#the bright sessions spoilers

[thelaurenshippen]

in honor of Damien Gorham's 35th birthday (yep, you heard me, I'm not only celebrating a fictional character's birthday, but the birthday of my own character), I wanted to share my favorite Damien-related excerpt from Some Faraway Place.

it wasn't a conscious choice when I was first sketching out the three Bright Universe novels, but Damien is the only character from the podcast who appears in every book. he's a character I have such complicated feelings about (a feeling I think a lot of listeners/readers share), but with SFP being the last time we hear from him in the universe, I wanted to make sure we left him in a place where he finally was growing.

you don't always get the forgiveness you want from the people you hurt. but that doesn't mean you don't deserve forgiveness at all, or that you can't do better in the future. it's been six years since Damien sent this letter and, while I imagine he's still got a lot of work left to do, I like to think he's out there somewhere, doing better, letting himself love.

#some faraway place spoilers #the bright sessions spoilers #the bright sessions #damien #damien gorham #some faraway place #writing #this post is sort of a simplification of my feelings on damien #because there are certain things he's done that no amount of growth can go back and repair #but that doesn't mean he can't move forward #idk man life is messy and he's probably my most representative character of that fact #and it's taken ME a lot of growth and self love to reflect on mY relationship with him #there's a reason he and sam are similar and in love with the same guy! #two sides of the lauren coin! #anyway #happy birthday robbie

[locallyloathed]

Because @sol-draws-sometimes requested an update, Zero Hour sure is an episode with an ending huh

#can’t believe I was down bad for this man #I’m trying to clean my bathroom but now I’m doing it far more aggressively than necessary bc what the FUCK- #Sam deserves better Joan deserves better Mark deserves better Damien deserves a painful death #all of this on top of the growing division between Adam and Caleb is just sticking needles in my organs #the bright sessions #the bright sessions spoilers #bright sessions #bright sessions spoilers

[bumblefruit-ahhh]

The Bright Sessions fan art. Stayed up late to draw these wonderful, traumatized characters and lived to regret it

#my art #art #bumblemuncher's art #digital illustration #fanart #the bright sessions #the bright sessions characters #sketch #pt 1 #colored version coming soon #Made fun art but at what cost #(Spoiler alert! It’s my sanity!!!)

[thebrightsessions]

Hi! I just recently finished all of the canon TBS content and I’m now such a huge fan!! I’m really normal about Mark (lying).

I had a few questions! In your idea of post-TCT, does Alex ever reunite with the Unusuals? Do Mark and Beck realize they in fact have TWO troubled friends in common? What was Alex up to in the three years since TAMA if not reconnecting with his friends??

Thank you!

GREAT question!! I definitely think that Alex reunites with the Unusuals--in fact, I don't think he ever fell fully out of touch with them.

After everything that happened in A Neon Darkness, I think the Unusuals have a bit of a difficult time really relaxing around each other and also figuring out their own individual relationships to their abilities. And for Alex in particular, he had to focus a lot of his energy into controlling his power after everything Isaiah did to him and also dealing with his drug addiction. So, I think, out of all of them, he kinda fell off the face of the earth for long periods of time (as he was already prone to do) and then when things got really bad, I think Indah and Neon probably helped him get to The AM in California that eventually transferred him to Boston.

Marley--Beck, that is--probably moved away a few years after the events of AND. I bet he had semi regular phone calls with Neon as he was going through grad school, and then probably hosted Neon and Indah when they moved East (I think they're now somewhere in Maine or Vermont or something). I don't know how often they see each other, and I think Beck is probably extremely protective of them, so hasn't mentioned them to anyone he knows.

I think after the events of TAMA, Alex spends a lot of time recovering and taking it easy at, like, a nice spa somewhere. I also think he and Beck probably have seen each other a few times--once Alex realized he was on the East Coast, I bet he texted Beck and was like "hey, I'm in a weird hospital in Boston, wanna come up and visit me?" which I'm sure Mark and Beck realize at some point! I like to think they all get together for a coffee or something. Even though Beck has been texting and talking on the phone with the rest of the Unusuals for ten years, he does miss hanging out in person with them, so he, Alex, and Mark all probably become buds and spend time together while Alex is still recovering at the Boston AM.

I'd guess that, now, Alex is somewhere quieter - possibly with Indah and Neon at the summer camp for Atypical teens that I've always imagined they run. And I'd wager that he keeps in much more consistent touch with his friends when he's not actively with them - now that he has his power under control, and is sober, he can really begin the journey of healing that he's been wanting to go on for a long time, and I think he and Mark really help each other in that regard. Actually, I bet they eventually get to such a good place as individuals that they look at Beck and are like "okay, dude, your turn, you have NOT dealt with the PTSD that you have from your time in the military and also the whole thing with Isaiah, and then Blackwell, and also seeing everyone's gruesome pasts, literally how are you standing right now" and they make him go to therapy lol.

We're so happy you love our show!! Thanks for the question!

#answered #the bright sessions #the college tapes #the am archives #spoilers #a neon darkness #also I am NOT normal about mark and I never will be so welcome #this post is so meandering #but also I bet when chloe and frank come for caleb and adam's graduations (bc they so do) #mark is like 'hey frank I want you to meet my friend jason he also served maybe you can teach him to paint or something

[void-star]

#i am never gonna get over this #damien gorham #mark bryant #some faraway place #the bright sessions #spoilers

[anthonyjlockwood]

And I promise you, I've loved you. I've loved you and everything in between. Full. Complete. The whole spectrum. Loving you showed me every color inside me and you painted a fucking kaleidoscope on my heart.

ADAM AND CALEB | THE COLLEGE TAPES

(THE BRIGHT SESSIONS, Season 7 Episode 19, written by Briggon Snow)

#the bright sessions #the college tapes #adam/caleb #tct spoilers #the college tapes spoilers #tbs #tct

[theceaselessidiot]

just realized that caitlin schneiderhan wrote chapter 3 of season 4 where many of the ronance moments that started the ship happened

fun fact: caitlin schneiderhan was a writer on the am archives which is a podcast created by lauren shippen, who also created the companion podcast about robin...coincidence? I think not!

#for anyone who doesn't know; lauren shippen also created the Bright Sessions #a podcast that features several queer characters and is generally fantastic #ronance #robin buckley #stranger things #stranger things spoilers

[itmeblog]

I've been listening to the Bright Sessions and just got to Damien meeting Wadsworth and it's truly a "hold on, let's see how this works out" type of moment

#bright sessions spoilers #is it a spoiler if its been almost a decade?

[aetherixs]

mark is actually the most powerful not because of his atypical abilities but because he was in a whole coma and still managed to make 3 people fall in love with him

#listening to the bright session #for the first time #can you tell #no spoilers please but im also already on s3 #and i started it yesterday 😭 #very much obsessed #but mark is a very powerful bisexual #and i love him #tho ig so does damien #and charlie #and sam #iconic of him #tbs #the bright sessions

[justsalpals]

Yomiel Ghost Trick is like if Damien Bright Sessions had ambition

#ghost trick spoilers #yomiel ghost trick #the bright sessions #damien tbs #robert gorham #my problematic faves <3 #this one is for all the “Damien should get a cat” girlies out there

[locallyloathed]

“You know what, Damien? For the first time, what you want doesn’t matter.”

#ooh my boy Mark getting some fucking SPICE to him huh #honestly this is far and away my favorite episode so far they have such an interesting dynamic #also I’m just a sucker for a hostage situation reversal #sol was right Damien’s shaping up to becoming a favorite again #the bright sessions #bright sessions #the bright sessions spoilers #bright sessions spoilers

[indelibleevidence]

The Bright Sessions is totally ripping my heart out. Like, who would have thought I could feel so bad for the world's most reprehensible asshole character?

#the bright sessions #damien #obviously #like he's not someone i would ever want any of the characters to be exposed to in any way #powers or not #but he and mark should have one night of angsty hate-sex #just saying #(i just finished 4x08 so no spoilers please!)

[happyandticklish]

I loved Sam/Mark, but honestly them breaking up makes sense because Sam is a really nice person and Mark exclusively dates assholes who are a little bit toxic who he can worry about. 

#non tickling #the bright sessions #the college tapes #mark bryant #technically he hasnt dated either of them at least to my knowledge #no spoilers if he does end up doing so #but still #i know olivers obviously way better than damien but he's still kind of a dick and does have a bad habit of communicating #forcing mark to go crazy worrying about him as he drops off the face of the map for five days straight

[void-star]

I would remove every stitch that's sewn me up so you could look at the insides of all my scars and warm me with your pity.

& Loving you feels like drowning. God, how I love you.

& Loving you on my own has to be enough.

& I want only wonderful things for you, Mark. And I'm sorry that couldn't be me.

& I wish that could have been me.

#yeah i was invested #not to bypass rose as such a compelling character and how much i loved her story too #but i had been invested in a resolution to this for a long time #the bright sessions #some faraway place #damien gorham #spoilers #my favorite part is that mark goes on to date oliver ritz who also ostensibly sucks at being a boyfriend

[insomnia-productions]

I've been making good progress on my new damien fic, and I don't want to jinx it, but I am also physically incapable of not seeking immediate validation for my writing so here's the first bit as a teaser, for all 3 of you who might be interested

.

Two years, two months, and five days after the end, Damien drops a spice pack into a lukewarm cup of insta-noodles and contemplates the inherent romance of giving up. 

There is something luxurious, in a paradoxical sort of way, about the cheap one-bedroom apartment, with its moldy grey walls, and its broken microwave, and the constant, inexplicable sour smell that hangs in the air. 

It’s the sentiment of the thing. The symbolic understanding that this is rock fucking bottom and he has absolutely no intention of rising above it.

.

Edit: you can read the first chapter here!

#spoiler alert he is going to rise above it #tbs #the bright sessions #damien gorham #damien tbs #this entire fic is just my 'damien gets some personal growth and long term healthy relationships with his local community' agenda #damienposting

[thenameless15]

so i am still making my way through the college tapes right now but i still can't get over the bright sessions musical episode like it actually changed my brain chemistry i think

it makes me want to throw up and pull out my hair (affectionate)

#SPOILER FOR THE AM ARCHIVES #but especially listening to agent green's reprise after his death #and listening to against the world knowing that caleb and adam break up?!?! #throwing up #ALSO listening to foolish and together again always break my heart but even now stab to the heart #SPOILER FOR THE COLLEGE TAPES #anyways being so regular and normal #the bright sessions