#we get core four all interacting and actually showing us their friendship

[hawkinsunderground]

SCREAMING i always miss everything when I go to sleep 😭 Good day to be a byler ☺️

[eightfifteen]

so, i've been thinking a lot on why the party (the core 4) are the most important characters on the show (silly wishful thinking? maybe). So i just realized that the boys, all of them would be talked about because of their love interests. You see, Lucas gets in trouble with Billy because the last was a freaking r***st. We know, in some places interracial couples are frown up to this day. Dustin meet a girl he is interested in and we've seen Suzie's father isn't happy with the fact he an atheist (or agnostic). We already know people in hawkins used to comment on Will being gay, and even Lonnie was really harsh on him, also, Ted is pretty homophobic himself and warns Mike "see what happens, Mike?" Implying whatever happened to Will was because he is gay, which i'm starting to believe could be the case. Wait for it.

So, we have four kids growing up in a pretty conservative town who all happen to find themselves in or could be in relationships that people in town wouldn't approve of? Weird right?

Also, let's focus on who are the love interests: Suzie, a girl who Dustin met at summer camp, with whom he has a long distance relationship, she is not part of their group per se, but she manages to get involved in the supernatural plot at some point even been so far away from it all. We also have Max, a girl who is new in town and two of the boys find themselves liking, which makes her a part of their group (whether some of them like it or not).

So we have a girl for summer camp, a new friend who at first only Dustin knows (later she'll meet Mike and Will), we have a new person brought into the group, Max...the outsider who became part of (if not completely) the group. So what kind of relationship are we missing? Maybe one that started as friendship and it developed to something more with time? Like childhood friends to lovers?

It's funny because the new girl coming to be part of the group could also be Eleven, but out of 4 seasons, in 2 of them her plot is alone, while Max has been relevant to the kids' plot since she became part of the group.

You could argue Will is missing in the first season and then in season 4 him and Mike are set apart of the main group but oh wait, in season 1 Mike would do anything to get Will back, and even if he isn't physically there that much, we is still so relevant to the plot. So what if in season 4 somehow the interactions between Mike and Will become more obvious to the watcher because they aren't in that unaccepting small town? Did El pick up on Will liking someone while in California but not when he was just right next to Mike while living in Hawkins? That's interesting.

And last but not least, why do i think Will being gay might be relevant to him disappearing in season 1.

As i said before, we have 4 friends falling for someone their town or society itself wouldn't approve of. Yet, they all fell for that someone while the supernatural plot was not relevant yet. You could argue about Will and Mike, but the main reason at least i started shipping Byler was because how hyperfocused was Mike to get him back in season 1, which would imply some feelings were thrre even before that. If Eleven were to be the real main love interest for Mike, she would be the only one actually coming from the supernatural plot herself, differently than Will who got involved in it. You can see Mike has always called El superhero, Yoda and such, while he tells Will he is NOW a spy, which implies he has seen him as just Will before, while El was a supernatural being the whole time.

So, what could this all mean?

We've seen four boys falling in love, getting dragged into a supernatural/action movie like plot that seems to pull them more and more into it as they keep growing up and developing their personalities and their feelings. Sure, it could be nothing, but also, could it be that when the world is falling apart why would you care about who other people love? Is it that important when everyone's lives are at risk?

Cue to when Joyce went to Hopper saying Will was missing, she comments on what Lonnie used to say about him and Hopper askjng if Will really is gay to what Joyce responds as if that it's not the important point here, but the fact that he is missing.

A complete reach out? Maybe, but i've seen them do crazy stuff before, so.. who knows, right?

I'm the anon about the core 4 relationships again, i forgot to mention the fact that oh, sp the upside down starts crushing Hawkins onlh after Will, Mike and El are back in Hawkins but Will and Mike dynamic goes back to how it was in season 2? Also, Will, Max and Suzie got involved again into the supernatural plot? As Max is at the hospital, Will can feel Vecna and Suzie is the one who led the Cali gang to Eleven so she could try and fight Vecna? My personal prediction is Mike will finally be really involved with the upside down next season.

i'm going to make a post about the core four because i've been thinking about it a lot pls hold

[elkdiaries]

hey everyone, this is sort of negative compared to my other posts, i just wanted to talk about something that’s been on my mind. this is regarding the mainstream audience, heteronormativity and the like so if you’d rather not read my annoyed rambling then scroll on <3

i’m rewatching stranger things season two because i haven’t seen it in the longest time and is it actually real? because like there’s just so much will content? like he actually has a prominent role in the season, as he should? and dustin/lucas get to talk to each other because they’re best friends? and they all ride their bikes around just because they can? and el/mike have a sweet, non-toxic relationship? and max has bigger role in the show, and is able to discuss the hardships young women of the ‘80s had to endure? and mike’s familial issues are displayed clearly? and he and will interact very kindly because they’re best friends who are crushing big-time on each other and regardless of whether they’re endgame (which they are but still) they care an incredible amount about each other?

i understand that the events which occurred over the course of season three were necessary for everyone’s development, and i’m glad they did happen because now some lovely things in season four can follow. but i really can’t help wishing they could still just do this sweet, fluffy stuff sometimes. because the party loves each other so much, and season three really didn’t do their friendships justice. and again, though it was an important arc to add in on their way into teen life, it sort of encouraged the normalization of toxicity in friendships to the audience, as well as the whole “boys versus girls” bullshit. because god knows mainstream viewers and reviewers just love to see mean relationships in their media, for it’s not “boring”. what the party has is very raw and beautiful and the pains of growing older just divided them for a bit. but people have interpreted it so awfully that they’re doing crazy shit like making will the antagonist, all because he just wants to be a kid and not deal with all the drama.

i think the duffers did a good job with season three, don’t get me wrong. it was sad to see the kids having to go separate ways, but it happened because now in season four they can bring them back together and show just how difficult growing up is, and why it’s important to keep core friendships alive even when they may not be considered “cool” to other peers. however, the majority of watchers are so used to just brushing important and emotional events (for example, the neglect of dustin and the byler fight, both in season three) under a rug unless it comes to tension between hetero couples. i know for a fact that the duffers will make byler canon, but the backlash (which is bound to happen either way) from people who just look at the surface level of content is going to be a pain in the ass to have to witness. it’s going to suck seeing people in an intense uproar about mike and el going from lovers to friends, and claiming that the creators of this show just did things like make byler endgame for the sake of lgbtq+ rep— though it’s been implied from the beginning that they’re in love.

i’m not trying to say that people have to watch this show and analyze every tiny detail, because they don’t. you can watch stranger things and enjoy it at the surface level of content. you don’t have to ship byler, and you can even enjoy lucas and mike’s antics in season three while trying to win back el and max. i don’t care, we all like different things. it becomes an issue when for example, season four comes out, things are clearly different, and people try to say it was out of the blue. because no, no it most certainly wasn’t. and that would be very obvious if they just looked at it from a different angle.

to sum it up: as a queer person myself, i hate that we have to work this hard to get good lgbtq+ rep in media (or to prove that there will be lgbtq+ rep in seasons to come). on top of that, i hate how toxic friendships and relationships have been so normalized on screen. it’s to the extent that if a mainstream show differs even the slightest bit from the norm, it’s a fucking scandal.

glad i got that out of my system. anyways, byler is endgame and adore lucas sinclair until the end of time.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Zuko x female reader series: Part Four

You wake up to the aftermath of your actions and have some decisions to make but it turns out you don’t know Zuko as well as you thought you did.

Part One here

Part Two here

Part Three here

Part Five here

Part Six here

Tagged: @creation-magician​ @kaylove12​ @taeeemin​

Your POV

You woke up in the middle of the night darkness covering your room and what had happened came rushing back vividly. How your talk with Zuko progressed to a kiss, to several kisses to him now lying asleep on the pillow beside you, his bare skin glowing in the dim fire light. He had an arm draped around your waist still and you felt happy at how it felt but also scared. What had you done? You and Zuko had broken past any friendship barriers, there was no going back to normal after this. That thought hurt more than anything, losing Zuko’s friendship scared you to the core and made you think back on how you’d first become friends. 

You were six years old and had been brought into the palace to see if you had potential to be one of Princess Azula’s friends. You were older than Azula by two years but all noble born girls around her age were being brought in and as your parents were friends with Ozai you were one of the first. Ursa and Ozai were actually present too not that you noticed or cared. You were too busy playing in the gardens, Azula already had Ty lee by then and they played together nearby but you didn’t seem to care, the instructions your parents had drilled into you gone from your mind the minute you’d seen toys. So you were crouched playing in the grass when someone crashed into you sending your toy flying. You turned around furious and pushed the culprit hard "you knocked my toy!" you shouted. The boy, Zuko, glared at you for pushing him and went to push you back “did not!” he argued. You fought briefly shoving and hitting each other before you barreled Zuko onto the floor with a hard push and brief kick. Zuko gasped from the floor, it had hurt when you pushed him over and he was in shock. Ursa and Ozai had also gasped when you pushed Zuko over and both were not pleased. Ursa was furious someone had dared touch her precious son and Ozai was embarassed how easy you’d beaten Zuko in a fight. Both were angry watching how this would progress and you parents swallowed hoping somehow you’d turn this around, that you’d realise your mistake, apologise to Zuko and help him up. Instead you  glared down at him in the dirt, daring him to make the next move. "It’s not like I meant to!" Zuko muttered but his expression didn’t change. "Well you still did so you should say sorry" you replied matter-of-factly. Zuko stood up dusting mud off his arms "sorry" he said sarcastically and you rolled your eyes "stupid boy" and turned away. Zuko went to walk away but stopped watching how unbothered by him you were. Part of him was angry, none of the other kids had ever yelled at him, they all treated him like...well a prince but you’d pushed him over and embarassed him in front of all his family without a second thought. That part intrigued Zuko, who were you to not care who he was? Zuko claimed that was the reason he asked to play with you that day, because you’d dared to treat him like a normal kid and not a royal. "What are you playing?" Zuko asked edging closer and you looked at him over your shoulder "ball". "Can i play?" Zuko asked carefully as if you’d hit him again. You shrugged unbothered, back then your temper was shortlived, and Zuko joined you. Your parents watched confused as you bonded with the wrong sibling but soon you and Zuko were lost in your own world together, screaming and shrieking as you chased one another, both laughing and smiling, something fire nation children didn’t do often. When you had to go home Zuko ran to his parents to ask if you could come and play again and that was it. Ozai wasn’t too keen you being a girl but Ursa would do anything if Zuko wanted it and so you were brought back the very next day and from then the two of you were inseparable.

You smiled at the memory but it was a sad smile. Not only may you have wrecked everything with Zuko you’d also done something horrible to Mai, just the thought of her you made you feel guilty. Zuko had cheated on her with you. All the times you’d told Mai you weren’t a threat, all the effort you’d gone into befriending her was wasted as you’d gone and slept with Zuko. She didn’t deserve that and your and Zuko’s discovery of mutual affection didn’t justify what you’d done. Zuko shifted in his sleep and his arm around you tightened. "Y/n?" he asked noticing you were awake "you okay?". You nodded staying silent and felt Zuko tense. "Are you sure?" he asked retracting his arm "you’re not regretting this are you?". You heard the worry in Zuko’s voice and shook your head "no...yes...i don’t know" you sighed. Zuko was silent before touching your arm softly "then tell me". You sighed flopping onto your back "we cheated zuko! You cheated of Mai with me! We did that! Mai doesn’t deserve that but we did it to her!". "I know" Zuko said frowning and you carried on "and i know that but still i’m glad it happened" you sighed "and that makes me so angry at myself! How many times did i deny i liked you, told Azula there was nothing wrong with our closeness, acted as if i would never do this and i just did". Zuko frowned "y/n you didn’t know how you felt when you told her all that, you couldn’t have known this would happen, we just got lost in the moment that’s all, we didn’t mean to hurt Mai and i’ll talk to her about it". "You will?" you asked and Zuko nodded "I will, i’ll do the right thing and call it off with her I promise, but last night...y/n last night was the greatest night of my life" he blushed "being with you felt..." he trailed off and you blushed too. You felt that way too. "I know" you told him resting a hand against his face and stroking his burnt cheek. Zuko leant into your hand and kissed it. "I want this" he sighed "i want this with you" he told you "i want you" he told you and you felt the hairs on your arms stand up. "I want you too" you agreed and Zuko leant back in to kiss you. You let him but when it moved onto something more you stopped him. "Zuko" you breathed pushing his chest "no, not until you’ve told Mai, otherwise this isn’t okay". Zuko frowned but nodded "you're right, I have to do the right thing by her and you". You nodded as Zuko moved away from you "i should go then" Zuko told you "so i’m not tempted". You blushed and Zuko smirked "i’ll tell Mai today y/n". You smiled "that’s the right thing to do". "And aften i have?" Zuko asked looking at you suggestively and you smirked knowing what was on his mind. "Not straight after but maybe a week or so after, you know a respecful amount of time and even then we’ll keep it just between us at first but yeah...we'll carry on what we started here" you smiled. Zuko sighed as he finished getting dressed but nodded "okay". He lingered just looking at you before he turned away with great force “I’ll find you once i’ve done it”. You nodded “good luck?”. Zuko smiled staring at you, taking every detail of you in once more before leaving.

