#which is why his growth over the last season is so wonderful

[pynkhues]

https://www.tumblr.com/pynkhues/770024291081256960/x-oh-my-gosh-okay-okay-okay-anon-ive-had-a?source=share

and people try to call them vanilla... these two are crazy individually and even more crazy with each other! i would love to hear if you have more thoughts about the lack of aftercare and especially if it's angsty bc that kind of thing is my guilty pleasure in fics😅

Hahaha, revealing how much I've dissected that scene is a little mortifying, but at least the fact that I'm writing the fic about it makes me feel I can justify it, hahah.

And yeah, it's interesting re: the thought of Louis and BDSM etiquette broadly, especially things like aftercare and safewords, of which i don't tend to feel he'd have much regard for either. I don't think that would be out of any maliciousness, but more of a sense of feeling like these things have come in when you've already got a degree of expertise / feel you know what you're doing? Y'know, he was 33 in 1910, so he's a man coming of age and probably having formative sexual experiences in the very late 1800s and working literally as a pimp in that era. That's not to say that I don't think he grew and his sexual eperiences and understanding of sexuality - his own and others - evolved, but all the vampires are ultimately products of their time, even if they now live outside of it.

I've actually been thinking about this a lot as the next fic in the Spell 'verse after I finish the Cruising one is exploring both Lestat and Louis' relationship with BDSM. I've mentioned it before a few times (namely here), but I think there's a really interesting factor with Lestat in particular that he was coming of age in Paris when Sade de Marquis was publishing, who arguably is the person who birthed modern BDSM (BDSM has always existed in various forms across cultures, so he didn't really, but he certainly popularised it), and Sade's version of it really emphasised the sadism and cruelty in a way that's uhhhh, A Lot. I'm particularly kind of curious about it because Sade's writing was enormously fetishistic of rape, and it's interesting to think about that in the context of being a world Lestat's submerged in right before he's actually raped himself.

That's a digression, but kind of has been one of the things that's made me think about Louis' experience of his sexuality and particularly the fact that he comes from a space with a very specific vocabulary for sex and sexuality. Working as a pimp too, and having been a John, I'd imagine he was exposed to a lot (and tbh, I think it's where his baseline comes from when he starts that particular dynamic with Armand, especially given from what I've read in researching that fic, BDSM culture had died down in Paris post-WWII through to the sexual revolution of the 1960s as a result of the war trauma, although it was on the rise in other countries). So yeah, I think by the time there was this more contemporary language and etiquette around it all, Louis and Armand probably would feel pretty established in their behaviours?

And look, in terms of aftercare, I actually don't think Louis would always be bad about it. In fact, sometimes I think he'd probably be incredibly tender, but like with most things with Louis, I think a lot of it would come down to his mood. Someone sent me an ask the other day about there being narcissism in self-hatred, and that kind of hits the nail on the head to me - Louis is self-centred, he's the gloomy egoist! And I do think that probably carries over to sex a lot of the time. So yeah, I think in the aftermath of that 1.06 scene for instance, he was probably still mad at himself and feeling guilty about taking Lestat back, so I think getting Lestat cleaned up probably barely crossed his mind? He probably just threw his clothes at him, told him to get his things and had him limp out after him as Louis stewed on his complicated feelings of taking Lestat back at all.

I think in his more loving moments, he'd be more tender, but yeah - - I think a lot of it probably mood and context dependent with Louis, and I think he and Armand probably had generally pretty bad BDSM etiquette broadly, given even the fact that even being together after Paris is, for Louis, an act of punishment.

[thedrarrylibrarian]

When I first started Happy Hour, @crazybutgood made me the cutest origami mug that resembles the foamy butterbeer in my Happy Hour image. I had been so nervous to try something new and write recs instead of just do lists and seeing that someone had enjoyed my rec enough to sit and fold paper into art was really touching to me. Since then, our whole fandom has been privileged to enjoy this unique and creative art that @crazybutgood has contributed. It's a joy to invite her to Happy Hour to give her own rec.

Thank you to @thedrarrylibrarian for this opportunity and for thinking of me!

The fic I’d like to rec is A Christmas Miracle by @sleepstxtic (E, 39k)

Draco is a world-renowned Magi-Diagnostician and Harry is a Cursebreaking Healer, both working in St. Mungo's. They're not- quite-friends, not-quite-lovers, who argue at work and have sex on the weekends. And they're both fine with it, thank you very much. But when a mysterious attack in the hospital leaves Draco trapped in a coma, Harry must do all he can to save him. All the while, an inexplicable, deadly, children's illness is spreading through wizarding London. Oh, and there's some Time Magic thrown into the mix.

Or

A Christmas Carol with a Drarry twist.

Though this 25 Days of Drarry fic is set during Christmas, it’s a perfect read for any season. @sleepstxtic (Kat) uses her own wonderful take on A Christmas Carol to weave together a gripping medical thriller with Draco racing against time to save Teddy, after himself going on a journey of self-reflection as he travels through time with his Ghosts of Christmas. The scenes Kat writes for the time-travel are as emotional and gripping as the suspenseful case in the present, as Draco, moved by his eye-opening experience, navigates his duty – and expressing his feelings for Harry. The characters’ (including great OCs) dynamics, personalities – especially Draco’s growth – and dialogues are deliberate, on point, and a delight to read. Plus, Kat gives an especially wonderful snark and demeanour to Draco that are not only reminiscent of her inspiration of House M.D., but is also uniquely him. Of course, Harry too has his own sassy moments thrown in with his softness towards Draco.

Why I especially rec this fic (apart from Kat's brilliant writing that I always love) is that by December 2023, I had been on-and-off and down about a lot of things, including fandom. Though I wasn't sure where I stood then, one thing I knew was that I could always count on Kat’s amazing stories cheering me up. This one came at a time when I appreciated anything to rely on as an escape and a treat, and adding it to my list of subscriptions to daily updating fics last winter was a joy. The anticipation and thrill of following a daily WIP is something else; I eagerly read as the story unfolded each day, especially mulling over what might happen next after each cliffhanger, which Kat is infuriatingly good at. Her story is a wonderful unique blend of concepts and feelings of despair, fear, hope, and love, gelling into a plot that'll definitely have you hooked. Whether you choose to savour a chapter a day in your free time, or treat yourself to a late-night binge, I hope you enjoy unravelling the mysteries of the puzzling illness, what happened to Draco, and his and Harry’s future.

❤️ As always, if you find a fic you enjoy, please leave the author a kudos or a comment! ❤️

[nqueso-emergency]

because you are okay with us rambling a bit-

i am SO tired of a take that i’ve been seeing more lately (wonder why lmao), and that is:

eddie and chris were the ones that made buck grow up and be the person he is today

and it is. such a dumbass take.

in what way have either eddie or chris done that for him? have they inspired him at times? yeah. buck openly admits chris inspires him during the tsunami eps and he’s expressed he admires how good of a dad eddie is.

but to say they’ve changed him?

it’s funny, because i think most of this take is born due to people claiming it not watching season 1/barely paying attention to it. yet, taking the buck we were presented with during ep 1 and putting him in S2E1.

(as a small note - was buck a bit childish during 201? sure! but he snaps out of it rather quickly)

eddie does not make buck grow to the extent they believe. or at least, not in a much different way than being around hen or chim make buck grow.

want to know who, in canon, is a direct influence on buck’s growth? bobby. big time. and even when buddies hate to see this, abby also is a big part of his growth.

(maddie is in a whole other category imo, because it’s undeniable she is his biggest influence and even inspiration, and i am TIRED of buddies undermining her role in buck’s life, and their pretension that buck values eddie over her without a second thought)

eddie doesn’t make him grow up. buck finding carla is not thanks to eddie influencing him, but because buck has shown (since ep 1) to have a big heart (if misguided at times, or perhaps impulsive). 301 tells us buck is not used to babysit chris by showing him hesitant and asking chris what he usually does, so he’s not suddenly a dad that steps up.

the beauty of buck’s character is that you can see the influence of every person has on him throughout the series. but arguably, eddie is not the main reason. if anything, this last season especially we’ve seen he enables him to do stupid stuff at times.

don’t know if this made full sense but it did feel good to say haha. sorry for making you read all of it

I love all of this and it's completely true. Every time I wanted to add something, you hit on it 🤣 Bobby IS the one who had the most direct impact, followed very close to Maddie. When Bobby fired Buck, that really knocked him on his ass which he needed.

When has Buck ever really gone to Eddie for advice??? That's right, he hasn't.

I also love you mention season 1! This is why it's important to watch the entire show and not just your favorite characters.

[glorious-sunset]

LBFAD is the most inspiring series I have ever watched and here is why…

Although Love Between Fairy and Devil (LBFAD) only caught my eye on Netflix in December 2023, I’m so glad it did and that I didn’t miss out on this stunning and thought-provoking masterpiece. It is the most inspiring series I have ever watched for many reasons. Aesthetically, I found the beautiful 4K production quality as enjoyable as high-budget productions such as Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. I frequently felt the need to pause and admire the well-designed sets, and exquisitely detailed costumes of even minor characters. The acting is superb across the board, and the leads act and respond very naturally to each other. The long hair of male characters is especially well-done, falling naturally with subtle highlights and looks real. All these details breathe life into this fantasy world and make it very realistic.

Every line of each song from the phenomenal OST is brimming with hidden meanings related to the series, adding lots of additional context! The artwork created for the opening and ending sequences is also full of meaning (minor spoilers ahead). Take, for example, the last picture where the OTP are sitting on a boat in the Oblivion River, the junction between their two tribes, the male lead has removed his crown and hence his responsibilities at least for the moment, and they are watching the sunrise together for the rest of eternity after the close of the series (sigh!)

Every single character of note in the series goes through profound character growth, the only exception being the abstract ultimate villain Taisui. Even the secondary villains and dictator of Shuiyuntian have grown and changed their perceptions by the end. It made me believe that anyone is capable of opening their minds and bettering themselves. Both lead and side characters are repeatedly faced with overwhelmingly bleak choices and heartbreaking challenges, especially in the last ten episodes. Yet every time, they show courage, sacrifice and selfless love that is amazing and very inspiring.

It is rare to find this kind of poignance in any production. I used to find Game of Thrones inspiring due to Daenerys freeing the world of slavery…until Season 8 happened. LBFAD tops Game of Thrones in this regard by freeing two distinct realms from conflict. The actions of the OTP break through a hundred millenia of mutual hatred and relentless conflict between their people with no end in sight, to create a new dawn of lasting peace. LBFAD reminds me of Lord of the Rings in terms of its cinematographic beauty and themes of never losing hope and prevailing over overwhelming odds. However, the stronger focus of LBFAD on the lead couple’s development and on creating multidimensional villains and side characters made it, for me, more engaging to watch.

The world-building and depth of characters has many layers in LBFAD, to the extent that much of the context was clear to me only in retrospect on rewatching the series and on deep reflection. The fast pace of the series also means that a lot of action occurs off-screen in between scenes. There are no filler scenes, there is no room for them. Every scene adds new plot twists and depth to characters, making the series highly addictive.

I am not a native mandarin speaker, and came to realise how beautiful the language is only on encountering LBFAD and its OST. It inspired me to learn mandarin, which makes rewatching the series highly enjoyable as I am able to pick up new nuances. I’m embarrassed to be late to watch LBFAD after its release in August 2022, but have thoroughly enjoyed the posts on Tumblr from fellow fans, including enthralling artwork, meta and links to fanfiction. It has encouraged me to post on Tumblr myself. I have started to post my interpretations of artwork, mandarin names, xianxia concepts, and story-format reflections on each episode. I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful community!

Links to some of my other LBFAD articles:

Character Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

Location Names in LBFAD - Meaning and Significance

LBFAD Opening Artwork - Hidden Meanings

Here is a link to my episode 1 review (contains spoilers). All of my LBFAD articles and episode reviews can be viewed with the tag #lbfad reflections (hyperlinked) and the table of contents to these is here.

[bekaterrier]

It's that time of the week again! Happy Audio Drama Sunday! Still traveling so still listening to a bunch of different podcasts.

Residents of @proserpinapark Ep 37 - Devilish Lovers: A quick episode this week! It's interesting to hear about myths and mythical creatures that are so similar across different cultures. It was also good to get even the tiniest mention of the Park in NJ. Looking forward to everyone coming together at some point!

Give Me Away Episode 5 - My Body Is Your Body & Episode 6 - This Is My Home: Ep 4 ended on a cliffhanger so where do we start with ep 5? A flashback of course! It was actually so interesting hearing what had been going on since the beginning with so many of the people in Red Camp. Then in ep 6, finally getting to hear how Graham interacts with his new companion. The Innovator certainly seems like an interesting person, and I'm sure their dynamic will continue to evolve. All the while, Jamie is in the background sowing chaos!

@camlannpod Episode 6 - The Sheep And The Goats & Episode 7 - Under The Hill: All I'd heard about Camlann was its connection to Arthurian tales, so I was not expecting the shift to Greece. It was so good and interesting though! I don't know why, but I hadn't thought about what other stories would have come alive. It certainly makes you think about which other ones might be out there. As soon as Perry started talking about fairies I knew to expect some trickery! They were so adamant about Dai coming back (even though he was not storied) that it made me wonder... Then some of the hints from the fairies... All leading up to to that big reveal!! Ahh!!

@midnightburgr Welcome to the Horizon Part 6 - Back to the Black: I was giggling and kicking my feet for the first 20 minutes... Just let Verge and Deidre be happy!! It's always fun hearing Verge be a badass though. Poor Deidre, constant emotional whiplash over the course of just a few hours. Her whole world just turned upside down several times over. Aside: The music this episode was fantastic!

@starsfellradio S1 & S2 re-listen: When WTSF was releasing S3 last year, my brain would not cooperate and listen. With the traveling I've been doing recently and the burnout recovery, I've finally been able to get back into it! I, of course, had to re-listen to S1 & S2. It's so good. Ed and Lucy's growth and evolution together, the wild incidents that keep happening, the fantastic music that starts coming in during S2, Michael the archangel getting domesticated... Love it all.

Where The Stars Fell S3 Episodes 20 - 23 & Forgive Me! Crossover - Forgive Where the Stars Fell: The countdown to the rapture has started! The first four episodes of the season cover a lot - Ed learning about new abilities, Lucy finding Joseph's coat of many colours which hides her wings, slime mold comes to life, an unconventional evangelist comes to town, a body swap episode, the Dave Matthews Band incident, a chili cook-off, and a promposal! Gosh I love this town. I also wanted to shout out the crossover with Forgive Me! because it was such a fantastic, fascinating episode. We know Ed has been dealing with a lot since finding out she's the Antichrist, and this was such a great opportunity for her to really voice how's she's feeling about it all, especially the Big Guy.

Case Study: IREC-A59 Episode 5 - Contact *Terms and Conditions May Apply: We have contact! They can finally understand each other! And thanks to that, we're starting to get more info about both sides of this story. 13 other intelligent species; humans have developed warp travel! ; the captain is super protective; the council may not be letting the humans go anytime soon...

@starfallpod Act 1, Scene xiv: Hearing the bits of Mariette the Fourth adapted as Candyette the Fourth was fantastic. I would honestly love to see a full version of either performance! I love Fel and Leona together, but it's nice hearing Leona start to speak up for herself. And now we're off to solve a mystery! Who could have done it, I wonder...

[darcyfangirlsfrequently]

My reactions to episode 7 of season 2 of Criminal Minds Evolution

The only thing I know about this episode is that it's fucked up

Spoilers below the cut!

(TW: loss of a child under the cut)

oh, acid showers. lovely.

oh god the hair melting off the scalp. no WONDER i got warnings for this episode

drowning in acid. Lovely!!!

oh this IS fucked up.

Garvez in the same room! Yay! Crumbs!

Have I mentioned I love JJ and Luke's friendship?

Penelope with all the pretty flowers on her dress!! she looks so good in this scene

Penelope is just straight-up STARING at Luke

TARA WITH THE SLICKED BACK HAIR SHE'S SO GORGEOUS I LOVE HER

Emily reading Tyler to shit over his handwriting? Iconic.

Look I kinda love Tyler. AS HIS OWN SEPARATE CHARACTER AWAY FROM PENELOPE. When he's with literally ANYONE else, he's great.

Tara i see those heart eyes for Emily

"Mr. Sensitive" help i SNORTED

Why is Rossi so against contacting Jill? Forbidding her?

Okay so my theory was correct. The victim at the beginning sexually assaulted the unsub's wife, and this baby is a product of that.

Look Tyler is adorable, okay? When he's interacting with the rest of the team, I love him.

"Just what Garcia told me" I wasn't under the impression that they talked much???? Especially about this kind of stuff.

They're just turning Tyler into their puppy and i'm here for it

Voit's Lawyer! finally!

He's really offering to END his lawyer's ex wife???

ooh that shot through all the car windows is cool

"I just want you to be you" please god tell me she's not saying "clearly you have a way of winning over/seducing older blonde women and i need you to do that"

"I don't wanna be that guy." Yes Tyler!! Growth!!

"just fuckin drive" emily i love you. I also love this friendship dynamic.

JJ: Maybe Penelope can help us find [the connection.] Luke: Penelope! Yes! Let's go see Penelope! I love Penelope! (he loves her it's canon)

LUKE SITTING ON THE DESK LUKE SITTING ON THE DESK

LUKE THE SMIRK??? THE HEART EYES??? oh my GOD

"It's why you and I are finally friends" DAMN FATALITY

"finally" with the smirk I LOVE THEM SO MUCH HOLY FUCK

I just know JJ is sitting there like "are y'all gonna stop flirting for two seconds"

THEIR SMILES OH MY GOD THEY'RE JUST SO THRILLED TO BE AROUND EACH OTHER THEY'RE SO IN LOVE.

"thanks frieeend" I LOVE THEM BY THAT DELIVERY WAS SO FUNNY. Also he touched her arm/back

The way they're calling each other "friend" is literally so flirty.

PLEASE tell me someone has done a gifset comparing "we thrive as frenemies" to "it's why you and I are finally friends."

Also the way that means she literally just called him TREASURE????

I just know that as Luke was saying "thanks frieeeend" he was thinking "thanks, friend, i love youuu"

THIRD HOTCH MENTION OF THE SEASON GODDAMN

Hotch, Morgan, and Reid all in the SAME SCENE damn

I love Jill already

Ooh, fiancé not fiancée

"I loved Jason" "He loved you back" I'M IN SHAMBLES ACTUALLY

Emily did you just say that David Rossi ISN'T dramatic???

Tyler and i are JUST as fucking confused

"The next generation of the BAU" really reminds me of how much younger than all of them he is which just makes me feel icky about Greencia all over again

Luke leading the profile delivery! Getting his moment! We love to see it!

Oh shit the doctor is spilling ALL the tea

I wonder if the baby is dead, a delusion

This is dark.

Wait, are the baby AND the mother dead??? Oh that would make sense for why the guy puked when he saw her. It was a skeleton

this really is a luke heavy ep and i am here for it

oh god yeah that's... fucked.

They need to start putting some god damn trigger warnings on this show

Luke looks genuinely SAD for this man.

They can give Voit a corded phone? this feels like a risk of some sort

A kill kit??? we didn't leave that behind last season??

"Do not, for any reason, open it." and ofc he opens it right away

JILL AND PENELOPE HUG MY HEARTTTT

Tara and Tyler friendship!

Oh Jilllll. I wanna hug her.

That scene with Jill walking around touching everything... oh my heart. Aisha Tyler you ate with that.

[littlemisssquiggles]

In today’s episode, Jaune revealed that Lewis and Alyx were actually residents of Vacuo Kingdom (surprise, surprise) during a time before the Great War. And since we know that Lewis actually returned from the Ever After, it make wonder something curious.

If Lewis was the author of the Girl Who Fell Through the World fairy-tale then it would make perfect sense as to why he omitted himself from the written adventures in the Ever After and chose to make Alyx the protagonist. It makes sense since, unlike Lewis, Alyx never returned home and basically “died” in the Ever After.

So my assumption is that Lewis must’ve maintained his sister’s story through his story about her. That way Alyx’s legacy was able to live on in some shape or form despite the real Alyx practically ceasing to exist after never returning home.

Since Jaune was shown to still be have some qualms over his time in the Ever After, it got me thinking.

What if…Jaune were to (somehow) discover the original journal of Lewis which he had used to record his experience in the Ever After in the Vacuo archives?

What if…Jaune were to meet someone closely connected to Lewis and Alyx while in Vacuo? Like a surviving member of their family bloodline still thriving in modern Remnant.

What if… Headmaster Theodore was that surviving member? I know the main popular theory is that Lewis was one of Ozma’s reincarnations but imagine if Lewis wasn’t an Ozma reincarnation but Theo’s ancestor instead?

I haven’t read either of the RWBY After the Fall books so I’m not familiar with Headmaster Theodore in terms of characterization or like what his backstory is.

That being said, I do, however like the idea of the final maiden being connected to Theo in some shape or form.

For me, I like the prospect of the Summer Maiden being either Theo’s daughter or younger sister or cousin or niece or some important person to him as she’s probably the only family he has left.

Again, I don’t know anything about Theo but thus far, none of the other headmasters of the huntsmen academies have had any reason to be protective of their respective maiden outside of a moral obligation as per Ozpin’s instructions.

To make Theo stand out more, I think it would be a nice change of pace if Theo, the final headmaster, were to share an actual connection to the final  maiden as she is a beloved relative of his.

Why bring this up? Well I like the idea of Jaune forming a close relationship with another Maiden candidate. Maybe he could even fall in love with the Summer Maiden.

Technically, Jaune hasn’t had a legit love interest since Pyrhha and I don’t know about ya’ll but…after six seasons (and half a movie), I’m kind of tired of being reminded of Arkos, ya’ll.

It was the Ship that was meant to be that never got to be because Writers decided to kill it off early.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Arkos. Arkos was a great ship that was gone too soon.

To (finally) close the chapter on Jaune moving on from Pyrhha (since even after all of his growth, I still don't think he's over her as the show keeps constantly bringing up whenever they can)...

I think it actually might be cute if Jaune does end up being romantically involved with the Summer Maiden who he actually succeeds in protecting from Cinder when she comes to steal her powers.

I’ve grown tired of new maidens showing up in the story just to die for the sake of the powers being passed onto a main character.

Since Summer is the last maiden, it would be nice if Summer is the one to stop the cycle of original maiden deaths and she actually gets to live on even after opening the vault.

As much as I like WhiteKnight as a ship, I honestly gave up on it becoming canon after V5 dropped and nothing else was done to further develop Weiss and Jaune’s relationship as a prospective romance.

Yeah sure, V9 tossed us a crumb of Weiss being attracted to Jaune in his more mature Rusted Knight persona.

But after further deliberation, I’ve concluded that that little nugget of hope isn’t enough to get me back on the horse of hoping for a romance between these two.

Do you know what would actually be pretty wild?

If Jaune fell in love with the Summer Maiden who is not only a red-head (like Pyrhha) but is also a descendent of Lewis who is the author of the Girl Who Fell Through the World and thus a relative of Alyx.

And unlike Alyx and Pyrhha who Jaune failed to protect/help/save, Jaune is able to do just that with the Summer Maiden by protecting her from Cinder and thus, the two are able to live happily ever after.

That would actually be wild.

Not saying this would become true in the canon. I'm just tossing it out into the RWBY FNDM ether as a food for thought.

~LMS (2024)

[londondziban]

I'll forever be confused over the writing of Steve's character in season 4. Like, what was the thought process behind the choices that were made for him?

In season 1, he was shown to have a change of behavior, felt remorse for his actions, attempted to apologize to not just Nancy but also Jonathan, and bought a camera for Jonathan to replace the one he had broken. Not only this, but he had turned back around to help Nancy and Jonathan–after having a gun pointed at him and nearly getting eaten by a creature he probably couldn't fully comprehend at the time–despite the fact he was scared shitless cuz, hey, that's his girl in there and a guy he may not know very well but he's not going to let them fight the monster alone.

In season 2, we watched him grieve his relationship with Nancy and form a bond with Dustin and the other kids. Though he was clearly upset about the breakup, he never once truly blamed Nancy for it. We saw him respect not only Nancy's feelings but her choice as well. He knew he wasn't the one she chose, he knew she was struggling and turned to Jonathan. He was heartbroken but he did his best to move forward and keep his mind on the mission at hand.

In season 3, we watch his bond with Dustin develop further and we see him make his first friend that's (close) to his age since he dropped his previous friends in season 1. He was actively looking for a new girl to date and developed feelings for Robin; We were led to believe he'd moved on from Nancy. In this season, though he was fairly removed from the other kids for most of it, we were once again shown he has a selfless nature when it comes to them, even Erica whom he barely knew. We saw that at the end of the day, he's simply a good friend through his instant support of Robin rather than lashing out over the rejection or being flat-out homophobic. He's selfless and loyal to those he cares about. His character in this season was wonderful (not talking about how his injuries were constantly played for laughs though, that's for a future post).

So in season 4...what happened? Yeah, I still loved him because he's Steve and I've become attached to his character over the years. But he just felt so off? I'm glad his friendship with Robin was still there and I loved them together throughout the season. But he's 1. suddenly in love with Nancy again, 2. doesn't seem to respect her actual feelings nor her relationship with Jonathan (because if he did he wouldn't be actively flirting with her and telling her he wants to have kids with her, hello?), 3. he complained about being with the kids despite being shown to deeply care for them over and over again (it could've been a joke of course but it just felt mean spirited when compared to his behaviors in prior seasons. Like he sighed when being paired with Dustin?), and 4. he just felt kind of weird and a little creepy at times.

It felt like they didn't know what to do with him this last season. It felt like all the development he'd gone through suddenly took a left turn and then backtracked out of nowhere. Instead of finding ways to discuss the way season 3 events affected him (and Robin) or maybe showing him form a genuine bond with Eddie (someone else his age that he never would've previously been friends with), they made him a little mean spirited, they made the other characters be meaner to him and treat him as if he's stupid (more than usual), and they made him be in love with Nancy again. They could've done so much with his character that wouldn't have contradicted all of his growth, and yet.

I say this all with good intentions, of course. I love Steve. He was one of my favorites when I first started watching the show. Which is why I was so upset about the way they wrote his character in season 4. He just didn't feel like the Steve I'd loved anymore. Was it a conscious decision? Is there a specific reason behind it we just haven't been shown yet? Or was it just poor writing? I hope whatever is going on with his character is either fixed or simply explained in season 5 (and I'm so excited to see he'll have at least one interaction with Jonathan!). I'm just a little worried they've run out of ideas for his character and are just going to kill him off next season without any explanation as to why his character took the turn it did.

