#how many seasons will it take to see this boy get some character development

[artigas]

I’m really happy that Black Sails is experiencing a bit of a renaissance, but (predictably) some of the takes I’m seeing online are so busted. It’s wild to me that anyone would complain about the fact that Anne Bonny kisses Jack after she’s developed this life-changing relationship with Max. It’s absolutely wild to see anyone roll their eyes or feel uncomfortable about the fact that Flint has sex with Miranda when he returns to her in season one or that Max is most likely a lesbian but actively has sex with men for pay and knows how to make that pleasurable. It’s crazy to me that some of the very audiences who claim to want queer representation feel so discomforted when they actually see the mess and seeming inconsistencies of queerness that they asked for.

The reality is that there are lesbians who have had (and will have!) meaningful, mutually-gratifying, and deeply sexual relationships with men. There are gay men who’ve enjoyed having sex with women, who are gay as the day is long and nevertheless feel sexually attracted to a woman or two and are nevertheless gay men, full stop. There are gay cis men who are happily married to trans women. There are femme dom tops and butch bottoms and there are mascs afab people who like femme boys. There are non-binary people and trans men who actively identify as lesbians. There are ace and aro people who enjoy thinking about and engaging with sex — sometimes in fiction and sometimes in real life. Queerness, in fiction and in reality, defies neat categorization. That is the beauty, power, and (perceived) unorthodoxy of queerness.

Now, I’ll say this — do I think the straight men behind Black Sails were actively thinking deeply and insightfully about the paradoxes and fuckery of queer identity when they wrote Black Sails? No! By their own admission, Steinberg and Levine have owned up to the fact that some of the writing of the show was really hinged on their own blind spots as people who are not (to my knowledge) members of the queer community. If I want to be generous, I think that the beautiful mess of Black Sails is that, in not feeling like experts enough to designate specific identity labels to any of their characters, the writers stumbled their way into more authentic representation of lived queer experience, which is to say that the notion that James Flint was actively thinking of himself as a gay man was anachronistic. As many lesbian archivists and theories have noted, the notion of a queer identity — as in, queerness is who you are, not what you do — was patently unthinkable for most cultures in the past. In other words, the idea that Anne Bonny operates in the eighteenth century as a lesbian and thus would not willingly engage in relationships with men is not only untrue of the series, but untrue of most recorded lesbian experiences in the real world. The notion that a lesbian would operate her entire life without engaging sexually or romantically with men, for instance, is a very new privilege that some of us are very lucky to enjoy, but it is not true for the vast majority of human history — hell, it’s not even true of our present world.

This is all to say that think that there’s something really funny about how we want queer characters to fit into neatly organized boxes. This isn’t a new problem, either. When the show was still airing, the BS fandom would get itself into tizzies about wether or not Flint is gay or bisexual, wether or not Anne Bonny is a lesbian, wether or not Silver is queer when his only canonical relationship is with Madi, etc etc. We’ve been having these discourses for years and I don’t know. I get that much of it is fueled by how badly some people want to see themselves represented in media, but . . . well. The siloing of queer characters and queer narratives into neat little boxes has never felt very authentic to me and nine times out of ten, it’s also just so damn boring.

#black sails #anyways I gotta stop yapping #its just wild seeing the same arguments play out on twitter and other corners of tumblr when like #lmao I was there for the day when like 2.5 people got very angry that I referred to Max as a queer woman ONCE #and interchangeably with calling her a lesbian lmao #when I tell you … I love this show but those writers were not being that intentional with any of this lmao

[amuseoffyre]

Since insomnia is kicking my arse of late, I naturally tilted into the thoughts about the nature of the 3-act structure and why S2 of OFMD may have felt off and incomplete to a lot of people.

I am fully in agreement that we lost a lot of valuable time with only 8 episodes and a lot of it did feel rushed, but for the amount of story and set-up and growth and development they needed to fit into 4 hours of television, they did astonishing things.

DJenks has said from the very start that this is a story that has been planned out to take 3 seasons. It's literally a 3-act play and we are currently right in the middle of the worst part of that timeline according to every traditional 3-act structure.

Act one/season one is self-explanatory. Like New Hope in the Star Wars Trilogy or Fellowship of the Ring, this is the set-up. We're introduced to our protagonists and antagonists, the relationships are given a foundation.

The beginning is Stede's journey to becoming a real boy. The inciting incident, the one that actually pushes his change beyond "playing pirates" is meeting Ed. The second thoughts come together in episode 8/9 after his confrontations with Jack and Chauncey and episode 10 is the climax.

Act 2/season 2 is never going to be as smooth and simple as act 1/s1. A big part of the A2/S2 job is set up for A3/S3 and this is what we're seeing and why a lot of story threads seem to have been left dangling.

Again, to call back to Empire Strikes Back and The Two Towers, the structure is much the same: the original batch of people are divided and scattered, the big enemy from A1/S1 is looming, new allies make themselves known. In SW, this meant the introduction of Lando and Yoda as allies plus the hint of the Emperor lurking in the background. In LotR, we have the Rohirrim, Gondor and the Ents as allies and the expansion of Sauron's forces in Helm's Deep, Osgiliath and the winged wraiths.

There's a clear trajectory following the A2/S2 structure:

obstacle 1 - the crews separated and struggling

obstacle 2 - the end of episode 2 and the repercussions of his actions

twist - just when things start to settle, the Ned Low situation happen and Stede kills for the first time

obstacle 3 - Ed's struggle with his identity leading to him leaving

disaster - Ricky's assault on the Republic

crisis - do-or-die battle because they have no other choice

climax - the last 15 minutes of ep. 8 live here.

As with SW and LotR, there's an ending, but weighted with the knowledge of a story that is meant to continue. Each of those act 2 films end with the heroes still aware of the looming threat, some of them heading out on new missions, and some of them resting and healing. There's brief pause, brief respite, a moment to take a breath.

We have all the characters in place now and the battle-lines have been drawn. Luke still needs to confront Vader (I see you, impending Ed and Hornigold confrontation), Frodo still needs to destroy the ring, Aragorn still needs to lead the army against the Black Gate, the second Death Star is still hanging in the sky.

I'm so excited to see what S3 brings because we have so many arcs ready to go: Zheng's vengeance trip, the inevitable enforced out-of-retirement arc for Ed and Stede, Hornigold, Ricky trying to maintain his tenuous control of the republic given how many of his people were killed when the crew escaped, the pirate rebellion gathering forces.

Also how often do we get shows/films where the supporting cast are given this much storyline? We have a named/speaking-role cast of upwards of 15 central characters. That is a staggering amount of people to work with, when most shows would only focus on the leads and a couple of their friends. Six is the average for most TV shows, while comedies can inch higher because ensembles, but most ensembles don't get as much as our crew did.

I know a lot of people aren't happy about Izzy's death. I know I would have liked to see him a lot more, because he's such a grumpy old bitch and I love him and him affectionately roasting Ed and Stede would have made my entire month. But I'm also aware that narratively, as a figurehead of the old ways of piracy and "we were Blackbeard", it was a symbolic death as well - a sign of the death of the old ways of piracy and of Blackbeard as was.

(Also, they Obi-Wanned him. I'm not over that. Gave him the "if you strike me down I will become more powerful" speech. I'm just... guys, your star wars nerdery is showing XD)

So while it was flawed in places and pacing, given the scale of the story they're telling, the number of pieces and characters they had in play, and the arcs they have been setting up while also still keeping the humour, I am giving a standing ovation for a remarkable piece of work.

#ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd meta

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

mickey milkovich x nude, radiohead

i don’t think that anybody can disagree that 1x07 is the episode where we learn the most about mickey milkovich. no, i don’t mean he showed any development or anything like that, but we learned something about him that made him significant for the rest of the show. something that never leaves, something that is important to him. in 1x07, we learn that mickey milkovich is gay, and we learn that he is willing to sleep with ian gallagher (even when his father and sister are in the house).

in 1x06, mickey kind of has an interaction with ian that we later see and are like, “yeah, he’s totally gay”, but back then it wasn’t stated that mickey was gay. mickey steals shit from the kash and grab, and he tells ian, “you know where i live if you have a problem” kind of instigating that ian should come over.

but in 1x07, mickey has stolen the gun from the kash and grab, and ian goes to mickey’s house equipped with a tyre iron, ready to take it back.

the “i want the gun back, mickey” scene needs no introduction or explanation. we all know what happened. we all watched in awe as mickey stood over ian and both of their breaths evened out and they made contact and… bam! they’re getting undressed, just like that.

later on, we are no stranger to gallavich and fighting then fucking. it’s something many people know them for, the fact that they’ll literally beat the shit out of each other and then immediately get on each other. but here, it was supposed to be for shock value because shameless utilizes shock value. to those who didn’t know gallavich was going to happen, watching mickey, the thug who had literally just attempted murder on ian, undress and fuck ian was surprising. later on, we can understand why it happened, but we were supposed to be shocked.

so, here’s where nude by radiohead comes in.

terry wakes up from a nap and goes to take a piss in mickey’s room (there’s a bathroom in there, he isn’t just pissing in it, lol). in there, ian and mickey are naked under mickey’s covers. around them, we see a poster of a woman and we also see a drawing mickey made that says “fuck love”.

so when terry comes out of the bathroom and looks at them both, he doesn’t do what season 3 terry does, he simply says “put some clothes on, you two look like a couple of fags!” and it’s a comical scene because, what the fuck, terry, aren’t you a homophobic murderer? you woke up to grunts and crashes coming from mickey’s room, then when you came in he and another boy are naked in his bed… what do you think they were doing?

so when mickey does put some clothes on, he puts on a radiohead shirt.

the shirt says “you’ll go to hell for what your dirty mind is thinking” and those are the last lyrics of the radiohead song “nude”.

so for those who haven’t listened to the song, here’s my analysis of why this song is associated with mickey milkovich and how it ends up foreshadowing his entire character for the next four seasons.

“don’t get any big ideas

they’re not gonna happen”

literally this scene. mickey caves and gives ian the gun back because lets be honest, it was really just bait. ian leans in to kiss him, and mickey has a look in his eyes where you can tell he wants to, but he can’t. he built this wall up years ago and he’s already cursing himself for letting it come down. terry instructed him to get dressed, and he puts on this shirt. and he’s trying to put this carefully constructed mask back on but he’s struggling. and so, he pushes ian away, “kiss me and i’ll cut your fucking tounge out”. there’s no malice in his tone, it’s a threat, but it isn’t threatening.

“you paint yourself white

and fill up with noise

but there'll be something missing”

mickey hiding in the closet, marrying svetlana, being a father to yevgeny, trying to act like the perfect son of terry. he still has this mask on and he tries to hide who he is but alas, he can’t. he loves ian too much and when he gets married and pushes him away, he’s still gay and in love.

“now that you found it

it’s gone”

upon being married, he tells ian that they can still bang. maybe being married to a woman makes him feel a bit more secure because although he despises it and it’s crushing him, he can keep his whole “king of the southside” thing. now that he’s married and unhappy, terry’s satisfied, and that’s all that matters- well, at one point it was. so he tells ian that they can still fuck, but suddenly, ian isn’t as eager and easy as he once was, and he leaves. he’s gone.

“now that you feel it

you don't

you’ve gone off the rails”

he’s out, he’s with ian, he has ian. things are supposed to be fine- but they’re not. ian’s unstable and has been hospitalized, and mickey breaks. he gets shitfaced and cuts his cheek and cries into ian’s jacket. that wall he once built up? the chest he puffed up, the posters he hung, the tattoos he got, they all mean nothing. it’s all gone. the wall and mask are gone, he’s more fragile than he once was. ian’s broken and it’s simultaneously breaking him too.

“so don't get any big ideas

they're not gonna happen”

this line is so mickey in s5, s6, s7, and s10. ian calling him and mickey running to see ian. he has hope. but no, ian breaks up with him, mickey is arrested, and when ian visits he desperately wants ian back. he tattoos ian’s name on his chest, specifically over his heart, and he practically pleads for ian to stay. then, mickey and ian are fleeing to mexico, and for a second, he has hope again. he fantasizes about he and ian at the beach, ian’s freckled skin being sunburnt, them swimming in the ocean together. for once, he can imagine his dreams being true. but they aren’t. he and ian are getting their marriage license, but ian’s hand wavers over the dotted line and he gives mickey that look and mickey breaks (…ian’s leg. lol). he keeps getting his hopes up and everytime he scolds himself for it because he just ends up hopeless.

then finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for,

“you'll go to hell

for what your dirty mind

is thinking”

it’s in the 1x07 scene i’m talking about. terry instructs mickey to get dressed, he does, and he puts on a shirt that says this. and in that shirt, he seems odd. the confidence we see him have in 1x03 is no longer there. he doesn’t necessarily look vulnerable, but he isn’t the mickey he pretends to be. he caves and returns the gun, which was just bait for ian to come anyway, and he refuses to make eye contact with ian, but when he does, it’s almost coy? he’s ashamed. he’s thinking of things he know would get him killed and he hates himself for it. terry will end him if he finds out, and yes, he has the posters, the reputation, the persona, the tattoos, the guns, etc. but in the end, it’s all an act, and we can see it. the way he licks his lips, the way his eyes won’t focus, his body language says so much.

#aria’s yapping again #i’ve lost 8 followers within the last day so i’m praying gallavich meta will save my blog #shameless #gallavich #gallavich meta #shameless meta #mickey milkovich #ian gallagher #terry milkovich #shameless us #radiohead #1x07 #meta #please don’t let this flop #it took hours

[disasterbijamietartt]

Maybe I’m delusional and drank too much wine, but this is why Roy Kent being a closeted queer man explains EVERYTHING

While writing my meta piece about Jamie x Keeley I spent a lot of time thinking “What about Roy?”, since there are no convincing love interests for him aside from Keeley.

And, well, Jamie.

And for the first time I evaluated this as something that really could happen, since now there is the legit possibility that they make homophobia in professional football the prevalent theme in this season and having multiple queer storylines would help to illustrate different point of views and they could explore this with a Roy x Jamie romance plot.

And then I looked at Roy and … basically everything fell into place.

Why he represses his emotions, why he is so so angry, why he is so full with insecurities and struggles with his self-worth, why he is unable to show (physical or emotional) affection to a man without somehow having to taint it with an unnecessarily violent outbreak – the only notable exception being the Hug™️ in “Man City”. Something that hasn’t been addressed by anyone since then, which was a choice I always considered very odd, but postponing Roy’s character development to season 3 makes actually lot’s of sense, if Roy’s struggles are rooted in internalised homophobia. And if being queer in professional sports is the theme of season 3 like mental health was the theme of season 2.

Still makes his angry, violent outbursts really jarring and he has to show accountability, but if the pain he inflicted on others is related to the trauma of being forced to be in the closet for 25 odd years, that would be so heartbreaking. And it would fit into the theme of the show that actually good people like Rebecca or Jamie – and Nate once he gets his redemption – do unforgivable things and inflict pain on people who do not deserve it as a trauma response. Sure, it could be some other trauma – but this explanation would fit so well into this seasons theme, it just makes SO MUCH SENSE to me.

Also, Trent’s critique explains some of Roy’s insecurities, but he already was full of anger at seventeen, so the root of his anger has to be something different – and growing up queer in a hella homophobic surrounding since age ten and forced to stay in the closet unless he wants to throw away his dream career, if that is not a reason to be filled to the brim with anger, I don’t know what is.

And as far as I recall, the only people he actually physically attacks are Colin (the headbutt in 1x3) and Jamie. Then his beef with Trent.

In other words, we only ever see him being irrationally aggressive and violent towards queer coded or canonically queer men. Yes, he usually has reasons that are not related to (coded) sexuality – with the notable exception of “I have to headbutt Jamie before I hug him lest it seems gay!”

And the “ugly, ugly boy”-thing? Vanity is often used for queer coding. So Roy mocks something about Jamie that is queer coded.

This screams internalised homophobia.

But I hear the naysayer going “Aren’t you reaching a bit?”

Maybe, but let us take a look at some ways how Roy is queer coded that come to mind off the top of my head.

First of all: He canonically has a secret double life, where he is notably softer, hangs out with a bunch of elderly women who have no clue who Roy Kent, professional angry footballer, is, and does yoga with them, frequents gay bars, hangs out with drag queens and watches reality tv while sipping rosé, which is a sweet girly drink, like you know “vanilla vodka. such a child.” – in his “real life” Roy would never ever drink rosé or admit to anyone that he watched even a single second of “Lust Conquers All” by accident (Keeley definitely didn’t know, or she would have teased him with this).

Who else has a secret double life? Colin.

And while I hate to be “look, so many gay stereotypes!” … Look, so many gay stereotypes!

Also, both Julie Andrews and Madonna are gay icons? As are Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner

“The Sound of Music” (his favourite) is popular in gay culture and the nuns are implied to be lesbians?

He mouths along when Rebecca sings “Let it go”, with Elsa being queer coded and the song being a queer anthem?

And when I googled “A Wrinkle in Time queer” first thing I got was a paper by the Syracuse University titled “Unusual Children: Queerishness and Strange Growth in A Wrinkle in Time and The Giver”, which discusses the queerness of the main character. You know, the “Am I supposed to be the little girl”-girl?

This are all the pop culture references I could recall off the top of my head, there may be things that are not queer coded, but … one or two, that is a coincidence. Three or more, that is a pattern. You cannot convince me that the writer’s “accidentally” queer coded Roy so extensively if he is supposed to be straight.

(Dear god, the only thing about Ted Lasso that always disappointed me was the lack of explicit queer characters – like, I’d bet with you that the majority of non-queer viewers didn’t get Keeley’s “dip the toe back in the lady pool” line or Colin’s “oh like Grindr?” – and if they now go and make the third season queer as fuck? Bless them!

And just like the next level trolling by Phil and Brett if they were actually spoiling the big love story for years, while everyone thought they were just joking?)

EDIT: Just looked up Gina Gershon, who Roy said he dated once—guess what, according to Wikipedia she’s considered a gay icon 🙃

#jamie x roy #I don't dare to tag this with roy since I don't want all the r*oy x k*eeley shippers to lynch me lol #my meta #going to bed now since I need to get up in five hours lol #oh whatever I put this in the tag #since honestly if you can convince me this is bullshit #it won’t break my heart when they go on playing Roy’s violence for jokes #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso #roy kent #ted lasso speculations #jamie tartt #royjamie

[drewsprettygirl]

cupid’s arrows 🏹 ˚₊· ͟͟͞➳❥

finn wolfhard x actress! fem! reader

fluff 😎😎 [ finally thought of a fluff fic, took me an hour to write wtf ]

warnings: none! 🩰🎀

fits of laughter was heard across the set, they were filming the movie “it.” finn wolfhard and y/n l/n playing as richie tozier and melissa campbell. the popular girl and the loser boy trope. they were probably the ones that the whole cast team would think to date after a couple years.

richie was a part of the losers club. melissa was a friend of greta keene’s. she wasn’t that mean though, she was bearable for the losers club.

“y/n, catch!”

she got uh— she got hit by a ball. she was too busy talking to wyatt, about some new nintendo game that she was planning to buy. her head snapped turning towards finn, with a large smile plastered on his face.

“finn what the fuck, my hair!”

“oops, i did it again.” he danced, dancing the moves as he’s seen from the music video a couple of times.

“stop with the britney jokes!” she was so irritated by finn, but she was basically his best friend on set, and so was he.

finn knew in the best ways possible, on how to tease you. he teased you with the topics of your favorite singer, actor, color, even your own favorite show. or your book. it would always go;

“y/n what drink are you getting, ariana grande or ariana venti?”

“y/n i can’t believe you like waffles more than pancakes, wait— are you attracted to them? waffles are just pancakes with abs.”

and she’d just reply with a very sarcastic laugh. or a genuine one. it depends on how she takes the joke. finn loved seeing her smile, it made him feel great deep inside that he was able to make a pretty girl like you, smile.

every time after an interview, she’d either spend dinner by his. well his mom always insisted. and then it’d lead to a sleepover. and you guys making little vine videos. y/n and finn had a really great friendship.

just to let you know, reader. finn knew jaeden liked y/n. but finn liked her too, i mean as a friend! nothing more, totally nothing more.

well that kinda changed when she started doing more movies, like where she appeared on shazam, spider-man far away from home, let’s just say that y/n was in the acting market in 2019.

she started getting more developed, her looks and herself. and then she landed a role in the third season of stranger things. basically finn’s show. and whenever her character, courtney and mike would have an interaction, filming would be hard. they couldn’t stop laughing at each other. they were like millie and noah basically.

“mom! get off the phone!”

they had to retake that scene so many times because of the way finn and y/n laughed every time he screamed those words into the prop telephone. that’s how he took notice of the way she laughed, and that his feelings would never change for her.

“so y/n and finn, you guys were in it together right?” they were in the tonight show with jimmy fallon right now, y/n sat next to finn and sadie.

“yeah i was richie like the little kid with the glasses and she was—“

“i was melissa! like the girl with the really high ponytail and winked at richie so randomly—“

“how do you even wink like that!? like, like my face has to come with the wink whenever i try it” finn laughed along with gaten, caleb, and jimmy. remembering the part in the it movie where she’d done that.

jimmy thought y/n and finn had chemistry. the way she’d look at him and the way he did. he whispered that to finn when the show was over, he couldn’t sleep that night. he couldn’t stop thinking about what jimmy said. it really made him think that he had a chance with y/n.

more interviews come by, and he always takes notice of what she’s wearing, how her hair was done, how her makeup was done, how her eyes would always look at his and smile.

y/n feels the same, she likes finn. she notices that he always looks at her, scanning her clothes, scanning her hair, then meeting her eyes. maybe finn felt the same? she thought.

they start to hang out a lot more, they surprisingly get roles in the same shows. even in music videos. she always comes over by his house for a sleepover every weekend. basically they made it tradition. he couldn’t help but stare at her sleeping figure whenever y/n’s head drifted onto dreamland earlier than him. she looked so peaceful. she looked so beautiful to him.

they did a music video with weezer. well, weezer was their favorite band. surprisingly, they wanted it to be his band, calpurnia. but finn insisted to add her in as it was probably a dream come true. they were playing as teenagers in the 80’s. well, they always did whenever they had a pretty big movie to act on.

time went past by, for filming it chapter 2. richie and melissa as adults reunite in a drugstore by accident. as for y/n and finn’s part, richie and melissa were going out over for ice cream after henry bowers shames him for playing street fighter with his cousin and then, pennywise sprawls in the sky as they go out of the ice cream shop as a flash back. most of the cast had girlfriends. wyatt, jaeden, jack, and ben.

“when are you gonna ask y/n out?” wyatt plays his game right beside finn. he was planning to, but the timing, it was terrible.

“dunno. i really wanna ask her out but i don’t think it’s like— like it’s time yet.”

“finnjamin, you need to ask her out. i mean atleast jaeden isn’t all eyes for her anymore! you got no competition. take the chance dude” jack said as he was eating a burger. finn was rethinking everything, was he gonna do it?

and eventually to stranger things season 4. filming was long. it took 2 years to come out, and as long how filming sounded, it was the most fun she’s had in filming a show for so long. finn, finn enjoyed that 2 years for spending time with her. well in some parts, because basically mike is now an angsty teenager towards courtney. courtney’s a part of the cheerleading team now, and lucas was in the basketball ball team. whenever mike interacted with courtney, it was either he was with some annoyed expression or a poker face. as for courtney, she’s pretty sad. girl starts to do terrible choices in the show leading to her in the upside down.

and finn eventually confessed his feelings for y/n. and she did the same. they were a match made in heaven, cupid hit the right arrows for them. they were the dream couple,

and she was his dream lover.

bye this took an hour of listening to music for inspo and an hour to write💀💀

#finn wolfhard #finn wolfhard x reader #finn wolfhard fluff #finn wolfhard angst #finn wolfhard smut #mike wheeler #mike wheeler x reader #mike wheeler fluff #mike wheeler angst #mike wheeler smut #mike wheeler lemon #stranger things 4 #stranger things x reader #it 2017 #it 2019 #it x reader #losers club x reader #richie tozier lemon #richie tozier fluff #richie tozier angst #richie tozier smut #richie tozier x reader

[pythonees]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ PROJECT PASSION — xavier thorpe

WARNINGS: 18+, aged up characters, soft bodied reader, slight hand kink, frottage, biting, coming in pants, this got kinda long... sorry?

A/N: what's that, I'm posting another fic in the same month?? well, that's because my new fixation is here!!

The hallways are silent as you make your way out of your room and towards the boys wing. Most people were outside in the out of season warm weather, and while you normally would be doing the same, you've been tortuously given a project for every single class you're in. Which wouldn't really be a problem, except the first one due is a partnered assignment. One that you don't get to pick who you got to do it with.

And it's not like you hate Xavier or anything! Quite the opposite, really. Which is the root of your problem. The not so small crush you've let develop into something bigger after he broke up with Bianca. He's kind and smart and amazing at art, how could you not like him based off of that alone? It helps that he's also very good looking, able to draw your attention at the worst of times when you should otherwise be paying attention to your teacher.

Thankfully you two are friendly enough, having spoken to each other a few times before to know the other as more than just an acquaintance. And after talking to him those times you could comfortably add thoughtful and witty to the list of things you liked about him. That's probably why your crush has taken off as hard as it has.

But now, as you near the room he now gets to himself, you can't help but wonder if it would be easier if you didn't really know him at all. If the awkward air would be easier then you having to fight down how flustered you are by his mere presence. How just the smallest of smiles from him will have you weak in the knees.

Standing in front of his door you smooth your clammy hands over the skirt of your sundress. You wonder if you should have dressed more casual, like you had planned. It's the weekend, so everyone takes the opportunity to wear whatever they want, and you had taken the chance to doll yourself up a little. But now, staring his door down, you wish you didn't listen to Enid and gone with something I little less revealing.

Taking a deep breath, you knock on the door, looking around to make sure none of the teachers or another student sees you in the boys wing. There have been many horror stories of the lockdowns people get for getting caught sneaking into the opposite sex's wing of the school, and you don't want to deal with the rumours that would come from being caught here, either. Not when your doing something as innocent as working on a project.

Xavier quickly opens the door, and you're immediately assaulted with the smell of whatever "boyish" body wash he uses and his wet hair, shoulders of his white t shirt damp from the water dripping from it. You can't pull your eyes away, mesmerized by how good he looks with it down and framing his face. He doesn't have it down all that often, and you forgot about how hot it makes him look when he does.

And his smell, my god. You just wanna stuff your face in his chest and breathe deep, chase the smell and have it linger on your clothes when you leave. Your face heats with your less than platonic thoughts, and you really hope he can't see how flustered you're becoming as you stand in front of him, having to look up to see those beautiful green eyes.

"Hey, come in. Sorry it's a bit of a mess, kinda knocked some paint over and had to clean in a rush," as you step past him and into his room, you're met with all of the wonderful drawings pinned up on the wall on his side of the room, starting from above his bed and ending over his desk. He still hasn't gotten a new roommate, no one new joining Nevermore since Wednesday Adams.

"You can sit on the bed if you want, just wanna clean the last of my brushes before the paint dries," he darts into the still open bathroom, hunched over the sink as he continues his cleaning. You toe off your shoes, putting them next to his by the door so that you don't get his surprisingly clean room dirty.

While he's distracted, you take the time to look him over, his slim but fit body and the slightly baggy clothes that hang off of him. The sweats he's got on are a deep burgundy, the legs of them a bit too short for his long legs. It leaves his ankles exposed, and you find yourself watching his feet tap out a rhythm before you remind yourself that all this staring is surely becoming creepy.

Instead of gawking at him like some sort of stalker, you take the time to snoop a bit, setting your bag at the foot of the bed while you take in all of the art he's done.

Most of it is pinned to the walls, quick sketches and intricate pieces filling the space. There's even an easel set up by Rowan's old side of the room, with a canvas set up on it. The easel is turned away and placed as close to the garage wall ass possible, obviously dragged there so no one could easily look at it. While you really want to take a look, you don't want to betray his trust by looking at something he clearly wants to keep to himself.

Instead you focus on the ones you can clearly see, a mixture of random still life from around campus to random people and animals and little doodles that fill in the spaces. You're honestly a bit in awe at his skill, pushing your bag over so you can sit at the end of his bed, back resting against the metal frame to comfortably admire the drawings.

You don't notice when Xavier leaves the bathroom, too enamoured with his art. You do notice as drawing of a moth comes to life, twitching before fluttering off of the page. It flies around before heading towards you, and you hold your hand out for it to land on. It feels strange on your skin, not like how bugs feet normally feel, but also kinda similar. You go to run your finger over a wing to see how it feels, gasping when you notice you smudged the intricate pattern made from what you think are pastels.

"I'm so sorry!" You say in a rush, turning to look up at Xavier. He doesn't look upset though, a smile on his face as he watches you. You gently hold the moth out to him for him to fix, and instead of taking it from you, he reaches the hand not animating the moth to gently smudge the other side.

"There, now it matches again," he says before guiding the moth off of your hand and back to the paper it was on. It's still got the twin smudges on it as it settles back into place, and you find comfort in knowing that he isn't mad about it at all, "Alright, what part did you wanna start on first?"

"Should probably do the boring written part first. We can figure out the creative part later." You say, already knowing that if you start with the more fun part first, you won't have the energy to even think about the written part today.

Xavier nods, walking around the bed to grab his own notes and his laptop off of his desk. He sits across from you, back to the headboard, one foot on the ground while his other leg is stretched out on the bed. The bed seems to be just long enough for Xavier to lay down in comfortably, but with you in it as well, you realize that the bed can barely accommodate the two of you sitting as you are, your bent legs close to touching his bare foot.

With both of your sheets laid out, you get to work organizing all the notes, grouping them together in a way that makes the most sense. Then, you both get to work merging your notes together, you reading them out while Xavier types it out on his laptop.

His speedy typing combined with your ability to levitate the notes all around you makes the written portion of the assignment go much faster than you could do on your own. You're only able to keep two sheets up at a time if you were the one typing it out, attention too split to keep more sheets levitated without causing yourself any unnecessary strain.

Now you can rotate five or more sheets at a time, floating them around the both of you as you speed through the work. Sometimes he has you holding a sheet up for a while, wanting to pull a direct quote from a passage or to try and figure out how to blend both of your words together. It's during those moments you take the time to really admire his face. The shape of his nose, fullness of his lips, shape of his jaw.

