts on the thematic / narrative associations with the Key here and here

While TDP is very clever and there's always more going on than just surface level readings and assumptions, it's kinda like how we were speculating "How are the kids / Callum going to learn Aaravos is evil?" and I went "Well, whatever's happening is big enough Zubeia is concerned, so it'll probably be her telling them" and... yeah, I was right. Sometimes the most straight forward path is the most worthwhile, especially in a short form like TV

[walks-the-ages]

Mkay definitely going to be writing..... multiple Quantum Leap fanfics at some point in the future so establishing some ground rules / changes because the writers clearly have no concept of the word "consistency":

1) 100% body swap. Sam and the person he Leaped into are physically in each other's bodies, the only ones who see Sam as "Sam" (aka the actor Scott Bakula) is canonically the AudienceTM, the other side of the Fourth Wall. he literally has no idea what he himself looks like because he sees the person he's Leaped into in the mirror, and Al also sees him as whoever he's Leaped into.

(On the inverse, this means that whenever Sam Leaps into someone new, everyone at home has to deal with the fact that the body of their best friend is being possessed by a wide variety of people, some of whom are super traumatized, confused, and alarmed at what is happening, from terrified soldiers taken straight from the front lines of Vietnam, to coldblooded hit men, to Sam's literal 13 year old self. There's a lot to unpack here in terms of potential angst)

(Also, None of this bullshit where Sam can see while in the body of a blind man, or having half the episode try to convince you he's not actually pregnant until the last minute or saying "she could have the baby in the future and then the baby could be stuck there!" Like excuse me writers, you are breaking your own universe's established rules in the most hilariously stupid reach with that lol. That's now how this works.)

2) Sam knows american sign language. Any man that goes out of their way to learn 8 different languages is going to learn the main sign language of where he lives, especially with a photographic memory, he would learn quickly just from being around Deaf colleagues and friends.

3) Sam's 100% autistic in my fics :)

4) Sam is also 100% Asexual in my fics :) wether or not he remembers that or even knew it existed as even a concept is up in the air, but either way he'll slowly discover it over the course of the fics. He's also sex repulsed.

5) 4X01 doesn't exist. It was dumb, contrived, and didn't do anything except derail the storyline and completely throw the storyline off it's rhythm and make 4x02 feel very disjointed, leaving the audience needlessly wondering what stakes have changed only to realize... Oh. Literally nothing. (I am so glad nothing changed, but it would have been nice if they didn't try to hype it up like Sam had been leaping on his own for who knows how long, only to have Sam and Al start chatting as though they'd never been separated.)

4x01 was also used as a dumb excuse for Sam to suddenly be into sex, and flirting with women, because clearly they were fishing for more male audience engagement by making Sam have enthusiastic sexy times with women of his own free will (instead of the previous 3 seasons that established that he wants nothing to do with sex or anything physical). Also just the complete irony of them retconning in a wife for Sam in the same episode they start making him more....sexually active shall i say.

6) Ziggy is the "God/Him" in question, clearly, and is Orchestrating Events to make a more perfect timeline that is also a self fulfilling prophecy where he is always created by Sam. Not that Sam or anyone else ever realizes this.

7) Al is super fucking queer, and is very involved in the community and equality movement. Running for Honor doesn't follow the same script anymore, it was probably pretty good for 1992 television,but uhhhh no to Al saying "I can't always be the good guy" like, sorry writers but no .

Anyways. Al is Aromantic and genderqueer, and his full name is Ally which he chose himself after running away from the orphanage for the nth time and being taken in by a group of homeless queer folk and learning about everyone's experiences with gender, sex, romance, and everything in between.

8) "Time travel within his lifetime" except every time Sam Leaps into someone their lifetime is factored in to that count. Exponentially increasing Leaping dates. Aka Sam Leaps into Jesse Tyler in the year 1955, which is when Sam is 2 years old (born in 1953)? Well, now Sam can also leap as far back as Jesse Tyler's birthday and birth year. And every single time he Leaps, the Leapee's lifetime is added to his pool of potential leaping years.

.... I'll add more as I think of them :)

[grouchythefish]

Do you have any advice for someone considering a job at Costco.?

I'm not sure if you mean advice for getting a job there, being sucessful there, or if it's a place you should work so I'm just gonna uhhhh, say a whole bunch of stuff and hopefully something here is what you wanted to know.

Disclaimer: I work at a costco in canada so I'm not sure how much of this is accurate if you live anywhere else. I've heard from people who have worked at other costcos that our location is a fairly relaxed one.

the bad:

compared to other retail jobs I feel much more scrutinized here

it isn't uncommon for people to be let go at the end of their 3 month probation or at the end of their seasonal contract. I've seen a lot of people I thought were good employees get let go.

the training is not great, you do kind of get thrown into things and expected to know things and then get in shit for not knowing things you were never told

If you aren't good at sales, don't work front end or membership because the expectations for marketing are high and you are very pressured to push membership upgrades and credit cards.

Everything goes by seniority so it can take a long time to move up the ranks or get into certain departments or even just get full time unless you apply to stuff that no one else wants to do (like food court)

Every new hire starts part time and at the bottom of the pay scale no matter what experience or education you have.

there is no giving your boss your "availability" you have to have fully open availability or they won't hire you.

The work itself is very rigid in how they want you to do things

most of my "good" things are going to be pay related because that is largely what motivated me to stay

there is SO much drama. So many people have been there 15+ year and they all have weird grudges with each other, and everyone is petty about random stuff, it feels like being in high school a lot of the time.

The good:

minwage where I live is $15/h, starting pay for Costcos here is $17.50

that $17.50 is a base pay and there are a lot of premiums depending on what you are doing: eg. sundays are an extra $4/h, if you are on a forklift you get an extra $2/h, if you are on cash you get an extra $1/h. So very often you're getting more than $17.50

You get a raise every 1000 hours you work

The benefits package is great - health benefits, rrsp matching, life insurance etc, it all kicks in around 6 months in.

if you are willing to learn multiple departments and make it clear to managers that you want to learn and are able to pick up extra shifts you will almost never have to worry about your hours being cut

Because they only promote internally there are opportunities to move up - supervisor pay is $30.50/h and I was able to get contract supervisor in under a year.

even if you never want to move up or get full time or pick up extra hours, just staying there is worthwhile in the long run because the payscale caps out at around $30/h and once you're there around 5+ years you start getting biannual bonuses (currently these are $3000-4000 twice a year)

once you are in you can transfer stores to anywhere in the country without having to start over

free membership for you + 3 family members

trans policies are good and also not good, it's complicated.

its a very active job which is good and also bad. My feet hurt like hell every day for months until my body got used to it but i no longer have the back problems that working at a desk 8 hours a day for 5 years gave me.

honestly I like working there because while I'm there I can just turn my brain off and do the work and once I'm not at work I don't even have to think about it which is a lot healthier for me than most of the salary jobs I had before this.

Sorry this is a lot of text, and also sorry if this wasn't what you were asking for. Feel free to message me if you wanna know anything more specific or just wanna talk about it.

[red-balloon12]

Okay so here are my thoughts about the new Sanders Sides episode-

1. Freaking Logan with his big wine glasses. They were growing with time....this guy needs therapy-

2. I know a lot of people are saying that at this point Janus and Remus are accepted as sides, but I really don’t think they are. Not fully anyway. C!Thomas is kinda warming up to Janus but he still has that uhhhh.....uneasiness to him. It’s even more so with Remus. And they kinda got separated from some of the questions...so yeah...I don’t think they’re fully welcomed in regards to C!Thomas. And certainly not to the “light” sides. (Especially Roman and Virgil)

3: Speaking of Roman and Janus, Thomas has a good way of both building and diminishing ships. Like that once scene when Janus was saying that he was the “Voltaire to his Rousseau”...do you know how many people can take that and make content out of it if they know the story? (But of course Roman still does hate Janus and so.....Enemies To Lovers 40k Words, anyone?)

4. Remus just being Remus. Also I both love and hate how we had to get his symbol in a special. It probably wouldn’t have worked any other way. I also ALSO like how Remus knows more than he leads on about what’s gonna happen in the season finale....and that Janus (and himself) spraying soap keeps him from spilling. That’s funny-

5. Janus and Remus playing Patton’s DDR when they aren’t on screen. Thanks Mr. Sanders. Now whenever those two ain’t on screen, I’ll just be thinking of that. Dang it.

6. Janus getting upset about not having his own song (or at least not getting to sing at all.) And also getting mad that he wasn’t included in “Lies” absolutely sent me and I felt that on a personal level.