TLDR: I love Steve but the way his character was written in season 4 confused me.

[goodoldfashionedengineer]

Here is my 6k word Umbrella Academy analysis on Season 1 Episode 1 "We Only See Each Other At Weddings And Funerals"

Hope you enjoy!

(Disclaimer: Spoilers for Season 1, 2 and 3. Some points will come off as a bit judgemental towards certain characters, but I truly like all of the siblings, this is simply my observation. You may not agree with everything, these are just my interpretations)

Episode 1: We Only See Each Other At Weddings And Funerals:

It is really sweet how the other women at the swimming pool are comforting Tatiana while and after she gave birth, bringing towels, petting her hair, holding her hand

It has been pointed out many times but I still love the foreshadowing to Viktor’s powers when Reginald is about to purchase him

I never thought about it but Viktor really practiced alone in the Theatre here. Wonder why. The lights were still on so maybe he just saw it as a good opportunity

Reginald dies late at night, Luther’s clock shows 23:28

When I watched this the first time, I immediately picked up on Luther's body hair growth, like with the wound, how he’s trying to cover it and later when he’s alone so I thought in retrospective that the trash bags are partially filled with hair

The weatherman says “little bit of rain potentially later in the week” and it does rain at Reginald’s funeral, which is only a few days after this! (As he dies on 21st March but Five comes back right before the funeral on 24th March) Great detail!

Diego really just snapped that guys neck

Allison's press photo shoot is apparently for Love on Loan 3, with the logo on the wall!

Allison never covers her umbrella tattoo, it is really visible

Allison looking really forced happy, right before a journalist says “Oh! You’re perfect!”

The poster “Recovery is not short and sweet, it is a lifelong process”

Klaus introduction scene and he already wears his headphones

He is immediately established as charming, people are laughing at his jokes, another off-screen person says goodbye to him. He seems well liked

No matter how many times I watch it I get said when the receptionist says “We’ll see you soon, Klaus”

Klaus-kisses-something count: 1. Object in question: the 30 day coin

Luther's chair on the moon, where the light hits the surface and making it look beautiful. Great hint at a later scene where Allison asks him about the moon!

Diego has no idea what normal is for a family. He throws the robbers against family photos, real family photos, not the annual paintings of the Academy. He throws knives, picks them up and they’re covered in blood. No clue that he looks just like the robbers, how is this family supposed to feel safe?

The transition from Allison leaving the press and looking over her shoulder to look at them one last time to Klaus looking over his shoulder as a police car with siren drives past as he makes his way to a dealer

Klaus-kisses-something count: 2. Object in question: drugs

Viktor looking at the news as Reginald’s death is pronounced. He says “Dad” and the photo on the news showing Reginald shows one of the Umbrella Academy group pictures after their Eiffel Tower mission. Watching that hurt, my heart aches for Viktor here

After the Eiffel Tower picture it shows another Academy picture, but this time with only five kids, hinting at Five’s disappearance

Reginald having lizard taxidermies and skulls

I never could quite make sense of the Academy emblem. An umbrella, a lighting bolt, a skull and a domino mask. And the motto is “Ut Malum Pluvia”, apparently translating to “When Evil rains”?

Shot to the sleep observation notebook. During my first watch, I didn't pick up that the numbers were representing the children, I assumed it were experiment numbers. I don't know what he wrote about Allison, but Klaus’s says “no activity for tonight”. So yay, probably means good sleep for him. I’m sure that line either hints at nightmares, OR, more likely, ghosts, that Klaus sees/hears in his dreams, which we get to see in later scenes. Ben’s says ‘seems to be crying in sleep’ which is just so sad, I want to hug him. And Viktor’s says “activity!!!” can't really make out the rest, but there are other posts transcripting the pages, but here’s another clue that Viktor has powers.

The Academy paintings. On the first one, they look a bit uncomfortable, but mostly okay. In the next, when Five is gone, they look so much more tense. In the next one it shows they hate this and they don't want to be here. They look really strained and depressed and angry at the last painting when Ben died

Diego comes out of the room where Grace is sitting, great hint for when it is revealed that he found the monocle on her

Allison didn't seem to be sure that Viktor would come “You’re actually here”. It is sweet how she welcomes him and says “forget about him” when Diego tells him “What are you doing here? You don't belong here, not after what you did.”

So far, Diego and Allison know that Viktor is there

Viktor says “Hey, Allison” while Allison says “Hey, sis”. Sis, our first nickname in this family

Allison can sure shoot one back, quite snarky and can be quite defensive of others, but in a good way. Shows by criticizing Diego’s outfit/leather harness underhandedly

Viktor really seems to be about to leave after Diego’s comment :( Good that Allison reassured him

So now Diego knows that Allison is there, Viktor and now Luther as well. “What's your secret? Protein shakes? Low carbs?” Diego seems well knowledged in health and fitness, later eating a raw egg and criticizing Klaus for using drugs “My body is a temple”. That's surely one way to cope. That is in complete contrast to what they did as children, with Five pointing out they used to snuck out to Griddy’s and Klaus saying they used to huff paint in the basement in season 3. That fact about Diego already shows here with this simple comment

Diego was the first to know Luther was there (beside Pogo, as Luther talked to him already and was told the monocle was missing. Already hinting that Pogo was involved in Reginald’s whole plan). And of course the first room Luther would go to was Reginald’s bedroom. But then again, it was Diego’s first goal too, with him already having checked it out

Diego pulling away the coroner’s report right as Luther was about to grab it because Diego was holding it out to him. Classic sibling behavior. From this moment I knew that any comment about “They’re not really a family, they’re strangers” is a blatant lie

Diego broke into the coroner’s office before this. He IS shocked that it is just heart failure but he accepted it. Luther, not so much

Diego says this about Reginald: “A sad old man in a big empty house, just like he deserved.” Now he is the one being told by Luther to leave.

Diego says to Luther “Whatever you say, brother.” Brother being so more distanced than sis

Reginald really had everything. Comics up top, a bit below that, a newspaper article but also a framed teen magazine cover

Viktor meets Pogo up next and they hug. Viktor got two hugs in one day, the other being from Allison

Grace calls Reginald “sir” in the flashback

In the flashback, Allison stands perfectly straight in the middle, in the left front we have Ben who is straightening his shirt and halfway already in the office. On the right front we have Klaus who is crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe. In the left back we have Luther, who stands behind his siblings and in the exact same spot as in all the Academy paintings. Next to him is Diego, who has to stretch himself a bit to be able to look past Allison and at Reginald. In the left back is Five and behind him Viktor. When they are urged to leave, Viktor immediately makes his way back, Diego and Klaus follow suit and walk next to each other, next it Five and Luther puts his hand on Ben’s shoulder as they walk back. Allison has to be urged by Grace. She wants attention and it becomes apparent why she would become a movie star

Klaus meets Allison first, she’s the first to know he’s there, in Reginald’s office

Klaus really hasn't seen Allison in a long time it seems, but Allison is really happy to see him as she smiles at his antics. I really believe that Klaus is the “mascot” when it comes to dysfunctional family dynamics and for Allison, it really worked. For those that don't know what the mascot is: “This is the child who learns very early that laughter reduces tension and eases stress, and she or he responds to discord in the family by trying to lighten the mood through humor.”

Klaus immediately goes for the hug. Now Allison got two hugs too! The first she gave Viktor, the second she got from Klaus

Klaus really can lie quickly. He wasn't prepared to meet her there, it didn't sound like he had anything planned when he said that he wanted to meet her anyway, but that “I wanted to get your autograph” really came so quickly after that short pause. He could pawn it and says it in a flattering way.

He is so quick to divert from a question. Instead of answering Allison's question about what he’s doing, he goes for the “oh, we haven't seen each other in so long!”

But Allison points out the rehab wristband. She notices shit

Allison really seems concerned when Klaus says “I’m done with all that”, context being rehab

Klaus saying he only came here to convince himself that their dad is dead and Allison giving him a “really?” look. She didn't believe it for a second

When Klaus clasps “And he is! He’s dead! Yeees!” Allison shakes her head and grins. That was the moment she thought “Yep, he hasn't changed one bit, alright. Klaus is still Klaus.”

Klaus really changes in tone fast, from being cheerful and making jokes about Reginald’s death to angry about how they wouldn't be allowed to be in that room if he’d still be alive

Klaus puts his feet in the desk

Reginald has a photo of himself framed on a shelf, not just the painting behind him

“Get out of his chair” are the first words Luther tells Klaus after seeing each other again. Klaus has meet two people, Allison and Luther and Luther met Pogo, Diego and now Allison and Klaus in Reginald’s office

Interesting that Klaus wants to leave when Luther enters the room.

“Save the lecture” Oh, Klaus is so used to getting lectured

“You guys can talk amongst yourselves * chuckles softly*” He is so hinting at their teenage romance with each other

Luther knows Klaus took something, he isn't fooled by Klaus playing dumb

And Klaus looks around again if anyone is there before he pulls out the box. Don't let appearances fool you, he knows how to stay secretive

Klaus-kisses-something count: 3. Object in question: pearl-inlaid box

Luther is the one to say “Klaus is still Klaus” and Allison is the one to say she finds it comforting. Her life has changed so much, she has started to see that her actions have consequences and to see that some things from the past haven't changed? Yes, I can see her seeing it as a source of comfort. Luther does not give a response, instead redirecting to Diego. So he seems to be less comforted by Klaus’s lack of change

The bit about Diego wearing the leather harness in the shower will never not be funny

Luther AND Allison weren't sure if she’d come to the funeral. She really distanced herself from her past, huh

Luther says shit when Allison tells him that Patrick got custody. He knows how much Claire meant to Allison. Also, Luther swears. I see you, “Luther saying ‘Language!’” writers, but it’s not canon

Luther is quick to suggest Allison should use her power, but he is apprehensive at saying it out loud, indicating that he does know that it is not exactly good

Family meeting! Luther sits on the left couch, Diego on the left armchair, Allison on the right armchair and Viktor on the right couch. Luther seems the most comfortable, as if this were truly his home, Diego sits rather relaxed too, Allison sits straight, hands folded in her lap, Viktor wants to be comfortable but body language indicates that he isn't, he makes himself look really small

Allison has a drink

“None of you ever did that?” When Luther tells that he used to sit with Reginald by the oak tree. Diego looks away, probably thinking “Classic Luther”. At first I thought that Diego thinks that Luther is the favorite, but then I remembered that Diego later tells Luther he SHOULD be angry at Reginald for what he did to Luther, so I think he realizes “So he still thinks Reginald is good and doesn't realize how messed up it all was.” Also, Klaus immediately chimes in “Will there be any refreshments?” Before any of his siblings could answer that “None of you ever did that?” Question, which would just stir up all sorts of emotions. Robert Sheehan said in an interview once that Klaus is rather conflict avoidant and it shows. And again, another point towards him being the “mascot”

So Klaus has a drink, a cigarette and also a trophy?

Luther only points out the smoking, not the drinking. Because “Dad didn't allow smoking in here”. When did he establish that rule? I so want to know the history behind it

Allison seems to be so much more at ease after Klaus’s interruption

Diego knew Luther would still believe that it was murder. Viktor does speak up, using logic that the coroner would know. Allison also finds Luther’s suggestion ludicrous, she sees in that moment how Luther can't live without a mission anymore

“Quelle surprise” Klaus is the most likely out of all of them to use non-English words. French, German, Spanish is what I remember on the spot, I'll look out if he speaks any other languages

Also, Reginald communicated with Luther while on the moon

“Look, I know you don't like to do it but I need you to talk to Dad”. Everyone was aware that Klaus does not like using his power. Klaus even looks shocked at the suggestion, his expression saying “Me?”. Allison scoffs as if she knew “Yeah, not going to happen” or couldn't believe that Luther would bring it up, especially in the context that she thinks that Luther is out of his mind with suggesting it was murder

Resentment slips through when Klaus says “Hey did could you stop playing tennis with Hitler for a while and take a quick call”

Luther doesn't even think about the possibility that Klaus wouldn't be able to do it. “That's his thing”. Luther does NOT know why Klaus started using drugs,for which we’ll get even more evidence for in episode 7 when he says he wants to be Number Four because he seems so carefree. Also Diego looks away when Luther says it, maybe because Luther still puts so much focus on their powers, just like Reginald

Everyone except Diego is so shocked and surprised when it’s revealed that Luther thinks one of them killed Reginald. There was definitely some baseline trust in each other

“Way to lead” Diego rubbing salt into the wound because he knows Luther thinks himself the leader of the group. It definitely strikes Luther, so it worked

All of them work out without another word, except Klaus who tells Luther he’s crazy. Even Allison, whose glass is now empty

Flashback to 17 years ago. They were 12 here and it’s 2002. Five disappeared about 16 years and 5 months ago, so he was only in the public for about 7 months

News Reporter is Jim Hellerman from the news station Channel 2 News

A S.W.A.T team is already at the bank robbery

Bank is Capital West bank at Main at Sixth

The Umbrella Academy only made their entrance at this bank robbery roughly three hours after it started

I love this scene so much. Allison so confidently walking up to the robber, Luther running on the roof and people believing it’s law enforcement, jumping in through a window from the ceiling, immediately hitting a guy and throwing him out of the bank through another window. That's a lot of windows they’re destroying. Diego’s knives land straight in that guy's chest

What did Jim Hellerman do to have been in many hostage situations? Is The City just like that? Is it like Gotham, where crime is just that rapant?

