#also the music is giving me season three flashbacks | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-elusive-soleil · 4 months

Text

Thinking again about a Silmarillion TV series, and how I would set it up if I were High King of Hollywood and also copyright law (long post):

Let's say we have a three-season setup. Three Silmarils, three acts, and everyone making and watching it knows there's a predetermined endpoint. No spiraling out into infinity, no matter how popular it gets. And I'll roughly hazard ~8 episodes per season; that seems to be the average amount these days.

Will there be whooping great battle sequences? Probably. But as is my wont, I'm focusing more on the ~interpersonal drama~

Season 1 would start off like I've posted about before, with Finwe telling the Ainulindale as a story to kid!Feanor, as a segue to bringing up the remarriage, and then a post-opening-credits cut to Feanor as an adult. We're in the very early YT 1400s. In the first episode, we're laying a lot of groundwork for a Normal Day in Tirion. Various members of the House of Finwe are introduced, and we get a sense for the familial and political landscape. Everybody seems to believe that life is completely perfect--and then there's Feanor, who knows it's not.

And then the news comes that Melkor is being released on parole.

In the next couple of episodes, we see reactions to this, through dinner-table conversations and such in each of the three households. People are tense, but...for the most part, life goes on.

Except for Feanor, who gets an Idea and eventually unveils the Silmarils.

Through part of the third episode and escalating through the fourth, we start to see Melkor stirring the Noldor up. They're making weapons, and the political tensions are starting to get higher. The different sets of Finwean cousins are training with swords and such, and coming up with increasingly thin excuses to each other as to how they picked up those minor injuries.

Episode four ends with a bang, as Feanor's sword incident and banishment occur.

Episode five jumps five years ahead to the festival in Tirion that Feanor's supposed to go to. We get the "jail-crow of Mandos" scene in flashback as he leaves the Silmarils behind. Everything seems fine on the surface, but the background music keeps slowly increasing in tension, and everyone's happiness is just a little too frenetic--and then the Trees go out.

Next episode, we get the Oath, the Flight of the Noldor, the Kinslaying, Losgar. (We're keeping the version where Amrod lives btw.)

(Side note: I think it would be very cool if we got little flashes of foreshadowing that gradually escalate as time goes on. Give me shots of Maitimo's right hand that linger just a little too long. Give me Maglor or Curufin in an early episode, talking about upcoming wedding vows that bear a suspicious resemblance to what the Oath will be. Give me Finrod wrestling with a family dog; give me Turgon and Aredhel teasing each other about his love of cities and how she'd rather die than be kept from running wild. Give me Feanor by firelight, Feanor being gently reminded by Nerdanel that he doesn't have to rush ahead and tackle a dozen projects all at once, Feanor insisting over and over again that things need to be written down and portrayed and preserved because nothing is really, actually permanent...)

Episode seven cuts back and forth between the people struggling across the Helcaraxe and the Feanorians in Middle-earth. The Feanorians fight orcs and lose Feanor, and the Helcaraxe group has their own battles with ice monsters and also the sheer. horrible. cold. Maybe we can have Fingon and Turgon and Aredhel arguing about the Feanorions along the way. Maybe we can have the argument cut short by Elenwe falling through the ice. Maybe we can have that lead Turgon to reiterate that the Feanorions are Doomed and have doomed everyone else with them - and then cut to Maedhros about to ride out to parley with Morgoth.

The episode ends with the Nolofinweans mourning Elenwe, and Maedhros being dragged out to hang from a cliff.

Season finale starts with the Nolofinweans arriving. There is most definitely an emotional, sweepingly epic sequence of the Thangorodrim rescue, the stuff edits and gifsets are made of. And we end with Maedhros ceding the crown, and with Fingolfin's coronation.

Season 2 starts with the Mereth Aderthad, which gives us a chance to catch up, via dialogue, with how everybody's been settling in and what they're planning to do next. We also get the skinny on Thingol and Melian and Doriath. (Luthien should definitely be mentioned at least once.) (Celegorm should definitely be in the shot when she's mentioned, although 50/50 whether he visibly pays attention or reacts.)

We get Finrod and Turgon's dream sequences and them discovering the places where they're going to put their respective cities. Also Artanis meets this Guy...

Dagor Aglareb is probably an episode 2 thing. After it, and after any significant conflict this season (attack on Hithlum, Glaurung, etc.), there should be someone assuming out loud that they are now past the worst of things. Bonus points if there is fire in the background of the shot when the person says this.

We meet Dwarves. I think the optimal way to handle the Dwarves-and-Caranthir thing is to have them be very blunt and no-frills with each other, and leave it up to interpretation whether this is actually them getting along.

Finrod, of course, is so very (gestures demonstratively) Finrod at his Dwarves, and also at the Men when they show up.

(checks timeline) Maeglin is born in YS 320, and he and Aredhel flee to Gondolin in YS 400, and Andreth is born in YS 361. I think it could be interesting to start out an episode with Aredhel being snared and having Maeglin, and interspersing creepy Nan Elmoth stuff with Aegnor/Andreth and Athrabeth stuff. Towards the end, Finrod has a conversation to the effect that it's not just that Aegnor and Andreth's romance was doomed, it's that they're all doomed here (possibly referencing the Amarie situation) and there is no way to have a good love story under such circumstances. And then, of course, we have Aredhel and Maeglin running to Gondolin (and Maeglin meeting Idril) and the deaths of Aredhel and Eol.

I have less of a specific outline for this season, because I want a lot of it to be filled up with...just Long Peace stuff. I want to see the Noldor having their Beleriand Renaissance. I want to see hunting trips that give us beautiful sweeping shots of the landscape, and glittering social events laced with politics, and little moments of relationships between different characters.

Basically, I want this season to make it very clear just how much stands to be lost here.

And then, of course, the season finale is the Dagor Bragollach, culminating in Fingolfin's last stand against Morgoth.

Season 3 opens with the utter chaos that is the aftermath of the Bragollach. We also get to meet Hurin and Huor and see their visit to Gondolin, which contrasts so sharply with the state of things literally everywhere else.

The first episode also introduces us to this random human guy named Beren, out there in the wilderness. And it ends with him stumbling on something in Doriath...

Second episode is just ~*Beren and Luthien*~. It has a very cultivated fairytale feel, right down to the lighting and the music. The world we just saw last episode is so very harsh, but not here, not now. There is never any doubt that there will be a happy ending. And there is! The episode ends with their wedding.

(...and distant wolf howling but don't pay attention to that)

Third episode has the wolf hunt. Beren dies. Luthien goes after him. They both come back. They don't really explain themselves to anyone, and I'm leaving the details mysterious. Luthien singing to Mandos should probably be treated like the Ainulindale in that we don't attempt to make humans portray it. What we do see are the beginnings of fallout: as Luthien and Beren come back to life, Maedhros is wrangling with his brothers. As Tol Galen is settled, as Dior is born, Fingon and Maedhros start to plan the Union, and it's hovering in the background that they need to do this because with the Oath, the only other option is going after the Doriath silmaril, and they're not doing that.

Episode four is the Nirnaeth, and it. is. devastating. If you read the book (and maybe even if you didn't), you know this isn't going to work. But the characters really believe it will! And the music and cinematography are fully conspiring to make you believe it too! There might even be some leitmotifs from the Thangorodrim rescue during the battle to suggest maybe it will turn out this time... And then it doesn't. It was never going to. It was always going to end with trampled blue and silver banners and broken bodies and the sons of Feanor scattered in the wilderness and Hurin chained in a chair to watch his family suffer.

Episode five should be 50% Children of Hurin, and 50% Tuor's story, cutting back and forth for maximum contrast. We go directly from Turin and Nienor's deaths to Tuor and Idril's wedding.

Episode six is all Fall of Doriath, starting off with Hurin showing up with the Silmaril, escalating through Thingol's paranoia and death, and ending with the Second Kinslaying. Bonus points if there is a very subtle Girdle of Melian leitmotif that has been in the background for all Doriath scenes so far, and abruptly cuts off when Thingol dies and Melian leaves. And we end with baby!Elwing being taken through the woods with the survivors, clutching the Silmaril.

Next episode is the fall of Gondolin. I would really like for there to be a specific leitmotif throughout the show for people (Maedhros, Fingolfin, Hurin, etc.) defying Morgoth, and for it to initially emerge for Maeglin...only to break down. And throughout the episode, Eol's theme keeps getting stronger and stronger, until it fully emerges when Maeglin falls.

We end with tiny!Earendil arriving in Sirion and seeing Elwing, and the Silmaril, for the first time.

This season is going to have to be nine episodes long, because what's left might take up one Silm chapter, but I have too many things I want to do with it. Specifically:

Episode eight opens in the middle of the Third Kinslaying. I don't want it to be dramatic like the other two. I want it to be frightening in its banality. I want it to be very, very disturbing how habituated the Feanorians are to this now.

When Elrond and Elros first appear...something shifts. It's not really like the world-apart, fairytale vibes of the Beren and Luthien episode, but there is something Different about these kids. They're who this whole violent, convoluted story was meant to produce. They're going to build a better world someday.

We spend most of the episode going back and forth between Maglor and Maedhros doing their best to raise these children in a world that is falling apart at the seams, and Earendil and Elwing in a Valinor that is almost unsettlingly pristine after the past couple of seasons that we've spent in an increasingly entropic Beleriand. I want M&M and the twins to camp out in ruins of a place that was built "only" a century ago, and Elwing to wander through a building that she assumes is brand new and expensive, but is actually very average and older than the Silmarils.

At the end, the Valar authorize an army, and we see Gil-Estel rise, and the War of Wrath begins.

Most of the final episode is epic War of Wrath stuff, definitely including the slaying of Ancalagon, definitely also undercut by comedy relief bits of people trying to guess who Gil-galad's parents could be. (It's never revealed.)

In the last third or so, Maedhros and Maglor steal the Silmarils.

When Maedhros takes his out and looks at it, he sees himself as he was back in Valinor, perfect and whole and unbearably innocent. We have this whole golden-lit mini-flashback sequence of him and Maglor just messing around at home, teasing each other. Their brothers are in the background. They are almost unrecognizable.

Maglor glances in a mirror and it shifts back to him in present-day, face twisted in pain and screaming at the Silmaril's burn. Maedhros startles, notices that he's burning, too. He doesn't scream, although he's clearly in pain. He just reaches over, gently brushes the Silmaril out of Maglor's hand and onto the ground, kisses his brother's forehead, and then stands and with a great deal of outward calm, walks over the edge of the nearby lava chasm.

Maglor weeps and can't stop, but he has to when footsteps start approaching. He flees to the shore, and flings the Silmaril in, and stares for a very long moment at the water like he might dive in, too. But then he just turns away with an unreadable expression and vanishes into the fog.

The last moments of the show are spent with Gil-galad and Celebrimbor and Elrond and Elros and Galadriel, talking out what they're going to do now. The world didn't end, but their world sort of did. What do you do with that? What can they possibly build from the ruins around them?

They have to try, is the one thing they all agree on. If they give up, what was even the point of everything in the last 600-odd years? And in any case, they can't possibly do any worse than the mess they and their predecessors just lived through.

Right?

#silmarillion #silm adaptation: the impossible dream #this got...longer than intended #i have opinions on this i guess

16 notes · View notes

tao-of-osblaine · 11 months

Text

Down the Adam Taylor Rabbit Hole

Part 3

'Lost Family' // 'A Family Reunited'

‘Lost Family’

Most of the time this theme appears, it's pretty straight forward. It wasn't until rewatching all of these scenes that I realized the connection it has to Nick, June, and Holly reuniting in 4x09

1x01 Hannah Flashback

”Does she remember me? Please, God, let her remember me.”

This scene lays the groundwork for other moments of familial loss throughout the series to share the same musical theme

1x10 // 2x04

Luke & Moira are reunited in Canada as she was on his list of family

June's voiceover monologue before being taken by The Eyes

Flashback to Luke & June’s conversation after his voicemail to Annie. June feels guilty for her part in breaking up a marriage…he does not.

After the ‘fucked up baby shower’ when June reminisces about giving away gifts from Hannah’s shower. Serena did not appreciate the trip down memory lane.

2x07

From Moira’s flashbacks of giving up Gavin and running into Odette months later to seeing the pictures of Odette's body in one of the binders of 'unidentified persons'

2x10 // 2x13 // 3x13 "Reunions"

2x10 // June’s heartbreaking goodbye to Hannah at the lake house

2x13 // Serena saying goodbye to Nichole before handing her back over to June

3x13 // Kiki (Rebecca) being reunited with her father. Right after this is when the music drifts into the 'Beautiful Sorrow' theme but it's all part of the same title, "Reunions"

4x03

June sees Hannah, realizes that Hannah is afraid of her and no longer recognizes her as being her mother

Gymnasium flashback voiceover which also drifts into the 'Beautiful Sorrow' theme

4x05 "Come with Me, or Stay and be Ofsteven" // 4x06 "Moira Convinces June to get Examined"

It’s very subtle in 4x05 but it’s there

June considers Janine to be family and I love that this theme is used for their relationship as well as the more traditional views of family

4x08 "Maybe We Can Just Move On" // 4x09 June finding the picture of Hannah

For the record, that's the same face I make every time I watch that scene from 4x08

5x03 // 5x08

5x03 Nick and June's phone call

The music appropriately plays throughout the entire scene as June desperately asks about Hannah, Nick tells her he has obligations now (Rose), they talk about Nichole, and Nick has the dream sequence that gave us the only Osblaine kiss of the season

5x08 "Lawrence's Offer for June" // June telling Holly/Nichole that she wants her to know her big sister

Lawrence teases June with the prospect of being reunited with Hannah and Nick if she comes to New Bethlehem

It's not as evident but the theme appears again briefly in 5x08 after June sings "I'll Be Your Mirror" like she did with Hannah in the flashback from 2x13

1x06

I drove myself crazy with this one but I swear I hear it. It’s not an exact match so I don't know if it was intended to fit in with the other scenes or not. Regardless, while it definitely has hints of the 'Lost Family' theme (especially if listened back to back with the 5x03 phone call), it eases into the classic ‘Nick & June’ theme as she's leaving and continues as she's daydreaming while Fred is babbling

'A Family Reunited'

4x09 "June, Nichole Meet Nick"

It wasn't until I was had done my AT rewatch that I noticed the similarities with the music in 4x09. It's a variation of the same music as the 'Lost Family' theme with the biggest difference being that it's switched to a major key. It's a beautiful way to echo the idea that these three are a family and for the moment at least, they are not lost, but reunited. It has its differences but both themes undoubtedly share the same backbone ♥️🫂

#Adam Taylor #the handmaids tale #parallels #music #osblaine #osblaine endgame

22 notes · View notes

jaggedwolf · 4 days

Text

pll rewatch 1x15-1x16

my poor little meow meow is here...Paige has arrived and is causing problems (and accidentally giving the liars a clue). these couple of episodes also have a Spencer-Emily and Hanna-Aria split to them.

oh Paige...we're just gonna talk about all of her and Emily's stuff first because jaggedwolf is biased like this

even in my peak PLL fandom I didn't rewatch their S1 scenes often, so it is an interesting experience to view them again after all these years

blah blah drowning scene happened blah blah, I shall spare you the obvious statement that it was (bad and violent) intimidation and not a murder attempt

most interesting to me is that in their very first scene together, at the poolside, Paige doesn't come across as antagonistic - instead, she's almost pleased that Emily's back for the full season.

and then gives us that very painful captain-related speech (is she currently captain? are they in the process of deciding captaining?) before being super aggro to Emily

I adore Emily's response here, telling Paige to suck it up and work harder if she cares so much. No one other than the two of them witnesses it, so no one gives Emily the credit she deserves for this - she wasn't lying when she told Spencer she handled it, and it is very possible Paige would've backed down at this point

ofc spencer spencers it up, so that is not to be

also intriguing is that Paige assumes a level of plotting to Emily's choices - that Emily is gunning for captain, that Emily snitched to Coach Fulton and then didn't weirdly didn't say anything to Coach when it was the three of them

it's the first time we've seen someone assume that of Emily, and we've had 14 episodes showing us that Emily is the most direct of the Liars, so it's a jarring assumption

one that works well with some later stuff though, so I like it

Coach Fulton ILU but deciding the relay anchor the morning of your swim meet via a swim-off between your best two swimmers is an insane choice, don't you want them rested?? for the sake of my sanity and my meager investigations into high school sports seasons, I'm going to assume this meet is an early season friendly that is meaningless

also for the sake of Paige's swimming career ig bc she misses the meet, due to wiping out in the rain, due to riding off sadly in the rain away from Emily's house

even Paige's apology in the rain is ??? inducing for Poor Emily, haha, but I enjoy how pathetic she looks here. I'll note that this apology scenes comes not right after the drowning but after the swim-off decision, though there are likely doylist reasons for that

something I like about Emily's S1 stuff with Toby and Paige is that you get the sense of both of them have existed in Emily's periphery for a while now - Toby is her neighbour, Paige is on the swim team

and so Paige knows where she lives, they have each other's phone numbers, etc

forgot that Paige straight up says "how easy it would be if I just wiped out", hm.

the sudden music for the final swimming scene kills me, I had zero memory of that

Spencer's choice of DVD rental movie star is jake gyllenhaal, it is 2010, I wonder what her favored jake gyllenhaal movie is. also if Hanna followed the subsequent tswift drama.

anw, Spencer's instinctive caretaking re: the liars is sweet and sad to me.

sweet because it really does seem to happen without conscious thought, like asking if anyone wants coffee, making Emily eat pizza, uttering "I'll destroy her" about Paige, and of course, telling the coach behind Emily's back.

sad because you can see the threads of how her parents show her affection - i've taken care of this for you, it's all settled, let's go, you're going to win

anyway we get our first real Spencer-Emily fight this episode and I love it, it's so charged. Emily does not expect to be hurt this way nor does Spencer expect to hurt her

I just love that Spencer had paid attention to the Alison-Emily dynamic to realize that, despite how cold flashback!Spencer is towards the others

and Emily hates being coddled, or protected, or assumed a pushover

Spencer and Toby's nervous little french lessons! Emily is hesitant about Spencer's outreach here, but I'm curious about her own lack of reaching out to Toby - does she feel like she doesn't get to, after she didn't believe him?

really like their scene where Emily is simultaneously cheating off Spencer for homework and Spencer is wondering aloud about Toby while Emily teases her.

Spencer mentions Paige was on her field hockey team and we should all take a moment to contemplate how cursed that freshman year hockey team must've been. Ian as coach is creeping on Spencer, Paige is committing fouls so violent that they get named for her, very sorry for all the other girls on the squad. Imagining Bridget Wu as a bench-warmer taking swigs from her flask.

Hastings household apparently has a housekeeper huh

Spencer's intense argument with Ali in that flashback...excellent...I'd entirely forgotten about it, and I wonder if Ali lived if Spencer would've followed through on ditching her.

AITAH I (15F) unionized my friends (15F, 15F, 15F) against our mean friend-leader (15F) who had secrets on all of us

Every time Spencer speaks to Ian alone I am so creeped out, which means the show is doing a good job, but eughhh. Also eughhh: Melissa waving off that her husband macked on her then-15 year old sister and jumping right to the pregnancy news.

Spencer pissed off Emily so bad that she had to be alone when she visited bead lady and got told "Spencer Hastings" bought the bracelets

though we all should be grateful Spencer took 2 seconds when seeing Paige's gifts to the swim team and that she went "Paige bought these from the same place our bracelets came from" and not "Paige is A!!!!"

the only good thing about the Ezra plot these episodes is that it makes Hanna emo and it makes Spencer tell Aria "you were ready to give me tongue yesterday"

Ashley Marin makes objectively terrible decisions and the show still makes me always on her side. That is the power of Ashley Marin.

can't believe it's Caleb's fault that Ella doesn't find out about Ezra boinking her daughter. In a vacuum, I love it, this kid who doesn't have anywhere to sleep and who needs cash fast decides to kill a teacher's car just because Hanna seems really upset about the teacher getting somewhere.

but looking ahead at how many seasons of Ezra/Aria we have to slog through...you could've shown your affection some other way Caleb

list of places Caleb's bounced around: Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago and then finally little old Rosewood

Spencer has some great outfits these episodes.

In one of these episodes Emily is wearing one of those T-shirts where the back just doesn't exist and I got distracted pondering how it stays on.

feels unfair for Aria to jump to jealousy when Hanna tries to get her to not go to the museum with Ezra, but so it goes, and poor Hanna when she tries to explain herself at the end and doesn't get to

the rosewood shark plushies are very cute and I can't believe this is the first time I've even noticed they existed, I suspect that means they never show up again.

at some point while talking Spencer just sticks her finger in the shark plushie's mouth lmao

I've forgotten so many of these A tags...French lessons on tape while weapons from clue are laid out? Having tea with bead lady? Sure, why not

#pll watching #pll #pll 1x15 #pll 1x16 #jaggedwolf rambles #mine

2 notes · View notes

holographiciceking · 2 years

Text

S2E07 in the eyes of a Happy x Garbage shipper:

I've shipped this since season one so it was fun to write this. Also this has spoilers so go watch the new season first. This is not some polished analysis meant to be critiqued, this is just me having fun writing about one of my fave episodes and ships. I'm too tired to edit this again so please ignore any typos.

For this I'm gonna start with mentioning how sweet past Garbage and Happy's interactions have been in the flashbacks before the friendship starts to crumble. The animators made it so clear how close they are with Happy always reaching to touch Garbage whether just to be close to him or to reassure him and him calling Garbage 'Garb', whether that is to shorten it or to avoid pushing negative connotations on his friend is up to interpretation. Happy even opens up to the corgi about his owner and the bell training he will always have to live with. Garbage is so sweet in return, reaching for Happy just as much as the poodle does for him, helping him up after a bell rings, and asking Happy to teach him to tango as a way to put a positive spin on the bell training (which is the sweetest thing but also the gayest thing.)

In the PRATS break room after Happy accidentally embarrassed Garbage by telling the other future captains about the corgi's low scores, Garbage and Happy almost look longingly at each other. This is the scene that really first stood out to me as romantic or romantic adjacent (I’m not sure what to call pining.) It could really just be just both dogs feeling bad about their past interaction but… meeting each other's gaze across a room while soft, sad music plays in the background? Sounds hella gay to me -‘that moment when you accidentally hurt your crush and best friend’ kind of vibes.

Later Happy finds Garbage sitting on the floor in the hallway and they have this sad moment with Garbage refusing to look at him until Garbage stands up. What I really like about this scene is not the way the shadows on the two are done or how Garbage moving to one side of the hallway could represent the distance growing between them, it's not even Happy's animation though all three are so amazing to me. It's when Garbage asks Happy to train him, Happy is reluctant to agree but gives in any way due to love for his friend and a little, hopefully unintentional, manipulation from Garbage. To me that feels like someone helping out their crush even if it could backfire on them. Garbage is so happy by his agreement that he actually presses close to Happy and it's the cutest thing. I think it's the closest the two get to each other in this episode.

After we get to see how Happy and Garbage’s friendship ended, we’re back in the present where the group now has to fight the ice aliens. Here we get to see Happy and Garbage fighting together. I really enjoyed seeing Garbage step in to cover Happy’s ears so the poodle could fight. It was such a cool scene, getting to see the two work as a team made me really happy. The smile Garbage has and the small nod Happy gives to him really makes the scene complete and helps transition to the next.

As they're getting ready to leave the planet, Happy and Garbage finally reconcile. They shake paws and do a little flirting. One could say it’s banter but it felt like flirting to me -it had a bit of a "Did you jump into fire for me?" kind of tone if you will. Stella literally had to shout at them to get them to stop or they would've probably kept going. Now, I'm gonna just say… if the animators didn't want this to come off romantic (assuming I'm just getting gay vibes from nothing), why did they make Happy and Garbage do the 'look at the other and then look away when the other looks back' trope? Garbage catches Happy towards the end of his look and smiles one of his softer smiles. It just feels too on the nose for it not to be romantic or possibly hint towards past (or future) romantic feelings. The looks feel too longing and sad like they're only now realizing what they've missed out on.

This episode was everything I ever wanted for a Happy and Garbage reconciliation. If we get another season, I hope we get more scenes with these two whether its romantic or not. They’re my favorite characters.

#dogs in space #dogs in space netflix #dogs in space netflix spoilers #dogs in space netflix season 2 spoilers #dogs in space spoilers #happy x garbage #happy garbage #gay dogs in space #the amount of tags ive had to use so far...#might add more screenshots to this later #also im surprised that i only referenced one thing in this lol #will i ever do this again? probably not #i was hesitant to post this but here it is!

56 notes · View notes

share-the-damn-bed · 1 year

Note

First off, you have to excuse my English because I’ll say it’s good but not great yet, but I have learned a ton from constantly reading English books and blogs. Anyway, I found your Tumblr recently and am curious to hear your thoughts on something I realized. Something I haven’t heard talked about is the repeating ties that Jancy’s narrative has to older times (just as Stancy’s narrative does). It’s my unpopular opinion I guess, but as a Stoncy shipper I enjoy both Stancy and Jancy as individual ships—so the fact that each couple have some striking similarities, almost as striking as their differences, kind of makes sense in my mind. But anyway, back to my point. Jancy’s first kiss is set to the sound of Billie Holiday. Their season three plot with Driscoll puts them in an understated, vintage color palette and soundtrack, especially compared to other character’s aesthetics in the third season (bright colors, modern new mall, modern music and Madonna, advanced Russian technology and facilities, and so on). Nancy in the fourth season is pretty heavily tied to the Creels and she is the only character that watches the events unfold of Henry’s childhood in the 1950s Creel house. Jonathan’s clothes also feel like very old, though that also could be hinting at the financial loss of the Byers family. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but overall I do associate Jancy with a different time period, and to me they feel completely disconnected from almost every aspect of the modern Hawkins, like instead they should be off in their own little world and time. All that being said, I find it so interesting that instead, the writers chose to draw Stancy to the past instead, as in the Light Bright room scene, where Nancy reads her diary entry of Steve and realizes they are stuck in old times. Obviously I understand what that was going for, that Nancy has history with Steve and he represents her past self or her roots maybe. But that makes the big question for me (because in my mind I truly am not sure that either couple will be endgame)…could the vintage motifs in Jonathan and Nancy’s love story be hinting at a similar fate to their relationship as Stancy’s probable ending. Is it that the writers think Jonathan, as well as Steve, are holding onto a past version of Nancy and therefore neither boy can be her future in the end? Hell, I am so confused! I think it’s all so interesting though. Anyway, sorry for the long message, but I love your thoughts on Jancy and wondered if you picked up on any of this or if I’m crazy!

Hi Anon! Thanks for the ask, you have some very interesting ideas and points here that I haven’t really considered before. I also appreciate that your thoughts come from an unbiased place as a jancy/stancy/stoncy supporter. That gives you such a unique perspective!

(Also, your English is amazing, truly. And even if it wasn’t as amazing as it is, the fact that you are able communicate in a language you’re not totally comfortable with is amazing!! Take it from me, an American, whose educational system and culture basically deter learning a non-English language so much so that they intentionally “teach” languages way past the known developmentally appropriate time so that students don’t truly learn and retain the language... sorry. Mini rant.)

I guess the major difference when comparing Stancy to Jancy and their connection to the past is that when it happens with Stancy, it is always done so in direct regard to their relationship: we have the Tom cruise poster that Nancy says is “old” which is a direct reference to Steve in season 1 (says Carol thinks he looks like him and calls Tom Cruise Nancy’s “loverboy”) and season 2 (Halloween costumes), we have the diary entry in the Upside Down (UD) that follows with a Stancy flashback that I think is there to show that not only is the UD stuck in the past, but stuck on the night Will disappeared, specifically. We also see Vecna bringing up Nancy and Steve’s first time having sex to taunt Nancy about Barb’s death and place blame on Nancy.

I think so much of the Stancy scenes in ST4 and all the Stancy scenes throughout the show that reference their past allude to one thing: Barb. I will forever be angry that Nancy’s Vecna moment finally facing Barb’s death and the weight of that guilt got completely overshadowed by Vecna’s big reveal in ST4 only to never be referenced again. And, I think so much of Nancy’s guilt is intertwined with Steve and there’s so much unresolved there.

I made a post during the break between ST4 vol. 1 and 2 detailing how the current season threw in so many references to the night Steve and Nancy broke up, where she called him “bullshit” and blamed Barb’s death on them. I also talked about how their relationship (platonic, romantic, or otherwise) is stuck on that night, where they’re not able to move past that until they pick up that bathroom conversation which, I believe, will ultimately help Nancy move on from the weight of Barb’s death. That’s honestly why I think Stancy has returned for Nancy’s character arc. I think Steve letting Nancy go or realizing he doesn’t need a romantic partner is his arc. But I am biased and I’ll freely admit that.

So Stancy’s ties to the past are directly linked to their romantic relationship (and usually those early days of that relationship). Jancy, on the other hand, do have these historical allusions but this history is not associated with their actual relationship at all. I think the only time Jancy really refer to their own past is when they discuss “what happened” to them between ST1 & ST2 at the motel and when Jonathan references Murray at the end of ST3.

I believe in season 2 the choice to have jazz music at Murray’s play was to promote their scenes as their romantic. In the will-they-won’t-they prelude to their first kiss, the lyrics playing aptly describe the situation: “I want you so now / You have the lips I love to touch / You'd better go now, you'd better go / Because I like you much, too much.”

In season 3, the music choice at Mrs. Driscoll’s may be related to her age or they could be playing up the old-timey reporter duo trope from, like, the 1940s. It is interesting too that other old-timey music (i.e. We’ll Meet Again – Vera Lynn) was used in ST3 without connection to Jancy/Mrs. Driscoll. I genuinely don’t know what that means, but,since the music was in reference to supernatural occurrences (flayed victims/Meat flayer) it could be a reference to Henry/001/Vecna since that would be the era of music he is familiar with, just like how “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was used to announce his presence in Max’s happy memory in ST4. (That would be super cool if that was the case!)

In terms of clothing and Jancy, the costume department and creative teams have always been very explicit that clothing choices for the Byers are made with their financial situation in mind. It’s been years, but there have been interviews and articles that mention that Jonathan’s wardrobe in season 1 is “older” due to probably being bought second-hand or trying to make the clothes last longer. We even see in ST1 that one of his sweaters (his beautiful cream one <3) has moth holes in the collar. We also see Joyce wearing Jonathan’s old shirts, Jonathan wearing multiple clothing staples across seasons, and costuming discussed how the boy’s Ghostbusters’ outfits in ST2 are all different depending on what each family was able to afford (Mike’s family was able to buy the newest, best costume from the store while Joyce was shown hand making pieces of the costume for Will throughout the first two episodes).

Additionally, while promoting ST3 costuming mentioned that Nancy’s (and by the transitive property, Jonathan’s) outifts were inspired by her boyfriend’s New Wave tastes (brighter colors, sharper patterns and lines, iirc) So, I think their outfits are not exactly supposed to make us conjure up images of previous decades.

Because of how different the concept of “the past” is used for Stancy (directly tied to their relationships’ past) and Jancy (vintage motifs that could very much be unrelated to their relationship), I don’t think the situations are comparable. You mention that both boys may be “holding onto a past version of Nancy and therefore neither boy can be her future” but I think the narrative has only suggested that for Steve, and only partially.

I would argue that Steve’s not even holding onto a past version of Nancy, I think he is romanticizing their relationship with an idealistic (not an accurate) version of Nancy at the center. When Steve mentions his dream of Nancy being his wife and mother to their six nuggets, this doesn’t sound like future Nancy but it also doesn’t sound like the Nancy he previously dated. This is why I think Steve’s arc will involve letting Nancy go/finally getting closure on their relationship and seeing it for what it was.

Jonathan, alternatively, recognizes Nancy’s ambition, sees her for who she is, and is very much supportive of Nancy’s future and the future she wants for herself; so much so that he deeply fears holding her back and is willing to let her go so she can succeed (when what he should actually do is talk to her. I don’t want to romanticize his approach: it’s bad and it’s actively hurting Nancy, but I do think one can sympathize with his actions while agreeing there’s a better approach).

You also mention that “[Jancy] feel[s] completely disconnected from almost every aspect of the modern Hawkins, like instead they should be off in their own little world and time” and I completely agree. It’s like when they’re interacting on screen together, they’re the only two present. Part of that is because when they speak with one another it's always in this quiet, intentional way. Idk what else to add, this is just actually one of my favorite things about them.

Thank you so much for the ask, Anon! This was a lot of fun and forced me to consider things in ways I haven’t thought about before. Also, a huge thank you to @p-zombiee for talking this through with me (as it is super confusing and I kept getting lost in it myself!)

#jancy #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #anti stancy #jic

8 notes · View notes

bylertruther · 2 years

Text

thinking out loud here, but i'm still not over just how much will has been able to grow into himself even despite all of the outside forces in his life trying to prevent that.

in a pre-season one flashback, we see will wanting to go to a baseball game with lonnie even if he doesn't actually like the sport, because he wants to spend time with his father. he's hesitant to say anything negative about lonnie trying to force him to like "normal" boyish things and doesn't stick up for his own interests. jonathan then encourages him to like what he likes regardless of what anyone thinks and tells him that he especially shouldn't be listening to lonnie who we know has abused will for being gay. it ends with will saying that he genuinely does like the clash, being given jonathan's mixtape, and happily headbanging along to the beat. it's a step in the right direction and i feel that it, and the way that will is so unapologetically will and thus surrounds himself with all that he loves, proves that his brother's support worked. will knows that he can like what he likes, that he doesn't have to conform to other people's beliefs of what he "should" like, and that there are people who will support him and his interests.

in season two, we see that will is struggling now with the last part of this ordeal: other people's lack of support in him and his interests. will continues to be a nerdy artsy little dweeb, but he's struggling with feeling like an outcast. it's worse now because of the whole upside down stuff: now, instead of just being a fairy or a nerd, he's mostly zombie boy. at school he continues to get bullied and his friends and family's support has changed. instead of being comforting, it's now smothering. they treat him like a baby, like he could shatter at any moment, and that makes him feel like a freak. that's what upsets him. he doesn't want to change himself, he wants to change how people view and treat him. he doesn't resent who or what he is, he resents how others treat him as a result of it. it isn't "why am i this way?" it's "why do you all have to treat me like that? why must you make me feel bad for something that isn't bad? why don't you believe in me or see me?" and it's that treatment which leads him to calling himself a freak--something we haven't seen or heard him do before, and this is because now he feels like he has no one (except for mike) that sees him for who he was and still is. and again, jonathan offers will support. he reassures will that he isn't anything Bad, that he's cool and his Otherness is what makes him even better and cooler. that conforming is bad, because when did anyone "normal" ever accomplish anything? he manages to somehow find a silver lining in will's feelings of being excluded/other / changes his perspective on it and makes him feel better. he also then takes what will said to heart by giving him more space to be independent and letting him go trick or treating on his own; aka, he quits treating will differently and treats him as he would treat anyone else, which means the world to will because that's what he wants: equal treatment. it isn't his otherness that makes him feel like a freak, but the way that people treat him that does.

in season three, will is undeterred in his efforts to get the party to play games like they used to. he trudges on even when they keep saying no and sets up his game anyway. he dresses up for it, plays music for it, and really throws himself into being the dm, trying his best to immerse them all in this and have fun for once without caring to be "cool" or "grown up". will is treated as being childish for this, but he's really not. he doesn't give a fuck about being cool or what he should or shouldn't be doing at his age, as if games have an age limit and you're supposed to suddenly drop all of your interests for more boring things when you become a teenager. he continues to be himself unapologetically until his best friends make a joke out of him and his efforts. at the end of the season we see will donate his dnd books, but he isn't throwing this away forever or ashamed of it. he just has no intention of joining another party and so he won't need them in the meantime and wants to give them to someone who'll actually use them. he even tells mike as much by saying he'll just borrow his stuff if they still want to play. we're reminded of how he hasn't given up on dnd in season four, too, which shows him painting their party and telling mike about them playing games for the rest of their lives (something that mike tried to use against him in their fight, which again... will didn’t shrink away from. he said yes, yes i do want that, and left mike to sit in his shame for it). he hasn't given up on his interests, he's just done trying to beg them to partake in them with him.

and thennnn in season four we undoubtedly see will being even more open and more himself, even if it presents differently than we've seen it before. he picks alan turing for his hero presentation that he has to give in front of the entire class. he spends so much time on a secret "for his crush bc he's been acting weird" painting that's for mike and literally puts a cute heart on his shield lol. he's been acting weird and different to the point where el picks up on it and thinks he has a crush and so does jonathan when he actually spends sober time with him later on. this is the first time that anyone has clocked will on screen, which means he's been acting differently/more openly than he has before and it's obvious to those that observe him and know him. he clearly wants to tell mike about his feelings, but is too scared and doesn't want to hurt him or his sister. (and this was told to us by the duffers.) he's dropping domers on mike time after time in each and every heart to heart, many of which are secretly alluding to his sexuality or his feelings for him. he sings neverending story without caring. he tells mike they could all commit fraud in vegas so that they never have to work and could just play games for the rest of their lives. he literally confesses his love for mike and pours his heart out while gifting him the painting but then slaps el's name on it because he needs to get it out but doesn't want to hurt his friendship with mike. and then when jonathan confronts him in the kitchen he tells will what he's always told him year after year: that he will always be there, will always support him, will always love him, and that there isn't and never has been anything about will that could change his love for him. and will knows what jonathan is talking about here. it's no longer about sports or being babied. he knows that jonathan is talking about his feelings for mike/his sexuality. and he doesn't shy away from it or deny it. he accepts jonathan's love and says he'll always be there for him, too. he lets jonathan see him and the relief of that fucking breaks him because for once he has someone to help shoulder the burden of keeping it a secret, even if just for a moment.

like... i just don't have the words to describe how much i love will. will, who could very easily internalize the hate that people have had for him his entire life, but doesn't. will, who could very easily believe that his otherness, whether it be trauma or sexuality related, is something that makes him Bad, but doesn't. instead he feels better for it when he's with those that know and love him, who don't treat him any differently than anyone else. will, who is strengthened by love. will, who has been hurt and refuses to hurt others. will, who has been through so much more than he ever deserved, but has come out stronger because of it.

i just... i love him! so much! so, so, so much! his story is heartbreaking, but so inspiring, too, and it'll continue to turn around next season when he sees that he's surrounded by people who love him more than anything and don't think any differently of him for any reason, no matter what; when he realizes and truly believes that he is and always has been their equal, and that there's nothing that could ever change that.

#will #mine #It's Loving Will Byers Hours #also im mobile so im not rereading if there are egregious mistakes no there arent<3 #he's going to be so powerful in s5 and i can't wait!!!!!!!

27 notes · View notes

castle-dominion · 9 months

Text

castle 6x16 room 147

the cult hypnosis episode liveblog

(side note I can't believe they didn't have dever & huertas-- heck I would have loved the OTHER dever to do an audio commentary. The castle's dad one had the audio instead which, like, valid ig.) Anyway I'm on a new dvd now, which is why I am complaining about the lack of (my preferred) bonus features.

Not QUITE the same mess lol

KABOOM I loove alexis sm <3 <3

Oof I'm quitting my job to go to school I can't imagine having a job & a non-job & a tutoring gig & paying a lease & holy crap I am so privileged

Yay calling him Sito.

were not was

Jane: He didn’t have to. Good looking guy, no bags, checking in for one night?

that's a flip phone... Plenty of people have their own website. too bad the guy doesn't have imbd tho

random lady yelling.

Love esposito's outfit! so chill!

You never get a confession this early in an ep. u KNOW smth's going to go down. Is there going to be another one really fast like this where they solve it hella fast & after the third murder with an instant confession they get suspicious?

Ah she has an alibi! Is she confessing to cover for someone else?

Love the doodle. Maybe it was a code to whoever is going to read her confession I love the flashbacks. While I'm here, the door opened on the left, attached on the right. I don't think it was like that in the crime scene. wdym you don't think so?

someone is making her confess to their crime that's why this stuff is happening.

Yeah that's how addiction is alright.

I loooove how she doesn't remember! Anita Miller: No, from me!

RC: What about forensics? Did CSU come up with anything? JE: Yeah, a hotel room in New York City? (he shudders) They found all kinds of fun stuff. (not clipping)

Clipping the theory part. unless there was a tall/cext to the phone you don't have!

Doc holloway's back!!!!

Ryan & me: Two weeks? Wait a minute, that’s how long Anita says she’s been feeling blurry.

RC: As much as I love a good mystery, a small part is hoping he can give us some clarity on what the hell is going on.

idk why I find the "ask for help" poster with the guy crying in their hands so humerous. Maybe bc it reminds me of the cotton eyed joe meme I made. Me: *just commit autosurgery trying to cut off my own breast* My surgical tape: *won't stick* Me: *crying* my adhd: IF IT WEREN'T FOR COTTON EYED JOE I'D BE MARRIED A LONG TIME AGO

Love background artists.

I need details.

I love love love the way it goes with the filming. POV filming. (markiplier moments, girl hand, man hand, we also need a black guy. Like that aone scene where you have three hands at some point bc you're picking up the artifact, swapping the teddy bear, holding his nose so he doesn't sneeze, & every single movement is a different person's hand. for Diversity. We need a left-handed person now tho.

Because he did what to you? aiy dee kay. Love the music sm KB, explaining like bonvolio: Yeah, you and Anita Miller are working together on this. You’re either covering for each other or you’re covering for someone else out there.

love how there are two interrogation rooms. She's very adamant that she did this. Why not take the out? "So I didn't kill him? I'm hella confused after all..."

Get doc holloway back here. RC: What if their lives intersect, just not in such a literal sense? Me, just participating in the fictional canadian character poll: ramona flowers? powers? renata? Hold on... scott pilgrim dreams is what I'm saying.

RC: (dryly) Really? Alternate universe? That’s how little you think of me? RC in a future episode: *goes to an au where lanie is preggo & rysposito is canon. unless that was just a fanfic i read...)

I love her ring KB: (off is look) I’m sorry, it’s just, you got excited. It’s kind of cute. RC: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know how I like the weird stuff. Me: SEASON ONE

WHAT'S nothing? on your phone there?

I LOVE this kid, this absolute child. radar oreilly vibes off him, esp with castle's psychic link theoryu.

OUTSTANDING! LOVE THE WORDS! consistency bc of slaughter! "I need to confess!" 'take a number'

"She remembers bc she thought it looked suspicious" that's the only reason someone WOULD remember! & the only reason they'd take a pic.

a big bald man!

It's just a doodle. It is a celtic knot holy trinity sign, no? the van you've been disoriented. How long have you had that symbol in your head? KB: this is important! Dwight: *I killed a guy but fuck ok bestie*

Assertiveness training I love this tranny sm. He needs to get on testosterone.

Sometimes THEY scrub footage, sometimes it's the detectives...

her phone again. what is even going on with that?

I love it. love the way she picks up her jacket, the boys, she's coming back to work this late at night in an hour... I love these folks this family their dynamics their movements & body language I thouht it was jim not alexis. Peter's cafe/bistro

Her face. she is rolling her eyes & I love alexis & I love her bangs & I love alexis & the alexis-kate relationship kjsdflkjkldjfsd It IS pride! Ooh music!!

Love those two cops smiling in the elevator. IT implies that there was a conversation in there that we missed.

Me: native Esposito: also technically native EHI: *kills ppl in their "sweat lodge initiation"*

lmao SO culty he talks so slow. Need to speed this up. good gravy. Ooh I only just noticed her eyeliner. love it.

this place reminds me of japan. Why is he expecting? Oh maybe bc he killed the guy! ooOOooh! SHUT THE DOOR SHUT THE DOOR BY WHICH I MEAN NO DON'T SHUT THE DOOR YOU'RE GOING TO BE TRAPPED THIS IS MY PARANOIA KICKING IN.

Love the art of himself on the walls. Where is that? Sweden? years????

Bauer: I’m struck by the level of your hostility, Detective. It’s not healthy. RC: You know what I’m struck by is your total lack of curiosity as to why a homicide detective is asking about your employee. "little group" THOUSANDS of members across the globe! RC: Wow. That’s – amazing, how you would just know what off the top of your head. Bauer: I make a point of meeting every member of my EHI family. The people you mentioned are not among them. Me: thousands of members & you have met every one sure but u remember every one?

Bauer: *looks to the side offscreen* RC: *looks to the side too* *realizes* *rolls his eyes up* Me: I do the same thing when my brothers are standing behind me irl & annoying me so I whip around to face them...in minecraft

btw what is that glass thing on there?

grande poobah??? his what???

RC: So all three of our confessors have had problems in their lives. Alcoholism, anger management, assertiveness issues, all things that they could have gone to EHI to treat.

that's true! RC: Wipe memories. Think about it. The fogginess, the confusion over the last two weeks? KR: So you’re saying that a glorified self-help group can erase memories? How? Doc H: With drugs.

Me: *seen the s7 premier* Memories actually change all the time. Outstanding! Love the words! KR: Castle, do you have any idea how insane that sounds? I would clip that but meh RC: Just not in person. Me: Not your psychic theory again!

"Ok he did NOT flirt with me" (why does the woman's vers need to be flirty tho? /gen q for EHS or w/e their name was)

Just letting them continue to argue lol

KB: Yes, a genius at annoying me. (not clipping) RC: Yes, a genius at annoying me. KB: (aside) I’m starting to feel the urge.

the door opens the wrong way THE DOOR OPENS THE WRONG WAY THEY MENTIONED IT RIGHT AFTER MEEEE (tho I have seen it too) wait all these rooms have the same painting? srs?

the way ryan says "su'm" instead of something, I looove it. kinda hate it tho.

CSU: Detective, I traced the signal from Bauer’s video conference with Beckett. JE: So where in Stockholm is he? CSU: That’s the thing. The signal was routed through Stockholm, but it looks like it originated from a local IP address. JE: Local, as in Manhattan? CSU: As in inside this building.

Love esposito's giant coats & layers & stuff.

that hand is slim, but pretty masculine. He smiles but idk if it is flirtatious. None of the suspects said that the bathroom door was open. Why do they know his name tho? Two versions, one for women & another for men? You don't have one for left-handed ppl or someone who maybe can't use or doesn't have their right hand, for Black ppl, for any poc, for ppl who are women but don't want to smile flirtatiously with justin, for fat ppl...

Someone from the crew, yeah you do need a bunch more ppl than just justin, the suspects, & the head of ehi.

At least she pronounced her T. Oof the music. it's so good.

Aw dwight never got to confess slkdjfslkdfjl these three have become friends & I love it sm. Friendship forged in a situation like this.

KB: It’s okay, Castle. You know I like the weird ones. Me: YES YES SJDLFSJKDFLSJDKLFJDS THIS IS THE SERIES

KB: (slyly) How do you know what I do to you when you’re sleeping?

Alexis!!!

#mom no look #castle 6x16 #castle 6x16 spoilers #castle 6x16 quote #the cult hypnosis episode

2 notes · View notes

mimiri22-6 · 2 years

Text

Since I have concluded that one of my favorite og posts still hold up after watching the netflix ver of Bee and Puppycat, I will be repeating it for more people to see my 3 day long essay that was my pinned post for 2 years

Without further adieu, my spoiler heavy essay of every season 2 episode of Bee and Puppycat with updated notes

Gentle Touch

In the first episode we already get a big game changer for Bee and her development[not as much now because with the new first episode they Did sprinkle in a bit more responsibility onto her. See; Bee taking the fire for Deckard]. Bee becoming more responsible as a favor for Deckard. He asks her to take care of his family while he’s at cooking school and we already see her doing this. Going out to the ocean with Wesley, going out of her comfort zone for people she’s practically family to, which is why we got the beginning flashback, once again going out of her comfort zone to stop Puppycat from punching kittens, And Finally, coming out from her nap cupboard to face Howl and help pay for bills by eating ugly food.

Little Fingers

Ooh, this one has foreshadowing dream sequence. I would say more about it if it had more significance, but it’s really just what happens to Bee in the last ep. This episode brings more of Bee being responsible, trying to take her phone away from Puppycat so he stops making bad purchases. This episode made me realize what Puppycat’s role is this season, the child[not really, I even knew this then, it doesn't fit. It's weird and I still don't know how to put it. Sometimes he's responsible sometimes not. Maybe that's just how people work]. Or something among those lines. He’s the same as he was last season, but it seems/is a bit more exaggerated because Bee isn’t doing the same things anymore[Again, it's been a bit retconned]. She’s started to care about consequences. And speaking about consequences, Toast announces she’s pregnant while confirming that she’s been staying…in Cass’s room?…weird, but ok, and by Tim pointing and Merlin’s reaction, it’s Merlin’s…but also everyone else seemed like they thought they were the culprit and I don’t want to think about the implications of that[I Still don't wanna think about the implications of this -_-]….MOVING ON-OH WAIT, And Cardamon’s mom is spouting magic tears that messes with the plants, so there’s that[I. Still. Have no idea. What the deal with the tears. Where. All I can think of is...bring life?? Her implied being a magical entity because of the music box? Makes?...Something????].

Snow and Violets

I’m going to be honest, I’m not 100% sure what to put here and I’m loosing steam. (I’ve been awake since 3 am…) But I think I can put something. The situation with Mr. Cup is the definition of being haunted by your past[Man, I was on the money w/ this. Well, mostly. As I was watching it again earlier, I was thinking more along the lines of 'redeemed villain' but not that extreme. Just overall, someone that did things they aren't proud of anymore and they can't seem to leave it. See; the entire world is a looping racetrack in the shape of an infinity symbol]. The guilt and regret of cheating in the past has made him lose his motivation to give it his all in racing because, what’s the point? Motivation and not caring was his norm, so he just stuck with it. Until Bee, and now he can be a rainbow and sleep with less guilt and regret on his conscience. The thing with the island rapidly changing could be one of three things. Something to do with the ship that is the island, a metaphor for change, or something really cool the creators just wanted.

Day off Work

Not Too much to note for this ep overall. Puppycat totally did do the ‘wrecking the house in search for the owner’ thing dogs do. Finally, a dog trait! Every time I see Cardamon now I just get sad cause he’s 7, and should Not be doing landlord stuff. Bee showing worry about how Cardamon’s mom is still asleep and being worried about Cardamon himself, I’m just glad someone’s noticing. I keep forgetting that some people haven’t watched the pilot so they don’t know about Puppycat being a Space Outlaw[Now the pilot is in the showw, hell yeah], so when he found all his stuff under the apartment I was less surprised and more excited. The two last things I want to say is I think it’s interesting/cool/intriguing how the Wizard family just takes every weird thing either in stride, unquestioningly, or ignorance. Just trying to pretend it didn’t happen so they don’t have to deal with it(other than Crispin, but he’s coming up). And the last thing I just want to bring to light is CARDAMON BEING SO CUTE IN THE LAST SCENE! JUST BEING A CHILD! AND LAUGHING WITH HIS DOG! ON A FUNNY CHAIR! I LOVE HIM YOUR HONOR AND I WILL PROTECT THAT SMILE WITH MY WHOLE BEING!!![I WILL STILL PROTECT THAT SMILE!!!]

My Favorite

Note, Pretty Patrick is also The Mayor. Alright. It’s definitely been a few months and you can see the relationship between Howl and Bee has gotten better, not that it was too bad to begin with, just a bit less peeved on Howl’s end. The theme of Bee being responsible is brought into play again with the train station scene. Telling Puppycat to not hit and the way Puppycat was acting around Patrick. All little kid stuff. Which also kind of clashes with what I thought was Puppycat being older than Bee by a lot, I’m honestly slowly getting more and more confused exactly how I should perceive Puppycat[still a bit confused, but not as much anymore, thx show]. THE FIRST REAL LOOK AT THE HAND GUYS! I’m still not sure what their deals are, but they have a corpse on their hands and that is already the biggest red flag. I have a guess as to what/who they are in relation to Puppycat and, by acquaintance, Bee, but I could be wrong, but I also can’t think of any other people they may be. I’ll bring it back up either the next time we see them or at the end.

Did You Remember

Grampa Puppycat cares about his granddaughter a whole lot[gosh that scene where he's babysitting her? T-T man, guys, I love them and this show]. Don’t @ me, their dynamic is more confusing than a moving maze…Now this episode, ooh boy, it feels like a lot, but in a minimal way? First off, Cardamon finally breaks down about the stress of being a 7 year old landlord and Bee takes care of him for the day. Big Sis Bee For The Win! DON’T @ ME I MAKE UP MY OWN FAMILY DYNAMICS!!![YOU TELL 'M PAST ME!] Kind of continuing from the first sentence, Puppycat and Bee love each other(I Stand By Platonically For Them)[Still severely do. I Do Not Shipp It. I never have and I never will] so much already, for them it’s been a little over a year[reading this, I just realized this isn't true, puppycat knew bee when she was little(I still think she was a real girl at some point but she got sick and her dad put her in a robot-OH MY GOD I AM REMEMBERING THE SCENE ON THE BEACH AND HER DAD SAYS SHE WAS ASLEEP FOR 3 DAYS ALREADY! SHE WAS YOUNG! OH NO)] considering Puppycat fell into Bee’s life before her last birthday and now they’re celebrating another one. And I must admit, I can not for the life of me figure out wtf the deal is with the tears. They have little shapes of recent events in them[If the tears are never fully explained, especially the little precognition shapes, I think I would actually loose it] and they make plants weird/straight up just make life! Like, What Even Is That?! Also, Cardamon finally gets a good sleep.

Bird Friend

Ok, so we got more ship pieces, a most likely reason as to why Puppycat was Like That in the last few episodes of season 1 and has been goopy every now and again in this season. Apparently eating things he shouldn’t eat make him Extremely off model and goopy[mmmm, I'm not sure about this one anymore. the onnly other time he's goopy now, that I can remember, is in little fingers, like his molecules were being messed with so his form was having trouble staying]. More hands! But not the rest of them this time around. I wonder if Sticky’s hunt for all the birds has any significance other than showing us another piece[the birds are like glowing and following the ship in the last ep now?? Bourgeoisie??]. Puppycat breaking down and spilling a few secrets after stress eating off the floor and Bee immediately saying no to someone else telling her what’s wrong with Puppycat and letting him come to her first instead of forcing him is always such a good lesson to have. Also, Cass is into weirdly shaped shiny things[CONFETTIIII CANNONNNN! 🎉].

Two Clown Noses

Ah, it’s this one. The one that Really throws a wrench into the Bee/Deckard ship[I no longer shipp]. THEY’RE BOTH SO CUTE! I CAN’T CHOOSE!!! This entire episode is just Crispin and Bee hanging out with the added angst of the beginning ‘story’. This world is full of such amazingly crazy characters and Crispin’s backstory is one of those crazier ones. Bee and him Lived Together and Know Each Other, he knows she’s a robot! My only question is, what happened that they broke up? WAIT- DID THEY EVEN BREAK UP?![reading this, I am embarrassed. No one look at me.] It would be weird if they weren’t because they were living together and then they decide to live separate again would make no sense. I think I just jumped to the weirdest conclusion…Anyway! How would Puppycat get sick? I feel like that was just another thing they added to create different dynamics. The beginning birthday thing and the conclusion felt so real even though the cause was something so out there that I feel like only animated shows like this could pass, but also I feel like someone out there has done something similar, so what do I know. Yeah, not much else about this episode, it was mostly just Bee/Crispin stuff and character stuff. Gosh they’re so cute…but so is Bee/Deckard. Being a multishipper is hard…[I no longer shipp either, even though both Crispin and Decard still show atraction and admiration for Bee, and Bee is a bit hard to read depending on the situation. But I do know one thing on Bee's end, she has not blushed or shown a certain interest in Deckard. I can not tell what her feelings for Crispin are atm tho]

Funny Lying

RIGHT! THEY’RE CALLED THE WARLOCKS! THAT’S THE TITLE I WAS FORGETTING![Ok, so the Warlords. They only recently started working at...wherever tf they're working at, the jobs are from their dads, presumidly the previous warlords, and their position is to find Puppycat, they most likely work for the kingdom that Turned Puppycat. Conclusion; Their dads were there for the turning, or they're part of a long line of Warlords chasing Puppycat through the years] Tim knows everyone’s secrets, comes with the perk of having a lot of time and not talking much, you observe everyone else while they think you’re doing something else. I know from experience. Eavesdropping is a specialty of mine. SHIT THIS IS THE ONE WHERE CASS GETS THE MESSAGE DISSING HER FOR FALLING FOR TOAST FROM A COWORKER! I caught those vibes during the first season, but then the first half of this season came along and I was forced to drop those vibes in favor of cannon because TOAST WAS PREGOS WITH ONE OF CASS’S BROTHER’S KIDS![Which is now Toast going through any means neccesary to stay in Cass' life. Other than asking her out. Hate to break it to ya, Toast, but this is, somehow, not heterosexual behavior] I’m good at catching gay vibes in fictional worlds, but I’m shit in the real world, just like everything else. And the thing is, we don’t get Any kind of explanation/closure for the entire rest of the season![WE STILL DON'T] We see Toast totally shocked reaction, probably moments before she was going to sneak attack Cass, but froze upon seeing that text. AND WE GET NOTHING ABOUT THAT FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON! Anyway, that was only like 2 minutes into the ep, this is taking forever. We got more Bee being responsible for Cardamon and getting rid of the tears, but the biggest part of this episode is undoubtedly Puppycat’s scenes. We got him sinking to the bottom of the ocean and getting cradled by flowers created by the tears next to the ship. We find out he was bullied and ridiculed in school as a kid and his best friend(idk what else they would be counted as), Violet, convinced him to leave their planet after they accidently summon their ship, leaving Puppycat’s mother behind. seeing how he cried about leaving her she seems to have been a great caretaker and he loved her immensely[Was she...Already dead?? His declaration of how he's going to miss his mom feels more subdued]. We get the scene of Bee’s dad as a baby/Very young child on a mission[WHICH REMINDS ME! WTF WAS GOING ON IN THAT REPAIR SCENE IN EP 3????], giving a presentation, and finding the candy to be a source of energy by cracking it open. Making me think, ‘Is that Bee’s fuel source? If it is, how would not taking full doses for two years effect her?’ because in the first season she splits the candy in half to share with Puppycat[She no longer does this, but she has shared it w Cardamon in the past, making this question still relevant(also do they really share a bday because if they do then Awwwww!!)] and in this season she didn’t eat the candy at all[This is still cannon, and I'm still worried about her because of how the season ends]. Makes me even more worried for the future knowing what state she’s in when this season ends. With the last flower fever dream/memory it seems that the princess that he fell in love with was the one to make the final move to turning him into a ‘monster.’

Golden Eyes

(I’m getting more and more tired as this goes one. I started doing this at around 12 this morning and now it’s nearing 6 pm. I’m loosing it!) We got another birthday and it’s Howl’s this time, though it’s not really his episode. The fish are attracted to the wish crystals for some reason and one eats a bit of it to be ‘human’ for a day. I love how the fish hated being a human and Wesley didn’t even notice it was a date. I wasn't even sure if it was or not throughout, but ending on that was funny. We got the return of the major douche from the season 1 finally and a mention of Moully[MOULLY!!! :D].

Why Don’t You Help Me?

(I took a break between episodes, aka I went tf to sleep, because I was falling asleep at the table and not really processing everything enough for what I’m trying to do) Ok, so this is a day in the life of Cardamon episode with supposed parelles to the Warlocks. We start with the red one stuck and the others unwilling to help…and then they start drawing Puppycat’s face on the 5th one’s corpse-and these guys just do not care that it’s a dead body that they supposedly killed themselves. In short, they have all my fear because they are uncaring about body counts. Cardamon still goes to school on top of being a self proclaimed landlord and gets made fun of for being responsible and tattling at every chance he gets. Something I just noticed too is, at first I just assumed he was finally getting tired after being an adult in a child’s body for who knows how long, but now I’m thinking if he’s supposed to be asleep with Violet, his mom, then the reason for him being so tired is being awake too long. It could most likely be both, too. Just like Cardamon, I have no idea what all the tears mean. In the most recent one was see Moully as the charm in the center. What’s the pattern with these? Again we see Bee being responsible and taking care of Cardamon, making sure he gets home safe, tucking him in, and pulling an all night favor so he can sleep and get to school in the morning. Speaking of that, I can’t say I like Cardamon’s teachers all that much. I could rant about them, but this is already long and they’re not worth it[No, no I WILL rant about it! Why the FUCK do they Look Like That?! Supposedly, their first hookup was in the bubble, but they're clothes are torn, stained, asymetrical, and just overall a mess durring the whole ep. And I will not take getting down and dirty as an answer because even though they obviously want eachother like that, they do not have the vibes of being together before. I don't wanna think about this anymore, I just don't like them]. My only real question is, why the hell are their clothes so ragged and dirty? Do they not know how to bathe? Just, WTF? (either that or they’re Really not trying to hide their *ahem* activities from the kids, which just makes me want to punch sense into them or something)

Now I’m Really Alone

MOULLY!!!! Sorry, I just love him a lot. From what I can put together, he’s some kind of gift giving being. Giving wishes, exchanging good deeds and quick favors for other good deeds and favors. Just being Really nice and wanting to help everyone he comes across[He's only known a handfull of people for as long as he can remember T-T; his boss, Bee, Deckard, and the Warlords T0T]. This episode makes me see so much in common between Bee and Moully[They are instant brainwave friends your honor]. They both want to help even when they don’t know how. Making messes and finding ways clean up those messes out of guilt and the feeling of obligation. They both have lost things they need to pick up and the knowledge that they have all the time in the world because they’ve both been alive for so long. It keeps getting hinted, but now kind of confirmed, that the Wizard’s know Bee is Weird because they haven’t seen her age[young old lady]. Hell, seeing how she interacts with Cardamon she could have even baby sat them[yep]. So all the Wizard’s know she’s Weird and, supposedly, only Crispin knew she was a robot. That was until Deckard found out in the season 1 finale. Once again bringing up the point of people in the Wizard family finding something out and ignoring it and hiding it. In the season 1 finaly, Tim asked Cass if Deckard wasn’t depressed anymore, practically saying that Deckard has some form of depression. Depression being a mental illness that runs in families, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that some other members of the family have similar problems. One of the things I remember depression doing is the person will see a problem and ignore it. Something that many people in this show do with the weirdness around them and the emotional states/situations of the other people in the show. This season is about finally seeing the thing you’ve been ignoring and doing something about it. And that’s what Bee’s been doing this season, taking charge and finally getting her junk out of the ocean and getting REALLY far out of her comfort zone. She HATES water and the ocean[thinking about the beach scene again, she only hates the water in her older years...], but she’s diving in to take back what’s hers and cleaning up a mess. There’s A Lot to analyze with this episode, the similarities of Moully’s and Bee’s situations and personalities, Puppycat being the responsible one again for the long run of things, the tears and how the wish crystals work, and the state of multiple character’s minds. Ignorance is bliss until it isn’t.

I Won’t Leave You Alone

Ok, SO MANY NOTES! Which makes sense seeing how it’s the last episode. First off, THOSE WARLOCK BASTDARDS VIOLATED MOULLY AND IF THEY WERE REAL I WOULD THROTLE THEM TILL THEIR HEADS POPPED OFF!!! I am a very protective person when it comes to things I care about. And I’m going to say it here and now incase something comes up of it, Cooking Prince gives be Colorful Vibes[he still does, you do not follow someone without knowing their name unless you Like like them. Mans only saw him from a distance and talked to him once. Looking a bit sus there, chap], if you know what I mean. You don’t follow someone home and bother them when they don’t want to be bothered unless you’re Into into them. That’s all I’m saying and if nothing comes of it, I will drop it. I’m barely hanging onto it to begin with[It's been years, I'm holding onto them like a lifeline. I wanna see Deckard and CP kiss onscreen]. So, last episode we watched one of three hands punching the other hands to let Moully go, and in this episode it’s confirmed that the day Moully was pulled through the void, the 5th warlock died. My theory with that is, the 5th one was against getting Puppycat in some way and retaliated by fighting them off of Moully and then the others retaliated by killing them in some way. And the tears in this episode didn’t give life to the corpse, but grew new life over top of it, the tears can’t bring the dead back. The ship gets put back together and we see Puppycat being pretty selfish again[I wish I could say he was bringing it online to take care of the threat, but-it just doesn't seem like it at first. Sure the modivation might have changed durring reconstuction, but that's about as far i think it goes], bringing the ship online while Bee gets scooped trying to help Moully. He indirectly helped, but only after he got what he wanted. Cooking Prince, an outsider, brings up how everything going on on the island is Weird and Cass celebrates someone acknowledging it. Once again, bringing back the ‘ignorance is bliss until it’s not’ thing going on around here. Cardamon does more childish things this episode, making a wish and crying in his mother’s arms. He got to finally let go of his responsibilities and let it out until he passed out, and now he gets to sleep again. Moully and Bee are out of commission and the Wizard’s+Cooking Prince stay one the island/ship to be with Bee even though they are mostly confused about EVERYTHING going on rn. Bee has multiple Bees now while she’s out, and so, they go looking for Bee’s dad. I have a feeling he has at least some white hairs by now.

••••

I remember watching this season for the first time. I remember I definitely cried at multiple points, but I can’t exactly remember what points now. I didn’t cry this time, I was too busy taking everything in and trying to put what little pieces I could find together. The first season was to get us used to this world and get comfortable for a chill ride, but then it smacks you in the face with something much bigger at the very end. This season was to make you pay more attention and to question your surroundings. It was also about the first steps to taking charge of your life. If Bee didn’t do all the responsible things she did this season, the warlocks would have probably gotten Puppycat while the island went to shambles. Actions have consequences and that’s what this was about. I believe next season is why ‘Lazy in Space’ was the title. The characters are going to be in space, looking for Bee’s dad, and will acknowledge all the weird things going on while developing, excuse the pun, in out of this world ways.

I can’t wait for season 3.

#bee and puppycat #bapc

9 notes · View notes

blake-wukong · 2 years

Note

Given the rwby fandom is what it is, I'm hoping there's no romance of any kind going forward in the anime. Toxic shipping corrupted the fandom and the writing in original RWBY and I'd like that stuff far away from the anime. Focus on the stuff that brings fans together not drive them apart.👍

The thing about having a romance subplot & shipping, is that it’s suppose to be fun. It’s suppose to be enjoyable & give audience some sense of relief from the actual plot. It’s just meant to be something to enjoy if you aren’t a fan of romance or shipping or if the ship is straight or not. Sometimes it can contribute to world building.

What ruins it are the people. In RWBY’s unique case it’s the lack of proper character writing AND the people.

Somebody mentioned this before & even hbomberguy also provided evidence that the characters Ruby, Weiss, Blake, & Yang, were all just fighting styles & colors before they were flushed out characters. Monty would animate the fights first & THEN Miles & Kerry would write the story to piece it all together.

I have said this before a long time ago, but I only ever touched on it briefly. Having improper or unfinished characters can lead the audience into have some vastly different assumptions about who they are, their motives, & even their character moments. Let me clear this up; It’s a good character if when we see a character moment & the audience is able to come to the same conclusion. An example is Nobara from JJK or Eren from AOT.

Nobara in EP 17 makes it clear in her conversation with Momo that; “I don’t care about your ‘women this’ or ‘men have to be that!’ I love myself when I’m pretty & all dressed up & I love myself when I’m kicking ass.” That she doesn’t give a fuck about gender roles or whatever. While she didn’t have enough screen time in season one of JJK, her character has remain consistent & because of that, in this moment the audience just learns more about her. Some people will say oh she doesn’t care about the patriarchy, others will say she just doesn’t care what people have to say. Regardless the thing that stays consistent that 90% of the audience will agree with is that she’s a very confident girl who simply doesn’t give a fuck about what anybody says. People will take away from this moment with different ideas, but again the people will & should have some similar interpretations.

Our main girls from RWBY are not flushed out enough to give people the same or similar interpretations. As someone who use to have childish arguments about the BlackSun vs BumbleBy (Cause let’s be honest, it’s mainly these two who have been at war & are what ruined the fandom) ship let me just say people will come out having vastly different interpretations of any of the moments these three characters in particular had.

From how Blake & Sun meant to Yang opening up to Blake. BlackSun moment was clearly romantic because of the angelic music along with the wink. However BB would argue that Yang opening up to Blake about her mother was also romantic because of the sunset lighting & Yang’s wink along with her subtitle pun. Even though we don’t know anything about the queer community or queer culture in the world of RWBY so wtf does “And if you feel like coming out” suppose to mean? But many argue it’s a valid argument because of queer subtext. There isn’t any. (We’ll get to V6) Most if these are just headcanons & people would take their headcanon & run with it.

People will say Blake & Yang have the closest relationship which is actually very false. Rewatch all of V1 to V3 & if you count how many one on one conversations they had; it’s less than five. But people will insist because Blake called out to Yang during the Torwick fight & because Yang opened up to Blake & because Blake didn’t know to trust Yang while Yang was crying that it means something when this is just simply stretching. Unless we see some flashback moments that indicate they had more going on, these moments literally mean nothing. But still they are given to us & we have to intérprete them but we still don’t have anything. One can easily ignore these moments, others can say Yang is just really sensitive since she’s got tempered or some will say they are gay. Again we don’t know because they were never fully developed nor were their interactions.

Yet somehow Yang opening up to Blake is seen as romantic by many, but Blake opening up to Sun about her past, Adam, & how she feels about her teammates isn’t. It’s just a girl & guy being friends. Yang pushing Blake to open up is romantic (She never did btw), but Sun following Blake to make sure she doesn’t do anything reckless like fighting the white fang on her own (Valid assumption btw) is seen as pushy & stalker behavior. Wat were some clues that Blake felt stalk or said Sun was stalking her? He clearly didn’t know what we’re her motivations. He assumed his assumption because of past experiences of Blake said she felt responsible. This is the most consistent & common interpretation, but again we don’t know for sure because Sun never said that this was the reason why he felt motivated to follow her. However to others, because Blake didn’t know he was following her, it’s seen as stalking or trying to get into her pants because Sun also doesn’t have a character & people are quick to call him an incel. You can bring up Blake’s line of “No concept of privacy,” in V4 but what does that even allude too? Sun following her or Sun standing outside the door? Was Sun actually listening in or was he trying to see when the conversation was over? Again not just shippers, but the audience is torn between two very different ideas & can not come up with a consistent interpretation. This is not good writing.

So again because of lack of actual character development & proper structures, the audience is left with so little information that we have to piece it all together with headcanons & theories & vastly different interpretations that leads to nothing but toxicity & childish arguments.

Personally I agree with your statement anon. However if the characters are flushed out perfectly, maybe then we can have an actual romance subplot without such a negativity to follow along with it

#anonymous #asks #blacksun #bumbleby #rwby shipping #rwby ships #nobara kugisaki #jjk #rwby

8 notes · View notes

wheel-of-hyperfixation · 3 months

Text

Every couple of months this concept for a fic (a whole damn series tbh) pops back into my mind

I really want to make myself write it. Reasons I should give it a shot (this list is kind of just for me, lemme convince myself)

I used to start writing stories as a kid (many a few pages that I started but never continued) and even though I never finished them, it made me so happy. I think I'd like to explore the storyteller in me from a new place; not as a dancer.

All the writing that I end up doing now is for school. I'm typically not one to boast but I will say that my written responses and essays are reallll fucking good. And even with fighting my own brain trying to write for those assignments (anxiety, depression, adhd yall do NOT make it easy) I still Love writing those essays. I have Fun writing those essays

I say I don't have free time but I do manage to find time to rest. Usually though resting just ends up being laying in bed all day watching some show on my laptop. And then I feel shitty (physically and mentally) that I haven't done something more productive. Not productive like "you should've deep cleaned the entire apartment on your first day off in three in a half weeks" but like "hey girl could you just maybe do something that involves some healthy brain stimulation? pls??" I think this would be a good outlet yk healthy for my brain and my body

I'd really like to be able to share something of mine with the folks here I admire

Going off of #4, I have such a hard time sharing my art online but sadly my career path kind of depends on my ability to do that. I have yet to a really clean, simple answer of how to overcome that--at least they haven't been routes I've felt I could make myself do (I'm very stubborn). This however might be a good way for me to practice and build this skill, in a place where my career, My Dream isn't at stake.

_______________________________________

so the plot..

Eddie Munson x (lemme be self-indulgent and also add to our minimal representation on here) BlackFem!Reader

Will the upside down be a thing that happened? I'm guessing no. But if it is then ofc this man survives -as he should as he should-

Eddie has finally graduated ('86 baby <3). He has another 6 months-a year afterwards working every moment he can and saving every penny. He finally leaves Hawkins (would need to write some sad shit with leaving Wayne ofc but yk maybe in a later chapter as a little flashback) for [SOME BIG CITY - i have some choices but it depends on details about Reader i haven't given thought to yet]. He's trying to get into the music scene-- make friends, find some footing, get a consistent gig somewhere if he can. There's a rock night at a local bar he sees a flyer for and there he meets this percussionist who's drumming with a band playing that night. BAM! They're instant friends. IMPORTANT: i headcanon that Eddie also managed to learn to play drums sometime in late middle school/early high school, he doesn't have formal training but can work his way around a drum set. Plot things plot things plot things -> New best friend percussionist has a job with this proffesional dance company as an accompanist; they play for classes and rehearsals and has recently been in talks with the director about their upcoming season because of a new work one of the choreographers will be building. It'll be a lot of workshopping but just conceptually it seems great. The other two accompanists who usually work with the company don't drum though and the choreographer really wants a musical focus on percussion. BestFriend calls Eddie while he's still at the studio speaking with the director and choreographer :)

WELCOME READER!! I'm not sure who exactly she'll be yet but currently mulling over some possibilities: a friend of this choreographer from a previous job who they've asked to help with the choreography? a brand new company member? someone who's danced a couple seasons with the company (corps dancer) and is getting her first larger role? Lots of possibilties but the point is that she's part of the new work too.

And they meet when Eddie comes for his first day-- it's company class in the morning and rehearsal begins later after their lunch break (again it's lots of workshopping, collaborative space, freestyle amongst the dancers as they just get to play around with the music). Eddie is a little entranced by Reader the whole time, and Reader tries to not get flustered and distracted in the middle of learning these movement phrases when she catches him watching her specifically.

Pretty, lovely, dream-like things ensue for them <3

_________________________

That "quick rough summary" turned into a word-vomit brainstorm with a lot more detail than I anticipated. Cool.

#wheel-of-hyperfixation diary

0 notes

imprettybitchin · 2 years

Text

I’ve been rewatching the series since Friday[?] and had SO MANY FEELS. Now that I have this account, I’ll be putting all of my liveblogging for tonight under the cut so there aren’t a million posts clogging your dash.

4x05

I can hardly stand this fucking asshole!!! I can’t get through three words of his stupid monologue without pausing because he’s the absolute WORST and Jane doesn’t deserve this!!!

When she wakes up with her hair shaved and the hospital gown on and she starts CRYING as the realization dawns on her that she’s back in that hellhole? I’m so EMOTIONAL OH MY GOD!!! If this girl does not get a happy ending, I will burn this whole thing down.

The __ stingers and emotional music/synth/etc. are helpful to have in the subtitles bc I can’t hear them 85% of the time, but also they’re so hilarious that they kinda take me out of the moment. They’re like a lens flare in a Kelvin Timeline Star Trek film.

Horrifying and disgusting the way that Dr B breaks Jane down SO MUCH that you see the moment she crumbles and gives up trying to run because it’s no use.

When Dr B calls Jane daughter??? I felt sick to my stomach

There is no way that man would survive if Jane’s friends/family knew what he was doing to her. Especially her dad.

4x06

I feel less anger towards the other kids in the lab than I do to Dr B because at least they didn’t know much better. I’m sure there’s some free choice in there, but this vile creature is so manipulative that I don’t entirely blame them for acting the way they do.

Feeling absolutely sick as I remember that El was so tiny when all this happened. Like no wonder her brain repressed these (and so many other) memories! Protected her the best that it could!!! I wish Jane was in the hands of someone who actually cared about and respected her, bc most likely it would be a lot less re-traumatization if an actual therapist walked it through with her. Especially a modern one who knows EMDR or child-centered therapy.

I wish Dr. Owens hadn’t been pulled into all of this shit because he seems like a well-meaning person. But Dr. B is a master manipulator, so I can see even adults falling prey to his scheming.

HOW DARE THEY LET JANE THINK SHE KILLED THEM ALL!!!! I HATE THIS!!!!

4x06

SEE! Dr. O is NOT ABOUT THIS SHIT!!!

Oh my god, even when he says something I agree with, I want to punch Dr. B in the face. Repeatedly. I know how all this ends but I want him to die NOW! But also later so other people can fuck him up.

4x07

Okay but 001 manipulating Jane just like she’s been her entire life- I hate this! I hate it I HATE IT!!!!

I know that “who knew something so small could cause so much trouble” is also talking about El but I’m still screaming about it

Not exactly sure what JCB was told/directed to do, but I’m realizing on my second watch how s1!El’s (later seasons, too, but especially THIS season) movements are SO much like 001′s. Obviously he’s not a great dude, but seeing how much he shaped El, it makes sense in a twisted way why he’d be so angry at her “betrayal.” In his mind, HE built her up, but she instead chooses to be her own person. Then the trauma locks El’s memories, and she’s trained as the sole test subject (the wiki says she’s 8 in the flashback and 12 in s1, but I’m not sure how accurate that is. Time seems a little fuzzy in this show, for better or for worse.

God, I WISH ‘papa’ were dead in that scene! It would be SO NICE if he frikkin died and El escaped and had a happy and healthy childhood. None of the show would have happened, but I don’t care because she deserves good things!!!!

When JCB is killing 2, he looks positively reptilian. I can’t find a better way to put it.

oh my god it’s the big reveal scene and he’s so fucking dramatic??? I was gonna say “no straight man is this dramatic but no, actually, many are. but Cre.el is something else

ajsdfkljadf HELP I’m remembering the meme where he’s going on his evil villain monologue and El’s sitting there like “wtf is he even saying???” And if the audio is synced up for these conversations, does he just- give his little spiel to whatever captive audience he has available??? If so that’s fucking hilarious, I’m sorry. IDK if I can take him seriously anymore ajsdlkfjasjf Like obviously he’s a murderer and horrible person, but like... does he stand in front of his evil little mirror practicing his evil little monologue for whatever victims he catches in his trap? Does the mindflayer know this speech? Do the demobats squeak to each other about how their master did his little speech for them today? It’s late and I’m heading to bed after this, but my tired self finds it way too funny. I mean in a different context, this would be a very metal socialist rally, and in the moment I was like “no way!!” but looking back on it after all the memes, he’s just- a pathetic wet dog with powers.

I’m sorry but El’s face at the one hour, 25 minute mark is so funny too. The way he says “As I practiced, I realized I could do more than I possibly imagined” and El’s over here like “shut up, bitch. You’re talking too long and I’m sick of your shit.” Me too, girl.

“Join me.” “No” *telekinetically slams him into a wall* YOU GO GIRL! You’re gonna piss him off but you tell that lowlife NO!

See what you did, 1? You fucked up the space-time continuum is what you did. Even if El’s the one who made it happen in the first place.

And that’s it for tonight! It’s 11:45pm and I need to sleep! I’ll do a separate post for the last two eps of s4 whenever I end up watching them. I might find some of my other liveblogging and put it in a post as well so I can make headcanons from them later :)

#OOC #Kame liveblogs

0 notes

theteasetwrites · 2 years

Text

The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning

Chapter 82: Deep As a Wound

❧ Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female Reader ❧ Era: Season 11 ❧ Pronouns: she/her ❧ Warnings: mild swearing, emotional abuse, mentions of sexual assault ❧ Word Count: 6.9k

❧ In This Chapter: After a close call with a band of predatory nomads, some bad memories flood back. Upon returning home to Alexandria, things only get more complicated when you make a surprising discovery.

❧ A/N: Though this is a Daryl-less chapter, we do get some moments between Reader and Lydia, during which Reader sort of lets herself feel the trauma of both her previous relationship and the events of Chapter 24. I also always have so much fun doing flashbacks! This one sort of gives an insight into Reader's relationship with Jerome and how that affects her now, especially after old wounds were opened in the previous chapter. Not sure what's going to happen with our new OC, Billy, but I have some ideas, depending on where this season takes us. Oh, and of course we have some pretty exciting (but scary!) news at the very end...

2008, Athens, GA

He fumbled with the keys to the apartment, cursing to himself at your habit of locking the door when you were the only one home. It was a useless safety precaution, as far as he was concerned, that only made life that much more difficult for him.

And of course, he knew you were home. Some music he didn’t care to recognize was playing on that stupid record player you lugged from your grandfathers’ house when he died six months ago. The sound of bare feet slapping against the wood floor and your lilted voice singing along to the tune of whatever you were listening to accompanied the muffled music in the air.

When he finally got the door open, he huffed at the state of the place: books scattered about on the coffee table, records sprawled out on the couch, and some stupid horror movie playing on low volume on the television.

“(Y/N)?” he called out, hanging his messenger bag on the designated hook behind the door. “What’s all this?”

You carried a tray of three mismatched antique teacups into the living room, and broke out into a wide grin at the sight of him, though he seemed a little disgruntled.

“Hey, baby,” you said sweetly, trying to win him over as you knew he knew of Aaron’s presence, and the man never liked Aaron, or anyone in your family, really. “I, uh… hope you don’t mind, but Aaron’s here. He’s in town for a few days, thought he’d surprise me I guess.”

You moved past him to place the tray upon the coffee table, moving around a few books to make room before crossing over to the turntable and turning down the dial on the volume, knowing Jerome didn’t really like your music.

He eyed you as you moved over to him, planting a kiss upon his cheek to gauge just how much of a bad mood he was in. When he didn’t return the kiss, and pulled away before you could plant one on his lips, you knew you were in for it.

“He’s here?”

You scratched the back of your head and bit your lip as your eyes moved between him and the hallway. “He’s in the bathroom… W-we can go out if you don’t want to see him, but I really want to see him.”

Jerome’s critical eyes roamed around the living room. “Looks like you’ve already seen him,” he said. “He can go now. You’re staying.”

You sighed and lowered your shoulders. “Come on, that’s not fair. He’s only in town for a few days, Jer, and… he’s my brother.”

“(Y/N), I—”

“Hey, Jerome,” said Aaron, emerging from the hallway and offering the man he pretty blatantly disliked the most genuine smile he could muster, considering he didn’t want to smile at him at all. “How are you, man?”

He nodded towards Aaron, giving him that one bit of acknowledgment. “Fine,” he said. “Been here long?”

Aaron shrugged, then awkwardly stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. “Just a few hours. Thought I’d see this one while I’m doing some lobbying at the capitol for my NGO. Thinkin’ about, uh, looking for an apartment in Atlanta while I’m down here.”

“We’re going to go looking around tomorrow,” you agreed. “See what the rent’s like.”

Jerome nodded his head in faux approval, though if he had it his way, you’d stop hanging out with your brother, who was, in his words, a “loser.”

“So you’re gonna be closer?” asked Jerome. “Atlanta’s pretty close to Athens.”

Aaron scoffed, but you shot a look his way, warning him not to say something snarky back.

“Uh, yeah. Pretty close. It’d be nice to be closer to my sister.”

“Mmm,” hummed Jerome. “Well, I’m sure you’re tired from your flight. Probably don’t wanna hang around here, watching shitty horror movies and dancing barefoot.” Jerome gestured to Aaron’s feet, which were, indeed, barefoot, like yours. You had both been rather goofily dancing to the old Oingo Boingo record on your turntable, Aaron’s choice. “Dead Man’s Party” was an old favorite of his.

Aaron tilted his head, giving Jerome that bitchy look of irritated disbelief he, too, had inherited from his mother. He didn’t really need to say anything, that look was enough.

“Right,” he said, and made his way over to you, hugging you once more and lifting you off the ground, eliciting a snort and a resounding giggle from your lips. He set you down and kissed your cheek, and gave you a knowing look, which you could only nod at. “Love you. See you tomorrow. Maybe we’ll have tea then. Pick me up at the hotel?”

“Mhm,” you hummed, and kissed his cheek back. “Love you.”

He didn’t bother bidding Jerome adieu, he simply gave him one last bitter look, and passive-aggressively slammed the door behind him, causing you to flinch and Jerome to rush over and lock the deadbolt.

“You didn’t have to be so rude,” you said softly, averting your eyes and trying to almost not be heard.

Jerome scoffed as he crossed the living room to turn off the television, and made his way to the turntable, removing the needle with a severe scratch to the record, no doubt ruining it.

As much as you wanted to yell at him for that, you couldn’t bring yourself to do it, for fear he’d threaten to leave you again.

“Do you have any idea what kind of day I had?” he asked you, approaching you with a harshness to his step. “Is there even an inkling of a thought in that thick head of yours what kind of shit I’ve been doing?! I work my ass off at that hospital, taking shit from asshole doctors and kissing their asses so I can get somewhere, and you’re here… dancing with your idiot brother!”

You sighed and tried to keep your tears at bay, swallowing the lump in your throat. You hated when he yelled at you, it felt like being pierced through the heart, but maybe you deserved it.

Of course, you weren’t trying to complete a medical residency, but you were so close to getting your masters, and somewhere between studying and working two part-time jobs, you felt it would be nice to see your brother, to laugh with him like old times.

“I—I’m sorry, I—”

“Sorry? You’re sorry, (Y/N)? Look, I know you have your little dreams and your plans and your library shit or whatever, but what I’m doing, you could never understand that. I’m out there doing real shit, working with sick people, and this is what I come home to? I mean, why do I even come home anymore? Why should I stay here when you clearly don’t appreciate everything I do for you? What’s here for me? Tell me that, (Y/N).”

You shook your head in bewilderment, crossing your arms as you retreated into yourself, and looking away, not bearing to see that disapproving look on his face. All you ever wanted was to make him happy.

“Well,” you said, wiping your tears and sniffling, “I guess it’s just me. I’m here. That’s all.”

His hand tangled in his hair as he paced, thinking of just how to respond to such a simple phrase. It was true, you were here for him. You were always here. You gave him everything you had. It wasn’t enough, so he made you believe.

“I wanna believe that,” he said. “But I just don’t know if you really care about me, (Y/N). Not when you do shit like this.”

You shook your head and crossed over to him, tentatively taking his hand in yours. “Of course I care about you. I love you.”

His hand was cold, thin. Your fingers trailed over the veins and bony flesh, but in your denial, your desperation to believe he wasn’t torturing you, you thought he felt warm. You even convinced yourself that maybe he was squeezing your hand, too, but he wasn’t. He only wanted to see if you’d grovel for him.

“You love me?” he asked, suddenly turning to that tone he used when he needed you to prove yourself to him in other ways, sexual ways.

Sex with Jerome was never about love, it was about power, about you proving to him that he meant more to you than anything else, about you being subject to him, and him knowing he had you in the palm of his hand. Most of all, it was never about you.

You forced an uneasy smile, and felt his cold hand trail up your arm, making its way to the frilly sleeve of your floral sundress.

“I do,” you said through your tears. “So much.”

“I love you, too,” he said. “I’ll love you forever, you know that.”

“I do.”

He pulled you closer, and ghosted your lips with his. All you wanted was for him to love you, and even if all you got were scraps, you’d follow him anywhere.

“Show me how much you love me,” he said. “Make me wanna stay, and I’ll be here forever.”

“What do you want?” you asked sincerely, hoping to please him in any way he wanted. “I’ll do anything. Just… Please don’t be mad at me. I’m sorry.”

He stroked your hair and gazed over your face, satisfied with your pliability. It was always so easy for him to manipulate you the way he wanted, a constant source of amusement for him.

“You gotta try to be better for me, okay? No more of this silly shit.” He gestured to the pile of books, records, and VHS tapes left behind from your time spent with Aaron.

“I’ll be better,” you said. “I’ll prove it.”

All you remember from the rest of that night was trying to please him as best as you could, “making it up to him” for daring to do anything that he disapproved of, even if that meant being yourself and being with the ones you loved.

You tried so hard for him, to keep him, because you were so afraid you’d be alone again, that you’d never feel love or affection again. At some point, you had told yourself that he was the one, that you’d be with him for the rest of your life, but little did you know, Jerome didn’t even come back from the hospital that night.

He came back from sleeping with a nurse.

Now, somewhere in Virginia

“(Y/N)?”

Lydia’s voice cut through your memories, and you were grateful for that, since thinking about how much Jerome manipulated you was so painful, and if there was ever any time in your life that was wasted, it was whatever time you spent with that man.

She shuffled over to you, sitting down beside you on the ground, against the giant grain machine you had earlier sank down against in defeat.

You’d made it to the mill, with the help of the stranger, Billy, who sat a few yards across, tending to the fire over which he cooked a pot of beans. Wherever Billy had come from, he had food.

He’d told you that it was once a small community, but it had been destroyed and pillaged by the four men you came across earlier that day. He didn’t go into much detail about the event, but based on what you knew of the men, whatever they had done must’ve been even worse than he described.

As a result, he was the only one left that he knew of, and he spent the last week tracking the men, out to get his revenge.

That was about the extent of what you knew of Billy, but he had offered to lend a hand in the journey, knowing both of you were exhausted and hungry. It was a hard decision, trusting the young man, but you kept your knives close, and always had your axe within reach.

At least the mill had plenty of wheat, sorghum, barley, rice, lentils, chickpeas… You each had about four burlap sacks of different types of grains, and though you were still debating on whether or not Billy could join your community, you were hoping he’d at least stick around long enough to help carry them on his horse.

“You okay?”

“Mhm,” you lied, entranced by the light from the fire reflecting off the blade of Daryl’s knife. It had his initials carved into the blade, as he often did with most of his things to signify that they were his. The man wouldn’t admit it, but he was sentimental, obsessed with objects and having his own things. If you were to psychoanalyze him, you’d say it was because he never had anything of his own growing up. Now, he lent you these knives, and you found some comfort in feeling the ghost of his warm, strong hand around the handles.

Trailing your eyes up from the blade, you faced her. “Are you okay?” you asked.

She shrugged, but began to nod her head slowly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

It’s okay if you’re not okay, you thought, but maybe it really was just you who wasn’t okay.

“It was a close call today,” you said shakily. “You did good.”

She lowered her head and fiddled with the old piece of machinery she held in her hands. “Thanks… I’ve never run into people like that before. I—I know what they wanted, but I don’t understand it.”

You straightened your back and sniffled, trying to maintain some semblance of composure to ease the girl’s thoughts. “It’s hard to understand.”

Several beats of silence, during which the crackling of the fire was the only sound, passed before Lydia spoke again.

“How can we trust him?” she asked you, nodding her head towards the man looking solemnly into the base of the fire. “How do we know he’s not like them?”

You sighed and shook your head. “We can’t, but he hasn’t done anything yet, or shown any signs of something off, so you keep your wits about you, and hope he’s not like them. I won’t let him hurt you, Lydia. I won’t. That I promise you.”

She nodded, her eyes trailing back to your lowered head. Aside from the obvious fatigue that plagued you, and the bullet graze on your arm, there had been something off about you since the event at the house, so much so that even Billy had asked Lydia why you seemed even more shaken up than her.

She had no idea, but she wondered if there was something.

“(Y/N)?”

“Hm?”

“Have you… Have you run into people like that before?”

You shifted uncomfortably at the question, and cleared your throat as you tried to look her way, but an unexplainable shame came over you, like acknowledging what had happened, or almost happened, wasn’t something you had a right to do, not in front of the young woman before you, who had seen so much more than you, and had herself been somewhat haunted by the day’s events.

Whenever that night came back to the forefront of your mind, you tried to push it away, insisting that it was nothing, that Jerome didn’t rape you, so you had no trauma, no reason to be hurt or scared by what had happened. Of course, if what had happened to you had happened to anyone else, you would never minimize their trauma, but you? You never thought you had any right to feel like you had suffered.

Even when you had recurring nightmares of the event, wriggling yourself awake in Daryl’s arms and breaking out into silent sobs, hoping he wouldn’t hear you, you felt ashamed to be so scared and vulnerable, and, to some extent, ashamed that you had been so negligent to see what Jerome wanted from you, as if even after the emotional manipulation he put you through, you wanted to believe he wouldn’t hurt you again.

Of course, Daryl awoke from your crying, the light sleeper that he was, and would always nearly jump out of his skin to hold you and ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you’d say, and despite his concerns, and his knowledge that, indeed, something must’ve been wrong for you to wake from your sleep in a fit of tears, he’d not say much more, but simply assure you that he loved you, and that he was there.

Now, when Lydia asked you if you’d run into people like that before, you weren’t entirely sure how to answer. You hadn’t spoken about Jerome and that night in so long, probably not since around the time it had happened. You tried not to think about it at all, or to worry Daryl if you let it haunt you too much.

Well, you had to tell the truth, now that she was asking.

“I, uh… I have. A long time ago, but it was different.”

“Why was it different?”

You sighed and palmed at your forehead, at war with yourself as you tried to decide whether or not you were ready to open up about this again. Still, you weren’t going to stop Lydia from asking, as a part of you desperately wanted to talk about it, now that old wounds had been opened.

“Because it was someone I knew.”

Lydia was silent again, now afraid to ask more, but also seeing that perhaps you needed to talk about it, and maybe if she kept asking, you’d feel better. Somehow.

“What happened?”

You sniffled and looked her way, trying to assess the extent to which she wanted to know the details of that night.

“I haven’t really told anyone,” you said. “I mean, Daryl knows. He was there… Carol knows. Michonne and Maggie know, but… I’ve never even told my brother, you know? It’s worse with him because he knew him before all this.”

Lydia furrowed her brow in slight confusion, and you realized then that if she was to understand what happened, you had to start at the beginning, something you really didn’t want to do, but you knew it was time to, after today.

“It was at the prison,” you said, starting at the most logical place you could think of. “In Georgia. You remember I told you about Rick, right?”

She nodded in affirmation.

“Well, Rick came back from a run one day, and he had found this guy, brought him back to the prison. This guy… I knew him from before. We, um… we were together.”

You quickly realized from Lydia’s face that she must’ve been confused about the timeline of your romantic relationships, considering the only boyfriend she knew about before Daryl was the guy in the rock n’roll band.

“Not Freddie,” you confirmed with a slight laugh, trying to make as light of the situation as you could. “Freddie was one of the better ones, before Daryl. No, uh, this was Jerome.” Bile seemed to rise in your throat with just the utterance of his name, which you hadn’t said out loud in so long.

“So, Jerome showed up out of nowhere,” you continued. “I thought he died. He didn’t seem like the kind of person to survive very long, but I guess I didn’t either.”

Thoughts of your relationship with Jerome came flooding back, and every stupid thing you let him do to control you and make you feel inferior was more salient than ever. With age, you tended to become more and more aware of how much damage he did, the residual of which still lingered today.

“Our relationship was… unhealthy. He’d never physically hurt me before that, or… forced himself on me, but he manipulated me, treated me like shit. When I was with him, I had to pretend to be someone else because I was afraid he’d leave me if he didn’t like who I was. I didn’t want to be alone so bad I actually begged him to stay whenever he’d tell me I wasn’t good enough for him. So, I guess I should’ve seen it coming, but what he tried to do that night wasn’t something I’d ever thought he would do.”

You swallowed hard, holding back tears that fell anyway, distorting your voice and dripping down your cheeks.

“He tried to rape me,” you said through tears, shaking your head at the shameful thought. “And I know… I know it wasn’t my fault. I—I know that, but it just… It feels like I should’ve known, after everything.”

Lydia moved closer to you, taking your shaky hand in hers and squeezing it hard. Her touch soothed you a bit, and you raised your hand to wipe your tears, and tried to control yourself again.

“I hated him,” you said. “I still hate him, but I don’t know… Maybe I was still hanging on to whatever I felt for him. Maybe… I still cared for him in some way, so I didn’t want Rick to throw him out, and I really didn’t want Daryl to do… what Daryl does. I just wanted to stay away from him, but he kept pushing, and when he tried it, I was alone, and I didn’t know what else to do, so I… I killed him. After that, everyone thought I was a monster, and I had to live with the fact that the first person I ever killed, the first live person, was the man I once thought I’d do anything for.

“And you wanna know the worst part?” you continued, crying once again as you thought of every type of pain you felt after that night. “I still have nightmares about him, and when Daryl asks me why I wake up crying, I… I can’t tell him, because… I don’t want to put another burden on him, and I’m scared that… That it would break his heart.”

She leaned closer to hug you, causing you to flinch slightly at her sudden movement. You lowered your head and gripped her forearm, crying harder than you had before, and without end in sight.

Lydia cried then, too, feeling the weight of your experience, coupled with the fear of what had almost happened that day. The sorrow you shared with her was cathartic, strengthening. For the first time in a while, you felt bravery in crying, in being vulnerable.

“(Y/N),” she said after a while, her voice muffled against your shoulder. “You could never be a burden for him.”

However many hours were left of that night were spent keeping an eye on Billy, so no one slept, except the horses.

He didn’t say much on the ride back, except when you asked him what his plans were, just a few miles away from Alexandria.

“When we get to your settlement,” he said, “I’ll go my own way, leave you two with my horse and the grain. I won’t need it.”

You furrowed your brow, looking between him and Lydia as the three of you rode on in the midday light.

“Don’t you want to take some of the food?” you asked. “We can spare a little, considering you helped us.”

“Nah,” he said, and gestured to his satchel. “I’ve got plenty of my own.”

The next offer you made was a risky one, but considering Alexandria needed more manpower than ever, and you just felt bad for the young man, you made it.

“You could stay,” you said, and his head turned swiftly to look at you in bewilderment. “If you want. Our community isn’t the strongest it’s been, but you could prove your worth by helping us build it back up again, if you’re willing to put in the work.”

Billy broke out into a wide smirk, and let out an amused chuckle.

“What’s so funny?” asked Lydia seriously. “We’re offering you a home.”

“Nothing,” said Billy with a shrug. “I just can’t believe it, that’s all.”

“We’re a small community,” you said. “We look out for each other. We’re giving you a chance, so don’t make us regret it.”

He shook his head, looking at you more seriously now. “Thanks, but I’m better on my own… Maybe I’ll see you around, though.”

Sure enough, the mysterious, but generous, young man left, but you insisted he keep his horse, and a few days’ worth of grains.

Billy rode off towards the woods, and you wondered if, indeed, you would see him around.

The spoils of your little adventure were great, adding another week’s worth of food for the entire community, while putting less pressure on the mission at Meridian.

Celebrations didn’t last long, as the day after you returned to Alexandria, an intense storm, complete with torrential rain, thunder and lightning, and fierce winds, struck.

There were several close calls with sections of the already weakened walls blowing down, and walkers getting in through the breach.

It’d been a rough day and a half of weathering the storm, but it did pass, as it always did.

Now, though, Alexandria was in the worst shape you’d ever seen it, even after the Saviors attacked. Even your own house had suffered a great deal of damage, with considerable flooding in the basement that had been converted into Lydia’s bedroom, broken windows, and a fallen tree branch that had torn a hole in the roof of study.

Aaron, and several other men from Daryl’s “boys’ nights,” as you called them, helped you patch up the roof, but it was only a temporary fix, and the flooding in the basement was going to take a while to remedy.

The next day, you got to work helping the crew that was working on the walls under Aaron’s supervision. He was the most determined to get Alexandria back to its former glory, and you were right behind him, lifting heavy sheets of corrugated metal and hammering them back into place.

The problem, however, was that you were beginning to feel sick. Very, very sick.

You hadn’t been feeling right for about a month now, and although Daryl and the others who noticed your unusual fatigue were certain it was from a lack of nutrients, you had a funny feeling that you had started to feel a little off just before the food began to run out.

That, and you’d been near starvation before. This wasn’t just that. True, it wasn’t helping, but you were beginning to think you were sick in some other way, though you shuddered to think why.

You removed the muddy glove from your hands to palm at your forehead, stumbling a little as you tried to keep your balance. Your equilibrium had been off sporadically, dizziness overcoming you at the most inopportune times.

Now, though, it was accompanied by a sudden bout of nausea, which didn’t sit right with you at all.

Fear propelled you away from the little voice that had been in the back of your mind, screaming at you louder and louder as each day passed with another symptom.

Aaron took notice of your discomfort, nodding towards you as he made his way over, gesturing to you with his metal arm.

“You okay?”

You nodded, still looking down and focusing all your energy on not vomiting. “Dandy,” you replied. “Just… give me a second.”

He tilted his head and huffed. “(Y/N), take a break. I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you look terrible.”

You scoffed. “Aaron, I’m—”

A sudden, harsh pang in your stomach seemed to knock the wind out of you, causing you to double over and vomit out the little bit of food you had let yourself consume.

A few concerned faces looked your way, and quickly came to your side. Aaron shooed them away politely, telling them to get back to work, or something like that. You were a little too focused on the vomit coming out of your mouth.

“Time to go home,” said Aaron.

He held your arm and nearly dragged you home, but not without having to hold your hair back as you vomited on the front porch. At least the place was already in shambles on account of the storm, otherwise you would’ve been mopping up that vomit almost immediately after it expelled from your body.

Aaron dragged you up the stairs, and forcibly tucked you into your bed, reminding you once again that he was, in fact, your older brother.

“God, I feel awful,” you said, graciously accepting a cup of chamomile from Aaron.

“Is Mommy okay?”

You peered over Aaron’s figure to see Robin in the doorway of your bedroom, holding her white rabbit as usual, with Lydia close behind her, holding her shoulders and worriedly looking in.

“I’m fine,” you said with a laugh, though you really didn’t feel fine. “Just sleepy.”

“Yeah,” agreed Aaron with a huff, though he was quite worried, too. “She’s fine.”

“Anything we can do?” asked Lydia, referring to herself and the little girl in front of her.

You tilted your head and sighed. “No,” you said, but the downcast faces of the two young girls immediately kicked in your motherly instinct to give them something to take their minds off whatever was going on with you. “Okay… Lydia, you should work on getting those grains ready to eat for everyone. The mortar and pestle are in the pantry downstairs. Robin, sweetheart…”

You sighed, trying to think of something for the six-year-old to do in your stead, but most of the work you had cut out for you today involved either manual labor or skill sets that Robin hadn’t yet developed.

“Why don’t you… Ah! I know, why don’t you bring water to the people working on the wall. Use the emergency jug in the garage. It’s in the big cabinet by Daddy’s workbench, and get the paper cups from the kitchen, and don’t forget to—”

“I’ll help her,” said Aaron, turning around to face Robin. “Go get the supplies and I’ll be down in a little bit to help you, okay? Just let me get your mom settled.”

“Okay, Uncle Aaron.”

“Be careful!” you called after her, her light footsteps skipping down the stairs, eager to help in any way she could. “Make sure she doesn’t trip or something. She keeps forgetting to tie her shoelaces.”

Aaron nodded with a faint smile, and took a seat on the edge of the bed. He sat in silence for a while, debating on whether or not to bring this up.

“(Y/N),” he said. “I know you’re tired, and hungry… Everyone’s been feeling out of it, but I haven’t seen you throw up in… Well, since, you were pregnant.”

You scoffed and shook your head. “Oh, come on. I just have a little… stomach… bug.”

As you stumbled over your words, it hit you, not unlike that day you found out you were pregnant with Robin. Of course, the thought had lingered in your mind, since you really never got sick like this. Even before the apocalypse, you had only thrown up a few times in your life, and it was always food poisoning.

“N-no, that’s impossible” you said, denying the voice inside your head that had been telling you it could be possible, especially since the last time you had sex with Daryl, about a month ago, you both had been negligent to use protection, and both of you were too euphoric in the midst of your miraculous reunion to bother pulling out.

Oh, and you supposed it didn’t help you had unprotected, uninterrupted sex all night long.

Your rationale had been that it took over a year to conceive your first and only child, so surely one night wouldn’t hurt. Well, now that you let the unconscious thoughts surface to the forefront of your mind, it seemed plausible that you were, in fact, pregnant.

“Oh, Aaron,” you sighed, palming your face and sinking down against your pillow. “Now I’m worried.”

Aaron reached forward to take your hand in his. “Hey,” he said. “It’s just a possibility. I mean, it could be anything… But could it be that?”

“Yes,” you huffed. “It could be that, and it… feels like that. I just didn’t think it would happen, neither did Daryl.”

Aaron nodded in understanding. “It’s okay, (Y/N). Hey, why don’t I bring you a test from the infirmary, that way we’ll know for sure.”

“I have some tests in the bathroom downstairs,” you said. “From when we were trying.”

“Okay,” he said, flashing you a small, reassuring smile. “I’ll be right back.”

When he came back with several boxes of tests you hadn’t seen in so many years, a sense of dread came shooting up through you, and you vomited again, this time both out of nausea, and out of fear.

This was perhaps the worst time you could think of during which to get pregnant. Alexandria’s infrastructure was unstable, the walls were barely standing up, food was at an all-time low, medicine and people with medical knowledge were now scarce, and the population was already much too high with all the refugees from Hilltop and Maggie’s group.

The motivating factor in deciding when to have Robin was dictated by the safety and prosperity in which you and Daryl found yourselves. You were sure the state of the community now was not ideal for bringing another child into the world.

That, and you and Daryl had decided long ago that one child was enough, that your little family was everything you ever wanted, so there was no need to try for another baby, especially since Robin was, in every conceivable way, the perfect child.

You didn’t want another baby, and you were sure Daryl didn’t either.

Would he hate you, retreat into himself as he had done before? Would he do the unthinkable and leave you, Robin, and whatever baby you brought into this world? Then, you would be alone. You’d have Aaron and your children, and the rest of the people in Alexandria, but you wouldn’t have him.

Of course, you weren’t sure what part of your anxious mind was concocting all this worry. You knew Daryl loved you, that he loved your little family, and that he’d never, ever leave you, but it terrified you. The idea of being alone had always haunted you, but being without Daryl was something entirely different, like a flower pulled unceremoniously from its roots.

Well, you supposed all that didn’t really matter now, since whatever reality awaited you came down to this moment, the moment you held that stupid little stick in your hand, wrapped in toilet paper to conceal the result until you were ready to look at it.

Aaron sat beside you on the bed, holding your other hand and waiting for the result to be revealed.

“Whatever it says,” said Aaron, “we all are here for you. You know that.”

“I know,” you said with a faint, strained smile. “But I’m scared… If I’m pregnant, it’s not like I even have a choice.”

He understood what you meant, since in the world you lived in now, there wasn’t really any choice to terminate the pregnancy. At least, not safely, or with any guarantee that it would work. There was always the chance that you could miscarry, or the baby could be stillborn, but that was equally as terrifying as delivering the baby in the less than ideal situation you found yourself in.

“Well, if it’s positive, we’ll do everything we can to help, and make sure everything’s all right.”

You nodded as you looked down at the wrapped up pregnancy test in your hands, and slowly began to unravel the toilet paper, now that enough time had passed.

You stopped midway, your hands shaky and your dizziness throwing your head in a dazed circle. Aaron reached forward to lean you back against the pillow, and gently took the test from your hand.

“I’ll read it,” he said. “If you want.”

You closed your eyes and breathed a heavy breath. “That’d be great.”

Continuing to unravel the bundle of toilet paper, he finally read the indicator, swallowing hard before opening his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

You opened one eye to see his reaction, and it was hard to discern. “What does it say?”

Aaron cleared his throat and looked back up, wide-eyed and in disbelief. “It’s positive, sis.”

You yanked the stick from his hands, refusing to believe it before you saw it yourself. Indeed, there was a red plus where there hadn’t been one before, and though you knew what that meant, you reached clumsily for the box on your bedside table, your eyes moving back and forth between the directions and the stick.

“Nope,” you said, shaking your head vehemently. “No way. I’m taking another one. These things are expired anyway.”

You ended up taking four more, depleting your supply of pregnancy tests. They all came back the same—positive.

“Goddamnit!” you cried, throwing the last urine-drenched stick across the room in anger, Aaron dodging the object as it flew over his head. “It took me over a year to get pregnant, and the one time I let Daryl—”

You looked wide-eyed at Aaron, realizing you’d just almost been a little too graphic about your sex life in the presence of your brother. “God, sorry,” you huffed. “It’s just so frustrating… What am I supposed to tell him, Aaron? He’s going to lose his shit, and then he’s going to be worried out of his mind. He’s already got so much he’s dealing with right now, trying to keep everyone fed and carrying all this… weight on his shoulders. Now I’m just going to be another burden. Christ, Aaron, I can’t do this to him!”

Aaron stepped forward to clasp his hands around your shoulders, and steadied you as your dizziness and anxiety threatened to send you falling to the ground. “Sit down,” he instructed, forcing you to sit back down on the bed. “You’re not thinking straight, (Y/N). Now, you know that man loves you unconditionally, and he’d never see you as a burden. This is his responsibility, too. It’s not just on you.”

You breathed a deep sigh as you ran your fingers through your hair, then let out an exasperated raspberry. “How the hell are we going to tell Robin?”

Aaron let out a small chuckle at the thought. “Well, if I remember correctly, when Mom and Dad told me I was gonna be a big brother, I was pretty damn excited.”

You smirked at that. Aaron always knew exactly how to make you feel better, even in the worst possible situations, and this had to be one of them.

“It’s a built-in best friend,” he continued. “Someone you get to boss around… Of course, I was hoping for a little brother, but I guess I’m happy with what I got.”

You raised an eyebrow and huffed at that. “What if… What if something goes wrong? I’m older now, and—”

“(Y/N),” sighed Aaron. “We will figure it out. All of us. You’re not alone. You’ve got a family, tons of people who love you and will make sure nothing happens to you. I know you’re scared, and that’s understandable, but everything’s going to work out.”

You sighed, and finally nodded after a while of silence, still processing everything.

“You really think Daryl won’t be upset?”

“He’s your husband. You know him better than I do,” he replied. “But yeah. I mean, I think he’s gonna shit his pants from worry, but he’d never be upset with you. Not for this.” He gestured to your belly, poking it with his metal hand ever so slightly and eliciting a small chuckle from your lips. “What are you afraid of, (Y/N)?”

You shrugged and wiped your eyes, already beginning to tear up. “Stupid things,” you said. “What I’ve always been afraid of… Not being good enough, disappointing him.”

“God, (Y/N). Do you really think you could ever disappoint him? Really? He worships the ground you walk on. Ten years together, and you know that. You must know that.”

“Most of the time,” you said, “I know. I know he loves me, just as much as I love him, but when I think about what I went through with…”

“Don’t even compare Daryl to that son of a bitch,” said Aaron seriously. “Why would you think that?”

You shook your head, trying to dismiss the idea. Of course you knew Daryl was nothing like Jerome, but the events of the day before last had brought up memories that brought you back to a more vulnerable state.

“I don’t know, I guess I just remembered how he treated me again… I still feel so stupid for wasting my time on him.”

“He’s the one who should feel stupid, wherever he is.”

He’s dead, you thought. I killed him. But of course, you weren’t sure if you ever wanted Aaron to know about all of that. You thought it might upset him more than anything, and it wasn’t worth it.

“None of that matters now, (Y/N). What matters is what’s happening now, and what’s happening now is that you’re pregnant. And when Daryl comes back, you’re gonna tell him, and he’s gonna be happy.”

You laughed through your tears, and wiped away the snot that had rather unattractively accumulated in your nose.

“Well, I hope so. I guess we’ll just have to deal with it. Maybe it won’t be so bad, having another kid. Maybe it’ll be a boy, that’d be cool, huh? A girl and a boy.”

“Like us,” laughed Aaron. “About the same number of years apart, too.”

“Yeah,” you replied. “We’ll see.”

Thanks for reading! Likes, comments, and reblogs of any kind are always appreciated!

Series Masterlist Next Chapter ➳

✏ Taglist

If you seen your name is on the taglist but you didn't get tagged, it's because Tumblr won't let me tag you for some reason, sorry!

#daryl dixon x female reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon #the walking dead #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead fanfiction #twd fanfiction #twd fanfic #twd #norman reedus fanfiction #norman reedus fanfic #norman reedus x reader #norman reedus #the beginning series

162 notes · View notes

sailorwritesstuff · 2 years

Note

Do you have any specific Pepa and Felix headcanons? I would cry

not a lot but i have a few! i hope you like them <3 (Also if you spot any mistakes let me know I'm not wearing my glasses so I can't see very well)

Ive said this before but the two of them LOVE to dance together. To any music they can find

They got married in the spring because it's Pepa's favorite season and Felix wanted to make her happy

They give off big Morticia and Gomez Addams vibes! Papa has a more closed off way of showing her romantic affections and Felix is very over the top and sincere. (If they were to celebrate Halloween they would definitely go as those two)

I think that they met at a festival (kind of like how we see Alma and Pedro in her flashback scene)

Pepa wore Felix's moms wedding vail. She wanted to wear the dress but she was too tall and she didn't want to make alterations so she bought her own dress and wore the veil because Felix only has brothers. And his mom always wanted a daughter to wear her dress at her wedding.

The two of them go on dates very often usually just small things like picnics or walks by the river

They place bets on all of the genders of their babies. Felix won 2-1

the two of them sometimes will pretend to still be asleep so that they can spend a little more time cuddling in the morning

sometimes Felix will randomly pick Pepa up over his shoulder and they'll both laugh even though she's trying to pretend she's not enjoying going.

of course we know Felix calls Pepa Mi vida (my life, probably short for love of my life) but Pepa calls Girasol (sunflower) when she's in a particularly good mood because on their first date he nervously brought her a single sunflower.

after wedding Peppa was so nervous that she forgot vows and ended up asking "so how about this weather?" Felix just stared at her and she thought for sure that he couldn't handle the chaos and was going to leave and call if the wedding until he smiled and just laughed. He laughs so hard he could barely make it through his own vows.

The two of them we're only going to have two kids Antonio was a surprise

Pepa sometimes uses his head as an armrest because she's taller than him.

whenever Pepa gets pouty Felix will teasingly pout back at her to make her laugh.

he always makes sure she and the kids eat before he does. Something he learned that men should do from his mother.

One time after Camilo was born Pepa tried on her old wedding dress to see if it'd fit and Felix was ecstatic (he was handsy for days.)

The two of them sit together and Pepa reads out loud while he like listens.

Felix laughs when Pepa stills Camilo's shoes because theyre more comfortable and one day he bought them matching pairs so she'd stop still their sons.

they dance in their room to old records whenever they've got the time.

when Antonio was born the two of them spoiled him rotten cuz he didn't think they were going to have another kid

they'll go to sleep cuddling each other every night

some nights they'll wake up with one or more of their three children sandwiched between them for some reason and they stare at each other and try not to laugh

One time they fell asleep under the stars before they got married and Julieta found them and shu'd Felix away with a broom. Pepa was so flustered that her sister caught her with a boy that she couldn't look her in the eyes for 2 days.

They have tea together every once in a while and Pepa's nose always crinkles in distaste because Felix puts so much sugar and milk in his tea. It drives her insane!

Pepa has been wearing cherry flavored chapstick since they met because she knows that it's Felix's favorite

Felix does her braid every morning! and every morning she tell him what a good job he did. Even on mornings where he does a Little bit not as good.

they've done the same thing for their wedding anniversary every year since they got married. get each other a sunflower and a drink and go play in the lake. They never tell anybody where they're going It's kind of just their little secret But every year they come home with two sunflowers in their hands and two empty bottles.

#disney encanto #encanto #tia pepa #pepa y felix #pepa madrigal #tio Felix #felix madrigal #encanto headcanons #sailor says something dumb #anon ask

126 notes · View notes

immaturityofthomasastruc · 3 years

Text

IOTA Reviews: Wishmaker

Goddamn it...

It's bad enough Astruc tastelessly axed Lukanette, but now he just had to show up to give a sarcastic eulogy at the funeral.

Let's get into the fourteenth (chronologically the eighteenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Wishmaker

Right out of the gate, we get a “Chloe bad” joke with her insulting Marinette for being poor or whatever as she hands out flyers for an upcoming career fair. Chloe doesn't have much of a role in the episode, but she will be important towards the end, trust me. We also get a funny “Marinette stares lovingly at Adrien” joke while she sees him, so it's good the writers are at least trying to get their strange habits out of their systems now instead of later.

While reading over the flyer in his room, Adrien ponders a possible career as he doesn't want to keep being a model.

(The episode came out in English first, so I'm just going to be using quotes instead of screenshots of subbed scenes for this review)

Plagg: Don't you wanna continue to model?

Adrien: I don't think so, Plagg. I'm doing it now because my father asked me to. But now I realize I don't know what I'd want to do. I've never asked myself that question.

This is a really interesting dilemma for Adrien. Unlike other episodes that just have him feel sad for entirely superfluous reasons like Ladybug turning him down or generally moping about his mom, it feels like something you can really understand. He genuinely isn't sure what he wants to do with his life because he's had everything chosen for him before. I also like the use of the English dub saying Adrien modeled because his father asked him to, as if he couldn't actually say no. I also like how Adrien is still starting to lose faith in Ladybug for giving out Miraculous to everyone, which makes even more sense after his view of her was shaken in the previous episode chronologically, “Rocketear”. I also like how Plagg suggests ideas for a career for Adrien, like the two of them opening up a cheese shop together, which shows how Plagg cares for Adrien and wants what's best for him, ultimately highlighting how healthy their relationship is. He's almost like a big brother who gives advice to Adrien, even if it isn't the most sound advice at times.

On the other hand, Marinette already knows what she wants to do with her life, but the Kwamis start to argue over what she actually means by it by saying they know what she wants to do, a painfully accurate metaphor for the writers dictating Marinette's actions no matter how inconsistent they are.

Pollen: What's a career, dear Guardian?

Marinette: Oh. Well, it's... your job! Something really important that you do and gives meaning to your life!

Roaar: Oh! So, your job is being the Guardian of the Miraculous!

Mullo: Of course not! It's being a student!

Xuppu: Not at all! It's making presents for Adrien!

Marinette:Well...

Longg: She said “something important”, like when she crafted the big doll house to hide the Miracle Box!

Wayzz: Or when she designed the alarm for this room! What a masterpiece!

Marinette: Sure, I love crafting but—

Ziggy: You guys don't get it! What gives meaning to her life is to be in love with Adrien, or Luka, that's her job!

Fluff: Luka's the one with the guitar, right?

Kaalki: Her real career is being Ladybug and carve her name in history by her glorious deeds, of course!

Of course, their bickering somehow makes Marinette realize she isn't sure what she wants to do in the future after all.

We then cut to a reality show hosted by TV personality, Alec Cataldi. He's generally an asshole to the people on the shows he hosts and takes pleasure in humiliating or just being a dick to them, making you wonder how he still gets work with that attitude. Basically, he's the Alec Baldwin of the Miraculous Ladybug universe. The current show he's hosting is one where he roasts people for their jobs, making Andre a target by pointing how counterproductive his “business” is.

Alec: Here's a perfect example: Andre, the Ice Cream Maker, the ice cream man that is never around! Let me remind you how this goes: Andre doesn't have a shop, no one knows where he is, it takes forever to find him, and he gets to pick a flavor of your ice cream! You've gotta be kidding, Andre! Give me one reason why I should bother to chase after you when I could get my choice of ice cream in any corner supermarket!

Andre: Well, people don't just come for ice cream when they find me. They come to share their love and experience of magical moments! A supermarket cannot do what I do! I am a creator of magical moments!

Alec: “Creator of magical moments?” You've gotta be kidding!

I'm pretty sure that's what a lot of people thought of Andre when they first saw “Glaciator”. The idea behind Andre is that he chooses ice cream for you representing something about yourself, so he gives Alec a scoop of lime to represent his sour exterior and chocolate cinnamon to represent the dreams he still has within. Alec flinches a little at the ice cream, presumably because of how terrible of a combination that is, and decides to go to commercial to think.

Marinette talks to Andre about what he does, and he explains he used to be an office worker, with the only highlight of his days being making ice cream for himself after work. It eventually inspired him to quit his job and start making ice cream for everyone. It's a nice backstory, and I think a lot of people watching who are struggling to think about their future can relate to this like with the earlier scene with Adrien. It's also a nice touch for the flashbacks to reveal Andre has served ice cream to some of France's most famous couples.

(Jean Coutau and Jean Marais)

(Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin)

(Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet)

Granted, I'm wondering how old Andre is to have even met some of these people given Jean Cocteau died in 1963, but seeing how Master Fu is 186, I'm guessing the Miraculous Ladybug universe just has really good healthcare. Either that, or the people in this universe take Jay Kordich's diet very seriously.

Andre gives some ice cream to Marinette, who is soon joined by her ex-boyfriend who she never loved according to the writers. Actually, judging from her face when Luka talks about the very first guitar he made, the writers made another 180 regarding Marinette's feelings for Luka.

Of course, because the show wants to remind the audience Alec still exists, he makes fun of Luka for taking two years to perfect the delicate craftsmanship it takes to sculpt any instrument when you can just download an app on your phone. Your inner boomer is showing, writers, even if you were born after the time period for that generation. Luka retorts with some vague philosophical line he's known for that's one of the reasons why people are so mixed on him as a character

Luka: Musical instruments fill the space and space fills the instruments. No phone in the world will ever be able to do that.

Despite it being incredibly confusing, it gets to Alec, causing him to run off in tears. Luka and Marinette continue to talk, but it turns out that's Adrien decided to sit down nearby because of course he did. Though, like the last scene, it's a pretty interesting one as the three discuss what they want to do with their lives. There's also a really nice visual of a blimp with an ad Adrien was in passing by while Adrien talks about his father dictating his life, a really nice symbol. Of course, the scene is somewhat ruined by Luka suddenly deciding to be an Adrienette shipper.

Luka: You two will eventually find what's already in front of you, but you can't hear it clearly. Just let the melody flow.

He's referring to their uncertainty of their futures, but earlier on, Luka wanted to help Marinette be honest with her feelings about Adrien, and even before that, Andre was saying that Marinette and Luka didn't have to be in love to enjoy his magic ice cream. It's here when I realized this episode is subtly trying to end any chances of Lukanette still happening with so many little details. Right when the two spend time together, that's when they decided to help Adrien who showed up for no reason, preventing them from potentially coming to terms with their feelings for each other or at the very least discuss how hard it is to be friends with their history. And things only get more frustrating towards the end, where you'd swear someone decided to smother Lukanette with a pillow in its sleep.

Back to Alec, he's roasting a wig salesman (does he even have permission to film any of these people?) for his job, but as soon as the salesman puts a wig on him, Alec immediately gives us his life story.

Alec: When I was a kid, I used to have long hair, but everyone made fun of me. That's why I shaved it all off. I've been making the wrong choices my whole life. My TV shows are nothing personal. I make fun of people when they make fun of me when I was a kid. (Starts to tear up) I should've been the person I always wanted to be, trying to change the world instead of mocking it! (Falls on his knees) I've wasted my life!

I didn't paraphrase this at all. This is seriously what happened. He goes from mocking everyone he meets, to slightly doubting himself after seeing an ice cream vendor and a young musician, and then he starts having an existential crisis about his tragic backstory. It's not a bad idea, but if there was some more buildup in previous episodes, I'd understand. But this goes from confusing to straight out insulting towards the end. I'll get to that later on.

Shadowmoth notices Alec's emotions and akumatizes him into Wishmaker through his microphone.

Wishmaker has a pretty cool design. The grey skin color coupled with the mostly black outfit really highlights Alec's broken heart, and he looks pretty sinister. His powers... leave a lot to be desired. Like the name states, Wishmaker has the power to make everyone's childhood dreams come true, like this one guy's dream is to be Santa Claus, so he transforms into Saint Nick without any hitch. Wouldn't it make more sense if Wishmaker twisted the dreams of his victims like a genie and made them miserable while they ironically lived out their fantasies by twisting around their words? Instead, all of his “victims” seem pretty happy, which doesn't really do much to make him a threat in my opinion.

So the aforementioned Santa starts dropping presents like bombs near Marinette, Adrien, and Luka, and they're separated by a giant robot. Marinette quickly transforms into Ladybug, and gets Luka to safety, though as soon as she leaves, Luka goes to check on where he told Marinette to stay for safety, and doesn't see her there. Instead, he sees his deadbeat father (transformed into a crocodile) drowning and goes to save him.

Ladybug meets up with Cat Noir (who transformed off-screen) and the two easily incapacitate the robot before engaging Wishmaker, avoiding his blasts. Apparently, they'll get their secret identities revealed if they get hit, so Ladybug goes to get Luka to help out as Viperion while Cat Noir holds off Wishmaker. Ladybug goes to get Luka, leading to the funniest joke in the episode.

youtube

She gives Luka the Snake Miraculous and he transforms into Viperion, immediately activating his Second Chance. For newcomers, Second Chance allows the user to set a point in time when activating it and if something goes wrong, they can go back to that checkpoint in up to five minutes. Ladybug also summons her Lucky Charm, a stuffed dinosaur toy.

Back with Cat Noir, as he engages Wishmaker, the Akuma starts to tempt him with the idea of living out his childhood dream, because he genuinely doesn't remember his. As Shadowmoth orders Wishmaker to use his powers on Cat Noir, Ladybug and Viperion show up, but in the chaos of the fight, Ladybug gets hit by Wishmaker, revealing her childhood dream as the “Knitting Fairy”, and exposes her identity to Viperion, who uses Second Chance to undo the timeline.

In the new timeline, Cat Noir's vulnerability gets to him, so he willingly lets himself get his by Wishmaker, not only exposing his identity as Adrien, but tragically reveals his childhood dream, to be whatever his parents wanted him to be. I feel like this works a lot better than some of the other moments where Cat Noir defied orders or screwed around on the battlefield because it's clearly framed as a moment of weakness on his part, and it was naturally built up over the course of the episode. The reveal of Adrien's childhood dream is a real gut punch too, as it shows just how much Adrien's life has been controlled by his family.

In the third timeline, Viperon deflects Wishmaker's blast meant for Cat Noir and redirects it toward a man whose childhood dream was to become a giant stuffed dinosaur. The stuffed dinosaur in question goes to give Wishmaker a hug, restraining him long enough for Ladybug to steal for Cat Noir to cataclysm (It's a microphone, how hard is it to break???) before she de-evilizes the Akuma. Ladybug uses Miraculous Ladybug to force everyone to stop living out their childhood dreams, she gives Alec a Magical Charm, and Luka decides not to tell Ladybug he knows both her and Cat Noir's secret identities. Why did Ladybug expect Luka not to know her identity when the whole reason she recruited him was to make sure nobody else found out her identity?

Now, while it isn't outright said, it's hinted at that now that Luka knows Marinette is Ladybug and Adrien is Cat Noir, judging from his dejected look after finding out the latter, he may be giving up on all attempts at the idea of getting back together with Marinette, and may or may not start shipping the Love Square now, just like how Kagami decided to ship Adrienette in “Mr. Pigeon 72”. I'm not saying the idea of Luka knowing someone's identity is bad, but it feels like this only happened specifically to stop him from having feelings for Marinette because now he knows Adrien loves her alter ego, and vice versa. Maybe it'll be touched upon in a later episode, but this was just a dick move by the writers in terms of ending all chances of Lukanette like this in order to ensure the Love Square has absolutely no competition.

So the episode ends with Marinette and Adrien deciding to focus on their futures while Alec starts a new show where he helps people live out their childhood dreams, albeit dressed like Style Queen for some reason.

Eh, he still picked a pretty cool Akuma to dress up as in my opinion. A lot of people have viewed this ending as evidence Alec is a drag queen with how he dressed up, coupled with the fact that he said something that was very similar to famous drag queen RuPaul.

Alec: And now, we're gonna love one another, starting with everyone loving themselves! Because how are you gonna love other people if you don't love yourself?

youtube

Though Astruc, being Astruc, once again decided to be vague when asked about the subject on Twitter, though at least the subtext is better than when he said he didn't make Juleka and Rose girlfriends because of censors while making it seem like a noble act.

Overall, this was a really good episode, though there were some underlying issues that really kept me from actually liking it. For the most part, it had some good drama with the main character, a rare scene where Marinette didn't stammer around Adrien, a creative (albeit flawed) Akuma with some good action, and an interesting idea with Luka knowing everything about the Love Square now.

There are just two big problems that really got to me about this episode. Let's get the obvious one out of the way, Luka. Honestly, he really didn't need to be in the episode. Sure, he gave some sound advice to Marinette and Adrien about their careers, but it felt kind of strange to see someone their age talking to them about their future when Andre, someone who actually had experience struggling to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, was pushed to the side. And like I said earlier, I think the only reason Luka found out about Marinette and Adrien's identities was to discourage him from thinking about getting back together with Marinette. After all, now that he realizes how “made for each other” they are, he can't stand in the way of the Love Square.

The problem is that in the context of the episode, we don't really see what made him see things that way. At least in “Mr. Pigeon 72”, Kagami consistently viewed Marinette's attempts to get her and Adrien back together as a subconscious desire to be with Adrien. It was dumb with how she decided to go to Team Adrienette at the end of the episode, but it was something. I'm glad the episode didn't force in too many Love Square shenanigans, but I think more should have been done to contextualize Luka's feelings towards the reveal. I get the writers wanted to make sure Lukanette had no chance of coming back, but this just feels rushed.

And then there's Alec's redemption arc. While it's not a bad idea in concept, the problem is that it flies in the fact of a recurring theme this season, that being redemption. Because, here's the funny thing: Alec blatantly said he became an asshole TV personality because of his history of bullying, and decided to retaliate as a result, but he eventually saw the error of his ways and turned over a new leaf. For long time readers of this blog, I apologize for bringing this up yet again, but what exactly makes this different from everything Astruc said about Chloe? You know, when he said that you make your formative choices when you're fourteen? Just like how Alec decided to become a reality TV host making fun of people after a troubling experience from when he was a kid?

Let's say that I agree with Astruc's views about Chloe. How is Alec different from what Astruc's said about Chloe for almost two years at this point? What makes Chloe, someone who was the victim of a troubled childhood who never got help, an irredeemable monster while Alec, someone who also had a troubled childhood and had even more time to get help while never getting any, capable of change? I thought he Alec made a formative choice when he was young and stuck with it, just like how Chloe started to fully develop at the age of fourteen. I mean, Astruc, you yourself said that Chloe's troubled childhood “was no excuse to treat people like shit”, according to you.

I'm just saying, dude, if Chloe can't be redeemed because of the stuff you yourself said, then that shouldn't apply to Alec either. When you really think about it, it's almost like Astruc either made up a bunch of excuses to not redeem Chloe, or he's a massive hypocrite for going back on his word. You can't really justify this kind of hypocrisy relating to Alec's redemption when you remember just how much of a hardass Astruc was when explaining why redemption was impossible for Chloe.

This coupled with the treatment of Luka really drags this episode from really good to blatantly insulting to certain viewers. Then again, these two choices just got to me personally. I feel like if those two things weren't there, things could have made this episode a lot better for me personally. I can see why a lot of people in the fandom still like this episode, but I'm honestly not a fan of it.

294 notes · View notes