There are a few times he almost catches you in the act, but the curtain of drying hair obscured most of his vision before he could fully look up from his hunched over position, giving you enough time to look away and pretend you were reading over the notes hovering in front of you. The notes that have slowly started to drift down during your distracted staring shooting back up into their original spots.

While actually looking over the notes, there are a few times where you think you can feel his gaze on you, but when you look up, you can never catch him in the act. So you just brush it off as your wishful thinking. Why would he be looking at you, anyways?

You get through a huge chunk of the written work faster than you though you would, getting through nearly half you your notes before Xavier had pushed his laptop away with a tired sigh. It was more than you had ever thought you would get done, and that's including the creative part that hasn't even been started yet. So the both of you agree that you can finish the rest another day, when your heads aren't swimming with jumbled up historical dates and places.

"What were you thinking of doing for our creative piece of the project?" Xavier asks, closing his laptop and setting it onto his bedside table. You find yourself staring at his hands

"It's probably more work, but I thought we could do like, a board game or something? I think it'll still have enough education to it while still being artsy and creative," you say, guiding all the papers back to you. You sort through the papers, setting Xavier's aside while you put yours back in your bag, loose with all your other random notes you were working on before coming up to his room.

"That sounds like it would be fun," Xavier says, pushing up from his bed to head over to his desk. There's a few big canvases leaning against the wall, some unused while others had beautiful portraits of people, all of which you didn't recognize, or captivating scenery. When he pulls some of them back there's some big pieces of poster paper tucked in behind them. He pulls a white one out, holding it up so that you can see it better, "This size work?"

You nod, quickly moving his papers off of the bed and onto of the laptop. He grabs up a stray pencil case too, carrying them all over to the bed. The pencil case he's got is worn, stained with finger shaped smudges of all different colours. He opens it to reveal an array of coloured pencils in a brand you don't recognize, probably the expensive kind that's higher quality than the crayola ones you have in your room.

While you sketch out the path of the game board in light pencil strokes, Xavier takes to filling the empty spaces with relevant historical sketches. They're beautifully done, and when you tell him that he's waves your compliment off with a blush high on his cheeks, a wide smile on his face while he tells you that it was nothing.

Soon the entire paper is full of a pencilled out outline of what you know will be a masterpiece. It already looks good as it is, but Xavier assures you that some colour and line work will really bring the whole thing together. You don't even bother questioning him, nodding eagerly while you levitate it up in the air, wanting to get a better look at it.

Your proud of your work, even though all you contributed was the path the player would take and some small decorative doodles drawn on the important spaces. But Xavier had told you you did a great job, causing your face to heat under his compliment and warm smile.

When you spin it around for Xavier to see, you catch sight of him staring at you. He's got the same smile on as he did when you were holding his animated moth, a soft one that makes your insides swirl and face feel hot. The look has you so distracted that the board game falls out of the air at a weird angle, fluttering to the floor. It lands face up, with thankfully no bends or smudges on it that would ruin all your hard work.

As your reaching over to grab the dropped assignment at the same time Xavier does, you misjudge where you put your hand down to brace yourself. It's too close to the edge of the bed, sheets sliding under your weight and causing your hand, and subsequently the rest of you, to go with it. As you suck in a breath, about to slow your fall to hopefully catch yourself with you levitation, you feel an arm wrap tightly around your waist.

You can't help the full body shiver that goes through you as he pulls you back into his chest, unconsciously leaning back into it to chase the warmth of his body. His legs are bracketing you as he sits down behind you, body long and lean as he plants his feet firmly on the ground.

"You okay?" He asks, voice low as he dips his head down to speak right by your ear, "I know you probably would have caught yourself, but I kinda moved without thinking."

"No, uh, it's fine. I was caught by surprise. Probably would have smashed my face off the ground or something." You say, unconsciously lowering yours as well. You don't know why you do it, but you don't want to speak louder than him and break the probably one sided tension you could feel between the two of you. This is the closest you've been to him, and you want to memorize the feel of him against you for later.

Turning your head to thank him, you don't expect his face to be so close to yours. Or for his half lidded eyes to be staring at your lips. Your tongue quickly swipes over them, tasting like vanilla gloss, a nervous habit that you've yet to kick, and his eyes somehow grow heavier as he sucks in a quick breath through his nose, "Xavier?"

His arm tightens around your waist, the other that was used to prop him up moving to rest on his thigh, the tips of his fingers brushing the bare skin of your own. You can feel the muscles of his thigh through his sweats, firm from all the runs he goes on, such a stark contrast to the plushness of yours.

"Can I kiss you?" He leans foreword just slightly, hair falling from behind his ear and tickling the side of your face. Your hand reaches up to tuck it back behind his ear, letting your hand fall to cup his cheek in the same motion. He leans into it slightly, eyes trained on yours as he waits for your response.

"Please," Xavier wastes no time once the words are out of your mouth, closing the small distance to press his plush lips against yours. His lips are soft, smoothed by chapstick but made sticky by your lipgloss as they move against yours. The angle is awkward though, with your back still pressed up against his chest. You have to turn your head over your shoulder to keep kissing him, and while you're enjoying it immensely, your neck is starting to protest.

You gently pull away, a small smile on your face when Xavier immediately tries to follow your lips, eyes still closed. You huff out a laugh, running your thumb over his pink cheek before you let him go, moving to stand up. His grip tightens on your hips as his eyes flutter open, strong fingers digging into soft flesh, trying to pull you back to him. His eyes are heavy as he stares up at you and his lips are tinged a light pink from your lipgloss, but you're able to use the small space between you to turn around and climb into his lap.

"Shit," Xavier mutters, hands dropping down to your ass, long fingers reaching past the bottom of it and brushing against the back of you leg. He tugs you into him as he immediately reconnects your lips, fingers digging into your skin. You roll your hips foreword to get as close as possible to him, landing right on Xavier's growing erection as you press your chests together.

You both moan at the contact, Xavier quickly closing the distance to press your lips together again, much more desperate than the first one. His lips are insistent against yours, arms moving to wrap around your waist to keep you as close as possible. You loop your arms over his shoulders in turn, playing with the hairs at the back of his neck as you tentatively lick a stripe across the minty chapstick that coats his lips, tinged with vanilla from your lipgloss.

Xavier instantly opens his mouth, tongue pressing past your lips and rubbing up against your own, and you're in heaven. You don't mind the sloppy desperation that seems to take over the both of you, spit coating your lips as you both try to pull the other one impossibly closer.

The desperate little moans coming from your mouth would have normally embarrassed you, becoming this pathetically horny for him from kissing alone. But you can't bring yourself to care as Xavier effortlessly pulls them from you with his skilled lips and rhythmic rolling of his hips up into yours. The answering groans coming from him as you roll your unsteady hips with him sounds somehow more wrecked than you do, fanning the flame of heat settling between your legs.

Pulling back, you try to take in a deep, steadying breath, hands smoothing down the back of his neck and dipping beneath his shirt, nails grazing along his spine. Xavier shivers, a moan low in his throat your only warning before he's pulling you back in, sealing your lips together.

He bites at your bottom lip, tongue darting out to smooth over the sting left behind before he's desperately licking into your mouth. You match his pace happily, hands coming back up to grab a fistful of his long hair and pulling. Xavier pulls away from your lips with a loud moan, eyes closed in bliss and mouth parted. He shudders under you, head falling forward and landing on your shoulder.

"Fuck," Xavier whispers, word drawn out and coated in arousal, "do that again."

And you do, pulling on it a little harder than before. It has him rolling his hips up into yours with a deep, guttural groan, his prominent erection pressing against your damp panties. His hands guide the roll of your stuttering hips against him, moans filling the room, as you follow his slower but firmer rhythm, keeping his hair tangled in your fingers.

You feel his head move against your shoulder, the barest brush of his spit slicked lips brushing against your skin. It has you holding your breath, fingers twitching in his hair. The first press of his lips against your neck is soft and barely there, but it still makes your breathing shaky, one hand dropping from Xaviers hair and gripping onto the back of his shirt.

The small pecks slowly start to get open mouthed, lingering as he lightly sucks and nibbles at your skin. His tongue smooths over any particularly hard bites, when you're hips would meet perfectly with his and he couldn't control the way his teeth would clamp down on your flesh. You don't mind though, the sparks of pain forming into pleasurable tingles that have your toes curling in your socks.

"Ahh, feels good. Please," you mumble, bearing down harder onto Xavier's clothes erection as you desperately chase the high you feel lingering just at the edges. You don't even know what your asking for, just that you want more.

Xavier moans against your throat, a question and a sound of pleasure rolled into one. He's sucking on the skin with more intent now, surely leaving bruises that you can't wait to feel when they fully settle in.

"Wanna feel you," you say, tugging on his shirt for emphasis, "mark you up so we match."

He pulls away from your neck with a loud smack of his lips, pressing a searing kiss to your lips before he's pulling back from you just enough to rip his shirt off over his head and toss to the side. The second he's free from the shirt he's ducking back into your neck on the other side, sucking what you assume are impressive hickies into your skin.

His hands settle on your thighs as yours loop around his neck, his fingers pressing into your flesh as they run up, up under the hem of your dress. His fingers catch onto your underwear, tugging your panties up and between soaked lips in his haste to get at your skin. It has you nearly wailing in pleasure as the soaked fabric is pressed right up into your clit, walls clenching around nothing as your head falls back.

Xavier kisses up your exposed jaw, giving you a teasing bite as he mumbles a quick apology against your skin. He detangles his fingers from your panties, hands moving to settle against the swell of your hips. His skin against yours feels euphoric, warm and slightly calloused from archery.

"It's okay," you say around a moan, slightly disappointed that the added pressure against your clit is gone. Your eyes feel heavy as you blink, slowly letting your head fall back down. As you do Xavier pulls back from your neck, eyes trained on your marked up neck. His hands come out from under your dress to tug at the bottom as he stares at you.

"Can I take this off?" he asks, giving your dress another little tug as if you didn't know what he was talking about. You nod, arms going above your head and hips stilling against his. He's quick when taking your dress off, throwing it in the same direction as his shirt before he's leaning back to get a better look at you.

You're left in just your bra and panties, miss matched but thankfully on the nicer side of your collection. The first thought that comes to your head is that you really hope he likes what he sees. But the admiring way he trails his hands up over your hips to sit on your waist has any worries melting away. That, and the awe filled look in his eyes as he traces over all the newly revealed skin.

"Fucking beautiful," Xavier breathes, fingers digging into your flesh. You can't help but watch the way your skin dimples around his long, strong fingers, admiring the contrast of your bodies. One of his hands skim up over your a bra covered breast and along your neck to cup the side of your face, pulling your attention away from his hand still on your waist and to his face.

"C'mere," he whispers, and you waste no time connecting your lips. This kiss is similar to the first, slow and sweet as you both let your hands roam free.

One of his hands come to rest on a covered breast, giving it an experimental squeeze. It has you rolling your hips again, swallowing Xavier's moan as you lick into his mouth. The hand not palming at your breasts comes down to rest on your hip, leaving them there as he lets you control the pace of your grinding hips.

"Think you can cum like this?" Xavier says as he pulls away from your lips, dropping his hand from your chest to join the other on your waist. He starts guiding your movements that have become sloppy in your gaze of pleasure. You nod, biting your bottom lip as your pussy clench's around nothing, "Yeah? You gonna cum for me pretty girl?"

You nod again, hips moving at a desperate pace, the slide of you bodies made easier by you arousal that has soaked through your panties and all over the front of Xavier's pants. You can't keep in the stream of moans that pass your lips, chasing your orgasm. Tucking your head into his shoulder, your nails claw at his back move above him.

You're on the precipice of the end, can feel it taking over every finer of your body. Xavier helps you through it all, whispering praises in your ear, broken up by kisses to the side of your head.

"C'mon, already got my pants soaked. Wanna see how much of a mess you can make me," Xavier urges, matching you thrust for thrust. You lean back, trusting that he hand hold you up with the arms wrapped around your waist.

The newfound space between your bodies let's you see just how wet you've made the two of you. The dark maroon of his pants have become nearly black from where your cunt has been rubbing up on him, a mixture of your arousal and his pre. His pants are so wet that you can see the outline of his cock almost perfectly, looking long and perfect and like it would fill you up 'till you could feel him in your throat.

"You see how good you look rubbing up against me?" Xavier taunts, fingers turning bruising as you both start to speed up, "gonna cum in those cute pink panties without me even touching you."

Nodding along to his words, you drag your nails up his back to pull at the hairs at the nape of his neck. His reaction is immediate, eyes squeezing shut while he moans long and low in his throat. Xavier's hips stutter underneath you before going still, the grip on his waist turning painful. You barely notice that he's stoped moving, continuing to grind on him until your cuming hard, moan caught high in your throat and thighs clamping around Xavier's legs.

Face hot and panting for breath, you force open your eyes that you didn't even notice you had closed. Xavier has his eyes screwed shut, but in a way that seems like it's done out of pain than pleasure. You quickly let go of his hair, thinking you had pulled it to hard and hurt him. You smooth you hands over the back of his head, hoping to soothe any pain.

Xavier shakily inhales, pulling you back into him. You stop him with a hand to his chest before he can press the two of you together, your other hand coming down to pull at the band of his underwear.

"What're you doing?" Xavier says, voice rough, his hand shooting out to grab your wrist. It's loose enough for you to pull free of, but firm enough to keep you from pulling at his waistband anymore.

"Want you to cum too," you say, dipping foreword to mouth at his neck. You can feel his answering moan against you lips, sucking a mark that won't even do justice to the amount you know litter yours.

"I, uh," Xavier swears under his breath, letting go of your hand to anxiously push his hair back, "shit, don't laugh, okay?"

"Why would I laugh?"

At first you don't think he's going to tell you what's going on. He just stares at you dejectedly, eyes darting away from your face to stare down at his destroyed pants, "I already came."

"That's okay. Don't know if you noticed, but I came pretty hard and I've still got my panties on," you say, a smile on your face. It pulls a tiny smile from Xavier, and his hunched shoulders start to loosen, "Really, I don't care. Honestly, it's really fucking hot that you came in your pants for me."

All tension seems to leave his body, the small smile on his face blooming into a beautifully large one, "Yeah? Think it was good enough to go on a date with me next weekend?"

You feel giddy with excitement, smiling wide as you cup his cheeks. You can feel as his smile somehow grows wider, and you can't help the excited giggle that escapes you.

"Hell yeah."

©︎ pythonees — do not, under any circumstance, repost, plagiarize, modify or translate my work.

#xavier #xavier thorpe #xavier x reader #xavier smut #xavier thorpe smut #xavier thorpe x reader #wednesday #wednesday netflix #xavier thorpe imagine #Ꮺ. my work #Ꮺ. smut warning

[stellasolaris]

What does canon suggest about Riven and his background? I will share some of my thoughts about Riven's background and potential socioeconomic status in this post. As always, these are just my opinions. (If anyone's wondering: no, this is not the meta post that I was talking about in one of my other posts.)

I'll start by saying that my following thoughts are based on the RAI dub and the first four seasons (S1-4) as I don't consider anything past season four canon. However, I'm mainly going to focus on seasons one and two in this post.

As pointed out by many, the one-on-one scene between Sky and Riven in 2.08 is the closest we get to Riven directly confessing that he is (or has been at some point in his life) from lower-class origins.

Riven: Must be nice being a prince. You spend your whole life learning from the best.

I agree that this does give us some indication of his social class, mostly because this line fits with the rest of his characterization that's established in the earliest seasons, but even on its own, it does imply that Riven isn't nearly as privileged as Sky. He wouldn't make a comment specifically about Sky's access to highly qualified teachers if he didn't feel like he lacked them in some capacity. In other words, when we take into consideration his character as a whole, it's implied that Riven has not had as many resources growing up. This hints at him being from the lower class or relating to the struggles of someone from the lower class.

It's important to note here that this isn't the first instance Riven has expressed distaste or a mocking attitude toward privilege. It is also equally important to understand why he reacts so strongly to it. It's not that he hates or dislikes anyone who's above him in wealth or opportunity. I think he primarily has an issue with the injustice of being looked down on, of not being treated fairly, of not performing well enough. He's sensitive to people being ignorant of their privileges, which is why he often calls it out, but it's not necessarily out of resentment toward the person or their social class, but rather an indicator of his roots and how he feels about privilege in general. 2.21 is a good example of this, which I will get into later.

The reason Riven is so aggressive and abrasive in the first season has to do with a myriad of things, but it makes the most logical sense that he's likely had a bad childhood (aka trauma) and experienced being treated unfairly by either the system or people above his status. Riven wouldn't otherwise feel so strongly about privilege in season two or make patronizing remarks that are directly about one's social class in season one.

Sky (Brandon): What Riven means is that perhaps it would be best for you to go back to Alfea while we try to capture that animal. Riven: We don't need your editorial comments, Your Highness.

Brandon (Sky): Riven, you've gone too far! Riven: You're just Prince Sky's yes-man, Brandon. Why don't you go clean up his stables?

In season one, Riven likely projected a lot of his personal issues and insecurities on Brandon and Sky and their class dynamic as a whole—primarily his trust issues and feelings of inferiority—but after the infamous monster scene in 1.22, he goes through a ton of humbling and character development. He grows as a person and learns to trust and appreciate the boys, and most importantly, he starts to embrace himself. He also finally feels accepted by the group, which makes him want to clean up his act even more.

By the time we get to season two, Riven is relatively calmer and significantly lacking in condescension. The comments he continues to make about privilege are mostly a nod to his background and how he feels about unfair advantages. This is why we see a much more mature and open version of Riven in season two where he continues to make remarks about privilege on several occasions, but he's much more reasonable about it.

I want to thank @skylaryozora for mentioning the following scene in 2.21 because it ties in perfectly with what I've been explaining so far.

Riven: Well, I think it's high time you girls get a taste of what life's like where you don't have magic powers, and all you can count on are your wits and your muscles.

In this episode, Bloom says she finds it hard to get used to not having magic powers, which leads to Riven making the aforementioned comment. Similar to 2.08, he indirectly calls out the privilege (albeit a different kind) but doesn't make a big deal out of it. He's most likely talking from personal experience and having had to count on his "wits and muscles" as a kid. He isn't angry or insulting in this scene, but he does acutely notice the difference between himself and others when it comes to having unearned advantages or a better upbringing or better circumstances, and again, he wouldn't continue making these types of remarks if it wasn't deeply personal to him.

Riven's comments based on 2.08 and 2.21 alone suggest that he's had to work hard on his own to get to where he is. It's blatantly obvious he knows what a lack of privileges (and likely economic instability) feels like, probably more than anyone else because the writers make it a pattern to have Riven point out these things.

Let's talk about Riven's skills and what they mean for his character

I don't think it's a coincidence that Riven is good at creating lock picks from scratch . . .

. . . or that his stealth and wilderness survival skills are impeccable compared to others

. . . or that he's exceptionally resourceful and adaptable

. . . or that he's good at spying

These are generally not skills someone randomly picks up or excels in after a year or two of training. These are skills usually associated with people who've had to look after themselves, watch their backs, and protect themselves—people who are more likely to come from the lower class than the upper class. These "street smarts" skills might not hold a lot of weight on their own but together they form a bigger picture as to what Riven has possibly gone through to obtain these skills. (Yes, I'm sure they teach all these skills at Red Fountain, but what I'm getting at here is that Riven's expertise lies in these skills, and I think it was an intentional decision on the writers' part to showcase these particular skills.)

It's also important to consider Riven's fighting style in season one. It's not very polished. It's rushed. It's rough. It's very direct and brutal. He's not afraid to play dirty. Riven almost seems inexperienced compared to the other guys when it comes to technique and formal training, which suggests that Riven has likely been self-taught for the most part or lacks some private or selective education.

Incidentally, and this is more of a personal note, I think one of the primary reasons why Riven seems to always lose to Sky in one-on-one combat is because Sky has an edge over Riven when it comes to technique. But when it comes to other skills, like racing and wilderness survival instincts, Riven is better than Sky—the former being canon, as witnessed in 2.01. In spite of this, Riven feels a little insecure and bitter about not being as good as Sky. That lack of technique, coupled with a lack of opportunities, might be what he thinks is holding him back from being one of the best students in Red Fountain. The balcony scene in 2.04 is interesting in that regard because Riven appears to feel some type of way about the fact that Brandon and Sky were chosen to accompany the girls to a mission instead of him. He doesn't express it outright, per se, but you can tell by his tone and posture that he wishes he was included.

While the show deservedly gets a lot of criticism for its bad writing, season one is mostly decent in terms of character portrayals and has some of the best writing in the series. As I mentioned before, I think the writers were intentional with their decisions to paint Riven in a certain way, to have him say certain things, to give him certain skills that set him apart from the other characters, and in several ways, the narrative of his story gives us many details hinting at his background.

All in all, it's not strictly canon that Riven grew up financially lower class as we don't have any direct statements in the show about his background. However, I think there are more than enough allusions pointing to Riven having had to be independent and live in less-than-ideal circumstances with limited resources, so the idea of him having had a rough childhood (economically and otherwise) or being from the lower class at some point or another in his life is not unfounded. Personally, I think it's heavily implied.

#i'll try and add some more points later #winx club #winx #winx riven #winx meta #metas #riven meta #riven headcanons #winxmeta

[careful-wish]

I know that Eddie had to die bc plot reasons yada yada

But they could have done that in season 5. We had so many deaths deaths in 4 (tho Max did end up living). The stakes are higher in season 5 and having a beloved character die halfway through would have had such an emotional impact

But also Eddie and Argyle not being included in season 5 with the other older kids feel like a joke, especially Argyle.

Nancy is the only one of the older teens (now young adults) to have a real close friendship with someone (Barb). Could probably argue Eddie too bc of Gareth, Jeff, and that other guy in Hellfire but they're younger than him so Idk how long they've been friends or how close they actually are.

In s4, though it's through super unlikely circumstances, Eddie does develop friendships with Steve, Nancy, and Robin. Probably, he already has had some interaction with Robin and Jonathan in the past due to the fact all three were considered weirdos or freaks (Jonathan was The School Freak(tm)) but he had no interaction with Jonathan this season.

Jonathan after being apart from Nancy for a few months then meets Argyle and they become pretty close mates, weed aside. Jonathan finally has someone he can talk to and open up to, and you can tell Argyle genuinely does care for Jonathan and is a LITERAL ride-or-die for him.

Why, WHY did they take Eddie and Argyle away? Yeah, we get the monster-hunting trio back in s5 along with Robin and Vickie in the group, but why'd they take Argyle away? He is also wanted by the government and knows everything. We're just going back to Jonathan having no friends, Nancy really having to confront what happened to Barb, and only Steve having a best mate? Why does Steve get to keep his best friend and Jonathan doesn't?

Also, the group would have been a little bigger than the Party but the dynamics and just absolute chaos would have been amazing.

Steve realising he is absolutely outnumbered by nerds and that he is not the leader, that role goes to Nancy and her babygurl Jonathan.

Vickie being introduced in a group that has several very loud ppl (Steve, Argyle, Robin), joins them immediately and Jonathan goes insane bc the four chatter like kookaburras at three am.

Nancy insisting they need to be discreet and Argyle explaining that while yeah, having an all black van would be cool but bad guys have those too and they would blend in better with a pizza van bc "Who would question the pizza man, Wheeler?"

Eddie secretly having tons of respect for Jonathan and nearly falls over himself trying to make up for the fact he tried to push another guy at Jonathan's girlfriend. Also develops similar respect for Nancy and feels guilty after seeing how happy Nancy is with Jonathan, and also realising it was never his, Robin, Steve, or anyone else's decision what Nancy does or who she wants to be with, it's all her.

Vickie learning about everything but still not knowing the kids very well and fellow newcomer Argyle is like "Idk about the others but Little Byers and Wheelie-boy are good, and of course our amazing super-powered little friend"

Steve discreetly being a terrible wingman for Robin without accidentally outing her. She comes out to Nancy first, then Argyle on accident after they have a weed sesh ("You're good, Batman's sidekick, boobies are great"), and of course ends up with Vickie.

Mike being the one of the Party Vickie ends up bonding with the most, mainly so they can make fun of Steve together but also other reasons

Anyway, we were robbed of these seven chaos nerds being a group together.

And if Eddie were to die halfway through, the turmoil. Dies similar to s4, Dustin is there, but it not only affects Dustin and Hellfire, but the other six he'd started becoming close with.

#i should just write a fic shouldn't i #stranger things #nancy wheeler #steve harrington #jonathan byers #robin buckley #eddie munson #argyle stranger things #vickie stranger things #jancy #stoncy #steddie #rockie #rovickie #robin x vickie

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

angel dust :3

Send me a character and I’ll list:

Favourite thing about them: "Thing", singular? I can't put just one thing! There are too many things! The humour in his dialogue. The songs he sings. The fact that he's both an ex-mafia member and a femme gay man. The fact that he's got a twin sister in Heaven. The changes we see in his character over the course of Season 1. The bond he forms with Husk. The dynamic he has with Charlie (and the others in the hotel). The angst of his relationship with Valentino. The voice. The hair. The eyes. The arms. The chest fluff. The outfits. The dance moves. I just love him so much.

Least favourite thing about them: Well, the way he acted towards Husk initially was, let's face it, sexual harassment. Just because it was a response to trauma doesn't make it okay. I appreciate that Angel doesn't bother Husk like that after "Masquerade" - he still makes sex jokes, but now they're less about targeting people and making them feel uncomfortable - but I still think it would have been good for Angel to explicitly acknowledge that his behaviour wasn't acceptable and apologise to Husk.

Favourite line: (porn voice) "I've been a bad boy, and I need a big strong daddy to put me in my place..." (regular voice) "...on the path to redemption!"

brOTP: I like the friendship he develops with Charlie. The prequel comic "Dirty Healings" shows that she sees potential in him that he doesn't see at first. He initially only joins the hotel for the free rent and to get away from Valentino, but then he comes to genuinely care about Charlie, as she does for him. That's nice to see.

Also, Angel and Emily haven't interacted yet, but I think they would have a cute friendship if they did!

OTP: Huskerdust! I've seen so much cute fanart and read so many hurt/comfort fics of the two together that I can't help but love this ship. I enjoy thinking about them being together and how they could change each other for the better. Having Husk around to take care of Angel would definitely be good for him.

But Angel's trauma isn't going to go away overnight, so that'll be a lot to deal with. And Husk is also pretty judgemental, so if Angel ever has a relapse and Husk treats him too harshly for it, that could put a rift between them. Angst potential!

Everyone talks about how Husk is changing Angel, helping him to be more honest, but I do think Angel is changing Husk too. Husk certainly seems to drink less after "Masquerade". And if Husk was somehow able to help Angel out of his contract, that would be redemption for his own participation in the cruel Overlord system.

Angel and Husk are not perfect people, but they could be perfect for each other.

nOTP: Any ship that involves pairing Angel with a woman. He's gay. He wouldn't be interested.

As for Valangel ... look, I am interested in exploring the backstory - I want to find out how Angel met Valentino and what led to him signing his soul away. But I definitely do not want Angel to stay with that moth. That pairing is way too toxic.

Random headcanon: Both Anthony and Molly had albinism when they were alive, and that's why they're so pale in the afterlife. Anthony also had a visual impairment, so his demon form overcompensated by giving him extra eyes.

Unpopular opinion: Some fans love seeing Angel with all six arms out and six guns blazing, but I'm not so keen on it. That's a personal thing, really - I just don't like guns and don't think they have any reason to exist. All they do is kill people, and killing people is wrong. If Angel's got all six arms out, he should be using them to give Husk a back massage instead.

Song I associate with them: Besides "Poison"? Then "All You Wanna Do" from SIX: The Musical. They're both super-catchy pop songs about the dark topic of sexual abuse sung by characters associated with the colour pink. I watched the Hazbin Hotel pilot for the first time on the same weekend I went to see SIX: The Musical, so that's a neat coincidence!

Favourite picture of them:

#hazbin hotel #angel dust #anthony hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel anthony #molly hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel molly #husk hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel husk #huskerdust #valentino hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel valentino #valangel #charlie morningstar #emily hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel emily #hazbin hotel masquerade #masquerade hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel pilot #dirty healings #six the musical #katherine howard

[froldgapp]

We Need a Hero. Ladybug Ain't It

In a July 2023 interview for the Guardian, creator of the Bechdel test, Alison Bechdel, bemoaned the toothless response from big media properties to demands for more complex female leads:

Is it dismaying that so many films continue to fail the test?

What’s really dismaying now is the way so many movies cynically try to take shortcuts and feature strong female characters – but they just have a veneer of strength and they’re still not fully developed characters.

I won't argue that Marinette/Ladybug isn't developed, but rather, that in Astruc's pursuit of a Strong Female Lead, we have a character whose strength, agency, wit, grief and elation, is most often at the expense of the cast around her.

We see this most clearly in her relationship with Adrien/Chat Noir. Here is a boy who is controlled, neglected, (arguably) abused, lied to, used, and weaponised by his sole guardian; his father. This has resulted in a sheltered and naive character who canonically has a desperately conditional understanding of love and loyalty. Most if not all of the displays of love Gabriel shows Adrien rest not on Adrien the person, but on Adrien the asset. His life is not his own, and as is revealed in very literal terms in Season 5, nor is his body.

The Gabriel and Adrien dynamic echoes through the Marinette and Adrien relationship. We are shown, explicitly in canon, that Marinette doesn't really know Adrien. He's a heartthrob and she understandably has a crush on him. But while in later seasons she casts aspersions at his army of adoring fans who go to any length to be close to him, she herself is clearly no better. Evidence says she's much worse actually. She takes astounding liberties with his day to day life, she lies to get closer to him, she polices his relationships with specifically other female characters, she delights in his sadness as seen in Glaciator 2:

Marinette: Oh, Adrien! Fancy seeing you here! And you look so sad, that's good!

Marinette as hero even abuses her position as Ladybug to break into his room, rifle around his things and even sniff his pillow. The show seems to make some attempt to explain away her behaviour in Derision by telling us that, in fact, Marinette does all this because she is the wounded party. Even if we accept for the moment that Derision wasn't a lazy retro-justification in service of Marinette's poor behaviour, her trauma does not trump Adrien's right to privacy.

Except, in-show, anything Marinette wants or needs trumps anything anyone else wants or needs, including Adrien–her ostensible partner. Adrien feels left out? Actually, this is more stress for Ladybug. Adrien dates Kagami? Actually this is competition for Marinette. Adrien is locked in a near-sensory deprivation chamber by his super villain father and feels forced to relinquish his miraculous? Actually this is bad news for Marinette.

If she's a hero, then she's one that comes with a price–one far beyond what I'm willing to accept as audience. I want a flawed hero. I don't want perfection. But equally, I don't want to be force fed the notion that this girl's dominant flaw is being a clutz. We get a few brief glimpses into the cost of her controlling behaviours but generally we suffer almost the entire cast telling us she is the Most Wonderful and Supreme Being That Has Ever Existed, all this while she consistently excels within the narrative through the diminishment of others. Need we remember her acing the gamer competition having never displayed a previous interest? How she surpasses even Joan of Arc in all matters miraculous?

Marinette the knight and Adrien the supposed Princess in the Tower: on paper the concept is a little tired but interesting, worth exploring. The role reversal that Astruc aimed for fell short though, and what we have instead is a role amplification. As I write, I struggle to think of a piece of media where the romantic interest has been quite so violated, lied to, limited and enfeebled.

Why did Bechdel's quote ring so true with how Marinette/Ladybug is drawn? That I feel cheated. That the potential for greatness was there, but instead we have a character who from a slightly different angle looks like a hero from wow-heroes-are-jerks juggernaut, The Boys.

I hope Season 6 interrogates Marinette's issues of control and denying agency more. I hope we see consequences beyond what is now a tedious series of panic attacks from Marinette when she's caught short. I hope real contrition and growth are modelled and that real, impactful, damaging character flaws aren't swept away by a cloud of narrative magical ladybugs.

#mlb salt #ladybug salt #chat noir #ml salt #mlb meta #adrien agreste #ladybug #marinette

[jakesuit0]

Go With Me Review

“Go With Me” manages to give more insight into multiple different character dynamics in the span of 11 minutes. Finn and Bubblegum, Jake and Marceline, Finn and Marceline, and Marcy and PB have series defining moments for their relationships, with even some super insightful Finn and Jake interaction sprinkled in. Not even the 90-minute Stakes miniseries manages to accomplish that. 

Despite Finn’s puppy love for Princess Bubblegum, Finn does not understand romance nor is ready for it. Despite this, Jake pushes Finn to bring a date to couple’s movie night. Jake and Marceline encourage Finn to pursue someone who is too old for him, albeit for different reasons. Jake has a naive view of romance, and has no frame of reference for how to help a (barely) teen human boy deal with his feelings. He views Finn as someone capable of having true romantic feelings, which Finn clearly isn’t yet. Finn immediately shoots down PB’s description of the night as “romantic”. PB declines for whistling practice. I don’t think this was just an excuse to turn down Finn. Bubblegum finds Finn's crush on her cute and harmless in the first two seasons. I think she’d be willing to humor him by attending, not yet knowing the effect that kind of behavior has on Finn. Jake gives more terrible advice, pushing Finn to keep pursuing PB. 

Marcy’s introduction into this episode is great, with the slow split screen reveal of her presence. It’s also the first of many times we see her hiding inside the Treehouse. Jake reveals that he has gotten over his fear of vampires. While Marceline can still easily spook him, it's nice that Jake has finally come around to Marcy like Finn did in “Henchman”. I love how Finn and Jake both get separate mini-arcs throughout a few episodes before they each accept Marceline as a friend. Marceline not being able to go out in the sun (before they got lazy and just started photoshopping sunscreen bottles into title cards) is already enough of a barrier to work her into plots, we don’t need Jake’s fear as another one. They had a funny workaround in “It Came From the Nightosphere”, but I’m glad they retired it. I love how they still address this development. Most shows would have just given up on the running gag without an explanation to make writing episodes easier. 

In order to make Peebles jealous, Finn and Marcy pretend to have a great banter session outside Bubblegum’s window. This leads to our first ever interaction between Princess Bubblegum and Marceline, the second most iconic character duo in the series, and one of the most famous character dynamics in cartoon history. While it takes 103 episodes for Marceline to interact with Ice King, and 170 for Lumpy Space Princess, Marcy gets to interact with a member of the main cast that isn’t Finn and Jake in season two! Even without the context from future episodes, this scene gives a lot of clues to their relationship. There is clear tension between them. It is obvious they have a history, with Marceline calling PB by her first name, something we haven’t even seen Finn do up to this point. It’s satisfying seeing how well this scene works with information provided a decade later in “Obsidian”. Marceline likes to tease PB, and Bubblegum puts up a tough exterior to act like she doesn’t care about Marcy, like she did while Marcy first sang “Woke Up” in the Glass Kingdom. It’s obvious they’ve had multiple interactions similar to this over the hundreds of years since their break up. Finn’s newfound friendship with Marceline would only force these kinds of interactions to become more frequent. This is probably the most drastic example of an episode being impacted by a later installment in the series. And oh yeah, Princess Bubblegum’s first name is Bonnibel! I love how well her first name flows with Bubblegum. It’s nice having a shorter and easier name for her than “Princess Bubblegum” that isn’t just “PB”. I love getting pieces of character biography like names and ages dropped so casually.

Marceline just wants to get back at her ex as well as have fun messing with her impressionable friend like usual. Marceline literally says her reason for wanting to help is that “it'll be funny”. Of course Marcy knows that wrestling and wolves would do nothing but upset PB. She plays these pranks at the expense of Finn, but Marceline knows to not take Finn’s crush seriously in the first place. Her “advice” is as bad as Jake’s but she isn’t stupid like Jake. 

In the process of getting wolves for Marceline’s next plan, we see how much more compatible Finn is with Marcy than PB. They’re both fun, wild animals. Bubblegum reacts appropriately to Finn putting wolves in her room. It's sad seeing her ban Finn from the kingdom. She understands she is dealing with a child and that Finn has a good heart, so she keeps the door open for when Finn starts behaving better. She knows that Finn will come around and it feels more like a parent or teacher disciplining a misbehaving child. I’m sure Bubblegum realized that this was all Marcy’s doing soon enough anyway. On the other hand, the Finn Marceline pairing is a much more fun and refreshing dynamic when compared to PB and Finn. This is purposefully highlighted and something Finn comes to realize. After his latest failure, Marcy tells Finn to forget about Bonnie. I get the feeling that another motivation for Marceline was to sabotage Finn so he wouldn’t keep dealing with the heartache she knows comes with PB.

All of this sets up a fake out that the series would turn to start pushing Finn and Marceline as a romantic pairing. Finn goes to ask Marcy out to the movies instead. Someone getting this close to Marceline makes her uncomfortable. Her reaction is to try to scare Finn away, a tactic she internalized from when she thought she scared her mother away and reinforced in the downfall of her relationship with Princess Bubblegum. Marceline misinterprets Finn’s invitation as a romantic gesture. Marceline and Jake egging Finn on throughout the episode caused this. He is only barely 13, he isn’t ready for that! I like Jake rightfully feeling embarrassed for his actions. Marcy realizes Finn’s intentions and happily goes with Finn as friends. She still can’t give up messing with Finn, with the great “no tongue” comment that went right over his head. I’m very happy the series didn’t go for a Finn, PB, Marceline love triangle. It’s nice for Finn to have a female friend without any baggage. The episode teased Finnceline for the only time in the series, and then immediately shot it down forever. Well, forget about “Bad Little Boy”. I’ll discuss that episode’s implications when we get to it.                  

Finn and Marceline ditch movie night when confronted with the onslaught of make outs. They are truly perfect friends. The episode ends on wolves tearing apart the screen after a couple proclaims that nothing will ever tear them apart. There is a joke in Spongebob that is identical to this, with Plankton instead of the wolves. There is absolutely no way that it’s a coincidence. 

“Go With Me” is the third and sadly last Finn and Marceline duo episode. While I think “It Came From the Nightosphere” is the overall better episode, I think this is the best showcase of their relationship in the series. It's great seeing these character dynamics be explored in a more sitcom-y episode.

Grade: A

#adventure time #finn #jake #finn and jake #jake the dog #finn the human #go with me #marceline #princess bubblegum #bubbline #finnceline

[mariejordans]

Listen I adore limoreau they're the first new ship I've had in a long time and I know the show only has 8 eps but omg they're skipping so many important things with them wtf we should've gotten to see flashbacks of their first time where's the convo after all the angst last episode we need more development and depth. I really don't think they anticipated how popular they were gonna be not as a ship but just romance in general they thought it was gonna be like the boys where 99% of the fandom could not care less about who is dating who but this is a college show and the dynamics and potential of the ships is 1000% greater than that of the boys and I LOVE the boys but it's not that show. Also although the boys doesn't kill most of its characters I think gen v is gonna be different we're loosing at least one main the finale and more in s2

okay this post kinda got away from me and i just started rambling (probably nonsense) so please forgive me if none of this makes sense and/or sounds stupid 😭

first off, anon i COMPLETELY agree with you on the first point. like, don’t get me wrong, i’ve loved and appreciated all the limoreau scenes we’ve gotten so far but right now limoreau just feels a bit….underdeveloped ig? i’m not saying that the writers need to take three seasons to get them together (that would be torture), but it feels like there are so many loose ends left with them and i don’t see how they can tie them all up in the final episode, considering it’s supposed to be a tie-in to s4 of the boys and SO MUCH SHIT is happening.

it feels as if the writers shoved in as much limoreau content as they could into the first half of the season and then were like “alright that should be enough” like???? no? we have not seen a proper conversation between jordan and marie about the state of their relationship since, what, episode 5? and they never resolved the issue of jordan being insecure about marie wanting to be with ALL of them, not just their masc self? if the kiss in tonight’s episode is the last limoreau romantic content we get, i’ll be very disappointed bc i feel like they definitely could’ve at least wrapped up that arc in less than eight episodes.

and don’t get me started on what happened during the memory wipe. the two main characters had SEX and we don’t even get to see the build-up to how and why that happened? it’s not as if marie and jordan don’t remember, bc cate literally gave them their memory back, so it kinda feels like we missed a couple steps in this episode 😭 like, yes, the kiss was super cute and soft and adorable and yes i was kicking my feet and giggling, but at the same time it felt a bit “whoa why we going so fucking fast” bc as far as WE know, they haven’t really talked about the kiss or the sex. like, i feel robbed a little bit bc this is supposed to be like THE main couple 😭

i also think you might be onto something with the writers not anticipating how popular limoreau bc the boys (while they do have some beautiful ships kimchie ily) is not exactly a ship/romance-heavy show and ig they expected the audience to take after the boys?? idk if that makes sense but 🤷🏼‍♀️

as for gen v having major characters killed off, i kinda agree, i kinda don’t. i think mostly bc they’ve already killed off two major characters (luke, who i am counting even though he was alive for 1 ep bc his death was a MAJOR plot twist bc he was literally being promoted as a main/lead character, and indira) and then they also killed off dr. cardosa, so i’d say the kill count is pretty high already. i think the characters most likely to die are andre or cate (or andre’s dad but idk if i’d consider him a major death.)

i think marie and jordan are probably the safest of the main characters (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!) and should they survive this season (god willing!!!!) i think they will remain safe, if not safer. limoreau are the biggest draw (for newer viewers who haven’t seen the boys at least) to the show right now in my opinion. almost everyone i encounter who likes this show got into it because of jordan and marie. i got into it bc of jordan and marie. i don’t think it’d be smart of them to kill off their most popular characters (at least, i really really hope they’re smart enough NOT to do that) so (again, KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!!!!) i think they are safe.

cate could go one of three ways i think; 1, she lives and ends up going full villain/anti-hero arc (which works well with the theory that marie is gonna blow off cate’s hands so she can’t use her power); 2, she has a whole redemption arc where she sacrifices herself for the group; and 3, (this one seems the most far-fetched to me idk if they would actually go this route) cate dies and becomes a martyr or symbol of the entire supes lives matter thing or whatever it’s called. either way, cate is going to go through some deep deep shit in the finale.

ppl have been saying emma and sam kinda have death trope written all over them, but idk i just don’t see it. i could MAYBE see one of them dying, but also not bc apparently there was a scene from one of the promo trailers of emma in the woods as a prisoner and considering this hasn’t happened yet, i’m thinking maybe it could be a cliffhanger for the end of the episode into season 2? as for sam, i honestly have no idea what the writers have planned for him. personally, i think it would be cruel to kill him off after what he experienced in the woods, not to mention his brother already is dead so it’d be kinda fucked up to kill both riordan brothers but 🤷🏼‍♀️ anything can happen in this show

as for andre, i hate to say it, but he’s kinda useless. he’s probably the weakest supe of the group if i had to pick one and i could definitely see andre dying being used as a way to either solidify cate’s villain arc or like, shock some sense into her(?) bringing her back to the good side, idk 🤷🏼‍♀️ plus there’s the whole controversy with chance, so unless andre survives and they decide to recast him, i really wouldn’t be that sorry to see him go. also, i think his dad is almost for sure dying, my main question is what the hell happened to him and how did he die bc that was random as hell.

i really just hope limoreau and cate survive, they’re probably the most interesting characters in this entire show (i may be a bit biased but it’s fiiine), plus the actors are so so so great, it’d be such a shame to lose them. i’m a little ambivalent on sam and emma, but i don’t really WANT them to die, and with andre, i kinda just don’t care for reasons explained above.

honestly, i think if they kill off another main character this season, it might lessen the chances of killing off another main character in the second season (unless they add more characters to the main cast), and if they end up surviving all the main characters, someone is def getting killed in s2, idk if it’ll be both, but again, anything can happen in this universe so i guess we’ll have to see 🤷🏼‍♀️

#i really don’t know if ANY of this makes sense bc it’s 5am and i kinda just wrote down my thoughts #and i’m not that smart either so 😭 #this was just me ranting about limoreau for a solid four to five paragraphs and then theorizing who is gonna die in the finale #gen v #gen v rambles #marie moreau #jordan li #limoreau #cate dunlap #andre anderson #emma meyer #sam riordan #dean shetty #indira shetty #luke riordan #gen v spoilers #gen v theories

[thesherrinfordfacility]

six months on (albeit, a bit late) part 1/3

part one | part two | epilogue (at some point)

hello would you like a stupid-length run down of the final fifteen?

idk about anyone else, but i kinda find myself regularly in a position where i don't know what to think about the final fifteen. i flit from one explanation or opinion to another; there have been so many facets of this sequence discussed that ive even found myself turned around on what i actually think was going on... was aziraphale threatened? did he do a complete 180 on his character development throughout both seasons? does he genuinely buy what metatron is telling him? how does he take crowley's rejection to return to heaven with him?

so back to basics, and because im itching to stretch the meta-writing legs that isn't solely an ask response or a purely batshit speculation - and because throughout writing this, i anticipate that i might surprise myself on how, overall, i interpret the whole scene... going back to basics and simply rewatching the scene (and making copious notes) is in order! just don't expect this to be anything you've necessarily not seen before - there are no revelations in this post.

please also note that this is an incredibly long, winding, and abhorrently lengthy post. no im not actually sorry about it, i needed to write it all out for my own bloody sanity

shall we begin?

so first thing's first: metatron saying his first line as he did indicates that aziraphale has expressed some hesitation. might be his body language, or possibly he's even said as such - something along the lines of, 'id need to discuss it with crowley', or something as simple as, 'im not sure, i need to think'. either way, aziraphale certainly responds to the metatron in a way that would suggest he is excited... but definitely incredulous and nervous.

