#more things we lost by not having Mary in season 2

[jackoshadows]

It's so confusing and weird that Bridgerton introduced in world racism both with Lady D and Simon in season one of the show and in Queen Charlotte and at the same time they also want the audience to accept that somehow Marina Thompson or the dark skinned Indian Kate Sharma has more privilege and power than Penelope Featherington?

Kate Sharma was also poor, so much more than the Featheringtons. She depended on Lady D to host them. The Sharmas were looked down on by the ton because Mary Sheffield married an Indian. The Sharmas were disowned and ostracized by the Sheffields.

Kate was also an unmarried spinster. No one was asking Kate to dance. As much as Kate wanted love and romance and to dance at a ball wearing pretty dresses, she got none of that. She was also the woman on the sidelines watching as others danced and fell in love.

Racism and colorism is also very much a thing in eurocentric notions of beauty considering the setting and characters of Bridgerton is 99% white.

We got so little of Kate's backstory, of who her parents where - we didn't even get their names!! - of the trauma (explained for both Simon and Anthony using flashbacks) that had Kate overlooking her own happiness for that of her sister.

Despite bragging nonstop about the diversity of Bridgerton the showrunners thought that the white Featheringtons needed more screentime in season 2 rather than the South Asian family.

And Kate was planning on going back to India and work as a governess to pay for her livelihood. Because, you know, there's more honest ways of being a 'working woman' than running the equivalent of the regency 'Daily Mail' dragging other women down. The modiste Madame Delacroix, Kate planning to teach and Sienna in season one are all working to pay a living. Black, brown and lower class women looking to alleviate poverty.

And considering how much harder Kate already had it as an outsider in the ton, it wouldn't have been easy with Penelope using her gossip rag to describe the unmarried Indian woman as ' a Spinster of a beast'. What did Kate do to Penelope to warrant this? Nothing. Just a way for Penelope to make money at Kate's expense.

That's the thing I dislike the most about the way the character of Penelope is written on the show - her victims don't deserve her vitriol and are often in much worse circumstances than her. From Kate Sharma to the unnamed seamstress who apparently lost all her customers because Penelope wrote falsely about their work in the her tabloid as a bribe for Madam Delacroix.

And I think that's what I find problematic about the writing of the show and even the discourse surrounding it - when characters like Marina Thompson (the poor black cousin who would have ended up destitute on the streets because of Penelope) and Kate Sharma arguably have it far worse than Penelope Featherington as per the show's writing and yet we are supposed to have the most sympathy for Penelope because her crush Colin didn't love her back and she's a curvy white woman?

I guess that's the difference between how I perceive this world and these characters as a woc and the majority white female audience for this show and it's such a huge disconnect for me. I guess this is also partly because the show has this badly written and 'strangely toothless racism' as Ash Sarkar beautifully put it. As in the racism is treated in this world as a little problem solved by handing out a few titles to black people instead of being a white supremacist ideology which treated black and brown people as inferior, serfs and slaves.

From what little we got from season 2, Kate Sharma definitely did not have it easy navigating the ton as a poor outsider and that certainly contributed to her poor choices. She is also put through the wringer, treated like the other woman, is miserable for several episodes, had to apologize again and again and nearly die before Edwina forgives her!

In contrast Penelope's actions have hurt so many and yet she gets a pass by both the show and a fandom that wants Colin to grovel before her because of a single offhand remark and because he didn't return her affections.

Also making it clear here that I am not comparing Penelope to the male characters who always get the better writing, flaws and all. I am comparing Penelope to the female characters of colour - Kate Sharma and Marina Thompson.

I mean, Marina Thompson gets so much vitriolic and sexist hatred for not having told Colin Bridgerton the truth of her pregnancy. How dare Marina hurt this privileged white man Colin Bridgerton. When she was desperate to not end up destitute on the streets or get raped by old white men. And yet Penelope gets a pass for hurting women like Marina and Kate.

It continues a trend of white female characters never being held to the same standard as female characters of colour. Daphne sexually assaults Simon in season one and that was not even addressed on the show. Male rape is apparently no big deal because Daphne wanting children is what's important. It's Simon who has to apologize and within one episode resolve his trauma and accept being a father. This is despite both Daphne and Penelope having more screentime and more writing that builds their character unlike the stick thin writing given to Kate Sharma in season 2.

So yeah, I will be checking into season 3 to watch the ten minutes we get with Kate Sharma since we got so little of her in her own season and it's so singular to get dark skinned south Indian characters in a period drama romance like this. It's just the way the writing on the show, the production and even the fandom treats it's characters, especially characters of colour has been disappointing to say the least.

#Bridgerton #Kate Sharma #Marina Thompson #female characters in Bridgerton #writing #fandom discourse

[celluloidbroomcloset]

This scene is so good in so many ways, but I want to talk about how it's the first time, in Season 2, that we see Ed desiring Stede and expressing that desire to him.

Through the first few episodes, we see a lot of how Stede wants Ed—we know he's having sex dreams that keep the crew awake—but most of what we see from Ed’s perspective are romantic fantasies about marriage and commitment, and despair at having lost the man he loves.

This makes sense to their characterizations—Ed is spiraling. He believes Stede has left him, perhaps never loved him. There are other things going on with the shame he's been made to feel about his own more tender emotions, his "unlovability," and how he's unable to express his grief openly to others. We also know that Ed is the more sexually experienced of the two, but that his sexuality has always been filtered through violence and pain. Ed's relationship to sex, like Stede's, is complicated by the culture that surrounds him and by the desires that he's been told are shameful.

Stede has only just fully awakened to his sexuality. He's realized that he's in love with Ed and that Ed is in love with him. His fantasies are about conquering the foe and getting Ed back; he's very much trying to put himself into the romantic hero role. He's scared that Ed won't want him anymore, but he seems very confident in his desires now.

We see the beginnings of Ed's own desires being expressed in the "captain's voice" moment, when he's obviously aroused by Stede taking a dominant stance. It's a shift from the "teenagers in love" fantasies and games of Season 1 and how they relate in "Fun and Games," with Ed beginning to both acknowledge and show that he desires Stede sexually and is safe to do so. Stede's oblivious at this point, but he's not by the time we get to the second moonlight scene.

After telling his fish story, Ed pauses to look Stede up and down: "I like that shirt."

Stede is actually a bit embarrassed, just as Ed is when Stede later takes his hand. He doesn't know how to react. When has Stede ever been told that he’s attractive? That someone else wants him physically? He's had other men tell him he’s weak and soft, and Mary was never attracted to him. But Ed is saying that openly—that he likes the way Stede looks. He finds him attractive.

Ed ties this to who Stede is as a person—he wants to hear more of the cursed suit story, and he's disappointed when Stede doesn't continue. Again, as with his physical attractions, Stede has often been mocked (including by Ed) for talking too much and telling boring stories. In effect, this is both an apology and a compliment: Ed wants to hear him talk.

Finally, Ed brings this back to the moment that had deep meaning for them both. He looks at Stede's body again and repeats the "you wear fine things well line." The exchanges that come before that give it further resonance—not just that it meant something to Ed, but that he knows what it meant to Stede, then and now. Stede gave him something then that made him feel cared for and desired, and Ed is doing the same for him.

Their relationship is not at all shallow or only based in physical attraction, but by the physical attraction is there. It’s real. There’s a carnality for them both that is very present, and it’s a part of their love for each other.

The way Ed talks about Stede is more subtle than the way Stede talks about Ed. Ed doesn’t write love letters, but he does look Stede up and down and go “you’re beautiful. You’re interesting. I love hearing you talk. I love looking at you.”

This acts as both reassurance and a movement forward in their relationship as it matures and becomes more real. Ed might not be ready to make out or have sex yet, but there's a pretty clear emphasis on yet. He tells Stede that sometimes it's better to be patient and wait—he's not rejecting Stede at all, but asking for them to move slower.

Stede's relationship to sex and desire has always been distanced, but now it's being brought to bear on the reality of his relationship with Ed. Ed's knowledge of sex has been confined to games connected to violence and pain. Both of them are now finding their way towards each other with the understanding that their relationship is indeed romantic, it is passionate, it is sexual, and it's not connected either to shame or to violence.

They want each other.

#ofmd #our flag means death #ed teach #edward teach #stede bonnet #gentlebeard #gif #ofmd meta #long post #also just any excuse to use that last gif #ofmd season 2 #you wear fine things well

[ineffable-sideburns]

In this post, I'm going to tie numerous observations on screen together to make a single season 3 prediction

it relies on this premise, which i'm about to build a case for:

the way the characters interact with the story is informed by the mythical/historical figures they are directly and indirectly coded as, but it’s not always in the way you’d expect, and some characters are coded in more than one way. we can still use these relationships as Clues to postulate where the story might go and how the characters will interact with one another.

this is by no means exhaustive, obviously. i’ve seen people say that Crowley is coded as Jesus, Aziraphale as Mary, and numerous other figures. i’m just pointing out some things i’ve noticed that I haven’t seen brought up as often.

we’ll start with Crowley, then go on to Sandalphon and Saraqael, then Gabriel, then Aziraphale. yes, it'll all lead up to something and i chose these characters in this order for a reason.

