#foreshadowing only works if you know what is happening next

[melbatron5000]

The Big Damn Kiss

Buckle up, my fellow Good Omens Ineffable Mystery Puzzlers, Crackpotters, and Assorted Brainrotters, because I learned something HUGE yesterday.

This will be a bit of a long post, because I want to show you exactly how I got where I am. I want you to understand. I want to put all the naysayers to bed (ha! But I'm still gonna try), and settle this once and for all.

I know (almost) exactly what Crowley gave to Aziraphale during the kiss.

DO NOT TAKE ANY OF MY THEORIES TO NEIL! PLEASE!

Okay? Okay. Thanks. Shall we begin?

Ahem.

Firstly, whether you believe me or not, I am 100% certain that Crowley did, indeed, give something to Aziraphale in his mouth during The Kiss. I've covered that in the link previous. Okay? Okay.

I did not know what it was. I've now heard theories that it was a bullet (nope), a ball bearing (nope), hellfire (nope), and no one, NO ONE has suggested what I see. (If you have, hello! Talk to me!)

Here's our first foreshadowing Clue:

And here's our next foreshadowing Clue:

And the next:

And our last Clue:

With me so far? Well, that first GIF is a bit off, I couldn't find one of Crowley actually spitting out the flies. But he does. When Beelzebub first drags him to Hell, he actually goes "Pleaugh!" and spits out four or five flies.

Moving right along, we come to Crowley in Heaven with Muriel, looking at the trial. We learn two important things here:

One, Gabriel doesn't have a desk.

Two, Muriel does. Where they keep the records. And it's a bit lonely. Every few hundred years, someone comes and asks for something. Muriel can't access the sensitive ones, you have to be pretty high up. A throne, dominion, or higher. Like, maybe Supreme Archangel?

So if Gabriel doesn't have a desk, whose desk is he at when he's getting ready to leave Heaven? Of course I can't find a damn picture of Gabriel at the desk, but it's Muriel's. Where they keep the RECORDS.

Gabriel puts his memory into the fly, then gets on the elevator to go to Earth.

Now, when Gabriel opens the fly with his memories inside, we find out that it's a container. Bigger on the inside. You can put thing(S) in it. The bit we see of him remembering is shot in two parts, one where he's flying down a red tunnel, one where he's flying down a blue. If you slow this scene down and watch, you can see that he is NOT looking at just his own memories. There is more going on here, more that he was not present for. @embracing-the-ineffable put up a great meta about that here. Go look!

Now I figured Gabriel must have taken something else. Something important. Something useful. Something he meant to give to Aziraphale, except he forgot.

I also figured he must have left whatever it was in the fly when he took his memories out. Crowley must have realized while watching the trial footage that Gabriel also grabbed something else. I don't know when Crowley grabs the fly, but he does. And that is what he gives to Aziraphale in the kiss. Why? Well.

I had no idea what Gabriel took until I started working on the chiastic structure of season 2. I'm not done with that analysis yet, but let me show you one thing that I have found so far:

(The numbers are just to try and help me navigate the story and its events without time stamps)

My note #357 of what happens isn't quite right, but when I saw the only two times Aziraphale says "I forgive you" are towards the beginning of Season 2 and towards the end, I realized I had something.

Rephrase line 357: Crowley's kiss is forgiven IN EXCHANGE FOR RECORDS.

(Not that I think Crowley's kiss needs to be forgiven. It's just what Aziraphale says, and had to say at that moment, because the Metatron was listening in.)

What does Heaven in Good Omens remind us of most of all?

A big corporate entity. And what do powerful people do when they get fired from a big corporate entity? They download all their emails while they're cleaning out their desks. Damning emails. Emails that can be used to black mail or even destroy big corporate entities. Or, ya know, maybe they swipe some sensitive RECORDS?

Oh yes.

Records that Gabriel meant to give to Aziraphale, but he forgot. Records that Crowley realized Gabriel had put in the fly. The fly that Crowley grabbed once Gabriel had his memory out. The fly that he gave to Aziraphale when he kissed him. The fly that no longer held Gabriel's memory, but did still contain those damning records.

Here's Aziraphale reading the records:

Here's Aziraphale being horrified and outraged by what he's reading:

And here's Aziraphale realizing he has got some GOOD DIRT on Heaven. Maybe enough to bring them down:

That's it folks. I have no idea what the records actually say, and maybe we're not meant to know until season 3, but whatever it is, it's GOOD.

That's my story, and by God Herself, I'm sticking to it.

#good omens #good omens 2 #crowley #good omens meta #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #aziracrow #good omens analysis #good omens fan theory #ineffable mystery #aziraphale elevator #corporate heaven #the big damn kiss #the kiss #good omens muriel #good omens gabriel #good omens beelzebub

[16woodsequ]

Me: *introduces a new element into the story that ~ surprisingly ~ hasn’t been mentioned at all before now*

Character: How??? Did I??? Not noticed this??? Before????

Me, the author, who hadn’t thought of it until now: *sweating* Yeah..... so weird how you didn’t notice it..... before......

#foreshadowing only works if you know what is happening next #sometimes #you just gotta add a whole room your characters have never seen before because you didn't know you needed it at the beginning of the story #it isn't *your* fault your characters role a nat 1 on their observational skills #writing #writer #fanfic #fanfiction #writer problems #funny #writing meme #writing funny #fanfic meme

[ineffableteeth]

So I was rewatching Good omens and I realized something.

Season 2 brings up Memory. A lot

Specifically Crowleys memory

In every episode something is said about it and I find this really interesting

I’m only going to bring up what I think are major, I want to note there are more instances than this. This is gonna be messy and a little disorganized since I’m just throwing my words on this post as I think of them and read the episode transcripts but I had to write it out.

In Episode 1 we see pre-fall Crowley and are introduced to our amnesiac archangel. This will be important later

We don’t see much of Crowleys memory loss in this episode but the biggest example I could find was the way Beelzebub had said Extreme Sanctions after Crowley misunderstood

It was as if they were expecting him to remember

In Episode 2 we get the first blatant hint of Crowleys memory loss

When Gabriel said he couldn’t remember, Crowley doesn’t say “Well try anyway”

He says “Yes you can.”

Crowley knew Gabriel could remember, he knew he could make himself remember. As if he knew it from experience.

Also in this episode we get Crowleys “I’m a demon, I lied.” As well as several other instances where he lies in this episode.

I also feel like his “Lonliness” is important to point out, because I feel like that goes much much deeper than “[I’m on] my side”

In Episode 3 we get Crowley and Gabriel’s Conversation about “Gravity”

Crowley knows what gravity is on a base level. But he says “I don’t remember” when asked why gravity exists and proceeds to give a very nondescript explanation

Now for Episode 4. This episode is actually what triggered me to start looking for these instances.

Because of Furfur

Near the end of the episode when Furfur enters the dressing room he mentions that him and Crowley were directly next to eachother during the Great War, as well as the fact Crowley used to jump on his back “Like a little monkey in a waistcoat”

And Crowley didn’t remember

All he remembered was going to war

Why does Furfur — A demon — remember but Crowley doesn’t?

In Episode 5 we get one of the most crucial ‘memory’ scenes imo

The aftermath of Crowley threatening Gabriel

When Gabriel tells Crowley “It hurts to remember, my head isn’t built for that” Crowley replies with “I know, do it anyway”

Again it sounds like Crowley is speaking from experience

The most important quote to me though is when Crowley says “I know, looking at where the furniture isn’t.”

Because after the fact he proceeds to ask Gabriel if he wants a hot chocolate

This wasn’t a sympathetic action. It was Empathetic.

He feels for Gabriel, he knows what it’s like to not know

Finally in Episode 6 we get context.

This is where the whole amnesiac archangel comes into play.

Before I get into that though I want to bring up Crowleys meeting with Saraquael. Because something interesting stood out to me while reading her voicelines. After Crowley asks “Do we know eachother?” Saraquael says “When you were an Angel” and pauses before she says the following voiceline “We worked together on the horsehead nebula”

Those were two different sentences. I’m definitely looking too far into this but to me it sounded like she knew he wouldn’t remember so she gave unnecessary context. This as well as the fact she didn’t respond when Crowley essentially said he didn’t remember her.

Back to my original point though, during this episode we finally learn how (and why) Gabriel lost his memories. Angels can remove their own memories as well as have their memories removed by other angels.

But clearly Furfur still has his memories, as well as Shax, Dagon, and Beelzebub

And anytime Crowley mentions “remembering” something it’s post-fall

Adding on Neil’s post about “Crowley not being a reliable narrator on his fall” as well as showing Crowley pre-fall in episode one leads me to believe there’s some foreshadowing in there and something happened to Crowleys memory.

But What?

Why doesn’t he remember?

What did they do to him?

#good omens #crowley #crowley good omens #good omens crowley #aziraphale #aziracrow #crowphale #ineffable husbands #gay omens #aziraphale x crowley #good omens aziracrow #aziracrow good omens #crowphale good omens #good omens crowphale #aziraphale good omens #good omens aziraphale #crowley loves aziraphale #aziraphale loves crowley #good omens theory

[novalizinpeace]

im a little curious to know more about King Canvas, has Craftycorn ever said anything about her dad to dogday or anyone at least? Or did she just decide to keep it to herself?

(btw I LOVE your art you are so talented💗)

BIG SPOILER OF FUTURE FANFICS GUYS, IF YOU DON'T CARE, GO AHEAD

You see, Crafty's backstory was squeeze in the season finale of the cartoon, and even was incomplete 'cause the season finale was a part 1, with the part 2 lost in the season 2, that's why is so hated for all the gang + catnap, having a lot of foreshadowing for it and then cancelling the cartoon after said bomb was horrible, and the reason they cancel it? The toys weren't selling as much as they want it. So yeah, Alba has even found the scripts and animatics for the season 2 in Playcare (the cartoon was animated in other place, but the scripts and animatics were send to Play.Co to confirm the work), and heavens, the story was going to get a turn.

First, Craftycorn came from a kingdom full of unicorns and pegasus, with the royalty been the only alicorns (just like in MLP), so what was the surprise in King Canvas when the stork delivered a unicorn baby to him.

The king was in denial, but when her infant daughter was able to active the flower pendant (the family's pendant), he accept it, but wasn't happy with the news.

Then it come years of craftycorn been mentally and physically abused by her father, who convince her of the idea that she was a ''defective alicorn'' and not a normal unicorn, this way, crafty not only thought she was less in her family, but she also thought the unicorns in her kingdom wouldn't like her, 'cause she wasn't one of them (yeah, the bastard destroyed all selfstem in her).

Then one day she... run away, looking for a place that would take her, she end up in the town where the cartoons happens, and hide herself in the Piggy's farm (where Mr.Piggy found her thinking she was a normal child unicorn that ran away from the war, and she accept that story inmediatly).

But why there was a war to begin with? Well, 'cause King Canvas thought his ''lovely daughter'' was kidnnaped, and he blame the astral kingdom (the one of dogday and catnap) for it, so, in a way, craftycorn is the one to blame for dogday and catnap dad's death.

Craftycorn realised all this when they meet Queen Gaia, making her have a full breakdown due the idea that her ''selfishness'' was what make her father start a full war, this get around during some episodes till the flower festival (that last episode before the season finale), where King Canvas show up and, thinking her daughter was kidnnaped and brainwashed to marry the next king ('cause in that moment dogday and craftycorn were dancing together), start a new attack against the kingdom-

AND this is all i can say about him!

#poppy playtime #smilingcritterslostmedia #smiling critters #ask #nova say

[starbylers]

Rambling about things that’ve been said a million times but like…character’s final scenes in each season foreshadow what will be going on with them in the next season right? We’ve seen this. So by that logic we literally know what’s going to happen in s5. (In terms of character’s journeys, not talking about plot). Like we know for certain. They’re barely even theories to me anymore it’s just canon waiting to happen 😭. A huge amount of my Byler confidence comes from this tbh so if you need a little boost maybe this will help.

Dustin’s scene shows he is going to be grieving Eddie (we’ve already had confirmation of this I think so we know the pattern follows for s4 that final scenes are foreshadowing)

Lucas’ scene shows he will obviously be doing everything possible to care for and help Max

El’s scene shows she’s going to be focused on 1) saving Max & defeating Henry and 2) her family and having the support of her dad back

Caleb literally mentioned that Lucas & El’s relationship will be explored and we know Max is the thing that ties them together (the boyfriend and the best friend) so that’s another piece of evidence of s4 final scenes being foreshadowing

So it has to follow that Will & Mike’s scene shows they are definitely going to be working as a team

And if we take symbolism into account…

Their final one-on-one in s3 lingered on a shot of a blue telephone on yellow wallpaper & we know all about their s4 communication issues so yeah we’re absolutely taking symbolism into account

…that red flipped couch? They’re going to be in the upside down. Together. In the season where Will is going to have an emotional arc which will ‘tie the entire series together’. (Although even if the couch stuff was somehow incorrect the team part still stands).

To me the chances of M*leven being endgame in this scenario are so tiny they’re almost nonexistent? If next season was about showing how strong of a couple and how in love they are (which is basically the only place their story could really go atp if the intention was for them to be endgame), they would’ve had their final scene together! El would be sitting in Will’s place on the couch! Mike would be reaching into the light and grabbing El’s shoulder, symbolising that he’s choosing her.

The meaning behind this shot is so clear it’s almost funny like it literally looks like some magical celestial beam of light from heaven is shining down on where they’re connected

They wouldn’t be spending the season with their stories primarily focused on & tied to other people (“other people” being Mike’s literal other love interest!!!) if the show was trying to tell a story of them being this alleged central power couple working together and growing together in a loving, healthy, mature, supportive relationship. It’s completely illogical.

I feel like it’s so obvious that Mike and Will are at least going to be working together next season, and it’s incredibly weird to me that people even try and argue us on that point. Is it denial? Is it the fact that deep down, they are actually aware of how foreshadowing and logical story structure work and they’re scared that if they admit Mike and Will are going to be paired up, they’ll have to admit where the story is inevitably leading…?

#byler #anti mileven #and I’m sure it’s not just the Byler scene that involves symbolism I mean the story Lucas was reading Max is definitely an Easter egg #I haven’t looked into it but someone on here must have #and then there’s the final scene obviously #this isn’t a super thoughtful analysis sorry I have a bunch of stuff in drafts I’m just too tired to work on it atm 😭

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

You put a lot small visual elements and details in that I never seem to notice on my first read, and it always makes rereading exciting. What’s a detail from the comic that nobody ever seemed to notice? I’m sure there are things that nobody has mentioned, especially from the early chapters, that you’d want to talk about

Oh man.........that's a great question.

The thing is, there are a lot of details that people don't pick up, but there are definitely eagle-eyed readers that also do! There are also details which most didn't pick up until someone posted about it, and now everyone knows!

There are also details which are actually... yet to be revealed as relevant! That's a secret tool that'll help us later. :)

But most of it is plot relevant decisions I make which make the story more full, but are not necessarily NECESSARY for full enjoyment.

For example, in the very first comic, when Earl approaches Steven....

Her eye isn't white! That was a fully deliberate decision. She didn't actually approach Steven because he wanted her to. That was a decision she made on her own!

Most of the white eye shenanigans in Season 1 were deliberate, albeit not very explicit. I suppose that worked out okay, though. Plus, many people DID catch on!

Also, this part in the Kindergarten comic:

...which people assumed was a power separate from everything, is actually just the first instance of Steven's Command power. The thing is, I hadn't settled into how to portray it at the time, and also - the gem is Corrupted! It doesn't respond to Steven's commands the same way normal gems do. I planned to explore that earlier initially, but in the end, decided to tie it into much later plot.

In Season 1, EP 38, Steven asks Earl to write her name.... and she does! But in gem, not English, because she doesn't know how to write in English.

She designates herself as White Pearl, putting the dash over the top diamond. It was at the time when she was still anxious about making Steven - White Diamond - angry with her.

And to add to the eye thing - during the Season finale of Season 2, when Steven wondered if Earl only came to see him because he forced her to - the comic where she finds him in the water proves otherwise!

Immediately when she grabs him and swims up, her eyes aren't white! She's doing it of her own accord.

Also, in Season 3's opening, when Rose is angry at what she THINKS is White Diamond, she almost has a slip of the tongue when talking about the past.

There's a very pointed reason that panel of Earl is right there next to Rose's cut-off 'My...'

Also, when Rose leaves Steven in the Containment Sphere - the Baby Jail Bubble - she unlocks it to leave, and you can pretty clearly see an interesting detail.

(which Steven, of course, doesn't notice.)

There's also a bit of a narrative tongue in cheek line-up which is accidental on Steven's part but still rings true:

(TVTropes editors caught this one! Hey TVTrope editors!)

Also, this very famous Seaglass foreshadowing:

The first instance of Steven connecting to tech was in the beginning of this season!

When Steven has a bad dream after fusing with Earl and forming Bleached Coral, there's a hidden detail in this reflective text from Nightmare Rose:

(It might be easier to read if you mirror-flip it.)

Another fun thing I enjoyed doing before I got busy with other stuff is gem language! Earl writes Steven notes in it to help him learn, and now signs with her English name,

In the Cluster Experiments comic, if you look at the panels before stuff starts to Happen, you can find a few Experiments hiding in the background. :)

In Amethyst's room, there is a Japanese stopsign and a d20 in the background.

In episode 25 of season 4, Steven is playing Moonlight Sonata!

In episode 33, the ship Steven connects to displays a bisection of the earth which showcases its lumpy core! Or rather, the megastructures that are hidden deep inside the mantle.

It also showcases a few geothermal coring sites made during the colonization.

And by the way, the drill Pearl built was actually a repurposed ship hull which was used for the Space Race ship in the original show!

And man there are actually... many more! But I had to skip over them because they are alluding to things which have not yet been explicitly revealed! :D

But even with this, I'm sure there are other ones I'm missing. If you think you have one that should be listed - throw it on a reblog or in the comments!

#chekhov answers

[waterfrontcomplex]

yanqing abundance + origin thoughts/theory

so, i was doing whatever and a thought came to me (story spoilers also there's a lot of text)

i took a look around the loufu and realized something; all of the people had essentially every hair color except blonde. the only exceptions are people not native to the loufu, such as luocha.

yk. the one who happens to be ON THE PATH OF ABUNDANCE

and who else has blonde hair?

YANQING.

yanqing's origins are relatively unknown, all we know is that jing yuan found him somewhere and decided to take him in for whatever reason. in yanqing's character story, it says that it's recorded in the military annals of the cloud knights how jing yuan discovered him, but not where.

yanqing mentions in his character introduction how he was RAISED BY THE GENERAL SINCE BIRTH which... like. what. ok thats actually crazy bc either

1) jing yuan took him from his parents when he was like a day old or something

2) he was given to jing yuan (although, this is unlikely considering it was mentioned jing yuan 'discovered' him)

3) jing yuan lied for whatever reason (to protect him)

4) jing yuan indeed found him when he was born, possibly from a fruit of the ambrosial arbor

in the pic above, yanqing says 'but as you know, children aren't grown on trees." is this foreshadowing? or just straight up dropping a hint that his 'birth' was not a natural one?

the ambrosial arbor was inactive for approx. 2579 years before the sedition of imbibitor lunae. after that, the seals on the arbor were weakened. i haven't exactly worked out the specifics yet, but since bailu was created around 700~ years before canon and is still a little kid, and dan heng was presumably an adult/teen when exiled, my guess is that if yanqing has the lifespan/growth rate of a xianzhou native, he would've been born sometime in between den heng's hatching and bailu's hatching, a little closer towards bailu's. but what could've happened during that time? please hear me out the next part is kinda crazy

my guess is that during the tampering of the transmutation arcanum to revive baiheng (and presumably to allow other species to become vidyadhara, although the wiki gave no source... i'll trust it for now), dan feng and yingxing fucked up and created yanqing in a fruit of the arbor, while during the transmutation arcanum ritual, bc dan feng previously fucked with it, it failed and created bailu (and separated his powers between dan heng and bailu)

now, this seems... really out there. how the fuck would yanqing and bailu, a presumably xianzhou native/humanoid and a vidyadhara, be created from the remains of a foxian? i'll start with yanqing. it was stated that after baiheng's death, only a few drops of blood and a tuft of her hair remained. dan feng and yingxing created yanqing in a fruit of the arbor (like some sort of hatching rebirth... but a fruit) using either the blood or hair (most likely blood) of baiheng. it was a somewhat failed attempt at reviving baiheng. yes, it created life from her remains, but it was not her (think how dan heng ≠ dan feng, and also how vidyadhara can be different genders than their previous incarnation). during the time he was in the fruit, it dyed his hair and eyes blonde/gold, and also created the ring around yanqing's eyes (his is unique, the other characters' eye rings if they have them are a lighter color while his is dark, yes ik silver wolf has it too but her's is different).

before bailu's hatching and after subduing jingliu, jing yuan eventually came across the fruit yanqing was being held in, or found him wandering about, probably recognized the blonde/gold as the effects of the abundance, and took him in because dude he's not going to kill a literal baby (even if he could). he knew it would be dangerous to give him to a regular family, so he took him in and trained him himself

for more info abt yanqing's connection to the vidyadhara, i suggest checking out this post by astralexpressarchives.

although he is not baiheng, he did take on aspects of baiheng's personality, such as her free will and even laughing/giggling while in battle. he also enjoys flying (although with his swords and not starskiffs) and even has eyelashes similar to her's. and, just like her, yanqing's missions would often be dangerous, but he would come out relatively unscathed.

now, about bailu. dan heng says she was created after dan feng's ritual failed. if you take a look at bailu, she strongly resembles baiheng, and even starts with the same 'bai'.

same hair, same eyes, similar eyelashes, she even has a similar eye ring to yanqing. there's not too much to say here. while yanqing got baiheng's personality and fighting spirit, bailu got her appearance. now, why did this happen? im thinking its because of dan feng's meddling with the transmutation arcanum. because of that, yanqing was born, but it was 'incomplete'. so while yanqing got one part of baiheng, bailu got the other. yanqing was made on purpose, while bailu was somewhat of an accident. maybe some of baiheng's 'life' from yanqing's creation was still there when bailu was created? idk

the funny thing is, their paths are like... the complete opposite. yanqing follows the hunt (although he was born of the abundance) and bailu follows the abundance (although she was presumably supposed to follow the destruction or hunt).

theory tldr; dan feng and yingxing fucked up and created yanqing and bailu out of baiheng's remains

this is a yanqing post, time to get back to yanqing. hooray! i took a closer look at yanqing's outfit, and noticed numerous leaf/plant symbols.

...which are closely associated with the abundance. especially the gold leaves.

this further solidifies my belief that yanqing has something to do with the abundance.

jesus christ that is. a wall of text. pls tell me ur thoughts on this whole thing, i took like 2 1/2 hours to write it and its 2:40 am so sorry if it doesn't make sense i just need to put these thoughts somewhere

#yanqing #bailu #jing yuan #baiheng #dan feng #yingxing #hsr yanqing #hsr bailu #hsr jing yuan #hsr baiheng #hsr dan feng #hsr yingxing #hsr #honkai star rail #honkai star rail theory #hsr theory #theory #fan theory #baby's first theory #abundance #yanqing abundance theory #or something #hsr spoilers #im so normal about this game #so normal #sososo normal #pls share ur thoughts in the comments/tags xo #ambrosial arbor #luocha #honorary luocha mention

[incomingalbatross]

Things that make Weirdmageddon a top-tier finale:

Every victory and ally the characters gain is essential to pursuing the next victory.

Dipper needed Wendy to reach the bubble, needed to talk down Gideon to reach Mabel, and needed to reconcile with Mabel to do anything. Then they needed to reach the Shack to get Shacktron, needed Shacktron to reach Ford, needed Ford and all their previous character development to build the Zodiac—oops! not enough character development! REVERSAL! But they still pulled out a win from having all four Pineses in the Fearamid, which wouldn't have been possible except as salvage from their previous victories.

It all builds really nicely—it's easy to get your characters running in circles to fit in enough action and/or screentime (see certain Classic Who serials), but that doesn't happen here.

Personal issues and plot problems were interwoven in a way that genuinely made resolving the former a basic step in resolving the latter.

The big problems at the start of the finale were the rift between Dipper and Mabel, the older, deeper rift between Stan and Ford, and... well, the Rift. And Bill. The finale is able to resolve all of these things together because it is, in fact, crucial that the Pineses all be able to work together; they need each other to defeat Bill. This means that, for instance, Mabel and Dipper's reconciliation is the urgent first step on every level, personal and situational (neither of them will accomplish anything until Mabel's free), and that Stan and Ford's reconciliation is a necessary condition for the last step of beating Bill. It's seamless—no one has to take time out of the plot to talk about their feelings, because the plot can only move if their feelings are being addressed.

Even more, the action works in such a way that Stan and Ford have to show character growth to defeat Bill and the way they defeat Bill then results in healing for both of them (Stan gets to be a hero while Ford gets to let go of his hero complex).

Gave time to addressing the big themes and made them structurally important, too.

This ties in to the point above, but... the fact that Dipper and Mabel's conflict (the manifestation of a much longer-running tension of "is it possible to grow up and still be happy? is it possible to be sure we'll stay in a close and healthy relationship, and not lose each other?") is given its full weight. Dipper and Mabel have the conversation they need to convince themselves, each other, and the audience that this ghost has been expelled from their futures. That's big.

And the themes continue consistently throughout the finale! They answer the questions raised by Stan and Ford's estrangement—first through Dipper and Mabel and then repeatedly through the rest of the cast—with consistent reassurance and hope for the future. It's thematically sound. That's not easy to balance with plot progression in a way that makes sense, but like. The plot can only progress to a happy ending if these themes are tested and found to be true.

Plot development and emotional impacts hinged on information the audience already had.

When the finale revealed new information (the zodiac's function, for instance), it was almost always answering specific questions the show had previously raised for fans (what's that zodiac about??). Not always true—the barrier around the town was not foreshadowed—but a very high percentage of the time.

More, the moments with a big emotional punch hinge on us realizing something at the same time as the characters and sharing their reactions to that thing, rather than reacting to their reactions. That sounds clumsy, but you know what I mean—"Grammar, Stanley." Ford pulling out the memory gun. "Get off me, Waddles!" Ford holding out the picture of the Stan O' War. The finale builds on what we already know so strongly that we can react to good or bad events alongside the characters.

(Well, except for the exact moment revealing the twin switch, I guess. We are not having the same emotional reaction as Bill Cipher there. ;P)

A fully satisfying send-off.

After the plot is resolved, and even after the eucatastrophe moment of Stan getting his memory back, we get to stick around and see for sure that everything's okay. The twins turn thirteen. Stan and Ford plan to go sailing. Soos gets the Mystery Shack. Everyone in Gravity Falls is fine. Everyone gets to say goodbye. We end on repeated reassurances that the thing the story most highlighted as crucial but uncertain will, in fact, happen—that they'll stay a family and they'll all be happy.

I'm not saying every story needs to end with a wrap party, but it was the right move for Gravity Falls, and they nailed it.

#i did not have the energy for a short post so i wrote a long one sorry

[phoenixlionme]

NOTE: In case anyone is wondering, I added the gif below the video because the video cut off the moment where Charlie pulls Vaggie closer and I wanted it in.

Now, I am going to ramble on in various bulllet points why I love this scene, from what I've notice and what other people have noticed in this reprise as well. Be prepared for a long post. And enjoy.

Vaggie's soft "Charlie?" when she sees her girlfriend upset. And Charlie being honest about her fears of losing instead of putting on a smile and brave face like she did earlier in the episode.

Vaggie's starting off the reprise by reminding Charlie of all the good she's done and all of the people she's helped by creating the Hotel.

When Vaggie starts singing, Charlie still has a forlorn expression on her face but immediately smiles when Vaggie touches her cheek; and unlike her big and implicitly forced smiles earlier in the episode, it's a small smile that shows she's still scared but deeply appreciates her girlfriend's comfort. And when Vaggie touches her cheek, Charlie goes to touch the former's wrist.

Vaggie grabbing Charlie's hand and guiding her from the dark to the light. Symbolism, anyone?

Possibly my favorite line from Vaggie in the song - "And in the end, if it's only me you saved" - Vaggie isn't a sinner but a fallen Exorcist Angel that Charlie found and rescued from near death; so, she doesn't need to be redeemed in a literal sense. But, here? Vaggie is telling Charlie that even if everything goes wrong, that even if they don't know that their plan to redeem Sinners will work, that whatever happens, Charlie must know ONE thing - the Princess saved the Soldier not only from death but also saved her soul. Vaggie was cast out by Lute and Adam for showing mercy but then rescued by the Princess of Hell who's all about mercy and forgiveness. Vaggie is telling Charlie that the latter helped her own redemption.

Charlie's smile going from a small, tired small to an even bigger, love-filled one. Vaggie's emotional comfort really helped calm Charlie's fears.

Another line from the couple that I really love, "There's something that I've been dying to say" - For the past 6 months, the duo have been under enormous stress from the upcoming 2nd extermination, helping to redeem Sinners, being mocked from all corners, and personal issues (i.e., Charlie hurt and angry over Vaggie's secrecy). It's been fast-paced and chaotic, so much they haven't been given a moment to really just be a couple. And the next day, they have to face off against Heaven's Army and might not make it. But in this quiet moment, Charlie and Vaggie are able to fully express their love for one another for the first time in a long time. No interruptions, no business, just them. And honestly, I LOVE the line so much.

Just the look of peace and vulnerability from Charlie when Vaggie gently strokes the former's hair and cheek. The Princess has been so stressed and scared but having the love of her life be by her is a truly calming presence.

The happy sighs they both make after they kiss.

Charlie pulling Vaggie closer while they are kissing.

Possible wedding foreshadowing. That's it. I predict marriage given how they are positioned. And I hope I am right.

They definitely had sex after this. I mean, you can hear them sigh happily once they kiss, Charlie pulls her closer, and they're going into battle the next day.

French version of the song translates, “More than anything” to “Tu es tout pour moi” which directly translates to “You are everything for me” or “You are my everything”.

Again in the French version, “Need you to know I love you more than anything” becomes “Je t’aime par-dessus tout et je ne veux que toi” which translates to “I love you above all and I only want you”.

In the Italian version, the line is translated to, "Whatever happens, just know that/You are my everything".

#vivziepop #hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #vaggie #chaggie #otp #otp analysis #otp appreciation #myotps #songs #singer #music #video

[ineffable-endearments]

From "And furthermore, I don't think it's our place to start suggesting that there should be a suggestion box!"

I'm not even entertaining the idea that anyone else could possibly have ideas more worthwhile than whatever Heaven's upper brass is telling me God wants. The System is perfect.

to "You can't judge the Almighty, Crawley."

OK, so not everything God does makes moral sense, but that's just because it's too ineffable for us to understand.

to "I don't think that's what God wants. And I don't think you want it, either."

I don't always believe Heaven is right. Something in me is incompatible with the System. I'm hoping there's a greater good than the bureaucracy I work for.

to "I'm not consulted on policy decisions, Crawley."

I'm tacitly admitting that I don't like what Heaven is doing here, but I'm powerless within the System.

to "If I were thwarting you, Heaven couldn't object!"

You've helped me believe Armageddon isn't part of the Ineffable Plan after all. Now I believe I CAN do something to stop it.

to "I have no intention of fighting in any war!"

I'm making my own personal decision here, without consideration for what the System wants.

to "I can make a difference!"

I'm certain that I personally have ideas more worthwhile than the rest of Heaven. I can change the System.

The growth is happening. I know it's slow (well, if you're a human, anyway), but it's happening.

I am wondering if this character development is going to work like a huge outward (inward?) spiral. Take steps to add a new perspective, then use that to start working on the next Big Problem, then circle back to the old problems and start dealing with them with the new perspective. Things are kind of circular, but on a different level every time, hence the spiral.

The first three are like: Refuse questioning Heaven's judgment on moral grounds -> Accept that some questioning is natural but God/Heaven are always right -> Accept that maybe my personal judgment is not always compatible with Heaven's. OK, now I've tentatively accepted that I have my own morality outside of Heaven's, but that is SO uncomfortable.

The second three are like: I have my own moral judgments, but I have no way to enforce them because of what is expected of me -> Maybe there is room for my own judgment in Heaven after all -> Actually, my judgment is important enough to refuse to do what is expected of me regardless of anyone else's Plans. OK, now Aziraphale can use his own judgment within the System.

And I don't know for sure, but maybe - hopefully? - the last three will be like: I trust my own judgment -> My judgment never succeeds when I try to force it on others -> Everyone needs to be free from coercion and I'm going to help that happen by doing things to undermine the System.

That last bit is written with an assumption that the Ball and Gabriel and Beelzebub's ultimate decision are a little bit of foreshadowing: Aziraphale seizing control in a way that is sort of scary, having a bunch of Experiences(TM) with other people including Crowley, then realizing that the only reasonable way to handle people "outside the system" is to let them do what they want. If that's NOT foreshadowing, or if it's different foreshadowing than what I think it's going to be, obviously this is completely off.

Also, I feel like if I'm right, this could illuminate the horrible things Aziraphale says in the Final Fifteen a little bit. I believe he has moved up slightly from thinking Good and Evil are absolutely inherent and immutable, and now believes they are literally Sides that can be chosen. Of course you wouldn't choose to work for the side that has explicitly characterized itself as Bad, even though we both know you didn't have a choice to start with! I'm giving you a choice now! He hasn't "gone backwards." It's just that he's embraced the "doing good is a choice" lesson without internalizing the "you can't divide people into Sides and enforce it using a system" lesson.

#good omens #aziraphale #good omens spoilers #good omens 2 spoilers #Me blathering about Aziraphale again! What else is new?

[ask-the-prose]

The Gun In This Guide Does Not Go Off

Hi yall, sorry for the late post this week! I'm running this blog by myself, so if you are interested in helping mod this blog or write guides, please fill out the mod form linked in the pinned post! If you have anything you want to see covered or specific questions answered, please don't hesitate to send an ask! Anon is on.

Onto the guide!

This week I want to talk about foreshadowing, what it is, why incorporate it, and how!

What is foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing is an event, line, dialogue, or other element of a story that alludes to or predicts a future event. Foreshadowing can be overt or covert, and it can appear in many different elements depending on your writing style, story needs, or reader interest.

Overt or concrete foreshadowing is directly and clearly stating a prediction or allusion to an event in the future. This can be a line of dialogue ("Winter is coming" from Game of Thrones or the musical number "Be Prepared" in The Lion King), an event or image (Korra's anxiety dreams about losing her bending in season one of Legend of Korra), even the title of the work can be foreshadowing (The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe).

Covert foreshadowing is a little more subtle. An example includes bad weather in Great Expectations to allude to Pip's future angst. Symbols, setting, and throwaway comments can be utilized as covert foreshadowing as well.

Why would I want to spoil the twist?

Foreshadowing doesn't necessarily mean spoiling the twist or ending of your story. However, spoilers can be utilized to your advantage if you do so purposefully (John Dies at the End started out as a web novel serial. In every update, readers tuned in to see if this was the chapter in which John dies, as spoiled by the title). The key word here is "purposefully." Foreshadowing is not accidental, and it can do a lot of heavy lifting with the emotions and feelings you want your reader to experience while reading.

Your reader is smart and will pick up the hints you lay down. You can use this to your advantage to create tension, dread, excitement, or simply a desire to discover what happens next.

How do I incorporate foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing usually happens at the beginning of the story. If you're a pantser like I am, foreshadowing may be difficult to incorporate in your first draft when you don't know where it's heading. That's okay! Foreshadowing can be added in later drafts when you know what exactly happens in the story.

For the plotters out there, consider foreshadowing during your outlining. When you know what happens next, how do you hint at those events early on? There are so many different ways to incorporate foreshadowing into your story. Your imagination really is the limit.

A few notes about what foreshadowing is NOT

Foreshadowing is not a flashforward. A flashforward is a moment in the story in which the narration moves forward in time. The narrative shows the reader explicitly what will happen in the future by depicting those events. Foreshadowing is an allusion or hint at events but not the depiction of those events as they happen.

Foreshadowing is not Chekhov’s Gun. Chekhov’s Gun is a method employed by storytellers as a rule. Anton Chekhov said in his famous quote that if a gun is described hanging on the wall in chapter one, it must go off in chapter two or three. This is to say, every element in a story is there for a reason. The gun is only described because the gun will be used later. If the gun does not go off, it should not be mentioned in the narrative.

The difference between Chekhov’s Gun and foreshadowing is that foreshadowing is an element of the story, whereas Chekhov’s Gun is about the storytelling process. Chekhov’s Gun is not a real rule, so much as a suggestion that if you are to create tension in the story, it must pay off. Foreshadowing is the act of creating tension.

Foreshadowing is not a red herring. Building off of Chekhov’s Gun, if the gun is described but never goes off, following Chekhov’s rule would indicate the gun is a red herring. A red herring is a hint or allusion to something that never comes to fruition, such as describing a gun to create tension that it will fire and then never firing it.

Conclusion

Foreshadowing is an interesting and, frankly, fun storytelling element to incorporate into your writing. Readers often love rereading books to see all the hints they missed at the beginning! That’s foreshadowing.

Foreshadowing can exist in many methods and elements, and it is up to you how you want to approach foreshadowing. Keep in mind how you want to utilize tension in your story, and you’ll find the foreshadowing falls into place to create an interesting and engaging story your readers will love and love again.

– Indy

** Edit: 6/8/23 fixed an error regarding one of the examples in the first section.

#writing advice #writing tips #writing resources #writing #creative writing #writeblr #amwriting #writers of tumblr #writers on tumblr #on writing #writing help #writing guide #foreshadowing

[snows-2am-thoughts]

PM and ADA deal Theory

Hey guys, friendly reminder that Mori is likely still gonna ask for someone from the ADA to join the PM. It honestly hurts my soul to think that the ADA will lose someone this soon after all the shit in this arc went down but Mori isn’t one to care about that kind of stuff. 

SEASON FIVE SPOILERS

This is about 1.7k words so be warned

I know a lot of people are sold on the theory that it’ll probably be Tanizaki since Asagiri is big on foreshadowing and Tanizaki does have a homicidal side but I don’t think he’d let himself be put in a position to where his sister might be in danger or get a target on her back. He’d probably run away or kill the people in question before that happened. Not to mention since his run in with Akutagawa and the black lizard that he sort of hates most if not all of the mafia members. He was so ready to go to war with the PM to defend the agency and someone like this would be super hard to control, deal with the ADA or not.

Mori isn’t stupid, in fact he’s very calculating and very cunning and who are his biggest obsessions? He’s always so focused on Dazai and Yosano but both of these are off limits in his eyes. Yosano is off limits because of the terms of the deal with Fukuzawa and Dazai is off because Mori wants him to come back on his own. Now we have Kyouka, Atsushi, Kenji, Ranpo  and Kunikida left to choose from. 

Kunikida is off the table I think because he’s a child bombing away from just completely breaking. There is a part of me that believes Mori could pick Kunikida solely to break him and watch Fukuzawa and Dazai suffer but Mori is also the type of boss that doesn’t want to waste powerful allies if he doesn’t need to. I mean, he’s literally letting Tachihara choose his loyalties, he’ll probably still get punished severely but Mori isn’t one to just waste men unless it’s for good reason or worth the risks. Also Kunikida is Fukuzawa’s successor and something tells me that Mori doesn’t wanna deal with the strict moral types. 

Ranpo is definitely off the table. Fukuzawa would go batshit if Mori picked him. He just lost his childhood best friend. Do you think he’s gonna let Mori take his son next? No he will not. Also Ranpo would blatantly refuse to work with him. He’s smart enough to survive but Ranpo is disinterested in most things and Fukuzawa is really the only one who can make him do something. I don’t think Mori would want to deal with that either. 

Now we have Atsushi, Kenji and Kyouka. Mori usually chooses children to take under his wing because they’re easy to manipulate and easy to mold into his ideal subordinates. However Kyouka was already in the mafia once and Kouyou even used up her slight favor with Mori to let her leave the mafia with no consequences. I don’t think he’d want to deal with the hassle of internal conflict since Kouyou would be pissed if he took Kyouka away from the light that she enjoys so much. However much Kouyou wants to deny that she can’t help Kyouka anymore, she’s only human and she’s very much attached to the Kyouka who shares a similar past and ability. 

Kenji’s situation is kind of hard to determine. As stated, Mori does prefer to mold and manipulate children rather than adults but Kenji is kind of an oddity among humans. Not because of his ability but because of his personality. He’s very much a “you fuck around and find out” type of guy is willing to believe the best in people despite what they may do or have done. I don’t see many reasons why Mori wouldn’t choose him other than there are better options than Kenji. Sure Kenji is super powerful with a very useful gift but there are other members that would fit his goals better. 

Now Atsushi, he’s the biggest contender for the mafia recruit in my mind for a few reasons. Now we saw in the series that there were gonna be three main villains (The Guild, the Decay of Angels and the Order of the Clock Tower) and now we have finished out with two of them. This means that we’re possibly getting into the last major arc or two of the main plot of the story and there are still so many unanswered questions about Atsushi. 

Atsushi was deemed the envy of all ability users by Fyodor which was why Shibusawa originally held an interest in him. My question is why Fyodor was interested enough in Atsushi to know of him and what is their connection that Fyodor was even able to know of him. Fyodor is a genius but the orphanage headmaster said that he was a randomly dumped toddler and he lived most of his life in a cage in the orphanage. This in itself is fishy but I’ll get to that in a second. Moreover, Atsushi’s ability seems like it just resists almost all other abilities with the ability to cut through space itself and high regeneration abilities that causes most wounds to go away instantly when he’s in his full tiger form, most other abilities don’t affect him when he’s fully a tiger. 

Who is called the most powerful ability user? Natsume is, and he is able to turn into a cat. Seeing the pattern here? When did the headmaster die? When he was trying to find Atsushi and talk to him again. It’s very suspicious timing and I wholeheartedly believe that he was silenced by someone who didn’t want Atsushi knowing something important about himself. And then we have the seven billion bounty that was put on his head because of his ability. I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that Fitzgerald, who wanted to find The Book, wanted the tiger so badly that he was willing to spend that much. 

Asagiri is a beast at foreshadowing and he doesn’t do anything for kicks, all of his moves are deliberate. There is something about Atsushi that we’re missing and I’m willing to bet that Mori, who was going to accept the bounty, wants to know what it is as much as we do. Atsushi’s strange ability, the holes in his past from before the orphanage, Fyodor and Shibusawa’s interest in him, his correlation to Natsume, his probable connections to locating the book and the fact that Dazai was coincidentally there to save him when he came to Yokohama? Yeah, there’s definitely something up with Atsushi and the poor kid doesn’t even realize it. 

So yes, I do think that Mori either a) wants to figure out Atsushi’s situation in relation to everything or b) he knows something and wants to exploit it out of him. My second point is that Mori wants to break Dazai down and build him up as the perfect PM boss. Mori is someone who manipulates and breaks from the sidelines then watches conflict and in the aftermath, glues the pieces of what once was back together in a collage of his own liking. He knows he can’t beat Dazai but he can make him suffer. Who is Dazai the closest to at the agency? Atsushi. 

Dazai always says, “Atsushi and the others” while making sure Atsushi makes it out alive in any situation that he is in. Dazai has a big soft spot for Atsushi, the kid he took in as a mentor and the kid who wholeheartedly believes without any hesitation that he is a good person. He brought his own chair and made a home in Dazai’s heart without his permission. Atsushi knows he was in the PM, knows he’s the reason for a lot of Akutagwa’s issues, knows about some of the atrocities he’s committed but still smiles genuinely at him. Of course he doesn’t know everything but Atsushi is probably Dazai’s biggest apologist (It’s not Akutagawa but that's for a different post). Atsushi is the personification of Oda’s last wish to Dazai and Mori definitely knows that he can hurt Dazai by hurting his beloved mentee.

Mori is also very aware of the new generation of soukoku. If he’s able to wrangle and manage Akutagawa (he’s alive shut up) a little more because Atsushi is his partner then all the more reason to choose him. Atsushi covers all the bases, a mysterious power that could make his organization that much more untouchable, mess with Dazai, mess with the agency and manage his own employees better. It doesn’t help that Atsushi’s mental state isn’t the best. He’s not a kid but he’s traumatized and doesn’t have the same development other 18 year olds do, and that can be just as easily to manipulate as a child. It would be difficult because Atsushi genuinely believes in Dazai with everything he is but every person is able to break and Mori is especially good at that. 

I know that Fukuzawa’s ability is the reason we don’t see any more late night weretiger situations but Atsushi has so much more control now than when he did at the beginning of the series. It’s also very much possible that Mori is looking for a degree of uncontrollable tiger to help him with his goals. It’s also been confirmed that pain can manage his transformations as seen with his collar in BSD BEAST. 

It also doesn’t help that Asagiri tends to go through the trauma route to have his characters develop and experiencing the “darkside” of Yokohama just may be what he thinks Atsushi needs to develop more. 

So yeah, I think Mori may choose Atsushi as the new PM member but don’t quote me on this if I’m wrong, it’ll be embarrassing. They also may just throw this plotline out the window since both sides suffered this past arc, they may find it illogical to go through with the deal when the truce between the PM and ADA is still sensitive but I doubt it. Mori isn’t one to care for those things. 

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd theories #bsd thoughts #bsd analysis #nakajima atsushi #atsushi #osamu dazai #dazai osamu #dazai #mori ougai #port mafia #armed detective agency #kunikida doppo #ranpo edogawa #fyodor dostoevsky #shibusawa tatsuhiko #tanizaki junichirou #kenji miyazawa #izumi kyouka #fukuzawa yukichi #yosano akiko #if atsushi does get chosen then imma cry #GIVE THEM THEIR BEACH EPISODE THEY DONT NEED MORE TRAUMA #dazai is gonna be after mori once he realizes who hes gonna pick #so will the rest of the agency #plz let things just go well

[therainscene]

I’m obsessed with @wheelersboy’s theory that Mike thinks Will is in love with El. It’s one of those takes that’s so simple, yet so perfectly explains every odd little detail you couldn’t quite account for before, that you know you’re on to a winner.

I always thought it was bizarre that the Willel reunion at NINA was framed in blatant love triangle imagery:

If this was supposed to be yet another reminder that the sad widdle gay boy has fee-fees for his best friend, we’d expect him to be gazing at Mike or otherwise looking conflicted at both of them. But he isn’t. His steady, adoring gaze is for El only. Yes, he loves her, but that love is strictly fraternal, so why the romance symbolism?

Is it straight-bait? This scene comes after his thinly-veiled love confession to Mike (in the same episode, no less), and the Duffers and Noah both made a point of confirming that Will was gay in post-vol.2 interviews, so making the audience think that Will is in love with El clearly wasn’t the intention here.

The Willel romance-coding isn’t for the audience -- it’s for Mike.

We often joke about Mike being crushed that Will didn’t laugh at his vomit green socks, but follow Will’s gaze -- it’s a little hard to see in the still image, but he’s staring at El, checking to see if she’s going to heed his advice. Mike's discomfort isn’t because he’s upset that Will didn’t like his joke, it’s because he doesn’t understand the weird tension between these two and is frustrated that his attempt to lighten the mood didn’t dispel it.

Mike’s smart enough to correctly connect the dots by the time Will starts sobbing in the van though: Will is destroying himself in his efforts to be supportive of the relationship between his best friend and the person he’s in love with.

But heteronormativity and a severe inferiority complex lead him to draw the wrong conclusion -- he thinks he’s the best friend and El is the one Will’s in love with, and that gets confirmed in his mind when he catches them making goo-goo eyes at each other at NINA.

And not once, after figuring it out, does he get jealous about it -- he guides El into Will’s arms at NINA, he looks conflicted as hell during the “I love you” monologue as Will hovers over his shoulder -- he just wants them to be happy and is prepared to put his own feelings aside to make it happen, even though it would hurt him terribly to do so. Exactly the same fucking thing Will is doing. It’s utterly farcical. I love this theory so much.

I’d like to springboard off this by taking a look at what it implies about S5.

Between Will’s history with Vecna and the Wonder Twins foreshadowing--

--it’s looking pretty likely that Will and El are going to be spending a significant amount of time together next season.

So we can already see that conditions are perfect for Mike to go through a similar arc as Will did in S4: being a third wheel between his best friend and the person he’s in love with and feeling like he can never truly be more than a third wheel, leading him to sacrifice himself in an effort to support what he thinks they have together.

Mike is very much at risk of doing something stupidly self-harming in S5 -- this is the same kid who jumped off a cliff to protect Dustin’s baby teeth, after all. He feels like he has no value if he isn’t needed by Superman. And there’s a goddamn mind-reading despair demon stalking his friend group.

Of course, it’ll all work out in the end. He’ll be saved at the last moment, the truth will be tearfully revealed, and we’ll finally get that big, dramatic, affirming kiss for our OTP.

You might have noticed that everything I’ve said in this analysis so far is consistent with either Byler or Milevn being endgame.

Many Milevns and GA members don’t just believe that Milevn will triumph over Byler -- they believe there isn’t any conflict between Milevn and Byler in the first place. The lack of evidence that Mike isn’t into boys is meaningless to the heteronormative mindset -- he’s the protagonist and dating a girl, therefore he’s straight, therefore Will’s hopes are dead in the water, therefore Mike has no romantic dilemma to solve.

By introducing a misunderstanding in which Mike imagines that his best friend is competing for his girlfriend -- couching his dilemma in relatable heterosexual terms -- the audience will be forced to accept that Mike is experiencing a distressing internal conflict involving Will and romance that won’t be resolved until the queer truth comes out.

The GA felt bad for Will in S4 because they assumed there was nothing he could do about it, but they’ll be tearing their hair out with frustration at Mike in S5 -- “you’re wrongly assuming he’s straight, you idiot! Just talk to him and this will all be cleared up!!”

It would be an absolutely genius way of getting the audience to question heteronormativity without them even realizing they’re questioning heteronormativity.

Once Mike’s queerness is revealed, the parallels between his arc and Will’s will suddenly become clear, and the audience will realize that, despite his straight-passing invisibility, Mike was just the other side of the same gay coin Will was on all along.

[Part 2]

#stranger things #willelmike #byler #willel #elmike #mike wheeler #will byers #el hopper #my analysis

[claimedcrossbows]

Served! Sanji x Fem!Reader pt. 3 (Finale?)

Anime Spoilers/Foreshadowing

It took a while gathering all of the ingredients and of course teaching Sanji how to prepare the dish, but you were once again surprised with how fast he picked up on things, maybe even a little bit jealous, but of course you’d never tell him that.

“How did you learn these recipes?” He asked while mixing the soup until all of the ingredients were combined and ready to stew.

You sighed, “My grandmother owned this restaurant and happened to be one of those individuals that never quite trusted doctors you know? And after the passing of my mother all faith in doctors went out the window and she decided to make her own medicines, which through lots of trial and error actually turned out to do wonders. Next thing she knew sailors of all sorts were coming to the restaurant just for her healing recipes ,which of course made business boom.” You explained.

Sanji continued the soup but his focus was completely locked onto you as you talked.

“Eventually she started researching numerous other recipes that she heard whispers about from many people passing through and as I got older she eventually taught those recipes to me in hopes that I would not only become a great chef, but a great healer as well and of course always look out for my sister.” You explained.

Sanji gives you a warm smile, “Well you seem to be a great big sister, she couldn’t stop boasting about how amazing you were as she assisted me.” He revealed.

You smile at that, “I’m sure she thinks i’m a pain at times, but it’s all for her benefit, all we have is each other.” You say as a sad smile glosses over your lips.

You both fall into a silence as the aroma of the soup begins to fill the room in a way that immediately relaxes you, it reminds you so much of her.

“What about you, Why is a cook as good as you on a pirate ship?” You asked curiously.

He gently laughs, “It’s a long story, but to cut it short, I want to find the All Blue.” He says simply as he sets a timer for the soup and sits himself by you on the counter.

Your eyes widen at this, you had heard that name many times from your grandmother, you were convinced that if she hadn’t had to raise you and your sister, she probably would’ve set out to find it herself.

“You think it’s real?” You ask genuinely.

“It has to be.” He says.

“You sound like my grandmother, she always told me tales about a exotic sea filled with all sorts of sea life, weeds, plants..truly a cooks paradise.” You smiled remembering her enthusiasm.

“And i’m going to find it.” Sanji says sounding self assured, something you noticed he was quite often.

“Well, I wish you the best of luck..but I found it’s best not to get your hopes up on things, that will save you a lot of heartache.” You advised.

“Speaking from experience?” He questions gently not wanting to pry but ever so curious.

“My Grandmother tried her best to save my mother, in the end, nothing she did worked, and she couldn’t set out to sea to find the all blue, so not everyone dreams get fulfilled right?” You say.

“What’s your dream?” He asks his gaze lingering.

“Well right now it’s to get this soup done so your hungry captain can leave my restaurant.” You say bluntly.

Sanji laughs, “Fair, but really what is it?”

Your about to respond but your sister comes in hurriedly, “Y/N, another letters arrived, I think it’s from him again.” She says frowningly.

You sigh opening the letter giving it a quick scan before tearing it right down the middle.

“Everything okay?” Sanji questions.

You shrug, “It’s nothing, anyway this soup should be ready in a few hours i’m going to the study, make sure you give it a stir every once in a while.” You say lifting yourself off the counter and walking upstairs to your study leaving your sister and Sanji by themselves.

-

You sighed looking over numerous papers on your desk and you groaned clutching your head at the ever forming headache that was approaching.

A knock on your door once again snapped you out of your thoughts as you yelled for whoever it was to come in.

To your surprise you saw your little sister, “Y/n, thought I should tell you the soup is ready, Sanji wanted to know was there any particular way he should serve it to his friend?” She asks you.

“Add in a pinch of chili flakes, it’ll help that lady sweat out that fever.” You advise.

Your sister nods and goes to leave before stopping, “Was the letter from earlier him?” She asks hesistantly.

You look up at her and nod, “Yes, but not to worry it’s fine.” You say smoothily, even though your head ache was at full spin.

She observes your desk of papers and frowns, “Are those all bills..?” She hesistantly asks.

“And a sprinkle of shut off notices.” You mutter.

“Y/N, maybe I should reply back to him if it help-”

You slam a hand directly on the table, it’s sound reverbing and echoing though the walls, causing your sister to flinch back. “Absolutely not, I said I have this handled, besides with our new ranking in the papers by the critic i’m sure business will pick up again soon.” You explained.

“But this guy sounds very rich and I hear he’s sailing close by I mean would it hurt to at least hear what he says?” Your sister meakly asks.

You scoff, “Marigold, do you want to be a chef?” You ask her plainly and bluntly searching her taken aback face as you stand and approach her.

“You know I want nothing else-” ”Then act like it, and trust me when I say I have everything handled-”

“Yeah you keep saying that, but Y/N you can’t do everything by yourself-”

“I’m not,I have you don’t I?” You ask.

Your sister shoots you an unreadable blank stare her head facing down as she speaks lowly, “All i’m saying is maybe accepting this man’s proposal wouldn’t be such a bad thing..” She breathes.