You couldn’t sleep after Zuko left. You tried but every time you closed your eyes you’d picture last night with Zuko...everything he did, everything you did, everything you both did and you couldn’t relax. So you decided to just get up and were grateful when finally the morning came. You got on with your day managing to not give away what you’d just done with Zuko and got ready for an evening ball, some show of Ozai’s force before the upcoming eclipse. Zuko hadn’t come to find you all day so you assumed he hadn’t got a chance to tell Mai, or so you thought. On your way into the ballroom someone grabbed your arm and tugged you into side room. When you saw it was Zuko you looked at him expectantly "did you tell her?". Zuko shook his head "actually...my father spoke to me first". You’d almost completely forgotten about Ozai’s announcement to you. You tensed figuring he’d told Zuko you were engaged and waited for Zuko to ask why you didn’t tell him but he didn’t. "Don’t get mad!" he cried and you frowned "what?". "My dad’s asked me to stick with Mai for a while longer". You frowned still confused "what?". "He somehow knew I wanted to break up with her because he came to me this morning and told me I needed to stay with her for now until he closes a deal with her uncle, so not to make any announcements until then". You swallowed at how close Zuko had come to the real meaning behind Ozai’s words. You were so shocked at how you’d managed not to get exposed you just nodded “okay”. "Okay?" Zuko asked shocked and you shook your head "well obviously it’s not okay, using Mai like that, but we'll talk about it later". Zuko nodded and watched you leave the room.

All through the ball Zuko stood beside Mai making you tense and jealous which you knew was ridiculous. You believed Zuko when he said he wanted you, plus you knew Ozai wanted you two to marry, that was a lot of security for any new relationship. Plus Mai and Zuko were the ones actually dating! You were literally the one invading their relationship but still it made you wary, just watching them interact. You wanted Zuko to tell Mai so you and him could start being you, you hated this feeling, it felt so underhanded. Ty lee appeared beside you "what you looking at?" she asked and you snatched your eyes away from Zuko and Mai but she saw. "Ow.." she trailed off "are you okay?". "I’m fine" you snapped and Ty lee raised an eyebrow "really because you looked jealous". You glared and Ty lee shrugged "what i’m just being honest, i’ve never seen you like that especially at Zuko and Mai but that’s what you looked like...y/n you’ve been off all night has something developed?". You looked around and Ty lee noticed "y/n i won’t tell anyone". You raised an eyebrow "why not? If i was you i’d be loyal to Mai and Azula". Ty lee shrugged "i am loyal to them but i’m also my own person...plus you know we’re friends too right?". You frowned in response and Ty lee laughed "ouch!". "No i’m sorry" you sighed "i just always figured you were Azula’s and Mai’s friend never mine, you’re closer to them". Ty lee shrugged "so, i can have more than two friends". You nodded "i suppose" and Ty lee smiled "good, so what’s up with you and Zuko". "Nothing" you swallowed "just him and Mai seem closer". Ty lee nodded "yeah the trip helped...atleast i think". "What do you mean?". "Well they argued...a lot but then Mai disappeared to his room on the final night and in the morning they seemed fine". "Wait, wait, did Mai and Zuko...Mai was gone the whole night?". Ty lee looked down awkwardly but nodded "yeah...i couldn’t help but notice because we shared a room". You bit your lip, not even 24 hours later you and Zuko....

"Was it the first time she and him...do you know?" you asked and Ty lee frowned "why do you want to know?". You debated telling her for a split second before realising that would be a stupid thing to do. "I just had no idea their relationship was so...serious Zuko never gives the impression it is so i’d be suprised if it wasn’t a new development". Ty lee frowned "well that’s not good to hear but i promise i won’t tell Mai" she assured you and you glanced away awkwardly. "But no it’s not new" Ty lee told you suddenly "it happened a few days after Zuko got back to the fire nation". You felt like someone had thrown water over you as you nodded "ow wow that is a shock". Ty lee narrowed her eyes "y/n does that make you...". "It doesn’t make me anything, well maybe angry at Zuko for not telling me, i mean best friends share that stuff!" you said putting on a fake smirk. "Thanks Ty lee for listening" you smiled even though she had done most of the talking. "Any time" Ty lee smiled and she squeezed your shoulder before walking away. Ty lee gone your eyes fell to where Zuko stood with Mai. Zuko had been busier than you’d thought...

Zuko’s POV

Zuko had made a point of trying not to look at you but he couldn’t help seeming to find you. First it when you entered looking amazing in that dress, then it was when you spoke to some old navy general, then when Ty lee chatted to you and now Zuko was watching as some guy stood beside you. He recognised the boy as some highborn man’s son, Zuko couldn’t remeber whose specifically, and watched anxiously as the boy seemed keen to stick beside you. Zuko couldn’t tell if the guy was bothering you but he was certainly bothering Zuko. “What’s got your face all weird like that?” Mai asked and Zuko jumped not realising she was beside him. “Nothing I was just wondering where my sister got to, when you can’t see her is usually when you’re in the most danger” Zuko bluffed. Mai raised an eyebrow “she’s right there Zuko” gesturing to where Azula stood with Ty lee nearby “where she’s been for the past hour”. “Ow” Zuko commented and Mai narrowed her eyes looking at where you stood in full view on the ballroom floor below. “Y/n and Ikem seem to be hitting it off” she commented. “Who?” Zuko asked like he didn’t know exactly who Mai was talking about. “Ikem” Mai replied “you know son of Liang, your families have been allies for years?”. “Ow yeah” Zuko nodded frowning openly at the boy “he’s wasting his time with her, she won’t be interested in someone like him”. “Who is she interested in then?” Mai asked and Zuko avoided Mai’s eye but managed not to blush “i’m not sure, I never met her past partners they were all soldiers in the navy”. “How do you even know that I didn’t and I was right here in the capital all this time”. “I...she...I asked Ty lee” Zuko admitted and Mai frowned “why not just ask y/n herself?”. Zuko felt his face redden dangerously “I did but she wouldn’t tell me” Zuko lied, in reality he’d been too embarassed to ask you, part of him was scared you’d found many people to be with in his banishment, when he’d never thought of any other girl but you. He’d asked Ty lee out of curiosity and got ridiculously jealous just to hear you’d been with two other people before him. The memory made Zuko’s jaw tense and Mai frowned “weird I thought there were no secrets between the two of you”. “Maybe just the one” Zuko replied and felt Mai stiffen. If he was going to keep this a secret he should probably stop staring at you while Mai was next to him. “We should probably circulate the room” Zuko said awkwardly turning away from you and holding an arm out stiffly for Mai. She took it and Zuko lead her purposefully in the opposite direction to you. He’d find a way to get that boy to leave you alone but first he had to play prince.

Your POV

You were saved from some boring fire nation boy who was intent on never leaving your side by a note from Zuko asking you to meet him after the party. You were still angry at him but keen for an escape complied, arriving at his room moments after him. He let you in glancing around in a bad show of pretending not to be paranoid and smiled at you. You ignored his smile and walked over to the window wondering how to bring up what Ty lee had told you. Zuko couldn’t seem to tell anything was wrong, he came up behind you and wrapped his arms around you “what you thinking about?”. “This and that” you said coldly not relaxing into his touch no matter how much you wanted to. Zuko frowned seeing your expression in the reflection of the window. "What’s wrong?" Zuko asked his hands falling away from your shoulders. “Y/n” Zuko said tugging your arm to make you face him when you didn’t reply. You sighed and just decided to come out with it. "I didn’t know you and Mai had been intimate" you said slowly and Zuko tensed letting his arms drop from you fully. "How did you find out?". "I heard" you shrugged "it doesn’t matter how". "Okay i get you feel betrayed that i didn’t tell you before we...but y/n with Mai it was very different and we only did it a couple of times". "When was the last time?" You asked and Zuko swallowed "two weeks ago". You struggled not to smile in disbelief as Zuko told a massive lie right to your face. "So not on the last night of your holiday?" you asked. Zuko paled and you sighed shaking your head. "I only didn’t tell you because of how soon we got together aftwewards! I didn’t want to make you angry". "Well that worked" you retorted and Zuko sighed. "Plus it didn’t matter! By then i was very aware I liked you, you weren’t with us...I was missing you, i knew it wasn’t working with Mai but she offered it as an olive branch so i took it but i didn’t experience it properly, I wasn’t there with Mai...in my head it was with you, I wanted it to be you but i had no idea you liked me, if i did i’d never have touched her". "Why didn’t you tell me though?" You asked "Zuko that makes you and Mai way more serious, especially given how recent it was for you both". "I didn’t want to ruin this" Zuko sighed "this, us..we’re still so new but i don’t want anything to mess it up so i didn’t mention it". You shook your head and Zuko sighed "i didn’t know if you’d mind i mean i know you’ve been with people before me". You heard the tone in Zuko’s voice and spun on him "what? What does that have to do with anything?". "Well I just meant...I knew other people have been with you...I heard about it somehow...but anyway I knew it wasn’t a first time for either of us, if it had been i’d have told you". "Zuko i don’t care about the fact we’ve both had experiences and partners before! I care because less than 24 hours earlier you were with Mai intimately! If i’d have known..". "You’d have stopped it?" Zuko asked and you sighed "i don’t know! Maybe? It would’ve changed things". "Hence why i didn’t tell you" Zuko cried and you sighed "just because you’ve made something easier doesn’t mean you made it better" you snapped "you didn’t tell me about Mai and i don’t feel good about what we did and she still doesn’t know!" you cried. Zuko nodded "i know but my father said now isn’t a good time to break up with her". You rolled your eyes at how Ozai was using you and Mai while Zuko had no idea. "I promise as soon as i can i will tell her" Zuko said "and if my father drags it on i’ll tell her anyway". "How long before you do that?" You asked and Zuko frowned "i don’t know maybe a couple of weeks or months?". When your eyes flared Zuko backed down "okay not that long! Only a few weeks? 2 at most I promise". You still didn’t relax "and in the mean time what buisness as usual?". "Well no more sex" Zuko told you "you’re right i shouldn’t use Mai like that and i don’t want it so i will stop anything she tries, that goes for kisses too". You frowned "i just feel awful still using Mai for whatever deal your dad needs". Zuko nodded "i know but i have to do as he says". Zuko’s tone when he said that was so flat and expresionless it made you look up at him. Zuko was staring at the floor eyes fixed on one spot, he looked so defeated and lost, he almost looked scared and you realised why. The reminder of what happened the last time Zuko disobeyed his father was right there on his face. You felt a wave of sympathy for him, you didn’t want to but you’d always cared for Zuko and how that was hightenned. You sighed and hugged him "i know". Zuko seemed shocked and looked down at you "you’re not mad at me anymore?". "Ow i’m still pissed" you nodded "but i understand...kind of, but if you keep something like this from me again...". "I swear i will not" Zuko promised "i will tell you whatever you want to know...wherever you want to know...however you want to be told..." Zuko smirked and you pushed his incoming face away from you. "Hey none or that, not while you’re still dating Mai, you’re going celebate from her and me". Zuko frowned but saw your face and sighed "yes because it’s the right thing to do y/n". You grinned and ruffled his hair "so you can be trained! Good to know, maybe i can make a boyfriend out of you yet". Zuko blushed but smiled "that’s the goal". You smirked but stopped yourself "don’t get ahead of yourself we’ve got a mess to clean up!". Zuko nodded but smirked “I promise I’ll sort this and in the mean time, best behaviour” he winked and you blushed. “Unless you ask me not to...” Zuko said and you hit his arm away “I’m leaving...”. “Y/n I was joking I only meant this might be just as hard for you as it is for me, it won’t just be me resisting you”. “You sure about that? I have pretty good control” you smirked confidently but Zuko just raised an eyebrow. “I liked you for years and never did anything, you liked me for a mere week before you told me you liked me, kissed me and then had sex with me...and all in the same night”. You swallowed at the bluntness of the facts and Zuko smirked. “That was a one time coincidence” you glared and Zuko laughed “sure...all i’m saying is don’t make your rules too tight”. You rolled your eyes but felt heat rise to your cheeks “i’ll be fine without you”. “Sure” Zuko said eyebrows raised and he flopped onto his bed “I bet you will be”. You watched as he laid back, posture so relaxed and smug...so inviting, he knew this was working. “You’re an ass” you called walking to the door but you were supressing a smile. “I’m here if you need me” Zuko called after you and you slammed the door shut before leaning against it on the other side. Although sneaking around with Zuko wasn’t right it sure was going to be fun.      

[emletish-fish]

7. what is you favorite sentence/paragraph? read it to us! (asker can choose what fic) (x)

I chose three! One from each of my 'big fics'. No Zombies, Worst Prisoners and Good Boys under the cut:

NO ZOMBIES:

No Zombies was a delight to write. I had pretty much the whole idea from the get-go, (of a returned style AU with Hector coming to spend time with the family in the modern world). I finished it quick - and it's not too long (side-eyeing Good Boy and Worst Prisoner). It was the first fic where I felt like I really "stuck" the landing. I was quite flexible with my original outline, but I still knew where the journey ended. It ended exactly how I wanted it too - happily but with a bitter-sweet note.

The emotional core of this story is how Elena, family matriach, who is so gruff and no-nonsense, who despises Hector in the films, and who has such a warm heart under such a grumpy exterior would slowly soften and come to love Hector, (and how she grows as a person because of this and becomes more comfortable showing love/emotions to her family). It was like a platonic slow-burn as she learns to understand Hector better - which is why this bit is my favourite because it's where she starts to really feel fond of him for the first time:

“Well, I'm just glad I'm a better teacher for him than watching old Ernesto De La Cruz movies.” Héctor had replied with a wry smile. “It's probably because I'm so much more handsome than that butt-chinned, over-the-top ham.”

“Because you're a pointy-chinned, over-the-top ham?” Elena replied, feeling surprising witty. She never made teasing jokes like this normally, but it was so easy with Héctor.

He looked mock-offended. “I'll have you know, my chin is wonderful and I've given it to several of your grandchildren, so there.”

If Elena was a different person, she probably would have pulled Héctor into a warm, laughing hug then. She might have told him seriously that Miguel had always been difficult for her. He felt things so strongly and got so upset and emotional – she'd always struggled with how to help him, how to calm him. Miguel was so happy now. She knew that was because of Héctor.

She might have told Héctor that he was at least six thousand times the musician, eight thousand times the teacher, and ten thousand times the man that Ernesto De La Cruz was.

But Elena was who she was.

Instead she said “Idiot,” and ruffled his stupidly messy hair rather fondly.

She told herself she wasn't warming to the fool musician, but she knew it was a lie.

GOOD BOY:

My current work. It's another platonic slow-burn, but this time set in the Cobra Kai universe with son and father pair - Robby Keene and Johnny Lawrence. In the show, these two characters have such a dysfunctional relationship that is so full of miscommunications and missed chances, and they genuinely want a better relationship (and it would be so healing for both of them! Do not get me started!) I lean much more into the magical realism in this story, as I turned Robby into a dog (Animal transformation - PIXAR's Brave style), so that he could immediately get the cuddles and easy affection he so clearly needs.... because I have never seen a more touch/affection-starved character aside from Zuko in ATLA.

This also gave Robby a chance to really understand, not only his father, but the other people in his cicrcle. He discovered he had a support network. He got to know he was loved by many. he got to witness the actions people would take as they searched for human-him (not knowing that he'd been turned into a dog). And it gave Johnny a chance to learn how to take care of something, feel needed, and express his love for his son without the weight of their complicated history/his own trauma hanging over him. It was hard to pick a favourite, but I will say the Johnny-stream-of-conciousness chapters are definitely the easiest/most fun to write. One of my favourite bits is in the first one, The queen of ice-cream runaway when Johnny tells Robby about when Laura (his grandmother) found out Shannon was pregnant and she was going to be a grandmother.

It's the first inkling Robby gets that while his father wasn't there for him and he was neglected a lot, Johnny did his best to keep the bad shit from his own childhood away from Robby as his own way of showing care. It hints at the deep and damaging abuse Johnny endured. When he finally had a say with his own kid, he would have done anything to protect Robby from feeling the same. I'd say here is where Robby really begins to warm to his Dad;

Then I told her our chosen name and she said I was a dumbass and Swayze was a terrible middle name, and we had to change it to some shit like Alastair or something. She thought he should have a rich sounding middle name. And I say Mom, Alastair sounds like some lame-ass insurance broker who upskirts his secretary and then cries as he jerks off to the pictures, what else you got? She thought Sebastian, and that was worse! What a pussy name.  Sebastian is going to be sitting in the little french patisserie cafe drinking the tiny-ass coffee for dolls and eating the éclair with his prissy finger tips. I already want to kick Sebastian's ass. Who wouldn’t? I’m not going to give my kid a name that is going to get his ass kicked.

And she couldn't talk, cause she named me after Johnny Cash, just cause she liked his music. And she couldn't think of a middle name at the time, so I didn't get one. Thank goodness. I could have ended up Johnny Alastair and had to kick my own ass.

So Swayze stayed.

Then she mentions how she and Sid can help out, so I didn't need to do the two jobs, stupidly long hours thing. And we need the money. I know we need the money. But my whole body froze and I just went No. None of that for little Robby Swayze. ...

... She’s going on about spending Sid’s money on Robby and I just...I can’t. I can't allow it. Cause I knew how he would be, and the way he would treat that kid. So I tell her, no thank you. Not a fucking cent mom.  Sid’s not getting to feel like he owns a hair on Robby’s head. That motherfucker can go jump. You thought we needed Sid’s money when I was a kid. You decided it was better for me, and that was your choice. I did not get a vote in that. But this is my kid, and this time it is my call, and I am choosing no. I’m not going to have Sid make my kid feel like he has to apologise for existing every day. I'm not going to have Sid treat my kid the way he treated me. I will never need money that badly. I will never put my kid through that. I'll work myself to the bone doing 20 hour days before that. I'll work on the 40th floor without a harness before that.  I will sell my fucking organs before it comes to that. Not a cent mom.

WORST PRISONER:

My 'what if Zuko made friends with the Gaang early on?" AU that then turned into a three-book long saga (and I will return to it, Worst Prisoner readers - Thank you for you patience). It does have evenutal Zutara, but the focus is really on the Gaang + Zuko as a whole, and all the interpersonal relationships. I'd say there is more gen-shipping around Zuko as a central character, as Iroh & Zuko, and Sokka & Zuko are both given equal prominence. in fact, all the friendships and familial relationships were equally important to me. (the book 3 Zuko & Azula stuff is so interesting, but it is ...less funny I guess.)

This fic is such a joy to write, and I really try and balance the humour with the bittersweet/sad parts, and one of the main sources of humor was the Sokka-Aang-Zuko -Katara qudrangle of dumbassery. I love the four of them together in book 1, and so many of their interactions were a hoot to write. But if I'd have to pick a favourite moment, it would be the moment in the deserter chapter in book 1, where they all decide to 'officially' be friends:

“Well, you can figure that out and find someone while I'm up in the Northern Water Tribe. Then when we finish up there, we'll come find you,” Aang offered.

“Really?” Zuko’s eyes were shining optimistically. It was a strange expression for him. Aang was so used to seeing him with a grumpy face.

“Really, I promise,” Aang said, feeling so glad that he could help Zuko go home.

“Yeah, I second that. If this means we won’t have to put up with you chasing us, I am in!” Sokka said. “Sheesh, you could have just asked ages ago!”

“You know, this means I was right,” Aang started to say, feeling very vindicated. The others looked at him curiously. “If we had just talked about friendship in the forest, we could have sorted this out weeks ago!”

“Boo, forest friendship!” Sokka said.

“Don't boo him,” Katara admonished, elbowing her brother.

“I agree with Sokka. There's no way I would have appreciated that speech weeks ago, Aang,” Zuko said.

Sokka smiled at Zuko for saying he agreed with him. It actually wasn't that rare of an occurrence, but it still seemed to surprise Sokka every time.

“See, Aang, forest friendship is bullshit,” Sokka said.

“I didn't say that!” Zuko cut in. “I just meant, maybe … I had to be dragged all over the Earth Kingdom by you guys ... and shot ... and taken to nonsense fortune tellers ... and I had to be forced to eat Sokka's truly terrible and disgusting cooking—”

“Oi!”

“—and I had listen to Aang lecture me about friendship and vegetarianism in the forest just so I could come here.” He looked around at the deserters’ camp site. “I dunno, maybe it was meant to be this way.”

“What are you saying? You want to be forest friends with Aang now?” Sokka asked accusingly.

“I mean, sure. If Aang will have me, we can be friends,” Zuko said, and looked uncertain.

“Yay! I knew you'd want to be my friend,” Aang said, feeling delighted.

He was so happy he had a Fire Nation friend again. Kuzon had been an amazing friend, even though he'd gotten Aang into so many sticky situations. He had already thought Zuko was his friend, but it was nice to make it official. Aang always knew the Fire Nation had good people in it too, and now he had been proven right. He jumped up and gave Zuko a huge hug.

[cosmicbeastie]

Sorta kinda jumping off this post, I want to talk more about Star Trek Discovery and how I wish it (and other modern TV series/movies like it) could be more like TOS or 90s Trek when it comes to that era’s more episodic, laid-back pacing and storytelling styles as a result of having a smaller budget/more limited FX to work with.

Which isn't to say that all Star Trek media HAS to be like 90s Trek to be good. I feel like a lot of us tend to gauge whether or not a new entry into the franchise is “good” based on how similar it is to that era. Discovery is allowed to be different and its more plot-centric and serious tone isn’t necessarily a bad thing for Star Trek outright. However, a major flaw Disco has is that it sacrifices character development and dynamics (or at least showing these things well) for its heavy plot. 

Mainly there’s one thing I really wish it had handled better, and hope it handles better past season 4: show, don't just tell, especially when it comes to characters. Putting less emphasis on The Plot would allow this show to better flesh out its characters & their dynamics. I keep watching because I love the characters! They are my primary motivation for keeping up with new episodes and I feel like they are Discovery’s strongest asset. But the overly plot-heavy, constantly life-or-death storytelling style the writers of this show insist on using is, in my opinion, detrimental to that asset. The problem with such a plot-heavy approach to telling a story in a television format is that it leaves little room for those filler episodes & moments that are hallmarks of other Star Trek series, where characters get a chance to simply Exist. Interact. Form bonds with each other. 

The Discovery crew is obviously very close, and clearly we as the audience are meant to see that they see each other as found family. Michael and Tilly are best friends and roommates by choice for much of the series. Both Saru and Stamets have been shown to be paternal with Tilly. Michael and Saru have said they love each other like siblings and arguably have one of the strongest bonds in the show. And of course there’s Stamets & Culber literally adopting Adira and Gray. We see hints of crew members outside of the core four being close, too (Owo & Detmer primarily). But while all those bonds are clearly There at this point in the show (season 4 having just finished airing), the writers didn’t put a lot of time into actually showing us these bonds as they were developing -- even when such moments of development should have been treated as crucial to the story (skipping Saru and Michael's journey toward healing their friendship after Michael’s betrayal; only revealing Airiam's close friendships with her crewmates in her final episode to give her death emotional weight; rushing Stamets’ paternal dynamic with Adira; conveying an unspoken but obvious tension between Stamets and Michael at the end of season 3 just to gloss over it in season 4; etc., etc., etc.).

The problem isn’t that Discovery has a tonally different, less episodic approach to storytelling compared to previous Treks. It’s that it focuses Too Much on plot and over-the-top stakes and not enough on its characters. We shouldn’t be four seasons and counting into this show and know next to nothing about more than half of the bridge crew. We shouldn’t need to be constantly forgiving haphazardly-inserted character development “bombs” like Michael and Saru going from ex-friends/begrudging crewmates to best friends/found family in the space of one episode. They (the writers) just don’t give themselves (or maybe are not given) enough TIME to develop these dynamics more smoothly and organically.

And I feel like this isn’t completely on the writers. Modern media as a whole has created this atmosphere where only constantly high-budget, constantly high-stakes, constantly plot-heavy stories can be accepted as watchable/meaningful enough to keep from getting axed at the drop of a hat (*cough* it’s the MCU’s fault *cough*). I just wish we could go back to the days where shows could be allowed to BREATHE and general audiences and streaming service executives weren’t afraid of a filler episode or two where maybe the plot didn’t advance much or at all (the “stakes” a malfunctioning replicator or something), but we learned something new about the characters and that was enough.

At this point I don’t expect Discovery to change its ways when it comes to its overstuffed plot and clunky approach to character development, but I do hope that we can eventually have a Trek series that (to circle back to the subject of the post I linked at the top) more closely resembles the pacing and storytelling styles of older Trek while still maintaining the diversity and minority representation that Discovery provides.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

what do you think about the aang is possessive comment? about EIP ruining kataang? also about there being an implied (and nonexistent) love triangle thrown in nearing the end of the series as a tease?

I think fandom just likes to complain, lmao, but I’ll address each of these one at a time!

1) “aang is possessive”

This argument is honestly the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard because it’s just so obviously false?? Possessive is literally defined as “demanding someone’s total attention and love,” which Aang never does? Aang always respects Katara’s position in their relationship, especially after the EIP kiss, which everyone knows was entirely inappropriate and wrong of him. Aang recognizes her hesitation and makes no more romantic attempts towards her after that moment. Not one! Katara is the one who initiates them getting together in the finale because the war is finally over and she is no longer afraid of losing him. I beg people, do point to the “possessiveness” you’re referring to, because the closest we get to any character being possessive is Zuko in “The Beach”:

Zuko: [Side-view of Zuko and Mai walking.] He thinks he’s so great. [To Mai.] Well, what do you think of him?

Mai: I don’t have any opinion about him. I hardly know him.

Zuko: You like him, don’t you? [Mai sighs and walks away.]

//

Ruon-Jian: What are you doing?

Zuko: [Close-up. Angrily.] Stop talking to my girlfriend!

Ruon-Jian: [Side-view. Walks up to Zuko.] Relax. It’s just a party.

Frontal view of Ruon-Jian. Zuko knocks him across the room into a vase, which breaks from the force.

Yeah, Aang never acts like that. 🤷

Now, this isn’t to say Aang doesn’t get jealous. Jealousy is a perfectly normal and natural emotion, and honestly I’d go so far as to say that everyone has been jealous at least once in their life. What’s key about Aang is he doesn’t act on his jealousy. He doesn’t throw anybody across a room, for one. Sure, he doesn’t want Katara to kiss Jet, so he makes a little quiet comment about it. Pretty normal, and it ends there. Not dissimilar to Katara’s bit of snark about On Ji! Even the EIP comment, which everyone uses to argue that Aang is “possessive” (which again, blatantly untrue, because he does not demand or expect a relationship with Katara as a result of that scene; also all he does is nod lmao and tbh that’s such a healthy reaction to jealousy I mean he doesn’t grab Zuko and chuck him onto the stage like his name is Ruon-Jian, does he?) - Aang literally just gets upset about the implication from an imperialist play that Katara doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. Why?

Let’s be frank: Aang knows, or is fairly certain, that Katara does like him by this point in the series. That’s why he doesn’t ask her “do you like me”. Instead, he asks:

Aang: But it’s true, isn’t it? We kissed at the Invasion, and I thought we were gonna be together. But we’re not.