and as for the metatron terming it as 'good news'; he seems to think that he and aziraphale are on the same page, that they hold the same opinion on whatever they've talked about. given what he later says about crowley, however - plus the borderline-disparaging remarks about going his own way, the Evil Glare™, and how quickly he just accepts that crowley isn't going - suggest that he a) doesn't want crowley in heaven, and b) that he anticipates that crowley will, in fact, consider the offer to return to heaven as very much Bad News Bears, and summarily reject it.

aziraphale starts making his way back to the bookshop, and boy do those expressions tell a story. that is not a happy angel. as soon as he steps off the pavement, his face falls, and his brow tightens in nerves, worry, and possibly even confusion; that to me is a, 'how the fuck am i going to explain this, how am i even going to word it?'. there's a quick, fortifying breath, and he's squaring the shoulders just as he moves out of frame. getting fanciful, that is an angel that is practically steeling himself to do battle; he knows crowley isn't going to like this, knows that it's going to be a hard sell. but what is key is that he does all of this walking away from the metatron, where he can't see - if nothing else, it's a very different expression to the 'excitement' he showed just seconds earlier.

but then he gets into the bookshop, and that expression is gone. for whatever reason, he doesn't want crowley to see it either. he doesn't want crowley to see anything less than joy, confidence, or excitement - he doesn't want to let crowley see that something is wrong/amiss. we then see the metatron, after establishing that muriel might be an adequate replacement to look after the bookshop, look across the street and presumably have a clear view of the two of them in the shop itself.

now, let's talk about crowley for a sec. crowley is equally nervous, and we can presume that it stems from the conversation with nina and maggie - that he needs to start opening communication with aziraphale, especially if anything is to move forward... and the best place to start, we presume (because, ultimately, we don't know for certain what he was going to say or how he was going to word it in this moment) is to propose that he and aziraphale - if nothing else - truly become an 'us'. maybe there's a love confession in there, maybe not. regardless, he's fidgety, but resolute; he even swipes off his glasses to show how committed he is to diving headfirst into this vulnerability that he otherwise keeps under wraps.

aziraphale, whilst crowley is word-vomiting, is immediately starting off with hand movements to get him to slow down, to quieten down, or stop talking altogether. as he does so, he's looking right back out of the shop window, as if he's aware of metatron's reciprocal gaze in. he's doing so with a pretty sincere smile on his face, and that to me is saying a couple of things:

aziraphale, i think, from the moment he set foot in the shop and saw nina and maggie coming back out, possibly already knew where crowley was going with the conversation. he's just watched as crowley practically offered up alpha centauri to gabriel and beelzebub as a refuge, somewhere he's already expressed that he and aziraphale could go to escape the apocalypse. so; to aziraphale's mind, in crowley doing so, a) crowley has chosen to remain on earth come what may - otherwise he'd have kept his chosen prospective bolthole quiet, and b) in the context where crowley offers it to them, as a safe place for two hereditary enemies just like them to love each other in peace, aziraphale recognises that that might have been what crowley wanted for them too. ergo, to my mind, crowley's confession is not necessarily a surprise to aziraphale - i daresay he likely saw it coming

aziraphale does not jump in straight away to interrupt crowley, and nor does he do it with any harsh or abrupt language. he wants to revisit this conversation - literally the meaning of 'hold that thought' - but what he has to say takes precedence. and to be fair, depending on how we interpret the preceding scene with the metatron (and what is revealed in the flashback conversation), it is arguably a more pressing matter to discuss, especially if it concerns their respective safeties... but it's a conversation he wants to return to

that being said, if aziraphale does know that the confession is inbound, the fact that he would treat it as somewhat of a joking matter - especially given how uncomfortable and fervent crowley's own demeanour is - is a bit... nasty? aziraphale has definitely, on previous occasions, expressed flashes of superiority over crowley, but i don't think this is a situation where he does feel superior... not at all. instead, again, considering how he quickly cheers up his expression when he enters the shop, this to me is aziraphale trying to mask his own discomfort, panic, and worry. he's keeping this whole thing as light and airy as he possibly can.

we then move on to aziraphale telling crowley he has some "incredibly good news" to give him... which, okay, sure, it might be that aziraphale is anticipating it to be good news. but again, the expression outside the shop? if he was that confident that crowley would be jumping for joy at the merest suggestion of returning to heaven, the conflicted expressions of worry and trepidation would, presumably, not have happened. so, i once again can only take this line to be aziraphale trying to dress it up with excitement. and i say dress it up because... we've seen aziraphale beside himself with excitement, right? and this is not it. this (first two snips) is aziraphale being giddy with excitement, or at least a job well done, not the latter clip:

aziraphale is barely able to get the words out properly after this point, he's nigh incoherent, and his hand movements indicate he's practically frantic... someone who normally, even when nervous or uncomfortable, keeps his hands quite close to his body, clasped comfortingly in front of him or stiff at his sides. we then furthermore have what he seems to mouth in the midst of this flurry of movement and mumbling, which, yes, is speculation but i rather much stand by it so far... and as such, seems to match his expression outside of the bookshop of, 'what the fuck am i going to say'.

also worth noting, to his credit, that crowley is being remarkably patient throughout all of this - i think he potentially does recognise that something is amiss? the 'somethings wrong' voice? recognises that despite himself being interrupted from something really quite important, aziraphale is evidently... not himself.

what intrigues me however, before we get into the meat of aziraphale and metatron's conversation, is how aziraphale words this particular bit:

because aziraphale catches himself before he says something potentially rather offensive, and then turns it back on himself. for example: "i don't think he's as bad a fellow as he came across", or "-as we thought he was", compared to aziraphale then backtracking and owning that it was his fault, "i think i might have misjudged him!".

what does it matter if he calls out the metatron for having been an arse in s1? it was a perfectly fair assessment to make, by all accounts, and presumably one that he and crowley had a laugh/bitch over post-s1... why would he recount that particular line? it wouldn't change the sentiment, ultimately - that aziraphale is trying to convey to crowley that the metatron 'is actually kind of alright!' - and it's not like crowley would be offended either way... so, are we to assume that even if the metatron can't hear what he's saying (although i have further speculation on this too, by the by, but this is a little more tentative) aziraphale perhaps fears that he can? in much the same way that he only let his expression truly slip once his back was turned, out on the street?

but then we move onto the offer itself, and the conversation between him and the metatron. aziraphale starts getting into his stride, probably because now he's just simply recounting what actually happened, all supported by the flashbacks we get. aziraphale isn't having to lie, as far as we can tell - he's simply going over the conversation he had. let's break that down:

aziraphale initially seems quite relaxed to be sat opposite metatron, insomuch that he doesnt look overly tense. frankly, he just looks bored, wanting to get this over and done with, likely so he can head back to the bookshop and be left in peace. as he said before they left; he has made his position clear, he wants nothing to do with heaven (at least as it currently is), and this is just a courtesy, to hear out whatever the voice of god has to say. of course, metatron then blindsides aziraphale by saying that - of course - the only option to replace gabriel must be aziraphale.

what is noteworthy is how aziraphale says, "and i said... "me?!"... and he said-". because when we cut back to the flashback, aziraphale's expression has not changed at all. there's no excitement, but more just bafflement and shock... and not one that indicates he's in any way enthusiastic about the idea. the fact that aziraphale chooses to recount that particular 'me?!' the way he does to crowley suggests that he's, quite possibly, putting it on, playing the part, and deliberately overstating his initial reaction - almost like he's trying to hype crowley up in turn. furthermore - aside from all the handwaving and nervous huffs of laughter - aziraphale does not even blink throughout this whole spiel to crowley. just an observation.

metatron gives his bullshit rationalisation for choosing aziraphale - and i say bullshit because from their last interaction in s1, aziraphale arguably did not display much of the qualities that metatron purports he has... if any at all - and aziraphale visibly starts to subtly panic. there's the glance away, his shoulders stiffen, he swallows nervously, breathes heavily. when aziraphale does speak, it's immediately to declare that he doesn't want the position, doesn't want to go back to heaven full stop (very reminiscent of his reaction to the promotion offer in the cut 1800 scene), and gives the excuse of the coffee.

metatron then brings out Les Big Guns. before the metatron says anything else, and without so much as a hint from aziraphale, metatron oh so casually remarks that aziraphale would have the final say on who he works with. he already anticipates that aziraphale's hang-up about going back to heaven may not be in fact the coffee, and tbh may not in fact be anything to do with earth itself, but everything to do with crowley remaining on earth. crowley is however a demon, and in his current form would not be able to go to heaven (which in turn begs another observation - does metatron not know that crowley infiltrated heavily pretty easily earlier in the episode?... hmm).

as such, the obvious solution for the metatron is to drop the fact that he probably knows a lot more about aziraphale and crowley's historic dealings with each other than would otherwise be anticipated. he mentions that he has had the chance to peruse over... recordings? reports? photos? that show the span of aziraphale's relationship with crowley - and unspokenly suggests that he knows everything. and then he offers a very neat, tidy solution to that small 'hes a demon' snag. he tells aziraphale he would have the authority to restore crowley, so he could come with him.

aziraphale, whilst metatron is revealing the scope of his intelligence gathering, looks like he's about to burst into tears. to me? that is horror, and fear - like a frightened animal being suddenly backed into a corner. his eyes start darting everywhere, his face - especially his jaw - tenses, and he looks like he's about to leg it out of his chair at any given moment. and namely, once metatron tells him he could restore crowley to being an angel, we don't see aziraphale's resultant expression at all. it immediately cuts back to the bookshop.

why would aziraphale fear metatron knowing everything about him and crowley? this isn't clear. it may simply be residue fear, muscle memory, from years gone by where their association has had to exist in utmost secret. alternatively, it might be that aziraphale is not comfortable in the knowledge that not only does metatron want something from him (to return to heaven), but that metatron has very accurately landed on aziraphale's pressure point (crowley). this is what i mean when i say, as i have in previous posts, that i don't think there's a missing, overt threat from the metatron that we've not been shown, but that aziraphale feels threatened.

compare this to nearly every spy movie you've ever seen - you want someone to do something for you, but they're resistant? just casually drop that you know that their partner has just had a new haircut, or that their child looked happy going into school that morning, or that their parent is struggling to pay for their medical bills... it's sufficient information enough to instill a sense of peril without being an unclassy, hamfisted, overt threat.

my last thought on the flashbacks; as was said brilliantly in this post (@fearandhatred), i don't think the flashbacks were disingenuous, and i don't believe that there are gaps missing that will be revealed in s3. but i do think that there are some key things that aziraphale might not have actually told crowley in his recount of the conversation. crowley responds in his next line specifically to the offer of restoration... so, did aziraphale even tell him about the metatron knowing all about them? their "de facto partnership", their "previous exploits"? because personally, i don't think he did. once again - the narrative irony that we as the audience have the full story, but crowley potentially does not.

but anyway; back to the bookshop.

...okay, aziraphale. right. i mean, first of all, crowley is just as taken aback, shocked, and incredulous as aziraphale seems to have been during the flashbacks. but aziraphale? everything has slowed down, almost calmed, like the eye of the storm has passed over. he almost looks less manic, less (frankly) deranged, and seems to actually be settling in the fact that the offer itself might actually be a good thing - something that crowley might in fact want. it's still not quite right, he's still not quite acting in a way that makes me think aziraphale's being entirely forthcoming with crowley.

the way he says that crowley could "come back" is soft and gentle, as if he's granting the most amazing, positively astounding opportunity - that heaven is doing something that it has never (as far as we or aziraphale, presumably, is aware) done before, and welcoming crowley back... like it's equal parts forgiveness towards crowley for having done whatever he did (im deliberately trying to keep this concept very vague and objective), and apology to crowley for a punishment that far outweighed any possible 'crime' he could have committed... like heaven is attempting to make reparations for what they did to him in the fall.

putting this outside the main body because it's another slight tangent. we know that crowley being good, nice, and/or kind is not necessarily indicative that crowley should or ought to be an angel. there are shades of grey. however, i do think aziraphale... still has issues with that. still has issues with aligning what he thinks good is, how intrinsically important being good is to him, and then where crowley sits in the midst of all of it - almost like aziraphale accepts that he himself may be in the grey, accepts his shortcomings, but where crowley is concerned aziraphale readily glosses over a number of his... not-so-nice bits. this might stem from aziraphale believing that it's more palatable to love crowley if he believes him to essentially be an angel in all but name, but i don't think it's quite that. more that aziraphale maybe thinks that 'good' is the ideal to hold, that heaven is the place that was meant to be good, and that crowley himself is good... so... well, isn't it the logical conclusion that crowley would want to return to heaven?

so going back to this bit of the scene: i don't think aziraphale ever wanted crowley to revert back to factory settings, never even considered the notion, nor necessarily thought that crowley would be better as an angel... but instead perhaps that being an angel again is what crowley would want. that it would be nothing more, really, than a rubber stamp in his personnel file. i think aziraphale was simply remembering the angel that was joyful in creating, surrounded himself in the exaltation of imagining new and wonderful things, bringing them to life; why wouldn't, in its most basic essence, aziraphale want that for crowley again? for crowley to be back where - as far as aziraphale likely remembers - he was at his happiest? and if he has the power to give it, like the metatron said, isn't that the greatest gift aziraphale could ever bestow upon him?

if we accept, as the whole final fifteen scene is intimating pretty strongly thus far, that aziraphale is trying to keep his panic and fear about the whole situation under wraps from crowley, it simultaneously makes sense that he would offer this to crowley as if he's saying:

'here's a wonderful thing that im pretty certain you've always wanted; please, just this once, don't ask questions about anything else, please just concentrate on this, i can handle everything else. just please say yes to coming back with me, i need you to come back. you can be happy, and i can sort out heaven, so that one day we can just simply walk away and never have to look over our shoulders. i'm scared, but i don't really have a choice, and tbh im even more scared what might happen if i leave you behind.'

but as metatron, i think, clearly anticipates, and as i think aziraphale truthfully does too as he first heads into the bookshop, this was never going to be something that crowley would accept. it's not something crowley wants. crowley - for whatever reason (again, in the absence of knowing anything concrete about the fall, keeping this deliberately vague) - was rejected by heaven in the most literal sense possible. slapping him with an angel stamp and dressing him in a white suit means nothing of value to him, and is the furthest from what he wants; in fact, actually, if anything, it's the biggest insult he could be afforded. because what has suddenly made him redeemable, palatable, 'forgiveable', in the eyes of heaven? nothing; just that he's a pawn in whatever bargain the metatron is trying to strike with aziraphale... and from crowley's pov, aziraphale has agreed to using him as a game piece. it doesn't confer value onto crowley, if anything it reduces it; in this equation, even if he were to accept the offer, he'd essentially be nothing more than a negotiated benefit for aziraphale to take the job.

(and that's all assuming that restoration would in fact mean crowley gets to continue being him, albeit in fancy white clothes - when there's the very real possibility that, if restoration as a concept even exists at all, heaven would just wipe him and set him off from ground zero all over again. aziraphale seems to have taken the metatron's word for it; that restoration even exists, that aziraphale would have the power to do it, and that it would mean he gets to keep crowley exactly as he is).

at which point... crowley knows that aziraphale didn't turn down the offer in the metaphorical room - "and you told him just where he could stick it, then?"... he's hopeful, possibly, but his expression suggests that he fully anticipates that aziraphale has bought into the crock of shit that metatron has spun him. that aziraphale took the job on the provision that crowley could join him, which crowley points out to be beneath the both of them, "oh, we're better than that- you're better than that, angel!".

aziraphale however, as explained above, sees it as being the best, safest, most opportune option for them both to take; "not at all", said with the tone of surprise that it is, suggests that aziraphale didn't ever consider the possibility of saying no, maybe because he feels that he can't, and never thought that crowley would say no, either. along with the surprise tone however, he says it with a very tense expression - the smile has frozen, and his tense are gritted. it might be that he genuinely thought that crowley would say yes, or because - again, if he's in fear of being overheard - he's worried about the implications of what crowley has just said.

crowley goes on to rant that he turned down hell when beelzebub made a very similar offer to crowley in ep1 (which, by the by, he... didn't. for whatever reason, crowley did not say no, nor any variant of a refusal, to beelzebub), and aziraphale remarks that that's a given, as "you're the bad guys".

now... i wince at this particular line every time i watch the final fifteen, as im sure everyone else does, but i don't think it's - at all - meant in the way that crowley likely receives it. certainly not in the way that the majority of the audience seems to have received it.

im not set to diminish or invalidate, on crowley's part, how it must feel to hear aziraphale still consider him a 'bad guy', simply because he's a demon. but from aziraphale's perspective, crowley is a demon, and demons are of hell. hell are not the good guys, as a collective - as has been proven time and time again - and, well, if heaven are meant to be the good guys, hell are by process of elimination the bad guys. once again, aziraphale arrives a rather binary conclusion of good vs. evil.

but equally consider that this is also the aziraphale that regularly compliments crowley on his niceness and his good deeds. that same aziraphale does not think of crowley as 'a bad guy'. he is blunt that crowley is of hell, who are the collective bad guys, because hell is the bad side to the heaven that was meant to be the good side. and as said above - crowley is good! he's a good person! he might be a demon, of hell, but he belongs on the side of good! which leads to this lovely little number:

throughout this whole part of their discussion, aziraphale has presented as more and more sure, less panicky and nervous - because i think this is something that he absolutely believes. he might have initially not wanted anything to do with heaven, but now? with the possibility that crowley could join him? suddenly then it's viable... lucrative, even - that he could fix heaven, that crowley could help him do it, they'd be together, and they'd get their happy, safe ending. his expression on "good" would suggest his confusion that crowley doesn't appear to share the same opinion - sure, heaven is shit now, but it was always meant to be good, right?* doesn't crowley see that?

crowley, however, justifiably illustrates that, the way he sees it (and has been demonstrated by the narrative), both sides are as flawed and redundant as each other; aziraphale can be as optimistic as he likes that heaven is redeemable, is fixable, but all crowley can see is that both are so inherently awful, so rotten to the very foundation, that there is no saving them... heaven least of all, for being the side that purports itself to be good. hell, at least, is aware of its very nature; heaven is insidious, and doesn't even have the good grace to acknowledge it, instead chalking it up to being god's will, and therefore whatever they do must be good.

and with that, i think crowley simultaneously starts to really panic - knowing that he's losing aziraphale - and yet hopes against all hope that he's gotten through to him, changed his mind, and begins pleading with him to tell him the exact thing he wants to hear; 'this is a bad idea, please don't do this, please-'

aziraphale is visibly struggling to even collect his thoughts, to even find the words to summarise why he's going to do this. simultaneously, aziraphale is dumbfounded. i think part of that is because he recognises the truth in what crowley is saying, but i also think that he's now in a position where his plan to get crowley to come with him has failed, and he's at a loss for what to do - what to say - next. he looks from crowley, looks out the window, his mouth is working to try and say something, even looks down at his feet, before coming up with the best way he can to explain why he's doing this. "if im in charge... i can make a difference."

*because once again (i'll die on this hill), i don't think aziraphale thinks that heaven as it currently is, is something that is good, light, or truth... but that heaven's intended purpose was to be those things, and is what heaven in essence stands for... irrespective of whoever is in charge. aziraphale has no allegiance to heaven as it currently is. michael, uriel, sandalphon, gabriel when he was supreme archangel - all of them have corrupted heaven to be something that it was never meant to be. but aziraphale has to believe that heaven itself is redeemable, has to believe that there is something salvageable; if it weren't, does that mean that aziraphale in turn is not either of those things too? does that mean that aziraphale is not good? heaven is capable of great things, that could benefit everyone involved; so couldn't aziraphale, from all of the experience he's gained, do something to make heaven exactly that?

it doesn't mean that aziraphale is any more correct for this more nuanced assumption, but i think it poses there is a very fine line in aziraphale's thinking. to my mind, aziraphale is not backtracking on the entirety of what he's learnt since the beginning, he's not suddenly heaven's man again - but instead is recognising that heaven is broken as it currently is... and that he could potentially fix it. if anything, that recognition that what he thought was faultless actually needs fixing, and that he may be able to do it, because it's the right thing to do... is exactly the character development i was expecting? an angel who has himself been rejected time and time again for being who he is, without even the finality of falling, could actually be the key to making heaven something worthy of the name.

he has to take that opportunity, to be that change, but he doesn't want to leave crowley to do so. not only because, of course, he simply loves crowley and wants both, but if he does leave crowley, what could happen to crowley without aziraphale being in a position to protect him? what, for me, it all boils down to is that aziraphale thinks going to heaven is the right thing to do, but only entertained it seriously when a) crowley's name, and their relationship, was casually mentioned in a way that felt like metatron would use it as leverage, and b) crowley could potentially come with him. ultimately, the fact remains that crowley more important to him than heaven is.

let's return to the specific wording of 'make a difference'. it's... fairly neutral, right? make a difference for whom? what kind of difference? the difference that metatron was talking about, or the difference that, in the most idealistic scenario possible, aziraphale and crowley both would probably want to happen? it's carefully worded - and coupled with eeeeverything that i've said about how aziraphale acts with the metatron, how he was hiding his expression as he entered the shop, and then how aziraphale seems to backtrack on bitch-talking the metatron... look, i don't necessarily buy that aziraphale is trying to speak in a riddle or code that he knows crowley would understand, but i do wonder if he's now hoping that crowley will read between the lines. he can't outright tell crowley his suspicions, and was possibly trying to get crowley to come with him in a way that wouldn't alert crowley to anything amiss whatsoever... but now? now that crowley is resisting? he has to edge slightly closer towards transparency.

in the hypothetical scenario that aziraphale is fearful that they may be overheard, or observed, aziraphale has to be careful. he has to word whatever he says in such a way that he appears to be heaven's man, that he genuinely wants to take the opportunity to run heaven and the 'enormous projects' that are in planning, in a way that doesn't disclose to the metatron that aziraphale is in any way suspicious of him. to crowley, however, he has to convey that he isn't heaven's man, that he wants to change things that would mean that it be for the better, and do all of that whilst not alerting crowley that there may be danger. 'make a difference' suddenly has a double-meaning, because for whose benefit does aziraphale truly want to change things?

crowley then, bless his heart, bravely launches into his confession that he tried to start at the beginning, and i think he does so in an effort to be completely transparent on why he needs aziraphale to stay - an effort to convince him to remain with crowley for no other reason than that he wants to be with him... and now? now he's not even sure it'll work. he's tried demonstrating where heaven isn't worth the effort, to no avail, so now he's going for full vulnerability mode. honestly, what a trooper, he was so so brave

aziraphale throughout the confession is practically motionless. the manic energy has disappeared, and from the subtle flickers in his expression, i think he saw this coming - saw it coming from the moment that he saw crowley offer up alpha centauri to gabriel and beelzebub, and saw nina and maggie very surreptitiously leave the bookshop. i think to some degree, aziraphale knew at least the nature of what crowley was going to say, and as a result, he gets very nervous:

at the sheer mention of "group", aziraphale pointedly (to me, anyway) looks out of the window. generally, he looks shifty - avoiding eye contact, eyes flickering, heavy breathing - but it's so deliberate that he looks out of the window where, we can surmise, is the general environs of where the metatron is still waiting. again - the metatron saying "de facto partnership", and all of his allusions to knowing the true nature and extent of aziraphale's association with crowley, seems all the more sinister if this line - "a team- a group!" - is specifically when aziraphale's eyes betray his concern. i don't think he's necessarily scared that the metatron will overhear this bit, because ultimately the metatron has intimated that he already knows this, but crowley is, potentially, and very much unknowingly, placing them in even more danger by vocalising the exact nature of what he and aziraphale feel for each other.

i also want to remark on aziraphale's look of confusion when crowley says, "spent our existence pretending that we aren't". ive had many a thought on why aziraphale would look so perplexed, and only one kind of makes sense to me - that actually, within the last few years, aziraphale... wasn't pretending at all. crowley told him that they were on their own side in tadfield, something that may have taken a while, but ultimately aziraphale in the "so did i" demonstrates that he was fully on board with, and he's now spent a good portion of s2 trying to make 'their side' all the more meaningful... crowley was no longer going too fast for him, but instead he was trying to show crowley that he had caught up - felt free enough to match his speed.

that, for me, would make sense with crowley's next line, where he himself clarifies that actually, no - the last couple of years they weren't pretending like they were before. something changed after armageddon, and that was that they both were removed enough from heaven and hell that they could finally explore what 'us' might mean for them. crowley is consistently taken aback by what aziraphale intended to be overtures of closeness and adoration - the frequent touching, the bentley, the ball - because aziraphale was trying to demonstrate it with actions, rather than words. crowley previously showed aziraphale how he felt about him - the rescues, the dinners, the books - and aziraphale was trying to speak to him in a language that he thought crowley would understand.

but crowley then plays the card that he played before, and that even under better circumstances aziraphale would never accept; "if gabriel and beelzebub can do it, go off together, then we can!". aziraphale didn't accept it - however much he might have selfishly, privately wanted to - in s1 under threat of armageddon, and it's certainly not an option now when the metatron is literally outside the door. again, if we accept that aziraphale has read the conversation he had with the metatron as some kind of subtle threat, legging it is absolutely not an option he can take. on one hand, he might not want to; aziraphale typically chooses, when his back is against the wall, to fight his way out, to push back. on the other... it's the same as the bandstand; where could they possibly go where heaven won't find them? if they even got that far, how long would they have to keep running? they would constantly have to look over their shoulders, and exist together as if it's something that should be hidden out of fear, and guilt, and shame.

it then makes sense that aziraphale suddenly finds movement as crowley in turn grows more frantic in them being "an 'us'!"; aziraphale starts quickly shaking his head, tearing up, at what crowley is saying. crowley tries stoicly to cajole aziraphale into agreeing, because surely this time he will. aziraphale however strides right up to him, and counters again that he and crowley can be together, can be an 'us', but why can't it be in heaven? neither of them are denying what they want from the other. aziraphale then goes on to lay out exactly how it could work, that he could "run it, [crowley'll] be [his] second-in-command".

i know that a lot of people take issue with this line, because it suggests that aziraphale is claiming superiority, and relegating crowley to the oh-so-lowly deputy position... but tbh, i just can't see it like that. i have no doubt that crowley might see it like that (re: what i said above about crowley potentially seeing the restoration as an insult, because it's only offered not in recognition of crowley himself, but instead as a consolatory benefit of aziraphale taking the offer) but i just simply cannot fathom that aziraphale would ever mean it like that. because look - they haven't even gotten out the door, and already aziraphale has it all planned out. he'd bypass the other archangels not only to take the top position himself, at the metatron's behest, but he'd immediately use that power to install crowley right by his side. he's not offering crowley to just return to his lab/office cubicle as an angel, and once-in-a-blue-moon see aziraphale when he maybe had the time; he's already scheming to give crowley one of the most powerful positions he possibly can. he wants to place crowley in a position not only where aziraphale can always protect him, but it also shows that he trusts crowley more implicitly than any other being, and is frankly offering to fix heaven to be one that crowley would want to see. that crowley could have direct input in building. one that is good enough to have him.

aziraphale solidifies this with "we can make a difference". note the pronoun shift from before? and how he half-whispers it to crowley, fervent and desperate for crowley to see exactly what they could do together? notice how aziraphale isn't scanning around him at the windows anymore? to me, this is the real motivation, right here. metatron is giving both of them an opportunity for them to play their own game; aziraphale is prepared to take it, but wants crowley by side - as a team - when he does... why wouldn't crowley?

okay im going to cheat here slightly and direct you to this, because my thoughts on this are pretty much still the same. it's apt that this is the nail in the coffin as far as this conversation goes, because for me it's the main (only?) instance in which the two of them are both entirely candid in what they're saying, hoping the other understands, and yet the two meanings miss each other completely. everything else has been a conflict in beliefs or ideals, but this? this is The miscommunication.

crowley is saying: 'this bookshop means so much to you, and it means so much to me too. you even said it was ours, not just yours; it represents where we both felt most safe, where we could be entirely ourselves and not fear or worry about anything going on outside it. you gave me a home in this place, with you - you can't just leave it like it's nothing, you can't just leave 'us' like it's nothing, you can't just leave me like im nothing.'

aziraphale is saying: 'this bookshop means so much to me, it's true, but in a thousand years - even maybe a hundred years - it will be little more than rubble. it represents what i used to treasure more than anything, because it was what i took pleasure in, and i could be myself. it was ours, but really all it is, is little more than paper, glass, and brick. you are my home, and you are more important than a building with windows and a creaky front door. being together, being safe, is all i want, and is all that matters.'

all of that is summed up nicely in crowley just... letting all the fight drain out of his body. tilts his head back, in that famous nod of, 'oh right okay, i see what you're saying'. wills the tears not to fall; to him, aziraphale has just rejected everything that crowley thought aziraphale held dear - including himself. nothing lasts forever, including them... when what aziraphale is saying is that nothing lasts forever, but they could.

crowley puts his shield back on, the sunglasses back in their usual place. aziraphale sees him do so, and has the faintest, hopeful smile on his face; because he thinks that crowley has finally gotten what aziraphale was trying to convey to him - and so, now, they're going to leave the shop together, go to heaven together, and work together to fix heaven into what it always should have been... and along the way, grant them the freedom to do whatever the hell they want to do, and do it in peace. crowley however shatters that; he steps out from around aziraphale, and wishes him luck... and aziraphale realises that they are not in fact on the same page, and actually now whatever was holding on by a thread might have finally snapped.

*

okay look if you've made it this far - first of all how and why, you madman, this was stupidly long and convoluted... but also many kisses of gratitude unto you for sticking it out this long. i'm planning (if the dopamine gods remain with me) on doing a part 2 where i look at the last bit of the domestic, and the kiss, again - to see what i unearth there too, but thoughts so far:

aziraphale feels under threat from the metatron, and has to prioritise acquiescing to his request on pain of [redacted]

but he also knows that if the metatron knows that crowley is his pressure point, his only option is to try to a) convince the metatron that he (aziraphale) is completely on board, and docile, and b) convince crowley to come back with him, not only for his safety but also so they can be together, and because actually, to aziraphale's mind, the offer is a good thing, possibly something crowley has always secretly wanted, and crowley deserves it

alongside feeling threatened, aziraphale is wary that the metatron may be able to observe/hear their conversation. he therefore cannot say anything that would antagonise the metatron, cannot say anything that would suggest that aziraphale knows that the metatron is a Big Bad, and cannot let crowley in on the truth because crowley would question it too hard and endanger them both

aziraphale knows that crowley is about to confess his feelings, or something of a similar sentiment. aziraphale wants to hear it, but only when he can be sure that crowley will come back to heaven with him, where he can be safe in a position of power, right by aziraphale's side

when crowley begins to resist the idea, and battles back with a plan of this own for them to be together, aziraphale a) has to impress upon him that going back to heaven, and potentially fixing it in their image (lmao god complex much, aziraphale?) is the right thing to do, especially if they are to have any kind of future together, and b) has to do so, again, in a way that won't alert crowley that something more nefarious might be going on. regardless, they both operate on the understanding that they want to be together

however. the one major miscommunication in the entire part of the first sequence is "nothing lasts forever" - this particular part is practically the repeat of the different exactlies from episode 1

ok bye

#good omens #feral domestic/final fifteen meta #metatron spec #aziraphale meta

[spnexploration]

Brotherly Figures part 3

Summary: (Early seasons) Sam and Dean save a 15 year old, newly orphaned teenager from vampires. Much to their chagrin, she ends up tagging along on hunts, giving them both a fresh chance at acting like a brotherly figure.

Series masterlist

Part 2 <- -> Part 4

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Ava (teen!OC), Bobby Singer

Episode summary: The boys set their ground rules for Ava joining them.

Episode warnings: None

A/N: Bit of canon divergence here. I wanted John to still be alive so I had to set it in season 1, but I also wanted the opportunity of hanging out with Ellen and Jo at some point.

I awoke in a strange bed, opening my eyes to the empty motel room. I panicked briefly that the Winchesters had abandoned me, before noticing their belongings were still strewn around the room. Then I realised I could hear the low timbre of their voices, but couldn't make out the words, in amongst the noises of the road and birds. They must be standing outside talking.

I got out of bed and padded to the motel room door. I opened it a crack and saw the boys standing right outside. They stopped speaking when they saw me.

“If you're going to talk about me, you may as well do it in front of me,” I grumped at them. Dean scowled at me but they both traipsed back in.

“Alright, we have some conditions,” Dean began, “if you're serious about wanting to become a hunter.”

“I am.”

“The first one is that you don't see one speck of action until I say you're ready. You are going to have to train for this, just like we did.” I nodded.

“My condition,” Sam said, “is that you finish high school. You can enrol in distance education and I'll tutor you, but you are not throwing your entire future away.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sam is always serious about school,” Dean interjected, a touch of laughter in his voice.

“What the hell use is high school?” I glared at Sam.

“Well, for one it'll get you into college-”

“How many hunters go to college?!” I interrupted him.

“I did,” he countered, still calm despite my agitation. “And I'm going back to law school at some point. Secondly, hunting isn’t all about swinging knives and shooting salt. A significant portion is understanding lore, doing research, knowing how to critically read what's written. All skills you develop in high school.”

“Did you finish high school?” I asked Dean.

“I didn't drop out at 15,” he countered, arms crossed. “Besides, you want to travel with us you have to convince both of us. This is Sammy's hill and he's choosing to die on it.”

“You’re serious,” I said as I glanced between them, “I have to do high school in order to travel around literally killing monsters with you two?”

“Yes,” Sam said simply.

“Fiiiine,” I sassed. Sam smiled.

“Speaking of travelling around,” Dean started, “Sometimes, we're going to have to leave you behind. Especially in the beginning, but I can't promise you you'll always be able to come in the future, either.”

“So I just have to chill in the motel room?”

“Sometimes, yes. But when I say leave you behind, I mean we're going to drop you with some of our friends.”

“Who are these ‘friends’?” I said, apprehensive.

“Hunters and hunter supporters. We used to get dropped at Bobby's when we were your age too, and Ellen has a daughter a couple of years younger than Sam. We're not going to abandon you, kid.”

“You’re not going to take me if I say no, are you?” I said, much quieter and more hesitant than I had been when challenging Sam about school.

“No.”

I bit my lip.

“You'll be safe with them,” Sam said gently, reaching out to my hand and giving it a squeeze, correctly guessing the reason for my hesitation. “Promise.”

I nodded.

“Ok,” Dean said, “Here's the plan. Sam and I are going to finish this case. You,” he looked me straight in the eyes and pointed his finger at me, “are not going to leave this room. Once we're done, we're going to Bobby's.” I nodded meekly.

“What's our cover story if anyone does see Ava?” Sam asked.

Dean looked me up and down. “How is anyone going to buy two twenty-something year old men with a 15yo girl in their room?” he muttered. “We’re going to be arrested for child trafficking...”

“I could be your sister,” I said hesitantly.

“That could work,” Sam said. “We’ll need to all be up to speed on some details about each other in case we get questioned.” Dean and I nodded.

“It’s probably a good cover story for wherever we go,” Dean said. “If we're in a town being the FBI or whatever, then you can just be my sister. People who know us know that our Mum died when Sammy was a baby, so you'll have to be our half-sister from our Dad. Explains why no one has seen you before, too. But for the love of God, don't tell him you're our sister when we find him next.”

“Ok,” I agreed. “So, what do I need to know?”

We ran through our birth dates, putting them into our phone calendars. Dean was 26, Sam 22 and I had recently turned 15. We came up with a cover story for how I'd gotten in touch with them and started travelling around, and that my mother was dead.

“Alright, we're gonna head out and finish this case,” Dean threw me the remote to the TV, “Don't break anything, don't leave, and don't talk to anyone. Capiche?”

“I get it Dean, you've said it 30 times already.”

“We’ll bring you back some food later,” Sam said.

They left. I channel surfed, wondering what I’d gotten myself into.

 

---

 

Bobby didn't seem that put out when Sam and Dean rocked up with me in the backseat. “Who's the kid?” he asked as we got out of the car.  

“Orphan,” Dean replied, at the same time as Sam said “Ava”.

“Need you to look out for her for us,” Dean continued, “get her started on her training.”

“You two idjits go on a recruiting drive?”

“It was not our idea,” Dean huffed.

“Let's get inside then,” Bobby said, turning to the house, “you can fill me in on the details later.”

Sam took me to a bedroom upstairs. I could hear Dean and Bobby talking about me in the kitchen, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Sam left me to put my things in the room and went to join the others.

The men were still talking when I came down the stairs, moving quietly so I could hear them.

“I'm jus’ worried you're going to do to her exactly what your Daddy did to you boys,” I heard Bobby say, “and she ain't going to thank you for it.”

“Believe me Bobby, I know,” Dean said.

“We’re going to do it differently, we're going to do it better,” Sam said. “Besides, it's us taking her in or her going out and getting herself killed trying to hunt things alone. You saw her face Dean, she's already in this life whether we help her or not.”

“So long as you're aware, is all I'm sayin’,” Bobby replied.

There was a small lull in the conversation so I made more noise on the stairs and walked in to the kitchen. Sam looked slightly guilty, perhaps thinking about the fact they'd just been talking about me, but the others had better poker faces.

“Welcome to the family, Ava,” Bobby said. “Guess you're going to be living wit’ me for a while.”

 

---

 

Sam got my enrolment to a distance education provider set up, putting Bobby down as my guardian. He was nothing if not efficient, although I’d been hoping we could delay or even forget about enrolling in school. He found a bunch of grading tests and made me do them, so he could work out what level I was up to in each subject. Then he drew up a whole curriculum and timeline about what I needed to study between now and the end of the school year. He was worse than my teachers.

Dean was at least more fun. He took me out and set up tins on fence posts. He offered me a gun, “You ever shoot anything?” I shook my head.

Dean showed me the basics of the gun he had then got me to have a go. I finally got one of the tins on my 5th or 6th attempt, but I think it was a fluke. “Might be something you need to work on in between all that school work Sammy's devised,” he joked at me.

On my 4th day at Bobby's, Sam and Dean took me to one of Bobby's sheds. “You ever fight anyone?” Dean asked. I shook my head. “Guess Sammy gets to be your first then,” he smirked.

“What?” I asked, incredulous. “You want me to fight Sam? I've seen you two take down vampires with a flick of a wrist, not to mention he's twice my size! I can't fight Sam!”

“Relax kid, I'm not going to set him on you. We're just going to work on some introductory moves.”

“Oh. Ok.”

“But you are going to have to be able to fight him if you ever want to be let loose on monsters,” Dean said more seriously.

“Let's not freak her out just yet,” Sam interjected.

Dean ran us through a few key moves, getting me to block Sam’s attacks and try to escape him grabbing me. I felt clumsy and weak, and was panting and aching by the end of it. I was dispirited, clearly there was so much I just wasn’t cut out for in the life of a hunter.

“Hey,” Sam said to me, noticing my mood. “You're doing great. It's only early days. Dean and I have had a lifetime of this, you haven't even had a week.” I smiled weakly at him.

“It’s uh, it's also not too late to change your mind,” he said hesitantly. “We won't judge you if you want to pull out, we can take you back to your home town and your old school.”

“No!” I snapped.

“Ok, but just remember that the offer’s there.” We walked the rest of the way back to Bobby's kitchen in silence.

Back in the main house kitchen, Bobby approached me. “I found a local teen girls self-defence class,” he said. “Might be a good way to build up some skills, and make some friends your own age.”

“Oh, umm, ok,” I said, surprised he'd been looking. “Thanks.”

“You can't have an old geezer like me as the only person to talk to.”

 

---

 

The next day the Winchesters left. And so my life shifted again.

@leigh70

@malindacath

@ellie-andthemachine

#supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfiction #fanfic series #dean winchester fic #Sam Winchester fic #dean winchester #sam winchester #brothers #teen!OC #platonic supernatural #supernatural #sam winchester fanfiction #dean winchester fanfiction #teen reader insert #teen reader #supernatural x sister!reader #spn x sister!reader #dean winchester x sister!reader #sam winchester x sister!reader

[whats-9plus10]

I'm sorry is Jackson Publick okay cause like

(he's talking about S6 here)

Did he just

Forget P.R.O.M and SPHINX rising? Also literally the last episode of S1?

I vary specifically remember him killing guys in those, and killing the Dean and Hank in S1 (which I count because even tho they came back he did actually kill them)

I didn’t get this until I watched the commentary for the first time.

In the show they made a couple of references that Gary didn’t actually become the scary, murdering henchman that people think he is. That’s just the reputation he created for himself by quietly letting people go or covering his tracks really well.

Doc and Jackson are really good at developing a whole universe for each character that we only see if they decide to elaborate. For example, the Morpho Mobile was NOT covered in the blood of their enemies like I, and I’m sure many other people, had assumed until the commentary clarified.

Doc says that while Gary was the cause of many deaths, he could separate himself from the actions. Now objectively, as the viewer, we know that if you release a snake into a vent after putting snake pheromones into a guy's coffee, it’s your fault if he dies from the snake bite. But Gary’s probably like “Well it wasn’t me it was the snake :)”. He killed the boys in season 1 by accident, he’s a blunderer, but he also knows they can’t die for some reason so that’s a way to justify “killing them”.

They LOVE to only show the before and after of the action. It would be very Venture Bros to have half of those guys from PROM wake up and have to call a cab home because Gary only knocked them unconscious. I don't know how Gary justifies killing the kid and the Long Division henchman. Cognitive dissonance. As a hero maybe he feels the rules are different and it's not murder if you're saving the day. Obviously, that's not true but our boy is doing some compartmentalizing lol

He can’t do that with Horangutan. It was just them, face to face, and Gary punched him so hard his head spun around.

So Gary goes back to tweaking his narrative by stashing guys in the downstairs bathroom. They seemed like they also wanted to play around with him not actually killing Wandering Spider either, but I THINK he actually did. His buried corpse was haunting Gary’s dreams. Who knows though they could explain that one away too. In the same episode, we see Gary as a babe taking credit for killing someone that died accidentally so that he could get his wings, but now the audience knows he never had the guts before.

I kind of love the confusion the audience feels because it’s almost like we’re experiencing what the people in that universe are experiencing. Especially when we see things through The Moanrch’s POV. He doesn’t find out Gary isn’t as tough as he pretended to be until season 6.

#I posted the wandering spider pages earlier than what was in the queue just so I can link it in this post. #Nicely timed ask it was due in a few hours anyway #henchman 21 #ask #gary fischer #the monarch #venture bros

[positivelybeastly]

How do you feel about X-Men '97 coming back?

"Quite the meritorious happenstance, don't you think? One might have thought our tale lost to the annals of history, a dusty page in a tome left up on a shelf to be only occasionally perused as a curiosity or in a pique of nostalgia . . .

But it is not to be so!"

"As Tennyson himself said, "Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, cannon in front of them, volleyed and thundered; stormed at with shot and shell, boldly they rode and well, the X-Men.'

. . . Paraphrasing, of course."

I am incredibly excited.

Now, that's not to say that there aren't issues already - this is very much a nostalgia driven series, aimed pretty much precisely at me and my generation, and if I'm objective about it, I would have preferred it if X-Men: Evolution had come back instead. In terms of long form storytelling and character development, it was just better than the 90s show.

There's also some iffiness going on with Sunspot, who's joined the main cast - I believe his skin tone is incorrect, which is a common problem with a lot of Latino and Afro-Brazilian characters in comic books to this day, and given that they've made the cool choice to make Morph non-binary, I would've figured they'd want to depict Sunspot as accurately as possible?

That being said.

It just looks fucking good, man. Ray Chase is doing an amazing job of channelling the original Cyclops actor, who is no longer with us; the animation still feels very much in keeping with the original show, while still looking a MILLION TIMES BETTER (I completed a rewatch of the show not long ago, and hoo boy does season 5 especially look really rough); and after so many years of Krakoa comics, there's something to be said for going back to basics.

Is it a reversion? Yeah, a little bit. But I like my X-Men to be warm, and a family, and friends, and to play baseball and basketball, and not to all fucking hate each other, so sue me, I'll accept a step back for the story if it means I get the characterisations I prefer back.

Besides, the comics still exist for people who want the Krakoan stuff, so a bit of more original flavour X-Men for those of us who don't want our mutants to be living in various kinds of dystopia won't hurt anybody.

This also gives the show runners an opportunity to fix some of the issues the original show had, like a much more weakly written Jean and Jubilee than they ever were in the comics, and a chance to adapt some storylines that have NEVER been adapted before, like Inferno. I'm optimistic!

And, selfishly? Between the Marvels, X-Men '97, and what's currently going on in X-Force, I'm just ready for Beast to be written well again. I'm really hoping that he gets some good dialogue, a fun fight scene, maybe even a focus episode this season, but so long as he isn't doing some abominable shit, then I'll happily take it.

Maybe that makes me fickle or easy to please? Guilty as charged, then. I'll happily be easily pleased, because it means I'm fucking happy with what I get. :P

I don't know if I'll have a '97 verse? I can already tell you it'd be verse: hated and feared, but there's not a lot that's substantially different about TAS Hank to how he was in the 90s. That being said, I'm DEFINITELY going to try and get my hands on as many caps as possible - as you can already see, the lad looks so handsome!

#straysomethinginthewoods #verse: earth's mightiest! #outofmuffins #gif warning