7. Honestly there’s not much I wanna say about Virgil or Patton themselves. I am hoping Patton does meet a nice pupper to love and I guess I hope Vigil’s relationship with the “dark” sides gets better cuuuus.....I need to know what the heck happens between them. Oh, and Patton calling Janus “Jan” revived something that was long since hidden within me........and that thing is being mild mociet shipper-

8. Logan being the “mom” of the family. I’m gonna have to prepare myself for all of the untagged Logicality posts that will be coming soon....oh and Logan says no to gender roles.

9. Roman being upset about the wedding.....or should I say the callback? Oh and we finally know where the whole “Bumba Gump Shrimp” thing came from! It came from our boi Remus-

10. I also need to prepare myself for all of the Demus and untagged Prinxiety content that will come out......tag your stuff, guys.

11. Janus is confirmed wine aunt. And Janus getting better at impersonating the sides. Oh the possibilities-

And finally 12. Only Sanders Sides can drive people insane about an orange.

My final conclusion: I talk about Janus a l o t, and I’m very exited for the season 2(?) finale. LET’S SEE HOW BAD THINGS GET!

Reflection: But in all seriousness, I’m glad this show got to where it is today. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared that this show would go under because of larger gaps in content and tHe VirUs. And I realized that I, along with SEVERAL others, have been watching these figments of imagination for 5 years. I feel old. I’ve learned and grown so much with this show and it pleases me that it isn’t over yet. I want to thank my fellow fanders that gave the fandom (and the crew) wonderful art and stories and theories and fan edits and etc. And I give big thanks to the folks that joined Thomas’s patron. And finally I give thanks to the crew and Mr. Sanders for giving us this great show. Happy 5th anniversary y’all!

[swampythesweetsketch]

Swampy rates Ninjago seasons and the extra stuff

Uhhhh I curse a lot and say dumb shit, so be aware.

Pilots

Lotta gay undertones but Jay is on thin fucking ice. 8/10

Mini-movies

HOW THE FUCK DOES HELL (The Underworld) HAVE A OPEN BACKDOOR 9/10

Season 1, Rise of the Snakes

Holy fuck why is everyone a dick to Zane wtf. *sees everyone's "I'm insecure for ___ reason episodes* Oh that's why... Jay fuck u 7/10

Season 2, Legacy of the Green Ninja

Need more filler episodes tbh in the later seasons but at least we got Double Trouble and- *sees Child's Play* oh my fucking god- 8/10

Season 3, Rebooted

How the fuck did the Ninja become teachers when they're barely adults also, Nya wtf wtf ZANE NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6/10

Season 4, Tournament of Elements

Cool, new characters we aren't gonna see in a while. And for fuck sake Jay, you're gay. You're gay you're gay you're gay stop fucking around and kiss Cole already. 9/10

Season 5, Possession

Bad season. The animators totally forgot to add Morro or Lloyd's trans flag cape in every scene they were in. But we got Cole screaming so that's a plus. 8/10

Season 6, Skybound

Nya should've stayed tf away from Jay. Jay, did you not listen to what I said about Season 4. Nadakhan was a good villain but holy fuck dude, she's maybe 18-19 at the oldest wtf you creep. 4/10

Day of the Departed

Cole is not vibing with his ghostly depression and fist fights a old dead man. Jay again is denying his love for Cole but what else is new- wait a minute- HOLY FUCK IT'S MORRO WITH THE STEEL CHAIR- 10/10!

Season 7, Hands of Time

Kai season Kai season Kai season-

Also why tf is Dumbassshipping Jay/Cole/Kai when it is clearly Jay/Cole/Zane? Do you see how quickly Zane turns stupid when he's with the other two??? 10/10

Season 8, Sons of Garmadon

Oh god they gave Lloyd a love interest I'm not for thi- oh wait she's a twist villain, nevermind I like this and oh no Lloyd's gonna be traumatized again. 9/10

Season 9, Hunted

Jay I love you. Kai I love you. Cole I love you.

Zane step up your fucking game. 10/10

Season 10, March of the Oni

Too short, but now I can enjoy watching Cole fall to his death to the tune of This is Gospel. 9/10

Season 11, Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjutzu

Wu, all you had to do was help them create a healthy schedule or keep them on track and none of this shit would've happened. 6/10

Season 12, Prime Empire

I'm glad that Jay came out as Bisexual and holy fuck did his avatar make me more gay than I thought I was. 10/10

Season 13, Master of the Mountain

COLE SEASON. WE SAW HIS MAMA. HE KICKED THE SHIT OUT OF KING VANGELIS. 15/10

The Island, Seabound Prologue

Gift of Jay and also that moment of Cole holding Jay that's allover the internet. Yes. 10/10

Season 14, Seabound

... Nya... 10/10

The Virtues of Spinjitzu

Putting them all together here, they were fun! 8/10

[borkthemork]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 16, 17 and 18! :3

1. Favorite episode?

Uhhhh that's pretty hard. I would say Wally and Anne.

2. Least favorite episode?

Dating Season. The lesson and moral it had was absolutely astounding and reassured me so much as a person on the a-spectrum, but then the ending where it was revealed that Sprig did fall for his best friend (where ultimately the assumptions of people such as Anne were right) made the lesson fall flat in my eyes.

3. Favorite character?

Between Marcy Wu and Anne Boonchuy!

4. How did you start watching the show?

Saw an article that talked about the first Thai-American protag, and really wanted to check it out. Saw the preview too, it was really cute and appealing!

5. Funniest moment?

6. Moment that made you cry the most?

The ending of Sprig's Birthday. The music was too much. To be able to see Anne being supported and reassured over unconditional love after everything that happened in True Colors was such a heartwarming moment to me, I wish T.J. Hill could show the full soundtrack of that part.

7. If you could change one thing about the show, what would it be?

I don't have much to say about this since I do like the seasons. Perhaps if I was very plot-focused I would ask for a faster plot progression, but I'm not really like that, especially since Season 3A's plot/character progression has been faster than ever before since the previous seasons.

Hmmm, but I would say that Turning Point needed more episode time, allow every plot point to settle and breathe as a whole.

11. Episodes/Moments that you think are underrated?

-New Wartwood as a whole is depressing.

-Every time the amphibians show themselves to be amphibians (Yunan climbing walls, Sprig bouncing everywhere).

-Confirmation of Polly being a prodigy.

-Hop Pop fucks.

-Anne's entire character arc in Season One.

-Season One.

-Mr. Boonchuy and Sprig crying at a superhero movie that has an alien wanting to be at home with the planet, which is reference to not only Sprig wanting to find himself in the new world but Mr. Boonchuy's immigrant experiences.

-The acceptance of the frogs in Temple Frogs is indicative of Thai and SEA culture for we accept anyone into our communities with open arms and love.

-The entire show of Amphibia is a love letter to SEA storytelling, tropes, and immigration culture and I absolutely adore it for what it represents and what it must've felt like for Thai-Americans to see such a show represent some portion of their experiences.

16. Favorite/s fanfics?

Shout-out to feebop's and mira's character studies. Another to Partlycloudedskies because their Marcanne series is so good, perfect, will read again just because.

17. Favorite/s fanart/s?

Goodartitude, snoozemoose, missakat, driftersoda, and AS Estrada. I mean those ain't fanarts but they are fanartists so they count because all of their art pieces are really good.

18. Favorite/s blog/s or content creator/s?

There are a lot of blogs that I look through, but currently it's mira-blue, cutetanuki-chan, calamity-unlocked, mynthae, and boobchuy from the top of my head.

[sortasirius]

what makes you think the writers want deancas? not trying to be an asshole, i'm just genuinely curious as to why you think that. i know berens' episodes are pretty heavy with subtext so i can see why you'd say that he wants it, but i'm not so sure about the rest of the writers/dabb. it seems like meghan isn't a huge fan either, given her "they twisted it so fast" tweet :/ of course she's a very new writer (think she's only writing one ep this season?) but still

OKAY this is a great question, welcome to my dissertation.

I’m going to address the end of your question first. Meghan is actually DeanCas positive, she has been for quite a long time. She actually, a few years back, posted a picture of her reading a literal book about Destiel and captioned it “writing reading” or something like that.

This whole thing just comes out of a boiling over of tensions because of how nasty fandom twitter can be. Like I said here, I think this has just gotten blown out of proportion, they shouldn’t have posted all this randomly disparaging stuff, but also like...can you blame them? The fandom is a lot, we always have been, and they’re probably also under a gag order not to talk about the finale, and are annoyed that people keep asking.

So nah, Meg is not anti Destiel.

To the first part!! So let’s take a look at the show runners since Cas has been around.

Seasons 4 and 5: Kripke

Seasons 6 and 7: Gamble

Seasons 8-11ish: Carver

Seasons 11ish-15: Dabb

So starting with Kripke. Okay, yes, I will be the first to admit that we have some pretty incredible Destiel moments in these seasons, but it’s less directly written into the plot and much more from Misha and Jensen’s uhhhh ~chemistry~. The only times it was directly written into the script was when the episode was handled by someone like Edlund (“On The Head Of A Pin,” “The End,” “My Bloody Valentine”). And you have to remember, if in season 5, there are moments here and there where you’re like huh that’s suspiciously romantic dialogue, remember that Cas took Anna’s place. Anna was supposed to be endgame for Dean, but due to a myriad of issues and Misha’s general greatness, Anna was replaced with Cas.

Onto 6 and 7. Hmmm. Gamble. 6 and 7 are my two least favorite seasons and that’s no secret, and that’s not only due to the plain old weird shit in the overall storyline, but also that homegirl killed off Cas in s7 and then Bobby like four episodes later. (Also it ALWAYS rubbed me the wrong way they couldn’t have Baby in that season lol). We still had some great DeanCas moments, but again, it wasn’t really written into the overall arc (until they had to change the end of season 7 because of tanking ratings and bring Misha back lol, anyone remember the fact that Dean kept Cas’ jacket and would randomly dream of him? Yeah.). But we still had those moments, those distinctly romantic moments, probably the best example in these two seasons is from Edlund again, specifically “The Man Who Would be King,” I wrote a little about that here.

We move onto Carver, who gave us, at this point, the most overt DeanCas season with season 8 (season gr8 is a better name imo), and this is the first time Dean and Cas’ relationship is directly written as an arc of the season.  I mean, you have everything in Purgatory, Dean “seeing” Cas everywhere, the fact that he felt so guilty that Cas stayed in Purgatory that he manipulated his own memories to think that he was the one that failed Cas, because he couldn’t comprehend that Cas would want to leave him, and let’s not forget Dean snapping Cas out of Naomi’s hold on him in “Goodbye Stranger.”  It was a very obvious shift, not enough to alert the general audience, but more than enough for most of us in fandom.

It’s also important to note that this is when Andrew stopped co writing with Loflin and started writing his own episodes (”Hunter Heroici” anyone?)  I like Loflin fine, but Dabb was able to stretch his legs a little bit more once he stopped co-writing, and we also began to see some DeanCas themes in his solo episodes.

In any case, them and their issues being a big part of the seasons continued with Carver, and Berens entered the scene, his first episode (”Heaven Can’t Wait”) is one of my favorites, with human Cas and the fanfiction gap and Dean and Cas just generally being awkward and funny and sweet.  This is Bobo’s FIRST episode, remember that.  He comes right out of the gate with it.

Also in Season 9, this is when Dean takes the Mark of Cain, and the Cas/Colette mirror is born, so obviously, Dean and Cas are the fabric of the season once again.  This is also the season where Metatron says Cas is “in love with humanity,” and then immediately refers to Dean as Humanity so uhhhh yeah.

Onto season 10, Dabb and Berens continue with their greatness (I could write pages on the DeanCas date in “The Things We Left Behind” alone).  And then we have one of the best scenes in the entire show in “The Prisoner” where the Cas/Colette mirror continues and Dean, driven by grief and pain and rage and the Mark, still doesn’t kill Cas.  He still can’t kill Cas.

Season 11 is important because it takes choice away from both Cas and Dean, and shows us, as the audience, how much losing each other takes out of them. We saw in season 10 how much losing Dean takes from Cas, but what about Cas losing Dean?  Dean loses his choice with his connection to Amara this season, and loses even more when Lucifer reveals he’s been possessing Cas, and plays on Dean’s connection to Cas like a mockery.  It’s also worth noting that, similarly to season 8, Dean breaks out of the connection with Amara when he’s worried about Cas, and that’s something that even SHE is surprised by.

But then season 12, the beginning to the Renaissance.  This is when we get the writer’s that become important for what Dean and Cas are today, and, truly, why I believe they want canon Destiel as much as we do.

This is the first season with Dabb’s writers: Davy Perez, Meredith Glynn, Steve Yockey, and of course Bobo all come in with their incredible talents and gave us episode after episode of good content.  “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” is probably my favorite, probably the best example of what I’m saying.  An episode where Dean is called out by an enemy directly, told to “roll the dice” on Cas’ life.  And Dean won’t, it’s not even really a hesitation.  And this comes from a character that has known Dean for ten seconds.  I also wrote more in depth about this episode here.  There are also some.....distinctly domestic details we get this season, specifically in “The Future” (written by Berens and Glynn) with the mixtape.  The most tropey of tropes mixtape.  Yeah, I’ll just leave that one here.

And then season 12 ends with Cas’ death, but also with the parallel between Sam and Dean with Jess and Cas.  Sam literally has to drag Dean away from Cas, just like Dean had to drag Sam out of his burning apartment in the pilot.  The episode drives it home in every way that it can: Dean is the one left kneeling by Cas’ body, while Sam goes to find out what is upstairs.  Dean is the one who stares at the sky, finally broken.  This isn’t a random thing, this is Dean’s whole arc, it’s the entirety of the beginning of 13.  Dean’s pain, his anguish, his anger.

Season 13 starts with them burning Cas, with Dean, who has begged God to bring him back, who has split his knuckles punching a door, standing, staring at Cas’ pyre with brokenness on his face.

I mean.....

Anyway, season 13 is where it gets interesting (well, I think all of this is interesting but I’m a writer nerd so).  So Cas comes back from the Empty in “Advanced Thanatology” written by Steve Yockey, and then a wombo combo of “Tombstone” by Davy Perez next (”Brokebacknatural” as the PR said at the time).  Listen.  This is the part that SPN crossed a line that they couldn’t come back from.  With Cas being Dean’s “big win,” the fact that Dean and Cas watch movies together, “I told you, he’s an angry sleeper.  Like a bear.” Talked about it here.

This is where, in my opinion, the network stepped in, but the damage was already done.  They had already established that Cas was Dean’s big win, that Dean’s poor coping was not due to Mary’s disappearance, but solely due to Cas, and that Dean and Cas have more married energy than anyone else.  The network had nixed blatant canon at this point, and they writing room had been pushing the boundaries of what the network would allow. 

After these episodes, we see a marked drop off of DeanCas heavy scenes.  They’re still there, still a part of the fabric of the season, but not as...obvious as it had been in early season 13.

And this continued through season 14, we’re back to scraps of Destiel scenes here and there, but to me it always felt like there was something bubbling under the surface, something distinctly unsaid in the themes of the season, even after the walk back of obvious “Dean and Cas are in love” scenes.

And then we get to season 15, which, y’all know I talk about all the time.  What’s important here is that Bobo and Glynn are both executive producers, calling more of the shots than ever before.  Additionally, it’s important to note that, though they only co write occasionally, Glynn and Berens refer to each other as “work husband” and “work wife.”  Each episode has just turned up the volume, and, not for the first time, but certainly the most obvious, Dean and Cas ARE the season.  Sure, they’re trying to beat God, they’re trying to finally find peace, defeat the final big bad, but really?  This season has been about Dean, and Dean’s relationship to Cas.

And not only do we have obvious and clear Destiel in nearly every episode, but we have episodes like “Last Call” which canonize bi!Dean (wrote about that here).

And, maybe most importantly so far, we have “The Rupture,” the breakup, and “The Trap,” Dean’s confession (both written by Berens).  And here’s the thing.  These episodes feel connected, but also feel like they’re missing something.  Beren’s last episode is 15x18, “The Truth.”  We’ve all spec’ed about what could happen in this episode, and I think *I* know what it’s leading to.  But for it to be leading to that, it means that the network has to have approved what we’ve all been waiting for years for.

Who got this change to happen?  Who got the network to change their minds?  It wasn’t us.  It was them.  I am fully convinced that Dabb and Berens quite literally put their careers on the line for Dean and Cas.  They believe in them, they’ve shown that from the beginning, but the only thing standing in the way was the network, never allowing them to take the final step. 

So, to answer your question: I think the writers want canon DeanCas because they’ve already shown us that they do.  Take a look at their episodes, at Dabb’s, at Beren’s, at Glynn’s, at Perez’s, at Yockey’s.  They’ve been telling us what’s going on with Dean and Cas for years.

Sure, I’m not in their heads, I guess I don’t know for *sure* that this has been their thought process, but if we put it all together, from the marked shift when Dabb fully took over in s12, to the change right after “Tombstone,” to the new shift, the blatantly romantic shift in season 15, what else is there?

I’ve said for a long time that we, the SPN fandom, are beyond lucky to have the writer’s that we do.  They’re all going to go on to have prolific careers and we were lucky to get them at the end of our little show.  I give them a lot of credit for what we have in the show today.

Just remember, they’ve been telling us in all of s15 who Chuck is.  He says he’s the writer, right?  But a writer who doesn’t have control of his characters?  A writer who wants to do the same ending over and over because it “works”?  That doesn’t sound like a writer, it sounds like a network exec.

They’ve been showing us what they want for years, and the way s15 is going?  I think they may have convinced the network to let us have it.

[mallowstep]

Idk I see a lot of hc’s about how graystripe was like well loved in riverclan for his personality or something and was like best buddies with misty and stone and that’s fine but that’s just a head canon and we see literally no proof of that in canon. Mosspelt might have been a little attached to him and maybe even mistyfoot but both of those would have been through his kits.

kaldjf;adksjl; what?

lmao mistyfoot talks abt him w fireheart a few times but most of the time it's with this thinly veiled frustration.

“Graystripe didn’t come.” The RiverClan queen sat down and curled her tail neatly around her paws. “Leopardfur wouldn’t let him. She was furious about the way he behaved during the fire. She says that in his heart, he’s still loyal to ThunderClan.”

a dangerous path, ch. 1

and on a follow up q,

“He’s fine,” Mistyfoot meowed. “So are the kits. He asked me to find out how you were doing after the fire. Bluestar’s not seriously ill, you say?”

mistyfoot my beloved. even if its really funny to me that fireheart is constantly describing her as a young queen. (there's also timeline weirdness in this ch where fireheart says seasons have passed but at most one, one and a half seasons have passed, but shhhh)

we do get some indication that he's...at least friendly with mistyfoot.

“Come on, Mistyfoot,” Graystripe meowed encouragingly. “I’ll swim back with you. We’ll check the camp again.” “Thanks, Graystripe.” Mistyfoot pressed her nose briefly to the gray warrior’s fur, and both RiverClan cats bounded down the bank toward the river.

a dangerous path, ch. 6

but nothing about stonefur, and...this gets into interpretation but i don't think this is anything more than good clanmate stuff. greystripe wasn't...a bad clanmate, he just didn't really want to be in riverclan.

ahhhhhh forest of secrets...everyone is wrong...you're a good book...it's okay...i know the truth.

“Graystripe, think again,” Bluestar urged him. “If I let Leopardfur take these kits, they are lost to you forever. They will grow up in another Clan. They will not know you as their kin. One day you may even have to fight them.” Fireheart heard the sorrow in her voice as she spoke, and saw her eyes straying to Mistyfoot and Stonefur. Her words were full of such bitter knowledge that he wondered how any cat could listen to her and not realize the truth about the kits their leader had lost so long ago.

forest of secrets, ch. 30

that was unrelated it just made me Feel. especially w the knowledge of what happens later...

Goldenflower followed them out of the nursery and dipped her head to touch noses with both kits. “Farewell, my beloveds,” she mewed sadly.

MY HEART,,,,, GOLDENFLOWER,,,,,, AHHHHHHHH

(it's a bit of -- ahhhhh wait this scene is so sad dfja i can't put every heart wrenching bit in, but...this is really sad.)

Graystripe shook his head. “Not anymore. They don’t want me, not since they found out about me and Silverstream. They’ll never trust me again. I don’t even know if I want them to trust me anymore. I don’t think I’ve got any Clan loyalty left.”

okay well That's ironic xd

“I can’t. That’s the only thing I can’t do for you. I belong with my kits, and they belong in RiverClan. Oh, Fireheart, Fireheart...” His voice trailed off into an anguished wail. “I’m being torn in two!”

fellas is it gay to feel torn between your ~best friend~ and children?

Fireheart recognized Mistyfoot, Silverstream’s best friend. He knew she would love these kits as much as her own. But no cat could feel more strongly for Graystripe than Fireheart had done, for four long seasons.

uh. fellas. is it gay to feel. fuck. no it is. there's no joke here this is just blatantly gay.

Never again, his heart was crying. No more patrols, no more play-fights, or sharing tongues in the den after a day of hunting. No more laughter shared or dangers faced together. It’s over.

this is a fucking break up scene and its making me cry.

uhhhh i came here to prove something else but ig what i'm saying is that greyfire is canon?