By this point the show, the viewers know their feelings are mutual. Katara knows how Aang feels about her, and Aang knows Katara likes him, too - he just isn’t sure about how ready she is for a relationship. So him getting upset about the propagandist, pro-imperialism play implying Katara isn’t interested in him, when he essentially knows she does like him, is honestly kind of understandable? Imagine if you were watching a really rude movie about your life and it included a scene of your best friend who you’re already kind of in a relationship with saying that they’re in love with the dude who used to bully you and only think of you as their sibling. Like, that’s kinda wack? I’d be a little upset - and definitely weirded out - too.

(I’ve also seen people argue Aang leaving Guru Pathik to save Katara also somehow demonstrates his so-called possessiveness, as if his love for her and her love for him wasn’t established mere minutes earlier to be the love of the Air Nomads reborn. I don’t think the show could have been any clearer about how mutual, powerful, and honest their love is through that scene. Also, he proceeds to let her go to enter the Avatar state at the end of what? The next episode? So again, any arguments that he was “possessive” and “didn’t let her go” are thus moot and entirely inapplicable points.)

Basically, Aang isn’t “possessive” and people who think he is are just looking for an excuse to hate on him, lmao.

2) “eip ruined kataang”

The only way EIP could have ruined Kataang would be if all the previous Kataang buildup was either terrible or near-nonexistent. And great news! Kataang was built up very well throughout the series, growing from a close, deep friendship to cute, blushy crushes to a true, lasting romance (pretty iconic of them). Even if someone doesn’t ship them, they can acknowledge that within canon, Kataang had a very strong foundation (it’s one of the core relationships of the show, the other being Zuko and Aang as narrative foils). The implication that one poorly written episode somehow cancels out the previous 56 episodes and the following four is embarrassing.

Now, I certainly wouldn’t have minded if there had been a scene dedicated to Aang and Katara discussing his poorly-timed kiss. I ship Kataang, so there is absolutely no reason for me to be opposed to more Kataang content! But A:TLA has a very clear trend of not showing such discussions on screen - example: Zuko never sits down with Katara and apologizes for using her mother’s necklace to manipulate her; Katara never apologizes to Sokka for her callous comment about their mother - so the fact that Katara is the one to initiate their relationship at the end of the serious clearly demonstrates that she has forgiven Aang for his inappropriate kiss and is ready to be with him. (And I’ve said it before - if she can forgive Zuko for all the shit he put them through, she can forgive Aang, her best friend and the guy she loves, for one poorly-timed kiss.) Narratively speaking, ’twas resolved.

Also, it’s incredibly important to consider EIP within the context of the series as a whole. If someone really feels entirely devastated by that one episode, then… their loss? I’m sorry to hear it? 56 episodes of near-flawless buildup - a slight dip + a healthy, logical finale where Katara chooses to be with Aang because she is at last no longer afraid of losing him = more than good enough for me. People can argue her decision doesn’t make sense all they want, but it actually makes perfect sense when you consider what has been built through every previous episode: she was in love with him! You can’t isolate a single episode and expect it to speak for the series as a whole, after all.

Basically, EIP gets blown out of proportion because some people like to pretend it was the only Kataang episode ever written, lmao.

3) love triangle

I always laugh when I see this because where?? The only love triangle in A:TLA was the one fandom invented. Within the canon narrative, Katara and Zuko were never romantically interested in each other. I don’t care about “shipping-goggle interpretations” or AUs or post-canon or early planning that didn’t make it into the final drafts. If you look at A:TLA, if you look at the creators’ intentions, it’s plain as day that Kataang and Maiko were the only romantic pairings planned for Katara and Zuko. And that’s okay! That’s why fanon exists. But people have got to stop whining about a love triangle and ship teases that just… didn’t occur. If they read Zuko and Katara’s interactions as romantic, well, that’s great and all, but it’s also on them, lol. That sounds so mean oml I’m sorry y’all 💀. I just mean that Kataang was very clearly written into the show from episode 1 and Maiko from Book 2 (or Book 3 if you really, really don’t like the flashback), so expecting Zuko and Katara to get together doesn’t make any sense (to me) when they never had any romantically-coded interactions.

Yes, of course I’ll admit there were a few Zvtara gags, but that’s exactly what they were - gags. There’s three primary instances:

- June calling the owner of the Water Tribe necklace (whom we know is Katara) Zuko’s girlfriend in Book 1. This moment is mainly hilarious because Zuko promptly redirects the conversation to Aang, lmao, but thinking about the context of A:TLA itself? The assumption of the Fire Nation crown prince being in a relationship with someone from the Water Tribe is honestly pretty concerning given how the Fire Nation is an imperialist conqueror and has all but destroyed the Water Tribes (and has certainly worked to sever the connection between the North and South). So, not exactly a great conclusion on June’s part.

- The EIP gag. I ALWAYS laugh at this one because their reactions are so funny? I love the little disgusted nose wrinkles and scooting away. That’s hysterical to me. But again, thinking about the show itself, EIP is an imperialist play full of Fire Nation propaganda. With that in mind, again, the implication that their crown prince was with someone from the SWT, a nation they brought to its knees by killing all of the waterbenders (but one) and thus eradicating so much of the SWT’s culture? Major red flags! People need to consider the implications of EIP as imperialist propaganda, basically, because that’s what it is. Ignoring that aspect means missing the entire point of the play.

- June part 2. What I said above still applies. Also, they both get embarrassed and hotly deny it, which is kind of the opposite of a ship tease to me? They don’t exchange like an “oh, but what if” glance or anything, lol. And June backs off immediately, so... 🤷

People who interpret that as serious ship teases are, bless their hearts, a little misguided. Those are just funny moments! It’s like Katara and Sokka dressing up as Aang’s parents in “The Headband”. It’s funny! It’s contextual! Sokka and Katara are not romantically interested in each other just because they dressed up as husband and wife (ew), just as Katara and Zuko aren’t romantically interested in each other because there were three jokes about it. I really don’t know what else to say lmao.

Now, I don’t know all about what Bryke did outside of A:TLA in regards to Zuko and Katara’s relationship and fans of it. I wasn’t here for that lol. But I do know that A:TLA built a beautiful, platonic bond akin to surrogate siblings between Zuko and Katara (highlighted by the final Agni Kai with Katara and Azula as foils). Not a love triangle. “The Southern Raiders” was an episode about Katara and Kya, not Zuko and Katara. “The Crossroads of Destiny” paints an aching, gorgeous parallel between Oma and Shu and Katara and Aang, not Katara and Zuko. “The Boiling Rock: Part 2” was an episode involving the loyalty and love of Mai and Zuko, not Katara and Zuko. Katara and Aang had romantic parallels, Mai and Zuko had romantic parallels, while Katara and Zuko - within canon - had strictly platonic development. And honestly, fandom should appreciate that more! How often do we get such an iconic relationship between a guy and a gal that isn’t shadowed by romance? (The answer: not often enough.)

Now, this doesn’t mean don’t ship Katara and Zuko. I don’t care what people ship lmao, and there are some interpretations of Zvtara that I really enjoy (post-canon Zvtara has so much potential,, I die a thousand deaths oml)! But insisting there was some love triangle thrown at the end of the series is a discredit to how well Aang and Katara’s and Zuko and Katara’s relationships were written in A:TLA, and I’m honestly tired of hearing such tomfoolery. A romantic relationship between Zuko and Katara within canon would have completely undermined his entire redemption arc, which further emphasizes that their canon bond was meant to be solely platonic, because why would the writers want to undo what most consider the best redemption arc in animated history? (Simply put, I don’t think they would.)

Also, A:TLA had a very clear history of staying away from love triangles. There’s no Aang x Katara x Jet love triangle. No Yue x Sokka x Suki love triangle. So why would there be an Aang x Katara x Zuko love triangle?

Case in point: there isn’t. Fandom invented it.

So that’s my thoughts, anon! It can be summarized as this: fandom makes up a lot of nonsense that simply rewatching the show can dispute, so maybe we should just start providing episode timestamps to people, lol.

A general note - people are free to disagree with this post, but I ain’t looking to argue, so… make your own post if you want to develop a “counterargument”, I guess? I’m just chillin™ lol I don’t want to fight with people. I can give you my PayPal if you’d really like to engage in a proper academic debate? Anyways. Much love! 💕

[cheri-translates]

[CN] Lucien’s R&S - Since that rainy night (Eng Translation)

🍒This R&S (之自雨夜来) was part of the Dream Heart Lake event which will unlikely come to EN🍒

More Lucien R&S from this event:

> regarding what books don’t say

> my love rival older brother

> the missing victim

> since that rainy night ♡

[ Chapter One ]

“Boss, why hasn't Professor Lucien been around lately?”

“It just means you haven’t been coming at the right time.”

For some reason, ever since Lucien appeared on “Miracle Finder”, the shop has become a place where his female enthusiasts check in.

The more introverted ones would order a glass of juice and wait in a corner, their eyes flitting between their phone screens and the entrance of the bar. The more straightforward ones would be like the one before me - the moment they arrive, they go straight to the question, asking about “Professor Lucien” this, and “Professor Lucien” that.

In consideration of the privacy of my customers, I wouldn’t give them a clear answer.

Moreover, even though we’ve known each other for close to two years, my understanding of him still remains at “young and promising neuroscientist”, “Guest Professor at Loveland University”, and other superficial levels.

His entire being is akin to a dense fog, drawing people near, yet never letting one see it clearly. The ladies who have developed an interest in him all say that he’s scholarly, refined, and gentle - a man who is family-oriented, considerate and protective. But to me, that may not be his genuine self. 

-

[ Chapter Two ]

The first time he visited was a rainy working day. At the dead of night, the shop only had a few customers who had been trapped in by the rain.

Everyone had long since lost the passion they had at midnight, laying on the tables listlessly and waiting for the rain to stop. I’d long since changed the background music to jazz, which was more appropriate for a rainy day. The melodious saxophone further elongated the dark night.

That was when Lucien came in, his entire body drenched. For a moment, I even thought the droplets pelting onto his white coloured lapel would dye his shirt the inky colour of night.

“‘A Foggy Day’ - what a suitable song for a rainy day.” I originally thought he was simply here to avoid the rain. But he appeared to be a music enthusiast who came here after being led by the music. “May I know if it’s still business hours?”

“We’re open for business till 5am in the morning.”

He lifted his hand and glanced at his watch. His eyes seemed to hold scattered moonlight. “Thank you. In that case, I still have 17 minutes to listen to his album.”

Not in the least reserved, he took off his jacket in front of me, removed his tie, his drenched shirt sticking to his young body. He looked sturdier than before, slightly different from the impression I got from people who wore white coats.

This contrast was basically my ideal type. Unfortunately, from a glance, it was clear that he wasn’t from around here. I could only settle my emotions, controlling my restless heart.

Because the bartender had already knocked off, I could only provide him with a glass of warm lemon water and a dry towel. “Give yourself a wipe first. You can stay here till the rain stops.”

“Thank you.” He looked so alert that he didn’t seem at all like an unlucky person who just got off work and was caught in the rain. He even chatted with me until the sky gradually turned bright. 

During the idle conversation we shared over these few hours, I talked about things related to myself from time to time, while he would take small sips from that glass of lemon water and listen quietly. Occasionally, he would give me a few replies which didn’t come off as merely being polite.

Without doubt, he was a very good listener. To me, the feeling of being listened to was a little novel.

Usually, people who visit the shop are those with worries weighing on their minds, and I would be their “tree hole”, responsible for absorbing all sorts of emotions from them. Very few people cared about my opinions and what sort of a person I was. And the mysterious man who arrived on this rainy day spent a large part of the night listening to me talking.

By the time the rain finally stopped, I was on the verge of dozing off. But he was still radiating with vigour, and so alert that it was as though he could continue with work right after getting a change of clothes.

“Thank you. This has been a wonderful rainy night.”

When he left through the door that day, I never thought that this man, akin to a hallucination, would ever visit again.

-

[ Chapter Three ]

He didn’t come at regular intervals.

Sometimes, he’d visit consecutively over two or three nights. Sometimes, he’d appear once after a week or half a month.

But no matter when he visited, he’d always sit at the most inconspicuous corner of the bar, order a non-alcoholic cup of mojito and sit quietly.

He was gentle to everyone, and could maintain a somewhat nonchalant distance with anyone. But this didn’t mean that he wouldn’t take the initiative. In contrast, he often left his “designated seat”, and with some unknown conditions, selected and walked towards a “lucky individual”.

They could be lawyers experiencing disappointment at work, or they could be small celebrities who thought highly of themselves. They could be cross-dressing hobbyists whose genders were difficult to distinguish, or they could be a normal youth who was perplexed about the future...

The troubles these people held in their hearts and only dared to meld into music and glasses of beer were completely revealed to Lucien.

Countless times, I’d seen him learning a person’s entire story in the span of a glass of beer. As for things pertaining to himself, he had never revealed much.

The more mysterious this person was, the more it hooked certain people’s desire to conquer. There were always a few ill-intentioned customers who would try using alcohol to numb his consciousness, or attempt to remove that unassailable outer shell of his. But each time, they would stop.

He was naturally not self-indulgent. Even if it was with someone he’d accompanied for two drinks, he wouldn’t overdo it. The moment he entered a slightly drunken state, he would use all sorts of ingenious ways to extricate himself. With a drink in hand, he would calmly return to his seat.

During these moments, his tender features would seem to be covered with a thin layer of ice, revealing a hint of coldness.

Those eyes, which held boundless constellations, would also dim. In them, there would be unreadable emotions. It gave off the sense of a well-made robot suddenly having its electricity cut off, stopping it from interacting with the outside world entirely.

I’d tried making conversation with him during such moments, but he seemed to be even quieter when drunk. As such, he didn’t respond much.

-

[ Chapter Four ]

Watching him get along well with everyone, I teased him. “Professor Lucien, could there be a scientific method to making friends? Why does it seem as though you can integrate yourself with anyone?” 

“As long as you have a mentality of ‘making friends’, you can easily integrate with everyone.” He maintained a gentle smile, saying somewhat cruel words.

Probably because the confusion was too obvious on my face, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “From your expression, I’m afraid you might have misunderstood what I meant.” Even before I could express my doubts, he had already guessed it.

He’s always been this way, easily understanding the inner hearts of others. 

“Everyone is too used to ‘friendship’. But actually, no matter what relationships are shared between people, they’re formed with fetters. As such, if I were to use a ‘passer-by’ method of idle talk, the other party wouldn’t feel an overly heavy responsibility from me. This would create a more unrestrained atmosphere where he can open his heart freely.”

This left me speechless for a while, but I didn’t dare to agree blindly. The only thing I could say was that his way of thinking was indeed different from normal people. As such, one couldn’t use use a normal standard to gauge whether he was right or wrong.

“In that case, have you never considered being friends with anyone?”

“It depends on what the other person thinks.” He met my eyes for several seconds, with a gaze which left one unable to turn him down, once again ambiguously evading the core of the question.

Past experiences have sounded an alarm bell for me:

The more watertight a person seems, the more undisclosed secrets he has.

If they say that a woman’s heart is elusive, then that man’s heart was likely a balloon.

Expanding at will, and contracting at will.

Ever since the ladies in the bar kept talking about “Professor Lucien” this and “Professor Lucien” that, the male customers who came here to flirt with girls were enraged beyond compare. They started playing student-like tricks on Lucien.

I had always closed an eye to such small-scale antics which didn’t affect the business. One, I could treat it as a tiny interlude to hype up the place. Two, I trusted that in the end, Lucien would skilfully and easily resolve such clumsy and cheap tricks.

After one or two occurrences, Lucien didn’t lose his fans. He even relied on these “simpletons” to serve as a foil, adding another wave of favourable opinions. Finally sensing the differences between them, those guys could only leave angrily while stomping their feet in the dark, and eventually stopped showing their faces in the shop.

With a dip in such entertainment, the shop returned to its original peace and tranquility.

“Sigh. It’s so boring since no one has dared to bully you recently.”

“If someone comes next time... I’ll try my best not to scare them away.”

The way he said this dead seriously amused me. Back then, I hadn’t realised that hiding beneath that peacefulness, darkness had already started stirring.

The person who had entered first that night returned alone to the bar. We were even secretly anticipating what kind of childish game he’d be bringing this time. Unexpectedly, he was calm. Even till late at night, he was alone, drinking beer at a corner by himself.

After the alcohol went to his head, that person stumbled over red-faced, muttering to himself, “Scoun... scoundrel Lucien... get rid of your condescending look. Today, I’m going to...!”

-

[ Chapter Five ]

He wore a long-sleeved shirt, completely inappropriate for the day’s weather. It was only when he lunged towards Lucien that I saw a silver light flashing from his sleeve.

“Lucien! He has a knife!”

In a moment, the crowd dispersed in alarm. Lucien, who originally had his back towards the man, turned around, a hand clutching his wrist, and another hand knocking the fruit knife out of his hand.

With an unusual air of calm, he bent down to pick up the knife, handing its handle to me. “I’ll have to trouble the boss to keep the knife properly.”

The person who had the knife taken from him looked at his empty hand in a daze. Customers who had returned to their senses burst into applause at Lucien’s ability to be adaptive in handling such a situation.

The person who attempted to stir trouble fled with his tail between his legs. He even tripped when leaving through the door.

“Looks like you’ve completely scared him away this time.”

It’s as though Lucien had just settled an issue no different from the small pranks from earlier. From start to end, his face didn’t reveal any surprise. 

Everyone seemed to accept that Professor Lucien was just well versed in both the pen and the sword. But I didn’t think a normal person should have such skills.

Being able to react with lightning speed in such a dim place made me deeply think that this enigmatic man had an additional colour that one couldn’t make out. 

To tell you the truth, the ladies who were chasing Lucien in the dark or outwardly had grown to such a large number that I could barely count them. But he hadn’t expressed anything about it clearly.

By the request from a customer, I was appointed to take an indirect approach in delving into his love life. Beating around the bush wasn’t my style, so all I could do was send a straight ball to him amidst the ladies present. “Professor Lucien, there are so many ladies who like you in the shop, but you aren’t going to consider them at all?”

The moment the question was asked, I felt the ladies straightening up their ears to listen, holding their breaths and waiting for his response. 

“I just want to ask, on behalf of the numerous ladies here, whether there’s a type you like?”

“This question has stumped me.” He pretended to look serious while considering this for a moment. In the end, he tossed out an answer which had little reference value. “’Like’ should be an emotion generated by a special individual, not characterised into a general type.”

We originally thought that was just a tactful way of saying he was devoting his entire life to science. But we didn’t expect the “special individual” to appear in just a few days.

A woman I had never seen before followed Lucien gingerly into the bar. At a glance, it was obvious that she wasn’t the type who’d usually appear in such places, so she stuck out exceptionally amongst the crowd.

I initially thought she was just another one of Lucien’s female enthusiasts, and announced his presence jokingly. He remained unmoved, continuing to chat with the person next to him who had struck a conversation with him. Yet, when the woman left the bar, he made an excuse to follow her out too.

That night, he didn’t return. Even the money for the drinks was transferred later via phone.

After that, the man named Lucien, along with that forthright lady, left from our view.

[bettycooperoutfitwatch]

4x15 Chapter Seventy-Two: To Die For

Jughead died as he lived:

The world’s most dramatic bitch.

But that’s okay, because his plan hinges on everyone else in Riverdale being just as messy—and it works!

We finally reach the flash forward we witnessed in 410: the cropped red trousers, the stripe-y Juliet puff shoulders.

I’m not even gonna get into the waste of public resources (search parties, forensics, all of this costs money), I’m just gonna wave my hands and shrug, it’s Riverdale, etc. 

One, this shot is really well set-up (the mirror fracture? Nice), and two, appears to have been filmed on a potato.

Two potatoes. 

Three if you include Kevin, whose exposition-delivery work in this episode is especially thankless.

One of Betty’s two most-utilized purses this season, which are actually the same purse with slightly different stylings. This one is the simpler of the two.

The peacoat we’ve also seen a few times. 

Cousin Cheryl puts Cousin Betty on suicide watch. It’s a lot. 

So much of the core four’s plan hinges on other people. This is pure Scooby Doo logic. Let’s not dwell.

I repeat, for like the 89th time, this show hasn’t taken set dec photos since season one. 

The raccoon eyes!

We’ve literally seen all of this before, so I won’t repeat myself.

Well, spoke too soon.

This sweater-of-much-debate first popped up in a flash forward at the end of 405 and then once more in 408. We’re really getting to the end of these flash forwards now, it would seem. 

...

Do you think Betty and Jug got into some felon role-play after all this was over?

You know what, never mind, never mind. 

🙃

This shirt looks a lot like one Betty wore in 105. Maybe they’re the same, maybe they’re not. There’s a lot of season one touches in this ep. 

Well.

Initiate phase 2 of the plan, I guess: let’s plan a funeral. 

Stripe-y ribbed turtleneck and a suede mini. This outfit will come up again, we’ll talk about it then. 

Throughout this episode, we see a lot of different characters wear touches of tartan. It’s not the first time we’ve seen most of these people wear tartan or some kind of check print detail (yes, even Hiram)—but here it sort of reads as their tribute to Jughead. 

Veronica’s collar.

Hiram’s shirt.

Archie’s tie.

FP goes for a glen plaid suit and a windowpane tie, the extra is clearly genetic.

Betty’s funeral attire is very classically Betty—sheer, swiss-dot puff sleeves, and A-line cut to the dress. Her hair is notably down, like the first time we saw her at a funeral. 

A lot of people argue that Betty wears what looks like a J+B necklace in Jug’s dream opening to 222. I always thought that was her B pendant necklace, but idk anymore—I could be convinced given its showing here. 

(Jellybean’s tights.) 

Peep Betty’s pointy-toe kitten heels, with the little metallic embellishments. 

Does Riverdale have a very active amateur theatrical society? Everyone’s really bringing their A game here.

Betty reads an excerpt from Arthur Conan Doyle’s story “The Final Problem,” which...girl.

To keep it brief (ha), Conan Doyle intended “The Final Problem” to be the last Sherlock Holmes story—which he tried to ensure by killing off his hero. 

But then fans got mad at him and after a while of that, his hero rose from the dead in “The Adventure of the Empty House.”

What a way to telegraph, Elizabeth. 

(Jellybean’s jellybean necklace!!)

(There’s nothing so enjoyable as hearing Ms. Reinhart call someone a bitch in that Midwestern twang. Truly, a delight.) 

Anyway. People still have doubts about Jug’s life-status. 

Initiate phase 3: the nuclear option. 

I really can’t tell if this ribbed long-sleeve turtleneck is a pale pink or an oatmeal, and that frustrates me. If it’s pink, well then Betty’s wearing pink and a rusty red-ish color—meaning the next phase of this master plan is underway, and it involves Cheryl being Riverdale’s other resident chief messy bitch:

Pink and red—as we’ve discussed several times before—are Betty’s Archie colors. 

They’re not always a symbol of a romantic connection, but that’s defo the weight costuming is trying to impart here. 

At this point, we (technically) don’t know that Jughead isn’t dead. Using this motif in this moment is just another way of trying to convince the audience that the act everyone is putting on here is real—both the internal audience within the show (RHS, the town-at-large, but more specifically the Stonewall group), and the external one (us).

Visually there’s also almost too much going on with this shirt. Contrasting patterns, contrast v-neck, Juliet puffs on the sleeves. It’s a lot, it’s visually confusing in a way that mirrors the actual plot machinations of the story. Her mental state is stressed. 

I include it for the boots and the skinny jeans, which are very season one-esque. Don’t @ me. 

A moment for Veronica’s knit. 

Betty wore this very shirt, in another coloring, in 318! I like to think of this as another little costuming easter egg, that it suggests B & V are secretly on the same team here—and after all, they are. 

Same purse from earlier in the ep, and a jacket that first debuted in season 3. 

That’s the face of a girl on a mission.

Listen.

We know. 

Boyfriend’s S shirt. 

...consider how tame that fake kiss above is in light of this message.

Anyway: 

Pour one out for the sex bunker of death!! 

What favor did Betty do for Archie such that she is owed a milkshake? Give me friendship shit!!!

Visually, this is an intentional throwback to episode 102, in which Archie tries to apologetically text Betty after telling her he’ll never love her, only to be shut down.

The yellow shirt, the ballet bun, the shorts, the same gd teal phone case. It’s all intentional.

415: 

102: 

We haven’t seen Betty and Archie interact much this season between the time Fred died and...basically this plot. So these itty bitty crumbs are what’s supposed to make us believe all the shit that goes down several eps from now, but we’ll cross that (very dumb) bridge when we get to it. 

The cable-knit is kind of season one throwback, too.

On the right her earring looks like a heart with an arrow through it, but idk idk. 

Her kicks are the same she wore in 403. 

I could say I’m including this here because she’s wearing plaid, it’s in honor of Jug, blah blah—but honestly it’s just cause she looks gorg here. That’s all.

Summary: T e n outfits, ten. That includes two we’ve seen previously in flash forwards, two sets of pajamas, and one instance of boyfriend-wear. 

Is Betty a River Vixen??: ...only in Jug’s Stonewall spank bank. Also, isn’t the season over? Football ended. It’s fake murder season now. 

Backpack 2.0?: Mhm.

The floggingink Memorial Peter Pan Collar Count: with all the season 1 shit being thrown at us, you’d expect it, wouldn’t you? But no. 

Best outfit: I’m into the funeral look I think! 

[thattimdrakeguy]

New 52 TEEN TITANS #3 Read Along - The fact this got made is still shocking.

It’s been a while since I done one of these. It’s probably been since last year or so. This isn’t so much of a formal review where I try my best to explain why something doesn’t work, with tons of back references, or interviews, and contexts, and such. I might do some of that, but I’m mostly just writing this along the same time I continue to read it.

I’ve already done the first two issues, and if I can I’ll link them in the post somewhere.

Basically, this series gets about everything wrong about the returning Core Four for this reboot. They made Cassie the tomboy a “girly” thief, Conner the punky flirt a creepy emotionally numb stalker, Tim the insecure dork a super genius that blew up part of a freaking skyscraper, and Bart the teen with an attention span problem into an arrogant jerkwad loudmouth.

With the origins later given in the series, the boys are revealed to not reaally be the characters we knew at all in a more literal sense. This Conner is a clone of an alternate version of Jon, not Clark and Lex. This Tim Drake, is literally only Tim Drake in name only, as that’s the name this teen got in witness protection. And this Bart Allen, isn’t even related to Barry.

So these are versions of the characters that are them in literally name only, bar Cassie (sadly). Although, they’d later retconned Tim’s origin back (which doesn’t make sense). But what else can I compare them to but the originals?

--

A really common criticism of this series, and one that’s pretty dang valid in my opinion. Is just how unlikable everyone is-- or at least the Core Four, because I feel like we can all be honest and say that most people just read this for the Core Four, and sometimes Bunker. (Like Bart’s condescending here. Like “I’m Kid Flash, girl.” Maybe I’m just reading it too 1940s, but it comes off as really dickish.)

I mean seriously, how many people do you know talk abut Skitter? The original characters that Lobdell came up with are really hit and miss for me, mostly miss. Because I find Skitter so forgettable, that even though I’ve read the first few issues of this series just for entertainment value, I still forget she exists. She could’ve been so much more interesting, but he just doesn’t give her much.

To me, a good character has a personality that you can notice, grab onto, and have lots of unique stories with, that simply work, not even because it causes a great drama, but just because the perspective the character will have in any situation depending on the circumstance will be interesting.

Which is one of the reasons why I find Tim an interesting character, because his perspective is one that’s very interactive with any given circumstances but will still work for me. An insecure, super hero fanboy, that’s doing his best to be brave, but is secretly scared, with the cleverness to do things, but the anxiety that he can’t. Which the circumstances they give him, like having to make sure he proves he should be Robin, having parents at home, not feeling like he’s good enough, constantly seeing others better them him. It’ll just make him an interesting perspective to read from that won’t get too repetitive in any way that interferes with the enjoyment, because there’s a lot of levels you can take his harsh feelings, or things to interact with, that it won’t always be predictable what’s going to happen with him, and you want to read to see more.

With this series and quite a bunch of other original characters made, they have soap opera writing. Which works with fleshed out characters like the iconic 80s incarnation of the Teen Titans, but when the new characters don’t have a well-formed personality that you can really grab onto and gain constant interest and intrigue from, you just have a lame duck.

When your main character’s traits are “I’m angsty and sad”. No one is going to be able to invest themselves with that. They need to be more third dimensional and genuine to make them a character you want to pick up each issue for.

This series even with the old characters fails at that, by making them into absolute butchered heaps of rotted rump rather than their full personalities.

At least the art is pretty creative early on in it’s second page, I will give it that.

--

Then there’s Bunker--

--who I really want to like, but just can’t find myself enjoying.

A lot of these characters I’m unfamiliar with I want to like. They’re minority characters with very interesting concepts, but writing so flat that it ruins any chance of paying attention to them. A common curse when it comes to POC and a bad writer like Lobdell.

But Bunker actually has a personality, but the reason why I can’t find myself attaching myself to him is because he feels like an uncomfortable stereotype character. An outdated one that you’d see in the 80s or 90s to either seem inclusive or use as a joke rather than a true deal character.

Bunker is a flamboyant, religious, fashion involved, gay, Latino. Something that feels like you’d really bet he wouldn’t be if he wasn’t gay or Latino, because it’s just all based in stereotypes. Like if the pages weren’t colored, and you didn’t have the context he was gay, you’d probably still guess what he’s supposed to be just because of how much they involve stereotypes with him.

However, despite the stereotypes, he is the one most people can remember from this series beyond the core four, because he at least has a personality, and they actually try to build up a unique mystery to him, that would make you want to continue to know them.

And there is something about his confidence and religious beliefs, and determination that does feel very genuine, and makes you actually like him despite the stereotypes.

You want to know what makes you able to tell he’s a better made character than the other relatively new, to straight up new characters? You can actually talk about him, and have a lot more to say about them then his backstory, two personality traits, and angst. Even if his personality seems limited at first, they still write it in a way that’s genuine enough that you can get more out of it, a lot like what I was describing with Tim earlier. 

He still feels like a character that you could write a solo about, and with a good enough writer and personal life, would actually make for a very rereadable series, because you just enjoy seeing him on his journey, because it won’t always be the same exact things. He has loyal personality traits about him, but depending on his circumstances, it won’t be the same side of him you’re seeing, and it won’t feel contrived. He has potential to become a true third dimensional character, and not one that just feels like he looks like one, but isn’t really.

But that depends on where the writing goes with him-- and I can’t remember where it goes. But take away the dated stereotypes and there’s actual good potential with Bunker. Making your character feel like another decade’s minority caricature is kind of a turn off when it comes to feeling comfortable reading them.

Which is why some don’t tend to like him.

--

There’s not a lot to say about this quick page of Cassie, besides the fact they make her come across as apathetic and nuts. She’s also mildly sexualized given it looks like she’s posing for a fashion shoot and not just closing a door, which feels pretty typical of the team that made this book.

--

And because of Lobdell’s bizarre writing and tone changes, I don’t know if this is supposed to be taken as serious or comedy, because of how abrupt it is, and how a fight broke out right after and we find out the old guy is Tim somehow convincing someone he isn’t like-- 15? I think he’d be either 14 or 15, not because that’s how Lobdell intended him to be, because I believe in a now lost interview he said Tim was “probably” 16 or 17. However, they didn’t settle on Tim’s age till Damian was near thirteen, meaning Tim would’ve been either fourteen or fifteen here, depending if Damian was eleven as I remember, or ten at the start of the New 52.

And here’s some more out of character Tim, because New 52 is what you get when you skim through Red Robin without any context, and being edgy is still really popular with the teenage demographic at the time.

This is a Tim that blew up a building, is an incel towards Cassie, and is overall an arrogant prick.

How Lobdell thought anyone thought any of a good idea is beyond me, but I figure he’s just not self-aware enough to realize that he just made one of the most unlikable protagonists I’ve ever seen, and absolutely bastardized who was once a mega-fan-favorite.

Although, this is pretty cute and in-character. It’s something that definitely fits in with a classic Tim comic, but down let this make you think Lobdell knows how to write Tim, because he makes it really obvious all the time that he doesn’t really.

--

And that’s basically everything relevant that happens in this issue-- not a lot when you actually read it, and not just me spouting off the proverbial mouth as I try my best to mentally process this freaking comic.

Conner doesn’t even show up, most likely because he was the only one with a solo, that Lobdell was also writing (you can probably guess accurately what the quality of that was too).

A lot of it is just more of the same, and it’s tedious, although it’s tedious nature is not so much on Lobdell, as he’s said in interviews before that it was editorial or a publisher (I can’t remember to be honest) that made him not have them previously know each other. So he had to work from that.

Which goes to show just how much DC knows how their characters and teams work, given the reason why Young Justice worked so well was because Tim, Conner, and Bart, already had stories where they duo’d up, and teamed up before they were even official. Which allowed them to have a preconceived friendship, they could build dynamics that were naturally built off of their unique personalities, which made everything feel natural and good to go when they did have an official team comic.

Here you have a Tim, that’s supposed to be very much a rookie of only one year, acting like he’s the greatest protégé talent ever, searching out for metahumans and coincidentally running into them, just to make some kind of story that would explain them being together for a team.

I’m not saying they have to redo the duo stuff again, because I’m pretty sure most readers already know their dynamics, and as for new readers, it doesn’t take a lot of time to say “We’re just good friends that like hanging out” does it? They have issue zeroes for each comic for a reason, they could’ve easily had a nice summary there if they wanted.

New 52′s obsession with trying to fit everything they can in, but have everyone still be relatively new, made everything a mess.

Like isn’t it weird that Superman only started being a super hero FOUR YEARS before Tim was? Doesn’t that sound entirely too squeezed in?

Then because they messed with the characters so much it works less for old readers as well. Like they have Tim, only a year in, acting like all the out of character elements of Red Robin, with an origin that’s a Bizarro styled mirror of his original one, with nothing that made him the popular character he used to be.

Same for the others.

New 52 is partially scary, because it shows just how little they know about what made them work.

I’m not against reboots in comics as a concept, they do need some modernization, and clean-ups every now and again, but you have to keep what works in there, or else the reboot will be a total failure. And paint-jobs and fan service like Rebirth aren’t gonna work either, when the heart of it all is still just so bad.

All this is a lot easier to say in hindsight, but DC Comics really has to work towards remembering their mistakes if they actually want to get better again. They’re doing a bit better at it, as forced and contrived as it can be sometimes. So they are getting somewhere.

But this is only the start of a Didio-less era. Looking like good things are coming, and little presents that truly make it seem true, is something that’s only going to last for a little bit. They have to still do the work, and learn what worked for their characters in the first place, and reremember who they all are.

Otherwise sales will just get worse again.

But I’m genuinely hoping they’ll at least begin to learn from mistakes. No one gets a win otherwise.

--

Oh, and he’s the entirety of the fight advertised on the cover. “Red Robin vs. Bunker”.

They stop fighting right after this.

It’s the comic book equivalent of clickbait if I’ve ever seen it in my entire life.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

I hope I'm not being too awkward when I ask (and feel free to ignore this): if you had full creative control of the show, how would you run season 5? You can pick and choose whatever leaks you want to include.

Not awkward at all! Thank you for the ask, @arsenicpanda! This was quite unexpected in the best of ways!

It took me a while to come up with an answer, because as much as I like to speculate, my experience of Riverdale has always been that of the passive viewer: I consume the show as is. I watch. I applaud or I whine. There’s usually quite a bit of eye rolling. I also read A LOT of fanfiction. The latter experience serves different purposes than watching the show and none of those purposes are a canon fix-it. In terms of TV-watching, the product is what it is and I watch it purely for entertainment and relaxation. I do not engage creatively with Riverdale, although I’m both critical of the show and VERY appreciative of the incredible creators in our fandom. So what would I do in season 5?? I’ll try to combine some of the things I’d like to see with some of the things I think we’ll get. Here goes nothing!

1. Wouldn’t it be nice if, for once, a member of the Coopers weren’t after Betty? Yes, I’m talking to you Chick 2.0 Charles. However, I absolutely love @sullypants’ hypnotism theory, which explains all the unpleasantness of 4x17-4x18, while being bonkers enough to be perfectly plausible for Riverdale. Canon accepted!

2. My head canon is that Jughead and Betty do not break up before, during or after college. Even if actual long distance (not the 15’ Stonewall Express variety one) puts a strain on their relationship, seven years is a long time not to work through their issues, especially if bughead is supposed to be endgame (the same, incidentally, applies to post-time barchie). However, I’ll go with the break up for this one.

3. Jughead publishes his book. It’s about Stonewall and it’s called Stone-cold. That’s peak canon!writer!Jughead right there. Bret reads Jughead’s book and writes explicit fanfiction about it in prison.

4. Jughead does have writer’s block but he is not an alcoholic. WTF, Riverdale? He’s also in debt because he has to pay student loans and has used the advance money for his second book to foot JB’s college tuition. Realistically, Betty should be in greater debt (4 years in Yale cost like 300k?!), but for some reason she’s not.

5. Polly and the twin tweens move in casa Cooper-Jones. Jellybean moves out the next day. I’m afraid we won’t hear of her again, because Trinity Likins is too young. WTF: I googled her and she’s 18?! Revision: JB never moves out and has a lot of scenes with Jughead and Betty. We never hear of FP again. He’s probably gone to the place Sierra McCoy is. 

6. Hiram has one of the main storylines. Veronica guest stars. Hermione has had enough and joins FP and Sierra.

7. Betty goes back to Riverdale when Alice calls with news of Polly’s disappearance, then asks the FBI to create a post for her there. Archie, also back in Riverdale, wants to helpTM Betty. He goes behind her back and convinces Betty’s supervisor to be her partner while in Riverdale. For some reason, they have to fake date. Betty is furious. While on a “date” at Pop’s, Jughead comes in. He’s investigating Pop Tate’s disappearance. Archie is all about selling the fake dating. Betty is not. Jughead is … not sure about things. Veronica and her s1xep1 black cape make an appearance. Core four engage in 10 minutes of uninterrupted cringe.

8. Archie’s earnestTM interventions distract Betty from figuring out things or put her in danger. Betty Cooper seethes at the mere mention of Archie’s name. Archie is oblivious to the bughead UST and tries to interact as much as possible with his old pall Jughead. Jughead does not appreciate. Veronica catches up with what’s really going on one episode in. B and V become best friends again because the show is already juggling 10 different plots at once and ain’t nobody has time for characterisation and shit. Ronnie sees Archie’s glistening abs and charity work and remembers that Chad hasn’t hit the gym for 6 months and is also a very shifty businessman who works with daddykins.

9. At this point I would greatly appreciate it if feminist!icon!Veronica gets a storyline that passes the Bechdel test even for 1 episode. Unfortunately I doubt it. Her vendetta with Hiram has lasted so long, that I literally have no idea what would constitute a good storyline for her?

10. Betty gets shot (we’re overdue one of the girls having a near-death moment). Preferably trying to protect Jughead. Preferably Archie is there too but she doesn’t give a shit, as Jughead is always her only choice. Preferably it’s Archie’s fault they’re in this situation in the first place. But it’s ok, because his heart was in the right place (i.e. on the left side of his sternum). Give me the killer telling Betty she has to decide whom to save. Give me slow motion Betty tackling Jughead. I’d like Archie to chase the killer (who escapes) while Jughead tries to tend to Betty’s wound while calling an ambulance. Director’s note: bloody hands are slippery on the i-phone screen. Preferably nervous over-talkative Archie vs mute Jughead in the hospital. Veronica consoles Archie, because her independent storyline was wrapped up in the previous episode. Give me Jughead crying while hugging Betty Cooper’s clothes in her closet. Archie finally admits he and Betty are not dating and that she can’t stand him.

11. Betty gets a scar but otherwise heals admirably. In fact she’s out of bed chasing the Mothman down the Lonely Highway by the next episode.  

12. Other things happen, involving other characters. I don’t know. I’d really like to see Reggie in an odd friendship/partnership with Jughead (unfortunately doubtful). Also: if Cheryl isn’t Dr Curdle Jr’s successor what is even the point?

Note: Ever since reading this incredible fic by @darknessaroundus, I desperately want bughead’s final scene in the show to be Betty and Jughead breaking and entering with their baby in a sling.

[cruelfeline]

A little while back, I wrote about how Scorpia’s arc only really has a proper impact if we all admit to ourselves that no, She-Ra is not a hardcore war drama and is instead a show about interpersonal relationships, shaping one’s own destiny, and breaking abusive cycles.

And I’ve thought about that in the context of Catra and Hordak’s arcs. And now I’m gonna talk about it because it’s 1AM, and this is what my life has become.

The main issue I’d like to focus on here is what, exactly, the narrative tells us that each character has done wrong. In a Hardcore War Drama, I’d expect the chief wrong to be “destroy and/or enslave entire villages,” but that’s not the case. For Catra or for Hordak. Rather, their arcs have (and yes I know this is kind of weird to say, but stay with me) kind of little to do with the burning and the pillaging and more to do with their internal states and their interactions with other people.

Their core problems, the things they need to overcome in order to grow and heal, have pretty much nothing to do with war at all.

How do I judge this? By assessing what actions lead to consequences that put these characters in what might be considered their “rock bottom” state. What does the narrative “punish” them for the most? Let us observe.

Season four Catra does some... things. Some really unfortunate things that lead to the conquering of Salineas, numerous coastal villages, and one can assume other settlements as she pushes the Horde ever harder. In addition to causing significant damage to the “good guys,” she works her own soldiers to the point of exhaustion and, one can infer, puts them in intolerable danger by pulling back all but skeleton crews at various outposts.

The thing is, her “rock bottom” moment doesn’t really come as a consequence of this. Yes, she deteriorates as she forgoes self-care and sleep, but the real, honest low point comes in a sort of two-parter: first when she realizes that Scorpia has left her, and second (somewhat emphasizing the first) when Double Trouble gives her their legendary vibe check.

It is at this point that Catra is essentially defeated, and it is vital to understand why this defeat has come. It has not come because she was too much of a conqueror, or because she burned one too many villages, or displaced one too many innocents. In fact, this isn’t really mentioned at all. At no point does anyone tell her that she’s a bad person because she’s grown into a warlord. Scorpia, for example, does not leave her because she saw her committing war crimes.

Instead, she is told by Scorpia that she is a bad friend. She is told by Double Trouble that she pushes people away. This is the core problem she’s contending with, the issue that stands between her and her redemption: because of her past, she lashes out and treats those close to her poorly. She doesn’t appreciate or respect the people who care for her. It is this abuse, not her warmongering, that the narrative focuses on, and it is this abuse that sends her to her lowest point.

Hordak is also not really “punished” for the war. Shocking as that might be, it’s true: one of his final positive moments of season four is actually him watching his troops roll out to demolish Bright Moon. The worst damage done to him is not done as a consequence of this conquest. His lowest point comes later, removed from the war, not even on Etheria.

Ah, yes; here it is. Hordak’s lowest moment occurs when he returns to his brother and, in an attempt to plead for his right to... well, to live, has his mind violated and is left an empty husk.

Why does this happen? Does Horde Prime berate Hordak for being a monstrous warlord? Is he displeased because Hordak orphaned children and burned their homes? Do the terrible consequences that befall Hordak happen as a direct result of him planting fourteen goddamned flags over burning Salineas? No. 

Horde Prime is pissed because Hordak exerted his own will and dared give himself a name. Hordak suffers his ultimate downfall not because he waged war. Prime does not care about this; he does not violate and erase him for this. He destroys Hordak because the latter dared present himself as a person rather than a cloned tool. 

Thus do we see the actual core problem Hordak faces, what he needs to overcome in order to grow and heal. His path has little to do with learning not to wage war, or to value alien life. Instead, his greatest hurdle is learning to value his own life apart from Prime and cutting ties with an abusive, controlling, legitimately terrifying progenitor. 

Both of these character arcs, as they currently stand, work best if we don’t force an interpretation of She-Ra as an ultra-serious war drama. Their focuses just don’t align that way. 

Catra’s comeuppance comes because of her interpersonal toxicity. Hordak’s comes because... ugh, dammit, because he tries to get Horde Prime to see him as a person worthy of life gods that is horrifying. Neither of these characters are “punished” because of their significant involvement in the war, which is what one might expect if the horrors of war were being played straight. Instead, we get low points directly connected to flaws that have far less to do with war and far more to do with what I feel She-Ra is meant to be about: friendships and life choices and abuse cycles.

[okayto]

Mini-Review: The Royal Tutor

An enigmatic professor who's often mistaken for a child is hired to tutor four problem princes who'd rather do anything but study with a teacher.

Ah, the miracle teacher who sees through student struggles and pain to connect with them and teach them both their lessons, and how to open up. I love this trope--who wouldn’t want a teacher who not only knows their shit, but knows how to teach said shit, and also realizes the depths of your potential and helps you realize your passion and build on it?

This is primarily a lighthearted, humorous series. Despite the fact that the princes are being tutored because their father the king kinda thinks his adult firstborn (these are princes #2-5) might not be fit for the throne, we don’t get into politics, and barely get into court factions and rivalries--and even then, it’s basically just one guy close to Prince #1 (no, literally his name is Prince Eins) doing his best to make the younger princes less desirable by digging up scandals occasionally. I’ll touch on the serious aspects a little later.

At its core, you’ve got 4 teenage princes in late-1800s psuedo-Austria who have chased off their previous tutors for an unspecified length of time, but it’s been a while since they had consistent, proper schooling. Their new tutor is a no-name man who looks about 12 years old, who has to not just teach the pampered dorks, but convince them he’s worth listening to. Also at its core is a show so dedicated to the joke that the tutor is an adult! but small and looks like a child!!! that he’s often animated as a chibi and shown interacting with the world in a way only possible if he was actually 2 feet tall.

It’s a gag but you know what? It made me laugh. So: good gag. (Plus, at 12 episodes, it doesn’t really have time to get tiring.)

Looking at the princes, you’ve got Kai, who doesn’t have Resting Bitch Face so much as Resting Murder Face, a contrast to his love of all things small, soft and fluffy; Bruno, glasses-wearing nerd supreme;

Leonard, the sweet-toothed, athletic airhead; and Licht, the irrepressible flirt. The tutor, Heine, has to understand what makes each one tick and help them be better people in the way that all great-teacher-trope characters must. That’s not a criticism.

The anime is very light. You’re not going to find out if any of the princes are chosen to be heir. Instead, the episodes are filled primarily with Heine teaching them Something Useful (such as “this is what non-palace city life looks like” or Conversational Basics 101), and the princes, y’know, being dorks about it.

Now, it’s pretty clear early on that Heine has a secret. I mean, look at this face. This is the I am so much more capable and dangerous than you think anime face.

I won’t spoil the show, but we find out in the first couple episodes that a) Heine knows the king on a first-name basis, 2) the king and Heine are pretending they don’t know each other, and 3) Heine took the job with the understanding that if the truth about his past ever got out, he would quit.

oh ho HO that is some mysterious backstory there! Now, the manga is ongoing and to date Heine’s history is still unknown. We’ve learnt about some of his talents, but not how he developed them or where he met the king, much less how he formed a close friendship.

The anime has actually gone and given Heine a backstory to explain everything, so by episode 10 (of 12) we are solidly in anime-only territory. This isn’t a bad thing--in fact, I think the decision makes the anime by itself have a pretty good story arc, letting it close without a cliffhanger. A good decision for an anime that is unlikely to ever get a second season.

Verdict

English dub? Yes. It’s solidly good--I think they sound more like college adults than teenagers, but they didn’t sound jarring. I loved Bruno’s voice. His voice actor often--not all the time, just on occasion when the emotion levels called for it--showed Bruno’s ridiculous emotional devotion to Heine. Heine’s VA also conveyed his excellent deadpan.

Visuals: Shiny! I mean, all the time. Their hair. So shiny.

Worth watching? Yes, it wraps up nicely, and while the final episodes get a bit more serious (as they finally delve into Secrets and History that it’d been hinting at forever), the majority of the series is just nice stories with happy endings.

Where to watch (USA, as of August 2020): Funimation (dub); Crunchyroll (sub)

Click my “reviews” tag below or search “mini review” on my blog to find more!

[logical-little-lies]

Towers and Kingdoms-Agere!Sides AU (pt.28)

A/N: MORE WORLD BUILDING AND THAT’S ON Being Obsessed With Creating Universes.

"Why did we just skip so many floors?" Roman asked, as they walked up another set of stairs as the other three ignored them.

"Unknown sides, ones that have never revealed themselves to anyone, we only know some of them," Deceit muttered. They had went into Deceit's room, and right above it, Remus's room. And then, they just kept walking up the stairs.

"You walked up all these stairs every single day?" Roman questioned, taking a moment to breathe.

"I usually didn't leave my room, or I went one floor up and ate the food in the top commons and used the bathroom and showers there," Virgil shrugged.

"Y-you guys don't get private bathrooms connected to your rooms?" Roman questioned.

"We're not privileged, like you are over in your mind palace," Deceit scoffed. Virgil gave him a look and he went silent. "whatever," he mumbled, stopping in front of a door that was painted black, with purple letters spelling out the words 'vee the emo'. Roman started laughing.

"I forgot about that. Uh, I let Deceit paint my door, and he promised he was just gonna write my name. Surprise, he lied and then never fixed it," Virgil didn't seem mad about it, he just laughed and twisted the door knob.

"This looks a lot like your room at home,but less..mature?" Roman commented.

"I would've thought you guys would've done something to my room, I've been gone for a while," Virgil sat on the bed and looked around him. The floor was clean, and the room was actually quite empty, there was a shelf with notebooks and books, and tons of band posters. It really did look like the room of a teenager.

"This room still looks like a teen emo boy going through puberty robbed a hot topic," Remus insulted.

"I represent one of the main things Thomas had when he was going through puberty, so like, out of all of us I'm the most angsty and immature," Virgil rolled his eyes.

"That's the truth, you still get mood swings," Roman teased. Virgil glared at him playfully.

"There isn't much stuff here though, you grabbed the things you really cared about when you ran away," Deceit spoke with a shrug, standing by the door.

"I said that I'm sorry about that, Deceit!" Virgil groaned, and Deceit softened his face.

"Sorry, it's just-"

"Whatever, lets go to the last floor," Virgil got up quickly , walking past the others and rushingly starting up the stairs.

Roman looked at Deceit, "He's not actually that upset, he's just dramatic sometimes. In like ten minutes he'll probably make a joke or hug you," Roman assured. That seemed to lift Deceit's spirits a bit, and he nodded. The three followed Virgil up the stairs.

There was no door, it just opened up onto the top floor. There was a group bathroom to the side, and bean bags of different colors everywhere. On the ledge of the huge window, there was a telescope, probably to look out into the imagination. "This isn't to bad," Roman commented, looking around and noticing the microwave, pantry, and refrigerator. Like a little mini-kitchen.

"It's not, just really boring. We can't summon things here, as if we are good at magic anyways, there really isn't much to do," Remus admitted. Roman frowned at this.

"Where to next?" Deceit questioned, standing at the ledge of the window and looking through the telescope.

"Can we just hang here for a bit?" Virgil questioned, sitting in a black bean bag next to the window. Deceit nodded, moving to pull a wooden chair painted yellow up to the window, sitting in front of it so that he was facing away from the large window. Remus and Roman found their spots on the other side of Deceit.

"So, how have you been during my absence?" Virgil jokes.

"Alright I guess. It's not the same without you though," Remus admitted. Virgil nodded.

"I've learned a lot of magic. I can now summon things, and do basically everything the other core sides can..not here though, obviously," Virgil said.

Deceit smiled, "That's good. The core sides are treating you well, right?" Deceit gave Roman a side glance.

"Of course," Roman defended, and Virgil nodded in agreeance.

"I'm glad everything is going well. There isn't much to catch you up on though, on our end," Deceit said. Roman noticed how everything he said seemed to be the truth, and how he wasn't lying at all, really.

"There's a lot on my end. I don't know where to start," Virgil sighed.

"Tell me how you started dating my brother, that's a story I've  never heard," Remus said, nudging Roman on the shoulder. Virgil rolled his eyes, sighing and beginning the story.

And that's how they started catching up. They told story after story, of things that happened while they hadn't seen each other, old things that happened when they were together.

To Virgil, this felt right. Better than before he was a core side and he lived in the tower, but also better than living with the core sides and cutting them off completely. "Can I hang out with my brother somewhere in the imagination? You guys could do something here," Remus offered.

Virgil glanced at Roman, who nodded hesitantly. "I don't have a problem with it," he smiled. He got up and hugged Roman, and the twins were quick to leave. Deceit and Virgil sat in silence for a few moments.

"I didn't expect you to ever come back. Like want to be our friend again, I didn't expect it," Deceit bit at his lip, and Virgil nodded.

"I-i'm sorry that I just up and left. And I know it'll take time for us to build our friendship again..but I'm glad we're willing the start that process," Virgil downcasted his eyes.

"You're a dork. Like the biggest fucking dork to walk the mindscape," Deceit got up from his chair, quickly pulling Virgil out of his beanbag.

"Rude," Virgil playfully scoffed. He knew they showed love through insults half the time, Roman was somewhat the same way.

"I missed you," Deceit admitted, pulling him into a hug. Virgil rested his head on his chest, just where he used to. They stood there for a while, before silently pulling away and walking down the stairs together. "So, could you explain the situation with all the little gear in the mind palace, and also how you're so open about it?"

Virgil groaned. "I still haven't told Roman you saw all that."

"It's not like I'm unsupportive," Deceit rolled his eyes, breathing for a second on the platform in front of a door. They were heading down to Deceit's bedroom.

"Well, a month or two ago, I decided it would be best to tell Roman about my littlespace. I didn't really know when, or how I was gonna do it..but he walked in on me in littlespace, and the three year old mind of mine tried my very best to explain it," Virgil explained, Deceit chuckling.

"So he went and asked Logan, after playing along and putting me to a nap. And once they like figured it out, and I was big, I talked to both of them and explained it. They were totally supportive, and I ended up telling Patton."

"But that doesn't explain the other stuff," Deceit waited for Virgil to continue.

"No, it doesn't. One day a little while later, Patton regresses, deeply. I'm talking small-as-you-are babyspace," Deceit eyes widened and Virgil nodded.

"That's when I had this theory, that we're all regressors. Because we are a part of Thomas's mind, and he mentally holds onto the childlike part of himself, and that could sprout into us regressing. And eventually, Roman and Logan regressed too. We all sort of have a large dynamic and it just works," Virgil said, reaching the next platform, lingering outside of Remus's bedroom as he waited for Deceit to catch up.

"So even Logan is a little?"

Virgil nodded. "Logan and Patton's are each others main carers, same for Roman and I. But we all sort of take care of each other, oh..and Thomas knows about the four of us," Deceit kept walking the last stairs to his door.

"Wait, wait, wait. If your theory is true, does it apply to us? Because as far as I know, Remus doesn't regress. He knows about me, he found one of my pacifiers a few months ago, and he was supportive. We don't talk about it though, and he's never seen me little before," Deceit opened his door once reaching the platform, letting Virgil in.

"I don't quite know yet, we'll see," Virgil shrugged, slowly entering his room. He was quick to jump on his bed. Deceit chuckled, climbing up and leaning against the pillows next to Virgil. "What'cha wanna do?" Virgil spoke softly.

"Dunno,m' bored," Deceit shrugged, mumbling slightly.

"It's not fair that you have to live without much little gear, you go so small sometimes," Virgil commented suddenly, and Deceit nodded silently. "I don't know how I did it back then. I'm sorry you still have to do that. Maybe not soon, though. You might not be able to do magic, but I can."

Deceit giggled lightly, "really?" he seemed excited. Virgil nodded, noticing his small antics and smiling.

"How long had it been since you've last regressed? And don't lie to me, snake," he spoke sternly, and Deceit bit at his lip.

"Easter! for like a lil tiny bit," he admitted. Virgil sighed, pulling Deceit closer.

"If you want to be little now, you can. I'm here for you, baby snake," Deceit whined and shook his head.

"Y-you just got here and I don't wanna make you uncomfy. Sorry," he mumbled, pulling away from Virgil and shaking his head.

"Hey, no, it's okay. I promise, you took care of me the other day, it's only fair," Virgil assured, sitting up and pulling Deceit back. Deceit leaned into him, nodding.

"Out of curiosity, what were you doing before I got here?" Virgil leaned back, allowing Deceit to cuddle against him.

"Taking a tiny nap, very sleepy," he shyly admitted.

"Hmm, well, you can take that tiny nap now. How does that sound?" Virgil played with his hair a bit, and he nodded with a small giggle.

--

Roman and Remus laughed, running through the castle, from the imaginary characters within it. It really was fun, create a plot, and location, and let your imagination run wild in an interactive setting. You had the control, but at the same time, anything could happen. "Aha!" remus ran up to a knight statue, pulling the sword from the figure and throwing it to Roman, taking the shield.

"Fight the guards or run?" Roman asked,pulling Remus behind a little wall. The guards and princess ran by. Roman was the prince of this kingdom, and Remus was a criminal who had stolen something. Roman was supposed to get him out of the castle without him getting captured, and now he was being chased himself for "the aiding of a criminal'.

"Run, and then exit the scene," Remus took a deep breath,"I'm tired."

Roman nodded, "Let's go the way they came, and we can exit this scene of the imagination," they ducked out, running with glee and pure happiness. They exited the castle, and ran to the gates. The guards stepped aside for the prince, and they were allowed through the gates. They turned around, watching the castle evaporate and disappear.

"We need to continue the adventure sometime," Remus said, and Roman nodded. They still held the sword and the shield. "I'll keep these," he spoke, taking the sword. "Memories of our first adventure together after years."

Roman smiled, nodding. The two set off towards the tower. Remus was able to use his imagination for good with the aid of his brother. For the first time in years, they had went on an amazing adventure together. It was definitely one they’d remember.

Roman and Remus were reforming their brotherly bond, and Deceit and Virgil were rebuilding their friendship. Hopefully Patton and Logan would be able to build new relationships with the dark sides, and accept them once and for all.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

RAS Interviews Thoughts

So I’ve just read some of RAS’ interviews and I have thoughts, I am actually kinda excited about the interviews because RAS has confirmed alot of the things I was thinking myself. For example I said in regards to how Jughead and Veronica reacted to the Barchie kiss that I thought they were acting like they were fine right now but that I reckoned it was because they didn’t want to ruin their last weeks together and that I thought the anger would come through during the timejump and that’s when they will really start to process the pain of that betrayal and maybe that contributed to them not showing up a year later. Well in RAS’ interview with Entertainment Weekly he says this:

When it comes to them all not talking for seven years, is there a specific reason why that happened that we're going to get into this season?

I think so. With Betty and Jughead, there was a break that we will see. In my mind, part of the reason they split up is because of the Betty-Archie kiss. I think when the kiss happened, no one wanted it to ruin their last couple of weeks in high school so they hung on to get through that, but there's still fallout from that and I think that's kind of the reason. And though we will see particular details why, I think it's fallout from that kiss. It cut really deep.

I am actually glad that there will be some residual feelings left over from this betrayal because to me if there wasn’t any at all that wouldn’t be realistic at all. I mean when I’ve met/bumped into exes in the past there was still that awkward feeling and that lingering of pain, it can be really difficult to see them again especially if you haven’t really talked about it like Betty and Jughead haven’t. I would like to see some healing at some point and for them all to move on but I would like to see that process of the core four coming back together and learning to trust each other again.

RAS expanded a bit on this is his interview with The Dipp saying:

So from this we can see that Jughead in particular is struggling with a feeling of betrayal which might explain the other reports of him struggling to make a committed relationship work, he could be afraid to give his heart to someone else after being betrayed. I am curious to know if Veronica has these same feelings it would seem like shes had better luck moving on considering shes married.

Another thing I am happy about is going back to the Entertainment Weekly interview RAS did address the whole characters not interacting outside of the couples and said that one of the things the time jump has allowed them to do is have different dynamics. 

‘And it allows us to play new dynamics. Now it's not just Betty in scenes with Jughead, now it's not just Cheryl and Toni in scenes together.’

You all know how much I was hoping for this so naturally I am over the moon to hear that it does seem that the writers are making a consious effort to have those different dynamics.    

Something else I said I was interested in seeing was how the trauma of Riverdale might make the characters struggle to adjust to live outside of Riverdale. Again it seems like this is something that is going to be touched upon. Again in the entertainment weekly article it says:

You mention catching up with those stories, so will we be getting snippets of what went on during those seven years as the season progresses?

One hundred percent. We are going to be unpacking the seven years throughout the season and in a way, I think a theme of the season is trauma and how our different characters deal with trauma and how that kept them from fully thriving in their new lives. But we will be filling in the blanks, absolutely.

Again to me this seems realistic, of course they are going to struggle to move on from Riverdale with everything that happened to them there. I am also glad that we will be getting some backstory on what happened to the characters during the timejump. 

Next I think we need to talk about the Queen. The Serpent Queen Toni that is and the clip that was released showing her performing. I loved it and I am really glad that they are giving more time to Toni she deserves it and she’s such an interesting character. Also again really looking forward to seeing her and Archie develop a great friendship. I loved the little smile she gave me at the end of that clip because to me I interpreted it as she’s been seeing what Hiram has been doing to the town and I think it hurts her to see that happening and she’s been struggling to make things better by herself and this is her knowing the moment she sees him that she’s going to have an ally now. I do feel like with her having a child coming she’s going to be even more invested in making sure that the world her child is coming into is a safe and happy place. 

Ok so the part that I am most excited about as a Barchie shipper was this part from The Dipp interview. 

I am so happy that RAS confirmed that there were feelings between Barchie and it seems like he is saying that Archie was in love with Betty in the pilot which is something we have all been speculating on for years. We were all saying it but it is nice that there is acknowledgement from RAS. Naturally he is still being vague about what form their relationship will be afterall he’s got to keep some air of mystery to get people invested and curious about the show but I am excited to see them explore those feelings. I mean obviously I can’t say for certain because I have nothing to do with the creation of the show I just watch it, but I do think it is going to be a romantic relationship. I also don’t necessarily think the line about ‘discover it very quickly’ means that they will jump into a relationship very quickly but that it has been written in a way that makes it obvious they are heading towards a romantic relationship pretty soon in the season if I am making sense there. But like I said we won’t know until the episodes air. But yes I am excited to see them develop the Barchie relationship. 

Ok so before I wrap this up there is something I want to make clear first, I have seen alot of posts claiming that RAS has confirmed certain things. Now unless there is an interview I’ve missed which I don’t think there is because I am pretty sure these stem from the Dipp interview then lets be clear RAS has not confirmed a Bughead reunion or slowburn or endgame or anything of the kind. He has not confirmed a Varchie endgame. He has not confirmed a Barchie endgame. There is a funny thing about interviews and that is the parts that the person being interviewed has said are in quotation marks to show that they were the ones that said it, anything else written is the opinion of the author of the interview. So this bit here, which I am fairly sure is what people have been referring to:

This is not in quotation marks and so was not said by RAS it is the opinion of the interviewer. Now whether RAS said something to make them believe that Betty and Jughead will reunite and that it’ll be a slowburn we don’t know but as its not a direct quote from RAS and it is therefore not confirmed by RAS. Look saying you want a certain ship to be endgame that’s fine, saying you believe a certain ship will be endgame is fine, we are all passionate about our ships so of course we want them to be endgame. I mean I myself have made entire posts going on about why I think Barchie should be endgame so I understand that desire to want to find some solid proof that your ship is the ship that will make it. But making the claim that someone involved in the creation of the show has confirmed something when they haven’t that’s not ok. Especially as someone who hasn’t seen the interview might take your word for it and then potentailly be disappointed later down the line. The cold hard facts are this, we will not know who is endgame until that final episode airs. Up until then its just speculation. 

But anyway I am looking forward to this episode and seeing all our kiddies all grown up. As always I will post a review in the next couple of days after the episode airs.   

[go-ldy]

I know that we are all probably tired of talking about Betty and Archie but here I go. I mean, (a) understanding Betty Cooper is important to me; and (b) I am bored at home what else am I going to do except contemplate this dumb CW show.

I have been trying hard to understand and frame this in a way that is fair to the characters and the story this show wants to tell us.

Here is what I have accepted:

(1) When Riverdale starts, Betty has nursed unrequited feelings for Archie for a long time. Maybe years. Although she moves on, those feelings never truly went away.

(2) There are hints in Season 1 after Betty and Jughead get together that Archie is jealous and that maybe Betty’s feelings were not as one-sided as he thought. Archie’s feelings have never truly gone away either. 

(3) I think it is now a fair interpretation that their season 2 kiss was the product of those buried feelings which they continued to keep buried and never properly dealt with.

Here we are in season four, the kids are months away from graduating, everything is going to change forever, and Betty and Archie just had to pretend be in love which sparked actual long buried feelings.

(NOTE: I don’t think that this invalidates Betty’s feelings for Jughead. Betty loves Jughead. I know that this storyline has been hard to take, but I think it is possible to accept Betty has complicated and unresolved feelings for Archie without taking away from her love for Jughead. Do I expect that Betty is going to choose staying with Jughead over exploring something with Archie in 4x18? Yes. Do I think that this is going to blow up in their faces anyway? Also yes. )

So I can see the seeds of this and how we got here. I still don’t think this was properly built up or earned. Do I get annoyed and mash my teeth together when I see Betty and Archie described as best-friends-turned-lovers (a trope I love) or slow burn (a trope that I can leave or take)? HELL YEAH. Those tropes require commitment and continuity. Since season 2, there has been a complete absence of romantic moments between Betty and Archie. No longing, no yearning, no lingering looks, no stolen touches. 

And sure, Betty and Archie are best friends, but that doesn’t change the fact that we barely see them interact as friends. I have been trying to think of one scene between 4x01 and 4x13 where Betty and Archie hang out as friends and I can’t think of any. Not a single one. (TBH this is part of a larger conversation about how RD has largely failed to develop its friendships overall. Jughead and Archie also never hang out anymore, and even B&V scenes are tragically few. But that is off topic.)

Is Betty and Archie and this horrible cheating plotline at least partly a plot device that will be used to separate the Core Four and send them in separate directions for the upcoming five year time jump? Very likely.

I also find myself wondering about the likelihood of Betty and Archie ever being able to have a real romantic relationship in the future if it has come at the cost of hurting their current SOs deeply and also alienating their best friends. How do you walk back from that destruction? Even if they decide they want to be together, could they ever get passed their guilt and the loss of their friends ? It would be tough. I suppose we could come back in season five with all of this being unsettled and have a… love quadriangle without the cheating being as fresh in everyone’s minds. But it seems unlikely.