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#bc either we can talk about a season we’ve both seen or I can go screaming (affectionately) to you when I go watch a season you have
lexiesdoodles · 5 months
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Precure doodles
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inne-edoftherapy · 10 months
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Good Omens Title Sequence theory
Recently I saw a post where Neil answered an ask about whether there are any clues about season 3 in the season 2 title sequence and he said yes. So I rewatched the sequence couple of times, made screenshots and i also watched BTS of making it. Here is what I found:
In the later part of the title sequence, that is also named the Finale, which was also what Neil described season 3 as, Crowley and Aziraphale seam to lead the huge group of demons and angels to the cinema, I first thought it was just demons, but you can see both Gabriel and Saraquel up front. What caught my attention I that already in the title sequence we can see a banner that says “the second coming”, it’s next to Muriel and it is one of the many other banners, but is the most clear to read. I tried to read others and this is what I got, it’s not a lot, I am lowkey blind and these are blurry: 
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Exodus - which is by definition a mass departure of people. The biblical exodus we know is departure of Israelites from Egypt. The whole Moses talks to a burning bush God, brings down the ten commandments, parts the Red Sea. I could be either a future flashback that we will see or it could literally describe the mass leaving of demons and angels, that we can see in the title sequence, lead by Aziraphale and Crowley, first towards the cinema and the up the mountain of what I think is trash or just bunch of things with a very gloomy door at the end which might represent God, because it seams like the most obvious answer, but considering God in the show does not interact as much, they probably need to go through his receptionist - Metatron. As to what I feel about Metatron and his cosmic oat milk latte and the sinister music that accompanied him as he stared sown Crowley, well another show about angels I watched (it’s Supernatural) taught me that Metatron is generally evil and manipulative. 
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Here is the glowy door.
Redemption time - by definition the action of saving of being saved from sin, error, or evil. It might seem that it adresses the demons, but in my opinion it doesn’t really make sense? I think it rather refers to the saving Earth from evil, which might be the second coming so maybe also Metatron and the great plan?  Still working on why, but I guess since the whole bunch is lead by Crowley and Aziraphale, it seems like a huge revolution. 
The Kingdom Come - either death, heaven and/or the next world. It’s in one of the prayers - “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” To be quite honest here is where my interpretation skills die.  I think it might be them bringing “kingdom come”, death, end to the great plan/Metatron, bc I don’t think you can kill God? That makes the most sense to me. 
I also noticed a bunch of different era Crowleys that I don’t think we’ve seen in this season? But I might be delusional. 
BUT ITS JUST A THEORY ! ok matpat wannabe
(All screenshots are from the title sequence found on youtube)
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bloogers-boogers · 11 months
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I truly believe Kyle is a chubby chaser, the episode were he supposedly started ‘realizing’ (i still don’t believe he actually liked her like that) his feelings for Heidi she was already gaining weight, a chubby girl.
He’s into smart girls (rebecca) thats for a fact, cute (nichole; she’s smart but she was a new girl when Kyle asked her out so he didn’t know her like that), someone he can protect/help (Leslie) and lastly he’s shown to not care about a girl’s weight unlike *cough cough* Butters im still not over what he said to lisa boi got no filter (atleast he was honest ig)💀
Heidi had all those qualities! (Smart, cute, need protection/help and~ chubby)
You know who’s also smart? Cartman (he can be stupid and very ignorant in many things, but boi got brains when he sets a goal in mind)
Cute? Cartman (As much as we hate to admit it, the boy got that charming look, he literally manipulated chutulu with his ‘cuteness’)
Need of protection/help? Cartman (boy is messed up as it is, It’s obvious he needs help but he also needs someone to guide him in the right path/ be the one to give him that push for change (I’d say a ‘light push', but it’s gonna be a rough ride being fr here), but most importantly also someone he’ll actually listen; Kyle. Believe it or not Cartman does listen to Kyle and he also is the first Cartman looks firstly for reassurance (like in gluten free and in jewpacabra). Cartman never takes Kyle's word for granted.
We’ve seen Kyle protect him from snooki, save his ass by being frozen and drowned. (Kyle has a weak spot every time he sees a vulnerable Eric Cartman).
Chubby? Cartman (we all know he’s from a heavier scale than the rest of the boys but we’re shown Kyle doesn’t seem to care about that superficial stuff)
You cannot tell me most of the kids in that school aren’t shallow they literally have a table that separates the ugly kids from them. But Kyle has been shown to look into more in the depths of a person (getting to know them) things like that than superficial. Like the times the boys were complimenting the girls photoshop pictures and Kyle mentions about Annies eyes being beautiful while the others were talking about their physics.
These are all things Kyle is seen interested in a girl for what I gathered watching the show.
And we return to what i mean when I say Kyle is/possibly could be a chubby chaser. Theirs a trait about kids resembling their parents in some ways
Stan got addiction problems like his dad, he got them image/ego issues too, he actually kinda resembles Randy alot in the deep learning/ post covid episode/specials when it comes to his relationship with Wendy or his pessimistic attitude. I only conclude from this is that Wendy is Stan's 'Sharon' an Stan is Wendy's 'Randy'.
And it confirms for me with the last episode of season 26 when Randy calls Sharon cause he's just a wreck with out her, just like in the post covid special good ending Stan and Wendy meet up and seem to have a sorta thing still going on (she isn't even with that Darwin guy either, atleast he wasn't shown).
He’s very emotional and cares deeply for things that matter to him, he definitely got that from his mother (the school shooting ep we’re shown how emotionally wrecked sharon was bc of it but no one else seemed to care not even Stan himself, and just like with the whales no one else seem to care BUT Stan and that pissed him off)
Also, let's not shrug off the fact that Randy and Sharon marital problems have been a thing since the early seasons. There was points when they divorced/seperated two times (three house, assburgers episode), points were their marriage was on breaking points like with the shakeweight episode or times when we taught it'll be finally over between the two (when Randy was sent to jail) and in post covid good ending he's shown to still be apart of Stan's life and I wouldn't be surprised if both actually kept it together for this exact consistency.
Matt and Trey have a thing to keep adult parings with an interesting dynamics, it isn't all sweet and sugar coated, they tend to show these issues in many other marriages of sp aswell.
Like Kenny's parents (abusive alcoholics/ argue all the time), Butters (closeted man/ sad pyscho wife/ strict parents), Cartman's (single crack whore mom/ deadbeat absent dad (decease now)/ lonely and financially struggling while raising a psycho kid) and even Kyle's (asshole dad/ overbearing mother/ have intimacy issues).
Kenny, he resembles his parents, yes he does. The fact that he likes to get high (frustrated and gets angry/doesn't care, once his already influenced deep in it; cat piss, sexual healing ep) We've seen he's willing to push his friends aside when his already lost into that type of crap or cares little of what his family would go through once he technically kills himself for some 'great' orgasm or being giving a blow job (these are reasons for his curse ofcourse cause he knows he'll come back, but still, his addiction and attitude are still the same throughout the show) and is a porn addict (the magazines, and sexual knowledge he knows for his age).
We've seen these qualities in both his parents.
They don't care being seen drinking or taking crack, like Kenny who doesn't care to be seen by his friends getting high with cat piss. They're very oblivious/don't care about the worries their children go through when they get into it, Kenny doesn't care. I mean c'mon, once he was done with the cat piss he didn't learn his lesson there he straight up went to get high with some flowers infront of his already relieved friends back to square one getting them concerned again.
I suppose we could say he got addiction problems just like Stan, but in a different way. Stan's more of a genetic thing because of his family history/ depression. Kenny on the other side is more of the shitty household he lives in, a copping mechanism.
And Cartman resembles his mom in the artistic side. We're shown that both Liane and Cartman love to sing, Liane also likes to paint. Cartman is more of a photography lover, drawing, singing, song writer, instruments (violin, harmonica) these are all artistic qualities.
Liane is manipulative with the magic of pampering and food. Cartman is manipulative with a sugarcoating voice and has skill on knowing what would get somebody convinced.
And I have a suspicion that Jack Tenorman was some narcissistic lying bastard okay? If he cheated on his wife and was willing to lie about his true identity to his sad desperate son who just wanted to know who his dad was just for a broncos game, then he ain't good.
I'm gonna mention these, just cause these are the few couples I recall being shown in the show.
Tweeks; they're coffee addicts/ seem to be caring and understanding (sorta). (He's very emotional/caring, and a very stressful/nervous kid because of his anxiety/coffee addiction)
Tuckers; they got that same 'I don't give a fuck' attitude literally flipping themselves off at the table. (Craig definitely resembles his dad the most, and in post covid his appearance aswell)
Blacks; they're chill people don't seem to want to get into much trouble. (Tolkien doesn't like to get into conflicts he'd rather chill on the sidelines)
Donovans; dad is passive, while his mother was a little overbearing. (Clyde can be passive/emotional on times but they're times he goes overboard like in the stick of truth game)
Now, with that said, it's Kyle's turn. We've been countless times reminded how Kyle resembles his mother the most. But when it comes to Gerald were only told that he looks like him. Atleast I don't recall anything else.
Kyle's parents are very opened when it comes to talking, experimenting. Have you seen how Sheila always ready to talk to Kyle about things he doesn't know? Or how comfortable she is talking to Gerald freely, that even Gerald had admitted to her that he likes to watch porn on his computer? How Gerald let Sheila have her way with chef (chef aid ep.)
It's shown their relationship is the strongest/ got their shit together among the four main parents. But ofcourse it's not perfect.
Gerald has this fear of pissing off Sheila, and Sheila well, as much as she's a good mother. She's overbearing and can go all crazy.
Qualities Kyle has. He fears his mom's wrath but also is the most similar to her.
He isn't like his dad who's some manipulative asshole behind his wife's back. Kyle's caring and wants what's right but has a temper so he kinda goes overboard and messes up sometimes.
This is were I come to the conclusion, that he may resemble Gerald in the fact that his in love with someone many wouldn't choose.
Like in the ups episode there was a ongoing joke that 'damn someone was willing to do it with Kyle's mom' type of joke.
Kyle's mom is overweight so the joke could be mostly aim from there, but if you think of it clearly. Many are afraid of pissing her off because of her 'bitchy' attitude. And she also has a past of being well, from Jersey.
Now. She's overweight in both that time and now, and I wouldn't be surprised that in the times we're she lived in jersey she was a complete bitch by the picture were shown in a jersey thing episode. She seem disastrous back then.
So meeting Gerald changed her. Gerald fell in love even when she was like that; a 'jersey monster'. They moved to South park and got away from that place, and Sheila has mellowed down from those jersey genes. I have no doubt he probably found that personality hot and thrilling at the time, he probably likes that sorta thing tbh. I feel like Gerald was a dweeb back in those college years, focusing on his carrier and stuff, taking things serious, being very uptight in a sense. Something I feel Sheila would be interested in, someone different, opposite of her. Cause we know she didn’t like that jersey in her but she couldn’t help it and being around other jersey folks just worsen her so it was inevitable for Gerald to stand out from the crowd. He was different. And for Gerald she was different; probably not the type of girl he’d pictured himself being with, yet still did.
(I also hc Sheila not being Jewish she was Christian until she met Gerald and got a wider view/ got closer to the religion falling in love with it.)
Being drawn to each other like opposite magnets.
And well, that redhead with brunette theory going on if u know you know;)
I feel I can resemble this with Kyle and Cartman. Cartman is disastrous, he’s a mess. And somehow Kyle's drawn to it, Cartman is a person not many would choose but I feel Kyle would. He’ll fall in love with both crazy Cartman and redeemed Cartman, cause i genuinely cant see anyone else help Cartman actually change for the better that isn’t Kyle (atleast to get a good ending for all main 4).
Cartman has also been shown to be in a mixture of being confused/ conflicted on what to believe when it comes to religion; switching between Chatolic, Christianity and Judaism it's been like that through the course of the show. Out of the four it's him and Kyle who are only shown to question their religion/ beliefs. It kinda feels like the show is trying to imply something?
And i also don’t picture their relationship to be all cute, it’s a well balanced relationship between healthy and toxic. If that makes sense?
Kinda like Gerald and Sheila’s, they’re not perfect but they balance each other out and yet even with those imperfections they’re still so in love with each other.
They also make a good dynamic.
Qualities i see a kyman relationship being.
Its funny to see Sheila being a bitch just like it’s funny to see Kyle be all pissy. Gerald is an manipulative ass? Guess who’s also a way worse manipulative asshole, yet still funny af and brings humor to the show? Cartman
It's funny to see Gerald be scared shitless of his wife just as funny when we see how scared Cartman is to actually piss Kyle off.
Kyle and Cartman are the perfect mixture of both.
But in personalities; Kyle his mother and Cartman Kyle's dad. Atleast relationship wise and how I feel the pairing dynamics work.
Cartman being Kyle's "Gerald" and Kyle being Cartman's "Sheila".
Technically the main dads (main fours) are the boys insight of what could be of their future partners, atleast that's how I view both Randy and Gerald's similarity on to Stan and Kyle (who are the main boys): both best friends, have a respective partner (Sharon, Sheila) along their side and fathers (Stan and Shelley, Kyle and Ike).
Post covid good ending gave me some more fuel to this about how Kyle only had TWO children; one boy being the eldest and a little sibling while Cartman had three instead of going full on stealing Cartman's past family. Gerald also had two children Kyle was the eldest son a boy and had a little sibling and I have no doubt if Stan were to get with Wendy they'll have two children aswell; their first born being a girl too like Shelley and a little brother like Stan.
Anyways my mind is kinda on a brainrot rn I need help, this ship is gonna end me
I just don’t see a good all flowers and rainbows actual healthy relationship in south park universe. Not only isn’t it realistic but it isn’t the type of dynamic i believe matt and trey would aim for.
If it isn’t either good/ but kinda chaotic sometimes or it’s nothing but down bad toxic/ bland/ has no real attachment to the characters.
Even creek has had their fair share of course they’re not toxic but like in the buda box theres some small ups and downs yk. I feel like some personal space would be the issue here cause Craig seems to not always want to deal with tweek's shit. But yk that’s just Craig not knowing how to establish it. (Yet their relationship has no affect in the course of the show/ main four dynamic)
Stendy relationship has communication issues. (Has no affect in the sidelines)
Clybe relationship has more of a complicated label. Bebe using Clyde for shoes or Clyde being an uncaring asshole using ai for convos. (Has no effect in the show/ main four)
Kennys relationships are only seem to last little but kinda okay until Kenny wants to escalate things further while the girl’s completely oblivious about it. (Has no effect in the sidelines/ use as a joke)
I think butters relationship with Charlotte is fine until Butters misogynistic side comes out. (No affect in the sidelines)
Heiman relationship was a toxic relationship. (Did have an affect on the show/ main four dynamic; Kyle) there was a lot of shifts in Cartman's personality that it was just painful to keep watching for both Heidi and Cartman.
Kyman relationship wouldn’t be just a neat-o relationship, i see it being very flexible in that aspect and I don’t see it changing their dynamic between the two or the main four. Cartman also wouldn’t change for the sake of keeping a relationship he’d actually change for good reasons. Having someone who already knows him wont make him feel like he’s cornered or forced to change/lie about being a good person, but being around a good influence (kinda) in his life could shape him in different ways. Healthy in a sense.
Their relationship could be use in a humorous way and a serious one!
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cieloclercs · 8 months
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lover, you should’ve come over - let's do f1 or tennis you can choose, male preference!
I'm currently a 3rd year in uni studying statistics with a triple minor holy hell, in CompSci, Business Analytics, and Mathematics. I'm in my uni's marching band and I play the tuba, I'm on staff and I adore my rookies. Literally the shortest person in the section but I love the jokes they're all good fun.
Something about my face screams to people to tell me all about their relationship woes/stories and I honestly don't mind I love getting to know them a bit more. I'm not huge on physical touch but I'll warm up to it if you're a close friend. Very fluent in sarcasm but I know when to pull back. My friends would say I'm very dependable and chill. My love languages are words of affirmation and quality time.
I love to bake when I have the supplies, huge marvel nerd movies + comics, I'm horrible at finishing tv shows I either binge it all in one night or it'll take me 5 months to finish one season, tysm!
i ship you with sebastian vettel!
— ok so i know seb isn’t technically on the grid anymore and he’s kind of old BUT if we’re talking younger red bull seb omg this is SPEAKING to me !! you seem like such a go with the flow person but at the same time super ambitious and just like you know exactly what you want ?? if that makes sense ?? correct me if i’m wrong but that’s the vibe i’m getting from this 😭 and i feel like red bull seb would ADORE that
— ok you have no idea how much i love this imaginary dynamic but i’m picturing seb being totally infatuated with you before you guys get together, and i’m talking like he’ll follow you around, flirt shamelessly and basically just do classic seb things, but (at first) you’d shoot him down every. single. time. mostly just because you find it funny watching him tie himself into knots BUT ALSO maybe because you’re a little intrigued 😏😏 i can imagine you’d keep up this pretence for a while wondering when seb will finally have had enough and move onto his next conquest, BUT WHEN HE DOESNT you begin to think that maybeee this guy is worth sticking your neck out for 😏
— of course once you guys are together, the shameless flirting still won’t stop. i mean who are we kidding it’s sebastian vettel being a flirt is part of his genetic makeup 😭 but you have this superpower where you can just not react and it’s so funny because seb will turn it into some kind of competition to see who’ll crack first (you always win 😉) honestly you guys are the funniest couple ever but in the driest kind of way. i genuinely love you both. if this was real you’d be my otp (i’m getting too invested 😔)
— mini head cannon bc i forgot to add it in before: seb is fully convinced you’re the smartest person on earth and if anyone argues otherwise he will FIGHT them. even if they’re arguing einstein is smarter he’ll still do it. the guy honestly worships you and it’s hilarious (but also v cute 🥹)
— you’re definitely kind of seb’s mental health support 😭 like he’ll tell you everything that goes on in his team, and i mean everything (even when he’s not supposed to 🤫) when he has a bad race, you’re there to listen to him and let him just vent out all his frustrations. when he has a good race, you’re always there to lift him up. i feel like the kind of mutual understanding you guys have is really rare. like, the kind of bordering on telepathy understanding where you can just tell how the other is feeling from one look 🥹 of course, seb’s a gentlemen so he always works hard to give you everything you could possibly want in a relationship. even despite his busy schedule, he always makes sure to take you out on lots of cute, thoughtful dates, and even sends you little notes throughout the day just to remind you how much he loves you 🥹 honestly he’s so cute i adore him
— and a final bonus headcannon !! i feel like seb himself can be a bit of a nerd when it comes to certain things (we’ve all seen him in grill the grid, the guy just absorbs knowledge) even though he may not be a marvel fan originally, when he finds out you are, he works sooo hard to get caught up with all the movies and the comic lore so he can talk to you about it 🥹 then of course come the marvel movie nights (instigated by him) where you literally stay up for hours bingeing as many of them as possible (seb definitely gets so invested and cries at infinity war and endgame 😭) he just wants to spend as much time with you doing things you love as possible !! 🥹🤍
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jaimetheexplorer · 2 years
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That theory that Kim will show up at some point with a new husband/family is possibly one of the stupidest things to ever come out of Reddit. Besides the lack of imagination, besides the fact that it would reduce Kim to nothing more than a plot device to "punish" Jimmy some more (because what other purpose is there to her showing up just to rub her new happy life in his face?), it also proves how little attention people paid to her characterisation and background.
We haven’t seen Kim mention any ex, dates, or any previous relationship in the 6 seasons we’ve known her. She's never expressed an interest in marriage or kids. She seems to have little to no personal life outside of Jimmy both during the present timeline and in all of the flashbacks (the only vague mentions of people she has dinner or drinks with all seem to be related to her work; the ABA mixer, the tax fraud guy and his wife, Paige). And now, on top of her canonical loner persona, she has the baggage of someone whose scheming unintentionally got her boss killed by the cartel, found herself willing to gun down a complete stranger, and must keep it all a secret forever. The idea that she would find it within herself to try and have another relationship, when she knows she’d have to hide all this baggage from her new partner, when part of the reason she’s so disgusted with herself is that she hid stuff from Jimmy, and, as a consequence, she literally doesn’t think she deserves love or a relationship, is absurd. 
The tragedy here is that the only person Kim could ever talk to about what she went through, the only one who would understand, is the very same person she decided to cut herself off from. If she tried to be with someone else, the guilt and the shame would just eat her up alive, it would be miserable and dysfunctional and not bound to last.
There is of course the one in a million chance she’d stumble upon Mr Perfect, with whom she develops the deepest and most trusting relationship EVER, to whom she decides she can tell everything, and, Mr Perfect being Mr Perfect, won't at all be terrified and disgusted by this revelation and still stick by her no matter what because he loves her so much, she gets over her trauma, and they lived happily ever after. But, even ignoring for a moment how cheesy and lazy a Mr Perfect would be for a show that’s all about flawed and complex characterisation, you would need something like this to happen ON SCREEN. And it would take an awful long time, not just half an episode. You don’t spend 6 seasons building up her character and a 12-year-long relationship with Jimmy as the most important and deepest of her life, and then handwave her moving on off-screen.
I am totally clueless as to what Kim's professional life will look like. But for her personal life, unless the writers all simultaneously knocked their heads and decided cheap romantic drama is the way to go, I think there are only two possible logical futures: either she somehow finds her way back to Jimmy, or she ends up alone for the rest of her life, kind of like Gus. And I’m not saying this just because I’m a hopeless romantic who thinks she could never love anyone else, but because everything we know about her character, combined with the most recent events, sort of make this an inevitability.
I think unfortunately the most likely scenario is that she'll end up alone. From Rhea's interviews, I'm not getting the best vibes about Kim having a hopeful future. I can only hope that she was discussing Kim's ending in the BCS timeline, rather than her ending overall.
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rinisbowen · 2 years
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At the end of the outfronts, Tim said something about surprising (I think it's the last answer). I know it was very vague, but do you have any thoughts on this?
i went back and went to the end of the interview and took down the quote to reflect on, bc i couldn’t remember what you were talking about from this morning, but if you mean after the interviewer congratulates him on season 4, then here goes haha. here is the quote for y’all seeing this, you’re welcome:
“and i think for us it’s always about trying to up the stakes on bigger music and better songs and more inclusive storytelling. and i think that [with shows like heartstopper] it just gives us more confidence to keep portraying these characters in surprising, but i think ultimately beautiful and hopeful ways. so we just feel super lucky and excited.”
I mean I agree with you, it’s definitely vague. But the whole interview was super incredibly vague and mostly implying stuff rather than giving things away so that’s okay. We can still extrapolate because why not at this point haha.
I’ll say this. Tim said here that he wants to keep portraying the characters in surprising but beautiful and hopeful ways. He said in his BNTE D23 interview that this season dives more into themes of queer identity.
So, given context… I think that “surprising” aspect potentially lends to the idea of a character (or characters), potentially (and maybe more likely due to the fact he calls it a surprise) ones we’ve seen like- in m/f relationships, going on this journey of self discovery and embracing queer identity for themselves. embracing this like- change that can be slow or sudden, like i think it was Julia talked about in the outfront panel.
Technically, it could be any character on the show. But chances are, it’s someone on the panel, just for the reason that that makes the most sense, and if we take that as a fact then it’s either Big Red or Ashlyn or both. I think if Maddox is queer, she’ll already be out and comfortably out. Especially given I don’t think any of the new characters this season are coming back due to the summer camp setting (particularly with the camp being in California, I just don’t anticipate them trying to give that sort of story to someone we only spend eight episodes with. And having a new character we’ve never met before go on that journey isn’t a surprise so much as just- like cool yay more representation. 
--
Before today, if you told me Big Red was having a coming out storyline this season I’d be confused and surprised, given his role is reduced this season, but I mean Tim did say that Seb had a memorable role to play this season, just that the season was different and he’d have less screentime. Soooo maybe Seb helps Big Red come to terms with his burgening sexuality since they’re both not at camp? Idk. I definitely don’t think that’s what’s actually going to happen. But in case it does I need this written down so I can scream about it later. 
Someone’s getting a coming out storyline, or at very least a self discovery storyline related to their identity in this sense, even if they don’t come out until season 4 (which I think is also totally possible, but we’ll see). 
It could be anyone, like I say. But after today I think it’s either Ashlyn (which makes more sense to me prior to this morning), or Big Red (after that panel I’m very of the mind this is quite likely). 
quick note, this last section is entirely just me ruminating on concepts i thought of rather than things i think we will see. please don’t think i’m predicting this, just- mulling over things in my brain. 
I think the most unfortunate thing, if it is Big Red’s story, is that if it happens this season, given he’s a guest and she’s a series regular, his story may largely happen play out as it’s attached to hers, and I personally don’t love that. Just because he’s playing a smaller part, it kinda doesn’t lend itself to him having his own full arc for the season, so it’ll be tied into the bigger plot by a series regular. And chances are by virtue of their relationship that person will be Ashlyn. The last thing I want to see is them making Big Red discovering his sexuality about Ashlyn and how she feels about it, and I think if they do it this season that’d a very easy out to get the story more involved in the main camp plot. I know she’d support him but I just don’t want this like- supportive but anxious Ashlyn worrying over what this means for their relationship. If they’re going to thread Big Red coming out / coming to terms with his sexuality in through Ashlyn, I’d much rather it be in a wow look at us we’re both discovering ourselves way (and maybe we also get an Ashlyn discovering her sexuality storyline) than a oh my gosh I’m obviously happy for him but also I’m Ashlyn so I’m anxious because what if he breaks up with me way. 
I’d be very happy to see a bi Big Red. We know that’s how Larry sees the character, just as Julia sees Ashlyn as pan. I just hope they do a nice job at playing the story out if that is indeed where they’re going with this “surprising” way of portraying these characters. And I do trust Tim and the writers, I do... But my brain isn’t very nice sometimes and I think of these concepts that I dislike and here we are. 