You freeze at this, “Are you trying to become a bride?” You say baffled at your sisters sudden attitude, for as long as you could remember your sister did nothing but exclaim about being a chef like your Grandma, absolutely swearing off any type of boy that came her way, saying she had no time to be someone’s housewife, but now she was staring at you with the most crestfallen of faces, all passion deprived of those youthful and ambitious eyes that helped you get out of bed in the morning to face another day, because you wanted nothing more than to help her anyway you could.

“All i’m saying is maybe i’m not cut out to be a chef..I mean I did give you all food poisoning right?” She says her shifting to one of accusation and anger.

“How did you-”

“You weren’t gonna tell me were you?” She cuts you off.

“Marigold your young and you make mistakes-”

“Food posioning an entire staff and my own sister is not a mistake any chef worth knowing should make!” She bites back her voice shaky as tears slowly start to cascade down her face.

Your own anger immerges, “You are not running off to some strange rich man, and you are not quitting this restaurant.” Your tone trembly as you fiercely raised your voice.

She says nothing.

“Do I make myself clear?” You bite.

Nothing.

“I said, DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?” You bite again.

She nods.

“Good, now go tell Sanji what I told you.” You say brushing past her to open the door to usher her out, but once again your stunned to see someone already at the door.

“Sanji.” You breathe.

“Uh..I heard yelling so I came up..” He says looking at the two of you.

Between your angered expression and your sisters tear stained face, you could only imagine the sight the two of you were.

“Well..” You breathe trying to regain your composure, “Did you hear the part about the chili flakes?”

He says nothing, but nods looking worriedly between the two of you.

“Well good, get to it then, best to serve that soup while it’s still piping hot.” You say walking past him before any of them could utter a reply.

-

A few days later the energetic and very strange Straw Hat Crew was ready to make its departure as your soup had managed to help their friend Nami enough so that they could reach the drum kingdom for further medical assistance.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH CROCK POT LADY FOR SAVING NAMI!” Luffy yells engulfing you in a giant hug that nearly cracked your bones.

“Would you get off her!?” Sanji yells kicking him off of you.

He gets flown off you and you let out a big exhale happy to be able breathe again.

Sanji laughs lightly, “I apologize again for him.” He says softly.

You shake your head, “Eh, he’s kind of rubbed off on me, plus he’s eaten all the leftovers so we haven’t wasted any food.” You shrug.

“Yeah we definitely don’t have to worry about wasting food with Luffy around.”He agrees.

You laugh but smiles warmly, “Well I wish your friend the best of luck I hope she feels better.”

He returns the smile but you could see a certain unease on his face, “Thank you, really for everything, If there’s anything I can do to repay you in the future, if you need any help-”

“Have you been talking to my sister?” You sigh, “We don’t need any help, but thanks for the offer.” You say shutting him down completely.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but it didn’t sound like everything was okay..” He says.

“Financial troubles go hand and hand with restaurants, i’m sure Zeff’s told you that, but thanks to you with this new great review of us in the paper, i’m sure business will pick up soon.”

He looks at you uncertainly but nods anyway, “Well madam, I wish you the best of luck as well someone as beautiful as you shouldn’t have to frown so much.” his tone sincere as he shoots you a playful wink.

“Alright Casanova.” You say rolling your eyes, “I think your captain’s waiting for you.” You say pointing to Luffy looking over at the both of you from the ship.

“SANJI we got to go!” Luffy yells.

“COMING!” Sanji yells back as he turns back to you.

“Well I guess this is farewell.” He says giving you another one of his shiny smiles that reminded you very much of early morning sunrises.

You nod but then remember, “Oh wait, I actually have a parting gift for you.” You say reaching into your rucksacks pocket.

“But you already saved Nami?” He asked confused.

“Yeah, but your going after the all blue right?” You ask.

He nods.

“Well take these with you.” You say handing him a bunch of books, he observes them and quickly realizes what they were, his heart rate picking up as he looks back up at you with a look that almost makes your heart skip a beat as well.

“Are these..?” He says in disbelief.

“My grandmothers healing recipes.” You answered.

He looks beyond bemused as he quickly shakes his head, “ Darling, I cannot possibly accept this, don’t you need them?” He asks.

You shake your head, “I have those in particular memorized by heart, so I figured you can use them on your journey to find the all blue with your friends, but I am going to want those back someday, preferably after you find the all blue and give me some of those rare ingredients.” You cheekily smile.

He’s speechless, “Well how will I find you?”

“Ah, that’s an easy one, here.” You say handing him a blank piece of paper.

“What is it?” He questions looking at it.

“A vivre card, my vivre card in particular so where ever you are in the world, if you wish to seek me out, it’ll point you to where I am.” You explain.

He gently tucks the card in with the recipe books and gently but firmly grasps both of your hands bringing them up to his lips in a gentle kiss that causes you to faintly blush.

“You sure you don’t specialize in desserts with how incredibly sweet you are?” He asks.

You scoff, “Get out of here love cook.”

He smiles mischievously but lets your hands go, “I’ll find it, and bring you back many ingredients, then we’ll cook a great feast together.” He affirms.

You nod feeling a bit mischievous yourself, knowing what you were about to say would get a rise out of the blonde, “Cool, it’s a date.” You say.

He stiffens so much that you swear he turned into a mannequin.

“SANJJIII COME ON!” Luffy yells his arms suddenly stretching from the ship all the way to Sanji, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him onto the already sailing ship.

You laugh as you hear Usopp exclaim, “He’s frozen!!”

“AHH SOMEBODY GET A BLOWTORCH!” Luffy yells.

“How about I Slice the shock out of him!” Zoro deviously says.

“NO!” Both Luffy and Usopp yell.

You shake your head laughing as watch their ship sail further and further not knowing when or if you’d ever see Sanji again, but you held your optimism as you waved them off.

Your suddenly thrown out of your thoughts by a sudden presence behind you, one you hated and have only recently come to fear.

“Did you get the letter?” A deep voice asks behind you.

You frown.

“Yes, and I tossed it in the trash where it belongs, you can’t have my sister.” You say determinedly.

A hearty laugh errupts behind you, “That’s fine, but you need my help don’t you?” He reminds. “I mean how else will you ever be able to keep this restaurant?” He asks.

Your frown only deepens.

“What do you suggest then?” You ask shakily a feeling of dread encapsulating you in a way you hadn’t experienced since your mother died.

“You take her place of course, become my bride.” The mans mischievious dark tone sends chills up your spine.

You shake your head, “Look, I already gave the chef my vivre card like you asked in the letter, why on earth do I have to marry you?!” You spit back.

“Because my dear, I have a good feeling that that Luffy kid is going to lead me directly to the One Piece, and when that time comes, I’m going to need all my bargaining chips, wait don't tell me you actually fell for that pervy cook? He questions sadistically.

“No.. I just don't wanna be a pawn in whatever game your playing.” You hiss.

“No my dear, you of all people should know, your worth so much more than that, you know with all that marijoise blood running through your veins.” He laughs.

You grit your teeth,”Do NOT mention those demons.” You say darkly.

“Okay okay, relax darling, just follow me and I promise you, your sister and restaurant will be in great hands.” He says triumphantly as his rough hand brushes your cheek.

“And why should I trust you?” You say shakily.

You watch as smile widens into one that very much resmebled a cheshire cat.

“Why?” He laughs darkly as a choir of laughs suddenly echo around you as the man’s pirate crew suddenly stands behind him tenfold.

Your heart races not have even sense them approaching.

Your eyes shift back onto him.

He pauses in laughing his face suddenly going completely stoic.

“Because I’m Blackbeard.”

-End?-

Oooh bet you didn't see that coming!! Hey guys so this is the final part of the Served mini story!! I hope you all enjoyed it!! So depending on how well this part does I might turn this into a series!! But I thought this would be a good place to leave it on for now.. ;)

#sanji x reader #one piece sanji #opla sanji x reader #sanji x y/n #one piece luffy #one piece netflix

[chirpsythismorning]

Fun fact: the shot of Mike stepping off the cliff in s1 was likely a visual parallel to Sarah jumping off the stairs in this shot from Labyrinth (1986).

For those that haven't read this theory, please do because I didn’t make these observations myself and the original post goes a lot deeper into the details from Labyrinth, which in some ways align a little too conveniently with the narrative we’re seeing unravel on the show with Mike over the seasons.

For some basic context, in s4, we even get a reference to M.C. Escher’s Relativity hanging on the wall in Mike’s room, which is also on the wall of Sarah’s bedroom, along with that work being what inspired the scene in Labyrinth. 

This next part has actually been talked about before quite a bit in the fandom, even outside of tumblr, so it’s not exactly some breakthrough as a concept on its own.

Every season, in the first scene (re)introducing the main characters, Mike is running late in some capacity. In 1x01 it’s around 3 minutes, in 2x01 it’s around 6 minutes, in 3x01 it’s around 8 minutes, and in 4x01 it’s around 13 minutes. 

So technically not the literal season opener, as that’s usually reserved to a flashback at some different location, but obviously still within those first 15 minutes, following directly after the opener…

And since we already have an idea of what the opening of s5 is going to be, what do we think the scene directly after it is going to be? You know, in the scene that Mike has been consistently running late in, for four seasons now?

Speaking of 15 minutes, I think that if they were to keep this trend going for the final season (the full circle-ness of it all is honestly too epic to pass up), it’s likely that this final time it will happen around the 15 minute mark of 5x01, as that would make the build up for it each season pretty consistent.

And not only that, but it would also literally be a callback to what Karen says to Mike that first time he’s late in s1: 

And here’s my other favorite line from one of these scenes, in the context of this theory, because it literally acknowledges this concept directly and with this air of foreshadowing I cannot stress enough:

Interestingly, another detail that ties all these ‘Mike being late’ scenes together, is stairs.

In s1 he’s running up the stairs to convince his mom to let them keep playing.

In s2 he’s rushing down the stairs trying to avoid Nancy’s wrath.

In s3 he’s awkwardly bumping into strangers going down the escalator in Starcourt Mall.

And in s4 he’s hurrying down the stairs on his way to school.

The whole point of Labyrinth is that it’s an allegory for growing up, with Sarah going from dressing up as a princess to reenact one of her favorite fairytales after being chastised by her step-mom for not going on more dates like girls her age, to Sarah rejecting her childhood and it leading to an unfortunate series of events, forcing her to face reality and take responsibility of her own life.

Does this sound like anyone we know?

Mike, who starts the show in s1 playing DND animatedly with his friends before being interrupted by his mom to end the campaign despite protests, to his mom in s2 punishing his bad behavior by having him get rid of some of his favorite toys, to him in s3 insisting that they’re 'not kids anymore' and that it was inevitable for them to stop playing games and grow up and get girlfriends, to him now in s4 reverting back to this earlier version of himself, sporting the Hellfire shirt proudly, to then reverting back to pretending when showing up at the airport with Argyle calling his outfit a shitty knock off (aka calling Mike a shitty knock-off), and without the story ever acknowledging why those shifts happened in the first place, and with one season left?

Hint? Forced conformity. That’s what’s killing the kids. That’s the real monster.

They literally told us already that out of all the monster we've seen in the show, this is what is worse than all of that. Meaning that what is about to go down, most likely topping everything we've seen up to this point, is likely going to involve forced conformity.

I also think it’s interesting that the scene in Labyrinth happened during the climax of the film, because arguably if you were to watch Stranger Things in its entirety, from s1-5, the beginning of s5 is going to feel very much like the climax to the overall story. 

Things are going to be happening fast. The stakes are insane because they need to top everything that they’ve done up to this point. Something’s gotta give. And Mike is just not looking safe out here guys.

I could go on and on about all the hints that Mike is danger, but I’ll just share my favorites. 

How am I gonna survive a whole week without you guys? Mike says, at the tail end of his opening scene in s4, and with s5 set to start at the end of said week.

Mike sitting in front of an antique funeral home fan in the s4 promotional pictures of the party in the Creel attic.

Nancy saying she saw Mike die in the vision Vecna showed her, with the early stages of said vision coming true as season 4 nears its end.

Mike getting hit in the head with an arrow front and center by Suzie’s brother, in a sequence that was loaded with foreshadowing for the end of s4 (and beginning of s5?).

Watch out dominos. Your dominos are gonna fall. Argyle says, with Mike equally in the frame behind him.

Without heart, we’d all fall apart. Will says, after telling Mike he’s the heart.

A Karen lookalike standing in front of the missing person's board at the end of s4.

Mike’s very first line in the show (also the literal first line in the show) being A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you into the darkness. It is almost here…

So maybe, theoretically speaking, what we could get by that 15 minute mark going into s5, is Mike running late one last time, and it potentially being a callback to that cliff scene ie. Labyrinth.

Another scene that I think might've been foreshadowing what is currently going down, is Max and Mike both getting knocked out by Billy at the end of s3. Max goes down first and Mike follows right after, though Max is the first to come to and help them both up.

We know Max is unlikely to be separated from the rest of the characters the whole season, that’s just not feasible. She'll at least be on-screen despite maybe not being back with the others right away, even if it’s just a cryptic cliffhanger at the end of 5x01, followed by her returning more consistently on screen after that leading up to her rescue. With the way things ended in s4 though, we need to know where she’s at and get to finding her. Which is why I think at most it will be a 1-2 episode arc.

So maybe, this moment from s3 was a hint about Max and Mike’s impending doom at the hands of Vecna, as a result of not only their emotional states, but also their bonds with El, and them then being isolated for a short time (presumed dead), only to find their way back?

It’s also worth noting Mike was the only person to witness any of Max’s symptoms from the curse prior to her finding out about it, with the camera focusing on him beside her and looking at her worriedly as her nose bled. We don’t know who Vecna’s fourth victim was going to be, because Max threw herself in as bait, but could it have originally been Mike?

I know a lot of people don't like the Mike getting Vecna'd theories or Mike is depressed takes and so if you find yourself in that position, feel free to subtweet away or whatever you need to cope with my nonsense.

I'm not a big Mike is suicidal truther or anything even, nor do I think it makes sense for him to get Vecna'd in the traditional sense like how it happened with the others in s4 because the gates are open. But Vecna still hasn’t carried out his entire plan, a plan that includes Mike dying. And the imagery surrounding it all leading up to this is compelling regardless.

If one shot at the end of s3, with Max sitting in Billy's room while Hopper was in the background saying and yeah sometimes it's painful and sometimes it's sad was enough to hint at her whole depression arc in s4, then Mike being focused on for multiple shots while Hopper was in the background saying But, lately, I guess I've been feeling... distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something.-- And I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change, with Mike looking longingly at the Byers house, cutting to Will looking out the car window crying, then cutting back to Mike walking into his mom's arms with a dead stare on his face, has gotta be enough to justify dude going through some shit, which coincidentally matches up with everything talked about here.

Turns out getting to Mike, now that was the key…

Maybe the first episode of s5 is about Mike ending up wherever Max is, somewhere caught in between, and them ‘crawling’ back ie. The Crawl.

Definitely might add some context to that funkopop shot-listing video Ross posted, followed by one other photo a few days later with the caption being that they finished shot-listing for 5x01-5x02. Meaning the initial video posted was likely from 5x01...

#stranger things #mike wheeler #are they cool enough to pull this off? #remains to be seen #but why break a four season streak? #something something fifteen after #something something you’re late. again! we’re gonna miss the opening! #something something running up that hill and smalltown boy having almost the exact same fucking beat #also blankly staring at sadie and finn sitting close to each other in the s5 filming announcement pic #with finn being the only one out of all of them holding a script for the crawl 😀

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello! I don't know if you've answered this already but, How do I write banter between characters ?

Dialogue: Writing Banter

Stories need to strike a relative balance between exposition, action, and dialogue, and all of these things need to work together to:

-- develop characters, setting, and plot elements -- build relationships between characters -- fill in backstory or create foreshadowing -- establish stakes, conflict, tension, and goals -- deliver important information to character/reader -- set up, carry out, and resolve plot points

Since exposition, action, and dialogue are always working together to achieve the above, you have to be very careful about "filler" content. In other words, you don't want to have exposition, action, or dialogue that's not accomplishing at least one of the above items.

"Banter" refers to conversation (dialogue) that is playful, witty, and usually quick. In fiction, it's often used to illustrate personality, mood, and chemistry between characters. However, banter can get out of control quickly and turn into filler. The best way to avoid that is to think about the purpose of the dialogue scene. Which of those items listed above is this conversation meant to accomplish? Next, how does quick, playful, witty repartee between these characters help to accomplish that? Once you understand what you're trying to achieve and how the banter will help you do that, it's easier to see exactly what the banter should be.

The next thing to do is to look at what else is going on in the scene. What is the action of the scene trying to accomplish? Is there an important event occurring in this scene, or is it building up to one? Or maybe even following up after an important event? Thinking about where your characters were in the previous scene, what they're doing in this scene, and where they need to go in the next scene can give you some clues about the banter. For example, if they were at a party in the previous scene and the party was broken up by police, and now this new scene is at school the next day, it would make sense for the banter to be about that exciting event. Which character is most likely to make a playful or witty comment about what happened? Is this comment directed at the character they're speaking to? Is it directed at an off-screen character, such as the person who threw the party?

Maybe it's a witty comment directed toward a friend who missed the fun. Now you can look at who is most likely to respond back in an equally playful, witty way. At this point, if there's a third participant, it may be their turn to add something. Or, if it's just the two characters, the first person will take their turn. But at this point you also need to figure out what else you're trying to say with this banter. Maybe you want to illustrate that Character A is a little hurt that Character C didn't go to the party. So maybe after B has responded initially, then C said their bit, A says something that's playful but also illustrates their hurt that C didn't go with them. At which point, either B or C can hit back with something consolatory but still playful and witty.

A: Well, well, well. If it isn't Miss "I have more exciting things to do than go to some lame party." C: Yeah, yeah. I heard. Police-raided parties are so middle school.

B: Oh, so jaded, I love it! Really, it was exciting. You missed it!

A: If you loved me, you would have come.

C: If I loved you, I would have dumped you for expecting me to go to a lame party.

And that's that. Short and sweet. Doesn't need to drag on for half a page. The banter relates to something that happened in the previous scene, tells us something about the characters' personalities, and tells us something about their relationships.

As far as coming up with the actual wit when it's needed, that can be tricky for those of us who aren't particularly witty, or where our wit only comes out when warranted. In that case, I think it really helps to watch TV shows where there's a lot of witty characters and witty repartee. Any number of sitcoms from the past twenty-five years is great for this. You can also watch clips from such shows on YouTube.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Visit my FAQ

Find answers fast on my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

#writing tips #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice