#you mean this isn’t the entire show after like S2

[solarmorrigan]

For the dialogue prompt, how about “What happened doesn’t change anything” for either Steddie or Newmann?

Thank you!

Hello hello hello I finally have something for you! I chose Steddie for this one, since I was on a roll. I hope this suits!

[post-S2 Steddie AU; CW: Outing, transphobia, some internalized transphobia; soft ending guaranteed, though]

-

When he sees Hagan meandering over towards them in the parking lot after school, his queen bee tagalong, Perkins, in tow, Eddie knows nothing good is going to follow. The way he feels Steve shift beside him says that he suspects much the same. The rest of the Hellfire guys, all gathered around Eddie’s van, talking and joking before heading home, have fallen silent.

It’s a small consolation that Hagan isn’t trailing Hargrove; since putting Steve in the hospital (briefly, Steve always interjects) last November, Hargrove has mostly given him—and the members of the Hellfire Club, once Steve had been taken into their fold—a fairly wide berth. Hagan, however, has had no compunctions about hassling Steve whenever he gets a bug up his ass about something, and he’s only become nastier since he started toadying for Hargrove.

So Eddie expects trouble, but he hadn’t expected–

Hagan starts small, crowing about how Steve has finally found his rightful place: among the freaks. Steve doesn’t give anything away, no displeasure, no anger, just bored indifference – the same mask he’s always hidden behind (the one Eddie had learned pretty quickly to see past, once he knew what to look for). But Hagan pushes.

“I guess the freaks already have a king,” Hagan snipes, cutting a glance at Eddie, “but I’m sure he needs a lady to rule by his side, right, Stevie?”

It seems like an unoriginal sort of dig—calling Steve a girl, how creative—except Steve goes pale. The mask slips, showing wide and frightened eyes for just a moment, but for Hagan, who’s known Steve for years, it’s long enough. He knows he’s hit something good.

“Do all your new little friends know, Stevie-boy? What makes you fit right in with them?” Hagan glances around the group, apparently enjoying the fact that if looks could kill, he’d be dead four times over. Then he leans in and practically spits at Steve, “Do they know that they got into your pants, you’d be less of a King Steve and more of a Queen Stacy?”

And that does it – shatters Steve’s mask so thoroughly that he actually takes a step back, staring at Hagan with a kind of disbelieving betrayal frozen on his face.

The full meaning of the words hits Eddie about three seconds before Hagan hits the side of the van, one of Eddie’s hands fisted in the front of his t-shirt and the other held firm at the base of his throat – not hurting, exactly, but heavily implying that he could.

Eddie doesn’t even have to reach for one of the many theatrical voices he uses to rile people up or cow them into submission; he’s so thoroughly taken by a type of rage he hasn’t let himself give into in a long time that his tone comes out perfectly threatening all on its own.

“If you ever repeat what you just said to another person, I will find out, and I will make your life a living hell,” he hisses.

Somewhere behind him, someone—it might be Jeff, though Eddie isn’t sure—clears their throat, and when Eddie tosses a glance over his shoulder, he finds the rest of Hellfire standing firm at his back (even tiny underclassman Gareth, with his arms crossed and the meanest look on his face the poor kid can muster).

“Ah, my apologies,” Eddie says as he faces front again, flashing a manic little grin, “we will find out. And we’ll ruin your life, Hagan. Same goes for your girlfriend.”

Perkins, who had been standing off to the side as the snickering peanut gallery right up until Eddie had pinned Hagan to the side of the van, makes a choked noise of offense that goes entirely ignored.

“Tell me you understand, Tommy-boy.” Eddie punctuates the command with a flex of his fingers near Hagan’s throat, until Hagan reluctantly nods, and Eddie releases him. “Glad we’re in agreement.”

Hagan and Perkins hightail it the other side of the parking lot, leaving them be with nothing more than a nasty look from Perkins, but no one is much in the mood to chat after that. No one really knows what to say – except Steve, who offers a quiet thanks to the rest of the guys and, having caught a ride in with Eddie that morning, then asks to be taken home.

Even with the radio playing quietly as Eddie drives, the atmosphere in the van feels silent and stifling.

Asking Steve if he’s alright feels like kind of a ridiculous move. Eddie wouldn’t be alright if he was in Steve’s position – hell, Eddie’s not alright. He’s pissed. But from the way Steve is sitting rigidly in the passenger seat, staring out the window like Eddie is driving him to his execution, Eddie’s anger—even on his behalf—isn’t what he needs right now.

Slowly, Eddie forces himself to let it go (for now, at least for now) and follow the familiar roads home.

It feels perfectly natural to simply head back to his place, where they’d been planning to go before that shitshow of a confrontation, though the surprise on Steve’s face when they pull up to the trailer says that he’d thought otherwise.

“You could’ve just taken me back to my house. I wouldn’t– I’d get it,” he says, and Eddie frowns at him.

“Did you want to go back to your house? We can hang out there if you want, I just figured…” Eddie tilts his head regarding him carefully. “You seem more comfortable here.”

Steve stares at him for a long moment, blank and uncertain, before he breaks back into motion with a shrug. “Okay,” he says, moving to get out of the van.

They head inside and nod a quick hello to Wayne, who looks like he’s just woken up in preparation for his shift, and then they go straight back to Eddie’s room. Eddie’s bag goes on the desk, but Steve’s goes by the door. Eddie sits down on the bed (admittedly one of the few places to sit, but also an invitation for Steve to come sit next to him) but Steve – Steve hesitates before leaning up against the wall, by the door with his bag, arms crossed and gaze cast towards the floor.

He looks ready to run at any moment, and Eddie sighs. This thing between them is new – so new that they’ve been afraid to put a label to it, dancing around each other uncertainly for months before sharing their first kiss barely a month ago. They’ve spent almost every available moment since with their hands on each other in some way or another, though Steve has been a bit skittish about moving past making out (Eddie had thought that maybe it was the unfamiliarity of being with another guy, but he thinks he might have a better understanding of the picture now).

Eddie doesn’t want to break things by pushing too hard, but somehow, he thinks leaving it unaddressed would be worse.

“Look, we don’t have to talk about it,” he says, watching Steve, though Steve still isn’t looking back, “but if you want to…”

Steve shrugs. “I wasn’t hiding it from you,” he says, finally glancing up at Eddie. “I mean, I was, but not– I was going to tell you.”

“You don’t owe me any kind of explanation,” Eddie says.

“You would’ve found out eventually, either way.” Steve lets out a sound that suggests he may have been trying to laugh. “But it was – I should’ve been the one to tell you. That was – that was mine to tell.”

A little bit of Eddie breaks as Steve’s voice does. He’s almost vibrating with the desire to hold and to reassure, to go over to where Steve is standing, still propped against the wall, practically curling in on himself (trying to make himself smaller), but he’s not sure how well it would be received. He tries words, instead.

“Steve, I’m so sorry–”

“That was the one thing,” Steve snaps, anger tearing across his tone, “the one thing Tommy would never touch, the one thing that was off limits, even he knew– and he just–” As quickly as it had come, the anger goes, taking Steve’s energy with it. He presses the heels of his palms into his eyes and lets his hands slide down to cover his face; when he speaks again, he sounds small. “I wasn’t ready.”

Eddie couldn’t keep himself from crossing the room if he’d tried – though isn’t trying, after that. He’s up off the bed and into Steve’s space before he’s even realized, and it’s probably only his proximity that allows him to hear what Steve says next.

“I’m not ready for things to change between us.”

“Steve,” Eddie says, low and careful, “what happened doesn’t change anything.”

Steve pulls his hands away from his face with a derisive little huff of a laugh. His cheeks are red and his eyes are bright; he’s not crying, but it looks like a near thing.

“It’s – like, I get it. You’re fully into guys, and I’m…” He waves his hands down at himself, sharp and frustrated. “Most people wouldn’t call me a real guy, if they knew.”

“Since when am I most people?” Eddie asks. “You say you’re a guy, you’re a real guy, fucking end of. Anyone who thinks otherwise can fuck off.”

Steve scoffs, rolling his eyes, clearly trying to hold back a much more emotional reaction, and Eddie chances resting his hands on Steve’s shoulders. Steve doesn’t move away, even eases a little into the touch when Eddie starts circling his thumbs at the skin right where his shirt collar ends.

“You don’t have to believe me right now,” Eddie says softly. “But I like you, Steve. I like you, andI’m gonna stick around and prove it to you.”

Something about the declaration makes Steve’s eyes snap right to Eddie’s, searching, anxious and cautiously hopeful, and Eddie lets him look. Whatever he’s after, maybe he finds it, because he uncurls from himself a little after that, just enough to lean in for a hesitant kiss that becomes much more certain when Eddie himself doesn’t hold back.

Eddie pulls Steve back over to the bed after that, poking and prodding him around until they’re both settled, Eddie’s back to the pillows and Steve’s back to Eddie’s chest (Steve’s never said as much, but Eddie’s gathered that this is one of his favorite positions to cuddle in; he doubts if Steve’s spent much time being the little spoon).

“Tell me something else,” Eddie says, once he’s got his arms wrapped securely around Steve’s waist.

“What?” Steve asks.

“Tell me something that you want me to know.” Eddie leans forward to press a kiss to Steve’s temple. “Anything.”

For a moment, Steve is quiet, thinking as he traces absent patterns over Eddie’s forearms. “I could tell you why I picked Steve,” he says finally.

“If you want to, I’d love to hear it,” Eddie says.

“It wasn’t because it was sort of close to my… old name. That was actually kind of a coincidence.” Steve lets his head fall back against Eddie’s shoulder, the tension that’s been wound through him for the last hour finally starting to ease. “Steven was my grandad’s name.”

“Yeah?” Eddie prompts softly.

“Yeah. My mom’s dad. I used to spend a lot of time over at his house when I was a kid. Before he died. I kind of got the feeling he liked me more than my parents did.” Eddie gives Steve a squeeze around the middle. “But he used to tell me all these stories about fighting in World War II. Probably not very age-appropriate, now that I think about it, but at the time I really ate it up.

“He didn’t really, like… glorify it, I don’t think? He just kind of told me what happened, good or bad, and whatever the story was, I always thought he sounded, y’know – strong and brave. And when I wanted to pick a new name…” Steve shrugs against Eddie. “I kind of hoped he wouldn’t mind sharing his with me.”

“Bet he’d be honored,” Eddie says, giving Steve another little squeeze.

“Some days I’m not so sure,” Steve says quietly.

“Well I am. I’ll just have to stick around and prove that to you, too,” Eddie says decisively.

Briefly, Steve’s hands tighten where they rest on Eddie’s arms. “I like the sound of that,” he says, and Eddie turns so he can press another kiss to the side of Steve’s head.

“Good,” he says. “Me too.”

#221expressions #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #transmasc steve harrington #stranger things #does this make a whole lot of sense? probably not! #is it some really soft hurt/comfort though? yes. #tw outing #tw transphobia #solar wrote #answers from solar #this is the last fic for this round of prompts but I'll have a few more soon I hope?

[thefiresofpompeii]

i know this is like. minus fourth world problems + autism, and maybe other fandoms have similar issues — i’ve never gone too deep into fandom spaces before and regret doing so — but. why are doctor who fans such incurable haters. i started watching in november after the specials aired and although i’ve been severely critical of certain unfortunate writing choices (as is my right. episodes that suck are… bad) i couldn’t fathom hating an entire series, an entire doctor’s/companion’s run let alone an entire showrunner’s tenure. you mean you can’t stand any of it??

it almost feels like… whenever i come across a person that loves to talk about nine and ten and donna and how much they loved wild blue yonder or w/e, they end up being a shallow moffat hater harping on about misogyny and one-dimensional women as if later series didn’t exist. whenever i find a fellow twelveclara understander who posts about missy and defends hell bent etc. suddenly i come across a post about how they hate rose? what could possibly compel you to dislike the character of rose tyler? i say this as somebody that isn’t a huge fan of tentoo. for more batshit examples saw a post along the lines of “don’t say you think tenmartha is interesting and then post about timepetals” like these are Characters bro. they’re not going to get sad. they are vehicles for the story they’re not people. tenrose was the carrier of the narrative in s2 and tenmartha in s3 and saying i enjoy the complexity of both of these relationships as they progress isn’t contradictory because that’s… the direction that the story takes????????

i don’t even hate chibnall era. even s11 has some redeemable bangers. what i mean is i fell in love with the show as a WHOLE . which means EVERY part of it is important to me and i don’t discount it. every next development builds on the previous. the timeless child ruined a lot of things but opened up many new avenues for exploration! i like the flux i like thasmin i like dhawan master i like the fugitive doctor i love dan and karvanista

you are all allergic to fun. sorry for getting mad about people getting mad it will (not) happen again. im going to go touch grass now

#jamie.txt #dw #doctor who #not adding any more tags this post is not a discourse starter in fact it’s the opposite of that

[audiblehush]

I know this isn’t really relevant to the recent promo we’ve gotten (which I’m still swooning over, for the record), but I’ve been thinking about how some people in this fandom have been fussing over Pen having a potential suitor (or suitorS, we don’t really know) this season, and I don’t understand their complaints, I guess?

… like, I’m pretty sure that it’s meant to MIRROR Season 1.

(…see what I did there? ;)

There are multiple ways in which Colin and Penelope’s stories / situations have mirrored the other. They are not perfect mirrors (that would be dull), but they ARE similar and I truly believe that it’s intentional to reinforce both Polin’s compatibility and ultimately their empathy for the other.

A few examples:

—

Colin: is viewed as the “one-dimensional” easy-going, un-serious, charming brother who never rocks the boat; never gets angry.

Pen: is viewed as a shy, quiet, harmless wallflower who never steps out of line and is kind of a doormat.

—

As a result of the above perceptions:

Colin: is desperate for something to fill his time and energy the way his brothers have something, SO he impulsively courts and proposes marriage to a girl he barely knows to feel needed and wanted in a way that makes him feel mature; and he gets the validation he seeks from Marina, as it suits her needs (I don’t mean that in a derogatory way, she genuinely needed him to be desperate for validation to get a quick marriage). A heady feeling, someone relying on you and telling you that you are desperately needed…

Penelope: is desperate to feel a part of the ton in any way she can, because her and her family are tolerated at best, and heavily criticized at worst. So rather than suffering through the season, crushed, and always on the sidelines against her will, after choosing to start LW —perhaps on a whim, perhaps it was discovered and encouraged by chance like in the books— she “chooses” to hug the wall and not be noticed… (not at all a coping mechanism and a fear of rejection, amirite??) …and she eventually gets the acceptance and validation she seeks by having the ton hang off her every word as LW…. Again, a heady thing for a lonely 17-18 year old who wants to be heard and who craves acceptance, however she can get it.

—

Penelope: has to watch the man she’s in love with, one of the few people who listens to her and who she shows aspects of her true, (sometimes cutting self) with, court and eventually propose to a girl she knows is actively manipulating him.

She then (quickly, imperfectly and messily) interferes to spare Colin from the plot… without his input (after a failed first attempt to appeal to him, in her defense… and then the time limit became a problem).

Colin: quickly and imperfectly interferes in Jack’s ruby scheme in order to fix his own rashness, but also to spare the Featherington family… (without their input, it must be noted, even though he says he does it for them).

…And now in season 3, Colin will need to watch as Pen attempts to attract suitors, possibly while he watches with feelings of jealously if she has some success (Edit: Though I doubt it will get all the way to an engagement; too redundant)

(And this is nothing but speculation, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if Colin either discovers something about one of the suitors, or about another plot entirely and is forced to make a difficult decision regarding it, that impacts Penelope).

—

Penelope: writes things that can have a negative impact on or hurt people, sometimes for her own own comfort (LW), even if it’s not intentional.

Colin: says and does things that hurt others or that are misleading / obliviously harmful, sometimes for his own comfort (avoiding the needling of those men at the end of S2), even if it’s not intentional.

—

Penelope: has self esteem that has been in the TRASH since the beginning of the series - this poor girl hates herself, and has had it reinforced often (and likely from a young age) that her thoughts and opinions aren’t worth hearing, and that she is never enough (and is one of a few reasons why I find the “she wanted Colin for herself!” takes about the end of S1 pretty laughable)… so she hides behind LW. Colin is one of the only people she’s hinted to that she can be biting (Eloise gets glimpses of it), and I think the ONLY one she has hinted at that she has “grand dreams”

Colin: ALSO has self esteem that is pretty low, desperately seeking something that he thinks will make him feel whole and complete, the forgotten middle child (same, bro…), and he masks this uncertainty by flaunting a fake confidence and hiding behind his hobbies and being what everyone wants him to be… also he he can keep people from looking deeper… while simultaneously desperate to be seen by those around him. Pen is the only person he’s really hinted at that he’s unhappy when they discuss purpose.

—

EDIT: How could I forget?! BOTH are the third children in their family. Colin is the forgotten middle child, and Pen is the youngest, but both are criticized by their acting heads of their household (Anthony for Colin, Portia for Penelope), and criticized by their siblings. Penelope’s sisters brutally mock her often: her weight, her skin, her letter-writing, etc. Colin’s siblings clearly mean to just tease him, but it’s obvious how much their lack of interest in him as a person hurts him and makes him feel invisible and unwanted (my poor boy 🥺…)

—

Mirrors, mirrors, and more mirrors. Sometimes they are funhouse mirrors, the situations aren’t ever exact, there are nuances and specific context to each, but imo the similarities are very intentional.

The show is going out of its way to put these characters on more equal footing, and to have each of them make blunders in their lives and in the lives of others, knocked off their respective pedestals, to set them up to be like “wow, I get it, I get YOU and I choose YOU, with all the highs and all the lows” … and I LOVE it!! 🥹

People in this fandom tend to relate to either Penelope, Colin, (or sometimes both), and that’s awesome… but that doesn’t mean they don’t each have flaws. It also doesn’t have to become a “who hurt who more, who is more right?” - I am so uninterested in that: pain isn’t a competition.

What I AM interested and invested in is their growth, seperetly and together, and the removal of their masks to truly see and accept the other.

So yeah, y’all. It’s called a parallel, and I really hope we get loads of them in S3. 🥰

I honestly really welcome conversation and thoughts about this; I’m pretty new to the fandom, but unfortunately I have seen a lot of people (on tumblr in particular) be very “holier than thou” if they don’t agree on an interpretation, and it makes the fandom seem very unwelcoming and makes me nervous to even post things, which is pretty ridiculous. :/

Fandom gonna fandom, I guess. 🤷‍♀️ I just really love this show and this pairing and I’m dying for S3.

#bridgerton #polin #penelope featherington #colin bridgerton

[autistic-skeletons]

Good Omens season 2 is about what religious trauma does to indoctrinated people, and here’s why.

so i finally watched Good Omens after my friends BEGGED me to ever since the first season first dropped and even though the ending stabbed me in the balls repeatedly for several hours i can’t help but marvel about how genius the ending really is and how crucial it is to both Aziraphale and Crowley as characters

i was hesitant to watch this show bc i was indoctrinated and conditioned by evangelicalism from birth (i’m literally the kid of two ex-missionaries and my dad was a chaplain for 36 years) and i knew that i could easily get triggered if i wasn’t careful.

i’m so glad i watched this show. there’s many reasons but i really just wanna talk about the ending of s2 aka The Divorce. it went entirely over my friends heads bc none of them grew up in the church but when i watched the ending it felt like i was watching pieces of myself at war with each other even though they didn’t want to be. to me, i was watching two people so broken by heaven and hell that they don’t understand that what they’re doing is hurting themselves more than it’s hurting each other. this is a pretty long ramble so i’ll continue under the cut

Aziraphale and Crowley are two halves of the same coin (literally soulmates) and are narrative foils to each other. obviously right, i mean, everyone noticed that. but what they truly represent in the grand scheme of things is the fallout of religious trauma. Crowley has seen the absolute Worst of heaven and the angels. he’s been outcast, scorned, and tortured for (assuming based on the opening scene of season 2) simply asking questions and questioning his faith. Aziraphale is the poster child of what a good angel is in the eyes of heaven and has reaped the benefits for millennia.

what is happening here is a war between two halves of a whole, Denial vs Bitterness.

as a young child it was drilled into my head over and over that my faith had to be as strong as a rock all the time or i would crumble like sand. i idolized all the bible characters and memorized all the verses and did all the good and right things i was supposed to. i was a standard in all the churches i went to, i was the example of what a good christian was, and i knew it.

then, over time, i began to see behind the curtain on what was really going on in the church and i was devastated. how could something based on love do all of that? why am i so scared to think freely? why do i feel like i can never be good enough? the more i questioned the more shame i felt and the more bitter i became, but i longed to go back to that innocence of being the best little christian kid in the church.

Aziraphale cannot truly comprehend the uncomfortable reality that what he’s been subscribing to all this time isn’t good for him. heaven has been hurting him for a long time and he doesn’t understand that. how can something he thinks is so right, so true, so good hurt him and his friends so much? no, it must be something he’s done right? it must be some bad apples right? the whole orchard can’t be bad right? he just has to fix this. he just has to make it better for him and for Crowley and then everything will be ok again.

Crowley can’t wrap his mind around why Aziraphale cares so fucking much. hasn’t he seen what heaven and hell have done? they barely stopped the end of the fucking world!!! they tried to destroy both of them with holy water and hellfire!!!!! they’re still trying to meddle in their personal lives after everything!!! why is Aziraphale so stubborn???? why does he choose something so asinine over him? Crowley has been there for Aziraphale a hell of a lot more than heaven has, can’t he see that?

both of them are hurting deep down into their very souls and they just can’t see it. that’s what religious trauma does to you. it strips you so bare of your personhood that without your religion, who are you? without your god, you’re just an empty shell. you’re nothing without “us”, without the church.

without Aziraphale trying and failing to fix heaven, he’s never gonna understand how corrupt of a system it all is.

without Crowley learning that Aziraphale is hurting just as much as he is, he’s never gonna learn that Aziraphale really had his best intentions at heart and just wanted to do what he thought was the good thing

without both of them realizing that they’re both wrong, they’re never gonna come together and really stand up for themselves and for their friends and for earth as a whole. without this grief, without this pain, without this separation, they’re never going to be truly free

and i, for one, cannot wait to see them kick some ass when they decide that enough is enough

#this show is so good i’m so glad i watched it #good omens #good omens season 2 #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #ineffable divorce #aziracrow

[brookheimer]

do u think kenrome can come back from this 😭

honestly i think any sibling relationship with roman can come back from just about anything as long as the other sibling wants that relationship still. so long as rome’s the primary ‘wounded party’ or w/e, the relationship will probably return to ‘normal’ (not ‘heal’ but return to stagnancy). roman is a kicked dog who never leaves no matter how much he’s kicked, and really, that hasn’t changed. remember when ken betrayed the entire family and tried to kill logan in the s2 finale and then next season rome immediately comes to ken’s apartment with a gift of airport pastries he knows ken likes? i don’t think any of his family could ever hurt roman beyond reproach — i don’t think such a line exists for him. if it did, god knows it would’ve been crossed by at least a few of them by now. sure, he’s realized everything’s bullshit, but his nihilism does not negate his lifelong yearning for genuine connection, a yearning that’s intensified ten-fold when it comes to his family. he might know it’s bullshit now, he might think genuine connection is bullshit and waystar’s dead so they are too, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still want it. honestly, a ‘healthy’ ‘free’ outcome for rome would probably be one in which he untethers himself from his family and only returns to them by choice rather than this sense of devotion and secretly embarrassingly love-fueled obligation, but that’s not how things end. he’s as haunted by logan, by waystar, as any of them. yeah, everything’s bullshit including waystar including them, but so long as he continues to view his family and the business as inextricable, he won’t be ‘free,’ not really. (i talk about that in this post a lot, so i’ll just link that so as not to broken record myself into infinity here lol.) i mean, he’s drinking gerri’s martini in the last shot. how bullshit are things really if he’s still consuming the remnants of his stand-in father/mother in his last scene? roman hasn’t changed, none of them have; that’s jesse’s entire thesis for the show. and so long as roman hasn’t changed, there is pretty much nothing that his siblings could do to lose him. the issue is that none of the siblings know how to interact with one another outside of the business, and honestly, i’m not sure if they’d even try to if not for roman who will inevitably awkwardly come around to ken’s place with pastries in a few days making sure he hasn’t killed himself yet. things won’t be good, and neither of them will know who to be or how to act or what it means to exist outside of waystar especially in terms of each other. but i do think this isn’t an end for them, largely, again, because there’s no end when it comes to roman. kick him as much as you want and watch him crawl back with a gift in his mouth. it might take him longer this time or it might be shrouded in even more irony and flippancy because he’s now newly convinced of the meaningless of their bonds, but that doesn’t change the fact that his love for them is real (as much as he might wish otherwise), and that he doesn’t want kendall dead. so i think there’s still something there, but not a good thing or a healed thing — it’s just roman continuing to lack a sense of worth or a sense of self. maybe things will get better, maybe they won’t, but i find it hard to imagine kendall and shiv ever really alienating roman for good unless they decide they no longer want him in their lives. so in that sense, i do think ken and rome will still have a relationship, but what form it takes (and if it can ever heal from the wounds not only of this fight but of the abuses that have always defined their relationship and will likely continue to) will be unclear even to them — what are they without waystar, after all?

#kenshiv on the other hand……. #also that would def make things harder for rome too — focusing solely on kenrome in a vacuum #here pretty much but add shiv into the equation and it gets hairy #rome will want a relationship w both ken and shiv neither of whom will want a relationship with each other #i just want them all to be fwendssssss :( #succession #succession spoilers #casey shut the fuck up about roman roy #asks #anon #long post #as always #100 #this time on posts i didn’t expect to get notes #i’m always shocked whenever responses to asks get more than like 30 notes max. idk why

[byersfanclub]

call it controversial, I'm speaking my mind and if you don’t agree with me then so be it, atp idc what ppl may think about my opinion on this matter but as someone who views mike wheeler as a closeted gay person, meaning mlm, he is a boy who likes other boys and that’s it then I’m also someone who believes mike has never had actual romantic feelings for el at ANY point in the show. I don’t sit around and harass people who believe otherwise. 

mike is not even the FIRST person to show el kindness once she escaped the lab, it’s benny hammond. mike is the second person to truly show el some kindness and basic human decency by allowing her into his home and getting her clean, dry clothes. it’s something I hope anyone would do for anyone in that sort of situation BUT don’t forget it’s also mike’s idea to “send her back to pennhurst or wherever she came from” and comes up with the plan on the spot right then and there to have her go out the back door and knock on the front door and his mom will figure out what to do. they never had any plans on keeping el around until they found out she knew who will was, that he was alive and that she had fucking superpowers. I get kinda sick of ppl trying to twist this around. this is factual, it’s not some anti-m1leve3n thing ppl made up, it is canon. to say mike never wanted to get rid of el at first is just a straight up lie, his main priority was finding will, but he wasn’t going to be an asshole and leave a girl outside in the pouring rain.  

all mike cares about in s1 is finding will. I find it odd that some ppl don’t believe this, whether you think he could have grew a crush on el or not. he literally starts to disassociate, begs to help look for him, sneaks out of his home at night, bikes home and sobs into his moms arms when he thinks will is dead, is outright RUDE to el afterwards until she proves that will is still alive. 

both Lucas and Nancy say things that try to allude to mike liking el, which literally has nothing to fucking do with the plot of s1 AT ALL and they literally have no scenes that I can genuinely go back and look at and be like “aww that's so cute and romantic, I hope they’ll kiss and end up together” 

their kiss was never scripted and it wasn’t even meant to happen, it was something millie suggested and its funny that they chose to do it right after she asks if mike will be like her fucking BROTHER and he goes “no, well, I guess it’s sort of the same” like my brother in christ in what world is a date/boyfriend the same as a brother? he’s not stupid, even 12 year olds know the difference between a brother and a boyfriend. I genuinely think it’s because mike has never CARED about that sort of thing before, because he’s just a kid who wants to play games with his friends, uninterested in girls and dating in general. 

so, when I say that mike unintentionally uses el as his “beard” it’s not meant to be insulting towards el, because el is also using mike to try and be a normal girl. they are both just trying to be normal when both of them know they AREN’T. 

el is the first girl not immediately grossed out by mike, it’s because she doesn’t view him as anything other than a person, she’s not thinking about him romantically at all, she’s a 12 yr old girl that just escaped being in a scientific lab her whole life, romance isn’t going to be on the forefront of her mind, she probably doesn’t even know wtf romantic love even is. you think they’re showing Casablanca in the Hawkins national lab? I don’t think so. 

s2 shows mikes lack of interest in girls even more, and ppl using the reasoning that its because he “loves el” like idk how to tell you this, he knew her FOR ONE WEEK and she barely spoke the entire time and mike was focused on will all of s1. be so for real. really. his lack of interest in girls comes in the form of things more subtle like the dragons lair scene, which has mike and will off to the side, blank faced as dustin and lucas sort of duel for princess daphne. then there’s more upfront moments like mike being completely uninterested in max, while even will seems to be at least a little curious about her (ofc not romantically like dustin and lucas) 

don't even get me started on mikes monologue to will in s2 being 10x more romantic than mike’s “love confession” monologue in s4 which fell flat on 90% of the audience (on purpose, I see u duffers)

the snowball scene isn’t meant to be a romantic scene for m1lev3n but it gets interpreted as one because of they way they film it, and it’s literally done that way ON PURPOSE. they are tricking you, me, the entire audience into believing mike is so upset because el isn’t there. but his reactions to will getting asked to dance and afterwards (with dustin also being upset over Lucas and max) are clear. then they show us Nancy asking dustin to dance along with el showing up to the snowball to dance with mike? 

The ending of s2 solidified mike using el as a cover for his queerness, to be normal, because he was aware that he was DIFFERENT. this is why m1lev3n is so insufferable to people in s3 because its written to be insufferable. they don’t want you to like it. to finally see mike and el as a couple? it’s annoying, ppl don’t like it, the characters themselves are over it and even el herself. 

then there’s will and mikes fight scene which is 10x more breakup coded than m1lev3ns ACTUAL breakup? bro had mike sobbing and throwing up as he biked across town in the pouring rain to apologize, meanwhile all mike did was eat Doritos and burp while complaining abt el breaking up with him, calling her a different species and such. he didn’t actually care deep down, it was more annoying and frustrating that she broke up with him than emotional because he didn’t love her romantically, he’s just mad that he lost his cover that keeps him appearing as normal as possible. 

the ending of s3 solidifies to me that el is ALSO using mike to be and feel normal, because they’d been broken up for months at this point and she suddenly feels the need to kiss him and tell him she loves him too? while mike literally tries to avoid remembering the shit he said earlier in the season, because he didn’t mean it and if he did, he wouldn’t have acted the way he fucking did in s4. BFFR. el only wanted mike back because she lost hopper. 

hoppers letter is meant to be familiar love between el and hopper and it’s meant to allude to the growing romantic tension between mike and will as well, in stranger things, there’s double, triple, quadruple meanings to everything and this is one of them. mike KNOWS he does not love el, he knows this in s2, he knows this during s3, he knows this coming into s4. mike is desperate to not lose her as his cover because as much as mike is “himself” back in Hawkins, he still can’t stop thinking about will because Hawkins isn’t the same without him. he knows he’s thinking about will too much, that he worries about el so much because he’s unable to face his true feelings that he has for will and not her and mike believes that el genuinely loves him (she doesn’t). 

this brings me to believe their official split is going to be a lot more mutual than ppl believe. el has come to terms that her and mike are over during nina, I believe el suspects/knows that mike is gay/likes will. their sbp talk paralleling jack and joey from Dawsons creek is almost too spot on for it not to mean something, especially to know will still pining and jealous over them right after it. 

in conclusion, im tired of pretending I ever thought mike and el were ever a cute ship, they weren’t. there was no spark between them for me and many others. it was like they were being forced into my face and I think the duffers did this with so much intention. not only did they straightbait robin and steve so well, but them “shoving” a straight ship into our face in the way mainstreams shows get criticized by homophobes for gay ships. it’s no wonder one of their favorite shows is Dawsons creek. 

mike wheeler is gay and never liked el. el hopper got caught up in mike’s internal conflict and also latched onto him for a sense of security and to feel like a normal teenage girl. 

fin. 

#byler #elmike #a super long post

[canonically47]

my take on the OFMD s2 finale: fuck that

(major spoilers continuing from here)

it’s sweet that the crew now also has zheng, auntie, spanish jackie and the swede is back, the reunion kiss was the sweetest thing ever, i loved lucius and pete’s wedding etc etc but there’s some things i can’t look past.

let’s get into izzy. izzy went through a lot this season. he started off as someone we were meant to dislike and slowly evolved into the only reason the crew was alive and functional. they became his family, and he became their new, true leader. their new unicorn, if you will. they cared for him, they loved him, and he loved them back. hell, he even had that sweet speech about piracy that made me tear up!

but then he died. and this isn’t the bury your gays trope, since the show has dozens of happy gay people and a lot of queer joy, but the redemption through death trope - or at least a poor attempt at him.

look at me. izzy got all the redemption he needed. he proved himself. he was happy. he was content. he had a good life ahead of him. and then he died.

his final words didn’t even mean anything, because ed still left the crew (along with stede). and this is sweet because they got to fulfill their dreams of having an inn, but this would have been better if izzy’s speech was just slightly different. or if it was like it canonically is, then it should have been established the crew was going to visit, or the inn was temporary, or ANYTHING.

back to izzy - i’m not mad he died. i’m mad the timing was horrendously bad. a single 28 minute episode is not enough to have ed’s character arc evolve, a sweet reunion, lots of drama and comedy, kill izzy off, have a lupete wedding, and have gentlebeard stay behind to have an inn. there should have been one or two extra episodes. there should have been more time to mourn izzy! i was sobbing my ass off and the show had already moved on to the wedding - i mean, what?? are we just not meant to care? i get that he had that burial, and he was shown as the last frame in the show yes, but how much tribute is that? stede’s dialogue made it seem like he barely cared when we knew the two had gotten closer! i get that he may have had conflicting emotions and this show is a comedy, but come on, people, you can do better!

the inn idea is sweet but i don’t see it lasting. the fourth episode really makes me wary of this idea because those two girls really fucking hated that domestic lifestyle bro!!! also, ed just accepted himself as a pirate outside of blackbeard, he just forgets that life? that’s bullshit. you can’t just spend the entire season exploring ed’s character as a pirate and then drop the pirate part. you can’t!!!

still mad about izzy. still confused about why everyone was in such high spirits after his death despite, you know, them getting along with him amazingly this season and loving him so deeply. but whatever, i too would be back at sea and giggling after my (at heart) captain died. in fact, i would even get married after that! yay, ring those bells! (/sarc)

i loved the wedding but you cannot tell me it wouldn’t have been better if there had just been more time between izzy’s death and it.

also. i’m pretty sure so many other characters walked off wounds in that exact area izzy got shot in... but i guess... plot armor??

tl;dr: i’m pissed off at OFMD’s season two ending, especially the way izzy’s death was handled.

yeah, i’m not happy with this. at least put me out my misery and announce this is the last season. dragging it on for longer would not work.

ending words: i would have been much more content with izzy dying if he was given more time, if his death was handled better, and if his speech had meant anything at fucking all to ed.

#our flag means death #ofmd #our flag means death season 2 #our flag means death season two #our flag means death s2 #ofmd season 2 #ofmd season two #ofmd s2 #ofmd spoilers #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd season 2 spoilers #izzy hands #israel hands #ed teach #edward teach #blackbeard #stede bonnet #gentleman pirate #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #lupete #cuz they’re mentioned

[thranduel]

if mike and el stay together and byler isn’t endgame, the writers would be sending the most awful message.

firstly, a little girl escapes a lab she grew up in after being abused and traumatised, and starts dating the first person that shows her kindness after spending less than a week with him?? really? she gets kissed when she's 12 years old after a few days of knowing him when she can’t communicate at the same level as the other characters (there’s a line where lucas says mike’s 3 year old sister talks more and this was included to prove that el was definitely NOT ready to be shoved into a relationship) and she doesn’t even understand the concept of romance at all. she doesn’t even know who she is as an individual person (her likes, her dislikes, her fashion sense, her type when it comes to crushes, her favourite foods, how the world outside the lab works, literally nothing about herself at all) and she doesn't even know the meaning of the word "friend" and has to be taught what it means. yet she still gets forced into a romantic relationship with someone she didn’t even have time to develop a friendship with first while still basically being strangers? HOW is that healthy? how are people seriously okay with that?! (and before anyone starts, i’m NOT saying that she couldn’t eventually get into a relationship. of course she could. but it happened WAY too quickly when she wasn’t ready at all and people need to acknowledge this).

secondly, another abused and traumatised child is gay and in love with his best friend, and they’ve made him suffer the entire show while thinking he’ll never be loved back?? even when all the other kids were happy in season 3 and getting into romantic relationships, will didn’t have that. he got absolutely nothing, except being excluded and shoved to the side. what kind of message are they sending to only do this to the main gay character? why do all the other kids get to be happy and experience love? especially after how they included homophobic slurs in season 1 about will, it would be absolutely disgusting to leave him with unrequited love. gay people go through enough pain and suffering in real life, so why would anyone want to be reminded of that while watching a fictional show with a character that they relate to and find comfort in? shawn levy said their show is an anthem for the marginalised. how is making the gay kid suffer sending a good message for those who are outcasted and oppressed in society? it’s just hurting people. it’s making them think they’ll never find happiness and it’s also allowing the homophobes to win. it goes against everything this show has fought for and why it was created in the first place.

another thing that’s absolutely ridiculous is the massive difference between mike’s relationship with el vs his relationship with will. mike and el’s relationship lacks trust, honesty, communication and understanding, while mike and will’s relationship has all of those things and more. what kind of message are they sending if they keep mike and el together but keep mike and will apart? why are they telling people that it’s okay to stay in a relationship with extreme emotional attachment and codependency due to shared trauma when you don’t even feel like an equal to your partner? mike and el literally admitted they don’t feel like equals. they’re both insecure in this relationship and they feel inferior to each other. they’ve made each other feel like shit in every season (except s2 since they didn’t even see each other until the end). how is it okay to tell people to stay in a relationship like this?

and finally, why would the writers think it’s okay to use will as a plot device to force mike and el back together while he continues to suffer? mike is will’s best friend. he’s his safe place and the boy he loves most. and yet the writers have made will sit back and watch him with someone else while he suffers alone. they literally put him in almost every mike and el scene in season 4 just to rub it in even more. then they had the audacity to turn a very personal and meaningful scene that was supposed to be about mike and will ONLY and made it about el, because of course they did. it’s like mike and will can’t have anything for themselves anymore. will’s painting and his feelings for mike were something extremely personal and they made it about el in order to mislead mike and push him into telling her he loves her. it’s messed up on so many levels and i don’t understand how anyone thinks it’s okay.

#byler

[mysteriousboo]

(SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW)

im genuinely surprised when i found out that people in the yr fandom give simon so much shit and for what? trying to protect himself from getting hurt when wilhelm denied that it was him in the video after he PROMISED simon that he wouldn’t do that? or trying to move on from wilhelm? when simon got into dealing booze or stealing drugs from his dads, he suffered because of his actions! his friends(rosh and ayub) stopped talking to him, he couldn’t pay for the personal tuition and his mom and sara found out about it and were obviously very mad at him! sara got into manor house, made friends and mostly had a good time in the majority of the second season while she was basically betraying simon’s trust by not telling him who leaked the video and using that fact to get into manor house plus sleeping with the person who recorded and released the video! personally, i don’t think her character can be redeemed in s3! but i see people trying to defend her more than they will with simon and that’s very sad!

or the fact that even wilhelm didn’t have to suffer at the aftermath of the video cause he denied that it was him in the video! i mean, we all know that the internet sucks! imagine, the things simon had to read! and people want him to forgive wilhelm just cause he said he loves him?? i mean how can he trust him? does he not have self-respect? my poor boy prolly thought that he would only be hurt more cause if wilhelm can deny his existence now, why won’t he do it in the future? or how serious is wilhelm’s love for him if he can deny their relationship so easily after he PROMISED that he would do no such thing! or the fact that wilhelm’s doesn’t even apologize to him properly, clearly not realizing how much he hurt simon! i mean the guy keeps asking simon to be his secret? how can simon agree to that? notice how in the first half s2 it’s not that simon denies that he loves wilhelm, it’s more like how can i trust you? and he was right wasn’t he? wilhelm knew that august released the video but proceeds to once again make the choice for simon and keep him in the dark! i’m not saying that he didn’t redeem himself in the latter half of the season! but it definetely felt like only simon felt the repercussions of his actions! both Sara and Wille just got away! and august the guy who should have gone to jail was being rewarded by being the backup or getting the girl! simon definetely sufffered more than august and the fact that some people in the fandom still are annoyed by him is just really disappointing! atleast have a reasonable explanation for finding simon annoying or not a fun character! I mean if you can understand Sara’s action then simon deserves the same! i am not trying to say that simon isn’t at fault, im just saying that why are you harsher towards his character not towards sara, wille, or august!

also, can we not forget that marcus literally gaslights simon into not breaking up with him! like my guy can’t catch a break! i hope that simon gets to be happy in s3! even though he has to deal with his sister basically lying to him the ENTIRE FUCKING TIME!!!! my god, i just want both my boys to be happy!

#please this is just an opinion #im not trying to start a fight #i just feel that simon deserves better #i mean he is so mature for his age #plus he never hurts anyone intentionally #also i hate sara #her character cannot be redeemed imo #i hope that in s3 we get to see wille and simon being happy #rant post #sorry for the rant #young royals #prince wilhelm #wilmon #simon eriksson #sara eriksson #august #wilhem x simon #wilhelm young royals #wilhelm yr #simon yr #yr s2 #yr

[raayllum]

So with the new art of Aaravos in mind, let’s talk about stars, skits, and foreshadowing

It seems to be child Aaravos, gathered around stars. Now, most of what we know about stars were jokes included in the “Written in the Stars” skit from a comic con in 2019, where Callum (Jack de Sena) and Rayla (Paula Burrows) stargazed together their first night in Xadia, discussing different constellations between their cultures. It is adorable, and you should watch this animatic of it right now if you haven’t already, and even if you have.

Rayla talks about Garlaf ruling the night sky (with his merciless boot of crushing), Callum talks a baby banther mama banther constellation that’s clearly an Usra major / minor reference. (Perhaps Garlaf is a famous Moonshadow or Startouch elf of old?) But most notably, Callum references something called the South Star, a parody of the north star. What he says is this:

“What about that? Brightest star in the sky. A single point of light. We call it the South Star. Humans used it to navigate, you know, to find their way in the endless darkness of the night.”

Why does this matter? Well, Rayla has been consistently associated with light - not just moonlight - with Callum in her framing and in their dynamic, mostly notably in season one and season two. There is also the general theme of them being Truthtellers for each other, helping them see through the illusions they held concerning each other: Rayla to shame and murder, Callum to self worth and magic. Callum’s arc with magic and how it pertains to Rayla is also very interesting, because of the way magic (and an arcanum specifically) is defined as a Spark, like fire, the tiniest flicker of a primal source inside you.

The framing below because it is also consistent, but more specific examples to show:

[Callum walking out of the dark and into the light after his date with Claudia / now that he knows the truth, but Rayla could’ve been in darkness to signify his mood. Instead, she’s in the light (and her white hair) because although shattered, their relationship and her presence in his life is the Truth, and what ultimately helps him deal with the truth]

[More lighting and Rayla turning him towards her, toward the sun]

Which is to say, if the South Star is the Xadian equivalent of the North Star, something that Rayla comments as being like poetry (poetry clearly being important in the world of TDP, as the only information we have about Startouch elves at all are in two poems), well... Let’s look at the associations we typically have with the North Star and see if they match up, shall we?

The North Star is the anchor of the northern sky. It is a landmark, or sky marker, that helps those who follow it determine direction as it glows brightly to guide and lead toward a purposeful destination. It also has a symbolic meaning, for the North Star depicts a beacon of inspiration and hope to many.

So despite being an inverse in name, the South Star holds the same meaning in TDP’s world that it holds in ours. But, you may be saying: this all seems like a Reach. A good natured little skit, a handful of screencaps, what does this all have to do with anything, really?

And I’m not saying it isn’t a reach, and that the majority of TDP’s cute little con skits aren’t just silly (they are), but there are two skits that have some loaded symbolism behind them.

At the SDCC in 2020 when we got the confirmation for the full saga, the entire voice cast at the time did two skits. One was a fairly silly DND skit, but Aaravos, notably, was DM, controlling the game and pushing the players forward. It’s easy to see the parallels to this in show, as currently, very few characters know Aaravos is even a player in the events that have happened in s2 and s3 in particular, and only two characters really know what he can do: Runaan (whose coined) and Viren, who was using it to his own advantage. And even then, there’s a lot Viren doesn’t know.

The more interesting and painful parallel, to me, is from the opening skit of the Zoom, initially just a play on the characters having to deal with the pandemic the way we would, facetiming, social distancing, etc. However, I just want to remind you that Through the Moon, where Rayla leaves Callum to hunt Viren down on her own, came out just a couple months before the con was released, and the writers absolutely knew it was a plot point. Which is to say, this?

Rayla: Hey guys. Long time no see Callum. Good to see you, from far, far away. Ezran: Wait a minute, you guys have the same background. Are you in the same place? Callum: Uh, nope! Nope. Totally different places, separate, far away locations. Ezran: Callum, I can see part of your scarf in Rayla’s background. You’re supposed to be distancing. Callum: Oh come on, it’s a big castle! There’s — there’s lots of distancing. Rayla: Not so much that we miss each other too much.

Can be seen as foreshadowing, because in canon they are far away from each other, there is going to be loads of distancing, and they’re definitely going to miss each other (way too much). So if one skit had meaning in a small way, and this skit has foreshadowing in a bigger way, and the show loves its one off jokes being rooted in lore, like the famous explorer Sir Phineas Cursed...

Rayla is hunting down Viren, Aaravos’ current ‘vessel’ / partner in crime (even if that may be on the outs in s4). Callum has Aaravos’ Key.

All of this is to say if the Written in the Stars skit is foreshadowing that Callum and Rayla will become entangled with Aaravos’ plotline by S4’s end, and that Rayla is Callum’s chosen South Star and vice versa, to lead and help each other get through the dark times they’re going through... I will burst into tears and you can count on that.

#tdp #tdp theory #rayllum #aaravos #skits #sdcc 2019 #sdcc 2020 #zoom into xadia #written in the stars #the dragon prince #twitter #predictions #cube hostage exchange theory #parallels #analysis series #analysis #light and darkness motif

[my-mt-heart]

A few people were wondering what I meant when I said Daryl’s arc in S1 could ruin Caryl’s arc in S2, so I thought I'd try to elaborate. It's probably the 5th time in the last 24 hours that I've jumped on my soapbox. I'm a little burnt out, but hopefully this makes it clear where I stand. As always, my inbox is always open <3

There are very specific qualities that drew Caryl fans to Daryl’s character from early on. There’s his devotion to Carol first and foremost, his vulnerability, and his unconventional masculinity, all of which go hand in hand. But like I said, S1 isn’t targeting Carylers. It isn’t trying to nurture those qualities that we love. There’s a reason why everybody keeps calling it a “reset.�� Reset in this case is just another word for retcon.

Based on what we’ve seen so far from the marketing, S1 seems to be targeting young males whose viewpoint clashes with our own. So instead of getting the Daryl that feels natural to us, a loyal man yearning to get home to the one woman he’s always been in love with, we’re going to get an ambiguous OOC Daryl who knows he has “people” to get back to, but also finds the newbies interesting enough to feel conflicted about it. That's according to the synopsis anyway.

There's likely going to be shipbaiting, case in point the bathtub. That does not mean Daryl’s going to get together with or even have explicit feelings for a younger female character who happens to fit the target audience’s view of a love interest. I'm *very* confident that will not happen. It does mean, however, that the show will do what it can to make you *think* that Daryl could have feelings for someone else or get together with someone else.

How many times have they tried to turn Daryl into TWD’s most eligible bachelor? How much did it erase his nuances? How much did it aggravate us? And the big question is, why are we being asked to pay for more of that same bullshit we never wanted? Because it’ll eventually pay off? Okay, but how are we going to feel when Carol, who’s crossing oceans and taking lives, finally finds Daryl? Happy for her? Or sorry for her because Daryl didn’t go to the same lengths that she went to for him?

Those are my biggest concerns. 1) Daryl’s and Carol’s arcs being uneven and 2) waiting a long time for gratification that may be underwhelming again if AMC is still trying to placate everybody.

“Well, fuck, MT. That was extremely bleak and it sounds like we shouldn’t bother getting excited about Carol/Caryl.”

I am not saying we shouldn’t get excited. After an entire year of misery and uncertainty, we know Carol is coming back. She’s going to ride Daryl’s bike, she’s going to rescue him, she’s going to wear a ring that looks like the mysterious one she wore in 11x15, she’s going to walk a bridge with Daryl that’s reminiscent of Consumed. That’s all stuff to get *SUPER* excited about. Unlike S1, S2 *IS* targeting Carylers. I just don't want anything to take the wind out of our sails before we even get there.

So I think it's important to keep urging AMC to show us that #DarylNeedsCarol on the deepest of levels. Show us that this is going to be *their* show, not just because Daryl and Carol are both going to be in it, but because it’s going to continue their shared journey (a title that encompasses both their characters would be an effective strategy, I’m just saying). We still have a long wait. We still have time to change our minds.

#caryl #caryl spinoff #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #darylneedscarol

[doriandrifting]

Maybe it’s bc I’m a bit older than the average byler truther but I’ve lived through the peak of queerbaiting in media and this ain’t it.

Even just rationally speaking, if Byler was going to be unrequited, most, if not all, of it would’ve been wrapped up this season. We wouldn’t be going into the last season with so much up in the air—Mike and El still not talking after a “love confession”, the lie about the painting, Will having only had a coded coming out with Jonathan, etc. Mike and Will spent the entire season having heart to hearts that predominantly focused on Mike’s relationship issues to show that their friendship is rooted in being vulnerable with one another. There’s no way, at the very least, Will wouldn’t come out, even in a vague sort of way, to Mike. Especially considering that they’ve show us that Mike isn’t homophobic—that he defended Will’s honor against the homophobic bullies when Will was missing.

So if they waited for Season 5, and all of this led to him being rejected at the very end, in a season with no new characters, they’d literally be giving Will a slowburn sad ending. It would mean that they set up Will to have literally maybe one happy character arc over the course of the show (Getting a Dad who loves him, Hopper). S1: Kidnapped and trapped in the Upside Down S2: Possessed S3: Ignored, heartbroken and then forced to move away from his friends S4: In “unrequited” love with his best friend who’s dating his sister and his entire arc is pushing them together at great personal cost S5: Rejected by the only character he’s shown to have feelings for after finally opening up about being queer???

Like can you think of any other character on the show that has no happy arcs?

Even El, who has the most tragic backstory, is ending the story with a full family, (most likely) her best friend back at her side, the people who harmed her her entire life gone, and freedom from being used for her powers. And if Byler isn’t canon, she’s ending it with a love interest.

I know people have been burned with similar media like IT and whatnot, but at the end of the day, while IT can deviate a bit, they’re trying to stay true to source material. Stranger Things has no source material and has already shown that it’s not above “straight-baiting” (maybe the assumption shouldn’t be everyone is straight until proven otherwise oop). The Duffer Brothers have also already been clear about not wanting a sad ending (talking about how you can’t kill Mike bc that’s too sad—that becomes a different show). So IMO, there’s nothing to worry about.

#this is for the younger bylers that have been crying and throwing up over actor comments #I promise y’all they don’t know a lot of things about the story #and they’re literally coached to lie in some cases #Noah literallt admitted he was told to dance around questions to protect the S4 plot of will being gay #byler #mike wheeler #i know what you are #will byers #is an angel #he’s never done anything wrong #I would protect him with my life

[myhsterie]

can i be a hater rq.

ofmd s2 was not good after episode 3 (even that’s debatable), and while hbo definitely fucked them over i’m happy with the series ending here (if happy was more like “oh thank god it’s over”).

fans got TOO involved with the woodwork of the show and in its actual storytelling. the story itself began to change based on what they thought fans wanted to see, not what was satisfying. i have gripes with izzy and jim in particular being actor-ified: that wasn’t izzy and jim, that was con and vico. not saying they’re bad actors but their journeys and characters did not make logical sense even for a comedy, based on the previous season. it felt like they were tailoring the character arcs to the actor’s public persona in order to entice fans. i mean what the fuck was that non-resolution to the jim & oluwande storyline? what the fuck was IZZY’s entire thing? change isn’t (generally) that quick. and i’m not izzy’s biggest fan but killing him off after that storyline felt like cheap sobs. nothing was EARNED. nothing was SATISFYING. it was empty calories when the first season was a home cooked meal. a pale imitation that didn’t seem to understand what made it a good story in the beginning.

i love the first season. i have a full handmade ed cosplay. i wrote thousands upon thousands of words of fanfiction (that i then used to secure actual writing jobs lol). i’ve paid to meet nathan foad at a con as the kraken. i had art on my walls and still do. let it be known i’m not talking out of my ass here. i loved this show.

but i’m also a screenwriter and a director and a storyteller. i’m a working professional in film. and they did not use this second season effectively. episode order cut short? rewrite. don’t try and cram 10 episodes into 8. just cut it down. and don’t waste time either, which it did a lot of. nothing felt justified, nothing felt earned, it all felt like pandering, and it made me stop watching. it read like they’d been exposed to far too much fan content and had let that poison the integrity of the show and i’m not sorry to say it! the fandom’s proximity to the creators did not help s2 at all and likely harmed it grievously! and none of you want to hear that!

i’m not sorry for fandom wanking all over your timelines. i’ve had these thoughts and critiques for a long time but felt like i was going to be shot in the street like a dog if i said them on here lmao. but it has to be said. it wasn’t a good season, and even though the studio’s intentions on ending it were not fully pure there were still pretty damn good reasons to end it. you are all insufferable and embarrassing, and i hesitate to identify with the ofmd fan base anymore because of the utter lunacy i’ve seen. hope this helps!

#hating is my passion and a full time job #this isn’t even mentioning all of the very real and valid criticisms bipoc people have of the show #just let it die #ofmd critical #ofmd wank #i’m trying NOT to tag this in a way where it shows up in main fandom tags but it undoubtedly will #if you see this and you don’t agree: move on. you’re (most likely) a grown adult. don’t engage with discourse that does not benefit you. #also move on in general 🫣 who said that

[threadbareturnbacks]

Black Sails and Facial Hair - Part 3, (Long) John Silver

One of the important aspects of character creation in Black Sails is that it proports to show not the Pirate Of Legend (a la POTC) but the Origin Of the Pirate Legend. But nothing can be created in a vacuum, you cannot reference pirate legend without engaging in some sort of historical storytelling that connects to the modern audience, which is, at its heart, the stuff of pirate legend. Narrative is an ouroboros, constantly eating its own tale. 

John Silver shows up bright eyed and busy tailed and a perfect picture of a late 18th century sailor, down to the black shoes. His hair is a little too short, but reasonable and he’s rocking just a shade of a five o’clock shadow, but nothing untoward for a merchant ship in 1715. He’s a bag of snakes and like any good bag of snakes, he could get off in any port in the New or Old World and slip into the crowd without being noticed. He is, like Flint in 1704, perfectly suited to his surroundings. Flint’s crew take him at face value, but we know that this is a skin he wears that gives him more freedom than the bewhiskered pirates around him.

Throughout the first season, he stays pretty well shaved and clean. I mean, look at our boy after 5 days at sea and a shipwreck. This is the face of a man who plans to disappear into civilization as soon as he can.  He even tells Flint, “I’ll find somewhere else to survive” - His appearance isn’t predicated on fitting in or telling a story, it’s predicated on survival. He’s handsome enough, but no one would look twice if they didn’t need to.

Unfortunately for Silver, everything he says comes true. And when he says “I don’t want to be a pirate”, well, I’ve got bad news for you snake man. He might say that out loud but his face tells a different story. After the capture of the galleon and his little Stomp Stomp routine, he stops shaving. It’s subtle at first. He’s still bright eye’d and bushy tailed (haired). But his hair is longer, his face is rougher. He’s starting to ingratiate himself with the crew, starting to become essential to Flint, starting to even find a place of belonging and in doing so, he drifts further from the safety of anonymity.  

By the end of S2, he’s teetering on the edge. He’s got the mustache but compared to almost the entire crew, he’s still relatively respectable. However, look at how different it shows up in the light verses the dark. He might look like a citizen in the day, but at night his true self comes through and it’s all pirate.

Just as Flint’s door is closed at the end of s2, so is Silver’s. He can never again be an anonymous citizen, a snake in the grass. He might be able to integrate, but never again without notice. And he reflects that in his face. A full, patchy beard, very long hair barely brushed or contained - this is not a man who can step off a boat in any city and blend in. He’s clearly not taking care of himself.

Amputees are occasionally depicted in 18th century illustration - often in two distinct ways: The Good - employed and respectable (and clean-shaven) and The Poor - unemployed, whiskered, and dirty. Silver’s decided that since he can’t blend in, he might as well lean into the stereotype.   

Additionally, there are instances of white men with beards living in the ‘civilized world’, particularly England and North America, but their lives are not easy. The beard is an essential feature of their Otherness, often Jewishness, and choosing to exist with that facial hair is a conscious statement. Whether as a statement of faith or as embracing his new condition, his beard is a clear rejection of reintegration or assimilation.

Contrast Silver’s unruly mop to Flint’s managed goatee, which he keeps neat and clean. The two of them, to an early 18th century observer, would make a terrifying pair, appearing as a mad Jacobean and a feral beggar, both ready to kill and not to be trusted under any circumstance. Quite literally the stuff of cultural nightmares and a sign of society unraveling. 

Madi’s presence helps a bit, as does his standing as Long John Silver in Nassau. His hair is more managed but the beard does not get any less wild. And he mostly stays this way through the rest of the show.  

(a side note: the slick hair from the doldrums on is actually a factor of the production. Many outdoor scenes were filmed in the wind and to avoid Silver’s hair flying everywhere, it was slicked back, from Fathoms Deep)    

By the time his in the forest, dealing himself his own emotional death knell, he is as uncontained as we see him. The beard and the hair are one, there is no pretense of return or control. He has become undone, he is scrambling to grasp at the last tendrils of his humanity.  

Which makes his final scene all the more fascinating. Because the last we see of John Silver makes him look downright professional. He’s still rocking the beard, but it’s trimmed, his hair is in a neat tail, he is no longer wearing heavy layers, or even sagging his back all that much. He looks, for lack of a better word, civilized. Certainly far more civilized than we have any right to expect him to look after what we’ve seen.

He’s made his choice. He has chosen the safety of society over the wild uncertainty of war and resistance. He’s back, in essence, where he started. Able to walk into any port in the known world and be just another invalid, returning from war. 

But the last year has done a number on him. He’ll never fully integrate. He hasn’t quite abandoned his pirate self (the beard remains), but he’s willing to work within the rules. He’ll never be fully in the system, but never fully out of it. He’ll always be on the shore, never on the sea or on land. He’ll always be a character archetype, never a full person. His existence is now essentially liminal, just as he wears a beard and a ponytail, a combination that is exceptionally odd for the period, but just perfect for our last view of the famed pirate king. 

Part 1 - History of Beards

Part 2 - Captain Flint 

#black sails #black sails meta #black sails history #long john silver #john silver #fashion history #ya'll had enough beard meta yet? #i think silver's facial hair journey is a trip #i lost my shit when i saw the last scene of him with a nice neat queue the first time #it's the clearest 'im trying to fit it' thing we see him do #and such a contrast to flint who's last scene is such a fuck you to civilization and rules of propriety #they become each other's mirror #this show is going to destroy me i stg #black sails beards

[fire-of-the-sun]

Vaxleth Speculation

Just wanted to share some thoughts and speculation about Vaxleth before the season ends.

I'm really hoping the lack of Vaxleth moments in episodes 7-9 (and basically the entire season) means we'll be getting some significant ones in the last three because, if not, I definitely did not expect to get less of them in S2 than S1 and I'd be really disappointed. However, there are other reasons for lack of content between them that isn’t due to negligence. 

Right now, they both have reasons to be keeping each other at arm’s length. Vax is in a rough place after becoming the Matron’s champion but eventually speaking with her (as Keyleth encouraged) and fully accepting her should help boost his morale as well as reminding him even more how short life is. 

So far, Keyleth’s story this season consists of her conquering some fears. Fire can only hurt her if she lets it and she’s become more confident in herself and her abilities. This achievement could in turn be applied in other ways such as finding the strength to face potential emotional pain. She also made a comment while gassed up that “we’re just prisoners of our own anxieties searching for connection”. Though this line took place in a moment of levity, perhaps her words here speak to a deeper thought that’s been brewing regarding overcoming anxiety in the pursuit of finding genuine connection and therefore open herself up to those connections.

As her fear as brought up by Osysa hasn’t been fully addressed yet, I imagine it will in an overdue conversation with Vax as Keyleth looked concerned about him after his vision and has probably been wanting to speak to him to see how he’s doing and this could finally lead to them voicing how they’re really feeling and showing progress both individually and together. This could result in yet another rejection scene however, only this time there might be more of an admission that, yes, she loves him too but that fear of growing too close to someone just to lose them is what is truly keeping her at bay beyond just saying they have responsibilities to focus on like last season. That way the relationship is still technically taking a step forward as we get more explicit confirmation that Keyleth does care about him in that way too while also not fully becoming canon yet and saving that for next season.

However, if they perhaps believe they won't be able to defeat Umbrasyl and they're going to die, she has nothing to lose and, mustering some newfound confidence (fire can only hurt if you let it) she parallels Vax's confession to her in S1 and finally just tells him how she feels too, fears and all. That being said, I don't want things to feel rushed at the end especially given how little screen time they've shared this season. Becoming fully canon will require multiple conversations and big moments still in my opinion.

Of course, the lack of screentime between them also allows more time to be devoted to the progression of other couples. 2x08 was a very heavy Perc'alia episode so it's just as possible for one of these last episodes to feature a lot of Vaxleth development too and perhaps their lack of content recently is due to the fact that their spotlight is coming later. I mean, at this point Vax has talked to Percy more this season than he has Keyleth.

Anyway, I’m just begging for more interaction in general too. Anything. I'd love to see a hug, some smiles or something and even a role reversal with Keyleth being the one to encourage him and remind him how amazing he is perhaps to cheer him up. To see her make him happy. To see some of his old self surface. Please, I'm dying here and I'd be pretty heartbroken if this season ended with nothing super significant transpiring between them and/or to end their arc on a negative, hopeless note. But who knows, a lot can happen in an episode, perhaps there will be plenty to come with three more to go and there’s nothing to worry about...

#vox machina #vaxleth #vax'ildan #keyleth #tlovm #the legend of vox machina

[hessolivagant]

God, this scene tells me a lot about how mike is feeling. Mikes micro expressions from el to will, is so??? Mike seems to have some conflict going on but we don’t exactly know what it is yet, which i 100% think is going to be addressed in s5. All of the looks, heart eyes and speeches are all going to add up to mike being a gay man. I know that Will isn’t going to be used for his queerness to help a straight relationship. This will ruin all three characters arcs, it would not make sense and it would also be harmful to the queer community:(

Mikes arc: this is based off my interpretation of mike and what i think his conflict and how he’s going to end up in s5. His conflicts are his queerness and his internalized homophobia that causes him to push everyone away while also watering himself down to the standards of “normal” mike is actually a gay man who loves to play dnd with his friends, he also loves star wars and writing :) but his father makes fun of him a lot, he was bullied in middle school, and he is associated with the “occultists”(dnd group💀) at school, he’s pretty much been outcasted his whole life for being different, so of course the poor boy is gonna have internalized homophobia and he going to repress who he actually is to impress el and to seem straight. He even pretended to not gaf about dnd but immediately after s3 he joins a dnd group, clearly he’s pretending to be someone he is not. At the airport he’s wearing his silly little outfit, and argyle points out that it’s a shitty knockoff, which is a double meaning. The clothes are knockoffs of ocean pacific and mike is a knockoff of himself. He was pretending the entire day. So his conflict is pretending he’s normal. Even though he stated in the first episode(with his gay montage) that he doesn’t want to be normal but then he turns around and does this? Interesting.

Mike and eleven: why i think mike and el won’t be endgame, mike won’t have his arc of being himself again and he’s gonna repeat the same thing his parents did(nuclear family) which is boring as hell and also ew? Why are we romanticizing this possibility?? Mike changed for el, mike changed to impress el. He also feels inferior to el and he’s said “i love you” twice to her for the past?? 4(?) years(I don’t remember I don’t pay attention to milkvan) mikes arc would be useless if he was just pushed into this other than, accepting himself and being who he was in s1 and s2 where he didn’t feel the need to pretend.

Mike and will: will, doesn’t pretend to be someone he is not. He’s still in the closet but he’s still himself. He doesn’t want to pretend to be anything else whilst mike is pretending. Mike needs will to fulfill his interests and accept who he is. They need each other to be themselves and they need each other in general because they love each other. If mike ends up with will, we will see our beloved s2 mike. And we will see a more interesting version of mike than mike with el.

Mikes s5 ending: none of us know but one thing i do know is that he’s gonna have his gay little moments, and i want it to be NOTICEABLE. I want people to be like “ohhh, okay that makes sense” LMAO YK?? Also byler kiss!! I’ll take anything, as long as they kiss and confess to each other. I don’t think theyll pull a reddie or all of us bylers are going to riot💀 so i want mike and will alive, they deserve a happy ending.

Also in s5 i want mike to be with another queer character where they open up, like robin orr vickie(?🤨) or maybe even just a conversation with will. OR SUPPORT, ANYTHING FOR THE POOR BOY😭😭 el could be like “mike, ik what you are” and it would work. Please, he needs comfort 😢

(Im in class and my teacher has been showing us monkey photos for like 30 minutes, so um😭???)

#byler #mike wheeler #i know what you are mike wheeler #i know what you are #mike is a gay man #mike is queer #byler proof #mike analysis #mileven is bones #mileven isn’t endgame #byler endgame #stranger things #byler tumblr #byler is real #mike is in love with will #mike wheeler is gay #byler analysis #will byers #mike is gay #mike wheeler analysis #mike wheeler is queer