The robber from the beginning is standing on top of the counter, pointing his gun at the kids and calling them freaks. Diego, Allison AND Klaus are standing in front of him. I have never noticed that Klaus was standing there too before this rewatch. Luther is standing by the hostages in front of the vault.

The kids are trolling that guy. Diego saying “Be careful up there, buddy” Allison responding “Wouldn't want you to get hurt.” Five also has this humor with “That's one badass stapler.” He is so youthful here

“Do we really have to do this?” Ben, I want to hug you. He does not want to do this. He first looks at Luther (remember when Luther was the one to guide him away from Reginald’s office?) and then at Klaus.

“*Sighs* I didn't sign up for this” Did I say I want to give Ben a hug?

Five seems intrigued by Ben’s… tentacle massacre and then looks at Klaus, maybe because of the possibility that new ghosts could appear?

“*Sighs* *breathes shakily* Can we go home now?” Voice trembling, covered in blood, I am calling CPS, nothing will stop me, I will enter this TV show just to pull Ben out of this

They come out and are already posing, they trained for this moment. Luther is holding a hand up, Diego is showing off a knife, Allison is standing straight, Klaus is leaning on Five, Five is als standing straight, hand behind his back. Ben is covered in blood and looking down

They were so sheltered and given so little free time, so little time to discover who they are, this bank robbery mission for which a S.W.A.T team was called and ended in Ben being covered in blood made Viktor say “Why can't I go PLAY with the others?”

Reginald comes into the picture and Luther is again at his exact same position as always, at the top left.

Some other news stations: WURG, CNR, Channel 9 News

Interesting how they wear their scarves. Luther, Five and Ben all seemingly wear their scarves tucked into their coats, Allison wears hears pretty fashionable with one side hanging out to the front, Klaus’s hangs off to the side on one end while the other falls off over his shoulder behind his back and Diego literally just put it around his shoulders, didn't even wrap it around his neck. No wonder that guy later refuses to use an umbrella during the funeral.

End of flashback, back to Klaus trying to conjure Reginald. Looks like he just took off his shoes. Klaus seems to focus so much on the point that they weren’t related. Earlier with him that Reginald wasn’t their real father so they couldn't inherit his cold dead eyes, now with “[...] my sons, adoptedt(!) sons”. It really makes sense that he wants to seek out his birth mother in season 3, he already puts a lot of focus on it in season 1.

“Big angry ghost lecture” again with the lecture, Klaus is used to getting lectured.

"Eternal peace is probably overrated” they kept that in season 3 when he talks with Rachel, his mom, in The Void. Klaus is so interesting, he has seemingly no long term goals, lives fully in the present moment, but is haunted by his past and also thinks the future is shit (as shown when Five reappears and tells them about the future “Called it!”)

Klaus calls Reginald “Reggie”

Diego and Klaus think very similarly of Reginald. Diego uses “paranoid”, “sad old man”, “monster” as words to describe him, Klaus says “stubborn bastard” and “sadistic prick”. No wonder they get along so well

Allison truly is a girlies girl, they recreated that early 2000s girls room PERFECTLY. That little thing to hang up jewelry, the bright colored nail polish, another container for other accessories, teen magazines, posters, kitchy notebooks and decor, those pencils that aren’t even sharpened yet, the one with the thin plastic wrapping that gets everywhere once you do sharpen them and with the cutesy eraser on top which more destroys your paper and smears the writing all over it instead of erasing it. Huuuh, the 2000s

Klaus is now in the basement kitchen. This is where Leonard and Viktor will enter from at a later point (I’m pointing this out because whenever I watched that scene I never knew how they were suddenly in the house, I assumed it was a shop because it didn't look like the house, now I know). There is a table football and a couch and an e-guitar, which Klaus will later hold right when Diego will announce that he’ll leave

Klaus has another drink. And just took drugs, three to be precise. He seems to be not doing okay. “Three? Okay” to which he laughs but right after taking them he seems very sunken

Diego is a knuckle cracker and fidgets with his knives

I think it’s really sweet how Luther wants to make them all feel connected and cheer them up after ruining the mood. Maybe he already realized here he was too harsh. He did turn up the volume to max, he knew what he was doing with putting on the vinyl here. And he is already feeling the music, moving his hands and head

Luther is a record enjoyer, Klaus is most often seen with his tape player (though he also has a record player in his room. I assume that tapes are just more mobile and he can listen to them anywhere).

This dance scene was what made me fall in love with the show

Diego closes the door before he pulls off his A+ performance.

Allison springs onto and off beds

Five begins to reappear, metal things get pulled away. Reginald’s urn almost falls off the table before Klaus catches it. Klaus also says “Daddy?” Sure, we know that ghosts don't manifest like this. But Klaus has been trying to conjure Reginald, his abuser, so it is reasonable why he’d think that Reginald might appear after all, especially when he isn't fully sober and already not doing that good mentally

Luther is the first to put some scientific reasons on the big blue ball in the sky

Diego calls Luther “Paul Bunyan”

When the electricity intensifies, Luther and Diego are quick to pull Klaus behind them. Luther says “Everyone get behind me”, he clearly sees himself as their protector. Diego says “Yeah, get behind us” he sees himself also as their protector, he has some respect for Luther in the sense he looks up to him, wants to be equals rather than Number Two

“I vote for running” Klaus showing conflict-avoidance again. Or self-preservation instincts depending on the viewer

I like how Klaus is the one to say “Does anyone else see little Number Five or is that just me?” With him already seeing things that no one else does. Also, Klaus uses Five’s full name, Number Five instead of just Five

Klaus is rubbing his show and mouth a lot. Could be a nervous tick or could be experiencing dry mouth from the drugs

Viktor and Five used to be close, Viktor being the one to give Five the date and Five remained rather calm when he just said the day when he asked for the exact date instead. He has a lot more patience for Viktor

Five did that a lot, walking towards someone only to blink with Luther saying “Haven't missed that”

Five has seen a lot. He says that the future is shit so resigned. He says he should have listened to “the old man”, putting the blame on himself

“That makes no sense” “It would if you were smarter” Diego immediately stands up, Luther immediately holds Diego back. He will later do this again when Diego is angry at Five when Patch was killed. Luther is all about preserving the peace between them, that's also why he put on the record

“Nice to know Dad didn't forget me” Five does not seem to see the harm Reginald has done to them but based on that line, I believe that in the apocalypse he thought often about how their dad would probably see him as a failure now, since he did what he was told not to do and couldn't even go back. All of them still call Reginald “Dad”

I’m just imagining old Five saying “ballsy”

Viktor full on believes his whole family hates him

Five responds with that there could be worse things. Worse things being that they’re all dead like what he had to go through, already implicating that he doesn't care what his family thinks of him and his actions just as long as they’re safe

Klaus is smoking another cigarette

Pogo says “dear boy” to Luther

Klaus grimaces when Luther pours out the ashes. Could be interpreted in a number of ways. “Oh that wasn't great.” “The old man will not like that.” to throw out a few

Diego’s anger continues to brew as his face twists and and looks up away from Pogo when he asks who wants to speak. The words are already forming for him

Klaus is keeping his feelings about Reginald bottled up, going straight back to his cigarette

Diego begins to look over again when Pogo says “[Reginald] was my master”. Strengthening his feelings about how they weren't children to Reginald, how he saw himself as above everyone

Allison looks down and seems annoyed when Diego says “My name is Number Two” in response to her calling him out. She probably thinks back to Ben’s funeral, where he wasn't all that different. “Classic Diego”

Viktor also cares about Mom. When he first entered the Academy, he said “Mom?” As soon as he saw her, here he says “No, it’s okay, Mom” when she asks if they’d like something to eat. He also thanks her in a later flashback when she compliments his music and is against shutting her down

Allison already notices that something is not right with Mom “Is Mom alright?”, Which explains why she would be pro powering her off

Diego really out here pulling the string cards with calling Luther “Number One”. Luther probably saw it as an offense towards him, but I think Diego said it more as to “Look, he didn't even gave us names! He gave us numbers”

Luther does no go down to that level, still calling Diego “Diego” but he is the one to start the physical fight

Diego calls Luther “big boy” in the fight. Twice

This time, Klaus is all for the fight, chanting “Hit him!”. He did laugh at Diego’s proclamations about their father

Allison seems so disappointed and also resigned in those two when they destroyed Ben’s statue in the “They never know when to stop” sense

This time, Viktor does not back down when Diego says “Got enough material for your sequel yet?” He does not let Diego get to him

Klaus really makes sure that everyone is gone before he says his words to Reginald.

Putting out your cigarette in your abusers ashes in the ultimate “Fuck you” move and nothing will ever top it

Reginald’s quote in the flashback to one of their training days basically boils down to “You are stronger together than on your own.” In the bank robbery flashback he says in response to if he cares about their well being “Of course. As I am for the fate of the world.” I think he knew that an apocalypse would happen but I don't believe he knew the cause. In a later flashback with Luther and Allison in the greenhouse, he isn't angry about them spending time together, he’s angry that they do it outside of their schedule

This is where Diego’s fear of needles comes from, getting their tattoos

Klaus and Allison already got their tattoos, Diego is currently getting his done, so they’re out of order. I thought maybe the last one got theirs first, the first one to make it to the top gets theirs last but Diego was right behind Five on the staircase race. But maybe Luther and Ben managed to overtake him?

I just think it’s really sweet how Klaus is holding Allison in his arms as she’s sobbing while he is also still distressed and in pain from his own one. He cares

Diego doesn't even let himself be comforted by Mom

Luther also seems so agitated about being next, he tries to hide the fear but isn't successful

Ben tries to calm himself down but he’s pretty nervous and as is Five

None of them had any fun here

Reginald raises them by the rule “You are stronger together than alone”. But completely excludes Viktor from all of this. Of course he’d feel isolated. But it also means he sees these terrible things happen to his siblings, like the bank robbery mission and tattoos, and sees it as a game, as a group activity that he is left out of. I do believe he’d take the pain if it’d meant he’d be one of them

It is so freaking creepy how Reginald will just sit on their beds while they sleep and put on the electrodes.

I first thought everyone had their own color for the cables, but some are clearly used twice. Luther has blue, Allison yellow, Viktor’s is white which is a great hint as his comic code name “The White Violin”, Klaus is black (shocking for the guy whose powers revolve around death), Five is red since it’s coming from the staircase leading up top but no idea which colors Ben and Diego are

Luther sleeps on his side, Allison sleeps half on her back, half on her side, Five sleeps on his stomach, Viktor sleeps on his back

I think this is the first time we see Viktor use the pills? Could have sworn it was earlier but I don't think so

Viktor takes his pills and goes back to his earlier mind set, when he did think Diego was right, he shouldn't have come

Viktor really cares about others. He cares about Mom, he tells Pogo to take care of himself, he later compliments Helen

“Dad hated caffeine” “He hated children too and he had plenty of us *laughs* *immediately stops and grows serious*” Again, a sudden mood change from Klaus when talking about their father. Also, it’s really sad how Klaus is telling the truth here, because Reginald literally says in season 2 "I have a deep dislike of children. I do not have them, nor do I intend to have them". So Klaus seems to have a good idea about how Reginald truly was. Rehab did seem to have some effect

Klaus peaks up when Five says he’ll get in the car. Like he knows that Five is in a 13 year old body, so he isn't legally allowed to drive. But he is also so curious.

Klaus is also barefoot. Good reference to his comic version, where he can only use his psychic powers when he isn't wearing shoes

I love that Diego’s and Allison’s love language for each other is roasting. “See you guys in, what, 10 years when Pogo dies” “Not if you die first.” “Yeah, love you too, sis. Good luck on your next film”. We got our first “love you”! Aaand it was 100% sarcastic. Also, Diego calls Allison “sis”!

That “Hope it turns out better than your marriage” comment hit hard for Allison, she immediately left after it

Even though Diego is a pretty health and fitness focused guy, he still takes out one mini marshmallow from the bag that Five left out earlier when he made his sandwich

Diego’s face when he’s in the car and Klaus enters. That screams “Not this again let me have one second in peace”. Diego is used to Klaus but not to his antics. But he doesn't throw him out

So, Viktor left, Klaus knew about it, Five and Allison where in the room when he announced it, Five left with Klaus and Allison still in the room, Diego entered, Allison left, Diego left, Klaus left, Luther saw Klaus and Diego leaving in the car

I love Grace, great character. Often robots in fiction are said to have their own agency, but this show really questions that narrative. Does she? Or is it her programming. But here when she looks at the paintings she mimics that woman in the painting, looking at her with longing and awe. It looks like she wants to be that free, go see the places in those paintings which she never got to do under Reginald

Five’s forced smile at Agnes reminds me of his comic version

Five could have gone anywhere to get a coffee but he chose Griddy’s. A place with memories. Good memories. With siblings he cares so much about. Siblings which he saw dead. “Simpler times”. I think Five thought a lot about them in the apocalypse. Regretted some of his actions. “Shouldn't have done this” “should have done something” “should have said something” “should have told them”. All those should have’s.

On the side of Griddy’s is a sign with “Dunfield Plaza” and next to it is another sign with other shop names. Those being “Dry cleaning”, “Astro Typewriter” and “Grand Mutual” and under it is another LED sign with “Warton’s convenience 24h”

Five’s fighting speaks for itself

Five didn't finish his coffee

Diego is holding the monocle above the water, thinking about Luther’s words. He is conflicted about clearing Grace’s innocence with dropping it. He knows something is up with it. But he also wants to protect her

First time Klaus is referring to himself as “we”, with we meaning Ben and him

Here we have the scene that led to fanfic authors making Klaus obsessed with waffles. Despite “You like waffles?” “Of course you do, everyone likes waffles” and Ben even nodding. But that’s the curse of a character mentioning liking a food once

Diego had the police radio on his car hood so he’d here if something came up

Klaus does drum rolls

Klaus knows about Diego’s vigilante activity “breaking bones and cracking skulls?” which does sound rather negative. He doesn't seem to be in favor of it. Comes with them being raised to kill and him seeing corpses that have broken bones, pieces of them missing, etc.

Diego responds with “Saving lives, baby”

“I guess it’s frozen waffles again” I hope you don't eat them frozen /j

“I could do egg and bacon but I’m trying to cut down on my pig products.” I am leaning myself out of the window and throw a wild suggestion out: Could be interpreted as a hint towards Dave. Dave is Jewish and pork is not kosher

Diego is putting on the mask in the car

“You are so weird” Viktor to Five. Another peak sibling behavior, love it. You have each other back not even a day but you are already back to being siblings

So Viktor knows Five was attacked and that the world will end

“I’ll put on a pot of coffee” Miniscule detail, but he couldn't have known that Five wanted coffee since he already left when Five was searching for coffee in the Academy which led to him driving to Griddy's. I guess the usual person would say “I need a drink” when they find out “The world will end in 8 days” BUT Viktor takes medication, so coffee is probably the next best thing, especially since the day has already been exhausting

And there we go! First episode over!

[blazinghotfoggynights]

My Mind Did That Thing Again!

You know, where it sees something, then takes off in a random direction for no reason other than it can and it's fun. So, I had a crazy thought last season and it just kind of...experienced an accelerated unchecked growth spurt today after reading the info about the next ep's and the upcoming eps's titles. *looks at the titles of the remaining episodes* 🤨

I have a WIP that I began the night the lightning strike episode premiered last season. Let me preface this by saying the fic is nowhere near complete. (I'm in no hurry. That is the beauty of fandom. You can offer a fic forty years after a show ends and the devoted fans will still be there.) The plan is still for it to be a series with several entries, all of which are multi-chaptered.

Why am I bringing this up? Because it's that time again folks where my imagination runs wild and I ask you all to play 'I know this is crazy, but just hear me out and humor me". For those who have seen this game, participated, and maybe even enjoyed it, you are awesome!

So, the game is played just like the title states. Let's go! (I put the insanity under a cut. If you move forward, I am not responsible for anything that happens!

We know Shannon and most of Eddie's family are supposedly going to appear in the next ep, right? (I say supposedly because you can't really trust anything that gets leaked. Remember that karaoke scene?)

What if it's because Eddie Diaz is balancing on a thin wire between the living and dead? He is close enough to the other side to see Shannon, but still physically hanging on in this plane.

You're probably rolling your eyes and wondering, "What the hell does this have to do with last season?" That's okay and I will tell you.

What if, all this time, we've been viewers of Eddie's coma dream? What if the person who actually died and had to be revived was Eddie? Everything that has happened since then has all been a figment of his imagination.

I'm not saying this is plausible, probable, or practical. I'm just having some fun. (I write. I paint. I am creative. Some say cray cray, but what is normal anyway?)

Now, if I look at what has transpired between then and now, I could point out a few things that could support that theory. (You can call me crazy later. I'm used to it.)

1- Eddie was hit by the lightning.

Eddie was hit first, but just hopped right up? I know some people will say the lightning threw him, but let's look at simple science. To be affected by the electricity, he had to experience the electricity. It was powerful enough to throw him off the truck.

Eddie was hit.

2- Eddie was not in Buck's dream.

Why? If it is really Eddie having the dream, but imagining it is Buck, it's possible he can't conjure a dream version of himself.

I thought it was interesting that Christopher was in the dream and asking Buck for help. Maybe it's Eddie's subconscious reminding him that Christopher will be taken care of by the man he trusted enough to give his son to should he be incapacitated.

3- The scene at the graveyard.

Why on Earth did they go to the victim's grave? Don't they have a rule of letting go at the door? Why would Eddie go to the cemetery and stand over the grave of someone he did not know having a heart-to-heart with Buck?

4- The death doula wasn't a doula.

She was death. Natalia taking Buck away the first time could have been Eddie coding. In his dream, Buck was leaving him, when in reality he was leaving Buck. Natalia coming back could have been Eddie moving toward death again, but managing to escape it's grasp once more. The final breakup? Eddie was resurging.

5- The bachelor party.

What about Eddie Diaz in the past six seasons would point to what he and Buck did? He got smashed, destroyed a hotel room with a bunch of strangers, and all in the name of a bachelor party for a man who didn't want one and was not even there.

The party could have been his subconscious rapidly processing a lot of information, both conscious and subconscious, suddenly. The drag queens? Come on now. Everything with that show is intentional and that scene was disjointed, chaotic, and completely unhinged. None of that is Eddie Diaz.

6- Marisol

Eddie is not into that woman. He is clinging to her for some reason and he fast forwarded through the relationship. Did the Eddie Diaz of seasons 2-early 6 seem like the type of father to let some woman he barely knows supervise his son's dates, babysit Christopher, and move in?

Or was it Eddie's mind simply pulling a woman he had met briefly into his subconscious and building a story around her?

(For those who are science nerds or just fascinated by psychology, there is a theory our minds can't create faces and every person in your dream is someone you have at least seen in passing.)

6- Tommy

It has been mentioned soooo many times how similar Eddie and Tommy are.

That is all I will say on that topic.

For now.

If you made it all the way through, I will end it by saying this.

This may be a crazy idea about the show, but it will happen. If it doesn't in canon, it will in fic. This is why I love fandom. 😁

[cupcraft]

Feel free to completely disagree w me i just want 2 share my thougjts after rewtaching bombshells last night: As much as Cuddy wants to believe that she left House because he couldnt be there for her in the way she wanted to (which is valid but its rlly not what happened imo) She ultimately broke up w him because he relapsed. Forgive my poor memory i may be recalling wrong but the end of the episode vicodin relapse reveal hinted that house had been back on vicodin since before cuddy’s cancer scare, and the moment that Cuddy found out she dropped him. The vicodin was the catalyst in a sense she saw him relapse back into drugs and she was like Nopeee. like it was the longest he’d been sober since he developed the addiction which is a good thing but its like. the expectation that you will relapse at least once. and yeah cuddy had just gotten a big death scare but she had also found out her boyfriend had fallen back into his addiction and instead of allowing them both to comfort eachother on their respective issues she left him liek broo😭😭😭youre dating a known addict and the minute he starts addict-ing you turn away. Also ntm even though cuddy told him outwardly she didnt want him to change, she definitely had inward hope that She could he the one to change him, that he’d love her so much he wiuld change for her and that didnt happen so she quit

No your 100% right and now I'm going to rant about huddy and a missed opportunity for her character's writing.

Cuddy historically has been a character who has understood House's addiction and thus in turn his chronic pain and disability almost the least. She has a repeated history of ableism in the show towards House, but I am going to focus on her lack of understanding around House's addiction and how that ties into why she dumped him and ultimately was a failing on character growth on behalf of the writers.

In season 7 it is implied House has relapsed before the surgery date, and it's implied that he relapsed because of his intense fear of losing Cuddy due to cancer and he loved her and WANTED to be there for her, and in a way this triggered a relapse. In the world of addiction relapse can happen as addiction is a lifelong chronic illness and moments of stress, loss, etc can be a common trigger for relapse. And the fact House wanted to be there for her without panicking, definitely also makes sense why he considered relapsing. Cuddy's problem here, is that she moralizes it. It's understandable she doesn't address her subconscious thoughts on "huh, I wonder if House has relapsed..." because she's actively undergoing a panic of "am I going to die", so it makes sense she doesn't address it until she's finished surgery. But her problem is she MORALIZES this action. Think about what she tells House. She does think House couldn't "be there the way she wanted" and that "he'd never change", but those are the excuses to rationalize how she feels being in a relationship with an addict. She tells House by "being high" he wasn't "REALLY there" for her when she had the surgery/medical scare. Though House might have been pretty high (which is hard to confirm it's never really stated, and House does have a high opiate tolerance to consider), but in the end it doesn't matter if he was. Cuddy thinks House being on Vicodin is in a way subverting his love/care/attention away from her. Instead of seeing the relapse as a concern, as her terminal illness scare, fear of loss of her, wanting to be there for her, she sees it as a means of NOT being there for her. That of course, in the end, House chooses "drugs" over her. Here's a few notable quotes:

Cuddy quite litereally says the pills mean something, as in his addiction is a moral choice in which House chooses to be a careless loveless asshole who is selfish and only cares about himself and in turn cares only about avoiding pain instead of "being there for Cuddy" which is an insane way to look at someone's addiction, and blatantly fucked up. She quite literally dumps him because of this, the relapse, of because he is an addict.

Because the reality is, like I stated, House wasn't afraid Cuddy would hurt him. House isn't afraid to be there for Cuddy. House has also gotten to a point in their relationship by season 7 that he isn't afraid to love Cuddy. He didn't fear experiencing pain, he feared losing her. And he knew, and he WANTED to be there for her in her potentially dying moments because he loved her. And that in turn triggered relapse. Cuddy's interpretation here is that House never changes, but in reality we should see this as Cuddy has never changed. She's never changed since season 1, not understanding how addiction operates.

Early seasons in which Cuddy has a history of the following: Making House go cold turkey and being cruel when he experiences withdrawal instead of intervening to help him, Cuddy telling House his "pain" is just made up in his head and worsened by the Vicodin (not in a medical sense, in a moralizing sense) such that she ignores his bad pain day and tricks him into getting a saline shot and then uses his brief "distraction" from the pain as confirmation it's in his head/drug seeking behavior (again not from a nuanced position of how mental health and chronic pain intersect, instead moralizing it), she doesn't at all ever understand how opiate addiction operates nor how to treat someone's addiction (ie with methadone...foreshadowing for later) and again moralizes his choice to remain on Vicodin (The entire tritter arc), she is ANTI methadone entirely a known medical treatment for opiate addiction enough that instead of recommending House go to a methadone clinic for increased safety and monitoring threatens to fire him unless he agrees to let her control everything about his methadone treatment plan, and etc.

The writer's have posited Cuddy as someone who cares about House, who loves House, but at no point takes a moment to understand his disability, chronic pain, and his addiction. She moralizes it. And when he enters a relationship with her sober just nearly avoiding relapse, she's almost ashamed to be with him. She enters this relationship, ashamed she could be with someone like House. She takes that scene intervening in his relapse as a moral commitment he will prioritize her over drugs, thus entering the relationship without ever really wanting to understand or be compassionate dating someone who has a history of addiction. This is a missed opportunity for her to develop as a character.

Instead, the writing goes as Cuddy doesn't get to change but the narrative wants us to believe it is House who never changed or cared about her enough, because drugs and addicts bad. Which is really fucked considering they took a lot of time making Wilson grow more understanding of addiction. There's that one episode he fears House has relapsed and he says "relapse is common!" ready to help him and when he relapses after the breakup he recommends House get help instead of moralizing it. He even yells at Cuddy for leaving him, not just as a partner but as a friend.

Sorry this is long but I hope...this makes sense

[havin-fun-imagining-twd]

Scary as a sleepy kitten

When - 10 or so minutes after He hasn't been himself, which takes place during the Chupacabra episode of Season 2

What - the finishing touches on Daryl's medical care, how Andrea's handling almost mistakenly killing the guy. You assure her that he's about as scary as a sleepy kitten right then. Then, there's digesting big bro Shane's descent from morality along with Daryl's simultaneous growth in it. Bonus is a hint regarding the Greene's barn. So sad there aren't any barn cats in there anymore, wonder what happened...

Genre - a little angsty, a little fluffy, a little found-family.

Who - You, Mangy Hick (that's Daryl), Patricia, Andrea, Papa Dale and his not good book, and sweet little Beth (who's got the same headcanon from the Fabulously Confident Reader stories about liking choose-your-own-adventure books)

Perspective - 2nd person, and 3rd Daryl

Pronouns - did GN again this time

TWs - some language, otherwise you just have a brief blow-up. The day's been something else, y'all

Length? - 10-15 minutes

References - when Daryl made that funny in Like a traditional Sunday dinner, the incident with Ed as seen in "Deserved" Part 1 but mostly Part 2 and its cooldown in It's not the end of the wo - oh. There's the continuation of big brother Shane's descent, a slow progression in a bulk of the chapters. Be sure to check out Invisible Tugging Strings, Part 1 and Part 2 , then Spell your last name, please. as well as He hasn't been himself

Official Masterlist here (find fabulously confident reader there!) and the Chronological Slowpoke Masterlist here

have fun and happy reading!

Apologies for the lengthy delay, slowpokes, my brain has been on power-saver for about a month, might could be evident in the chapter, too XD

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

“Guess I'll just move this arm like a robot—oh-ho, check it, I can still do the tomahawk chop, y’all!”

And yeah, then his friend proceeds to make barely one and a half chops before wincing. The slight pout that forms afterward makes him want to smile, it’s damn cute.

“Hurt more than I thought it would.”

The twangy blonde lady looks entertained. “Tell me why, Y/N.”

Their pout turns more embarrassed. “…Movin’ the forearm requires these here muscles.”

He liked that their accent revved up more with the blonde lady—sorry, her name’s Patricia, he knows, got it.

“Which affects what?” Patricia asks.

“My shoulder and chest.”

“Which are injured and got irritated something serious today, along with what I’m fairly sure is maybe your C6 and 7, maybe the T1, whenever you first got hurt.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they mumble.

Stop thinking Y/N looks cute. Also, what were those letter-number things?

Sighing, his friend stares at their upper arm.

So, during the, like, he doesn’t know, 5 minutes or whatever it was when the old man helped him slump to the bathroom so he could finally take a piss, Y/N’s upper arm was wrapped to their torso to prevent them from hurting it more. They keep overdoing it, and they keep taking their damn sling off, so Patricia made a compromise, he guesses.

And after doing a modeling-pose type thing with their wrapped arm and asking who was wearing their gauze better, them or him, Y/N immediately tried to do the tomahawk chop and move like a robot and why is he finding that so damn cute right now?.

Patricia winks at Y/N. “Name some of the muscles up there and I won’t put the rest in a sling."

You

“Ooh, bicep, tricep,” basics out of the way. “This, um, one of these over here is the brachialis, this is the deltoid, the teres major’s under here.” You got that muscle wrong on an anatomy midterm back during college and never forgot about it. “This here is the trapezius.” Because the dudes who do the trapeze at the circus got real big ones (or at least that’s how you remember it). “And, well, the clavicle is this bone, so the bone under it is the scapula, which means right about here’s the subscapularis muscle,” that she said you may have hurt, “Oh, duh, then ‘the major one is the pectoralis.’ And—”

“—Okay, no sling.”

Phew. “Thank you!”

“For now, anyway. Meanwhile, Hersh is givin’ me a look, let’s get to cleaning our friend, here.”

Him

The funny part is, as Patricia left, she made a face and said, “I don’t remember most of the muscle or bone names, I just took Y/N's word for it. Now, Daryl, don’t go gettin’ out of bed, stay put.”

Now he’s finally laying down, nothing else to be done to him. He’s so damn tired.

He’s scrubbed up, too. Got a big-ass bandage over his head, wrapped all around. That was a trip; Patricia and Y/N washed his head and neck over a bowl. He counted the seconds til it was over, half-listened to whatever they were chatting about to distract himself.

Once he was bound up like a cartoon character and given instruction to not get it wet, Hershel came back and walked him to the bathroom again, this time to clean everything else off.

There was a little stool thing in the shower, with the shower hose on the ground instead of hanging. “Don’t get your head or the bandage wet. There's a waterproof cover over the dressing on your side that you'll have to remove when you're finished. Now, I imagine you prefer total privacy, but if you need the help, I can assist, or I can get your friend Theodore, if your prefer.”

“M’fine.”

The simple response “I’ll be outside the door, Daryl,” surprised him. Made him feel stupid and ashamed and comforted all at the same time.

And he…he needed the damn help. Ain’t like the old guy hadn’t seen his back already, anyway.

Still, the old man mostly stayed behind the shower curtain at his request, and he didn’t see his junk or nothing, Daryl made sure to keep himself covered.

Part of him felt like some pathetic little cat getting a flea bath.

Today was something else.

So goddamned tired…

You

Not 15 minutes went by since he was escorted to the washroom and now he’s fast asleep under the sheets.

Lori and you stayed inside with Carl (and Daryl), and Carol and Rick brought in plates of food into the house for the four of you.

Carol cooked up some jerky with an egg for Daryl as a special treat with the rest of his meal. Menu for tonight is peanut butter sandwiches (sort of, they’re on saltines), hard-boiled eggs (not soft-boiled, you checked this time), with sauteed field greens.

Your poor friend must be ravenous, but it looks like tiredness won this round. He looks so different asleep. Sweet, even. It's silly, but his light snores almost sound like purring and now you're thinking about kittens.

Another moment in the quiet, and you figure you shouldn’t stand there like a weirdo anymore.

Well, his egg and the peanut butter sandwiches will keep until he wakes up, and the jerky and egg will taste great either way, but his portion of sauteed field greens won’t be nice cold. You’re only a little bummed when you slide your portion of little sandwiches onto his plate and take his portion of greens. He’s earned extra treats, he can have all the peanut butter he wants after what he found today.

You inhale deeply. Exhale slowly. Close your eyes and ask inwardly for help after offering more thanks that he came back alive, and found concrete proof of Sophia.

It’s nice to be in the quiet. It feels safer better to be away from Shane right now, too. You aren’t sure what you’re going to do about the sleeping situation other than tell your brother to set up his own tent.

You also take one of the cracker sandwiches, it’s been a rough day. But when you start to nibble on it…your appetite is gone. Which is so dumb, dude, you’d been stoked at the thought of chowing down when you were high on Daryl being okay and having found Sophia’s doll.

Daryl’s chest rises and falls. You listen to his light snores, and find it, as Amy would’ve said, “interesting,” (but understandable) that your stomach has a few butterflies at seeing him so peaceful and still.

You miss Amy. Which prompts you to consider that you should check on Andrea. Earlier, Dale had come in and asked a bunch of questions for her because she was too ashamed to see people. From wherever she is right now, Amy is probably hoping you’ll help comfort her big sister.

Patricia stops you before you exit the house through the side-door. “Been meanin' to ask, I heard you tell your brother to get out, earlier. Everythin’ okay?”

That question was unexpected, words aren’t working for you. You shake and nod at the same time, which is weird, so, you open your mouth to fix it, but nothing formulates.

After a second try, all you can stumble through is “I don’t know, ma’am,” before ungracefully scooting outside.

After 5 minutes of polite conversation on the steps, mainly between you and Dale regarding Daryl’s status, Andrea is still dumbfounded that she’d almost killed someone.

“He’s really okay?”

“He’s bandaged and resting now. You only winged him, but the falls he took earlier did the most damage, Andy.” You’re trying not to be angry with her, but failing. Which sucks, because you know she was trying to protect the group…

But that she still shot it even though it was against Mr. Greene’s wishes and she knew that indicates an unhealthy variety of pride. One can't be having that kind of attitude with a firearm, it ain't good. And Daryl was almost a casualty because of it.

And like, come on, there were five of you running toward her target, it was dangerous for her to attempt to shoot from that angle! Doesn’t she understand that’s irrespons—ugh, and isn’t Shane supposed to have been doing gun safety shit with her? Isn’t that his whole wannabe jarhead schtick—great, now you’re more upset about Shane!

“I’m glad you’re enjoying those, ” Dale tells you, nodding at your cracker and chuckling. “They’re the part of dinner I rushed to help make, this evening was…something.”

He shrugs, and you remember how Daryl grunted that today was ‘somethin’ else.’

“I suppose having spread the peanut butter on crackers was a small step up from offering it on spoons to everyone,” he muses.

You can’t help but hum, a spoonful of peanut butter sounds scrumptious right now. Makes a good breakfast or snack, too.

“Did Daryl eat enough?” Andrea worries. “Does he need anything?”

“He was asleep when I brought him his supper, but I left my portion of the crackers—minus this one—on his plate.”

“Come to think of it, I’m not sure he’s a fan of peanut butter,” Dale thinks out loud. “I offered him some for breakfast one morning, and now that I recall, he backed away from it.”

Not like peanut butter?

“—Oh my God, what if he’s he allergic?” Andrea breathes.

“Nah, he ate a peanut yesterday. I was havin’ one of the little packets for lunch and he tried one, he can’t be allergic,” you assure them. And surely he doesn’t not like peanuts. That would be so sad!

It gets quiet.

Andrea stares at her feet.

“I can’t believe almost killed him.” She inhales and buries her face in her hands. “I shot someone.”

And Dale is only meaning to ease her discomfort and add some levity—but whether it’s because of the new bond you have with Daryl, or maybe because here’s something of a flashback hitting you from how you’d had to actually shoot a living person a few months ago—when Dale jokes to you, “Like I told her, we’ve all wanted to shoot Daryl,” you become livid.

After two shallow breaths of your inner tea kettle screaming, this sentence: “Guess y’all will want sunshine over here to work on her aim, then,” seethes out as you stand and book it to the fields.

The past several days especially has shown you how wrong your initial conclusions about that man were. He’s a work-in-progress, make no mistake, but shit if he ain’t working on it!

Unlike your brother, who keeps getting worse, who just tried to flirt with Lori by saying he didn’t care about a missing, abused little girl—the same little girl Daryl was willing to almost die to find!

Horrified at Shane and about today; confused, embarrassed, overwhelmed, in pain, overtired, and therefore angry about everything, you walk, hyperventilate, and finally, quietly, start to cry.

Then you accidentally drop the peanut butter cracker and cry harder.

The light swish of your boots in the grass starts to crunch when you reach the sandy part by now-boarded-up well. You walk faster, neither wanting to be near the two-part walker inside nor in the area where apparently, Daryl dumped Merle’s ‘hard stuff,’ as he slurred to you earlier during his trauma assessment.

Soon you’re by the rocks you’d climbed the other night. You step up and sit on a lower one and sniffle another minute or so until the worst of it seems to have spilled out.

When will you get a better handle on your temper?

While you’re busy wallowing in self-pity, you notice Dale’s watch ticking and are reminded that you have to return it.

You stand.

Trudge back with your tail between your legs.

He and Andrea are still on the steps.

“I’m sorry. I let my anger get the better of me,” you tell them softly.

Dale waves you over. “Come back and sit if you like, kiddo. It’s been a long day.”

“It’s been somethin’,” you mumble. “And you aren’t a bad shot, Andrea, I was being snotty.” About an inch to your left and he’d have been a goner, you leave out.

“I’m glad I wasn’t as good a shot as I’d hoped,” she sounds ashamed to say. Her head is still hanging low when she makes a one-sided smile and taps the spot next to her. “Will you be helping with shooting practice tomorrow?”

“If that’s still on, yeah.” Shane was enlisting your help with that, which means you’ll have to act civil…ugh, why worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. You take the watch off, hand it to Dale. “Here you go, Mr. H.”

“Ah, very good. I would hate to start losing track of the days, then we’d really be in for it. Let’s see…an hour until it’s time to wind her up.”

The breeze carries the smell of woodsmoke with it. You lean against Andrea for a moment, she leans back.

Then Shane comes into view.

When you catch his eye, you shake your head in warning in case he’s thinking about coming over and schmoozing with the others as if he didn’t just f—tomorrow will be better. Things will be better in the morning. He’ll apologize and things will be better and you’ll all have a good day and maybe Sophia will be found.

“Y/N, how about we talk later tonight?” Dale murmurs.

Did he see the face you made at Shane?

Best change the subject. “If we do, is it finally my turn to borrow that awful book I’ve heard so much about?”

“The Case of the Missing Man is not an awful book,” he chuckles back, then shrugs. “Maybe Jimmie Herron’s style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. My Irma didn’t like his work, either.”

“Y/N, it’s really not great,” Andrea drones.

“Glenn said the same.”

“Amy had me read it so we could, um,” her gaze grows teary. She closes her eyes for a moment, then smiles and shakes her head. “‘Share the trauma.’”

You smile and shake your head, too. That sounds like Amy. “She finished it up in my tent while I was knocked out with a migraine, first thing out of her mouth to me when I woke up was how lame it was. Told me you had first dibs.”

“Then I lent it to T-Dog”

Oh, right. On the first half-week of the trek to Fort Benning, his nose was stuck in it. “He plowed on through it, didn’t he?”

“He wanted the torture to be over.”

You and she snort, Dale just chuckles again. “After you finish it, only Rick, and our young Carl—oh, and, uh your br—and Shane, they’ll be the only ones to not have done so.” He points his finger as if an idea just popped into his head. “But both Jacqui and Lori thought it was good.”

“Bless their hearts, they loved watching soaps, though, what does that tell us?” you giggle to them.

Dale lifts his hands in surrender. “See me later, troublemaker, I’ll lend you my ‘awful’ book and we can talk. I’m gonna hold you to it.” He looks at Andrea. “Young lady, will you be alright?”

“Yes. I'm just not ready to face anyone yet.”

“You know where to find me.”

She rests her arms on her knees and slouches again, stare fixed on nothing much. You go to rest your arms on your knees, too, and are immediately reminded that that particular position is a no-go for you right now.

“Y/N, after what happened with Ed, when did the feeling of wanting to hide go away?”

“Mine was an easier situation," you quietly point out. "And it wasn’t just me, Shane was the one who—" you grimace at the memory. "You were there.”

“Mm.”

To answer her question, “But I guess it wasn’t til, y’know, I faced people again that I got I didn’t have to hide. Shane's sense of 'duty' helped, too. But after I talked to Carol, saw Sophia smile at me, when I knew they were on my side, I didn’t mind so much about the rest.”

“Pretty sure everyone was on your side with that,” she mutters. “For what I just did…”

“Pretty sure even Daryl will, um, well th-that you were tryin’ to protect the group.” …oof.

She lifts her eyebrows. “You aren’t good at lying, Y/N.”

It wasn’t a lie, per se. “Objectively, you were tryin’ to protect the group.”

“I wanted to feel in-control and like I could do it.”

Oh.

She admitted that? If only your brain could come up with something heartfelt or whatever the situation called for to convey how much humility from someone so confident and self-assured means, instead of this: “I wanna be on your apocalypse survival team.”

A sigh leaves her, and she simply asks, “Just let me know how furious he is with me. I'm dreading how he’ll be when he’s up. I'm a little scared, while I’m being honest.”

“Hm?”

“Daryl.”

“You’re scared of him?”

She eyes you. “We’ve all seen how he can fly off his handle. He waved that knife at Rick and your brother, the axe at Jenner.”

Oh, right. That didn’t even consider cross your mind, that she’d be scared of his reaction to...being shot in the…head. Man, your brain is not working.

It can’t even configure a response again, now you’re just shaking your head like a confused mute.

“You don’t think I have to worry, Y/N?”

“No,” you answer truthfully. “You might would feel better if you saw him, he's probably up an eatin' dinner by now."

"I think now's too soon."

"Trust me, he’s holed up in bed now, he’s about as scary as a sleepy kitten.”

“Kittens have teeth and sharp claws,” she dryly states.

Your mind immediately hops to the exciting fact that you have yet to meet the Greene’s barn cat(s) as you stand and lead Andrea inside through the side door to get to Daryl’s room, waving to Beth reading her book as you pass.

“Beth, this is Andrea. Andrea this is Beth. She’s the one who made the pudding for Carl. She’s Mr. Greene’s youngest.”

Andrea smiles and goes in for a shake. Beth shyly waves, the returning of the handshake ending up as an awkward afterthought.

Sweet as she is, leaving her in peace is probably what she’s hoping for (the poor teenager’s home and front yard is full of wounded strangers).

And you almost make it through the full sentence before gasping in delight when you see what book she has.“We’re just checkin’ on Dar—is that a choose-your-own-adventure book??”

Him

There was this loud noise in another room, woke him for a second. Y/N’s laugh stuck out from the other sounds.

While falling back asleep, he remembered how he'd made them laugh really loud when he ripped that $20 bill that night at the CDC. How they’d belly-laughed so hard at his dumb, tipsy-ass joke had felt so damned unexpectedly good.

He’s back asleep before the amount of pain he’s in can really register.

You

“I’ll bring it over after I talk to Mr. Horvath. He’s the older man in our group, I love him to pieces, you probably saw him in his bucket hat?” you tell Beth.

Jimmy apparently has been poking fun at her reading choose-your-own-adventure books to pass the time because they’re ‘for kids,’ so, lending him The Case of the Missing Man was decided to be the best way to get back at him.

You hope y’all didn’t wake Daryl, it’d gotten a little animated for a minute. To make up for it, you tiptoe when you trek down the hall to his room, Andrea and Beth behind you.

Beth left something of hers in there before he was brought in, but she was hesitant to go in there (which you praised, teenage girls and unknown older men don’t mix). Anyway, she was hesitant because she’s a little, um, well, kinda intimidated by him.

Andrea invited her to join you two, citing “Y/N says he’s as scary as a sleepy kitten right now.”

At his door, you knock lightly and call his name. Wait for an answer, try again.

Upon listening more carefully, his snores sound through the door and let you know he’s still asleep. Slowly, slowly, you open it.

As subtly as you can, you step into room and pull the sheet that had fallen down back over his shoulder before the girls see the scarring.

Daryl stirs, then grunts something incoherent as he flinches, blinks, and tries to turn toward you.

“It’s just me,” you hush. “I was fixin’ your sheet, it’d fallen.” You tuck the sheet down over his shoulder, gently and slowly. “You’re safe in the Greene’s house. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”

His muscles relax and he’s back to snoring before the pet name is finished slipping out of your mouth.

Still standing beside him, you watch his side rise and fall, rise and fall. Reminds you how grateful you are. He really does look so helpless and sweet right now.

You notice Beth peeking back and forth between you and him, but she quickly looks away.

Poor buddy. If the man is this tired, he’ll rest better with closed curtains. He’s big on privacy, besides. Carefully, you start to draw them shut. Andrea joins.

Once they’re all pulled closed and the room is dimmer, she puts her hand on your arm and gently pulls you back into the hall, Beth leading the way. You make sure the door doesn’t make too much noise as it shuts.

“Thanks,” Beth whispers.

“Scary as a sleepy kitten, right?” Oh, that reminds you, “Y’all don’t have a barn cat or two, do you?”

“N-not anymore.”

Aw, that’s sad. “I’m sorry, little one.”

“Oh, um—d-don’t get too close to the big, shuttered barn, okay?” she rushes to add.

Before you can both nod and tell her ‘of course,’ she then stumbles through, “There’s—it’s—the, um—it’s just not real safe!”

She looks so freaked out and nervous that you forget you’re supposed to respond.

Lucky for you, Andrea, smooth as ever, assures her “We’ll let Carl know not play around there,” and starts to chat about how she “steers clear of old barns” ever since she spotted “the biggest rat I’ve ever seen come out of one at a company retreat,” while Patricia comes downstairs hugging to her side what looks like a wedding photo.

Beth scurries away, you make eye contact with Andrea, then Patricia gets your attention.

“Sweet pea, about tonight,” she begins, hands pressed together with her fingertips toward you. “Daryl’s gonna need to be checked on—”

“—Of course. I’ll stay with him. Please do me a list of what to check for and how often?”

“Will do. Try and borrow that big watch again, you’ll need it. Prolly will do well to have somebody else, maybe Carol to help. I'll go find her. You know, there’s an old air mattress in the attic, I’ll have Jimmy fill it up. Just go grab your sleeping bag,” she tells you.

“Thank you!” You’d been hoping for a way to avoid Shane all night. Is this a gift from above or something?

A reminder of, “Don’t use your injured side to carry your sleeping bag in,” from Patricia sends you on your way outdoors to retrieve your stuff.

The air is cooling off as the sun sets. The sky is a hazy orange-pink.

“Y/N, I didn’t realize,” Andrea says, slowly walking beside you.

“Realize what?”

“You two.”

You, too? Is she talking about your shoulder, maybe? “What’d I do? Do you mean my wrapped arm?”

She peers at you, head tilted to the side. “You and Daryl,” she softly clarifies. “It was Dale who wondered first, after you had to excuse yourself.”

Me and Daryl? “What’d we do?” Perhaps she's referring to the search today? Andrea isn’t one to not speak her mind plainly, you wonder why she’s not being more succinct. She doesn't know about you having shot that guy. Dale has an idea, but he's tight-lipped about it.

“So, you and he…?” she trails off.

?

So, you start to fill her in about the search. “Before Daryl found the doll, we’d—”

—OH WAIT, now you get it!

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

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

(for those wondering, the tomahawk chop is something Georgia Braves fans do)

> Masterlist link here

and our teeny tiny taglist :D

@spenciepoo338 @its-freaking-bats��​​​ @whistlesalot​​​​ @buffy-the-assbutt-slayer​​​​  @dreamingaboutthewonderland @kwazii-kat​ @darylsmavis​​​​​  @outlanderhornet22​​​​​ @battinsonrobs @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @multiifandomhoe @writingmybeloved @boomergirl123 @iheartathena0 @moonliight-luv @suniloli

(inbox is open if you would like on or off the taglist, slowpokes. Please don’t feel bad or nervous if you don’t want to be tagged anymore,  just let me know, we’re all friends here and your comfort level is important!)  

[wwilloww]

update: where i've been part two

hi! hello! my beautiful friends!

good god i have missed you so very much. i am so sorry i've been away.

back in september of last year i popped onto tumblr to tell you all where i've been. i had every intention of coming back to write but it just... never happened. i got sucked back into the vacuum of school and thesis and old friends and new friends and a new relationship with a really lovely girl.

i've been thinking a lot about why i haven't been active on here. tbh i don't go a day without thinking of this community and the stories i've left unfinished and untended to. heads up, the next couple of paragraphs are a little personal, so please treat them with some tenderness.

the fall brought a lot of really big changes for me and looking back i realize my stopping writing on here is a result of me trying to integrate those big changes into my life.

first off, i've been working nonstop on a book (a book!!!) which is also my thesis for my master's. i really underestimated how much time and creative energy this book would take. i've learned so much though, both in regards to form and craft, but also as a person, finding out so much about who i am.

then, after the combination of moving away from my shitty old apartment, changing my thesis project from anger and depression to something focused on joy and reconnection, and making some big mindset changes, i felt so strangely free. 🌱 at first, i thought it was just a windfall. that it'd last for a couple of days. but as the fall semester went on, i felt lasting relief from some mental health issues i've been struggling with as a result of a horrible, horrible relationship that lasted the entirety of my teen years. the change was incredible. it was like my body and mind were functioning again. i felt happy. like actually, really happy. and when i wasn't happy, i was content.

on top of that, this fall prompted me to re-explore my sexuality. i didn't know where my relationship with fanfiction fit into this new understanding of myself, and i'm still parsing it apart.

so. i'm still figuring all of these things out, and i think having a space away from showing up online was really crucial to that growth.

every day i've been away from tumblr i've missed it and i've missed you guys and i think it's time to come back. last year this time, i was writing 1k+ a day for sh., and the seasons reminded me of how special and wonderful it was to be deep in that creative process. i don't know if it's realistic to promise a chapter a month, but i would like to put out a chapter in the next two weeks, as i've been working on it bit by bit over the last couple of months.

this is all to say:

sh. and my unfinished projects will continue, as will new projects. i'm going to keep writing.

thank you all for being here, even when i'm not. you all are such a beautiful community and i feel so so happy to be a part of this group of fantastic people.

thanks for being my friends. thank you for believing in and uplifting my writing. you're incredible.

with love,

willow 🌱💕

[princeanxious]

Hi! I was wondering about your Lost Guardian au from ages ago, do you think you’ll ever plan on updating it and if not, could someone else take up the fic?

So heres the thing. If someone wants to write a fic *inspired* by The Lost Guardian, i’m not gonna stop them, and i’d probably feel super honored so long as the inspiration was correctly credited!

As for ‘taking up the fic,’ the short answer is no.

I have active drafts and the rest of the story already planned out to its finish, notes, even a branch-off fic set post-story that will likely go up on my nsfw blog if i ever get around to editing it. The Lost Guardian hasn’t been abandoned, it’s simply on hiatus. (And yes, i recognize 3 almost 4 years so far is a really fucking long hiatus. The Chapter 9 draft doc was made in december of 2020, and last edited in July 2022)

I started writing that fic whilst still in highschool, a time where I was 17 and didnt have to worry yet about getting my license or maintaining a part time job, i had an over abundance of freetime even partially to my detriment, the fandom was booming and I had plenty of feedback, and this fic was (and still *is*) a story im proud of.

But i’m 22 now, working a full time job to pay rent and account for a number of minor ‘disabilities’(best word i have for them atm) that I cant ignore or push to the side nor treat poorly, from the lasting effects on my body of stunted growth to celiac/glutent intolerance to adhere to that directly determines how easily my body functions for the week, to dealing with glasses i cannot afford to break and taking care of teeth i cannot afford to fix, taking care of my mental health and using the free time i have to do what brings me the most joy at that time.

The sanders sides fandom has heavily quieted down with the season finale hiatus and I’d like to think I did pretty well for going six long years dedicated solely to that without cracking under the silence, because *I knew* when I caved to something else it’d be a long while before I had the drive to come back with any sort of resolution to my active works. Thats just how my hyper fixations work. I cannot focus on multiple at once, it’s too much to process simultaneously and takes away my enjoyment bc I tend to watch/consume things repeatedly to catch every little detail i missed. And it doesn’t help when one loses steam because their content barely breaks 100 notes(80% of which are likes, 15% are reblogs with the occasional comment, and 5% are self-reblogs) when back in the height of it all, a few thousand notes was pretty average interaction. This blog still has about 11.5k followers, almost all of which came from the height of the fandom period. So for now i’ve moved onto the FNAF DCA fandom, bc it is fresh and new to me.

I know you didn’t mean to poke the bear here, I get it, but like.. C’mon. Any other fic of mine likely wouldn’t have gotten the same reaction in full but, still. I’ve had to answer this question a handful of times over the years at the point, which might be why this response feels so charged, and i’m sorry.

I don’t mean to come off as snippy or rude, but it *is* kind of invasive to offer to finish one’s creative work when it’s taking too long and theres very little payback for it. I’ve got adhd, delayed satisfaction isn’t a thing I experience. Just guilt that it wasn’t finished in a way for me to post it in time before I broke and lost all motivation to share it.

In my head, TLG has been long finished and held the ending for years, theres just been no energy to put in the effort of finish writing it for others to read. I’m still trying to get my life together to change that, don’t get me wrong, but the American economy is literally in shambles so who knows how or even if i’ll manage that. Call me selfish for being content with only mentally having my creative story’s ending and a collection of rambles and notes to show for it, but at the end of the day, it’s still my story, and i dont feel comfortable with people trying to ‘take up the mantle’ to finish it, when they don’t know how it ends.

I’m glad you like it enough to want to, though, I really *really* am. I’m just sorry I haven’t been able to finish it for you all. And i just don’t know when that will be, I just know that I *want* to do so, however long it takes.

[littlewitchlilith]

New HOTD trailer, Here are my thoughts

1st. Daemon entering the throne room gives me Daenerys season 2 vision in the throne room for some weird reason.

2nd. CREGAN STARK CRUMBS, also Jace had a serious glow up. Also I really Hope we see Cregan use the ancient valyrian steel sword of stark Ice.

3rd. I find it interesting how nearly all Alicent's scenes in the trailers has her in serene areas or places of nature, maybe its just me but I seems like she's trying to hold on to the little girl she once was, she's trying to hold on to her former friendship with Rhaenyra. She's shown wearing a blue dress which gives me young Alicent.

4rth. I can't wait to see more Rhaenys and Nyra moments.

5th. I like the slight changes they are making with Aegon and Rhaenyra. They both seem more involved with the war and are clearly taking part in it. I like how they are making Aegon have more personality. Personally I always thought show Aegon was more observant

6th, I want to see Daemon and Rhaenys relationship. I want to see the relationship of all the Targaryens. Aemond and Aegon, Jace and Daemon, the twins. I literally can't wait to see how the war will affect their relationships.

7th DRAGONSSSSS. Also I was so confused when I saw Vermithor. I thought he was the cannibal because he didn't look like that in s1 in my opinion. Also Sunfyre and Moondancer my babies can't wait to see more dragons. Literally the real reason I started watching the show fr.

8th Otto saying that the great houses will support Aegon is so funny to me because most of them called in support of Rhaenyra.

9th. Daemon just being all "this is fun and games" about war in the trailer is interesting because we know Daemon lives in chaos and violence and I like how adaptable he is. Like he can live in war or in peace and still find enjoyment in life or have moments to have little laughs. I really hope we do get some happy or peaceful scenes in s2 despite the war going on. The good moments in these dark times kind of thing.

10th Can't wait to see the Velaryon fleet in action. I want to see Corlys taking command. After all he's known as the greatest seafarer. I want to see it in action not just hear it from other characters, also I can't wait for Corlys arc in the show, his relationship with Rhaenys, his grandchildren, Adam and Alyn how the show is going to play that out.

11th Is it just me or did they make the dragons bigger this season because Caraxes looks huge. In the "leader strong enough scene" I was like who's that until Caraxes moved and I was like NOODLE BOI but he just looked so much bigger than in Season 1, Sunfyre and Meleys and Vermithor also appear so much bigger than before, like we only see Sunfyre for a second but he seemed small, also Syrax and Seasmoke as well look like got growth spurts or something in the last trailers.

11th. It's sad that Rhaenyra has to ask Daemon if he sees her as the rightful ruler and I give me whiplash to when she asked Criston Cole if he believed the real would ever accept her as queen. I believe he said they will have to and it makes me curious to see what Daemon's response to her question is, because we know that Daemon did want the throne but he does still love his family and show Daemon is a lot less worse than book Daemon especially in regards to Rhaenyra but like his face when she asks him that question it seems to me like he's conflicted or even hesitant to answer her and I genuinely wonder why.

12th. Aemond. I'm curious what they are going to do with Aemond this season, He seems to be enjoying the war as a whole which makes sense given the fact that season gives subtle hints that he wants a more worthy opponent to fight than Criston Cole and he sees that with Daemon, like he seems a bit like his book version but I feel it's a facade he's putting on because he knows he's very much responsible for war for the pain and suffering his family is currently going through, he knocked over the dominos that Alicent and Otto set up. I think this facade will be his way of coping with that guilt, he's branded a kinslayer now and he's accepting it in his own way. I think his relationship with Alicent will come to light more, the two were close in the last season but the trailer hints that they've clearly become estranged, I feel like Alicent despite how angry she is at Aemond want to continue to cling to him and it's one of the reasons she wants the war to end not just her former friendship with Rhaenyra but because she doesn't want her children to die in what she deems a senseless war. Aemond however want to continue to fight he wants the chaos so him calling Alicent by her name instead of mother is interesting almost like he's trying to distance himself from her and evolve as his own person because it does seem like Alicent see's him as a mini version of herself, their does seem to be something parentification on her part towards him and I think he's slowly catching on to that. Idk like theirs so many opinions and ideas going on in my head regarding Aemond.

13th showings Aegon and Rhaenyra in grief at the same time is interesting to me because regarding of wether or not you support one or the other, they have so much in common. Take out every awful thing Aegon has done and everything he will do, they really aren't that different. Both grew up ignored and neglected by Viserys, young Rhaenyra points out that all Viserys wanted as she was growing up was a son, a male heir. When he gets Aegon his son, his male heir he blatantly ignores and neglects him and his siblings in favor of Rhaenyra. Both their mothers go through tremendous amounts of pain and suffering that they both have to be a witness or even aware of and it's seen as all for nothing, both lose everything during the war that everyone says is rightfully theirs, like we know for Aegon it wasn't true but tradition isn't something that is easy to break even now in our times we have our traditions and if someone comes in and tries to change them be react defensively. I don't support Aegon and I don't see him as the rightful king but he is an heir wether we like it or not, he's more the heir than Daemon or even Rhaenys is, personality has nothing to do with it if that was the case than Maegor wouldn't have been considered an heir either. Both Rhaenyra and Aegon are basically one in the same.

14th mysaria herself is someone who intrigues me I'm curious of what her role will be this season because we know she helped put Aegon on the throne last season by handing Aegon over but she does have a former relationship with Daemon.

15th "War is coming and neither of us may win" is such foreshadowing because regarding of wether you are team black or team green no one really wins because yes Rhaenyra's line does continue the Targaryen line but she goes down in history as a usurper despite her being the named heir by the king and while Aegon lives longer than Rhaenyra, he's still killed shortly after by his own men and is succeeded by Rhaenyra's son. Still both lose everything by the time of their deaths and are half the shells of the people they once were.

[londonspirit]

When Our Flag Means Death first premiered, the pirate comedy series — a novel genre mashup in and of itself — didn't necessarily make a big splash in the streaming landscape. It didn't take long, however, for positive word of mouth and a slowly growing fanbase to lead to impressive viewing numbers, with the first season becoming the biggest new series in the U.S. across all platforms — and its popularity has only grown since. Now, on the precipice of the series' return, over a year after it was finally renewed for a second season, viewers are eagerly preparing to tune in to find out what will happen to Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), Edward Teach/Blackbeard (Taika Waititi), and the rest of the Revenge's crew now that everyone has been divided into two separated groups.

Ahead of the Season 2 premiere, Collider had the opportunity to speak to creator David Jenkins for a spoiler-free conversation (if you've checked out some of those trailers already, that is!) about what fans can expect. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, Jenkins discusses when he found out the show would be renewed, the unprecedented response to Season 1, and why he enjoys engaging with the OFMD fandom online. He also digs into discussing why Season 2 takes a somewhat darker tone, the importance of adding more female characters to the cast, his envisioned story for the show's planned three seasons, and more.

COLLIDER: You made a whole season between now and the last time we spoke!

DAVID JENKINS: It was a long time ago. Here we are!

And I know it was a bit before we even knew that Season 2 was going to be a possibility. How long was that wait on your end?

JENKINS: Yeah, I blocked it out, if I'm honest. [Laughs] It was a minute. We're really lucky that they picked us up, and they've been really wonderful to us at Max. They're just very fun to make this show with. There was a minute where I would call it kind of a slow-burn fandom, and the show just seemed to grow and grow and grow. I think we became more and more viable as the weeks went by after the finale, and thank god we got to do it again.

With the response to Season 1, it felt like week after week, even once the whole season was out, there was just this exponential growth. What was your reaction to that? Has that ever happened to you before, in your experience?

JENKINS: Oh, it’s never happened to me. I don't know if it's happened to other shows. Somehow, I feel like the streaming of it makes this unusual, and then the fact that it is actually a romantic relationship between these two characters. Audiences didn't want to get burned again, and then saw that they weren't going to be, and celebrated it. It just really moved me, actually. I thought that they'd kiss, and people would be like, “Oh, cool, cool!” I kind of thought people would know a little bit more [about] where we were going, but then in hindsight, no, people have been hurt and burned on so many other shows and then made to feel silly. So it was very gratifying to see the show embraced — to see every element of the creative embraced, every element of the production design, every department get their due in attention, was just overwhelming. It's the honor of my professional life. I don't think this happens very often, so I'm just savoring it.

You don't always see creators who are willing to engage with the fandom online, or they try to keep a distance, but it feels like you're getting in there occasionally and interacting with fans. How do you feel about that particular response, the fandom and their passion?

JENKINS: It's an honor. If it were a different circumstance or a different property or something else that maybe had a different tone that brought in a more dyspeptic, less gracious [fandom]... Everyone's been lovely. When people are being nice and normal, easy to be around, yeah, I wanna be at that party. Are you kidding me? And then you're gonna celebrate all the work that we did when we didn't know if the show would be good? Because when you're making these things, you're like, “Well, I know this is just my weird thing. Maybe people like it, maybe they won't.” When people are this gracious and effusive and not weird about it, it's like, “Yeah, let's talk. This is great. You're a fan of the stuff that we were a fan of. We're not different.” So that's really rare.

In terms of the overall tone of Season 2, there's definitely a darkness that it starts with. Was it more of a conscious decision to embrace that side, or did it really inherently come from picking up with these characters after where we left off with them in Season 1?

JENKINS: It's picking up with where the arc is in the story. We're post-breakup, and they're trying to fix it. One of these characters is very, very damaged and has never made himself vulnerable in this way before, and I don't think [he] would react very well to having his heart broken in this way. I don't think it would be cute, and I don't think it would be funny. I think it would be scary as hell to watch a very damaged guy that we've established in Ed, who killed his dad and thinks he's not capable of being loved, deal with rejection and see that Stede really hurt him. It's important to do that, to give him stakes because Rhys [Darby] is adorable, and Taika [Waititi] can be adorable, and sometimes when they're being adorable, they become invulnerable. I want to see a love story between two people who are very vulnerable, for better and for worse. So you have to pick up in a place where there's been damage done and there's a price to pay, and then it's like, “Can they come back from it?”

That's not to say that there aren't moments of levity and comedy. Stede, from his perspective, is this more pining figure writing letters, but he's definitely not in the same mental or emotional space as Ed is at this point because he doesn't realize how hurt Ed is.

JENKINS: The lovely thing about Rhys and about Stede is Stede’s cluelessness. He eventually does the right thing, but he doesn't know his own strength, and that's his problem. Then he does damage, and then he has to repair that damage, and that's the growth of that character. Ed is a guy where you're like, “Wait a minute, you're invulnerable. You’re Blackbeard,” but then you see he's hurt, he's not getting up. To me, those are the natural journeys for those two characters. Then you see Ed come back, and he has to wear a bell around his neck, and he's gonna fix a lock on this door, and he's gonna learn to fish and just be a three-dimensional human as opposed to just a scary drawing. Those are the tensions of those guys, and that's why Rhys has dog energy, and Taika has cat, and that seems to go along with both of those arcs.

I wanted to ask you about one of the things that feels like a really nice addition to Season 2, which is just the number of female characters that we get for the crew to bounce off of.

JENKINS: Good, I’m glad you feel that way.

Leslie [Jones] is back, we get Minnie Driver, and there's a new female pirate captain who shifts the power dynamic, among others. Did that feel like a natural way to expand the cast, or was that a change that you really wanted to make after Season 1?

JENKINS: It felt like both. Watching Season 1 is like, “Oof, there’s a lot of dudes.” We do go into Jim's experience as a non-binary crew member and Jim's relationship with their mentor and mother figure. In Season 2, it felt important and also the most logical way to build the world out. So it was fun to add these characters, even one-offs like Hell-Cat Maggie, and be like, “There are so many different perspectives to bring into this show.” It just felt natural to do that.

What's your favorite needle drop that the show has used so far in Season 1, and which one are you excited for fans to get to in Season 2?

JENKINS: Season 2 is built around [Kate Bush's] “This Woman's Work,” and that was very early on. That was a little bit like [Fleetwood Mac's] “The Chain.” I knew I wanted to use that, clear it, script where it should go in the season. There's a couple of those where it takes a minute to get that song, and there's a lot of back and forth, and if you don't get it, there's not a real good replacement for it. In that first season, “The Chain” really worked. We could have found a different song, but “The Chain,” that really works there. Also, [Cat Stevens'] “Miles from Nowhere” at the end of the first season felt like the Stede Bonnet song with that version of “Miles from Nowhere.”

Season 2, Nina Simone makes a couple of appearances, and I just love the size and grandeur of what she's doing. She seems to fit with a really large fantasy show — obviously, she's Nina Simone — and what she's talking about and how she's expressing it up against this world is really exciting to me. I don't know why it works for me as much as it does, but it really moves me. She comes back at the end of the season with a different track, and I just love having her music up against these pictures.

I've seen quotes from you recently where you talked about how—fingers crossed—if there's a renewal, Season 3 would be the planned final ending for this show. Was that something that you always envisioned, that it would be three-and-done?

JENKINS: I think so. When Taika expressed interest in doing it, I was surprised. “Are you sure?” He was like, “Yeah, man. Yeah, I wanna do it.” I was like, “Okay, but it’s not limited. Can you do it for three seasons?” “Yeah.” “Really? Really, you'll do it for three seasons?” “Yeah, man. Yeah.” So my expectation was we're only gonna get Taika for three seasons. But beyond that, three is good for this show. The first season is about two emotionally underdeveloped men who are at about 14, 15, 16, emotionally. Season 2 is about them getting older and maybe, in terms of the relationship, being around 25 to maybe 30 by the end of the season. And then I think there's one more story to tell, and it's how does a relationship evolve? Where do we find them again in the third season? What are they dealing with? That's very interesting to me, and there is a big story that I'd like to tell there.

Our Flag Means Death Season 2 premieres with its first three episodes October 5 on Max, with two episodes dropping weekly thereafter leading up to the season finale on October 26.