Crowley

so we obviously know he’s coded as Ashtoreth when he dresses up as Nanny Ashtoreth in season 1. yes, we will note that in the book, it’s very vaguely implied that Crowley and Aziraphale both hired Ashtoreth and Francis

in season 2, when trying to get the deets on bae, Beelzebub offers Crowley a “hefty” promotion and then later tells him “you could be a duke of hell".

in researching Beelzebub, at some point I found out about Milton's Unholy Trinity in Paradise Lost, which includes Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Astaroth as the first heirarchy in Hell, and which has (seemingly) lent that idea to demonology in general.

Astaroth is often referred to as the "Great Duke of Hell."

so now with season 2, Crowley has been coded in the show as both the feminine and masculine demons derived from the eastern goddess Astarte.

note: coded != Crowley is literally Astaroth/Ashtoreth. it means we can infer things about the story through the coding

the obvious would be him becoming a duke of Hell somehow in season 3. i personally am not convinced the story will take that route, and it would be sad to see him end up back in hell. this coding is the least compelling for me. it could just be a Milton reference, or maybe, since at this point in season 2, we don’t know why Beelzebub wants Gabriel, this could be a Clue that Beelzebub was sincere. maybe it just shows how powerful Crowley could have been if he’d accepted the deal. or maybe it just adds weight to parallel the decision Aziraphale makes later when offered his own position of power. people have analyzed Crowley and Ashtoreth/Astarte before, and the book/show discrepancy is always brought up, so i'm ignoring that and just addressing the added layer of Astaroth coding. anyway, let's move on to the more interesting observations.

Sandalphon and Saraqael

i’m doing these two together because i’ve found what i believe to be a major connection between them based on Neil’s answer to this ask, a shared trait their mythical figures have, and Saraqael’s actions in the show.

when Sandalphon is introduced in season 1, we learn that he was smiting and turning people into salt during Sodom and Gomorrah. then we see the direct connection Saraqael has with Sandalphon at the end of season 2, when Michael asks her to turn Maggie and Nina into salt pillars and her hand flys up.

but that’s not secret, is it?

you know what is, though?

the fact that she immediately recognizes Metatron in his human form, looks scared shitless for multiple shots, and then proceeds to act like it never happened when he starts addressing all the angels. she doesn’t let anyone know that she recognized him.

do check out this post by @most-normal-eccles-cake-ignorer with more shots and analysis of her reaction to Metatron.

still don’t believe me and think that reaction is nothing?

well, let me tell you something both the mythical figures Sandalphon and Saraqael have in common.

they both saw Metatron in his human form.

according to one source, Sandalphon was Metatron’s twin brother, and Sandalphon, like Metatron, was originally human.

in the book of 2 Enoch, Sariel/Saraqael was one of the angels who brought Enoch (human!Metatron) to Heaven.

if Sandalphon had been in that room at that moment, he’d also be secretly recognizing Metatron.

obligatory: remember what I said at the beginning of this post? we are using this coding to analyze the story and how the characters interact with it and eachother. you don’t believe that Sandalphon or Metatron were literally human at one point in GO? that’s fine. i’m just giving a reason why the author may have chosen Saraqael and Sandalphon to serve the same purpose in this scene

it isn’t crazy to think that a lot of the historical lore was used to inform the characters, and if you think it is, at least read about Gabriel first.

Gabriel

Gabriel is being coded…as the actual archangel (fucking) Gabriel. (and as Lord Jim from the novel of the same name by Joseph Conrad - the book Aziraphale glances at before choosing to call Gabriel Jim. but you can google the plot of Lord Jim and how it relates to Gabriel on your own time. it’s too much to get into right now.)

Gabriel is an archangel with the power to announce God’s will to mankind. He is associated with messages, vision, telecommunications, and revelation…

…and in the Bible he announces the birth of John the Baptist, and later, Jesus.

30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS

Luke 1:30-31

"hey Sithis dude you will not believe this… God now grants that you may conceive seven more children…yippe!!”

let’s get back to that thing about him delivering messages and revelation though.

Gabriel starts off season 2 carrying a box to the book shop (that we think was empty but later find out had a fly in it as well as a message scrawled on the bottom about where his memory is)

he also tells Aziraphale that something terrible was going to happen to him so he had to give him something. you can take that as being the fly, and consciously it probably was, but throughout season 2 Gabriel is unconsciously and unintentionally giving other people messages.

ex.

technically, a message “delivered” (dropped) by Gabriel, found by Muriel

after Crowley not-so-nicely commands Gabriel to remember, Jimbriel says, in a voice that shifts to sound like God’s voice, “I remember when the morning stars sang together and all the angels of God shouted for joy." Crowley recognizes this as what God said to Job, and then another flashback of Job begins.

later, during another vision caused by Crowley mentioning the word tempest: "There will come a tempest then darkness and great storms and the dead will leave their graves and walk the earth once more, and there will be great lamentations... every day it's getting closer."

in the Hebrew Bible, Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel, and explains his prophetic visions. in Good Omens though, Jim IS the prophet having prophetic visions through Gabriel.

when in the book shop with Aziraphale, Jimbriel starts to hum every day, which is what causes Aziraphale to search down the pub with the jukebox playing that song on repeat. we know from what Terry and Neil have said about every day that it’s the song of the apocalypse, but none of the characters know that, Gabriel included.

what does a song do?

each message the archangel of (fucking) messages delivers is unconscious. not how you’d expect him to live up to his name, right? of course, if they are actually God’s messages, it makes sense that they’re useless, vauge, and well, ineffable. one last thing: spiritually, Gabriel’s messages and prophecies are often believed to be delivered through dreams (or in other words, the unconscious)

edit: this post by @noneorother actually inspired me to look at the mythology of archangel Gabriel, so it’s crucial you check it out. i’ve also seen a post somewhere that posits Gabriel shouldn’t even have some of the memories that go by really quickly before the flashbacks of him and Beelzebub, but i lost the link to it.

edit II: just wanted to add this post by @drconstellation, which analyzes the symbols coded into Jimbriel's clothing.

Aziraphale

it’s hard to ignore the fact that Aziraphale’s name is similar to Raphael, and that we’re missing an archangel Raphael. i’ll link some analysis on the meaning of Aziraphale’s name and share a quote from Terry, but this has all been said before. i want to look at who Raphael is mythologically to see if there’s similarities in Aziraphale’s character, and i also want to see if we can find out the relationship between Gabriel and Aziraphale, and why the latter was a suitable replacement.

Terry said about the name's origin:

"It was made up but... er... from real ingredients. [The name] Aziraphale could be shoved in a list of 'real' angels and would fit right in..."

For instance, Islam recognizes the Archangels Jibril, Mikhail, Azrael (see also the annotation for p. 9 of Reaper Man ), and Israfel (the subject of Edgar Allan Poe's well-known poem of the same name), whereas from Christianity we get such names as Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, and Uriel.

the excerpt above was taken from here

NOW that that’s out of the way, who is archangel Raphael, the mythical figure?

Raphael’s name means “god heals.” it’s believed he helps people heal and overcome their struggles spiritually, physically, and mentally, and that he protects people on their journeys. he’s also considered to be the angel of joy, love, marriage, matchmaking, and travels.

as an example, in the Book of Tobit, God sends Raphael on a journey with a man named Tobias so that he can meet and woo his future wife. Raphael is also sent to heal her and Tobias’s blind, ageing father.

all the people and things i can count just off the top of my head that Aziraphale has healed or protected:

Anathema (healed)

Anathema’s bike (healed)

the dove he accidentally killed (technically healed by Crowley in the book)

Jimbriel (literally tells Jim he promised he would protect him)

Maggie and Nina when the demons enter the bookshop (tells them he will protect them)

bonus: in a scene cut from season 1, he stops a baby’s stroller from crashing

…and one he couldn’t:

collection of gifs of Aziraphale being full of joy:

you just have to look at Aziraphale smiling, especially at Crowley...

...to know that he represents joy and lo--

oh, but wait, he’s known for hooking people up, right? in case you forgot: Maggie and Nina va voom? originally his idea

similarly to the book of Tobit story I mentioned earlier, who did Aziraphale protect on his journey to meeting his beloved?

remember: the characters don't know they're being coded as anything and they don't know what kind of story they're in, so while Aziraphale didn't know he was going to be reuniting two lovers when he protected Jim, he played the role Neil made for him. it doesn't matter that he didn't know in the same way that it doesn't matter that Crowley could have (potentially) been powerful, or in the same way that it doesn't matter that Gabriel's messages were delivered unconsciously.

one more thing. Raphael heals people spiritually, physically, and mentally, right?

so is it any surprise that Aziraphale thinks he can heal the *ahem* spiritual corruption in Heaven?

we're going to tinfoil hat theory-land now ya'll, but I swear all of these observations are leading up to something cohesive...

Why did Aziraphale replace Gabriel?

i'll spare you all the long theories about Metatron's reasons, although i quite like the idea that Metatron was listening in ever since Aziraphale opened the portal to discorporate the demons attacking the bookshop, and he saw Aziraphale use his halo to declare war in order to protect Maggie and Nina. this shows Metatron that when pushed into a corner, or when it means protecting someone, he can force Aziraphale's hand...even to war.

But can we find a link between Gabriel and Raphael mythically to explain it instead?

if you've made it this far, you know i've got an answer for you. i withheld one detail about Gabriel earlier. in Christianity, he is often associated with blowing the trumpet at the end times to announce Judgment Day.

"okay, so?"

well, do you remember the quote from Terry and the excerpt from lspace I mentioned earlier? when mentioning the origins of Aziraphale's name, the excerpt mentions both angels in Islam and Christianity. the counterpart to Raphael in Islam, is Israfil/Israfel...

who blows the trumpet to signal the Day of Judgment.

"but Aziraphale wouldn't do that!"

he wouldn't intentionally do it. he's not a villain.

you remember who didn't intend to start the apocalypse in season 1, but who was there and given a role to play, regardless of whether he wanted to?

…the one who said no to heaven and hell and refused to be their pawn this time around when offered powerful positions by both?

Aziraphale, after nuking some demons with his halo, with painful foreshadowing: "I think I may have just started a war."

obligatory reiteration: the way the character-coding manifests is not literal, and it isn't always in the way you'd expect. there may be no literal trumpet. but i'm just pointing out the potential symmetry with season 1 in it being Aziraphale who "starts" apocalypse II.

one last thing: Raphael protects people on journeys, and helps them overcome their struggles — but now Aziraphale is on his own journey, and he will have to overcome his own moral struggles (ironically what Crowley helped him with)…alone.

#good omens theory #good omens season 3 #good omens speculation #good omens 3 #good omens analysis #good omens meta #good omens sequel #good omens spoilers #good omens #good omens clues #gabriel #aziraphale #anthony j crowley #crowley #sandalphon #saraqael #raphael

[happilyfeatherafter]

Dean’s VOs in The Winchesters (season one!)

(LISTEN ALONG WITH AUDIO HERE)

Dean episode 1: 

( Ten Years After's "I'd Love to Change the World" ) ♪ ♪ 

March 23, 1972. The day Dad came home from the war, and the day he met Mom. Now I know this story might sound familiar, but I'm gonna put the pieces together in a way that just might surprise you. And in order to do that, I have to start all the way at the beginning. 

[END OF EPISODE]

What they didn't know is that the Akrida weren't just a threat to Earth, but to all of existence. Now, like I told you, there's gonna be some surprises. Hell, I'm still trying to find all the puzzle pieces myself. But I'll explain everything. And until then, I'll keep picking the music. 

♪ ♪ Spread them wide ♪ ♪ Rich or poor ♪ ♪ Them and us ♪ ♪ Stop the war ♪ 

Dean episode 2: 

( punchy, percussive music ) ♪ ♪  The ties that bind a family together can be complicated. Parents raise you, teach you what's right and wrong, and in some instances, how to kill monsters. But no matter who you are, there comes a time when you have to break from them and make your own way. And if you're not careful, things can get pretty ugly. 

Dean episode 3: 

( dramatic music ) ♪ ♪ ( screams ) ( sizzling ) ( growling )  There's no map to being a hunter. No playbook. You gotta follow your gut. But that can only take you so far. Truth is, you can't do it all on your own. You need other people to help guide the way... Your friends, your family. Otherwise you just end up lost. 

Dean episode 4: 

( eerie music ) ♪ ♪  Fighting the battle between good and evil isn't easy, especially when the first monster you have to face is the one inside yourself. ( soft dramatic music ) 

Dean episode 5: 

( dramatic music ) ♪ ♪ Spending a lifetime of hunting monsters takes its toll. There comes the time when you gotta let out that pain inside you. If you don't, it'll eat you alive. 

Dean episode 6: 

(Lata) I am centered. I am at peace. I create my own path, and I walk in it fearlessly. (end Lata)

Hunting has a way of changing a person. After a while, right, wrong, good, evil, they all start to look the same. And then it makes you start to wonder, "Who's really the monster here--them or me?" 

[END OF EPISODE]

Hunting's not for everyone. You have to be strong, stay sharp, make tough decisions, and it's not easy, But then again, the righteous things never are. 

Dean episode 7: 

( birds chirping ) Comes a time in every hunt when the fightin' starts. And the difference between winning and losing isn't whether you have the holy water, the wooden stake, or the silver bullet. It's whether you've got the grit to get the job done. (Mary on radio)

Dean episode 8:

(John Moran’s “Rebel”) ♪ ♪ Being a hunter, it means living a life of sacrifice-- not a lot of room for dreams. But you open your heart and get a little lucky, you'll find you gain more than you lose. ♪ ♪

Dean episode 9:

( mellow bluesy music ) ♪ ♪ This isn't how I saw things going when I pushed over that first domino. Thing is, I've had more than a few dances with free will and fate, but as my dad used to say, "Fate is what you make it."

Dean episode 10:

Hunting and happy endings don't usually mix, so when you get your chance, you got to ask yourself, "How far will I go to get it?"

Dean episode 11:

Being a Hunter means always being on the move, No matter how hard you plan, no matter how hard you work, at a certain point, we all run out of road. It's what we do with those crossroads that defines us.

Dean episode 12:

♪ ♪ ( carnival music resumes ) ♪ ♪ ( giggling manically ) ♪ ♪ ( shrill giggling ) ( whispering voices ) ( strange sounds ) 🤡🤡🤡

Hunting's a dishonest business. You gotta lie all the time about who you are and what you do. But the hardest lies aren't the ones you tell other people. They're the ones you tell yourself.

(Mary to John) Another day looking for this mystery man and still nothing. It's like this guy's a ghost. (End Mary to John).

Dean episode 13:

*RECORD SCRATCH* HE’S HERE!!!!! We’re going in universe baby.

(Opening scene, dramatic music ) ♪ ♪ 

Dean: John Winchester. 

John: Sir, can I help you? 

Dean: This is for you. 

John: Where did you get this? Who are--  [...] One ticket for Lawrence, Kansas. 

Ticket lady: Okay.

BOBBY, IT’S FREAKIN’ BOBBY!!!: We're not supposed to meddle with things, ya idjit!

Dean: You always said if I was gonna be stupid, I might as well be smart about it. 

Bobby: Yeah, that does sound about like me. We're not even supposed to be here. 

Dean: Come on, the letter was meant for him. I just, uh, you know, gave it a nudge. 

Bobby: You keep an eye on things here. I'm gonna get the damn cavalry. 

Dean: How you gonna do that? 

Bobby: I got no freaking idea. One last hunt, huh? 

Dean: One last hunt. ♪ ♪

[Insert finale including lots of chat about the ‘ruggedly handsome' mystery man here. For Akrida!Queen exposition science: You're here to talk about the man with no name...he was digging around in things that should have stayed buried. ... The Akrida. You see, our mysterious friend isn't from around here. There's only so much he could do. His hands were tied. Credit where it's due... he did manage to stay ahead of me for a while, but... I can assure you that he's not going to be a problem anymore. ... Well, there's this portal. You see--I'm sure you've heard of it. It's not quite up to code yet, but I managed to pry it open just enough to toss a certain someone and his car into it. No human can survive that gateway, so his body will be torn to shreds for centuries. Anyway, this, um... this old journal... it's all that's left of him.]

Back to the end of the show:

( electricity crackling ) ( engine revving ) ( engine revving ) ( dramatic music )  ♪ ♪ 

John: Mary! ... How did you guys survive? 

Dean (gestures at Baby): She kept Mary safe... me too. Of course, there's not a lot that can tear me apart. I'm already dead. I was stuck in the world between worlds, so I stayed close to that portal, and as soon as I saw baby come through, I hopped in and grabbed the wheel. 

Samuel: So who are you? 

Dean: I'm a Hunter, just like you. But I'm not from this Earth. 

Ada: And how did you get here? 

Dean: When I died, I made it to heaven. And she was waiting for me. So I went for a drive, and then I took a little detour. 

Latika: Through the multiverse. (Dean points ‘bingo’.)

Carlos: S-so what were you looking for? 

Dean: That's a good question, Carlos. I was looking for my family. See, I come from a long line of Hunters. I guess I was hoping that somewhere out there was an Earth that had a version where my family had a shot at a happy ending. When I was driving, I caught wind of the Akrida. Turns out that they were one of Chuck's last creations. 

Millie: Who's Chuck? 

Dean: God. It's a long story, but, uh... basically, he's a real dick. He left the Akrida behind to wipe out all of existence in case he failed. Well... he failed. Eventually the Akrida were going to make their way to my world, and I got family there, so I couldn't let that happen. 

John: T-the letter, why did you-- 

Dean: I took my little detour. The rules were simple. Don't mess with anything. Well... I gave it a little nudge. Thought it might need a little help. Looks like it worked out pretty well. So now that the Akrida are gone, you all can choose your own destiny. You can write your own story. 

Jack: And you can get back to yours. 

Dean: It's all right. It's all right. They're--they're with me. This is Bobby. That's Jack. They're family. Excuse me. You okay? 

Bobby: I told you I'd figure it out. Didn't say I wouldn't get us in more trouble. Look at 'em. Man, this is all kinds of weird... seeing Samuel with a full head of hair. 

Dean: Right? ( chuckles )

Jack (~~or is he?~~): Dean. 

Dean: Yeah. No, I know. I know, Jack. 

Jack: When I restored things, I wanted mankind to make their own fate. That meant no interference from on high, anywhere... no exceptions. 

Dean: I couldn't let our world get destroyed. Sam's still down there, okay? He deserves a good, long life. Hell, they all do. ( indistinct chatter ) So, if you want to cast me out of heaven... so be it. 

Bobby: If we're taking a vote, I'd say you give the guy another chance. 

Jack: There's always another case with you Hunters... even in death. Well... if you're going to meddle in things, finish what you started. After this... it's time to get around to the... "there'll be peace when you are done"... part of the song.

Dean to John: Listen, um... b-before I go... I want to give you two something. My dad... he, uh... Kept a Hunter's journal, looked just like this. I lived my whole life by that damn thing. Well, this is my Hunter's journal. So if you're gonna stay in this game... This will help guide you through it. 

John: Thank you. 

Dean to Mary: I know you're thinking about quitting Hunting. Believe me, I understand. But you need to do me one favor. Keep an eye out for a yellow-eyed demon. And if you even catch a hint of that son of a bitch... I need you to use this. 

Mary: Your family... did you ever find a version where they had a shot of a happy ending? 

Dean: I think I did. 

John: You never told us your name. 

Dean: Hetfield... James Hetfield. (Hetfield is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder, and a primary songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica.)

( Nick Drake's "One of These Things First" ) ♪ ♪ (Dean, Bobby and Jack vanish with baby). 

Transcripts from: https://tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org/viewforum.php?f=1550

#SPNWIN #The Winchesters #Dean Winchester #no negative comments in tags pls #SPNWIN spoilers #SPNWIN 1x01 #SPNWIN 1x02 #SPNWIN 1x03 #SPNWIN 1x04 #SPNWIN 1x05 #SPNWIN 1x06 #SPNWIN 1x07 #SPNWIN 1x08 #SPNWIN 1x09 #SPNWIN 1x10 #SPNWIN 1x11 #SPNWIN 1x12 #SPNWIN 1x13 #seriously make a separate post with any negativity I do not wish to see it #this includes ship war or character war stuff I simply do not want to see it

[maeo-png]

s4 was actually so incredible in terms of development. Kitty becoming more self assured and confident. The way julian and alison got on (the guy who lost his daughter and the girl who lost her father) so much better compared to season 1. Robins love of life expanding from curiosity to outright looking over a rat family and redirecting lightning to save mike. thomas is there i suppose. The Captain being more open about his ideas and things he likes, things we never saw in season 1 or 2. Mary’s entire fantastic story that i thoughts about that i simply can’t put into words. Pat having to confront both sides of a loved one passing on, both being the loved one and having to comfort others. Fanny going from thinking Alison was a prostitute to defending her when Thomas wouldn’t stop his remarks, her internalised misogyny taking further of a back seat. the collective development from season 1 where they wanted alison to leave, to leaving a glowing 5 star review for their gatehouse. i love this show so much.

#i’m utterly convinced thomas is representative of men/incels who don’t change and can’t take no for an answer #and mat just wanted to dress up in regency attire #bbc ghosts #10:30 gn gang

[iamadequate1]

Unpopular Opinions on 2x6!

I was in and out of WJW yesterday, but was it said who (Max or DJenks) initiated the 2x6 rewrite? I know Max is to blame for the truncated episode count and episode length, but the makeover-pressure storyline of the original 2x6 maybe just was not working and they decided to correct?

We don't know exactly what "makeover" entailed, but Ed already found Stede attractive under any circumstance (the hanged and sickly look of 1x4, still trying to kiss him after seeing him in that ugly af wig for most of 1x5, that adventurer outfit in 1x7 that did no favor for his legs, etc.) and Stede was already confident enough to try for sex in 2x5. I'm not sure what would have been the point of a Stede makeover, whether it was to make him more "manly" or more "fancy" or more "pretty and gnc" or more whatever was going to be used. The thing that was holding Ed back was wanting to be careful and fear of being hurt again; a Stede makeover wouldn't have helped that, and the crew intervening would have done more harm than good. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Really, the only thing Ed/Stede-wise I'm missing in 2x6 is some degree of sexual tension and a slow dance, dammit. Oh, and really more segue scene in going from on deck, to below deck, to on deck with Ned Low. That was weird.

But, here's the thing: Stede is underdeveloped in S2 compared to Ed. I wrote this thing between the releases of 2x7 and 2x8, and this is the biggest failure that Max gave OFMD in this time truncation. (And the biggest failure from DJenks + company in response is spending so much of the premium screen time on Izzy instead of killing him off early, but I digress...)

This is what I ended that post on, and I stand by it:

I think it should be noted that as of the end of 2x7, Stede is the only crew member who hasn't had mental reflection and/or therapy in Season 2. He realized Mary, Alma, and Louis didn't need him and he was in love with Ed in 1x10, but the voice calling him a child with a toy, an idiot, weak, and ugly is still there.

This is why we need an S3!!!

So, on the lost makeover scene, Stede is the only character that has explicitly had body image issues (from what I remember...), so I really could do without a makeover scene, especially with Stede getting dumped the next episode just a few hours after sleeping with Ed the first time. If Ed had given given him cute reassurances that no makeover was necessary, the dumping would have been even worse! If the crew had pressured the sex in any way, that dumping would have been EXTRA even worse!

I think the makeover/cupid stuff was best left out of canon. I'm sure it would work in a fanfic, but in the placement of the canon story, I don't think it belonged. We REALLY needed more time between "take it slow" and The Banginging (just like we needed more time in the cocaptains era), but 8 episodes, I enjoy the beat breakdowns they chose in the time they were allotted,

Getting more into unpopular opinion territory: I don't care in the slightest that polycule scenes were cut since that storyline is so incredibly uninteresting to me; I don't mind it, but I just don't miss it when it's not around. We don't know who made the call on cutting the polycule scene(s), but IMO, gay Die Hard with Lupete was way better than anything the polycule could have done. And moving the Lupete wedding to the end made the season end on a higher and more hopeful note.

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd meta #stede bonnet #loml #izzy critical #i love lupete most of all #ofmd s2e6

[foxilayde]

Danny!!! I just binged Season 2 of Case 63 last night! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (if you're willing to share them)! 💕

You want to hear my thoughts on case 63? Oh dear sweet lovely anon, please buckle up because I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS

I listened to season one probably 4 times in the past year and season 2 twice already (I have a lot of down time this week) and i took notes on the timelines because i thought i was going crazy and it honestly turned me into Charlie Day a little bit with the red string and notes and maps on the wall, “And i march down to Eliza’s office and say “Beatrix!! Beatrix!!’”

Anyway, spoilers below the cut.

I kind of want to start with season 2 episode 9, that thing that Vincent says to Eliza “peter didn’t send you here to save the world, if you’re his wife in one of the timelines and if peter lost his wife in 2060 when she was 38 because of Pegasus, his wife has to be born in 2022. And if you were, or will be, Peter Roiter’s wife, for her to be born in 2022, then you Beatrix should have died in 2022, but you didn’t. He knew you had to die, but he couldn’t lose you. Think about it, why did he need YOU to do the injection? He needed to get you to the extraction point. He tried to hide you and protect you from your death. He sacrificed millions to send you to the past to delay your death.”

That part reminded me so much of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen that movie, but the protagonist, Joel, is running through his memories with his ex girlfriend Clementine and trying to hide her away in places she doesn’t belong, just so she can live in his brain for a tiny bit longer. It’s just so romantic and it makes sense why then Peter didn’t sound upset when Eliza told him that she couldn’t inject Marie, he doesn’t even give a shit about the timeline anymore. He just wants her to be able to LIVE and be happy adfdskjas;defsdfk

But i can’t talk about this without talking about the inconsistencies…. **play Serial theme** One of which here is Helen Vince, Peter Roiter’s wife From the future, is supposedly born in 2022 in one of these timelines, yet in the 2012 timeline she’s born in 2012? Did i miss something here? The only theory i have on that is related to that thing Peter says about “time protects us” and that’s why travelers can’t KILL Marie. I think it works in reverse as well, that you can’t escape your time coming, things will shift and bounce to fit your time clock. Which is super tragic when you think about how that’s Peter’s only goal, to give Eliza more time.

That bit IS confusing, but ALSO so is the inconsistencies with Peter’s age at some points. Like when he talks about the Egregor and being 9 years old and people dying by their own hand because of it, yet the math says he was 6 when the Berlin Purge happened and he says it was 2030 at one point and 3035 when Eliza asks for clarification.

And some other things too, he gives two separate dates for “the end of the world” (unspecified event!) and despite the Great Deletion happening, he claims that the Garnier Malet effect is “taught in all schools” since 2034, but the great deletion happened in 2033, and at another time he said it was actually in 2053???

and there are several more inconsistencies but what I’m trying to SAY is that he’s obviously not lying…. Right? Because the time travel is real, we have seen that. So the thing that he MIGHT be lying about is that “a traveler can only travel once” rule. I have a feeling this Peter Roiter has been alllll over the damn place. Probably unsanctioned missions? In order to hide Beatrix in one time or another to avoid her death.

And let’s TALK ABOUT THE NAMES OK. So we are introduced to an “Eliza Beatrix” and Peter straight up calls her Beatrix, so I THINK HE’S MET HER BEFORE and I’m not Fukin talm bout Helen Vince here. Roll with me, because when Eliza goes to Vincent’s timeline and meets herself, she tells her ten years younger self that SHE should start going by Beatrix! THAT’S PETERS BEATRIX. And that 10 year shift? Would explain a lot of the TIME INCONSISTENCIES ARE YOU WITH ME??

Let’s also not forget that i suspect that Beatrix is the Beatrix from the recording at the end of season 2, the one that Oliver Collins gives to Marie Caldwell. ALSO A STRANGE HAPPENING for him to be giving that to her because he was hysterically telling Eliza to discredit herself to Marie… very interesting.

Also super weird of Vincent to be acting the way that he was after Eliza DIED. Odd. Hmmm. Yes lets talk about Vincent Caldwell. The photo on the wall that made the bedroom look like Rome! To close the loop on the Garnier Malet! Such a cool twist in that. And when Eliza says, “By sending me here, he ensured the continuity of the dream” GUTPUNCH. There is one thing that bugs me about closing the loop and that would be the “take a flight to Rome on December 31st. Platform 23 at 4pm” thing that Peter said. Because BRO KNOWS THAT HELEN VINCE IS GOING TO BE BORN DECEMBER 12 so really and truly what the fuck was that about?? He knew that shit wasn’t ever going to happen, right? IT BUGS ME.

Also, bonus heartbreaking tidbit:: in the recording that he gives Eliza he makes it sound like “I’ll have 40 years to contact the organization to get this information to you” but bro knows that little baby Peter Roiter is going to be born sometime in 2023 (or 2024 depending on the inconsistencies) so he’s got 2 years max to live. And he doesn’t want Eliza to know.

Interesting tidbits, in the 2022 timeline, she’s in a bathroom in jfk terminal 4, but when she wakes up in 2012 she’s in terminal 8, so it’s not the “exact same spot” like she was telling herself. (Truly don’t know if that’s relevant.) And just a fun fact, when Peter is talking about his wife Helen he mentions that he did most of the cooking in their relationship and when Vincent talks about his late wife he says he did most of the cooking as well. So Peter is canonically skilled in the kitchen in every universe lmao.

I loved the tidbits about our sci-fi movies being influenced by The Project ever since 1948, i thought that was a thought provoking parallel to our current time.

I really love Marie so much. She hears and accepts all this stuff from Eliza and then she says you know what? I’m going to prevent covid from ever happening. And she does! I mean, she couldn’t prevent the nuclear war, but i thought that was pretty badass of her to change the world like that, way to go, Marie!

Biggest mystery i can’t wait to have solved: how is it she’s able to co-exist alongside herself and have a conversation with herself when “one entity must die in order for the other to be born”? Hmmm? And I’d like to add, Peter cautioned her against interacting with herself saying “meeting yourself WILL create a vortex” MEANWHILE daddy Vincent says it’s okay. In FACT Vincent just drops his own little “oh btw i had a Garnier Malet that you needed to talk to yourself, byeeee” i love him— such a goober. But it all seems very key.

I’m very struck by Peter’s repetition of the phrases about broken timelines and having to travel all alone and be invisible, it sounds very personal. Idk maybe I’m projecting. But i think there’s a lot to his story that he maybe couldn’t share with Eliza.

I loooove the way Peter explains time travel, “to go into the future, the key is speed. To go into the past, the key is gravity.” I love everything about that and the “circular beams of light” I WANT TO EAT HIS WORDS and lets not forget “They call it entanglement which is a way of saying I’ve always loved you.” NOT TO MENTION the infamous, “I don’t CARE about 7 billion people” monologue. It’s like what Vincent said, this is at its heart— a love story.

I will be thoroughly shocked and impressed if anyone decided to read all that. But if you did, thanks for sticking around and please let me know about your thoughts/speculations about any and everything regarding the story!!

#case 63 #Peter Roiter #Vincent Caldwell #Oscar Isaac #Julianne Moore #Eliza Beatrix Knight

[starry-arsonist]

BBC Ghosts S2 Christmas Special

Okay so I just watched the season 2 Christmas special and it made me weep. At first, I was just expecting the usual thing that we get from TV shows where a grumpy character learns the meaning of Christmas or something along those lines but what I love about this special is that it started as that and then turned it on its head, at the end, Julian does learn the "meaning of Christmas" or just comes to accept it more but we get to see flashbacks seeing one of the reasons why he doesn't like Christmas.

One of the greatest aspects of Ghosts for me is that they manage to perfectly combine comedy and tragedy, Each character has this tragedy to them. With the Captain, it's his repressed homosexuality and how he lost the love of his life while in turn actually losing his life (see my earlier post) For Mary it's her being so traumatized from her witch trial that she can't even speak about it for 400 years, Robin has been trapped on the estate for millennia, losing every one of his friends when they eventually get sucked off, Pat never gets taken seriously and is beside himself from how early he died and how he never got to see his kid grow up.

Julien doesn't seem to fit in with this until the special, he says that he is opposed to Christmas because she can't enjoy it anymore as a ghost and we take that as a normal thing, but when Mike's family arrives and he sees the baby and hears the nonstop crying we see the tragedy in his story, He truly never got to see his daughter grow up, he died when she was only four and he missed every single one of the limited Christmases that they had together, he hated the crying, the whining, the never sleeping but as a ghost seeing Mike's niece he realizes that he would have gladly taken those moments over nothing

#bbc ghosts s5 #bbc ghosts #ghosts #julian fawcett #horrible histories #six idiots #the captain #pat butcher #bbc ghosts s2 #bbc ghosts christmas special

[widowed-mistress]

Do I have an obsession, yes?

Is it getting bad because I can't write dialog and have little to no stories on ao3 with this concept? Yes! Will I fix the issue? Also no!

Here we go!!

Why More Steve Harrington is Finney Blake Stories Should Exist:

1. As is, Finney Blake and his sister have a power that basically makes them oracles or profits. Imagen him dressed to the nines in an outfit that embodies that, you're welcome baby girl Steve Harrington believers.

2. His horrible experience with the Grabber would provide a solid outline for the harsh words he uses in season one while also making his return to goodness one that makes sense. He was wildly abused in his hometown, so he aimed for the top when he was given a chance to start over without ever actually laying his hands on someone. When he realizes he's become what he hated most, he works to redeem himself.

3. Ghost children. Ghost children follow him around, why do you think he handles the party so well?

4. There are several deaths in Stranger Things that never get brought up again, so I will. His home is now a safe haven for all those lost souls. I want him to make amends with Barb, I want him to hold Max telling her everything Billy saying he wished he told her with such confidence that she finally believes him. I want that.

5. I want him to be able to channel ghost energy. That's it. Imagen him summoning spirits of past experiments to help hold the Mind Flayer back when it went to attack Billy.

6. His arm is mint. Okay, losing a fight to Billy? Understandable. Loosing a fight to Jonathan? I love my him, but no. ESPECIALLY when Steve can bat a fucking demadog easily. This man was holding back because the last time he truly fought, he killed a man.

7. There are so many ways he could have ended up in Hawkins.

Gwen was murdered by someone who suspected her of working with the Grabber because of her inside knowing to the murders. The parents of their mother then offers their home in Hawkins as long as the dad works for their company, wanting to do right by his child and wanting a fresh start, he says yes. The name gets changed to fit their higher image and Steve is left in the mansion alone, a bargaining chip for his grandparents to show that they are in fact caring for the family of the lost daughter.

His aunt and uncle take him in, but not Gwen for sexist reasons, after their home is deemed unfit when questioning him about the Grabber.

His dad hits well with the life insurance and moves them to start away from the horrors that happened.

8. I want Hopper to be related to Vance Hopper, like cousins or something. That's it.

9. Imagen channeling ghost strength? Or even better him being able to communicate with El in that void because of his abilities.

10. If you want a song fic, fucking Bloody Mary is right there.

11. I want the angst of people around him reminding him of all the people he's lost. It would make his need to be needed even stronger. Moreover, his sense of devotion and desire to protect would be through the roof.

12. I really like the idea.

That's it, that's the post.

#have a nice death my story nice #fanfiction #stranger things #steve harrington #long post #steve harrington has powers #steve harrington as finney blake #the black phone #finney blake

[khruschevshoe]

OFMD Critique: the Handling of Female Characters, "Girlbosses," and Dropped Polyamory in Season 2 (aka Why the HELL did you give Zheng Yi Sao that ending?)

For this one, I kind of just want to gesture at the ending of 2x7 and the entirety of 2x8 and scream at the top of my lungs, "What the FUCK was that SHIT?"

But I already did that when the finale itself came out, so instead I'm going to stay calm and give a genuine critique (though still as rambly as always).

The handling of this show's women is...questionable. I think the only woman that was handled 100% well is Mary in Season 1. No real notes there. I love her and how her storyline is written to bits.

But in season 2, all 3 major women characters (Archie, Zheng Yi Sao, and Spanish Jackie) have their storylines hamstrung by romantic plot lines.

In Archie's case, the romance plot works. Not every character needs to have a subplot. The bits that flesh out her character are well integrated into the story, whether that be her first kiss with Jim directly leading into the fighting to the death plotline/Jim finally standing up to Blackbeard or the lines "you have hope, it's cute," "this is just kinda how things work," and "they just kind of get away with it, you know" (though it still pisses me off that that last one goes unchallenged in the narrative) being used for plot progression, or are fun character details, such as all of the snake cult hints. (Do I wish that the poly aspect of her, Jim, and Olu's dynamic was better executed so that I didn't feel like the tealoranges plot was yanked out from under my feet? Yes. Of course.)

But as for Zheng Yi Sao?

The treatment of this character makes my blood boil.

See, I'm not opposed to her having a romantic plotline. In fact, I think it could have been fun. A woman can have romance and power. 2x7 even looked like it was building to that sort of conclusion, with Jim, Olu, and Archie joining her crew in one of the very few actual canon implications of poly (though no confirmation, sadly- have y'all seen the info about the deleted scenes that could have confirmed it? I can't believe so much ended up on the cutting room floor.) But then the end of 2x7 strips all power from Zheng Yi Sao.

The show pulled one of the most powerful pirates and most accomplished women in history (also a woman of color, btw, a fact which only doubles the weird fucking undertones of her treatment as a character) into the show only to strip her of her power, shove her into a romantic plot line on a ship where she isn't even a captain, and expected me not to pick up on ANY of the fucked up optics of the writing? The fact that we end the season with Zheng and Spanish Jackie both losing their power as pirate queens in exchange for setting them on a ship with only one singular boyfriend grinds my fucking gears, man.

There are ways to give Zheng a romantic plotline without it making her an idiot (ala what happens with Olu in 2x3) or making her lose all of her power (ala the finale). Jackie's case is less infuriating, but it does remind me of the fact that a lot of the casual poly/open relationship rep from the first season got stripped from the second season (and before you come at me with the Zheng/Olu/Archie/Jim storyline, look me in the eye and cite to me any concrete canon evidence we have of it. I ADORE the fanfic as much as the next person, but I mourn the lost potential every day. Check my previous tealoranges meta for that- I might write a long version of it sometime). Lucius and Pete lost all their open relationship implications and Jackie's husbands are dropped from the finale in favor of her running off with the only one who gets a name.

I understand that they probably wrote Zheng Yi Sao this way to show Stede's growth as a Captain by showing that he brings more flexible ideas to the table (which, by the way, is completely undermined by the fact that his plan actively kills Izzy in the process), but they really should have thought through the...everything in regards to the implications of writing Zheng Yi Sao this way. Because if you bring in one of the only female characters with speaking lines onto this show, a Chinese woman at that, make romance actively make her stupid, have her be fooled by a white man (who, by the way, kills THOUSANDS of unnamed women off-page in explosions and it's just kind of treated as a plot point for the whole Zheng/Auntie/Stede/Izzy/Ed comparison which gives me the ick), strip her of her fleet and her power, and then have the GALL to not even make her the Captain of the Revenge at the end of it all? I'm not sure I trust you to handle her legacy, much less write women in general.

TLDR; Writing a very queer show does not resolve you of sexism.

#zheng yi sao #ofmd critical #ofmd meta #archie ofmd #spanish jackie #sexism #analysis #ofmd season 2 #ofmd 2x08 #ofmd 2x07 #ofmd #rant #rambling #jim x archie x oluwande x zheng #zheng x oluwande

[inlovewith-icecream]

Pretty Little Liars: Ten Theories on the Mannequin Family

1. Vivian Darkbloom’s family.

Vivian Darkbloom is Alison's alter-ego, her fantasy self when she’s living another life: “Don’t you wish you could just be someone else?” Charlotte later takes on her identity, fleeing to Paris.

She’s supposed to be what Alison and Charlotte then want to be, and that includes the perfect “model” family, sharing “cherished memories” and “warmth and laughter” that Charlotte didn’t get.

2. Alex Drake’s wealthy family.

Alex Drake was sold from Mary Drake and Dr Cochrane to a wealthy British family that abandoned her at an orphanage when she was four.

Her adoptive parents along with adoptive siblings that were kept and loved, unlike her. The handprints on the wall are the mark of Alex who was abandoned by her adoptive family and lived a terrible life, even if they’re still living in their perfect model family.

3. Sara Harvey’s family.

Parents and a little brother, the blonde little girl can be either Sara or her sister instead (similar to number two where Alex is missing from the family dolls).

We learn Sara came from an abusive home in early S6. This could be related to the handprints on the wall.

4. More standard - Charlotte’s family.

Of course there could be a more standard answer to this question: simply Jason, Charlotte, Jessica, Kenneth. This is when Charlotte was still with her family. Jessica is pregnant with Alison.

After Alison came into the world Charlotte’s life changed not only by the bathtub incident but the boundless love she’d always have for her sister.

5. Bethany’s family.

Related to Charlotte giving (via Black Widow) condolence flowers to Bethany Young’s parents? Maybe or maybe not. The handprints on the wall are in three different colours. Three different Dilaurentis’s (the family of puppet masters) had its hand in affecting that family, and not for the better.

First - Jessica having an affair with Mr Young.

Second - Charlotte either trying to hit Bethany the night she died or digging up her grave, maybe there’s more we don’t know on Radley…

Third - Alison was supposed to be the target, but the hit ended up being made on Bethany. A fatal mistake…

6. Archer Dunhill’s family.

The reasoning for why Charlotte would have a mannequin family of Archer’s family (presumably casting him as the young boy) is dubious. However since he was her love it’s not implausible to assume she’d commemorate him in some way - and what better way to do that other than the other thing she loves the most; dolls?

7. Wren Kingston’s family.

Same with Archer especially since he was a major part of Charlotte meeting her sister and he seemed to know about the Dilaurentis-Drake-Hastings family drama back in *season 5* according to 7x20. Is it really a stretch to suspect a bigger role from him?

8. Charlotte and Archer’s future family.

With how much Charlotte cares about family it isn’t out of the picture that she’d want one with her true love Archer. The black haired mother Charlotte could be the Vivian Darkbloom disguise she continues donning after she runs away with Archer after being in Welby.

9. Not loved ones but lost ones.

The woman is Marion Cavanaugh, the man is Darren Wilden, the little girl is Bethany Young, and the little boy is “Charles” Dilaurentis.

It’s not a family, it’s the ones Charlotte has lost along the way, for better or worse, by outside forces or by choice (Side note: The handprints represent who they are survived by, one person with each colour. Maybe Marion is red or Wilden is or Bethany is green, could go either way. Either way none of them are for “Charles”).

10. Alice’s family.

No deeper meaning, but could this be the third reference to the mysterious, almost ghost-like, little blonde girl?

(In my view, this seems the most likely theory.)

#icepost #pretty little liars #pll theory #pll theories #cece drake #charlotte dilaurentis #alex drake #sara harvey #bethany young #archer dunhill #wren kingston #darren wilden #marion cavanaugh #alice #pll alice #alison dilaurentis #jessica dilaurentis #kenneth dilaurentis #jason dilaurentis

[thewatercolours]

Priorities (King's Quest Ficlet, 1 of 2)

Muriel,

Just disregard the order form I’ve tucked this into. I don’t actually need any toe salve. It’s just it’s hard to say who might be watching. I can’t write straight to my guards at the castle, and since you and Chester get the most mail of anyone in Daventry (except the Merchant, I guess,) I thought this note could slip by more discreetly. Please pass this on to Royal Guard Number One and ask him to have a look at it when he’s alone. Thanks so much. Hoping it’s not too many months till I see you and all the people in town again.

--KG

Number One,

I have to keep this short. I reached Arkney just before the new moon. The word in town is that Acorn and Whisper were in the group that arrived in a prison wagon two weeks before (or at least, it’s my best guess it was them, just from the descriptions.) The last anyone saw of them, they were being brought to the local castle on orders from Count Carolus, just like you guessed. We tried scoping out the castle from the outside, and Amaya even managed to sneak a peak inside the inner courtyard and got a pretty good guess about the layout of the place. But no sign of our friends, or whether they’ve been moved somewhere else. Amaya tried the “visiting nobility” scheme you suggested three days ago. They wouldn’t see her. Our timing turned out to be terrible. Lady Carolus was having a baby that day. So we’re taking another shot, and this time it’ll be me, since they’ve already seen Amaya. I’m trying the peasant thing. It’s easier to disguise myself dressing down than up. I’ve spent the last couple of days making inquiries about work around Arkney, just to make it seem believable. Tomorrow I’ll knock at the Count’s back door and see if there’s a position available. Here’s hoping. I better finish this up, but first: the tavernkeeper says servants and guards at Castle Carolus are not usually allowed outside the precinct without special permission . It’s like its own little world. So I might be hard to get a hold of, if they actually hire me. It would probably be better if you wait for me to make contact first, but if you absolutely have to, send it care of Bagley at the Lily and Throne tavern, and sign it “Mary Lou.”  I’ve told Bagley that my long lost love’s name was Mary Lou, and the search proved hopeless. He seems like enough of a romantic that he’d find some way to get it to me. Do everything you can to disguise that it’s from Daventry. And like I say, don’t reach out first if you can help it, even if it takes months. Whisper and Acorn deserve the best chance we can give them. 

Crossing my fingers,

“Grimm”

PS - I have complete faith in your ability to take care of the kingdom while I’m gone, this time and every time. Don’t beat yourself up.

PPS - Don’t write unless you have to, but if you have to, you might as well put a packet of salt and pepper in with the envelope. They’ve never heard of seasoning here.

(Part 2 here)

#1 of 2 #king's quest #my writing #this is a tiny bit of something I won't write in full but have to get out of my system in order to get on with Rippling Consequences and #such

[sethmacenzie]

So I've said my part about ofmd season 2s finale and that I didn't even care anymore that my favourite character died, but the show had such an insane decline from season 1 to season 2 it was simply not as enjoyable for the entire time.

So here's a quick critique of open issues that stuck with me:

-they killed Ivan off-screen and he's only mentioned once in passing, no one cares or questions where he is when they meet again, they were fine with Izzy there, but didn't even bother asking about a crew member they were much closer with -Buttons turned into a seagull (which I didn't think was bad) and it's only questioned once by Roach and then never again brought up, and Roach asks if Ed didn't simply kill him and it's just ignored -Ed doesn't really become part of the crew, he doesn't pay up for what he did and why is Izzys deathbed apology more sincere than Ed's non apology about Izzys leg? He doesn't deserve to come back at all, because he doesn't do anything to earn it. He spends a day with Fang and that counts for the whole crew, Fang who isn't even angry at him -Izzy actually earns his place within the crew and still has to apologize to Ed, his worst abuser. Sure Izzy was part of the problem with Blackbeard, but in no way does it justify what Ed did to him (and everyone else while he was Captain of the Revenge) -remember last season when Ed made it clear that he only ever killed one person, and then in the finale he coldly pushed Lucius over and it was therefore a big deal? Yeah Ed just randomly kills like it's nothing now, and "go back to what you were good at", it wasn't killing, Ed was never good at killing

-they barely paid attention to the non ships aside from Izzy and it sucks. We had such a wonderful balance in season 1 of crew live, that we got to love them all, we didn't have any of that in season 2, it's so plain when you look at Archie, she just didn't get what her crewmates got to the point you don't care about her all that much -speaking of Archie, that relationship something with Olo, JIm, Archie and Zhang Yi Sao was a mess, they sank of the biggest relationships from season 1, which had such a well done ark in the first episodes, and many, myself included thought we might get a poly relationship, but we didn't, we got the mess we had. We had a well developed relationship that took an entire season to build and it got removed during the first three episodes in favour of two new underdeveloped characters getting with them in no time

-I know we are not historically accurate and don't bother too much with it, but Zheng Yi Sao is the most powerful female pirate in history and they nerved her for nothing, I did like how Richard got rid of her fleet, but they should have used someone else than a pirate known for dying peacefully because she got so powerful she made a deal

-the pacing was obviously bad, and I want to give them as much nicety about it as possible, but Owl House got cut from an entire season to three episodes and they still manged to nail it, ofmd lost 2 episodes and it doesn't excuse this pacing

-honestly Izzys redemption ark was rushed, just so he could be killed off, it was too much, too fast. I do love the first few episodes of him, but doing drag was a bit far fetched for episode 6, but it's a small complain, loved the singinig and dancing

-"bottle it up" is the new solution to problems, after "talk it through as a crew" from season 1. Lucius, Frenchie and Izzy just bottle everything up and nothing bad comes of it, we're supposed to believe that's a good thing? -everyone knows Stede is alive, Mary relies on him being dead and it's never brought up or important whatsoever

-this season feels like there aren't proper consequences, Ed can leave and come back and it's fine, Buttons can turn into a seagull and no one cares, Auntie gets blown up with the fleet and survives, people get stabbed multiple times and survive, but Izzy gets shot and dies, it's all over the place -there is always the whole: we have a suicidal character, they try to kill themselves, they fail, they get over their depression, they finally get happy, and we kill them off just after they found happyness. It sucks as a trope, it gives every last person that is suicidal the feeling that being happy is not worth it, because you're going to die anyway and well, maybe don't have the characer that tried to kill himself this season a line about wanting to go and in the same episode that had "it's only suicide if we die", it's tasteless at best and ill-intended at worst

-Roach is in the main cast now, but I swear he had more scenes in season 1 than seaosn 2

-having a tiny funeral scene and bam wedding, like there was no decent emotional impact on either of these moments, any why would they bury him without his leg or ring?

-Stede has a panic moment when he kills Ned and it seems like that's why he and Ed slept togeher, but it's not brought up that killing is still an issue

To end it on a few positive notes, I liked -Swede becomes Jackies husband and Roach going Mrs Bettet about the whole thing -most of the first three episodes in general -Buttons turning into a seagull and being recognized as a seawitch -having more historical figures -Auntie -Susan (mostly) aside from the issue I brought up -Wee John getting into knitting -Izzy sining and dancing -the entire leg arch of Izzy -pretty much all Izzy/Stede interactions -Frenchie sceming again and the rest all going with it -indigo! -everyones new looks -Fang going fishing and his and Roachs spa day -the after credit scenes -Ed freaking out because Stede moved too fast -Stede having a killing flashback when killing Ned Low -Spanish Jackie in general, but especially poisoning everyone and getting Swede a new look -Richard as the main antagonist -Clocks -Stede getting Hellcat Maggie and the to mutiny -the entire cast was amazing

And I shouldn't have to say this, but: don't harass people over this, critiquing is fine, threats are not. And no it's not bury your gays, everyone here is gay and that is not one of the issues this season had.

#ofmd #ofmd season 2 #ofmd spoilers #critique

[rhosgobelbun]

A couple of samdean/wincest fics that I love love LOVED a lot. Most of them are sam-centered, enjoy ☺️

** = GOAT

Absolute Zero by pixymisa, selecasharp

Word count: 75k

Summary:

Heaven is closed, and after Sam's sacrifice, so is Hell. Crowley is missing, Abaddon is raising Hell on Earth, and Sam and Dean are lost, trapped in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, where Sam can’t wake up but also can’t die, and nothing Dean does can help. To find them, Castiel will do whatever it takes, including agreeing to become the vessel to the only angel willing to answer. And that's only the beginning...

Autumn Closing In by non_tiembo_mala**

Word count: 25k

Summary:

Dean didn’t dare to dream he’d walk away from Amara in one piece, and now that he has, he’s ready to call it quits where hunting is concerned. No more danger, no more saying goodbye to his brother. Just him and Sam settled down somewhere. Safe.

But when he returns to the bunker, things are not how he left them. Sam has been shot, and after Dean takes care of the people responsible, he and Cas are left to deal with the consequences. The bullet in Sam’s shoulder is enchanted, and the only way they can break the spell is using complicated, soul-powered magic that will have long lasting side-effects.

Amnesia by orphan_account

Word count: 20k

Summary:

On their way back from a particularly brutal hunt, Dean realizes that Sam has caught amnesia somewhere along the way. He doesn't remember who they are to each other, or what they do. So when he starts treating Dean like a really hot guy that's being incredibly sweet, Dean has two choices: He can try to tell his little brother the truth, or......

Touch by BruisedBloodyBroken

Word count: 142k

Summary:

Hunting is, what Dean Winchester does. And so, he ends up with his surrogate father in a small town called Croatoan, to investigate devious killings, which may or may not are connected to demons. Well, it turns out, it's definitely not a run-from-the-mill-monster they will be finghting this time ...

In the town's one and only diner, they meet Sam - Samuel Mills - who may, or may not is connected to the murders.

When Sam sees the two of them die in a forecasting, he takes desperate measures to save them ...

... and ends up on hell's and heaven's most-wanted-list.

(Sam got a little weird to me in ch 48 so I didn't finish it but!!! I loved such a big chunk that its still one of my favorites!!)

What It Takes by CrimzonChyld**

Word count: 101k

Summary:

What does it take to break you? What does it take to save you?

Takes place in Season 2, after John dies, before cold oaks.

Rape/Non-con, hurt/comfort

(heed the warning because it does go into graphic detail. Im reccing it because I really did like the characterization and samdeans relationship, if you're ok with non-con it's SO worth the read even though it's been incomplete for close to 10 years now)

All The Ways by TwoBoys2Love

Word count: 62k

Summary:

Sam and Dean Winchester grew up in an entirely different world. When the boys were very young their mother was killed by Creepers - or as we might know them, Zombies. Sam and Dean were raised on the road as killers and hunters. Then one day, when Sam admits he has an interest in meeting other people Dean must face the possibility of a future without his brother.

Secrets and the Scent of Jasmine by sijglind

Unrelated!wincest/underage

Word count: 25k

Summary:

Sam is eleven when Mary dies.

He's thirteen when he tries on one of her dresses for the first time.

And he's fifteen when Dean shows up to complicate his life.

'Well, hello there, gorgeous.' Dean smirks and gives Sam a shameless once-over, and Sam hopes he hasn't been staring too much, because that would just be awkward. But then he remembers that he just ran into the kitchen counter and barely avoided smacking his head into a cupboard doing so. It's a miracle he hasn't scared Dean away yet.

Change My Life Again by orphan_account

Word count: 115k

Summary:

Season 8. All Sam wants to do is take a tiny break for his brother's birthday, but a case that Dean refuses to pass up and a run-in with a cursed sword sends the Winchesters Quantum Leap-ing through other people's lives. Sam just wants to get back to their own bodies. Dean bets Sam Beckett had a much easier time of it.

(Everything I Do) I Do it For You by orphan_account**

Word count: 33k

Summary:

Struggling to find their feet, regain their equilibrium and reconnect following Sam's re-soulling and the subsequent rekindling of their "relationship", Sam and Dean decide taking on a simple case is the best way to ease themselves back into things.

So when the peers of a recently reported missing teenager start turning up dead under strange circumstances, they decide it's exactly the sort of case they need. Probably nothing more than a straight-forward salt n burn, right?

Only...

Only they're not the only hunters on the case. And the other hunter they meet... well, while Sam and Dean have no clue about him, he sure seems to know a whole lot about them...

Welcome home by Fallenky**

Word count: 12k

Summary:

Say what you will about Dean Winchester, he makes a strong first impression. The hunters of the bunker don't know what to make of the strange man and the even stranger relationship with his brother when Dean shows up after being possessed by Micahel.

New added fic: Lost & Found by LoveThemWinchesters**

!Samdean NOT Wincest!

Word count: 79k

Summary:

Just weeks ago, John Winchester was killed by the elusive yellow-eyed demon. Before smoking out of its meatsuit, the creature said some things to Dean, things that went against everything the young hunter has ever known. But all demons lie, right? Dean barely remembers its words as the devastation of losing his father consumes him.

Since the elder Winchester's death, Dean has been on a downward spiral. He continues to hunt—the only solid thing he has left in his life—but mixing booze with the job isn't one of the best choices he's ever made. The morning after a hunt-gone-wrong with a werewolf, he receives an unexpected letter. What he finds at the other end of it is about to prove that not all demons lie. – Alternate Universe // Dean is 26. Sam is 22.

*** THIS CAN BE READ AS A STANDALONE. ***

#spn #supernatural #samdean fic recs #samdean #wincest fic rec #wincest fic recs #wincest #sam winchester #dean winchester #samdean fic rec #reblogging causes i added a fic

[sanguinarysanguinity]

Tagged by @verecunda, thank you! I've lost track of who has been tagged, so please jump in if you'd like to play!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

176, give or take a few that are in currently anonymous collections.

2. What's your total AO3 wordcount?

737,590

3. What fandoms do you write for?

My current main fandoms are the Hornblower novels and The Flight of the Heron. But I also write one-offs as please me, either for exchange assignments or pinch-hits, or because I got bit by a plot bunny. (Yes, plot-bunnies are carnivorous!) This year, I've written for Hornblower (novels and TV), The Flight of the Heron, Vokosigan Saga, Elementary, ACD Holmes, Leverage, A Rip Through Time, and Wild Things (1998).

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Sincerity of Dust (Mycroft/Lestrade - Sherlock TV) Etta Candy's Last Stand (Etta Candy/Wonder Woman) Three Continents and Many Nations (Elementary gen; Joan Watson has broken hearts around the world) Baker Street Papas (Holmes/Watson, kidfic) Foundations (Elementary gen; Bell-centric fixit AU)

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

Yes, because I was taught to write thank you notes. Also, because sometimes I can lure a commenter into a conversation, which is always fun -- and sometimes they even become a friend.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Heh. *rubs hands gleefully* I have a little sideline in fics that made people cry. Let me show you some of my favorites!

The Golden Sand Bush/Hornblower Once again a prisoner of the French, Hornblower awaits his execution.

Cock on the Right background Bush/Hornblower/Maria For as long as he bears them, Bush's tattoos protect him faithfully.

Telling the Bees Elementary gen Sherlock returns from Switzerland, but Watson does not.

Brandy and Soda Holmes & Watson; Mary/Watson (7 Per-Cent Solution) Holmes returns to Baker Street.

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

Oh, fuck if I know. I've been accused more than once of writing only bittersweetly happy endings. But here, have a story in which Horatio Hornblower, that sad wet miserable bastard, is simply happy for a day:

Nothing So Much Worth Doing

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not often. Earlier this year a commenter objected to a pwp being a pwp. Which. Dude. As a later commenter replied (so I didn't have to! blessings on their house!), the story was exactly what it said in the tags and summary, so take some personal responsibility and don't click on what you don't want to read.

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

Yes. Slash, femslash, threesomes; vanilla and kinky; realistic and fantastical; first times and well-seasoned olds. I haven't yet written anything that would bring the antis after me, but that's the kind of thing that I'd put under a different pseud anyway.

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

Absolutely. Probably Elementary x Bee-Man Comics: THE BEST BEE FIC ON MARS.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I had a couple requests this year for permission to translate a story (both granted), but I don't know the current status of either project.

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

@phoenixfalls and I have a story we've been co-writing; every once in a while we talk about finishing it. I'd very much like to; I think it's great fun.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Pass.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have a Twin Peaks x Buffy crossover that I quite like, but which I am extremely unlikely to ever finish. Every now and then I think of it wistfully, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Well-organized and precise prose, and strong characterizations.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Inelegant prose, and wobbly characterizations.

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

An insidious trap, if your characters speak the other language better than you do. (With the exception of William Bush in French, they always do! Why do I write all these classically-educated assholes?)

My usual solution is to paraphrase the dialogue through my pov character, at whatever their level of comprehension is. After all, that's what the reader needs to know: what the pov character understands. Paraphrasing also circumvents the wild card that some of my readers will know the language and some won't -- this way, no reader has an advantage and no reader is left scrambling for a translation.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ask Dr. Eldritch! a webcomic written by the talented evannichols.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Whichever one someone just left a lovely comment on.

#my writing #query memage

[shippingforecasting]

We are so lucky to have the season 2 trailers and all this other food for our OFMD obsessed brains. My brain in particular has been going over the information we have and trying to work out the order of what will happen, because I literally cannot rest until I know. So, here’s what I predict!

Aftermath of season 1…

Stede and his marooned crew get picked up by Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. Taken to the Republic of Pirates. Meet ‘Susan’. Susan employee them on her boat with the Chinese Pirates…

Stede talks to various people about what happened. Just refers to him as Ed, so people like Anne and Mary don’t realise it’s Blackbeard he is talking about.

Discussion about how “Blackbeard/Ed will murder you”. Stede recognises he really hurt him. Sends the bottle.

Kraken era Ed

Ed still obsessing about Stede but trying to keep up the pretence of his Blackbeard persona. Targets Wedding ship. Gets the figurines and the first bunch of pearls. Collection of things that remind him of Stede in the Auxiliary wardrobe.

Ed gets injured.

Stede and crew ‘escape’ from the Chinese ship, moving from that ship to the Revenge. Arrive to find Ed is injured and ship wrecked!

Stede sitting with Ed while Ed injured, mirroring the first season. But the reunion doesn’t go well: head bump!

But Stede finds the figurines. Realises that Ed still loves him and sees through all his protestations.

Together… and then apart

They get back together at the point, and we have the Ed at the wheel dreamy point… but because Ed is too distracted by the relationship he leads the crew into danger.

He tells Stede he is going to leave and that they can’t be together because it’s going to kill them. “No more Stede Bonnet”.

Ed goes to Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. Ed already knows them (Anne was married to Calico Jack in real life). He has another breakdown. Tells them he had bad night, but is over it…

Until Stede finds him with Anne and Mary and they realise Stede is the person Ed has been crying over.

(So when Stede says ‘they are on a break’ to Susan it’s because Stede and Ed decided they have to be apart.)

Anne Bonny and Mary Reed invite them both to dinner. Ed attacks a painting and Stede gets sat on by Anne making Ed jealous. Anne and Mary are trying to get Ed and Stede back together.

It works and Ed and Stede are back together until…

Island era

They are back on the Revenge and there is a storm. Ed is swept off boat. Washes up on an island.

Ed finds the bottle Stede sent earlier on. He also makes friends with a bunny and works things through with a ghost (Hornigold?)

Stede & Izzy era

Izzy was injured at some point. Shot in the knee perhaps. He lost part of his leg and is now part unicorn.

Something happens that makes Izzy decide to accept Stede. Perhaps he realises that he made Ed happy and that is what he wants for Ed. Maybe he and Stede bond over the fact that they both think Ed is dead and acknowledge that they both loved him. Izzy decides to train Stede up to be a better pirate.

The British

Word gets out that the British are searching for Blackbeard and that he has been sighted on the island. Stede and the crew head there and meet the navy on the beach. Battle commences. Ed is on the beach too.

Ed and Stede run to each other. Ed is injured (arm or ribs).

They get Ed back to the boat and the cliff hanger is that we don’t know if Ed is going to be ok!

#ofmd season 2 #ofmd 2 #ofmd trailer #our flag means death #ofmd spoilers #ofmd teaser #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofm