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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

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I'd love more from your deaging NHS AU verse! Maybe little NHS hanging out more with WWX? Or little NHS meeting JC? Or getting spoiled by JYL?

sequel to Little (deaging NHS - need to read that first)

Hosting another sect leader was both a burden and a privilege.

The burden was mostly logistical – although they’d reclaimed the Lotus Pier, they hadn’t managed to fix it all back up, and it was one thing for all of them to be living in a state more fit for wild bandits than a Great Sect but another thing entirely for them to let someone else see them do so.

Jiang Cheng couldn’t do everything himself, even if he was trying to, so Jiang Yanli stepped up to assist: she turned the kitchens into something livable, requisitioned disciples and laborers to focus on the main hall and the guest rooms, supervised the hiring of those who did the laundry and removed waste, all the important things needed to make their home an inviting one, as long as you were careful to only look at the main parts and not the rest.

Luckily, their guest was Nie Mingjue, not any of the other sect leaders, and he didn’t care. That was, Jiang Yanli suspected, the only reason that Jiang Cheng hadn’t had a full-on heart attack as the date of the man’s approach arrived.

Sure enough, he arrived with as little fanfare as possible, greeted them politely, and promptly sequestered himself, his younger brother, and his chief disciples into a room with Jiang Cheng to discuss sect business. By the time they emerged for dinner, Jiang Cheng looked worn out but immensely pleased, they’d signed a half-dozen treaties, and Jiang Yanli had enough food to feed a small army waiting for them. A good thing, too, since apparently the Nie ate like they’d been starving the week before their meal. Even Nie Huaisang made the food in front of him vanish at lightning-quick speed, and he didn’t even have the build to explain away where all of it was going.

By far the most interesting aspect of it for Jiang Yanli, however, was that Wei Wuxian had made an appearance.

This was something of a rarity recently. Something about the war had hurt him, deeply, and that reason, or for whatever reason, he was very obviously avoiding Jiang Cheng – and, as a result, neglecting the duties that ought to be his as chief disciple. Jiang Yanli knew that it was unintentional, that he still cared for both her and Jiang Cheng, for the sect. But it didn’t make it any easier for them that rather than helping them, he instead spent his days skulking around wine shops, and nothing either of them said seemed to make any difference.

Both she and Jiang Cheng had already resigned themselves to Wei Wuxian snubbing the Nie sect entirely, but to their mutual surprise he was there with a smile that Jiang Yanli hadn’t seen in weeks, boisterous and loud and trying to steal some of the plates of Nie Huaisang’s food whenever the other man turned to say something to Jiang Cheng. Without success, since being notoriously poor at any martial skill did not keep Nie Huaisang from effectively slapping away Wei Wuxian’s wandering fingers without even looking.

He even volunteered to show them around Yunmeng the next morning – meaning a walk by the river, since the Lotus Pier itself was largely not showable in its current condition – and Jiang Cheng agreed to the idea with no little relief, since he needed some time to get the treaties filed and implemented.

“I didn’t know you two had gotten so close to the Nie sect during the war,” Jiang Yanli murmured to Jiang Cheng, who rubbed his face in exhaustion and joy.

“I think it’s because it’s a reminder of happier days, with Nie Huaisang?” he said hesitantly. “Maybe? Anyway, can you make sure they get snacks along with their tea this evening? Chifeng-zun said he was full when he finished his plate, but Nie Huaisang was definitely eying his neighbor’s bowl longingly at the end there.”

Jiang Yanli hid a smile with her hand. “Of course, A-Cheng. Leave it to me.”

She made an entire pot of soup, plus a handful of side dishes, and brought up the portion to the rooms set aside for the main Nie sect herself. It wasn’t just to give them face, though of course that was important given that the Nie were their most important allies barring maybe the Jin sect – it ought to be the Jin sect, but they were playing games with it, and certain overtures by Madame Jin had led Jiang Cheng to speculate that they hoped to finalize the revival of the engagement between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan that Jin Guangshan had unilaterally raised not long ago before agreeing to provide any actual aid.

They hadn’t yet decided if it was worth playing the game back, hinting and implying and leaving themselves wiggle room in case Jiang Yanli really didn’t want to marry Jin Zixuan in the end; luckily, this visit by the Nie sect would put off the necessity of that for a good while. Maybe even for good, depending on how good some of those trading contracts were, and Jiang Cheng’s expression gave Jiang Yanli some hope.

Still, despite the absolutely critical importance of the relationship, that wasn’t why Jiang Yanli decided to go act the part of a servant personally.

Instead, she was hoping to use the opportunity see if she could get some insight into whatever they’d done to make Wei Wuxian smile like that, and to see if she could replicate it.

She wasn’t expecting to hear Wei Wuxian’s voice from the guest quarters they’d assigned to the Nie sect.

Not only because it was a little too late for any visit to be appropriate, but because Wei Wuxian had been avoiding the Jiang clan rooms for – rather a while, now. He wasn’t even sleeping in his own bedroom.

And yet – here he was.

Talking like a child.

Jiang Yanli’s heart stopped briefly in her chest when she heard the familiar whine Wei Wuxian liked to adopt when he was playing as A-Xian: it had always been their special game, her favorite way to indulge her mischievous little brother who sometimes liked to be fed and hugged and tucked in at night, and she would have sharp words for anyone who dared criticize it. But – in front of another sect leader –

“A-Xian, stop,” Nie Mingjue’s deep voice said firmly, his amusement audible even through the door. “Give Huaisang the toy back.”

“But da-ge,” Wei Wuxian whined, even though Nie Huaisang’s laugh made clear that he had handed back whatever toy they were talking about. “Why does he get to have the toy and I don’t?”

“I brought you three toys, you brat, and Huaisang only has one. Not everything is for sharing; some things are yours and yours alone.”

Jiang Yanli reflected briefly on the differences in child-rearing techniques between the sects – if it had been Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, she would have encouraged Jiang Cheng to share, and instructed Wei Wuxian to share in return – before realizing that Nie Mingjue was reacting to Wei Wuxian’s nonsense with extraordinary calmness. Almost as if he’d dealt with it before.

Almost as if he accepted it.

Jiang Yanli steeled her spine and knocked.

“I brought some snacks, Sect Leader,” she called.

There was a brief moment of quiet – some brief murmuring in low voices – but at last he said, “Enter,” and she did.

Wei Wuxian was sitting on the floor with his face buried in Nie Mingjue’s thigh, Nie Mingjue’s hand petting through his hair in a calming gesture; behind them, a small child of around seven, dressed in oversized Nie robes, lolled around on his stomach, his legs kicked up in the air, as he toyed with some puzzle game. Jiang Yanli hadn’t realized the Nie sect had brought along a child – one certainly hadn’t been present at dinner – but under the circumstances she opted not to comment.

“I thought you might still be hungry,” she said with a smile. “So I made some snacks, and soup.”

“Soup!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, lifting his head to reveal red cheeks. “Da-ge, you have to try shijie’s soup!”

“I intend to,” Nie Mingjue said. He was looking at Jiang Yanli thoughtfully. “Would you care to join us, Mistress Jiang?”

“I’d be happy to,” Jiang Yanli said, though she’d originally intended no such thing, and settled down to serve it out. “Thank you for taking care of A-Xian.”

“It’s nothing,” Nie Mingjue said. “A charming child, and one that speaks very highly of you. You must be very proud.”

“I am,” she agreed, and from the corner of her eye saw all the tension drain out of Wei Wuxian’s shoulders at her affirmation of their game. He scrabbled over to her side, abruptly affectionate, and cuddled up. “A-Xian, no! I need that hand to serve the soup. Didn’t you just say that you want Nie-da-ge to have some?”

Wei Wuxian pouted, but withdrew his sticky tentacles. The child on the bed laughed again and rolled over and up to his feet, hopping over to where Wei Wuxian was. “Wei-xiong can play with me while we wait.”

“Okay,” Wei Wuxian agreed at once. “We can play tag!”

“Don’t break anything,” Jiang Yanli said, and discovered to her amusement that Nie Mingjue had said the same exact thing at the same exact moment. He smiled crookedly at her, very briefly – his expression was not one usually given for smiling, typically stern and grim even when it was neutral, and the expression made him look suddenly younger.

“Younger siblings,” he said, an explanation and an excuse, and abruptly Jiang Yanli knew who the child must be. She didn’t know how it was that Nie Huaisang had physically regressed into childhood, as well as doing so emotionally the way Wei Wuxian did, but she supposed it didn’t really matter.

“Yes,” she said, and smiled back at him. “A-Xian likes it when I feed him his meals. Does…?”

Nie Mingjue shook his head. “Huaisang is very proud,” he said, voice fond. “He wouldn’t accept that sort of help from me, though perhaps he might accept it from you if he sees A-Xian getting a treat.”

“Children that age can be very jealous of each other,” Jiang Yanli agreed. “It’s a good thing that A-Xian is five today, so he can play with his friend, and not three. Maybe he can be three another time.”

“I must admit I haven’t noticed much difference so far,” Nie Mingjue remarked. “He’s still always clamoring for hugs.”

“Da-ge gives the best hugs,” Nie Huaisang said loyally.

Wei Wuxian looked a little shifty, but Jiang Yanli nodded at him supportively and he smiled. “They’re really good, shijie,” he confided in her. “He can pick me up!”

Jiang Yanli’s smile broadened, even as Nie Mingjue’s shoulders went up a little in embarrassment.

“We’re all good at different things,” she assured him. “Nie-da-ge is good at hugs, but I bet I’m better at doing your hair, right?”

“Yes! Shijie’s the best!”

“I want my hair done by Jiang-jiejie,” Nie Huaisang declared, eyes avid. “Can I?”

“After we eat,” Nie Mingjue said. “And only if you ask very nicely, and Mistress Jiang says yes.”

“I’ll say yes,” she said, and then, as an aside to Nie Mingjue, added, “You can call me Jiang-meimei if you like. If I’m calling you Nie-da-ge and all.”

He smiled again.

At some point, Jiang Yanli would need to examine how exactly Wei Wuxian had ended up taking Nie Mingjue as one of his caretakers, as well as how Nie Huaisang managed a full-fledged bodily transformation – and they’d need to bring Jiang Cheng in on this, somehow, even though he was neither caretaker nor little, simply because he would be jealous at being left out. And there was still Wei Wuxian’s unusual behavior, his inexplicable distance from all of them…

But that was a problem for later.

For now, they could just be there for them.

#mdzs #jiang yanli #wei wuxian #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #jiang cheng #my fic #my fics #little #blackestglass

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chillafqueen · 3 years

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This started off as a rant piece but then turned into an essay about my feelings about the show so definite Sex Education Season 3 spoilers under the cut

Literally do not try to argue with me I do not care

Tagging this only as sex education spoilers and sex education season 3 spoilers so hopefully it only shows up in those tags for people filtering it because I don't really care to make this a discussion I just needed to get this out my head

We seem to be in this golden age of media where we no longer care about character development or story development.

only ships and ships only, if your ship breaks up or it doesn't happen it's queer baiting or it's straight baiting or it's misogynistic or it's shitty writing

And I'm aiming this mostly at the Sex Education fandom just because I've seen /some/ people claiming it as such.

Ruby and Otis were cute together trust me I loved it. But it's not bad writing for them to break up it's not objectifying as a ship point to further along Otis and Mauve

Or the same goes from Adam and Eric

It's a show about high school. Even if it's a show, realistically these people won't stay together forever

It's take realistic routes for these characters

And we need to think critically about it

Ruby and Otis might just be a stepping stone towards endgame Otis x Mauve but it's not wasting Ruby or bad writing

It's sad to see, I really loved Ruby's development and her dynamic with Otis was adorable and I loved watching them grow

Ruby grew from this relationship. Did you really think the first person she trusted and loved was gonna be the person she married? No that's unrealistic and truly bad writing

These relationship, their highs and their lows and their break ups are there for each character's development

Sure Ruby got her heart broken but she also learned and hopefully she grows from it

She started off a rude, selfish bitch obsessed with status, image and popularity

Then she opens up and allows herself to be vulnerable

She shows Otis her house her family and that her real life isn't as glamorous as she puts on it's scary and she thinks that he will judge her and leave but he doesn't

He treats her with the same amount of respect that he had before he knew these personal parts of her

And sure now that she got hurt she could regress, she might think that she was right all along that once she shows her inner self to someone they'll hurt her just like Otis did or she grows from it and realizes that what she thinks the unattractive parts of herself aren't as bad as she thought and she'll learn and grow to be nicer and less judgemental and less distrustful and she'll meet more people and learn that looks and popularity aren't everything and one day she will find someone who loves her just as much as she loves them

Otis didn't love her, he had strong feelings for her but he wasn't on the same page as Ruby and even though he said those feelings could develop with time and that there's no guarantee that his feelings won't grow into love, Ruby had every right to set boundaries and end the relationship. She has every right to expect her partner be on the same page as her. And also she's a teenager she can end a relationship with her high school boyfriend because he doesn't love her back. If she wants to wait and continue the relationship hoping Otis would eventually reciprocate her love, then she could. But she was hurt and felt dejected and she decided to cut her losses rather waste her time if Otis couldn't love her back. She had every right to do so. It's not bad writing. She's not the type to hopelessly pine after someone who doesn't love her back. She is a bad bitch who moves on and does better.

And while Otis doesn't really gain much from the relationship except that he hurt Ruby he still continues to develop as a character

And there's a message there that it's hard to love someone when you never got closure from your past love

His relationship with Ola failed because of his unresolved feelings with Maeve and then his next relationship with Ruby also fails because he can't love her because of his unresolved feelings and lack of closure with Maeve and he also learns that

But also it's okay to not feel the same way about someone. And Jakob was right when he assured Otis that it was right to be honest with Ruby. Even if he hurt her, it was best to be honest and hurt her than lie to her and lead her on with a lie. It wouldn't be good for Otis and it wouldn't be good for Ruby if Otis just lied saying he loved her back.

And even if Ruby was just a plot device for potentially endgame Otis and Maeve then big deal.

It's kinda obvious that Maeve and Otis are the main goal and target relationship of the show.

And it's a common trope with them in the show that they are never in the same place at the right time.

Otis has feelings for Maeve but she's with Jackson. He tries to move on and dates Ola. And when he's no longer available it's when Maeve realizes her feelings for Otis and it's shown that Otis still very obviously has feelings for her even while in a relationship with Ola and it effects the relationship until it falls apart when Ola finds out that not only does Otis has feelings for Maeve but he holds Maeve in higher regards than her.

So the relationship ends

So does that mean Maeve and Otis will be together now that Ola and Otis are.over? No because neither of them are on the same page.

And so they miss the opportunity. Then they fight and their friendship is over

Then Isaac deletes the voicemail of Otis confessing and apologizing to Maeve and asking for them to try again

So Maeve misses that opportunity because she doesn't even know. And Otis doesn't know that she never heard the voicemail and thinks she's rejecting him so he tries to get over her.

And when he moves on, Maeve takes that as him saying their friendship and whatever she thought could happen was over. He was with Ruby, so obviously he didn't have feelings for Maeve

And then Ruby and Otis break up and Maeve and Otis talk and finally are on the same page and kiss

But oops, Maeve has feelings for Isaac and things seem to be going well so she's not going to ruin that for a chance with Otis

Then Isaac finds out that Maeve and Otis kissed and ends things.

So now Maeve and Otis can be together right? Otis is single and so is Maeve and feelings are out there. Well things look good until Maeve can't miss the chance to take that exchange program to study in America.

But they're technically together??? Maybe they can be long distance? Maybe they will wait for each other?

Their entire theme is not ever being at the same place at the same time. Something always comes up. One of them is always in a relationship when the other isn't. Or something comes up where they aren't available or now, Maeve is going to another country for a few months, just as things were going to happen.

Why does it have to be that way? Why can't your favorite ship be endgame just because you like it? Because it's not your show. You didn't produce it or write it. You are not entitled to have the show cater to your every want. These writers have a specific vision in mind and they may or may not already have a set ending in place. The moment they presented their idea to a network they might've already had their endgame ship set in stone.

It's not bad writing if your ship isn't endgame. It isn't objectification if a character was written in a way just to further the plot in a certain way. That's how stories work.

That being said, Eric and Adam was the same way.

They both grew because of their relationship and they learned.

Was it shitty of Eric to cheat on Adam and not tell him right away? Sure, yes.

But he learned that even if he loved Adam and was content in their relationship, it was caging him. He is a different person from Adam. He had his own dreams, likes, boundaries and such. And as does Adam. But those differences can hold each other back and hurt each other.

Eric is comfortable with his sexuality. He is gay and proud and he happens to have a lot of stereotypical gay hobbies and interests. He likes camp, he likes drag, he likes makeup and he is comfortable with his sexuality and doesn't care what others think and so he wants to be all these things out there in the world.

Adam doesn't. Adam is in his first gay relationship after slowly coming to terms with his sexuality. He's not out there like Eric. His mom doesn't know about them and he's scared of telling her, and he especially doesn't want his dad to know.

He was raised the same way his father was, which we find out this season. He gets taught toxic masculinity. He is taught any weakness is feminine and weak and bad. Being vulnerable is bad, expressing soft emotion is bad. And that cultivates into anger and violence.

He is emotionally stunted because of it. And he is slowly unlearning it.

He slowly comes to terms with his sexuality, and he slowly learns to be emotional and vulnerable. And Eric helps a lot with it. Eric is patient and encouraging.

But Adam is still a different person than Eric. He is shy, he is slowly becoming more out every day, he's learning to express himself through meaningful ways, but it's in ways different than how Eric does.

He likes makeup and dancing but maybe he's not ready to go out in the world doing that. Or he is just a private person and no matter how comfortable he gets with himself he may never want to go out to a gay club and dance and wear makeup

But Eric does.

Eric wants to go out he wants to be gay and free and open. That's his personality and he's had a longer time accepting himself and learning not to be afraid of public perception because he knows there's people out there like him. But Adam isn't.

And Eric has every right to break up with Adam because he is young and he doesn't have to stay grounded. He has yet to experience everything he wants and has yet to really know himself. But being with Adam halts that because Adam isn't like him.

Eric is learning to experience life and fly free and he's not afraid of going out there and living life to the fullest. In a way Adam doesn't.

And that's okay. That's real life.

People grow at different rates and in different directions. Let them grow even if it's away from you.

And by the end Adam is hurt but he is a different person because of Eric and for the better.

He is learning to be himself. He is learning how to express himself, to reach out for help, to be open with others. And that's a lot of progress.

He is hurt, his first love, his first gay love broke his heart. But he is stronger than before.

And Eric is free to continue spreading his wings not afraid of being held down by someone not in the same place as him.

And that's what the show is really about.

It's about these teenagers growing and learning and becoming better people. They will change and they will develop into new forms of themselves with each new relationship and challenge.

Love isn't the ultimate goal. It's being yourself and doing what is best for yourself.

Ruby and Otis were really cute together. I really did root for them and I really loved watching Ruby slowly change for the better. And I hope she continues to.

And I really loved Adam and Eric together but Eric cheated and he realized while it was wrong it made him realize that his relationship with Adam is stunting his growth.

You meet people and they may hurt you or you may hurt them but that's how life goes. And hopefully you impacted each relationship in a meaningful way even if it's not the way you intended. That you learn a lesson or you are the lesson.

It's truly brilliant writing. It's realistic, it's diverse, it's open and fresh, but witty and sometimes cheap but Jesus Christ it's not about you and your ship. You are here to watch the story unfold. And maybe get inspired or just be entertained.

When the story takes a turn you don't like it's not always bad writing.

It's only bad writing when it makes no sense, cut corners, is inherently offensive with no meaning to it, or completely does a 180 on all the character progress or other examples.

Hopefully the story ends with meaning. Maybe Otis and Maeve are endgame. Maybe they breakup and meet later in life. Or maybe Otis reconnects with Ruby. Or he meets someone new entirely.

Or maybe he ends the show single and just as involved in his career as his father was or whatnot.

And maybe Maeve also gets so involved with just making it in life that she has no room for a relationship. Or she meets someone new or reconnects with Isaac.

I love that even though the story points to Otis and Maeve endgame it's not the only story or romance explored.

We see Aimee is still struggling with her assault but she's willing to get help and that she learns to stand up for herself and do what makes her happy even if it may upset others, like breaking up with Steve even though he has been nothing be supportive.

I really enjoyed Cal and their introduction. And I enjoyed seeing Jackson be more and more open to trying and learning new things. He is just wanting to find himself and feel fulfilled. And I loved seeing Cal set boundaries with their identity and Jackson.

If Jackson can't accept that Cal isn't a girl and so that means if they were together it would indeed be a queer relationship and that would make Jackson not straight. And Jackson trying to bargain and negotiate while Cal stood firm was insightful.

Because I too, like Jackson, even if subconscious, still perceived Cal as a girl in some way even if I completely understand their identity and will help accommodate it in anyway. And it's just about unlearning the norms I was raised with. Even if I accept and understand, there is always room for more learning. But another thing with Cal, it's not their responsibility to fight.

If they don't want to lead the fight for gender rights and equality then they don't have to.

If you can't accept or won't listen, it's not their responsibility to make you change your ways but they will not respect you and they will not come quietly.

It is not every non-binary, trans, gay, bi, pan, ace, lesbian or anyone who isn't like you, person's responsibility to teach you or answer your questions or change your perception

And that was quite refreshing to see and I really admired seeing that in this show

And also showing that each non-binary person is different. Layla isn't willing to even challenge the system. Because they are scared and from what we see in the last episode, they aren't out to their family. They aren't ready and aren't comfortable trying to fight and that is their right.

And then seeing Cal teach Layla how to bind properly is a good lesson to anyone watching the show that might be binding incorrectly.

And then I also really enjoyed seeing Vivienne and her long distance boyfriend Eugene.

I was happy to see that her jealousy of Cal wasn't because she saw Cal as a romantic rival but friendship rival. Jackson and Vivienne were drifting apart due to their opposing views on Hope and that Viv took Jackson's place as Head girl.

And also seeing Vivienne's boyfriend be some hot, refined man was satisfying to see.

I also loved seeing Maeve learn to accept help and kindness. I was so scared that he and Aimee would never make up but they did and it was the most beautiful thing to see because they are the best friend goals to ever bless the tv world.

And I loved that Isaac wasn't depicted as just some poor helpless paraplegic but he had character and he had talent and he was never seen less than. He was a witty asshole!

And he even got the girl for a while! And he has standards!

I mean sure I don't feel that bad about his feelings getting hurt by Maeve because he took it upon himself to make a decision for Maeve and manipulating the situation for his own selfish crush on Maeve. I mean you didn't let her make the choice. You deleted the voicemail and so she thought Otis still hated her and refused to apologize. Sure she ended up getting feelings for you but because you intervened and lied she never got the chance to truly get closure with Otis because you knew that if she heard the message she'd go to him

Sure you didn't deserve her kissing Otis when you two obviously had something going on but... What did you expect?

And my last thoughts are Jakob and Jean. I liked them together in the beginning but it became apparent that they are two very different people. They just don't fit.

At first I couldn't understand Jakob's distrust of Jean, I mean she messed up once while drunk with her ex husband. It was wrong but I thought it was a tiny little forgiveable thing (and maybe I think that because I'm biased by my love of Jean). But once we get that soft moment of Jakob opening up to the therapist and we find out that his last relationship, with his wife, also had trust betrayed. Her having an affair and then getting sick afterwards so therefore Jakob felt he couldn't leave her when she was so ill.

And I thought Jean and Jakob trying to force a family relationship was not the best route. They had made it clear before that they are just two different people. You can coparent without being in a relationship.

But even through it all they still cared deeply for each other. So yeah.

But my only true criticm of the show is the paternity test results. Now sure we don't know what they say BUT Jean's reaction screams that Jakob isn't the father. Which just disappoints me. Jean has been through so much.

And who else would be the father? We weren't shown any other potential baby daddies.

Also she's been through so much just give her one thing.

Like I like to hope that next season she tells Jakob and even though he's not the dad, he's been there and he was making that baby a goddamn tree house that he steps up and raises that baby like it is his because that baby deserves a father.

But I can only see that Jean will probably hide the truth and they start out quite happy until the results are discovered and Jakob finds out and he is rightfully upset and angry and betrayed and he leaves her and the baby. Or real baby daddy comes to try to be there and makes more drama.

Idk

And just because it's how the show goes Maeve and Otis are gonna have something come up and it gets in the way of them being together.

I hope Michael and Adam make some peace as part of both of their developments. Of course I do see Michael having issue with Adam's lack of traditional success and his sexuality but I hope they work it out or at least try next season.

And I hope that Rahim and Adam don't become a thing. They are similar in their introversion and lack of flamboyancy with their sexuality but I hope they bond and become friends but I don't think it's be in good taste for them to date. It's like recycling your gays.

I'm not really sure what's in store for the school. I think maybe someone swoops in last second or they all go to different schools and have to move away and they all lose touch and it's a big component of next year.

And I'm not sure about Eric and what path he takes. Maybe he starts going out to gay spaces and meets someone or just messes around to have fun. But to be honest I'm not sure.

Anyways yeah.

#sex education spoilers #sex education season 3 spoilers #sex education season 3

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bookwormdeen · 4 years

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Love 101 (Aşk 101) Theories and Connections

Hi! I am back again! This time I have theories. I was reading some theories about the TV show and guess what? I played Sherlock and investigated some of them. Follow me!

I did a playlist to you listen while reads my crazy text.

--------------The playlist -------------

I put there some 1990-2000′s songs + covers + songs from the show

I don’t know turkish songs, if you know share.

SOME FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS

1. Eda is the source of problems

Don’t judge me. Eda is a good person and character, I love her draws and attitude. I want to prove another thing here. Let’s focus in three big confusions that happened: the debate one (EP1), the broke up of their early friendship (EP3) and the laboratory fight (EP7). All of them had Eda involved in the first moment or as a catalyst that only made things worse.

In the debate she messed with lights and threw a sticker in Kerem’s face. When Sinan panicked with Işık act, Eda said “We were not friends anyway” and she hurt Kerem’s feelings too. She burst and everyone went sideways. And she played with Burak, that later provoked that huge fight in the laboratory.

“Troublemaker is you middle nameeeeee” - Olly Murs song.

I think that Eda is a match to where is the fire. This can explain why she feels guilt of something. She was the center of another problem.

Also, the older Eda feels sorry for what she became: what her parents wanted. She lost her attitude, angry and fire. Something happened to her prefer marriage and children. Remember when Sinan told her that she prefers someone making her decisions? This happened because she was running away of something, a problem that hurt her feelings. She ran away from who she was. Heavy.

2. Something surely happened to Sinan

Now don’t cry thinking he is dead. I will present some things to push that away. First: Love 101 is a comedy-romance. Meaning: they don’t go really deep into mind problems, they make it a trait (like eating disorder, depression, mania). So, Sinan did not commit suicide or died, because is too heavy to let the story proceed.

Second: Is love 101. How to love. How love create, ruin and heal. Is admiration, passion, entertainment. If he dies the episode will be named after what: Lost, Hurt? I will not even come closer to it.

Third: Is a kid’s show (PG-13 rated). Do something big as a death will hurt the plot’s drama quality. And, suicide can’t be portrayed, so chill out kids. A thing that is possible is accidental death (Sinan, the guy that was hospitalized in the fight, Kemal or Burcu).

Fourth: He is the narrator big love. Sinan appears a lot because Işık likes him the most and wanted to know him more deeply. Even if something really bad happens to him (STOP), we will not know now but very later in the show. She would crash with his death and she seems quite calm now, not crying or grief, just nervous to see them and not lose the house. She even sits in his bed, upstairs. So they were quite a romance.

YES. I AM HOPEFUL. Stop saying that Sian dies because I will not take it. I will hate Netflix and the world.

Sinan is a good person reader. Is impressive actually. He hides his emotions but read it very well. He has scars. They eventually will come between him and Işık. Surely.

If he is not dead, then what?

Something, maybe his grandfather’s death or university mixed with group fight and love problems will make him go away and never look back (that house for him is a sad place guys). Maybe he left without talking to anyone and Işık couldn’t contact him, but, for love, she stayed looking his house. Or maybe they were not a thing anymore (runs away).

Oh, and the prison choice (cringes). Seriously? He spend all his life alone and then, maybe, more 20 years alone? Unacceptable.

People told me that his name appears in the prison scene but I really couldn’t see it. Does anyone have it? In my opinion, would be unfair make a person so lonely like this all his life. The show wants to end it with hapiness, how it would be possible after all this pain? If Sinan was in prison, no one visited him? that hurts.

The thing is, we will know what happened to him slowly because it is a result of what made the group went sideways and don’t talk for 20 years. What I mean: big huge separation situation --> Sinan leaves or dies.(no,no,no).

So his abandoned house is a proof that something surely happened.

3. The show may have a format to keep interest

Cliffhanger = More seasons, more public. Smart move. The show is simple but want it to get attached emotionally and mentally. I learned with Sinan, yay.

The plot may go: (counting 8 episodes)

Take in count that the house is dangerous to stay in. So, they might take it to another place and see each other’s lives closer. This is excellent to the plot. I don’t think they will cry and hug in front of the door.

We will also supose that is 5 people. 2 we already know.

1 --> More story, solve some mysteries (who is at the door); things get good at first moment (love and self acceptance);

2 --> Things get bittersweet (love but parents and more problems). For me is by the end of the Ep 2 and on.

3 --> (if only one more season, a forth person appears by S2E4, then a fifth by the end or S2E7). This person (for me not Sinan yet), will clarify somethings and contribute to the story with more details. Problems that start to hurt them. So, EP 5 - Ep7 will hurt.

4 --> Things get really bad; if they have a third season, we will not have the forth person, will end up just like S1E8 or, as I said, he will appear in the S2E7.

If only a second season, EP 7 - EP8 the fifth person appears and they finish the story together, end.

Following all my theory it will go like this: Osman - Kerem or Sinan. I am not sure who will take up all the heavy stuff and end up being the last. For now they put this weight in Sinan and maybe is to play with us.

4. What bound them, can destroy them

The thing is, they are a thigh fit as a group. Emotional and explosive. They lash at each other and have some friction along the way. Osman is more neutral. In the episode 3, where they cry and do crazy things after their fight, Osman is simply not there. He is simple, only said: You got what you wanted Sinan. Done.

So, they can fall apart actually without big evens like death and murder. Somethings hurt deeper, like words, misunderstandings and separation. Their parents evil powers for example. I mean, in their first fight they were arguing about a test. Simple things + emotion = BOOM

5. Character development

Here we go. Remember I said that Osman doesn’t have emotional outbursts?

He goes on with his business and things. We see him crying with his father and being upset about his business fail but he always get over with using a plan. Unfortunately, his leadership will not keep the group bonded but he is the healing remedy, surely. I hope he open up more. Be more more emotional besides his carisma and soft friendship. He is a good boss, good son, good friend, bad student; what else more? He is such a good leader. Will he sacrifice himself for all them?

And, who is Kemal really? He is a sweetheart with an armor but what happened to him, besides being an ex-basketball player? Will his romance really last? The characters in the show are deep, they have personality. Kemal seems simple to me sometimes. His relationship with Sinan can develop and we can see more of his demons (besides his attitude) and story.

All they got better but we have a way to go. Kerem has to be less violent, Eda has to try being herself again; Işık has to be more mature because Sinan will need her a lot and if she can’t stand up her mother it can go really wrong. Sinan has to confront his parents more, get less lonely somehow. He is the only one that is slowly healing himself but nothing changed: he still lives alone, this still hurts.

We will see they get much better, but, again, they end up not really good 20 years later. We will see a regression in so many points.

6. They maybe can be students still

Words matter. A lot. Before the boarding Karakis (the principal) said that a friend of his would call the Minister and make that a majority board. Maybe he rushed it to grab the teens and the expulsion is not valid. Also, for me, Işık was only suspended. Why burn her uniform? (Her mother will kill her, I would too).

The scholar year in Turkey ends around June. Why expel them so close to the end? And, I think that are finishing the 2 year of High School, not the third. If not, they lose the hole Burcu-Kemal arc and their common place.

Maybe they can all move to a nearby school, even with bad records, and have another challenges. This is unlikely, even if I think that school conflicts got saturated.

The other part of this theory is my home-made timeline. In 19th May, the would have an event that is important in Turkey (the red umbrella ones). They were close to finish the year and go to summer time (I want this really, would be fun).

7. No earthquake okay!

I saw some theories about it. Nobody will die in the 1998 and 1999 earthquakes. They were far away from Istanbul and the only one that got to the city were far away (geographically) from the school and Sinan’s house. I made a post about the locations, see here.

I received more of Burcu dying in a earthquake. In my CURIOSITIES post I said that Sinan was taking Işık home after being in Eda’s house. Eda lives in Kadıköy in my opinion, so Burcu does too. This neighborhood is in the Asian side, while the earthquake affected the European side. Very far away. For me is kinda impossible to make this a bid thing. Why Burcu would be so far away from her house, the school that she teaches? Strange.

8. New challenges

Burak told Eda: You don’t get to play with people lives. Ouch. Is true. Not only him had his chance being the “villain”. We have... The english teacher that likes Kemal; the professors; the parents being mad about the speech thing and even a few classmates (if they come back).

Their parents seems to be in a contest of who is the worse, maybe not Osman’s father, that’s why I think that he is more calm and centered, despite being money drived. Society pressure (college, money, marriage) will get to them too.

9. The true always comes out

Well, well, well. When one makes a plan, in the movies and TV, they always confess it, but in Love 101, this moment is not entirely solved. Sinan told the group that now Kemal knows about the set up? Probably no. Eda finds Burcu’s behavior strange but it ends there. Oh-ohh. Ops.

Maybe their teacher now will not stick out for them anymore. She was afraid of deciding their lives but they were deciding hers. If they come back to school and do something wrong again it will be worse.

What if Karakis discover about Burcu’s bold move with the fire alarm? He is pissed more than never now. No laboratory; he didn’t get to humiliate the group. He will be worse than ever if they come back;.

10. Yes. 5 plates, cups and chairs.

The camera angle wants to play but if you pause, you can see two times the same thing, inside and outside the house.

11. The guy in the farm is Osman. End.

Now, Sinan may be in prison or a successful person (the one that is eating). If you consider that the one that has his letter in the pocket is Osman again, Sinan is the only one that is hidden. He did not appear yet. Pick one and Kerem is the other.

If you have questions like me, see HERE.

Leave comments so I can investigate your theories, haha!

See my first edit here (Sinan x Isik). With HALSEY’S SONG, BE KIND.

XOXO.

#love101 #ask101 #netflix #aşk101 #love 101 #sinanIşık #sinan #eda #love 101 netflix

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allisondraste · 5 years

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on writing kiddos

Hi, hello there, it’s me again back with the first bit of meta in a really long time. I’ve been incredibly distracted with school as well as my longfic, which was actually the inspiration for this post. Just to provide some context, I write a story that spans the lives of my two protagonists from the time they are young children, all the way to their mid twenties, highlighting pivotal moments in their childhood that have had some lasting impact on their present day selves, and as such, I have spent quite a lot of time writing from the perspective of precocious kids and moody teens.

Fortunately, I love kids, and I’ve had years of experience in both being a big sister and working professionally with kids as both a childcare worker and a therapist. I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time around kiddos and learn the inner workings of their amazing, rapidly developing brains, and so I’m here to share some of the things I’ve learned AND how it can be applied in a writing situation. I know that lots of people have apprehensions when writing kids, and so I hope that my anecdotal tips will be helpful to someone out there.

I’ll drop the rest behind a handy dandy read more to spare your all’s feeds. ;D

Age and Cognitive Development

When we write adult characters, part of getting their characterization pinned down is understanding how they think, and the same thing applies to kiddos! Cognitive and socio-emotional development are long-researched topics, so there are a multitude of varying theories, and it can be quite complex to break down into neat categories that apply to all kids. In fact, all kids develop at different rates, despite following the same general trajectory.

Generally speaking, children start out understanding the world primarily through their senses, reflexes, and movements (interactions with the environment), and end with a fairly complex system of abstraction and understanding of hypotheticals. (Note that these development ranges are based upon those who are neurotypical and neurodiverse characters would not necessarily have the same markers, so if anyone has any specific tips for writing neurodiverse kids and would like to chime in, please feel free to do so!)

0-2 years - highly sensory/motor based, lots of reflexes; learn the difference between self and environment and differences between objects. Emotions develop more rapidly, beginning with anger, disgust, fear, surprise, happiness, and gradually developing more and more complicated feelings. Even at 2 years old, they are likely to not have a solid grasp on labeling the ways they are feeling, and things are mostly behavioral and reflexive.

2-7 years - children begin to understand symbols and develop language, beginning with the basics and progressing to fairly complex thoughts. Children between these ages think in a very concrete fashion and are highly reliant upon objects, but they do begin to pretend and roleplay. Children around these ages are egocentric and usually struggle to take the perspective of others. However, they begin to develop the ability to identify and express their feelings and thoughts simply, but struggle to understand the thoughts and feelings of others.

Mommy had a scrunched up face when she looked a the mess in the house. Billy didn’t really know why her face did that sometimes. (approx 4ish)

7 - 11(ish) - Development of perspective-taking and concrete problem-solving. Thoughts gradually become more complex and holistic, though children at this stage of development take things literally, and at face-value. They typically can understand their own feelings and infer the feelings of others from facial expressions, body language, etc., although they may be inaccurate in their assumptions.

Mommy’s face scrunched up when she looked at the mess Billy made in the floor. It was the same face she made when Daddy didn’t take his shoes off before stepping on the carpet. It usually meant mommy was annoyed (Approx. 7-8)

Mom’s face wrinkled when she looked at the mess Billy had left in the floor. He began to pick his things up so she wouldn’t fuss at him. (Approx 10 or 11)

11+ - The ability to think in the abstract and understand hypotheticals begins to develop around age 11, however, it’s different for everyone. Children and teens usually start to have rather complex thoughts and make inferences based on subtle cues. They’re able to manipulate information mentally and come to develop their own opinions and conclusions.

Billy’s mother wasn’t even home yet, and he could already see the look on her face she would have when she saw the mess on the floor. He hurredly began to scrub the stain from the rug. He was going to be in so much trouble. He knew it.

Teenagerdom - Most teens have all the complex thoughts and emotions that adults have, but often have less experience and/or ability to cope with and regulate those thoughts and feelings. Many teens are stuck in this place of being expected to behave in an adult way, while still being treated as a child. It’s a rough time. Not to mention, teenagers experience a re-emergence of egocentrism that takes the form of “Everyone is watching and judging me all the time,” and also “Nobody has ever experienced what I am experiencing and if they have experienced it, then they haven’t experienced it to this degree.” That all settles down with cognitive maturation and experiences; however, the experiences of teenagers often extend well into the 20s.

Examining the mess on the floor, Billy knew that his mother was going to kill him. Murder. She’d chew him up and spit him back out, never to see the light of day again. It was the end. Unless of course he could scrub the stubborn stain from the rug. This had to be the worst thing that could have possibly happened.

Personal Experience and Intelligence

As I mentioned above, those age ranges are broad, general “this is sort of what should be happening when,” but they’re more guidelines rather than hard and fast rules. When writing children, it is helpful to consider the personal experiences a child has had in their lives up to that point as well as their intelligence. Those are not the measure of a person (even a little one), but they make a huge difference in the rate at which a child matures and interacts with the world. Generally kids who have more difficult upbringings and those who end up parenting themselves and/or caring for siblings, often seem older than they really are, particularly in regard to their behavior.

Just to provide some examples for reference, the children that I write in my story are mostly nobles who have relatively comfortable, safe, and happy childhoods. My Cousland, Liss, is generally a carefree, impulsive, emotional, messy, privileged child, and so I modeled her development more closely in line with the “guidelines.” Nathaniel is also a noble, but he’s more thoughtful, and has kind of been placed into a parental role in that his dad is emotionally abusive at the very least, and after his mother dies, he is the rock that his siblings stand on, and at that point in time, he is only 10. He has to grow up a lot faster than he may have had to otherwise. As a very strong counterpoint, there are other characters who do not have any environmental privileges during their childhood. A very good portrayal of this sort of thing is this comparison of Isabela and Hawke’s respective upbringings.

Both intelligence and life experiences can lead to a quicker rate of cognitive development and maturation in some cases, that does not mean that they are “grown up” or in anyway done developing. Even the brightest kids, even the kids who have faced unbelievable adversity are still kids and they often still experience impulsivity, emotion dysregulation, and other things that one might not see in adults with the same experiences. Furthermore, some kids may not even experience advanced development, instead regressing from the lack of social support and modeling from attachment figures.

Basically, nothing is hard and fast.

Personality

The next thing I wanted to touch upon is personality. I think there is a tendency to portray all kids as Standard Kids (which I have endearingly coined Standard Kid Syndrome). It is all well and good if the intention is just to show a Standard Kid; however, if you really want to dig deep into a character, into who that child is, it’s so important to consider personality traits. From birth, children have dispositions, and as they grow and learn more about themselves and the world, those dispositions become personality. Personality traits should shine through very early on! Kids can be open to experience or rigid and anxious, they can be introverted or extroverted, they can be impulsive or restrained, they can be aggressive, meek, funny, serious, meticulous, silly, cool, gruff, grumpy, snarky, sassy, nerdy, quirky, shy, friendly, withdrawn, and so on and so forth. Children are new humans; they are not incomplete humans.

The Kid Voice

When writing from the point of view of a child, all of the things discussed above factor into word choice. Just like writing adult characters, the way a kid talks in dialogue, or narrates even, is influenced by a blend of so many different things. Young kids’ descriptions are going to have simpler sentence structures and words. They may introspect less and observe more. They may express themselves through their bodies and actions more. They may have trouble describing what they’re feeling, or understanding what they’re seeing. Teens may describe things more dramatically and intensely than similar adults would. They may not. What is important is considering the mix of traits and experiences they have in relation to cognitive development. It’s really no different from writing any other character. It just takes research and planning to get in The Zone.

TL;DR

- Understanding how kids think is a good starting point to writing kids

- Personal experiences, intelligence, and the interaction of qualities can influence how a child thinks in a multitude of ways

- Kids have personalities! They’re not blank slates that have yet to be filled. They are whole people, and it’s good to give proper care to show those unique, wonderful little minds that they have

- It’s not so much different than writing adults! It just takes some time spent looking through a different lens!

- This is not a comprehensive reference by any means, so please feel free to chime in!

#writing reference #meta #long post #kids #it is the night #and i must sleep now #yikes #the things i do to get a meta idea out of my head

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thespaceace124 · 3 years

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Tv shows I watched this year, my favorite character from each, and why I like each character.

Since my past few posts about Fandom/TV shows have been kinda negative/ criticism, to end off the year, I wanted to make a few posts about things that I like in media. So today we’ll be taking a look at all the shows I watched/finished this year and my favorite characters from each.

Space Force: Captain Angela Ali. Its been a hot minute since I watched Space force, but iirc she’s just… done like 99% of the time with all of her superiors, but in the ten episodes we get, we see some fun little character moments from her. Like in the war games episode where she has to grapple with being an amazing book student, but has a hard time applying some of the stuff she learned at the military academy in a “combat” situation and has to sort of learn and take the lead from one of her “underlings” who is better in that sort of situation. Also, the bonding moments she has with Chan, like when they’re on the road trip, and when she asks him for help learning some science stuff so she can be more useful on missions and stuff. (again, its been a while since I’ve watched this one so my memory of it is a little foggy)

Stargate SG-1: Colonel Jack O’Neill. I like the tope he falls into of the very surface level sort of gruff military man, doesn’t like talking about his feelings, makes smart ass remarks, asks people who talk to much to get to the point, he’s a very fun character, and adds a lot of fun lightheartedness to the show and is generally enjoyable to have on screen. Also tends to get the most character development, at least regarding his past and sort of why the way that he is. (I would say Teal’c gets the second most), also the reason I got into stargate, as my dad showed me a compilation of him being a smart ass and I was like “oh ho ho, I gotta see more of this guy”

Doctor Who (specifically seasons 11 and 12): The Doctor. I like this version of the Doctor, I like that she a little more lighthearted chaotic as opposed to the previous Doctor, who I would describe as dark chaotic, (at least in s11) and just very fun to be around and watch on screen. Also, I think that the rest of the fam is a little bit underdeveloped? Like, we got a lot of fun stuff for Ryan and Graham in the premier with them being a part of a family unit and then at the end of the season we got a nice little scene of them bonding and Ryan calling him grandad and then in s12 there’s like none of that??? And with Yaz we get that she’s kinda got the usual female companion backstory (not a big fan of her job, not happy living with her family, wants *More* out of life) and then we learn that she got bullied as a kid, and at one point she tried to run away, but a kindhearted cop and her sister??? Managed to keep her in Sheffield. So, I feel a little bit like the doctor is my favorite as a default just because we already know the doctors story, so we’ve just pasted a new personality onto a familiar character.

Deep Space Nine (started 2019): Major Kira Nerys. Straight up the reason this character is my favorite is because my dad said I remind him of her and that makes me feel nice. Also, Nana Visitor is very pretty. Also I like that she takes 0 shit from anyone, including Sisko, but we also get to see her learn and grow from “I will always voice my disagreement no matter what” to “There is a time and a place to object” and also a little bit of learning that sometimes you have to work with people who’ve hurt you and sometimes that sucks. Anyway, she’s a grade A badass and I love her.

Voyager (started 2019): Captain Kathryn Janeway. Like my reasons for Kira, I think Janeway is a badass, and that Kate Mulgrew is very pretty. But also, I think Janeway is a badass in a different way than Kira is, simply because their characters are in very different situations. But I think Janeway is portrayed to be handling things extremely well, and doing what needs be done, obviously that wasn’t super looked at as they did want to keep the tone of voyager relatively light, but anyway, I like Janeway because she’s someone to look up to, to want to incorporate traits of into your own behavior.

Picard: Rafaella “Raffi” Musiker. I like Raffi because she is one of the most consistent characters in Picard. See imo Picard suffers from having too much on its plate, and also it drops/ abandons too many characters. With a show that has only 10 episodes, especially in a first season, you can’t do that. So, with Raffi being in the majority of the episodes, with consistent characterization that makes sense, and working as someone who can actually keep Picard in check? That’s the best character in the show. Also, I think of actors not seen in Star Trek before, she’s one of the better ones and that makes her better.

Lower Decks: Ensign Beckett Mariner. I love a chaotic smartass. Also, for as much as I love LD being a relatively slice of life comedy, I love that Mariner got a ton of characterization in the last few episodes, especially exploring her relationship with her mom, and people who knew her at the academy. She’s super fun, I love how she’s almost always dunking on Boimler, but also really cares for him and doesn’t want to see him hurt. Again, she’s just super fun to see on screen, I love that she doesn’t really like authority figures, and is content to figure herself out while being a relatively low-ranking officer. I like Mariner because she is both sure of herself, but not totally sure what she wants to do with her career, which is something that Star Trek has never explored before, and I think its super interesting.

Discovery: Commander Michael Burnham. I think a trend with a lot of the characters on this list is that I personally find them cool and/or pretty, and once again that also applies to Michael here, but also, I like her because Michael as a concept is fascinating. Like the idea of being a child who goes through a trauma and then is immediately whisked away to a place where she can’t actually process it? And then as a result grows up emotionally constipated and only in her 30s, is sort of finally able to shed that and actually learn how to be healthy with her emotions? Absolutely fascinating, I love that. I also love that we can kind of see that her upbringing and the suppression of emotions as a child still effects the choices that she’s made to this day. Its super cool, and I think one of the best parts of discovery.

Ratched: Nurse Mildred Ratched. I don’t have anything really important to say here, I just tend to like the main characters of tv shows because by default they get the most development/ back story or whatever, and honestly this is one of those shows that I enjoyed enough to watch all ten episodes, and then never picked it up again, so. Ehhh

Dexter: Dexter Morgan. I like Dexter Morgan because he’s a man who has always been told he doesn’t have emotions, but as the show goes on you can totally see that he does have emotions, he just doesn’t know how to handle them, and that they don’t present themselves in the same way that “normal” people’s do. Like, I fully believe that Dexter did actually love Rita, Harry jr., Deb, and Hannah. But I also believe he didn’t fully know how to cope with those emotions, because instead of getting his son help Harry Morgan decided to turn his son into a killing machine, which was a Choice.

Hannibal: Will Graham. I liked watching him kinda fall into Hannibal’s co-dependency trap. Character regression baybee. But like, that’s what happens, I’m pretty sure at one point they both admit that they aren’t healthy for each other, but they also cant live w/o each other. Which is not a dynamic I personally had seen delved into in media before I watched this show. I just think he’s neat.

ATLA: Toph Beifong. I like Toph because I think she provides a nice foil to Aang, whilst also not going too far into the opposite direction. She’s decisive, she knows for the most part what she wants from this adventure, and mostly how to go about getting it, while also discovering a new family along the way. I also just like the way that she can and will throw a boulder at you if she thinks you deserve it.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Sabrina Spellman. Again, sort of falling into the “I tend to like the main character by default folder” It’s also been a hot minute since I watched this show, so I’m just gonna say that I like Sabrina because she is always the one getting her own self into trouble by being Different. And while I’m not saying that it is always good to conform and do what is expected of you, all of the issues in the show are caused by Sabrina (for the most part). Season one is all about shit falling apart if she doesn’t sign the book, season two is her shaking things up at the witch academy and also not wanting to be the princess of hell (understandable, but again, still her fault) and the whole plot of season 3 is the fallout of her imprisoning the devil and then also being too cocky with the guy made of clay. She’s far too cocky, and I think that’s super funny in regards to how it gets her into situations she’s not really prepared for.

The Coroner (BBC): Beth Kennedy. I watched this show with my stepmom, and in this show, Beth tends to be the one who lightens the mood a lot, so she’s my favorite character b/c of that.

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matterofperception · 3 years

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MUSTAT LESKET FINAL MUSINGS

Okay, so I finished the second (and last) season of Mustat Lesket (Black Widows) a little while ago. It ends on a significant cliffhanger, and with a number of loose ends, but the series was never renewed despite the success of its first. Excuse me while I rant into the void, because there is zero fandom here for me to bounce things off (it’s an old show, 2014/16 AND not in English, so...) and I have so many thoughts...

Firstly, I actually really enjoyed the first season of Mustat Lesket, and would recommend it based on that (and because I think Pihla Viitala is wonderful). It had just the right balance of mystery/thrills and drama, but also black/dry humour (I laughed a lot in S1). A lot of it was far-fetched and beyond belief, but you could kind of let that slide because the show never took itself too seriously. As far as character introductions went, I loved Veera and Johanna, and could understand the trajectories that had led them to feel like killing their husbands was a viable way out. Kirsi, well, she just felt like a necessary caricature, designed to milk the drama for everything it was worth. The dynamic between sweet, gentle Veera, emotional, crazy Kirsi, and strong, wilful Johanna somehow worked in S1.

And when Jukka returned, his redemption arc in S1 was done fantastically. Suddenly, you could understand (although not necessarily condone - same as with the widows and the boat) why he’d been such an asshole, and you could also see Veera start to come to that realisation too. The build up to their reconciliation at the end of S1 was the most authentic and believable in the entirety of the series (with the possible exception of Johanna and Petri, though they didn’t have the romantic chemistry that Veera and Jukka had).

S2 however, was an odd and fragmented ride. With the truth of the boat blast that bonded them no longer a looming threat, suddenly the widows were thrown into very separate storylines. Kirsi, despite Veera and Johanna inexplicably taking her back into the fold after her betrayal, spends half the season away from them locked in a genuinely abusive marriage to a man she’s known for about half a minute. She pushes so far past the point of what is forgivable in terms of her friendships with Veera and Johanna, and becomes increasingly difficult to sympathise with. The bulk of Veera’s storyline is focussed on her weird open relationship with a high-profile MP/author who she has absolutely no chemistry with (I used to think Pihla would have chemistry with a rock - she’s had it with basically everyone else I’ve ever seen her paired with - but I don’t see it at all with this guy) while her own husband becomes a mere inconvenience, and Johanna...well I can’t even remember what Johanna was doing half the time, besides the will-they-won’t-they dance with Petri. The widows then intersect at the tiniest dribs and drabs to talk about the DVD. That’s really it.

And Jukka, oh my god, did they write him into the ground or what? S1′s redemption arc shows him falling back in love with his wife, so much that he’s willing to leave her to make her happy, and then to go to jail to keep her and their daughter safe. And S2 opens with him trying to drown her, not even stopping to question the legitimacy of what Kirsi - who has just been coming on to him behind Veera’s back - is saying? He then spends half the season locked in a basement, and when he does finally get free and worms his way back into Veera and Siiri’s lives, there isn’t a single proper conversation between him and Veera about all that’s gone down between them. Yeesh. By the end of the season, he’s gone legitimately off the rails. Even if there had been a S3 (and Jukka hadn’t been shot in the S2 finale), it would’ve been really hard for him to redeem himself.

I honestly don’t know what drove the storyline decisions here. You’d think that logically, the Veera/Jukka conflict and relationship would have the most potential for drama and rich storytelling (not to mention the strongest bond to the underlying trigger plot of the show - the boat blast). We saw nothing of it in S2. Nothing. It was just swept under the rug. They barely even interact.

I guess I’m just really disappointed in where they took this. I wonder if even the writers/actors were in the dark about where they would take that relationship in S2, because the way they played Veera and Jukka’s reconciliation in S1 was just so…emotionally romantic? In that post-sex scene where they’re talking by the fire, Jukka looked like he absolutely adored her, like he’d have done anything for her. The show had also made an interesting decision to not show them having sex (only the prelude, which was incredibly loving and tender), in contrast to Veera/Erno and Veera/Anttu who we quite graphically see having sex... For a while I’d wondered if they were using the whole ‘making love vs having sex’ contrast to highlight that her relationship with Jukka was special, but that quickly got blown out of the water in S2.

(An aside - it’s interesting that Veera and Anttu barely ever kiss throughout the whole relationship, and I wonder if there was a recognised chemistry issue between Pihla and the guy who plays Anttu).

Based on what they’d shown us about their feelings, realistically both Jukka and Veera should’ve been way more devastated by Kirsi’s reveal. Surely, he would’ve wanted to understand. Surely a part of him wouldn’t even believe it until hearing it from her (especially bearing in mind Kirsi has just been coming on to him behind Veera’s back)? Surely he’d have been heartbroken as well as angry? And surely Veera would’ve been more hurt by his reaction, would’ve understood his anger, and would’ve wanted to explain things to him (they basically wrote S2 as if she didn’t care enough to try)? S2 made a huge mockery of the redemption arc of S1. It made Veera look fickle and unattached and Jukka regress into the volatile asshole he’d been presented as at the start of S1. And perhaps most significantly of all, it denied Veera of a redemption arc of her own. The reality, is that she should’ve wanted that redemption - she was wrong about him, and had nearly killed him because of it. Why didn’t the writers address that?? It really pissed me off that they just had Veera brush that whole thing under the carpet.

And Anttu, oh my gosh I don’t even know what angle they were going for with this storyline? Were we supposed to be rooting for him? Because I was really not. First off, I don’t believe that Veera would ever be so desperate to seriously pursue the relationship in the first place - she is fiercely protective of her daughter (to the point she was willing to kill her husband to protect her) so I doubt she would’ve engaged in a relationship that she knew would never provide any stability for Siiri.

And Anttu himself, what the hell? He takes her out for a public dinner, and then everyone acts like it’s such a shock when the media snaps them out together and reports on it as gossip? Veera’s humiliated and hurt, but doesn’t even have enough pride to walk away from a) him b) the job she has working for his wife until way later on? All the while, her own husband is popping in and out of her life and it’s like she’s just flicked the off switch on her feelings for him? It just makes no sense to me!

And then there’s the fact that we aren’t shown any great emotional connection between Veera and Anttu. They basically had no emotional or sexual chemistry. We’re meant to believe that the pull between these characters is so strong, and the audience is told by way of the characters that Veera and Anttu are supposedly so attracted to each other, but the chemistry is so non-existent that we don’t see it. The clincher though, is that he was actually kind of an asshole. The show tried to present him as this wholesome guy, but he didn't actually seem to give two shits about her wellbeing at all - he showed up at her house the first time she broke it off basically to convince her to keep sleeping with him on the side (telling her how attracted he was to her while her kid was in hearing distance, wtf), took her out to dinner knowing that people would likely talk, brushed off her concerns about the photos, outed her name to the press against her wishes, stood by his wife and basically belittled her and treated her like the other woman on live television, then when she tried to break it off for good he kept pursuing her because he wanted her, like she was some kind of trophy (and ‘I’m not used to being dumped’ - OH PLEASE!). He had no regard for her feelings or wishes at all. The scene where he shows up at her house with the party invite and wouldn’t even let her speak raised my hackles - I mean, was that supposed to be romantic? Him constantly stalking her despite her saying ‘no’ on multiple occasions, and showing up at her house (and scaring her kid) despite her wishes? Honestly, it just about killed me seeing Veera allowing herself to be treated like that. She deserves so much better, and it was really unsatisfying to see the series end with her going back to him (the fact that he left his wife is really the least of the issues).

So maybe I wrote all that just to come to the conclusion that - I’m actually kind of glad that we’ll never see beyond the ending of S2. Perhaps I’ll just pretend that this universe concluded at the end of S1, before Kirsi had the chance to make that phone call. I’ll pretend that Veera eventually told Jukka of her own accord, that they fought and got angry, and made up and were able to understand each others’ circumstances. That they talked and kissed and made love at the villa, and plotted a way to keep the police off Veera’s back. And then they lived happily ever after with Siiri. Sigh.

#mustat lesket #black widows #finnish tv #pihla viitala #Ville Tiihonen #veera joentie #jukka joentie #veera x jukka #I love them and am bitter about how they were written post S1

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retrauxpunk · 5 years

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sv 6.04

spoiler-filled recap post under the cut

WHAT THE FUCK

i swear every single episode is gonna have me feeling like that because IT’S SO INTENSE i think i’ve forgotten how intense this show is because it’s prior to the release of s6 it’s been 2 years since i watched new episodes? and so i just know the storylines quite well and am familiar with everything?

but jesus christ!!

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

okay let’s start at the beginning:

FUCK ethan!!

WHAT THE FUCK

I had the vague inkling of a feeling that bringing on ethan would be the same as bringing on the carver, russ hanneman, jack barker, etc. in that it would seem to be good at first and then it would magnificently blow up AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WHAT THE FUCK

there were so many intertwined storylines in this episode? i feel like there were more than usual? there was: richard and his conflict with ethan; gavin’s book thing; monica’s misadventures with feminism; gilfoyle’s budding friendship with john stafford (I STAN); jared’s story with his parents and gwart

THERE WAS SO MUCH.

last episode my fingers couldn’t keep up with my thoughts because it was such an amazing uplifting kickass episode, but this time i just feel, i dunno, kind of clogged with feelings/thoughts because there was a lot that happened in this episode and it was................ MOSTLY SAD????? mostly unpleasant?????? like it was a great episode but all the things that happened to the characters were like ... real shitty

HOLY SHIT the guy who plays ethan is SO GOOD at playing the role of the emotionally manipulative jackass prick who mistreats you and then acts like you’re the shitty one if you don’t ‘play along with the fun’ and so on like HOLY MOTHERFUCKER those types of people are the fucking worst and god i wish richard’s punch hand gotten him in the mouth instead or something (more on that later)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he was so terrible to richard! it fucking hurt! i was with dinesh! i watched richard’s balls getting kicked and my balls hurt in solidarity!! fuck!!

????!

richard what are you doing

it was, no lie, a little nice and fuzzy and heartwarming to see dinesh like sticking up for richard and trying to help him

even if it’s through the ‘dumbest thing i’ve ever seen’, that alpha male video.

WHAT WAS THAT

THAT WAS LEGIT like something out of IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA what the FUCK

i don’t object to it being in the show because, y’know, it’s within the bounds of the absurdities of the show and so on, but

WHAT! that had the exact same energy as the fight milk ads!!

i really like that richard’s initial reaction was ‘this is the dumbest thing i’ve ever seen’. what a shame he succumbed to it!!! ........but at least it wasn’t something worse that he succumbed too i guess???

POOR RICHARD

this is one of those episodes where i am entirely on richard’s side and have no complaints about him, he didn’t do anything wrong

omg i just remembered when he caught ethan’s eye in the opening scene and waved him in because of ‘dumb social shit’ (#relatable) ................WAS THAT BECAUSE HE WAS REFLEXIVELY REGRESSING TO HIS DOWNTRODDEN WAYS from when he was ethan’s report and was consistently having to defer to him and put up with his shit? and that’s why when ethan motions to like invite himself into richard’s office, that’s why richard just invites him in?

yeah that’s my opinion now

........

IT HURTS

IT HURTS WATCHING RICHARD GET KICKED AROUND BY ETHAN

WHAT THE FUCK DUDE

this is one of those times when richard’s like, trying to do a good/right thing and be nice and so on WHEN HE SHOULDN’T BE. like when he was ‘trying to respect’ erlich by refusing to hire jared patakian despite erlich giving him his blessing. and (to a lesser extent) when he went to have those chats with seth after gilfoyle stole the endframe login credentials, and when he gifted laurie some pied piper credits (where they credits? don’t remember the word)

UGH he was trying to be ~chill~ and not so uptight and so on BUT NO THIS IS NOT THE TIME RICHARD and no this is not what being a cool/nice person is! it is not putting up with this kind of shit!

i just felt so bad for him!!!

WHAT THE FUCK IS ETHAN’S PROBLEM

god what a cock

I’M SO GLAD RICHARD PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE and honestly??? i wish the punch had fucking landed!! for once i’m sick of richard being an ineffectual klutz! i want him to try to kick ass and succeed!!! god!!

that’s what i want out of season 6, one (1) time when richard tries to do something physically badass like socking a deserving douchebag in the face and actually succeeds

can’t fucking believe he bought into dinesh’s dumbfuck alpha male video. UGH RICHARD

i mean at..........at least it makes him........feel better? idk

(in my personal hc richard manages to watch that fucking always sunny style video and not develop misogynistic tendencies as consequence because that would be lame if it happened)

I JUST HAD TO TAKE A BREAK FROM WRITING THIS RECAP BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH AN INTENSE EPISODE

6.3 was intense in the same way that like an adrenaline-fuelled ultimately victorious battle is intense, or like, idk, the lovechild of MDMA and acid???

6.4 is intense like the COMEDOWN. god

IT IS THE COMEDOWN, it’s the terrible fucking low that occurs in the wake of the soaring high of buying hooli!! fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay so that’s the richard storyline covered

y’know i was suspicious when ethan wanted to move things onto hooliphones, i thought it was maybe some kind of thing to sabotage pied piper in some way? but now i see maybe it’s just a way to get himself a job. and the bullying of richard is a way to soothe his own fragile ego i guess? hmm

gilfoyle’s friendship with john stafford! I LOVE IT! i love that the guy from the underground pits of jack barker’s box plan has returned! and he announces each hooliphone the way he announced each box ... excellent callback. AND THEY PLAY CHESS! AND HE BEAT GILFOYLE EVERY SINGLE TIME! YES!!!

GILFOYLE WHY DID YOU DELETE HIS FRIEND REQUEST

YOU WERE GONNA ACCEPT IT

YOUR CURSOR WAS HOVERING

WHY THE FUCK

some kind of lame-as-fuck attempt to maintain an idea of power in the dynamic? viewing the vulnerability of accepting a friend request as somehow being weak/lame?? just upset because he lost so many chess games??

hope it’s the the last one becaues that’s the least lame/sad of the three i thinkkkk

also his fucking feed full of dinesh hate. what a loser lmao perfectly suited to dinesh

i want them to kiss

ummmmmmmm monica!! lmao i enjoyed how they made her a female character who is successful but not actually personally interested in being a feminist activist, because i think that’s a thing that’s pretty real/relatable. like, you can be a woman who believes in gender equality but who doesn’t actually do stuff to actively advocate for it, and i think that’s a lot of people, and honestly i don’t think i’m quite like monica (i wouldn’t say the things she said about foxhole HAHAHHA) but i relate to it! i’m not a very politically active person at all, my ~activism is limited to being generally educated on stuff and calling out/discussing shitty things if friends/colleagues say them. so i guess i felt seen? #guiltyfeminist

when monica went to the panel........... and then priyanka totally outshone her ........ i felt a little bad for monica but she was pawning off foxhole to priyanka entirely selfishly because she herself didn’t want to be involved and so i didn’t feel too bad for her :pp

good on priyanka! all that stuff she’s doing sounds awesome!

except the beginning where she referenced her ‘network of awesome women coders’ or something like that, i found that phrasing uhhhhhhh cringey. cliquey. didn’t like it, but that’s just my subjective feeling. also i suspect it was meant to be a little satirical of uberwokeness so fair :P

richard giving monica foxhole ‘for optics’ and then doing the handwavey ‘just make it work, for women’ ........ a brilliant sad-funny representation of extremely superficial and empty meaningless ‘feminism’

laurie lasering in on gwart because she’s also eating that vegetable in a weird way! nice.

OKAY JARED? JARED

FUCK

we see him set up in pied piper’s offices meaning he at least took up richard’s offer which is nice

his parents?

fuck ‘em

they deserve to rot, obviously

sociopaths

i............................... it was an upsetting scene, i’m not sure why it’s in the show............ perhaps to give rise to jared’s whole ‘i must have rejected them and rejected everyone else who’s been kind’ thing that he’s doing in a desperate bid to understand/make sense of his suffering ....... which gives rise to his thing about rejecting richard...

i guess maybe he’s doing that thing where he’s repeating past cycles of trauma/abandonment? that’s what’s (at least partially) driving his stubborn refusal to rejoin richard? is it that he (on some not-necessarily-conscious level) believes himself unworthy of happiness and self-sabotages? and all of that mixes with his fear of fucking up pied piper with his feelings (the way he did in 6.1) and that keeps him away from richard?

I DON’T KNOW IT’S COMPLICATED AND MAKES ME SAD

that thing he said about how he has to stay with gwart . .............. god this stupid entirely arbitrary rule he’s set for himself, it’s so fucking painful

ETHAN’S REPENTANCE WAS DUE TO THREAT FROM HOLDEN? WOW

good on you holden i guess!! .....?

i HATE the whole ‘jared threatening holden and emotionally abusing him into the perfect assistant for richard’ arc because that was painful and i feel like it was played for laughs but i didn’t find it funny or good at all

so in this case it was kinda vindicating to see holden no longer terrified of jared and kind of sassing him (’don’t you have somewhere to be’)

..............what was with the end of the cold open where richard’s like ‘holden i wanted water’??? or something? didn’t holden give him the water partway through ethan’s presentation? ugH

GWART FIRING JARED

FUCK YES! THANK YOU GWART

JARED TALKING ABOUT HOW HE’S FREE TO GO WITH RICHARD

HOLY FUCK

YEAH SO OF COURSE OUR BOY JARED WANTS TO BE WITH RICHARD and now that gwart (his temporarily chosen ‘leader’/person to be devoted to) has given him orders (and therefore permission) to fuck off, he CAN BE WITH RICHARD without feeling like he’s, i dunno, being disloyal.

HURRAH

so the episode ENDS on jared asserting that there is a space for him to be with richard? homg seems like 6.5 is gonna go HEAVY ON THE JARRICH again?????

HNNNG

this was a tense episode and i’m upset

like it was a decent episode, i didn’t think it was bad quality, i’m just sad

#rain watches sv s6 #sv s6 #sv s6 spoilers #silicon valley spoilers #silicon valley #sv squad #my sv text posts #precipitation

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true-intha-blu · 5 years

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In regards to Kwami Buster

Soo...

I have opinions. Shocker. And this episode of Miraculous actually made me want to take about them on tumblr (risky) Disclaimer. I completely understand that Miraculous is made for far younger audience’s and that this is primarily a show for young girls. As such the writer will probably never be what I hope it is as a quarter of a century person. I also understand that Thomas Austruc and the writers constantly get crap from people about various of small nitpicks. I also don’t know the episode order so I do not know what should is being addressed later on or it is mainly spotted around randomly I really like this show and while it not what I expected for what it is. I enjoy. There are limits for what can be told within a 23-minute episode. I also know that regardless of what the Show’s Creator wants to make, things can get into the way in order to make it... ‘marketable’. Mainly. Producers. So I can understand why the concept art days are different So any complaints I have aren’t really in anger... but in contemplation. There is a bit of frustration. (Also if I see or hear of anyone using this to harass/blame/spread hate to any fan or the show’s creative team, I will tear you a new one. This is never supposed to be used against the writers or ANYONE WHO HAS A DIFFERENT OPINION THAN YOU. DO NOT BE A JERK ABOUT IT!) Season 3 has been pretty darn great. Has a lot potential and lore and all that good stuff. But while watching it, I get been noticing something lacking most episodes.

Something that I originally that made me interested in this show ALL the way back to the Concept Art days. The partnership. The Yin and Yang.

Remember when Chat sacrificed himself in Timerbreaker? Or in Stormy Weather how both heroes worked to protect each other? each having a shining moment? Remember in Gamer 2.0 Chat’s speech to ladybug about their trust and partnership? Well... doesn’t feel like much when we look at the episodes. I love Marinette/Ladybug. She is a wonderful figure for young girls and others to look up to and a good written female character. But recently that admiration is fading when... every episode she seems to overcome everything usually by herself or with her own ideas. And... I get it. The media is saturated with far too many male characters and I understand the desire to make a prominent female character... Yet... I keep getting that Ladybug solves so many of her problems... far too easily. Even her mistakes seem to pale. Only Lila has given her a problem and it is extremely one-sided and not... well... it just results in salt and that is not a good way to challenge our heroine. With the episode Kwami Buster, she did everything her self and got off with it no sweat. Same with Christmaster and more than a fair share of episodes of Ladybug hardly needing Chat’s actual help or protection or even a second opinion (as chat is always portrayed as wrong/dense) and I feel like he has been reduced to merely an object for the Ladybug Lucky Charm plans. It Dismissing Chat Noir or Adrien as a viable character with his own development isn't the way to highlight Marinette/Ladybug as a strong role model. The show is Tale of ladybug AND chat Noir. I am fine with Adrien getting less development time in comparison to Marinette but he hasn't had any really except MAYBE puppeteer 2.0. Gabriel and Nathalie of all people have had loads of development time in their short limited screen time. And I get superhero show needs good villains for a good compliment to a hero. But the supposed secondary protagonist? The only real thing I remember Chat doing that didn’t involve him being a pun or But I am noticing that Hawkmoth and Mayura have a lot better chemistry and teamwork than ladybug and chat noir. I don’t know if that is an intentional thing on the creators' part or it is merely the comedy role chat has been reduced to. Again to say, I do love Marinette... but I fear at the rate she is going, her solving everything will make her a... Goku. And by Goku I mean, that the characters/plot/slight obstacle that the show presents cannot even be overcome by anyone else and that Marinette/Ladybug is the only one to save the day. The only episodes she really doesn’t is the episodes featuring the other heroes... or at least their introductions. But even then Marinette is the one who asks them in the first place.

The fact that Fu and the miraculous box and all of that core lore of the story with Fu is only focused on Marinette shows an imbalance of character direction. You could argue that Chat has Hawkmoth as a father is part of that lore... but when was the last time that was actually a thing except for all the way back in season 2 with The Collector that has even been slightly addressed or experimented with? Marinette has done what Chat is supposed to do several times already. Using the power of destruction... and it saddened me or what cemented the imbalance for me was that one backscreen of the two Mouse Marinette's with both the ladybug and black cat miraculous and the two yin and yangs behind her. She has become her own balance, the fact she only needs to rely on herself to defeat a villain... just... kinda subsided Chat in one of his roles. I’m fine Ladybug getting shinning moments. But the fact that Chat has never really had one, never really was the cause for a brilliant idea or directly responsible for defeating the akuma (maybe there was one but for the life of me I cannot recall it despite recently re-watching the episodes). I don’t mind him taking a back row and being the support to ladybug but maybe a few episodes of where Chat is equal to Ladybug, like back in Stormy weather where each other were bailing their partner out in different situations would be nice. I wanted the Kwami Swap episode to be this, but instead, I had Adrien being Trademark Dense Boy and Marinette doing the work and her solving the problem while doing nearly everything Chat did perfectly. In essence... I am fine with Marinette succeeding. But I would like Chat to do so as well. I do not want a Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable dynamic. Not when Chat Noir is literally half of the show’s title. I want to seem them as partners, Ladybug Asking Chat what to do on certain situations and Chat being the support for Ladybug. Not just puns for Chat and Ladybug always knowing exactly what to do. Maybe this will be addressed later on, maybe the show writers will address this. Maybe I am being delusional and missing the whole point of the show. I honestly hope I am wrong with this. But from what I have seen, it is a regression of Adrien. A sheltered lad who has been emotionally abused by his father and people around him and is forced to wear a perfect mask every day while Chat Noir is his only way of freedom. In Stairtrain, I was happy to see a small development of him breaking the rules... but it is not much further than that. Note: I do not expect this show to be very angsty or dark or turbulent in the emotions and development. Something would be nice though. I would like Chat to be more rebellious against authority, including Ladybug when he thinks she is wrong (which sometimes she should be, it is good for characters to be wrong) And to extent Fu. Maybe I want Chat to start distrusting people and Adrien to grow more snappy and rueful at his situation. Maybe I want him to have a very deep talk to Ladybug as Chat about his lack of input on things, or a moment of her plans using him as one of the parts of her Luck Charm just doesn’t work out because it just doesn’t. I like both characters, but I do not like where only one character shines and the other gets regulated to mere standby unless needed. Already the fandom just regulates chat into dumb tropes and memes because that is all we see of him in the show. I like his playful side, but I know and have seen in the first season he is more than that. I hope Chat Blanc may address this. But I doubt it. Oh well, I’ll keep watching the show. I still like it. What do you guys think? I’m just seeing to much into the situation? Am I not being feminist enough to only want the girl to succeed and that the male deuteragonist should just be regulated for comedy and merely a character for several girls' affections? And once again, I do not hate any character in the show and this is not an Anti Miraculous team post either. I am merely throwing a few thoughts out (and a few frustrations) and this is in no way a ‘Meta’ post. If anyone has specific moments for or against this. Go ahead. I am interested to learn. Just keep it polite people And if you don’t like Miraculous and think I should drop the show... No.

#kwami buster #miraculous ladybug spoiler #ml spoiler #spoilers #ladybug #chat noir #miraculous ladybug #if you have an opinion #keep it polite

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 5 years

Text

I saw recently an argument about how irresponsible or selfish Peter Parker was in planning on marrying not one, but two women without divulging his secret identity to them.

The first was Gwen Stacy in the Silver Age and the second was Mary Jane Watson in the Bronze Age.

Thinking about it though...this is a little bit more complicated than that.

In ASM #30 Peter learns his romantic rival Ned Leeds has proposed to Betty Brant. Shocked by this news the young and impulsive Peter decides himself to propose to Betty...but also makes it clear to the readers he will first reveal his secret to her.

Stupid? Yes.

But it shows Peter even at a younger age had an awareness that he couldn’t be married and maintain his secret from his spouse.

It goes badly though. Before Peter gets round to the big reveal, Betty makes it clear she couldn’t handle being with anyone who takes risks like Spidey.

When presented the options of a future with Betty or continuing being Spider-Man, Peter chooses the latter.

Much later in issue #100 Peter again contemplates marriage, this time to Gwen Stacy. Here he does consider how difficult it would be to maintain his secret whilst being married to Gwen, the latter of which he has set his mind to.

Again...he’s young and dumb here for even considering that, but noticeably his conclusion is to simply remove his powers, thus ending his career and being free to pursue life with Gwen.

Inconsistent? Out of character? At face value when compared to ASM #100 certainly so. But context is key. Peter is older, arguably more weary of life as a crime fighter, can more clearly see a future for himself and most importantly is much more deeply in love with Gwen than Betty.

Betty was his first girlfriend but not the first woman he was ever in love with, that was Gwen and they mutually shared a desire for a future together; regardless of how unlikely we the readers could tell that would be. Equally important is the fact that Gwen despises Spider-Man for her father’s death and doesn’t seem likely to budge from that mindset one inch.

So whilst Peter did consider marrying Gwen without telling her his secret, that only happened for a short period of time when he was young and naive (as were all younger members of the cast). It was not long before he started to make proactive moves towards marrying her that he made the reasonable decision to simply cease being Spider-Man and therefore largely mitigate the need to divulge his secret. Of course even if he was powerless there were still strong reasons he should have told her, but again...he was young and dumb. The prospects of someone uncovering his identity even after he retired or the potential question of his genetics if they ever wanted to have children wasn’t something he at the time may have considered. Not out of selfishness but mere naivete. More than this both things could’ve been addressed without him actually telling her his secret. He could’ve informed her he had a genetic disorder of some kind or that his association with Spider-Man meant Gwen was undertaking a major risk. Not that she wasn’t already, her father’s status already endangered her.

So finally we get to MJ. When Peter propsed to MJ it was due to a lot of factors in his life driving him to do so. It seems to me like he was proposing more because he felt he should, because he felt he should get married as opposed to he wanted desperately to spend the rest of his life with MJ specifically. I’m not saying he did not love her, but that their relationship (even outside of the Spider-Man angle) wasn’t ‘there’ yet.

What is noticeable about Peter’s proposal in ASM #182, and his thoughts on it in ASM #183, is that the issue of MJ not knowing his secret isn’t that big of a deal. IIRC...he never once talks about either maintaining it a secret from her nor possibly revealing it to her.

On the one hand this could be interpreted as a sign that Peter is in truth not really ready for marriage, that he’s doing it for the idea of stability and growth he believes it will provide, not because he actually wants to spend his life with her.

On the other hand, because the topic isn’t really talked about one way or the other it’s not really fair to condemn Peter for intending to marry MJ without divulging his secret. That aspect of the story is so badly written that we have no idea as to what Peter was considering doing in regards to that topic, if he considering it at all. Its fair to presume that because he gave no indication he was going to reveal the truth to MJ that in fact his plan was to continue lying to her.

But it’s equally fair to presume that because he gave no indication he may well have been planning on, or just eventually have considered, telling her if she said yes. Indeed given how he wanted to reveal the truth to Betty and resolved to simply retire to marry Gwen whom he believed could never accept him as Spidey, it’s entirely logical that Peter was going to tell MJ. Like Betty when he decided to propose there was no Spidey shaped roadblock to their future together and there is no hint of him considering retirement as a crime fighter.

Like I said...it’s badly written. And I don’t just mean because we get no hint of this thought process. I mean it’s badly written because Peter would 100% have considered that question, have considered retirement to be with MJ, or telling her the truth. Again he only briefly considered marrying Gwen and continuing to lie to her before finding an alternate solution. When he had the chance to be with Black Cat (with pie in the sky plans of marriage to her someday) he did reveal who he was.

The idea that an older, wiser Peter would honestly seriously entertain marriage (to the point of literally proposing) and lying to his wife is patently ridiculous and out of character.

It is not the only aspect of the story that criticism could apply to though.

Author Marv Wolfman has described himself pompously as a Spidey ‘purist’, which translates to following what he regards as Ditko’s intentions. This is why he placed Peter in Grad School. According to him Ditko felt Peter leaving Midtwon High was a mistake, that he should have perennial been stuck there and so placing him in Grad School was the next best thing.

Noticably under Wolfman’s pen, even early on, Peter seems to have regressed as a character emotionally. He’s comparatively more hotheaded and immature than he’d been in the preceding years, much more hung up on Aunt May and also just...kind of stupid. He bursts into a hospital full of fragile older people whilst in costume, including his aunt May who’s prone to heart problems. This in turn causes her to go to the critical ward.

In the same issue MJ rejects Peter’s proposal. Now this wasn’t necessarily out of character for MJ. Even her rationale of basically wanting to see other people wasn’t nonsensical. The problem was the casualness and demeanor with which MJ treated the situation. She treats Peter’s proposal as a mere afterthought. She quickly and casually drops the ring back into his hand, pecks him on the cheek, smiles and walks out the door saying they could still be friends.

With the benefit of retcons this scene both makes sense and is incredibly enriching to MJ’s character. But in the context of when it was written and released...it makes no fucking sense.

This is not how someone with MJ’s established character, as it had developed and shared a history with Peter, would’ve acted in that situation. It was as though Wolfman had decided pseudo-Ditko era Peter was in a relationship with pseudo-Ditko era Mary Jane and sought to rectify that ASAP. Gone was their character development and relationship of 6+ years!

Matters were not helped by Peter’s casualness and relative nonchalance over MJ’s rejection. He’s bummed out but takes it more with a shrug than anything else, quickly considering rekindling his relationship with Betty Brant when she shows up in his apartment that same day. Granted between May’s condition and other factors in his life it’s not unreasonable that Peter would act that way, but you look at it in context of everything else and how we know Wolfman thought of his run and the character and it becomes obvious.

Wolfman was just writing the characters at odds with their defined characterizations.

And as such the argument that Peter was planning on marrying MJ but continuing to lie to her holds little stock. It was just another one of Wolfman’s characterization misfires.

#Spider-Man #Peter Parker #Gwen Stacy #Betty Brant #mjwatsonedit #Mary jane watson Parker #Mary Jane Watson #mj watson #Marv Wolfman

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watercolorwillowbrook · 5 years

Text

Let’s talk about the REAL story (spoilers)

Ramble warning ahead. All recall too because I gave the comics away aaaaages ago.

Okay kids. I am an old lady. Back in my day we didn’t have the cartoon (yet), we had the comics and my parents HATED the fact that I read x-men (due to the way the women were portrayed)

But let’s talk about what those comics were and why the movies make me physically ill. Especially in regards to jean, Phoenix, and dark phoenix. One— Jean is lacking in the movies. More often than not she is just portrayed as the ass that Wolverine wants but can’t have. What was she really— Jean’s power came about from her LITERALLY stopping someone’s soul from passing into the afterlife. That friend that everyone glazes over? Yeah, that soul. AS A CHILD. If I recall correctly. Professor x even admits to the fact (in early issues) that she potentially is more powerful than him as a psychic and telepath, though her telepathy is bound at that point. He knew from day one when he came to help her, AS A CHILD, that she was one of the most powerful minds in the universe. And he wasn’t the only one to notice. There are clear hints that Phoenix, as an entity, saw this struggle to keep her friend, and intervened at the risk of Jean being dragged into the afterlife along with her friend. During her early days with professor x, he purposely bound her powers because she lacked maturity and wisdom. Her wreckless emotional abandon was what nearly killed her, and he recognized that she needed a normal life experience to learn how to cope and use them effectively later on. Not to mention that she was being driven into insanity. She fears her powers to the point of her health deteriorating, and it gets to a point where professor x has to help redirect her to focus on normalcy. The first time she really uses her power without fear is to pull up a psychic hologram of Scott, who she had developed feelings for. (Side note, the whole time her parents have no idea she’s a mutant. They just think she is emotionally disturbed.)

Fast forward to the x-men getting caught up in intergalactic bullshit. Now, the comics were by far more telling than anything else. The movie glazed and the cartoon had to skip over some stuff to meet a rating standard. But literally, when Jean took over the ship to take everyone home there were multiple scenes of how radiation continually hit her and how she was withering away, her hair was falling out, her skin was mottled and dying, her muscles were disintegrating... she literally was being fried to death. It was pretty graphic. Her will to save her friends, and her love for them, and once again her fucking mental strength caught the eye of the Phoenix— now the Phoenix is a literal force. It has no physical form and cannot experience anything on its own. So, in exchange for helping her (and subsequentally making her pretty much immortal) the Phoenix approaches Jean And makes a deal. Power for a chance to be a living, feeling being. On that note, we see something that will come back later— we already know Jean will do anything out of love for her friends, but also, we see that she’s scared to die. And that is important for later, and it completely makes her relatable.

So, they all live and times goes on. Now if you pay attention throughout the ensuing issues, you notice that Jean GRADUALLY becomes more powerful, more ruthless, and more sexual. She goes from being a very demure woman to a very provocative one. So how did it happen? Now I missed this as a kid because it was all subtle (comics were censored a lot so everything had to be implied) when I reread the series after the cartoon in the 90s came out, it clicked more for me. So during a fight with magneto, a huge chunk of the x-men get lost in the savage lands. Only Jean and beast make it back. Thinking everyone dead, professor x goes with lillandra into space and beast runs off to join the... avengers? I think? I am pretty sure. ANYWAY. This leaves Jean all alone, so she goes to Muir island, since Moira was pretty tight with her. Starting from the flight over, Mastermind fucks with her head— and you see this in flashbacks and thoughts from him as the story progresses. He approaches her as a priest on the flight to get her to confide in him, then again approaches her at a beach where he literally ends up sleeping with her (raping, really, since he is manipulating the situation) and then running into her as Jason. This takes place over a good few months, and that is when Emma Frost provides a way for mastermind to infiltrate Jean’s thoughts and start giving her mental illusions of a past life where Jean was married to mastermind and they were in love. And Jean falls for it because emotionally she is starved— Scott is dead to her at this time. Again the cartoon and several remakes forget to include this. Jean herself is beyond loyal, and the only reason she fell for any of it was under the belief that Scott died.

SO, this manipulation goes on for about a year and a half until BAM, the x-men manage to get home and suddenly scott isn’t dead anymore. (Emotionally whiplash. This shift happens a lot.) To speak to her character, Jean inmediately tells him everything. Scott had a bit of a fling too, but they both decide what happened, happened, but that they want to be together. La la laaaa...

For what good it does. ANYWAY. Time goes on and we continue to see an escalation in Jean’s behavior. She gets more aggressive and savage, dresses more provocative. She gets her Mack in with angel in front of everyone (Lol it’s meant to be innocent, but Jean/ Phoenix are also highly aware that warren pursued her when she was younger.) off and on, she has dreams and visions of her and Jason in the 1800s or whenever, where she is deemed the black queen of the hellfire club. Then the M’krann crystal saga goes down. MORE shit goes down in which Scott and the others start to suspect that the hellfire club is part of it (you know, instead of just being a kinky sex club. They should have just stayed in that lane imo)

So, they have this great idea to crash a hellfire party. Unfortunately it’s been YEARS, and mastermind has continued to work on Jean this whole time, so it is no problem for him to manipulate her into turning on her friends and joining them. She literally thinks she is doing it for the love of her life. (Mastermind) really whatn he does is he psychically manipulates her into succumbing to the personality HE has designed for her as the black queen.

At some point Jean and Scott do a fucking Vulcan mind meld thing, and they are in each other’s heads, mmk? This is before they crash the party. So while scott is all kinky bondaged up, he tries to reach her telepathically. Mastermind catches him and psychically kills him. He, as most people do, underestimate Jean. Seeing Scott killed sets her off and she reverts back. Now we see a brutal side to Jean here as she literally psychically drives mastermind into a state of insanity. I am pretty sure she puts white queen into a coma too. Anyway, this is just a taste of what is happening. A fight ensues and they all leave, but on their way out a bunch of shit hits Jean.

1. She realizes she had been fucked with over and over for years.

2. Mastermind literally mentally and physically raped her. Over the course of years.

3. She enjoyed the feeling of turning on her friends and having the adoration of the hellfire club AND tormenting frost and mastermind.

So, Jean also feels guilt for it all, and unable to really cope, she mentally seems to collapse which allows the Phoenix (which is an entity that craves feelings) to rush in and grab all those dark emotions and run with them. Because Jean wouldn’t let Phoenix experience it— she regressed those feelings in herself.

That is how dark Phoenix came about. The cartoon and movies make it all appear to happen over a short course, but the truth of the matter is, she was mentally manipulated and physically assaulted over the course of YEARS by the hellfire club. I recognize that some of this isn’t appropriate for cartoons, and it would be Difficult to show in a movie that’s only a couple hours long. However it does an injustice to Jean’s character because she RESISTED for such a long time because she was strong, and a good person. She didn’t just get her rocks off on power right away and loose her shit. It was trauma after trauma.

ANYWAY, after a huge battle and getting Jean back under control, the fkn Shi’arr (Sp?) pop in to be the galaxy police, eventually Jean goes back to being Phoenix, as a stepping stone to being dark Phoenix again. There was a battle so it wasn’t for anything, literally once again all of her friends were being harmed in effort to protect her. (Even though she killed billions of people by snacking on a star and destroying a solar system buuuuuut...) Jean still had a lot of control, and on the blue side of the moon comes a few realizations

1. This wasn’t who she wanted to be

2. She is tortured by the understanding she killed billions of people (Remember that Jean is a loving and kind person who has a fear of death both for herself and others)

3. She cannot live an immortal life always being in control and being unable to slip at any moment. Literally a prisoner within herself.

It at this point we see more of Jean’s strength. Jean who, from day one has feared death, now accepts that it is the only way to truly protect everyone that she loves. Granted they all try to stop her, but in the end she takes her own life. This puts an end to her being an uncontrollable force, as Phoenix goes back to being an entity without a physical manifestation, and stops the feud between the aliens and the x-men.

This is why each medium and how things are presented is important. With comics being released in (originally) 8 page monthly installments, the reader really got a sense of the time for the story to build up. The pacing was there. With the animation and the movies, it all feels rushed and kind of forced— hence why I personally do not care for them. I have to look at them in a different way, but to me, there is a lot more power in the comics.

Just my two cents. Imma shush now.

#spoilers #jean grey #x-men #dark phoenix #phoenix #marvel #comics

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magic-and-moonlit-wings · 5 years

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Hi, in HBB, for the potential WarStaff ship, I just needed ideas for writing it. I don't want to force myself into shoving Claire and Toby together, so may or may not go through with it, but if I don't want to, I'll probably make a series of oneshot AU stories featuring WarStaff. Also, why do you like Strange Magic? For Trollhunter!Claire what is Draal and Angor Rot's relationship like? And since Angor Rot reformed, outside of getting her brother back, why does Claire go into the Darklands?

Well, a good starting point for writing any character dynamic is considering the basic personality of each party, what they might bond over, and what they might clash over.

Claire is eager to learn, clever, stubborn, and possibly a perfectionist. Toby is emotionally intelligent, easily excited, and drawn in by anything that strikes him as ‘cool’. Of the two of them, I think Claire has greater potential for ruthlessness, which would be encouraged in her if she were the Trollhunter.

She likes acting and he’s into stage magic, so outside of trollhunting they might bond over theatricality. Maybe music and video games, too? The music Toby plays during Battle of Two Bridges is, according to the closeup shot of his iPod or whatever it was, a Papa Skull song, and we know Claire is a fan of that band.

Toby might think Claire needs to chill sometimes, which could also turn into bonding moments, with him helping her to relax after a stressful mission, or just a hard day. She might get frustrated if she thinks he’s not taking something seriously.

They can also both be dramatic people, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the situation.

By all means, try your hand at writing them if you like the idea, but you certainly shouldn’t feel obligated to include any ship if you’re not feeling it. A forced ship is usually worse for the characters and the story than no ship at all.

I’m pretty sure you’ve ask me this before, but I’m always happy to gush.

Things I like that Strange Magic is or has:

musicals,

animated movies,

fairies and goblins, who comprise most of the cast,

fairy movies that aren’t preachy ‘save the environment’ pieces, because those tend to have clunky execution because the target demographic tends to be children,

love potion plots which acknowledge said potions are ethically questionable at best,

fantasy films which don’t include human characters, because often those come with a standard ‘human discovers the supernatural’ plot, and that’s fine, but it’s nice to see something different once in a while,

fantasy forest settings,

characters who break up and don’t get back together,

interspecies romances,

positive portrayals of second love,

romantic flying scenes,

and the specific character dynamic of the tough heroine and the seemingly-scary-but-actually-sweet ‘villain’ falling in love.

So basically this movie hits a lot of my buttons.

Draal and Angor would most likely be friendly sparring partners. I did see some cool art that shipped them together, which is not something I had previously considered but could be fun.

Saving Enrique would be Claire’s primary motivation. Maybe she realizes, the longer they wait, the more he will appear to have ‘regressed’ when rescued (because Enrique isn’t aging but Not Enrique is in his form) and the more likely she’ll have to confess to her parents that she ‘let’ her little brother get kidnapped? We know from the pixie episode that she blames herself for that.

Going alone might just be because the Ghost Trollhunters got into her head about the danger it poses to her human friends to have gotten them involved in fighting trolls, so she’s trying to protect them?

If Gnome Chompsky exists in this timeline and Gunmar sent the message via gnome that he plans to kill all the Trollhunter’s loved ones to avenge Bular, that might prompt Claire to decide to take the fight to him before he can attack her home?

… You know, if Chompsky returns and Claire is there alone in the vault with the Fetch and bridge pieces, after he gives her the message, she might decide to go into the Darklands right away on spur of the moment. I mean, going in alone only really works if it’s presented as a poorly-thought-out decision.

She could’ve made a habit of being in there because being near the bridge lets her feel closer to Enrique, like when they first show her the bridge in the show. The others find out because someone goes looking for her after noticing it’s getting late and they need to go back to the surface, and Chompsky (who tried to talk Claire out of going in alone and refused to go with her, perhaps biting her hand and bolting when she tried to carry him along) tells them what she’s done.

#WarStaff #Claire Nuñez #Tobias Domzalski #Trollhunters #Tales of Arcadia #writing #Characterization #relationships #shipping #Strange Magic #spread the lofe!#Anonymous asks about Trollhunter!Claire #Angor Rot #Draal #Enrique Nuñez #Gnome Chompsky #ask me anything

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afishlearningpoetry · 5 years

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Looking Closer at How The Abominable Bride Foreshadowed and Can Be Used to Chronologically Decode Series 4:

In the last 15 minutes of TAB –– after Sherlock discusses his fear with Moriarty, and right before Sherlock descends into his worst nightmare –– Sherlock is so desperate to uncover the answer he’s searching for, he literally digs up a corpse so that he can finally know whether or not Moriarty is dead for certain.

In that last 15 minutes of TFP –– after John writes Sherlock discussing his fear with Mycroft, and right before John descends into his worst nightmare –– John is so desperate to uncover the answer he’s searching for, he literally digs up a corpse in his story so that he can come up with his own explanation why Sherlock is the way he is.

[Continue below the cut for more ➤]

See also: Shout out to M-Theory... The Unfinished Act of Series 4, 10 Revealing Things From The Six ThatchersThat Haunt You Late At Night, 10 Revealing Things From The Lying Detective That Haunt You Late At Night, and 10 Revealing Things From The Final Problem That Haunt You Late At Night.

Bonus: How did John fake his own death?

As Sherlock dreams of waking up in the present after dreaming of a conversation with Moriarty about what he’s afraid of, he explains to John, “My investigation was the fantasy, the crime happened exactly as I explained.” Sherlock is talking about Emelia Ricoletti here... while he imagined the entire story based on details he knows about the historical case, the end result was the same; she shot herself and then came back from the dead. This is of course, about Moriarty.

As John writes a story in the present after writing a conversation with Mycroft about what he’s afraid of (or, what his verison of Sherlock is also afraid of), John’s investigation is the fantasy. John’s investigation in series 4 is the fantasy. John’s story didn’t happen, but the crime happened exactly as he explained; Sherlock was fundamentally shaped as a person forever, and this is why Sherlock never opened up to him. This is why Sherlock acts like a sociopath, why he’s so closed off, why Sherlock lied to him about Mary saving his life in Magnussen’s office, why he tried to manipulate him into staying with Mary, why he’s never been able to love anyone romantically (except maybe Irene, because John thinks she’s a sociopath like him) –– and deeper then that, unspoken of in his story, why he thinks Sherlock and Mary cared for each other, and why Sherlock was never able to love him. The investigation is series 4, and underpinning it, a false resolution of Sherlock’s character; the crime is what Sherlock has done to John. This is his fantasy investigating the crime.

When Sherlock decided to hide the truth from John, again, and fell backwards in HLV, the show began to enter a state of “regression”, a key aspect of act four in John Yorke’s five act structure. By doing this, by isolating John from himself and even more by forcing him back into a relationship with Mary, the show began its nosedive to the show’s overall crisis point; the darkest point in the story where things can’t possibly get any worse, and when the story has to face its antithesis before it can finally merge with its synthesis in the climax and resolution. This is where John entered as the author of series 4 –– “I’m a storyteller. I know when I’m in one.” –– and the series began documenting John’s emotional descent into hell, revolving around, at first, the cover-up and fallout of Mary’s murder and faked death... but when something bad happened to John at the end of TLD when he was shot by Eurus, behind the true events of series 4, John had to invent a sudden resolution to an arc that wasn’t established beforehand.

John’s narrative begins and ends with TST and TLD; he and Sherlock show and overcome flaws that they have to overcome as characters, which are emotionally true at their core, but are covered up with invented plot lines. John invents a cheating storyline for himself, which is a coverup for his both emotional cheating with Sherlock and them working together behind the scenes to take Mary down, and a grieving storyline, which is a coverup for John being haunted by Mary returning from her faked death. John invents a storyline where Sherlock acts as half the fall man for Mary’s murder, but is still absolved of malicious intent, and one where Sherlock has wronged John by what he did to Mary (as Mary is actually working with Moriarty). But John’s anger towards him is just another lie, another facade for why John is angry at Sherlock –– because while Sherlock is working with John behind the scenes, a lesson he learned from TAB, he still hasn’t told him his last secret, and the most important thing that John wants to know –– that Sherlock is in love with him. Enter, Redbeard and Eurus; when something bad happened to John at the end of TLD, John suddenly had to invent a plot thread that runs throughout the first two episodes and a third story he had to write. He placed Eurus as some woman on a bus he cheated with –– which accomplished nothing in Eurus’s nonsensical plan –– and as Faith Smith, who conveniently got the note that she wrote years ago and then conveniently provided to Sherlock, sprinkling two brief dream sequences. With these two plot elements in place, John crossed the streams in TFP, and you’re never supposed to cross the streams.

TFP is John’s fall into emotional hell. Everything about the episode begins deteriorating from the opening scene with a romance film being interrupted by horror as John’s subconscious, filled with pop culture references, horror movie tropes (including internalized homophobia), and his own deeply held fears and biases, start unfolding at an increasingly rapid pace. The episode gets darker and darker, until its practically pitch black in the last twenty minutes, before John wraps up his story with a false happy ending. This point, this moment where John digs up the bones of Sherlock’s past, is the second darkest point of series 4, preceded only by the closing montage with Mary watching over their silence. The screen is never darker then when John is stuck down in his well and Sherlock chases Eurus, her face lit up with a bright blue light the only guide in this nightmare.

For Sherlock in TAB, this is also the second darkest moment, preceded only by facing Moriarty at the waterfall. Sherlock is certain Moriarty is back, his dream has collapsed, and in the present he’s imagining a John that is hostile towards him and is finished caring about him or anything that Sherlock cares about, and all he cares about is protecting John. That’s why he has to be sure whether or not Moriarty is dead. He is digging himself into a grave, for John. It doesn’t matter if John never loves him back again if he can just know for certain.

For John in TAB, this moment is about explaining to himself why Sherlock will never open up to him completely, if he’s even capable of romantic love at all. John invents, in this moment, a Victor Trevor who looks just like him, who was actually a dog, (”People always get so sentimental about their pets”), and then kills him off with Eurus, a dark mirror of himself and John’s invented plot device, the heart of everything at the lie that is series 4.

Yet, even in this moment, comparing the two scenes reaffirms that John’s story is an invention, and not the real thing.

Sherlock says that Mrs. Ricoletti’s body was switched out with a fake one. The real one is not there. It was substituted with something else, by someone on the inside, someone that the conspirators could trust. That is, after all, what Sherlock did when he faked his own death. When Sherlock mentions this, he imagines a John that’s glaring at him –– and while this dream John is tremendously hostile to him as Sherlock is dealing with his own guilt and self-loathing, the real John is still hurt by Reichenbach, especially because Sherlock repeated that mistake by lying to him about Mary in HLV. That decision, the jealousy John has towards Mary and Sherlock, is what precipitated John’s emotional state in series 4, and thus series 4 itself. There is no glass anymore. “Transparent.”

As John digs up the bones of Redbeard, he says, “Mycroft has been lying to you. To both of us.” According to M-Theory, Mycroft as Mark Gatiss is the writer stand-in for the show, the competing authorial intents over Sherlock’s characterization and the truth about his heart, that he loves John. The real Redbeard, the real body of Redbeard, isn’t in that well. The real Redbeard was switched out with a substitute, in TFP faking the show’s own death. TFP is a culmination of character arcs, plot points and thematic threads in false catharsis. The Final Problem is titled that precisely because it is not “The Final Problem” –– the three Garridebs brothers was not the real Garridebs moment, Redbeard was not really a childhood trauama disguised by an invented memory, because this entire episode is John’s invention. This is the emotional death of John, and thus series 4, and thus the crisis point of the entire show. Mycroft, or Mark Gatiss, is the person the conspirators who hid the real Emelia Ricoletti had on the inside... the author of series 4, and the external author and author figure in the show, lied to us. They lied to us about Redbeard in series 4; they lied about everything in order to cover up the truth.

And that is the story; the cover up, the lie, the facade, the story that’s the refutation of everything that the show has done up to this point.

After Sherlock is mauled by the skeleton of Emelia Ricoletti, representing Moriarty and his own guilt, he falls into the deepest point of his nightmare; facing off against Moriarty. After this sequence, John falls into the deepest point of his nightmare; Mary haunting him as him and Sherlock stay silent about their feelings forever. Sherlock, however, is able to imagine a positive future for himself if he opens up to John, which is what he mostly does behind the true events of series 4; but John does not. John still suspects Sherlock and Mary, John is being held hostage inside his own house, and John is lying to us. John is covering up the truth of how he really feels –– and he will let himself follow that fate to the grave before he ever tells Sherlock he loves him first.

John’s story is the ultimate denial of the optimistic future in Sherlock’s dream.

John’s story is the dark mirror of Sherlock’s dream, the emotional hell and prison fortress that he’s locked himself in, and the obscuring of the truth in securing the legacy that they’re famous around the world for.

John’s story is the landing.

John’s story is his Samarra.

John’s story is wrong. Because he can’t imagine anything else for himself.

“The investigation was the fantasy, the crime happened exactly as I explained.”

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likos064 · 5 years

Text

More Free-Thought Ramblings

Posting again, though no one’s listening

RAMBLING 8

The one person on The X-Files that Miles Robbins looks the most alike is Billy Miles. More than Krychek or any version of the Cigarette Smoking Man (Chris Owens or the new guy).

It is amusing that the casting department of Twin Peaks didn’t care about parents and children looking alike, thus hiring the actor who played Scully’s father, Don S. Davis to play the father of Bobby Brigss, portrayed by Dana Ashbrook, who has dark hair and that kid looking more like Miles Robbins, however, that doesn’t mean that anyone resembles anyone. It is just a fun observation. Especially since they were more careful about making the Scully siblings look alike, and have a small resemblance to their father, but not mother. Why no one has dark haired when their mother has is a genetical mystery, recessive redhead line in her blood?

RAMBLING 9

I would argue that the child most fucked up by the Scully-Family dynamic is Bill. I don’t know Charlie as a person besides being absent at every family crisis and using his older sister as a baby sitter, per Home she babysat her nephews who watched Babe the entire time. However, from what we learn in One Breath and Christmas Carol, Melissa did whatever the fuck she wanted. In Anazazi, deleted scene, she stays with Maggie, and she doesn’t seem to have returned before Scully is in a coma. It seems like Mulder is the only support Maggie had during Scully’s abduction. Bill is introduced during the cancer arc, and then when he is to have his long awaited child, he and Tara had fertility issues. I think Bill tried to be the man but was crushed under the enormity of his father. So he became a stricter version. Bill Scully Sr seems way less overbearing.

Maggie is abusive and emotionally manipulative when the only time her daughter calls her is when she needs something.

Would someone run to a person that they only have an obligation bond with when they are scared, and sad. Scully runs to Maggie when she believes Mulder is dead, meets up with Melissa first - who sucks at comfort, and asks for her mother and when she believes that he is part of the conspiracy. She feels safe with her mother. Why? Calling her mother when she needs someone to talk to in Within.

Vilifying good characters and defending evil ones.

The insistence on making women who are portrayed as cruel towards Mulder victims; flawed and imperfect as we all are while not giving the same consideration to men: Bill Mulder vs Teena Mulder, Phoebe and Diana vs Jeffrey Spender.

When should Maggie have defended Mulder to Bill? Scully never does it either.

Scully and Mulder being dismissive of Melissa’s spirituality

Maggie only following her daughter’s wishes in One Breath, it is in accordance with Scully’s living will.

RAMBLING X

Chris Carter’s writing focus being the message, not necessarily the plot but the greater societal commentary.

Vince Gilligan focusing on character, always character and not necessarily Mulder and Scully

Glen and James clearly showing their disdain for Mulder and David in their writing and that being rationalised as writing for both characters and writing the true Mulder and Scully.

MSI being about Mulder

MSII being about Scully

MSIII being about the Cigarette Smoking Man

MSIV being about William/Jackson

The breakup not being Chris Carters construct, but he being forced to take the public blame. The other writers giving much more of a mileage than Chris. Chris writing Plus One, but having to explain in an interview that they aren’t back together, referencing the later episodes particularly Rm9sbG93XJz (Followers) and Nothing Lasts Forever.

Glen and James never wanted Scully with Mulder. They wrote Scully the victim of the man who will simply never be worthy of her in their eyes. She can do whatever she wants and he is just supposed to be there without any thoughts and feelings of his own. A silent, nay silenced stoic rock that she can lean on when she needs him. That doesn’t exist outside of her.

Chris always seeing Mulder and Scully together but focusing on the spiritual romantic platonic connection, same as Gillian did with Scully and Daniel in all things, and not the sexual one.

Chris being blamed for other writers decisions. James seemingly killing off Jackson in Ghouli, the parallel to All Souls, somehow becoming Chris’ fault.

Kristen Cloke Morgan and Shannon Hambling arguing that a woman cannot exist as a person if she is with a man.

The obsession with equality in number of lines in Followers, but no real critique at the sidelining of David and Mulder in Home Again and Ghouli.

The Scully Effect panel complaining that Mulder gets one line about his son in Familiar. Whiie the entire episode of Ghouli focuses on Scully’s feelings about her son.

The MSR fandoms female contingents hatred of men.

Glen Morgan and James Wong coming back to finish what they started in season four. Separate Scully and Mulder, destroying any chance of a romance, destroying any connection by having Scully sign Mulder into a mental institution.

Leaving him over a clinical depression.

Equality meaning equality not preferential treatment.

Scully’s sister and Mulder’s father both being killed in the season 2/season 3 three parter. Season 3 being about Scully getting justice for her sister. Mulder’s father’s death being swept under the carpet and unexplored.

RAMBLING 11

Questions: Who named Jackson, Chris or James, or rather renamed him? - commentary: Chris refers to him as William in his cue cards for the episodes, while James uses Jackson - so probably James

Does the renaming mean something?

Is it a hint that we should question Mulder’s paternity, William being named after his father, Fox Mulder’s father, William Mulder to ascertain paternity in Existence.

Name something and make it yours.

RAMBLING 12

If Mulder and Scully had a sixteen-year-old living with them in This said child would’ve ended up in the middle of a gun fight - their home not being safe. If the kid is at school or at a friend’s house to explain the absence, mom or dad would have to call/send a message so the kid stay safe. However, that could alert the bad guys to the kids present and they might use the kid to draw out the parents in a hostage situation.

RAMBLING 13

FOX the network waiting such a long time to announce a hiatus for The X-Files despite having filmed Conversation on the Fox Lot in January at the TCA.

RAMBLING 14

Gillian announcing that she is not doing anymore season of The X-Files after filming the first five episodes: My Struggle III, This, Plus One, The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat and Ghouli. Her and David’s Conversation on the Fox Lot centring around their age taking a toll on them in action scenes. Making her run, the handcuffs drawing blood. Is it the physicality of The X-Files that makers her reluctant to continue? The most physically taxing episode for her was This, sliding under a table, running, fighting and running in handcuffs. They also spend more time on camera when doing The X-Files than their other projects. I guess that is what happens when you’re not doing a traditional ensemble show.

RAMBLING 15

Emily - The doctor trying to confer fatherhood on Mulder but Scully denying it while claiming motherhood.

RAMBLING 16

The debunking of regression hypnosis. Malleability of memories. Convincing people they killed someone through memory manipulation experiment

RAMBLING 17

The ridiculing of men, the pedestalizing of women

Personal preference of actor guiding the writing, humiliating David. Also present in fanfic, writers taking their frustations of David leaving the show out on Mulder. Interestingly such a practice has never been done against Gillian. No matter how angry people get with her they never punish Scully.

Penalising of male actors, sunflower seeds, hanging off buildings

Men deserve to be punished, evil = men, male

RAMBLING 18

Infantilising Mulder, making him a flat farther, even as a joke

Difference between not doing something because of time prioritising and inability to complete a task due to executive function disabilities, never learning how to do it = not equating with incompetence, stupidity

Ignoring Scully’s issues, disturbing tendencies in discussions other than to defend Iolocus.

RAMBLING 19

Writing about the separation, which isn’t necessary and only TV show related, as a failure of one person = read male

RAMBLING 20

Blaming Mulder for MSR not happening sooner, ignoring Scully not being ready or willing to date him before all things, dedicated relationship.

Complaining and ridiculing Mulder’s need for Scully’s consent while complaining about men’s inability to ask for consent, their ignoring consent when it’s not given, and assuming that they always have consent.

Ignoring that Mulder has to make every move, and complaining when that doesn’t happen quickly enough.

Inability to understand that men can be scared of being in a relationship for the same reasons as women, and not dismiss it as commitment issues.

RAMBLING 21

The double standards in the fandom, anything is okay as long as the writer is a woman, see people complaining about scenes in episodes written by women and blaming it on Chris Carter, not remembering who wrote it or being allowed to do anything in fanfics without being criticised.

Defending Mulder torture fanfics while calling Chris a misogynist for anything horrible that happens to Scully. Ignoring any pain dealt to men. Making Scully the only victim. Minimising Mulder being hospitalised more than Scully, kidnapped and endangered more, while insisting that Scully is always portrayed by Chris as a damsel in distress. Equality can’t happen when we can’t hurt both main characters.

Perpetuating the stereotype that women’s violence against men is funny and or acceptable.

Assault is assault even when it happens to a man and even when the assaulter is a woman. Anything you would call assault if it happens to Scully is assault when it happens to Mulder.

RAMBLING 22

That feeling when you realise James Wong cast Jackson (William) for season 11 after writing Mulder/Scully’s dreams about him in season 10 and the kids looking nothing alike.

RAMBLING 23

After thinking about it I don’t believe that David Duchovny’s Mulder has PTSD after his abduction episode would’ve been so happily received. Even now when people write about Mulder and Scully post his abduction it is always with the implication that he is in the wrong. That he should “man up” for Scully and the baby’s sake. An episode written by David would most likely have been much more sympathetic to Mulder, and quite possibly have been quite Mulder-centric. Justifying his need to find balance before taking on the role as a father, which is something he has to assume rather than know.

RAMBLING

Where does the idea that Mulder is not kind or attentive so that Scully would be surprised if he shows kindness coming from?

RAMBLING 24

Related Rambling, but I’m still waiting for that answer.

Paternity of William being an issue due to the implication of lack of consent. Would you be okay if Mulder wasn’t William’s biological father because Scully slept with another man while dating Mulder, tried IVF with someone different - someone else that she knew or an anonymous donor? Which method is preferred? What is more important Mulder being Jackson’s biological father or his creation being consensual?

Let’s stop pretending. Make William’s Scully’s alone and Glen Morgan and James Wong can finally write what they want to, the Scully panel won’t be pissed that Mulder got one line about their son in Familiar, and all the pain and all the feelings can be hers alone, like they already are.

#x-files #ramblings #season 1-11 #curiosity killed the cat #when no one responds did you write anything #a post like a tree in the woods #when no one hears the fall

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gch1995 · 6 years

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I went on to TV Tropes, and found a list of bad writing tropes. Sadly, most of them apply to every character on OUAT.

Aesop Amnesia: The more times a character is taught a lesson without learning it, the lower the viewer's opinion of him/her and you.

(Rumple, Belle, Emma, Snow, David, Hook, and Regina from S4-S6. I don’t think anyone on this show who lasted past season three ever really learned anything new after the first two-and-a-half seasons from past experiences. They just went back-and-forth until they came back full circle to the same points they were at before in the end of the Neverland arc at the end of S6-S7. The writers could not stick to positive character development, or write realistic regressions at all. I didn’t really hate the characters for it, just the writers behind them)

Angst? What Angst?: Make your characters react realistically to setbacks or tragic events. Too little angst makes them appear callous or ditzy.

(Literally, everyone on this show. There were no realistic human reactions anymore after the first two-and-a-half seasons)

Character Derailment: Characters can grow, but don't suddenly mutate them into something else.

(Let’s see, Rumple, Belle, Emma, and Hook seemed to be the biggest sufferers of this trope on OUAT)

Character Shilling: Having characters suddenly talk up another character for no real reason doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

(A lot of the Rumbelle drama from S4-S6)

Chickification: Be careful when you decide to make an Action Girl less action-oriented; if not done properly, it will annoy your audience.

(Emma Swan after she got together with Hook)

Compressed Vice: Don't have a character develop a bad habit or flaw out of nowhere solely for the sake of setting up An Aesop (doubly so if it contradicts previous facts about the character), and especially don't show its consequences in a hamfisted, unrealistic manner.

(Rumple and Belle from S4-S6, tbh)

Conflict Ball: Don't have a character cause conflict just because the plot says so.

(S1 Regina, 3B-6A Rumple and particularly Belle, Hook, and especially Zelena)

Creator's Pet: Treating a certain character with tons of love when they really don't deserve it is never a good idea.

(Hook, Regina, and Zelena)

Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy: Making the story excessively bleak and giving absolutely no hope will only tire out the audience until they lose interest in the story.

(3B-S7 of the entire series)

Demonization: Some of your potential audience may actually see where this position is coming from, if not actually agree. You'll turn them off by your exaggerated portrayal. It also makes it seem like the position you hold isn't nearly as solid as you think, since it can only stand up to strawmen.

(Rumple from S4-S6, and not in a good way)

Designated Hero: Having your hero Kick the Dog and still expecting your audience to see them as a paragon of virtue because you say so doesn't usually work; rather, it makes your hero unlikable.

(H00k, Snowing, Emma, Belle, and even Henry at one point or another. Pretty much every once truly heroic character on this show after S3 at one point or another)

Designated Love Interest: If you say that two characters are in love, don't make them hate or be apathetic to each other, actually go out of your way to make them love each other. Otherwise, it just feels contrived

(6A Rumbelle on both sides, and Belle’s characterization after the town line scene with Rumple, but that was just OOC. 5A CS on Hook’s side, and the main reason why I hate CS so much is because Jmo and Colin have no chemistry. It was forced)

Designated Villain: Having your villain come across as harmless or even too benign and still expecting your audience to see them as a monster because you say so doesn't usually work; rather, it makes your villain petty and perhaps far too sympathetic.

(Rumplestiltskin in 5B)

Die for Our Ship: Attacking a rival of your pairing of choice doesn't necessarily make that character a bad person and makes you look petty.

(What they did to Rumple, Belle, and Rumbelle to prop up Hook/CS, and Nealfire’s death).

Distress Ball: Don't have a character get kidnapped for no good reason.

(I actually haven’t thought of too many instances in the series, but Gideon in 6B. There was no point for him to rip apart Rumple and Belle with character destroying Drama™️ in 6B, so that Gideon could be kidnapped by the Black Fairy and become the “big bad” because there were no lasting or serious consequences for it in the end, anyway. Gideon had his memories erased of his upbringing under the control of the Black Fairy for 28 years and his time as a villain by deaging him back to an infant with a blank slate mind, so what was even the point of committing all that character assassination of his parents, getting him kidnapped, and making him the big bad decoy villain of 6B? It was just for Drama™️, which is bad writing.)

Draco in Leather Pants: Have an acceptable reason for making a truly evil character suddenly be nice. "He or she is hot!" will not do.

(Hook, Regina, Zelena, and even Rumple on a few occasions.)

Dull Surprise: Have your characters emote during events that would make a real person do so.

(Belle’s complete lack of trauma after being locked up for 28 years, but there are more instances of this on this trash show, sadly.)

Failure Hero: While having the hero lose from time to time adds some realism to the hero and drama to the story, if they lose every single fight or mission, not only will it destroy any and all tension, but the reader will feel bad for relating with the hero.

(BELLE from S4-S6)

Faux Action Girl: If you say that a girl is strong, then make her strong. If said Action Girl comes off as too weak, the audience will begin to hate her.

(Sometimes Belle and Emma, I guess)

Hero Ball: Heroes are expected to make bad decisions every now and then, but when they do this against all common sense it becomes annoying.

(Emma, Snow, David, Henry, and particularly BELLE)

Idiot Ball: When the character is suddenly acting like an idiot.

(Rumple and especially Belle from S4-S7)

Informed Wrongness: If a character is actually in the wrong, prove it.

(Rumple wanting to use the shears on the Rumfetus in 6A. Still don’t understand how or why it was ever proven it would have been so awful when they would have prevented Gideon from living a fate that was far worse, and Aladdin was fine. Also, Rumple has said himself that magic couldn’t be used to make someone love you on numerous occasions, soo...But whatevs..I also don’t get how Rumple taking back the curse “ruined” Killy’s sacrifice).

Jerk Sue: Having a character be a complete Jerkass who gets away with it just because the author designates them as such and says you should support them does not make for a strong character, and is more likely going to turn out be a case of Creator's Pet, and often The Scrappy. Also, it tends to look like a half-assed effort when the author just throws in some secondary throw-away detail in an attempt to make you feel sorry for the character and expect you to not get upset when they behave like a jerk for no other reason than they feel like it at the time.

(ZELENA!)

Moral Dissonance: Don't have the hero behave contrary to their usual morality and be completely oblivious to it.

(BELLE, EMMA, SNOWING, EVERY “HERO” ON THIS SHOW after 3A!)

Most Writers Are Male: Don't write women from ignorance, stereotypes, and/or in unsympathetic ways (either in the form of misogyny or over-sexualization).

(The writing for Emma and Belle in seasons post s3 ish in their relationships with Rumple and Belle, but for different reasons. Belle got dumbed down and turned into a harpy and a hypocrite with Rumple to vilify him, while getting declared “strong” for emotionally abusing him, leading him on, or doing shit like banishing him with nothing. Meanwhile, Emma turned into a codependent and violent stepford wife with no personal values, or life outside of Hook.

Also, the whole “evil is sexy” trope in female villains was offensive).

Out of Character: Moments when the character does something that he wouldn't normally do without any justification.

(Every character on this show at one point or another 98% of the time post season three ish. Yeah, the sad thing was that it wasn’t just moments of OOC ness, but overall characterizations in general)

Protagonist-Centered Morality: A character's moral standing should be based on their actions as a whole, not solely on their actions toward the main character. A sure sign of a Mary Sue or a Designated Hero.

(Hook, Emma, Belle, Snow, Henry, Regina, )

Race Tropes: Tread carefully with these. Having a minority character act like a walking stereotype screams lazy writing and will upset people

(OUAT did this a lot)

Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Bashing a female character for liking/doing traditionally-feminine things is another form of misogyny, and can piss off the audience.

(I think they’ve done this sometimes)

Romanticized Abuse: Make sure that your romance is actually a reasonably healthy relationship. If abuse, either physical or emotional, is presented as sexy or sweet, the characters could become Unintentionally Unsympathetic, and viewers may get the wrong idea of what an acceptable real-life relationship requires

(Captain Swan, Rumbelle at times, and even Snowing at times)

Ron the Death Eater: Have an acceptable reason for making a truly good character suddenly be mean. "I hate him or her!" will not do.

(BELLE at the beginning of S6 with Rumple before he started screwing up, and in 5x18 in the UW with him)

Satellite Love Interest: Define your characters by something other than being the lover or crush for The Protagonist, or the archetypal "perfect" boyfriend/girlfriend.

(Belle for Rumple, but they didn’t always portray her as the archetypal perfect love interest for him either)

Strangled by the Red String: People going directly from being strangers to being genuinely in love is not very realistic or satisfying to watch. If you're going to make two characters fall in love with each other, try to take it slow.

(Emma and Hook)

Strong as They Need to Be: Don't have characters suddenly gain or lose power without any explanation.

(The whole loss of Rumple’s seer ability after he was resurrected. Was it ever explained? The only thing I can think of is that he wouldn’t have done a lot of the OOC stupid shit that he did if he could have seen the future)

Stupid Sacrifice: Characters shouldn't give up their lives for nothing (if the character is not a Martyr Without a Cause).

(Rumple and Belle in S7)

Villain Ball: See Hero Ball, only swap "heroes" and "villains".

(Rumple on-and-off-again from S4-S6)

Villain Decay: Don't have your antagonist lose their power and competence without a good reason

(RUMPLE from S4-S6. Seriously, he was honestly the worst possible main antagonist they could have chosen, and the least competent! )

Wangst: Make your characters react realistically to setbacks or tragic events. Too much angst makes them unrealistic and annoying.

(Every main character on the show, tbh, but especially Belle )

What an Idiot!: Characters should not make unrealistically bad decisions to drive the plot.

(Every main character on the show at one point or another from S4-S7)

Wimpification: Stripping the action, common sense, and strength from characters to add Wangst is a good way to piss off the audience.

(Rumple, EQ, Belle, Emma, Snowing, Hook, and every main character on this show)

@0ceanofdarkness

@ishtarelisheba

@done-with-ouat

@jxhniarty

@rufeepeach

@rumplestiltskin

@toewsgirl42

@forzaouat

@foreveradearie

#once upon a wasted potential #anti ouat #anti ouat writers #anti kitsowitz

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Archer Season 12: Casey Willis On Sterling And Cyril’s Emotional Breakthrough

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This article contains spoilers for Archer season 12 episode 5.

Archer has a fascinating relationship with change. Major elements like the show’s genre have transformed, but a constant through the years are the characters and their relationships with one another. The series has made it clear that these character dynamics are quite toxic in many ways, some of which have left the characters looking for ways to grow. The most recent seasons have prioritized the cause and effect nature of Archer waking up from his coma and returning to work, which has left everyone feeling very raw and vulnerable, including Sterling Archer himself.

Archer’s latest episode, “Shots,” dresses itself up as a playful night of liquor and laughs, but it becomes a deep look into Archer’s poisonous effect on his friends, specifically Cyril. Archer EP Casey Willis and producer Pierre Cerrato deconstruct the emotional entry and its significance in the season, putting together the glorious “Pampage” sequence, and if those were really the origins of “Sploosh.”

Archer Season 12 Episode 5 – “Shots”

Written by Matt Roller “Sex, drugs, and monster trucks! Archer and the gang celebrate another barely successful mission.”

DEN OF GEEK: With this being the half-way point of the season, were there any sort of goals or expectations in check for this point in the season, or was it not thought about in such a precise way?

PIERRE CERRATO: We are definitely thinking about how we are telling the story across the entire season. It may feel like a standalone episode, but I can’t really slot this episode anywhere else in our season. We needed to feel that the gang had been on a few missions and could use a break. We also needed to expand on Lana and Robert’s relationship a bit. And we really needed to Weekend at Bernie’s two different characters. That was a must.

There’s a bit of a bottle episode mentality with this installment when it begins and a lot of the entry is contained to the bar. What was the agenda in scaling things down here and was it ever smaller in nature?

PIERRE CERRATO: For the first half of the episode it may feel like there isn’t a ton going on narratively and we are just hanging out at a bar, but there are some nuggets in there that will come into play later in the season. While those early scenes may feel small in scale, hanging out in a populated bar comes with its own difficulties. We have to design and layout every individual character that is present at the bar and make sure they are engaged in just enough activity to feel natural, but not enough to take your attention away from our main action. Once we enter the rave, the scale of the episode gets pretty big.

There’s a self-aware nature to this episode as the characters reflect on the rut that they’ve found themselves in and the predictable nature of their dynamics. Why did this feel like the right time to ask these questions?

CASEY WILLIS: This episode was always planned to fall in the middle of the season. It was a great time for the characters to reflect and take stock of their situations. We also planted a lot of seeds for stories that will pay off in the second half of the season. And it was great to have Sandra, with her outside perspective, act as a cheerleader for the team at the start of the episode. However, by the end of the episode she realizes the team is a mess.

The brewing personal drama and stress with Lana and Robert continus to carry over and be present. Talk on that a little and why having that as a throughline through the season rather than them being entirely broken up or on healthy ground?

CASEY WILLIS: We wanted Lana and Robert’s relationship to get more complex and a bit messy this season. Is it because Archer is back in the picture, or is Archer just shining a spotlight on some behaviors Lana ignored in the past? This is a season long storyline and we are very excited for everyone to see how Lana and Robert handle these hiccups.

Lana seems to regress in some ways in this episode while she searches for clarity. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?

CASEY WILLIS: We wanted Lana’s story to contrast Archer’s in this episode. We also wanted her and Sandra’s story to connect to the previous episode and just show Lana having some fun. So many times Lana has to play the “wet blanket” role in an episode and it’s nice to see her cut loose. In fact, it’s Pam of all people who tries and fails to stop Lana from partying with the Prince! When Pam is the voice of reason, your party is off the rails.

The most moving material from this episode is Archer’s resolve to “fix” Cyril. This is a major aspect of the previous season, but why did it feel important to readdress it here and go so far as to resolve the problem?

CASEY WILLIS: Last season we saw the decline of Cyril and while Pam tried to rebuild him, Archer and Cyril’s relationship was much more contentious. Archer and Cyril had some great moments though, especially in last season’s Aleister episode. We wanted to show Archer’s growth and him realizing that he does care for Cyril in his own twisted way. Also, we wanted to show Archer having fun in situations we normally don’t see him in, while also showing a glimpse into Cyril’s free time.

Where is Archer’s head at during the end of this, does he actually feel remorse, and will he be closer with Cyril moving forward at all?

CASEY WILLIS: I think he grew a bit, but he isn’t emotionally mature enough to share that with Cyril. We purposefully had Archer undercut all the progress he made when Pam called him. Then we further rubbed salt into the wound when Archer used Cyril as a step-stool. It’s just Archer’s way of showing affection.

The neon visuals during the “Pampage” dance party look gorgeous and are a serious highlight. Was it difficult to construct that scene?

PIERRE CERRATO: Our team went above and beyond to answer the call of the “Pampage.” It was a very complicated sequence. The script outlined four different areas in the warehouse that Pam takes the gang to. We needed to figure out what it would look like if there was a rave, a bare knuckle fight and a punk band playing while a monster truck is crushing cars in the back. Everyone did a fantastic job with that specific scene, and it took us a long time to get through it. If you take a closer look at the whole episode, you’ll realize just how many beautiful set pieces there are throughout. For example, the game store, the planetarium, Ding Dong’s strip club (the logo is my personal favorite), etc. Our artists, designers and animators are pretty incredible across the board.

CASEY WILLIS: Just a quick side note. We never really promote Archer merch because we are so focused on producing the show, however, when creating the “Pampage” shirts that Pam and the gang wore in this episode, we thought it would be great if FX would sell them. For anyone interested, they’re available soon via https://shop.fxnetworks.com/collections/archer.

This episode also seems to provide the origins of “Sploosh.” Did it feel time to provide some context there?

CASEY WILLIS: Is it the origin or did Lana just think it might be the origin? I am of the opinion that “Sploosh” has an organic origin from deep in Pam’s past. Sploosh, the bouncer, was probably bestowed that nickname by Pam, but I doubt he is the origin of the word.

It’s not just specific to this episode, but there’s some really nice staccato jazzy music that’s present throughout the season. How did this season’s sound come about?

PIERRE CERRATO: We can thank our amazing composer, JG Thirwell. He has been working with us since season seven and prior to that, we used needle drop for all our music. It worked well, but you can’t beat having an original score and developing a musical language with someone as talented as JG.

We had a phone call at the beginning of season 12 to go over our plans and share some musical ideas. We knew that Fabian was going to be a season-long villain, so we made sure to give him his own themes. We usually temp the music in our edit and when JG gets it, he’ll put his spin on it. If we use something that he has composed for another episode, he’ll tweak it to match the new timing, add extra instrumentation or anything else he feels would work for the scene. We don’t really go back and forth too much. We’ll generally do a round of notes and we’re good.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Our writers’ room walkthrough for Archer’s 12th season will conclude with this season’s eighth and final episode.

Our breakdown of Archer’s 12th season premiere and previous writers’ room walkthroughs on earlier seasons are also available.

The post Archer Season 12: Casey Willis On Sterling And Cyril’s Emotional Breakthrough appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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