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nouies · 4 months
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helloooo, lou! 💙
i have seen how much hate the creators in this fandom get. and i have been feeling really anxious to post whatever i had in mind. but there is first time for everything, huh?! 🥶
it's so nice to change a whole recipe to match your friend's preferences. and cook for her. it's like not a lot of people do it anymore, respecting others' wishes and decisions. 🗣️
have you been to other concerts? 🧞‍♂️
actually, the miscommunication was my fault. i reread your last reply and realized that you said "rule out". i didn't know the meaning of this phrase until now, so i checked it out and now i know what you meant. but do people go hiking/biking/etc on dates? i would never... 🐳
english is not my first language as well, and a lot of times the language barrier leads to miscommunication. but your english is amazing and i think you are great with words. 🦋
louis is such an awesome person. his interests and visions are really wonderful. it's so good you both have so many things in common. 🌀
okay, i have a funny story. when 1d formed as a band, i was eleven years old. my classmates were obsessed with them. so i was like "i won't be like the other girls" and i was showing disinterest every time someone was talking about them (but at the same time i was secretly blasting more than this. the only reason i love that song that much, was because of niall and louis' solos). and i listened to their songs occasionally on the music tv channels (their singles). and for the time the band was still touring and making albums, i just didn't vibe with them, and even think about them. when zayn left the bad, i read it somewhere and that was all. but when the next year mind of mine came out, i fell in love with his voice. so, all in all, i would say zayn. i have been listening to his music for years and i just have really soft spot for him in my heart. 🫐
my questions for the day: what is your favorite tv series? can you share one fun fact about you? 🖌️
hope you have a lovely day,
- your secret valentine 🦕
p.s. don't let the last emoji betray your vison for me, because in fact i'm quite short.
hi valentine!! 💓
listen, don’t think of any of that yet. there are horrible ppl around but i still believe there are some good ones left. i understand feeling anxious, trust me that i always feel that way whenever i’m posting something new, but don’t let the haters win. their goal is to stop us from creating so if we do stop, they’ll win, and they don’t deserve to win. if you truly feel uncomfortable sharing anything, then it’s fine too. at the end of the day, creating something in the fandom is supposed to be fun and if you’re not having fun, then it loses its purpose.
anyway. yes, we’ve been best friends for almost 13 years so i just want her to be happy and comfortable. :) and she does the same for me, like every time i visit her house, she makes sure to buy me tacos from the stand i like.
last year i only went to see Aurora and to the fest where Niall performed, this year i’m going to see a mexican artist called Yuridia and in june i’m seeing Louis. 🤧 have you been to concerts lately or are you planning on going to one soon?
no worries!! tbh i sometimes use verbs that i’m not sure abt but i’m too lazy to google lol but it’s fine. idk if there are ppl who go hiking but i’ve seen ppl who go skating ???
omg you’re way younger than me lol 1d came out when i was starting uni lol but your story is very cute, and tbh it’s very understandable bc i feel like as teenagers we either want to fit in or we want to be unique. at the end, i’m happy that you found someone who resonated more with you. Zayn is a great artist and he seems like such a sweet soul, i want to squeeze his cheeks lol
my favourite tv series is mindhunter, and i’m still sad we got only two seasons of it :( i love jonathan groff so much. idk what could be a fun fact abt me… like, i’m just thinking abt facts but idk if they’re any fun 😭 had to ask for some help but you probably know how much i love fics, and i when i write for a fic fest, i read the rest of the fics (which i thought it was the norm but apparently it isn’t), so my fun fact is that i read every blff fic the day it was posted, maybe with the exception of the 100k one bc it took me three days but the rest of them i read them on each day they were published. and now my brain is fried hdjdhdjdhd
thank you, valentine! i hope your day is awesome as well. 🤗 (and i’m quite short as well so we’re twinning!) <3
0 notes
baepsaesbae · 3 years
Text
Eclipse
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Pairing— Day Fairy!Hoseok x Night fairy!reader    
Genre— SMUT, fae au, angst, idiots to lovers
Warnings— Oral (F receiving), nipple play, explicit unprotected sex, hair pulling, both praise and slight derogatory dirty talk bc I can’t make up my mind, slight swearing
Word Count— 3.3k  
Summary— The summer solstice is here and it’s time to celebrate. Your favorite part of the solstice is that you get to see Hoseok, or rather, the love of your life. It’s too bad you haven’t told him how you really felt, even though it has been centuries. Maybe this year will be different. 
A/N— This fic is part of The Fabled Collab hosted by @joontopia, @kimtaehyunq, and @whipped-for-kpop-fics. Hoseok is my sunshine, so I just had to write about him! Thank you to @s0seo and @taegularities for giving me motivation to write. Lastly, huge shoutout to Eden from @thebiasrekkers​ for making this awesome banner for me! As always, let me know how you guys like the fic! My askbox is always open <3
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Fae clans have many holidays and rituals, but solstices are by far the most celebrated. Solstices mark the pivotal event that shifts the seasonal responsibilities between the sun and moon clans. The summer and winter solstice are always the biggest events of the year, with about a week of festivities leading up to the final event. 
Sweat ran down your spine as the sun beat down on you. You’ve been holding up a stupid banner for what felt like an eternity.
“Okay wait, you’re gonna hate me but I think we should put it back to where we originally had it,” Sunghoon said with furrowed brows.
“That’s it. We’ve been doing this all morning. Figure this out yourself,” you angrily threw down the banner and stormed off before Sunghoon had the chance to yell at you.
You ignored the friendly calls from other fae that were setting up decor nearby. It was way past your bedtime. Cranky and drenched in sweat, you were definitely not a happy night fairy. Heading straight to the pond, you derobed and found comfort in the cool waters that  washed away your stress instantly. You gazed up at the blue sky while floating on your back. The day truly was beautiful, you couldn’t deny that. However, nighttime was better in your very much biased opinion. The dark sky littered with countless stars that glittered like diamonds was an unbeatable sight. 
“Hey there sunshine!” a familiar voice interrupted your thoughts. You dipped back into the water and turned to the source of the sound.
“Hey there, perv. Care to join me?” you beckoned.
“I wish I could, but I need to go finalize some plans for the handoff ceremony--”
“It’s the same EVERY year. C’mon Hobi, you don’t need to go,” you whined.
“I’ll meet you back here at sunset, how does that sound?” he tried to appease you.
“Midnight. I’m already exhausted, I don’t wanna wake up early,” you blew raspberries into the pond.
“That’s fair. I’ll see you then okay?” Hoseok waved before flying off.
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On top of parties filled with indulgences that would blow the mind of any feeble human, Hoseok was the added bonus that made you eager for each solstice. Admittedly, you two have had some sort of flirtationship going on for the past few centuries. Your friends always teased you about how madly head over heels you were for him. As much as you wanted to believe that he loved you in the same way, something always felt off.  
Hoseok always reciprocated your flirtatious advances, but it felt more like a game between friends rather than something substantial. You’ve even observed his interactions with other fairies, and it didn’t seem like he gave you any special treatment. He was simply a good friendly guy that everyone loved, but not the way that you loved him. 
You were dying to know how he truly felt about you. All these years of playful banter had been fun, but they had also been simultaneously eating away at you. There’s no way he doesn’t know that you love him. At the same time, what if he thinks you’re just a good friend? You needed to know for sure, and you intended to confront him about it at midnight.
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“Good evening,” you greeted Hoseok shyly as you approached the pond’s bank. 
“Good day to you sunshine,” Hoseok called back as he kicked at the water.
“How’d the meeting go?” you asked.
“Boring as always. You’re right, it’s the same every year. But the elders still want to go over everything again to ensure that the ceremony is perfect,” Hoseok sighed.
“Thanks for coming to hangout with me even though you’re so busy,” you said, suddenly feeling guilty.
“Are you kidding? I’ve been looking forward to this all day! You’re the perfect person to unwind with after a long day,” Hoseok smiled. There it was. The radiant smile you fell for the first time you ever met him. 
“You sure I’m the perfect person for that? What do you do when you’re back in your own land surrounded by other day fae?” you prodded, hoping to steer the conversation onto the ‘what are we’ topic. 
“I have my friends there for sure, and I appreciate them too. But it’s different with you. Maybe because I can only hangout with you twice a year. You’re like my super special friend, yaknow?” Hoseok tried to explain. 
“Uh yeah, for sure. Like a special playdate kind of thing huh?” you tried to hide your hurt feelings.
“Exactly! You get it. It’s like you’re my favorite dessert that I can only have twice a year,” Hoseok nodded.
“Right…” you whispered softly to yourself. You spent the rest of the night listening to the unfruitful discussions Hoseok had during his meetings. All the excitement over the festival had drained from you. Now, you just wanted it to be over so you can go sulk in peace. 
“You’re awfully quiet,” Hoseok observed, “You haven’t interjected once about how stupid our traditions are or how you’re looking forward to having long nights again.”
“Hm? Oh yeah, I’m just tired. Sunghoon really worked me to the bone yesterday, that damn day fairy,” you faked a yawn.
“Hey, be nice! Wasn’t it you who volunteered to help us anyway?” Hoseok shook his head.
‘Yeah, because I thought I’d be able to work with you,’ you thought.
“It was a bizarre streak of altruism, that’s all,” you shrugged. 
“Nah, I know you’re a kind fairy deep down!” Hoseok playfully nudged your shoulder. Normally you would welcome this type of physical affection, but for right now it served as a painful reminder that you were merely seen as a buddy. 
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You actively avoided Hoseok for the remainder of the week, counting down the hours to when it would finally all be over. You made up some lame excuse to not hangout with Hoseok every time he approached you. He must have caught on by the final day, either that or he was extremely busy. Afterall, he was the MC for the entire ordeal. 
Apparently, your abrasive reputation preceded you because no one wanted your help with anything. As soon as they saw you coming, they would randomly find themselves very preoccupied with something that made them too busy to talk to you. The only person who would put you to work was Sunghoon, who was one of Hoseok’s best friends. You wondered why he was always so nice to you even when you complained the entire time you helped him.
“That’s the last table! They all look great, thanks for helping with the set up,” Sunghoon gave you a thumbs up.
“You know it’s pointless setting up all these tables. Most of the fairies are just gonna be dancing or fucking all night long, no one is gonna be sitting down,” you said.
“Are you gonna be one of the fairies partying?” Sunghoon inquired.
“Definitely not,” you answered curtly.
“Then I’m happy at least one of these tables will be utilized,” Sunghoon nodded, “Try to enjoy yourself tonight okay?”
“Whatever,” you rolled your eyes.
The entire forest seemed to come alive that night. The trees swayed with the enchanting music while cheers of merriment erupted around the party scene. You sat alone at a mushroom table with your third (or was it fourth?) cup of berry wine. You glared at the fairies who had lost themselves to their pleasures, whether it be the wine or the toadstools, or perhaps even both. Fairies who had given into their more lustful urges could be seen on the outskirts of the dance floor, some in the innocent stages of kissing and others entangled full fledged fornication. Scoffing at the obscene orgy, you stumbled off to get another cup of wine. Even though you weren’t really participating, you had to admit that fairies knew how to throw a party. 
“Hey ___, I noticed you’ve been by yourself the whole evening. Want some company?” someone asked behind you as you filled up your mug to the brim. You turned to see two Sunghoons merge to become one hazy Sunghoon in the blink of an eye. 
“F-ffuck off Sunghoon,” you slurred.
“I wanted to thank you for all the hard work you did for this year’s summer solstice,” Sunghoon continued, unfazed by your harshness, “Wanna dance to celebrate?”
“Nope,” you answered as you pushed him aside.
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“Yeah she seemed pretty pissed dude,” Sunghoon said while taking a large swig.
“At you or in general?” Hoseok inquired.
“Dunno man, she’s always been like that. However, she seemed more aggravated than usual, which is hard to imagine,” Sunghoon chuckled, “Did you do something to her?”
“No! I’ve been replaying everything we talked about at the pond but everything seemed fine! I even told her that she was my super special friend and---oh shit,” Hoseok’s face fell.
“Idiot,” Sunghoon tsked. 
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Both fae clans had gathered by the main stage, intently listening to the same speeches that the clan leaders have spoken for centuries. You watched apathetically as the everlasting flame was being formally handed over. The crowd roared as the flame changed from a deep crimson red to an icy silver color with a blue hue, signifying that the solstice had come to pass. 
If the festival wasn’t wild before, it had only gotten more out of hand after the official ceremony. Seeing the other fairies go wild in every sense of the word made you nauseous. The noise level intensified as you watched your fairy brethren engage in rather promiscuous activities. Someone even beckoned for you to join in the fun, but you just walked away. The only person you wanted to have that kind of fun with was Hoseok. It infuriated you that your thoughts always drifted to him. You filled up your cup one last time and walked away from the ruckus, towards an empty grove. Hopefully you would be able to wallow in self pity in peace there. 
The stars twinkled above you, and dim moonlight speckled the ground around you as it shone through the trees. You could still hear the party, but it was much fainter now and served as nice background noise to keep you from drowning in your thoughts. With a deep exhale, you fought to hold back tears. You felt so foolish. Too many years have been wasted in vain for an unrequited love that you should have seen coming. It was so stupid of you to hold onto a sliver of hope that Hoseok would like you back. 
“The party is that way,” a familiar voice called out to you.
“Then why aren’t you there?” you didn’t try to mask the annoyance in your voice.
“I saw you walk away, I wanted to check up on you.”
“Why the fuck would you even care?” you sat up and hissed.
“Why are you being so hostile? You’re the one who has been avoiding me all week!” Hoseok raised his voice.
“I’m sure you didn’t have much time to spend with me anyway,” you huffed.
“That’s not true. I spent every moment of my free time looking for you, only for you to turn me away. Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Hoseok calmed down.
“Fine. I’m in love with you, okay? How fucking embarrassing. It hurt when you said that I was your super best friend or whatever. Seeing you afterward just reminded me of how dumb I am,” you couldn’t make eye contact with him.
“Oh sunshine, I’m the idiot. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re my special friend because I like you too. I wanted to spend every second with you this week. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that, I’m so sorry ____,” Hoseok got down on his knees and pulled you in for a hug. You were stunned.
“Why didn’t you say anything sooner then!” you pushed him off.
“I thought it was obvious from the way we flirted!” he argued. 
“You’re nice to everyone, it was hard for me to tell,” you pouted.
“My apologies for not being a sourpuss like you,” Hoseok laughed.
“So...what now? It wasn’t really a romantic confession but I guess our feelings are out in the open now,” you whispered as you leaned against him.
Suddenly, Hoseok pushed you back to the ground, straddling your hips. His dark hair nearly covered his eyes as he looked down at you. He was beyond beautiful, his white iridescent wings glittered ethereally in the moonlight. 
“Remember when I said you’re like a dessert I can only have twice a year? I’d like to make that a reality,” Hobi smirked. He bent over to kiss you. It was soft at first, his plush lips pressing up against yours. He gently cupped your face with one hand while the other wandered to your chest, undoing your blouse. Lust overtook the both of you as the kiss deepened and Hoseok fondled your breasts. You let out a small gasp as he played with your nipples, rolling them between his fingers.  
“Spread those legs for me, sunshine,” he demanded.
You complied, slowly exposing yourself to him. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him while in such a compromising position. Hoseok gingerly kissed a trail along your inner thighs towards your core. His hot breath against your pussy made you squirm under him in anticipation.
“So impatient,” he chuckled, “Let’s play a game. You have to make eye contact with me while I eat you out. Every time you look away, I stop.”
“You’re evil,” you huffed before reluctantly looking at the beautiful being perched between your legs. 
“That’s my girl,” he purred approvingly before spreading your folds with his fingers. His eyes darkened with lust as you watched him lick tantalizingly slow stripes. He could feel your need for more, so he moved up to focus on your clit, giving it special attention as his tongue swirled around it. 
You tangled your fingers into his hair, gripping him tighter as he licked your clit faster. All your composure was lost as you looked down at him with pleading eyes.
“What is it? Need more?” Hoseok teased as his fingers traced your entrance.
“Please,” you whimpered.
“Please what?” Hoseok feigned ignorance
“Please touch me,” you said softly.
“We need to work on your begging, but you’re so adorable I can’t say no,” Hobi dove back into stimulating your clit as he slipped a finger inside of you. He smirked at how easily he went in, and immediately added a second finger. The new feeling had you throwing your head back as he grazed your g-spot. Right as things began to feel good, he retracted everything.
“Hobi!” you cried out in frustration.
“You looked away. Remember the rules to our little game?” Hoseok chided. You glared down at him as he immediately picked up where he left off, not giving you time to readjust. Fighting back the urge to close your eyes, soft moans escaped from your lips.
“Ready to cum, my dear ___?” he asked sweetly as his fingers dipped to directly attack your g-spot.
There was no time to give a proper response. Your back arched and your toes curled up as your orgasm overwhelmed you. Drenched in your juices, Hoseok glistened under the moonlight.
“Absolutely gorgeous,” Hoseok praised, “But I’m not finished with you yet,” he leaned in to whisper in your ear.
He unbuckled his trousers, releasing the monster that dangled between his legs. You willingly spread your legs for him, eager for more.
“So needy, you haven’t had enough yet?” Hoseok tsked as he rubbed the tip of his cock along your folds.
Finally, Hoseok began to bury himself into you. He took his time, relishing how your warm walls squeezed him. You closed your eyes in ecstasy, focusing on feeling every inch of him. Once he bottomed out, you wrapped your legs around him in an attempt to bring him impossibly closer. The dark lust that swam in his eyes broke for a second, replaced by the warm smile that made you fall in love with him in the first place. He bent down to kiss you, and you happily reciprocated. 
Hoseok moved his hips slowly as he fucked you at a deep yet gentle pace. Mouths still colliding, you shyly licked at his lips. Taking your hint, Hoseok’s tongue met yours. As the kisses deepened with more saliva being interchanged, Hoseok’s thrusts became harsher.    
“You’re so fucking sexy. Lemme see that ass baby,” Hoseok growled as he flipped you over.
He smacked your ass twice and watched it jiggle in awe before placing a firm grip on your hips. Almost animalistically, he bucked into you. Your body jolted forward with each thrust. You had never been fucked this hard before, and it was heavenly. Hoseok’s control over his body movement was insane. Your moans grew louder as his hips continuously rolled into you. 
One of Hoseok’s hands formed a tight grip on your hair, roughly bringing your head up off the ground. You couldn’t stop your wanton moans from filling the open air. 
“H-Hoseok,” you cried out.
“What is it? Is it too much for you?” Hoseok cooed in your ear as he brought your head back even closer to him.
“Mmm-no,” was all you could make out.
“I knew you could take it all, such a good slut,” Hoseok praised as he let go of your hair.
Unable to hold yourself up, you immediately fell back onto your chest. Your fingernails dug into the dirt as you could feel another orgasm swelling up inside of you. 
“I’m gonna cum again,” you wailed out.
“I’m almost there, wait for me baby,” Hoseok instructed.
With perfect timing, Hoseok let out a guttural moan as he spilled his seed inside of you. Sounds of pleasure bounced around the grove as you came in unison. Hoseok’s cum dripped down the sides of your inner thighs when he pulled out. 
“How did I do, sunshine?” Hoseok asked jovially as you laid on the ground before him.
“You knocked me out. I don’t think I can move for a while,” you weakly answered with a smile.
“Not a problem, we can just stay here for a while, sunshine,” Hoseok laid down beside you, beckoning for you to rest atop his chest. 
“I like when you call me that,” you yawned.
“Sunshine?” Hoseok asked.
“Yeah, that. It makes me feel special,” you nodded.
“Is that so? I’m glad it makes you feel special, because you are. You’ve always been the spunky night fairy that everyone knows but is too afraid to approach,” Hoseok laughed.
“What! I am totally friendly! Just not to those who piss me off,” you defended, “Which...I guess is a lot of people so I suppose I see your point. What made you want to be my friend if everyone thought I’m scary?”
“You treated me like everyone else. It always felt like people put on a fake facade around me since I’m the chief’s son. They’re nice to me to try and curry favor with my father, or maybe flirt with me to try and gain some special sort of status. I don’t know. I’m just me,” Hoseok shrugged. 
“If it makes you feel any better, you’re my sunshine,” you hugged him.
“That makes me feel great. I’ll do my best to see you more than twice a year, okay?” he kissed your forehead.
“I guess I can clear my schedule and come over to visit you too,” you giggled, “Or maybe we can run away and make a clan of our own.”
“Are you serious?” he asked, “Don’t tempt me. I’d love to go somewhere where no one knows my name or expects anything from me.”
“How about we go to where the day meets the night?” you offered.
“Like what? An eclipse?” Hoseok said as he gazed into the night sky.
“Precisely. We can make an eclipse clan. We only have to do festivals for eclipses, and those are kinda rare,” you giggled.
“Sounds like a good dream, sunshine. Let’s seriously discuss it in the morning when we’re both more sober,” Hoseok kissed your forehead.
“Goodnight, my sunshine,” you whispered into his chest.
Published July 23, 2021. No editing, copying, translating, or reposting allowed. All Rights Reserved © 2021 Baepsaesbae.
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tsugarubecker · 3 years
Text
Rewatching Love, Victor season 2 and all I can think as I’m watching is that Benji is cooonstantly putting his own feelings aside and instead striving to put himself in Victor’s shoes and empathize with Victor. Victor, for his part, gladly takes that from Benji and then proceeds to fail to put himself in Benji’s shoes in return. (We’ll leave Benji’s issue with conflict avoidance/not stating what he wants aside for a second but we’ll get to that shortly.)
Long-ass post, prepare yourself :P
Example exchange: in ep 6 after Isabel is so nice to Rahim and Benji fails to be #stoked about it, Benji comes up to Victor at the coffee shop the next day and says something like hey, sorry I wasn’t supportive when you were so excited that your mom was being nice to Rahim. And Victor just goes thanks for saying so yeah she was really being nice to him and I think we made some real progress yesterday!
Like. Okay. rewind noises
Let’s do that whole exchange over again but in the way a healthy couple would, shall we?
Benji: Hey Victor. I’m sorry I wasn’t supportive yesterday when you were excited about your mom. I know you wanted me to be excited with you. Can I tell you a little bit about my own feelings around your mom?
Victor: of course you can.
Benji: Okay. To be honest, I feel really hurt when your mom gives me the cold shoulder. And that’s been something I’ve been dealing with for a while now. So, as much as I want to be supportive of you and excited for you when you see her seeming like she’s making some progress, it’s hard for me. Because it would hurt for me to get my hopes up that she’ll treat me better, only to be disappointed.
Victor: Damn. Wow. I’m so glad you told me how you feel about that. That makes a ton of sense. I would really like your support, because I love my mom and this whole thing with her is hard for me, but I understand now why it would be painful and complicated for you to get too excited. Now I get it. Thanks for telling me. I’ll keep that in mind when I bring it up to you from now on and we can navigate all of it together.
fast forward noises OOC cause I just wrote that as I thought about what I would say in a similar situation, but you get the idea.
Returning to Benji for a sec. I’m a cliiiiinically conflict avoidant person, and I recognize a lot of myself in Benji. He doesn’t want to take up space. He makes funny stories and jokes out of his trauma (strip club, crashing car into Wendys). He doesn’t stand up for himself even if he has a legitimate reason to be upset - he finds reasonable reasons to apologize for his part in the situation and tries to make amends. (Certainly not always a bad thing, just can definitely be a conflict avoidant thing.) I mean, we saw him behaving this way even in s1. Think about on their anniversary when Derek said “can we just go catch that show” and Benji said “you go ahead, I’ll catch up” instead of “hey, I know you don’t care about anniversaries but I do. This means a lot to me. I want to spend time together.”
So yeah, Benji has some serious issues with avoiding talking about his own feelings, standing up for himself, etc if it basically doesn’t “go with the flow” of what the other person is thinking or feeling. Conflict avoidant. He doesn’t want to rock the boat. I don’t know why, yet. I don’t think we as the audience know why at this point, but I hope the writers will get into it. Probably isn’t “because alcoholism” - rather, I think the alcoholism is another symptom of the same issue.
Victor, for his part (and I’ve touched on this in another post), probably has spent so much of his life being the fixer for his family that he kind of unconsciously latches on to people who will give him a break from that and take care of him (think Simon, for instance??? Lol). And he forgets that it’s not black or white, it’s not one or the other: care or be cared for. In a relationship it goes both ways. I really think he got this massive crush on Benji, put him on a pedestal, made him out to be perfect; almost saw him as kind of a savior. Someone who could come, sweep him up, and make everything okay. Fulfill all his fantasies. Victor doesn’t seem to see Benji as a real person yet. And he doesn’t seem to realize that he needs to proactively take care of Benji, not just let Benji keep taking care of him. That they need to meet each other halfway.
And speaking of avoidant people, Victor does seem to have a pattern with this behavior doesn’t he? Dates Mia -> not working out -> run to someone who is new and seems perfect. Dates Benji -> things are complicated and hard -> oh look a handsome boy who is wonderful in every way (runs to someone who is new and seems perfect) (and will fix all his problems). Boy needs to stop running off to the next person who’s gonna “fix all his problems”. He needs to invest in his current partner. He needs to invest in being the one to care about his partner, being the one to put in the effort. Not just being the one to be cared for. He needs to stop waiting for someone to come sweep him up and fix all his problems. It’s not realistic, Victor. Get yer shit together & learn how to be a better bf. For reals. Smh
That went off on a little tangent lol, but honestly, at the end of the day, none of this is really even either of these guys’ faults - yes Victor puts Benji on a pedestal and is just beginning to see him as a real person with complexity and flaws, but to be fair Benji basically did the same thing: put Victor on a pedestal. “I broke up with him. I just want to be with someone where I can be myself and that’s enough. That’s how you make me feel, Victor.” = a really similar pattern to what we’ve seen Victor do. Relationship failing, abandon ship for the shiny, new, and better-seeming option. I’m not saying that that’s always the wrong choice. I don’t think that it is. But I am saying that both Benji and Victor are experiencing something very natural: having big crushes, letting infatuation and rose-tinted glasses go to their head, and then experiencing whiplash when their partner isn’t perfect. Honestly I think we’ve all been there to some extent.
At least in s3, now that they’ve seen some low times and their rose-tinted glasses are off, they should get a chance to create a deeper bond if they choose to do that (I feel confident that they eventually will). Benji needs to own his conflict avoidance and start advocating for his wants, needs, and feelings. Victor needs to recognize that although Benji seemed like a dream boy and is way more experienced yada yada, he’s not there to save or take care of Victor - he’s just a person, who also needs to be taken care of sometimes, and Victor needs to meet him halfway in their relationship and do that for him. They need to be able to exchange care as equals.
There I fixed their whole relationship you’re welcome afhffjhgfgjfgjg
(…….oh god I just realized how the writers are gonna have Victor figure out that sometimes he needs to take care of Benji too, and it’s totally gonna be bc Benji relapses with alcohol. Probably. Sounds like a TV-show move, doesn’t it?)
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dystopiandramaqueen · 3 years
Text
Tell Them Everything.
“You need to remember a few things.
You can't change anything about this.
It’s gonna end the same, no matter what you do.
So there’s no point trying to be tough, or brave.
Brave isn’t a part of any of this.
Everybody breaks.
Everybody.
Just tell them.
Whatever they want to know.
Tell them everything.
I couldn’t stop them.
I’m sorry."
Everyone’s losing their shit because Nick drove June to the Eyes for interrogation in Season 4.
This dynamic isn’t new. We saw this exact same moment in Season 1, Episode 3.
Even with Nick’s improved status as a Commander in S4, he’s still just as powerless against the Eyes as June is. He is under enhanced scrutiny as a Commander. He no longer enjoys the freedoms he had as a driver.
They are both still pawns of Gilead. Trapped on the same battlefield but on different sides.
It's always been that dynamic.
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In Season 1, Episode 3, June makes innocent small talk with Nick as he drives her home from the Putnam’s.
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Out of nowhere, instead of responding to her light hearted banter, Nick makes direct eye contact and begins telling her how to survive interrogation by the Eyes. He’s more direct and wordy than we’ve ever seen him because he’s terrified and he wants to help her and he needs her to HEAR him in the few seconds he has stolen to speak with her.
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Nick knows that the Eyes do unspeakable things to break people. He knows that no one escapes.
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Everyone breaks. Even the brave. Especially the brave.
You can tell from his thousand yard stare that he's either been tortured himself, or seen it. Done it? Dude looks haunted. He's seen some truly horrific shit.
But having been through it, he knows Gilead protocol. Once a prisoner confesses, gives up their secret, and it’s proven to be true, the torture ends immediately. The truth serves as a safe word. An escape hatch. The only way out.
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As an Eye, Nick overhears discussions. Who’s being monitored.
Who’s in custody. What their punishment will be.
"Do you know what they did to OfGlen?"
"Do you know because you're one of them?"
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Most importantly, he hears who the Eyes are taking into custody next.
The Eyes took Emily bc she was a Gender Traitor. Since June was her walking partner and they took long walks by the river, away from cameras and microphones, it stands to reason that June is a person of interest. Possibly a gender traitor herself. Possibly able to provide damning evidence about Emily.
Nick became aware that they were going to interrogate June. There was nothing he could do to stop the interrogation from happening. He even tried. But it didn’t work. He couldn’t stop it.
All he could do was get her alone for a few seconds before they took her into custody.
Nick used the words “tough and brave” because he knows that’s what June is. She’s a badass. One of the strongest women he’s ever known. He sees her fiery rebellious spirit and knows she will fight back or lie or withhold information. He knows June won't give up, and he knows how badly she will suffer at her own hands.
He’s basically saying “I know that you are brave and tough. Please don’t think that way right now. Save yourself. They will get the information out of you. They always do. Do not protect your friend. She’s already on the surgical table. She can’t be saved. YOU can still be saved some suffering. But you have to give up and comply to survive.
The same way he begged Eden to "tell them what they need to hear."
I love when people say Nick should "Do Something."
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So in the game of Gilead, women who linger too long by the river on their one sanctioned daily walk get interrogated. How do you think it goes for people who attack the Eyes of God, in front of witnesses?
Nick has no power to protect June or step out of line when others are looking. Yaknow. Unless he wants to be tortured to death.
When he does call in all of his favors to save June's life, it's always behind closed doors. (End of S1 go with them, trust me / stopping fred end of S2- neither time had any witnesses.)
All Nick has ever had to offer June is witness. He validates her suffering. Eases it in what little ways he can. He's there for her before she's interrogated, steering her away from calamity with bits of whispered advice.
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After, he tends her wounds.
He knows it's not enough. He loathes himself for not doing more. But it’s all he has to give her if he's to stay alive himself.
He apologizes for what they did to her. THEY because he is not a Gilead Loyalist. Nick is just as trapped as June is.
Episode 3 of Season 4 repeats this scene almost verbatim.
Commander Blaine became aware June would be captured. He volunteered to lead the party arresting her. Telling the men to hold their fire. Convincing June to take her hand off the gun.
All he can do is get her alone for a few seconds before the Eyes take her.
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He begs her to tell them everything.
He tells her how to make it stop. Gives her a safe word. Almost like pre-emptively forgiving her, comforting her. Because she will break. She will confess and snitch on her friends.
Because it always ends the same, no matter what you do.
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Then just as quickly, their stolen moment is over. Lydia and the Eyes take June. Just like they did in 1x3. Nick can't stop the Gilead Government from taking their prisoner into custody. I mean... he COULD but he'd be dead before his body hit the floor.
The difference? This time he tells her to be brave. He knows she’s gonna need courage. That’s all he can give her. This bible verse is him telling her to be strong. He's telling her he KNOWS how tough she is. He knows she will survive. He's just praying she'll remember what he told her. Tortured himself by the knowledge that a woman like June will hold out as long as she can and suffer for her courage.
Nick’s prophecy was correct. June did break.
Nick did try to prevent her torture. And the ONLY way to do that in Gilead? Is to convince someone to confess. To give up. To betray everyone else and save yourself.
If she had given up the location of the Handmaids immediately, she wouldn’t have been tortured at all.
Nick always allows June agency and choice. But he gives her the tools she will need to survive and fight back. Praying she heard him. Praying she listens, so he can keep her alive.
Thank you as always to @nickblaine and @splitscreen for letting me use your gorgeous gifs. <3
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mego42 · 3 years
Note
Hi, since you seem more positive/excited about the triangle possibility than a fair amount of people, can you talk more about why? I fall into "the not thrilled about the possibility, but have a little hope it could result in some good moments" group and would love some more reasons to not dread it. Thanks! And love your writing and love reading your tags :)
hey anon!! i am v sorry you are not thrilled and am always happy to shriek nonsense about why i’m excited (though idk how much it will help bc the tl;dr is more or less i’m hype for a triangle bc i am an incredibly messy bench who lives for drama and if you are not a similarly messy bench, ymmv)
don’t get me wrong, i super understand the trepidation, pop culture is LITTERED with absolute shite examples of love triangles but here is an incomplete list of reasons i personally think beth and rio are the perfect kind of disaster to set up a spectacular love triangle:
the existence of a triangle implies there are FEELINGS at the various points
the use of the descriptor "romantic" applied to said triangle implies ROMANTIC feelings
i am a simple woman and my pulse has already picked up
one of my absolute most favorite things about the toxic stew that is beth and rio is how completely balls to the wall obsessed they are with having and holding each other’s attention and focus
like straight up possessive nightmare people
now imagine wedging an actual rival for one or the other’s attention between the two of them
(something we have not reeeeeally seen before, 206 withstanding and i’ll come back to that, bc lbr beth doesn’t give a fck about dean and rio’s known that for sure ever since he walked LITERALLY RIGHT PAST THE GUY to rail his wife in a public bathroom at her invitation)
(the 204 proximity point has nothing to do with this list it’s just a source of endless delight and that was enough for me to justify adding it)
where was i
mmmmm feelings, possessive nightmares, OH RIGHT
they are also nightmares in the sense that it appears to be physically impossible for them to use their words with each other unless it’s like, ripped out of them which means they’re sitting on ALL THE BAGGAGE between them and it’s just stewing and boiling and
wait, let me back up
look, i want brio sex as bad as the next person
but even more than brio sex? i want them to fight
i mean like, Fight fight
i want the kind of knockdown drag-out brawl that brings Stuff to the surface and leaves them with a bunch of nasty, ragged, pieces dragged out into the light bc lbr they’ve both done some incredibly awful things to each other
(kind of like what 213 was looking like before it all went to shit tbh)
(i’m just saying, beth saying you put it all on me with that kind of jagged, disbelieving betrayal behind it? my catnip)
(it’s up there with rio at the picnic table in 306 telling her that ship sailed when she put three slugs in him)
i live for them being raw and honest and emotional okay
IF ONLY THEY COULD BOTH DO IT AT THE SAME TIME
bc here’s the thing, for the magnitude of horrifying shit between the two of them? i (personally) think that they like it because they are so! twisted! when it comes to each other and i love that for me, specifically
like no seriously a huge part of what i love about the ship is that whole i see your monster and it looks like mine thing they’ve got going on when they let themselves and i am full on foaming at the mouth feral at the thought of them leaning into that
i’m sorry i’ve lost the thread again
wait no that was the thread
okay so basically they’re both ticking time bombs of smothered angst and rage who are absolutely incapable of being normal about each other but are also keeping all of that locked tf down and the only time we ever really see it come out is when one o them is too emotionally overwhelmed to keep their iron grip
you know what brings emotions to the surface?
TRIANGLES!!!!!!!!!!!!
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE SEETHING MESS OF EMOTION THAT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BRING TO THE SURFACE??????
AND HOW UTTERLY UNEQUIPPED EITHER ONE OF THEM WOULD BE TO DEAL WITH ANY OF IT????????
AND HOW SIDEWAYS IT COULD EXPLODE???????????
like don’t get me wrong there is absolutely no way it’s gonna be pretty but i didn’t get on this busted ass carnival ride expecting nice things, i am in this to feEl stuFf and nothing makes me feel stuff more than seeing the two of them feel stuff and this is  perfect set up for that
you know how they say the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference?
you know what’s not indifference? big messy emotions
but okay okay okay i am icarus and the sun looms large, lets say they don’t fight, that doesn’t mean they’re not gonna feEl stuFf on their own
do you remember beth’s face in the van when rio hugged dylan??? do you?????
and what did she do after that? went out and robbed him blind and held his shit hostage until he caved in what is one of my top 10 of all of their scenes
and god, idk if we’ve really seen rio really get jealous of attention lavished on beth yet but when i think about it i want it so bad my teeth hurt
and i know i’m not alone here bc i have i think 3 jealous!rio prompts in my inbox rn
(i’m not saying i’m working on it but i’m also not not saying it)
god i just
can you imagine how much fun it could be to watch rio seethe over having to watch someone else be into beth
WHAT WOULD HE DO?????????
ESP IF HE COULDNT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT DIRECTLY BC ITS SOMEONE HE CAN’T INTERFERE WITH
oh christ and if beth responded to it??????????
oh gOD thE mESS
idk even if it doesn’t lead to a confrontation (but i feel like??? it would have to????) just the idea of the kinds of feelings they’d have to grapple with and confront within themselves is D E L I C I O U S
also, to jump back to an earlier point: brio sex
i know some people are feeling like the sexy chemistry between beth and rio is lacking this season
you know what’s great for chemistry? fuel
you know what provides great fuel? messy emotional situations that tug at intimate connections and make people feel out of control
you know what’s a messy emotional situation that tugs at intimate connections and make people feel out of control? 
you probably guessed it
A TRIANGLE
(and we know that neither of them does well with feeling out of control period at all even without the intimate emotional stuff mixed in so like oh boy)
listen i am just saying given where they’re currently at with each other i cannot think of any situation more ripe for an explosive hook up than one or both of them feeling driven to reassert their claim/mark on the other 
would it be nice? no, probably not
would i care? not even a little bit
(don’t you judge like any of y’all are any better than me)
look. to quote marie kondo horrifically out of context: i love mess and the mess potential in a romantic love triangle with beth and rio as two of the three points is stratospherically high.
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razberryyum · 4 years
Text
Scumbag System (SVSSS donghua) Episode 10 Thoughts (spoilers)
(covers SVSSS chaps 24 - 26, BC Novels Translations)
And thus the first season of the SVSSS donghua comes to an end...rather weirdly abruptly to be honest, but more on that later. Obviously I love the donghua. It was not perfect, but it still exceeded my expectations. I truly appreciate what they were able to do within their budget constraints and I think they captured the spirit of the source material perfectly, which is really all I hope for when it comes to adaptations.  The writing was strong, the humor hit the spot always (for example, when poor Shizun got motion sickness from sword riding, I guffawed), and they also gave us some of the most beautiful characters I’ve ever seen on screen, especially with Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge. I really, really hope they release official figurines for them. I’m going to start saving my money now just for that possibility.
Even though their time together in this episode was short, the BingQiu love was definitely strong. They gave them a combo move that was not in the source material: for someone like me who grew up watching Cantonese dramas, two characters who have a combo sword move (”雙劍合璧”!) are usually a couple so I was especially tickled by this addition. I am always thankful to the donghua team for the little Easter Eggs they give us for BingQiu, like the way Binghe's eyes lit up when he sees SQQ... 
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or when SQQ touches him...
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Once again, for those not in the know, it can easily be interpreted as a disciple just being devoted and filial to his Shizun. But for those of us who have read the novel, of course we know it’s indication of Bingmei falling in love with SQQ. I love how subtle yet significant these little expressions of Binghe’s are, and I hope they continue on with these little touches even in the next season. 
Of course then there are the more obvious gestures, like that HUG:
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It lasted for a good 15 seconds and oh my God look at the Binghe’s hand placement!  There was totally nipple groppage happening there! This wasn’t in the book by the way...SQQ didn’t get woozy and Binghe most definitely didn’t have to catch him like some fainting damsel, so we have the donghua team to thank for this wonderful moment of (sexy) physical contact between the two of them. 
The donghua team was also especially generous in this episode since not only did we get some BingQiu love, but we got a pinch of LiuShen and QiJiu love too.
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LQG’s eyes were on SQQ the entire time! And then Yue Qingyuan as usual took any opportunity he got to touch his Qingqiu.  So all shippers were fed. Hell, they even threw in some more straight-baiting again so peeps who are watching the show for the “straight” romance between Luo Binghe and his never-to-be-future-wife Qin Wanyue were fed too since the scene where Binghe gives her the handkerchief to wipe away her tears were not in the chapters of the book for this episode, and racking my brain I don’t even think it was in the book, period. I’m trying to remember if that handkerchief even holds any significance but even if it does, it’s all for naught since we know Qin Wanyue is at most just a minor side character. She does pop up again later on but then is mostly forgotten, so...not quite sure what that moment was all about other than to, I don’t know, throw off the censors?
I’m also not sure why we spent so much time with Liu Mingyan and Gongyi Xiao in this episode. Nothing against them personally, I like both characters very much (despite my previous complaints about GYX’s character design), and it’s not that they don’t deserve more screen time, but this was the season finale! Even though the next season has been announced, God knows when we’ll see it next year and how many episodes it would be, so every minute of screen time matters! That’s why I was a bit puzzled that they used up half of the episode showing LMY basically facing the same perils with her group of fellow disciples as before and GYX just running from that huge serpent. Even if that thing DOES turn out to be Zhuzhi-lang, it was still a bit much. They weren’t exactly character building scenes either so...why? Budget reasons? Didn’t have enough money to pay SQQ’s voice actor (Wu Lei-laoshi) so they had to stick in miscellaneous scenes to lessen his screen time? 
I’m kidding of course. God I hope that wasn’t the reason because that would just be sad.
Speaking of miscellaneous scenes though, what was going on with these two dudes?
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I gotta admit, I’m a bit salty that these two mob characters got to do what our main couple can’t. What’s their story? Why do they get special privileges? Damn these nobodies. XD
All kidding aside, I have to say, of all the episodes this season, this might be the weakest one, not only because of the “filler” scenes, but also, the way the episode ended was so odd, especially for a season finale. The season basically ended on a scene transition. Not a cliffhanger, just a scene transition, and then cut to credits. What?? Why??? It’s almost as if they just ran out of time so had to stop the show all of a sudden. And then as if to make up for it, they added post-credit scenes which, honestly blew me away because it was so unexpected. It was indeed almost enough to make me completely forgive the weakness of the episode as a whole and that weird-ass ending.
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I teared up!  The scene was kind of chopped up, didn’t even flow that smoothly, but I still got emotional! I’m sure when I see this scene in its entirety next season I am just going to be destroyed. I think they made it even more gut-wrenching than it was in the novel. Looks like the donghua team really aren’t gonna hold back when it comes to delivering the BingQiu knives. 
We also got to see Mobei-jun appear in the post-credits scene; I guess they had to stick him in there since he was featured in the poster for this season, so it would have been weird if he didn’t at least make an appearance.
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I immediately thought of him as Sephiroth’s younger cousin when I first saw him on the poster and I still feel that way. Anyone related to Sephiroth, I will approve and instantly have affection for. For the MoShang shippers’ sake, I hope the Shang Qinghua they create for him will be just as pretty. I think I can now safely discard my guess from last time and also that moon-faced bearded ojisan others have guessed. We actually got a glimpse of the real deal in this sequence:
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They strategically made him blurry so you can’t really make out his features, but what we still can tell from there is that he does not have facial hair (hence, he cannot be the ojisan) and the hair crown he’s wearing is silver and different from the twinky sect leader. So I guess we’ll be getting a fresh out of the microwave Airplane Bro instead of any of the no-name potential cannon fodder we’ve already seen. 
We’ll probably get the abyss opening up in maybe even the first episode of next season but that’ll still leave a lot of ground to be covered in just 10 episodes (rumored). There haven’t been any talk about a third season, but I really hope it’ll happen, even though it might take them a while to make it. I know it’s premature to even think of a third season when we haven’t even gotten an actual release date for the second, but I’m greedy because I already miss the donghua. This season was over so quickly, I’m already mourning the lack of new episodes. I hope we get the second season in the first quarter of next year and then by some miracle, a third or even fourth to properly finish out the story. I know we will never get the FULL story, but as long as they keep the spirit of BingQiu’s love and continue to hint at it like they’ve been doing this season, I will be more than satisfied. 
And while I’m wishful thinking for new seasons, I hope we also get a BingQiu duet and character songs. I love the opening and ending theme this season, if they want to save money I totally don’t mind if they just use the same OP/ED themes in the next season as well, but I hope they throw in a good BingQiu insert song and then release some individual character songs as well. I’m still not a fan of Binghe’s voice, but maybe they can have someone else do his vocals for the songs. SVSSS is the older son of MXTX’s works, I feel like it already got short-shrifted in terms of adaptation since it got the lesser budget compared to MDZS and TGCF. Hopefully with how popular the donghua is this season, it will be given a bigger budget next season so they can bring to life all the subsequent proceedings from the book properly. And whatever they’re paying Wu Lei-laoshi, SQQ’s voice actor, they should double it because that man is just amazing. I worship his voice and performance. I wish he would read the audiobook version of the the novel. I would listen to the hell out of that.  I have always loved SQQ, but if I’m going to be honest, I came into the show just a little more excited about seeing Bingge being brought to life. I still love Binghe of course, in all his phases, however, now,  because of Wu Lei-laoshi’s stellar voice performance (and of course SQQ’s beautiful looks), I’m leaving this season absolutely head over heels about SQQ/Shen Yuan. Also thanks to the show, I’m completely obsessed with Liu Qingge as well.  So for those two reasons, I will eternally be grateful to the donghua team.  
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kitchensunflowers · 2 years
Text
"i want my legacy to be speaking up for people who are suffering. for voices who nobody wants to hear."
...so this line in the most recent ep of lone star really bothered me.
content note: brief mentions and occassionally brief discussions of euthanasia, ableism, suicide, and eugenics in my discussion of this line, below the cut
first, i want to make it clear that my frustrations here are not with this character's desires, or with anything pertaining to the real life topic of dnr requests or dnr violations.
my issue is that this episode took on a complex topic that needs handling with nuance and care, and used it in a subplot to create a storyline whose ultimate message, as represented by the above line - which, given the context of the terminally ill character wanting not to be resuscitated, and talking about the difficulty of her illness immediately prior to saying this line - could easily be read as "sometimes, disabled lives aren't worth living anymore. and you know what, people don't think about that enough"
bc that's how it came across to me (a chronically ill/disabled viewer). in particular, with the above line punctuating that scene, the dnr subplot was turned not into a storyline about respecting people's agency and body autonomy, in particular disabled people's, but instead, it became a story that pontificated about how no one ever considers that some people's lives, because they are chronically ill or disabled, aren't worth living.
and that message, to me - especially as a one off line by a guest character in a one off subplot, and especially as relates to the idea that this is something abled people don't believe and need to think about more - feels ignorant and even dangerous.
it feels harmful, when there is actively legislation going into effect that has doctors suggest 'assisted dying' before offering or as an equal option to things like pain management, therapy, community resources and support.
(not dead yet's blog lists multiple different cases from the past year alone, and in their toolkit explains from disabled advocate's perspective why this is a complex issue)
it feels harmful as we enter year three of a pandemic whose spread has been aided by the philosophy, both colloquially and as represented by government policy, of 'well, only people who are already sick will die, and you know, they're already sick'.
(see the head of the US's CDC recently saying that it was "encouraging news" - actually her words - that, around the time of her statement, most of the people dying from COVID already had other comorbidities. rolling stone has a p good article on this cdc incident)
it feels harmful because actually, plenty of people already feel that many chronically ill and disabled people would be better off dead- something we've actually seen represented on screen this season when the nurses made their comments while tk was in a coma -
and actually, major media is actually more likely to represent disabled and chronically ill people when they are part of storylines where they are either completely cured, or they die - and where their deaths can be seen as better for them, better the people around them, and even quite a romantic thing to do. (me before you anyone?)
eugenic practices and philosophies are alive and well, ableism is still rampant in this world, and actually, the story - the reality - that is actually underrepresented in major media? it's the one where disabled people do want to live, do have lives worth living.
again, this is not to comment on this character's choice or anyone's w/r/t dnr requests. this is not to say that a dnr is the exact same thing as assisted suicide, or to comment on real world issues in general.
what i am directing my comments at is at the writing team, at the storytellers who decide to tell stories with complex real-world histories, interconnectivities, and applications, and then not giving those storylines the care, nuance, and importantly, specificity that such storylines deserve. its at the failure to consider what generalisations a lack of that specificity and nuance could lead to. To forget the potential implications of leaving in a line just because it sounds powerful and pretty.
so, as i said earlier in a different post, @ 911-verse writers room, producers, etc, if you're out there, next time you attempt to write about disability justice, please get a disability justice advocate in the room to guide you through it.
(or you know what, just consult with activists for any storylines about mis- and underrepresented communities in general. hollywood, it is possible make sensitivity reading a practice for movies and tv shows, too.)
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slytherinbarnes · 3 years
Text
Sub Rosa [96]
xii. the stranger
Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader
Word Count: 4.8k
Warnings: angst, fighting, violence, blood, language.
Summary: faced with the aftermath of bellamy’s betrayal, you finally get a chance to talk to him, only to discover that he may be too far gone.
a/n: i do not know what to say in these notes right now bc i just know yall are cussing me out with every update lmao the taglist for this series is open! I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!!!
previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist
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You sit on the flimsy mattress beside your twin, your hand held tight in her own, both of your expressions contemplative as you try to figure out what the hell is going on. Across from you, Octavia sits on her own bed, looking at you both, a soft laugh slipping from her mouth. You and Clarke lift your gazes to her in tandem, and Clarke looks at Octavia with mild annoyance. “Something funny? Because I don't see anything humorous about this.”
“I’m laughing because I’m realizing just how much I missed the Twinadoes. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you both together.”
Clarke’s expression softens, her curiosity causing her to ask, “How long were you on Penance?”
“We call it Skyring. 10 years, good ones.”
You smile, remembering some of your better memories from Skyring. Cooking with Gabriel, chess with Orlando, braiding flowers into Echo and Hope’s hair. You whisper, “They were.”
Clarke turns to look at you in confusion, unaware of how long you’ve been apart. “You were there?”
“Not with Octavia, Diyoza, and Hope. We came later, the four of us: me, Gabriel, Echo, and Hope.”
“How long were you there?”
“Five years.”
Her jaw drops in shock, “It’s been five years for you?”
You nod and you see tears in her eyes. She drops your hand to pull you in a hug, and you're grateful for it, grateful to be back with your twin, even if it is in a jail cell. “Oh my god, la lune. I’m so sorry, we had no idea or we would have come sooner.”
You shake your head, pulling away to smile at her. “It’s not your fault, Clarke. It was only a few days for you, there’s no way you could have known.”
She looks at you, and you can tell she wants to know more, but she hesitates, not wanting to push you. You read her mind and look between her and Octavia. “It was hard at first. Really hard. The first few months...all I could think about was saving Bellamy and Octavia, and getting back to you and Madi. But over time, Gabriel, Echo, Hope, and Orlando wore me down. I started to warm up to them, and then one day I woke up and I realized that I hadn’t worried about the time at all the day before. I felt guilty about that at first, but once I stopped religiously counting down the days, time went faster after that. It wasn’t so bad in the end. We had peace, and we became a family, sharing meals and stories. And even though I missed both of you, and Bellamy, and Madi and the rest of our family, I was happy.”
Octavia and Clarke can sense that you have more to say, and Clarke reaches out to grab your hand again, prepared to console you. “And then we got here, to Bardo, and it was worse than I could have imagined. Because in the five years it took for us to play house on Skyring, Bellamy was killed here. I let myself relax too much, and he ended up dead. All those years of training...for nothing.”
Clarke squeezes your hand, and you glance at her before looking away, tears welling up in your eyes as you remember the loss you felt three months ago. “I lost it when I found out, which is why I can’t blame Echo for nearly crystallizing us all. She knew how hard all of this has been on us, and she tried to do what she thought was best to make things right again. She went about it the wrong way, but her heart was in the right place. Anyways, I do believe there are good people on this planet, but I know that Cadogan is not one of them. I want nothing more than to get the hell off Bardo. Nothing good has happened to me here, besides reuniting with all of you, and I just want to escape.”
“Me too.”
“Too bad my brother betrayed us to a man he just met.” Octavia sighs, turning her gaze to Clarke. “You know, I was just starting to understand you, but I guess it doesn't matter anymore. We’ll probably be dead soon anyways.”
Clarke’s brows pull together as she looks at Octavia, “Really? How so?”
“You have Madi, I have Hope. I'd do anything to keep her safe.” She scoffs a little, tears welling up in her eyes, and you and Clarke both look at her with concern. “What’s wrong?”
“A couple of days ago, she was just our little girl. Now she's messed up like the rest of us.”
You and Clarke both stand from your bed and move over to Octavia’s, splitting apart to sit on either side of her. Octavia takes one of your hands and one of Clarke’s, and the three of you sit together in silence, sorrow hanging over all of you as you think of the tragedies you’ve all experienced. And as the three of you sit together, the door to your cell slides open and Bellamy steps inside, looking different from the last time you saw him. His hair is cut and his beard is gone, his face clean shaven for the first time in a long time. It reminds you of the Bellamy you first met on the Ark, in more ways than one. Because this Bellamy is just as much of a stranger to you as that Bellamy was.
Bellamy walks inside the room, his white robes flowing, flanked by two guards on either side of him. You look at him in shock and cock your head to the side, masking your hurt with your anger. “You need back up to talk to us now?”
He turns to glance at the guards behind him, waving them out of the room. “It’s okay.”
As they step out of the room and the door slides shut behind them, the three most important women in Bellamy Blake’s life stand, a wall of strength and anger as they look at him. You are the first to break the silence, looking at your fiance in disbelief. “It’s about time. Bellamy, what the hell was that?”
Before he can answer, Clarke adds, “I have been racking my brain, trying to figure out how you telling Cadogan the truth about the Flame helps us. You know what I've come up with? It doesn't.”
Bellamy’s voice is soft, sounding conflicted as he shakes his head slightly. “I couldn't lie to him.”
Octavia snaps, “Really? Why not?”
He glances over at her, then Clarke, then you, relaying his reasoning on his change in behavior. “I had an experience, something that changed me to my core, something that explains why we're still here and where we're going. It came to me in a vision. Mom was there.”
Octavia gives him a weird look, unconvinced, and he continues, “The Shepherd led me to her, and there was a light, and it was beautiful and warm and peaceful, and I chose it. And when I opened my eyes, the storm had passed, just like that.”
You, Clarke, and Octavia share a bewildered look, and you look at your fiance, your anger softening a little as you take in his hurt expression. “Bellamy, I love you, you know that, but this sounds...crazy.”
He turns to you, his eyes widening slightly as he takes in your confused expression. “Natshana, I know how this sounds, but it’s real.”
You flinch a little when he uses the nickname, your brain struggling to see the man you love in the disciple in white that stands before you. He sees you flinch, and a look of hurt passes over his face before he turns to look at all of you again. “A war is coming, the Last War we will ever fight. Win it, and we become the light.”
Clarke snaps, “Is that what the cult leader told you?”
She turns and starts to pace, as Octavia steps forwards and adds, “Did he tell you what happens if we lose?”
“We won't.”
Octavia shakes her head, telling him anyways. “We turn into crystal, wiped out like Medusa, turning people into stone. It's the end of everything.”
“Not everything, just us.” 
“Just us?” You look at him in confusion. “Bellamy, everything we have done, we have done to survive. To help our people survive. And now you’re willing to risk everything on Cadogan’s insistence that we’ll win the Last War?”
He gives you a conflicted look, giving you a flash of hope that maybe he isn't gone forever. But then he pushes it away and looks over all of you, his voice growing louder and more insistent as he tries to convince all of you that him following Cadogan is not as weird as you think it is. “If I told you the AI that destroyed the Earth was storing our minds in the City of Light, would that be any more believable? What about a group of astronauts turning themselves into gods by transferring their minds into the bodies of their own followers in order to live forever?”
Exasperated, Clarke sighs, stopping her pacing to turn to Bellamy and throw her hands up in frustration. “Okay, yes! We've seen our share of crazy, but that doesn't change the fact that fighting some war to become the light is as ridiculous as the clothes you're wearing.”
He pulls a face, hurt by her comment on his clothes, but he pushes past it. “There's one way to find out: tell me where the Flame is.”
Clarke’s denial is firm and resolute. “No.”
“Clarke, yesterday, you were offering it up in exchange for safe passage.”
“Yesterday, I was bluffing! I made a deal to save my twin and my friends, knowing damn well I had no intention of following through with it. Today, I'm standing in front of my best friend, who I thought was dead, and I don't even recognize him.”
His expression is hurt, tears springing into his eyes as he steps closer to all of you, his gaze locked on Clarke. “I am the same person who helped bring you back from the dead, who refused to give up on you. There is so much more at stake here than you know.”
He turns to you, making his final, teary eyed plea to you. “I know you don't believe in transcendence, but I'm telling you it's real, and I am asking you to believe in me.”
You glance at Clarke and Octavia, their expressions letting you know that believing in Bellamy means believing in Cadogan. Something the three of you are determined not to do. Because even though you love Bellamy with all that you are, and you want to believe him, you know that this isn’t right. He betrayed all of you in the blink of an eye for a man that he thought was crazy back on Earth, and you’re worried just how far his devotion to Cadogan will go. You can tell something happened to Bellamy, something changed him, and you’re willing to listen to him to find out what that is, but you’re not willing to support Cadogan.
Which is why you turn back to Bellamy, trying to ignore the tears in his eyes, your voice sounding soft, but regretful. “Even if you're right, even if everything you're saying is true, we will not help that man start his war.”
He looks from you to Clarke to Octavia, seeing if they agree with you. When they make no move towards him, or say nothing to dispute your claim, he shakes his head and looks down at his feet. You can see him visibly recompose himself before he looks back up at Clarke. “Tell me where the Flame is.”
Octavia locks eyes with her brother, asking, “Or what?”
“I’m trying to save you! All of you, but if you don't tell me where it is, they will execute all of you. Please let me help.”
Your eyes widen at the word execute. It's one thing for the three of you to speculate that you're facing death, it’s another to have Bellamy confirm that they're ready to kill all of you if you won’t give them what they want. And despite the shaky intake of breath that you hear Clarke take, her answer to Bellamy’s request is unwavering. “Go float yourself.”
You turn and step back towards Clarke, the sadness in the room shifting to anger again. Octavia gives Bellamy a disappointed look before she turns towards you and Clarke, all of you turning your backs on Bellamy, standing together and comforting each other, waiting for him to leave. But instead of leaving, he sighs and calls out, “Guards.”
The three of you hesitantly turn towards the door, watching as four guards step into the room. Bellamy looks them all over before motioning towards Clarke. “Take this one to M-Cap.”
Clarke gives him an incredulous look, “What?!”
The guards close in on Clarke, and the two of you exchange a panicked look as they grab her arm and start to pull her towards the door. You jump towards her, trying to grab the hand that is reaching out for you. You’re all too familiar with the pain of M-Cap, and it’s not a pain that you want Clarke to experience. “La lune!”
“Clarke!”
As your hand closes around hers, you are pulled backwards by your other arm, one of the other guards in the room stopping you. You turn and punch him, getting him off of you, trying again to run after Clarke. As she is pulled out of the door, you hear Octavia protesting, but she is stopped in place by her brother. You run after your twin, barely making it past Bellamy before you are grabbed from behind and yanked backwards, onto the ground. One of the guards pins your arms to the floor while the other grabs you by the front of your shirt and punches you, pain exploding behind your left eye and cheekbone. They hit you again, blood blooming across your tongue as you accidentally bite down from the force. A third punch smashes your nose, and you're sure you can feel blood trickling down to your mouth, though it’s hard to think much past the pain. 
You can hear Octavia yelling at her brother and Bellamy yelling commands at the guards, but your brain doesn't process them, too focused on the pain in your face. You feel your wrists being released, the weight of someone’s body leaving you, your body now free to roll onto your hands and knees and spit black blood onto the stone floor. You feel a hand on your shoulder and you flinch before Octavia’s soft voice whispers, “La lune, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” You spit again, pulling yourself to your feet, your anger flaring white hot as you turn towards Bellamy, your earlier sympathy now gone. “What the hell was that?”
He looks over your face, at the blood dripping from your nose, the bruise blooming along your skin, and you can see a flash of worry cross his features as he urges, “You shouldn’t fight them, the Shepherd authorized them to-”
You cut him off, your voice loud, “I don’t care! Bellamy, what are you doing? Letting guards beat me up, sending Clarke to be tortured? This isn’t you!”
He shakes his head, another hurt look on his face. Five minutes ago, you wanted to comfort him through his conflict, hear about what he went through. But right now, your mind thinking of your twin in danger, a danger he sent her to, you want to hit him. You want to punch those puppy dog eyes until they swell shut. But you keep your cool and control your anger as he shakes his head. “It’s not torture.”
You let out a short laugh, pushing your hair out of the way to show him the scar on the right side of your face that runs beneath your level two symbols and into your hairline. “It is if you fight it, and you know damn well she will.”
“All she has to do is tell us where the Flame is, and we’ll let her go. We’ll let you go.”
“No way in hell are we going to give Cadogan what he wants. The Bellamy I love would be right beside me, opposed to doing anything for the crazed cult leader that’s so determined to start a war.”
Bellamy shakes his head, “He’s not a cult leader, and he doesn’t want to start a war. He wants us to transcend, to have real peace.”
“Do you hear yourself? War has never brought us peace, Bellamy. Only death and pain. But let’s say that Cadogan is right, and we do win this war and transcend. Torturing your friends, your family, people you love, watching us be locked up and potentially executed is not the way to do it. Doing the right thing the wrong way isn’t doing the right thing. You know that.”
“I’m trying to save all of you.”
You shake your head at him, in disbelief that the two of you are on opposite sides. After everything with Pike, you were sure that you’d never be on opposite sides again, especially not for something this big, yet here you are. You don't have the energy to argue with him right now, because he clearly believes in Cadogan, or wants to believe in Cadogan, and you’re sure that nothing you say will change his mind. So you turn away from him, shaking your head in disappointment, angrily swiping blood from your nose before muttering, “Get out.”
“La lune, please-”
You spin around and cut him off, your voice loud. “Don’t call me that! My family calls me la lune, and as long as you’re wearing those robes and worshipping the Shepherd, you are not my family, you are my enemy.”
You wait for his face to fall before you snap, “Now get out!”
This time, he obliges, turning away from you quickly, knocking on the door to alert the guards on the other side. As soon as he’s out of your cell and the door is closed, you collapse onto your flimsy mattress, your anger finally giving way to your tears. Octavia crosses the room and sits down beside you, the two of you wrapping your arms around each other and crying as you try to come to terms with who Bellamy is now.
-
A few hours after Clarke is dragged from the cell, your door opens again. You and Octavia stand, expecting it to be her, but instead it is a group of disciples, all of them pointing weapons at you as they demand, “Back against the wall, hands out in front of you!”
You and Octavia do as they say, stepping backwards and pressing your backs to the wall as you hold out your hands. A guard walks over to you and slips a pair of cuffs onto your wrists, a thick metal bar holding your arms apart, before they grab your arm and drag you to the door. You and Octavia are dragged through the halls of Bardo and led to the Stone Room, much to your surprise. As the doors open, you see that your friends are already here, lined up against the wall. Everyone looks at you in surprise, now more injured than the last time they saw you, but you shake off their worry, letting them know you’re okay. 
Octavia is led towards the end of the line, pushed between Hope and Niylah, while you are stopped at the opposite end, pushed between Gabriel and Jordan. Another disciple walks over and places a helmet at your feet before taking one down to Octavia, all of you now standing in a row with disciple helmets nearby, waiting for what’s next. Two disciples stand near the stone, and two more stand near the door, everyone waiting in silence, but Gabriel can't resist the urge to whisper, “Are you okay?”
“Looks worse than it is.” You smirk at him, trying to ease his tension, and he smiles back, right before one of the disciples snaps, “No talking!”
Less than a minute later, the doors to the room slide open. Two disciples stop just outside the door as two more walk inside, taking up their posts. Behind them is Cadogan, followed by Bellamy and the man that is likely replacing Anders, whose name you don't know. Behind them is Clarke, unrestrained, her eyes searching the line of prisoners until her eyes lock with you. Her expression drops at the sight of all of you restrained, but it drops further when she sees the bruise already darkening around your eye. “Why are they still restrained? We had a deal.”
You look at her, your eyes glancing at Cadogan, who has taken up a spot in front of the stone. “Clarke, what is this? What deal?”
“He releases all of us, and I take him to the Flame.”
Bill turns around, his gaze falling to Clarke. “You'll forgive me if I have trust issues where you're concerned.”
He turns to look at the man replacing Anders. “Remove the restraints one at a time. Any violence will be met with lethal force.”
Bellamy looks at you, his expression a warning as he addresses your group. “No one is getting violent. It's a good thing, you're being released.”
The man moves down to Miller first, slipping off his restraints before motioning down to the helmet on the floor. “Helmet on to protect your memory.”
Miller leans down and grabs the helmet, turning to look at Clarke as the Anomaly powers up beside him. “You good with this?”  
She nods, and he pulls the helmet on and allows himself to be led into the Anomaly. All down the line the others are unrestrained and led into the green glow behind Miller: Hope, then Octavia, Niylah. The man skips over Raven, who gives him a strange look, and moves on to Echo, freeing the former spy with a guarded look. “Sending the fighters first, is that it?”
He shrugs a little, “Can't be too careful.”
After Echo is Jordan, and you put your hands out after him, waiting your turn, but the man in front of you steps back, leaving you, Gabriel, and Raven behind, still restrained. Cadogan moves over to the stone and types in a code, the Anomaly closing behind Jordan, leaving the rest of you behind. You glance over at Clarke in confusion, wondering if this was part of the plan, and she gives you a look of worry, letting you know that it’s not. She steps towards Cadogan, a glare on her face. “What are you doing?”
“Ensuring you keep your part of the deal.”
Raven shifts closer to you, glaring at Cadogan as she moves, her lip curling into a sneer. “He didn't send them to Sanctum.”
“Correct.” He turns to look at her, smiling at her, and you want nothing more than to launch yourself at him and wipe the smile from his face. “And thank you for demonstrating why I didn't send you with them.”
Gabriel clicks his tongue, his gaze shifting to his feet before moving back up to Cadogan. “We know how the stone works.”
“Also correct.” You shake your head, confused, because you don't have knowledge of the stone in the way that Gabriel and Raven do. If anything, Echo and Hope know more about the stone than you, meaning they should be here too. Clarke seems to think the same thing, because she looks over at you before her eyes lock with Cadogan’s. “My twin doesn't know about the stone, so why is she here?”
The realization hits you as you look at her, the worry on her face to have you still among the dangers of Bardo. You shift your gaze to the cult leader and deadpan, “I’m an insurance policy. If you don't get him the Flame, I'm assuming that I'm the first to go.” 
Bill turns his condescending smile to you, confirming your suspicions. “Another correct answer.”
You glare at him, your mind on your friends and not your safety. “Where are they?” 
“They're safe, as I promised they would be. I said nothing about releasing them on Sanctum.”
Clarke turns on Bellamy, her anger radiating off of her in waves. “You knew about this?”
Bellamy looks at her, lost, clearly unaware of Bill’s plans, which the Shepherd confirms. “He doesn't know where they are, only I do. I told you, Clarke, I don't trust you. I do, however, trust the love you have for your friends and your twin, and once I have the Key and the Last War begins, they'll all be freed. At which point, each of you will be welcome to fight alongside us, and if you choose not to, well, we'll save you anyway. That is what we mean when we say, ‘for all mankind’.”
He turns, eyes moving over to the new Anders. “Doucette, please release the others, so we can retrieve the Key.”
Doucette walks over to Raven and pulls off her restraints as Cadogan once again opens the Anomaly, this time to Sanctum. Raven leans down to grab her helmet, and Doucette walks over to you next. You stick out your arms, waiting for your freedom, your brain already contemplating all the ways you’re going to get Clarke and the others out of this, when Bill’s voice calls out, “Not her.”
You look around the disciple to stare at the cult leader in shock. “What?”
“Your restraints will remain on, Miss Griffin. You killed 10 disciples in our oxygen farm, attacked First Disciple Anders before his death, and have assaulted countless guards since arriving on Bardo, two of them earlier today. I trust you even less than I trust Clarke, which is why you will remain restrained and at my side.”
From across the room, Bellamy speaks for the first time since your friends were sent away, his expression concerned as he looks at his leader. “Sir, I don't think that’s really necessary.”
“And I think it is. I’m sure you're aware of what she’s capable of more than any of us.” Bellamy’s expression drops a little, his mind clearly playing through an assortment of memories in which you fight or kill anyone that gets in your way. Cadogan notes his expression, stating with a nod, “That is why I’m keeping her restrained.”
You roll your eyes and drop your hands, accepting that, for now, your restraints will stay on. You're hesitant to push Cadogan in this moment, when everything is so tense and you’re surrounded by a room full of guards. You’re less concerned about your own safety and more concerned about the others, not wanting to do anything that’ll put Clarke or your friends in danger. You glance over at your twin, and you can tell that she wants to argue, but you shake your head at her, telling her you’re fine, you’ll be okay, and that none of this is as bad as it seems. You see her sigh a little before accepting the message, leaning down to pick up her own helmet. 
You grab your helmet as Gabriel is freed, and Cadogan turns and begins to give orders. “Disciples, I want most of you ahead of us. Weapons hot, remain in ghost mode, and take down anyone that is armed. Bellamy and Doucette will go ahead of me and the troublesome twin, and then Gabriel, Raven, and Clarke will bring up the rear, along with the remaining disciples. Is that clear?”
Everyone mumbles their assent and agreement, and you are pushed across the room, over to Cadogan’s side. You glare as you look at him, Bellamy moving past the two of you to stand in front of you, and you shift your glare to the back of his head. Because he barely fought for you. He seems more than content to leave you chained up like an animal. You hope he can feel your anger as Cadogan directs everyone to pull their helmets on, which you do clumsily, thanks to your restraints, and you hope Bellamy can feel your anger when you all step into the Anomaly and come out the other side on Sanctum. 
Except, instead of appearing in Gabriel’s tunnel under his camp, you’re in the palace, surrounded by armed guards. Russell is sitting on a throne made of skulls, wearing Grounder clothes, and you look around in confusion as you reach up to tug your helmet off. Clarke does the same thing, speaking the thought on all of your minds as you look around the room in confusion. “What the hell happened here?”
Murphy, who you didn't notice until this moment, is sitting across from Russell, his hands restrained, a chessboard in front of him. He smiles a little as he takes in the arrival of your group, but it drops at Clarke’s question. He glances briefly at Russell before deadpanning, “Oh, gee. Where to begin.”
You look around the room again, at the chaos that has apparently ensued since your departure, and you glance over at Clarke, wondering if it was like this when she left. But given the expression on her face and the confused look that she turns towards you, it wasn't. Which means your people managed to ruin not just Bardo, but Sanctum too. You can only hope that things here aren't that bad, though as you look towards Russell again, you're not sure that’s the case.
But nothing can be as bad as your time on Bardo, right?
-
next chapter
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0bianidalas · 4 years
Text
The unsolicited AlexReggie ship manifesto
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DISCLAIMER: This is obviously meant as a rant post about a ship I can enjoy in fandom spaces and not an actual request from me to make AlexReggie canon in the show or any of the sorts. I am quite happy and excited about the actual canon LGBT+ ship of this show, which is Willie x Alex. Do not get that twisted.
That being said, let me talk to you about the amazing, entertaining dynamic Alex and Reggie have that makes them super easy and fun to ship them:
I wanna start off by saying that I’m mostly writing this because I feel like they are either unfairly underlooked or just grossly misread; and I’m more upset about the latter. (Someone on this hellsite actually had the nerve to say Alex doesn’t take Reggie seriously so. I just had to get this off my chest)
So what’s this amazing, entertaining dynamic you speak of?
Alex and Reggie are best friends. That much is clear from the very first minutes of the show. It’s not Alex is Luke’s friend who’s friends with Reggie or the other way around. They’re all best friends. 
In fact, Alex and Reggie’s very first interaction is just about the sweatest we get to see them. Their first interaction:
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Reggie goes over to Alex to compliment him specifically on how he played at the rehearsal which leads us to a lot of grey areas of headcanoning (was Alex the last to join and so he was shy or nervous around the others? Maybe Reggie just likes to compliment him for some reason, or my personal favorite: Reggie knew Alex was anxious about playing the Orpheum so he thought Alex needed reassurance of his awesomeness? ), but the matter is: Reggie thinks Alex is awesome. 
However, them being sweet best friends is not their entire dynamic (and thank God), no. Alex and Reggie are the quippy best friends, they’re the Vitriolic Best Buds (type one– with Reggie being more on the ‘unaware of the vitriol’ side): 
“A very good measure of how good your friends are is how much you can insult them without them taking offense.”— Heliomance
When two people who are the very best of friends behave like the very worst of enemies.
Alex pokes fun at Reggie saying “he can see you” when Carlos asks if the ghost is “hiddeous”. Reggie makes fun of Alex for crying and being “a very emotional person” (even when Alex isn’t even there). 
But at the end of the day, and this is where I wanna emphasize: they’re the ones to show care first and immidiately for each other. 
It’s stated that their friendship runs deep between all three of them (Luke, Alex and Reggie), but I’m not gonna write the manifesto for the OT3 yet so bear with me: 
In episode 1x02: when Alex complains about them not giving him a hug when he was crying in the “void”, Reggie goes to hug him without hesitation – for Alex to turn him down because, again, that’s their primary dynamic. 
Same episode, a few minutes later: Reggie gets overwhelmed about Ray crying and asks to see his parents and Alex turns to him and sotfly goes “Yeah”
In episode 1x07: when Alex is upset about Willie and Reggie gives him a reassuring comment about how there’ll be others which Alex takes greatfully and openly. 
Episode 1x09: after Alex has said goodbye to Willie and Reggie goes over his shoulder to ask him if he’s alright
Same episode, a few minutes later: when Reggie voices his concerns about what will happen to them if they cross over and Alex turns to him, again, his voice softer than it usually is when he speaks to Reggie, and tells him that “It’s not like we have a choice”, to ease him up a bit. 
What I mean to say with this is: Luke is, as I can read in the context of what we’ve seen in the first season, the least emotionally intelligent out of the three of them and so since Luke lacks in that department–> it means Alex and Reggie have each other. 
Again, they’re like – really best friends when you truly look. Mostly because Luke suffers from his trope of the front-man and main male protagonist, so he’s capable of going on his own or with Julie to explore other bonds while Alex and Reggie have less and lesser and a lot of that is spent with each other. 
Alex tells Reggie about Willie, Reggie pays attention and actually cares about the stuff he’s learning both from Alex as an extension of Willie and then about what he can get from the rest of the world. Alex and Reggie – most of the time during the season – are on the same page about stuff and together, while Luke is off doing his own things, mostly with Julie as she is the protagonist. 
Granted, Alex main focused relationship is with Willie (and I’m super greatful for that), but after Willie, and this is where I take no criticsm, it’s Reggie who comes on the list. Not Luke, not Julie or Carrie– Alex immidiate secondary focused-dynamic as of Season 1 is Reggie (if only slightly tied with the boys as a trio itself, obviously). 
Then there’s the aspect of them individually and how they contrast each other. Alex is obviously the smarter of the three and Reggie falls further on the scale, all the way to the side. That makes them a little the Smart Jerk, Nice Moron trope except Alex isn’t that much of a jerk all the time. However, it works, because not only it makes up for great comedic bits (literally all of their scenes together omg) but also because you can’t have one without the other or it’d be awfully unbalanced.
The “rhythm section” duo
Yes, I even wanna talk about the symbolism of their instruments too and how they’re linked through that. Drums and bass are not only essential to any band but they’re also very important and rely on each other. I’m no music expert at all, but even I know one usually follows after the other to keep the pace of the rhythm. 
This article has some many interesting takes on the relationship between the drummer and the bassist: 
“A drummer’s comprehension of the role of bass guitar is often far greater than most guitarists.”
“Everyone in the band is of course on the team, but the bond between the bassist and drummer is something so deep that it usually takes a long time to develop.”
“Bassists and drummers are the rhythm section together, meaning one instrument consisting of two parts.”
“Simply put, the bassist and drummer really are the rhythm section. It’s not the guitarist and certainly not the damn keyboard player. That can be an unclear distinction at times, but I feel strongly about it. Bass and drums should be an inseparable pair, sonically speaking,” he continues. “That’s not to say that all kick patterns should be followed to the tee, but there should be an obvious and palpable awareness of what each other is doing. There are too many nuances to list that can go with or against that grain. In short, bass and drums should always be intertwined like hot, sweaty lovers having the rawest, musical sex.”  —  Miles McPherson
I find the whole ✨semiotic✨ of this very poetic on its own, but it’s also an OT3 thing I’ll get on later, I think. 
Ultimately, Owen and Jeremy make it work, too. Duh. Their chemestry on screen really gives you the vibe that despite all the times Alex looks at Reggie like he’s fed up and wants to die all over again ("I wish I couldn’t see you”), Alex still finds him endearing and just…he loves the guy. And obviously Reggie – the heart of the boys trio– just loves him right back: 
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I just think they’re cute and funny and even when I’m not shipping them, I’m still appreciating them from a mlm solidarity pov (bc Reggie is definitely bi) and whoever said that Alex doesn’t take Reggie seriously or ever tries to even imply Alex wouldn’t set the whole world on fire to keep Reggie warm is just not watching the same goddamn show.
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max--phillips · 2 years
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i haven't SEEN bobf yet but what I've seen from gifs alone it does really seem like theres different stories going on. Like how can u make the tusken raiders be important to boba in one chap and then kill them the next?
Im thinking that maybe bobf is not doing good bc they were probably on the high of trying to be inclusive and make more series so people will get Disney plus.
How is it that mandalorian which is also a poc lead series was so good compared to boba Fett. Probably bc mandalorian was years in thought. Years in the making. Compared to boba Fett. Which i think was done bc everyone seemed to like his cameo in mando.
When i say mando is poc lead is bc Pedro Pascal is poc. So how come two series with poc lead actors , one be doing good and the other not so good? Again. I think it's bc one was thought out for a longer time.
Maybe, but Pedro is also behind a helmet 99.9% of the time and while he is a Latino, his ancestry is Spanish, therefore European. The point is that BOBF is a show about both a beloved character and a clone, the latter of which have been whitewashed to the point they’re unrecognizable, and even with Temuera Morrison trying (and to a degree, succeeding!) bringing specifically Māori culture to the forefront of the show, and other indigenous representation through the Tuskens, the show isn’t good. And yeah, maybe Mando was planned for longer, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the writing is bland and the plot isn’t particularly cohesive. It doesn’t excuse why the special effects and props and what have you look bad. It doesn’t excuse that they had an entire episode of Boba Fett’s show without Boba Fett in it. And here’s the other thing: obviously someone said “we gotta do a boba fett spin-off” either early in season 1 when he was hinted at at the end of Chapter 5, or while they were doing season 2, because we knew we were getting the spin off when they aired Chapter 16. Which was more than a year ago. And they wrapped S2 in February of 2020 iirc. Like, the show’s had plenty of heads up. Probably a year or more of it. And with a studio like Lucasfilm with the help of ILM, it shouldn’t look like this.
I also have an issue with “on the high of trying to be inclusive.” I think you meant this as a criticism of disney trying to do the representation version of rainbow capitalism, but like… they’re a media company, they should just make good IPs more inclusive to begin with, not make new shittier IPs to say “hey look at us and all these POC we’ve collected! Buy our streaming platform!”
Ultimately though the fact that it isn’t well written/doesn’t look as good as it could isn’t as big of a deal as the fact they kinda fucked over Tem Morrison. And look, I like the show. I do. I just like Star Wars. But Star Wars is showing again and again that they can’t handle doing shows with representation of anyone other than white young people, and if they try they either whitewash characters of color to hell (TBB, TCW) or fuck over the actors of color along the way (TBOBF, the sequels). Idk. It’s frustrating and it feels like they’re… representation-baiting, if that makes any sense, by going “hey look over here! We got a show with a Māori and Chinese lead!” then going “oh wait you thought it was gonna be good??” after what happened with TBB and the whitewashing and the sequels and fucking over Poe and Finn and just. Yeah. I’m also probably not the best person to be talking about this either because again I cannot stress enough how white I am, but I’m not a complete idiot most of the time. Idk
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