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morethansky · 1 month

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***TBB FINALE SPOILERS***

"The Cavalry Has Arrived" aka MY OTP IS CANON NOW

A truly absurd amount of meta and thoughts and screaming under the cut:

Overall

• I...loved it????? This is the biggest plot twist of all for me. Like I've said incessantly, I've had so many issues with the writing choices for this show, and I'm so grateful the brainrot set in so I could start watching it through a fandom lens and have way more fun with it than through a media critic lens and being a hater. But like...that was actually really satisfying to me within the parameters of where the show had led to in the last four episodes??

• As everyone on the planet probably knows by now, I would've been much happier if this show had led to the Batch choosing to do the right thing and joining the clone resistance, and if we never get another clone series, I will continue to be unbearable and salty about the lost potential of telling that story. But after Echo left and we stopped following his story, I gave that hope up. And ofc nothing about my criticism of this season is invalidated. But given the pieces on the board, I'd pretty wholeheartedly give the finale my stamp of approval!

• I'm ultimately glad that this show ended on a "We don't leave our own behind" note, because that's the clone energy and general Star Wars energy I'm looking for, and they did a great job of applying that theme to every non-villain in this episode, minor and unnamed characters included—but it's still so darkly funny for them to have continued to push this idea even though the first season is literally about them leaving their own behind and moving on. And then Crosshair calls them out on it. And then he just...leaves himself behind. Even in their first appearance in TCW, the Batch's entire vibe is that they keep trying to convince Rex to leave his own behind lmao. I just feel like the show wanted this adage to tie everything together, but then forgot to keep applying it somewhere along the way. But hurrah for this abundant use of it!

• My overall biggest criticism was that even within this one episode we got back on the rescue/captured/rescue/captured treadmill. It's the biggest plot crutch of the show. It's so goofy that Omega and Echo rescued both the children and the imprisoned clones by themselves. The setup made it so that by going to rescue Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair actually put her in more danger. And because they were there, more clones died, wtf!! But I do like the narrative flip—Echo and Omega were both saved by the Batch in their introductions in this era, and here are they are being the ones to save them in return. Omega and Echo also are the characters in the main cast who deserve the rescuer plotline the most, since they have been consistently portrayed as helping those in need no matter what.

• Hilariously, one of the most pivotal roles that the Forest Trio plays in regards to the GFFA at large is that they were essentially Rampart's rideshare drivers, thus enabling him to be there and force Nala Se not to hesitate to destroy Project Necromancer.

Rampart and Nala Se

• Hemlock saying his work makes him indispensable is fantastic dialogue; it just seems like some dickish thing he would say to shit on Rampart, but it ends up giving Rampart the idea to try to leverage his work to become indispensable himself, and in saying that line, Hemlock ushers his own ruin!!! This is the kind of script work I've been begging for.

• Also I was so right about Rampart being like a Kallus foil! That infamous shot of him in his sad, sterile room after Bahryn is mirrored here with Rampart sitting in pretty much the same position, except his path is the opposite from Kallus's.

• They did an EXCELLENT job with Rampart's fate. I was worried they were neutering him these last couple eps, even if the comedy was gold, but this was very well done. Everything that happens leading up to his death makes complete sense for his character, and it accomplishes the very key plot point of destroying Tantiss. At the start of the season I couldn't figure out how and why the Batch was going to end up delaying Project Necromancer for like thirty years, so I feel validated that they pretty much don't. Very typical of this show to not have the protagonists do the heroic work, but fuck it, I like this instance.

• The humanizing of Nala Se in this show has always been a bit of an interesting choice given that this is feels like such a direct successor to TCW and she was so clearly a villain there. But although they don't quite redeem her, her motivations and her fate were also artfully executed here. Her conversation with Omega pretty much takes into account every Nala Se scene in this show, which is a great way to wrap her character up. And I really like the mirror of Nala Se giving Omega her datapad in the season premiere, and Omega giving Nala Se a datapad here. Both times, Nala Se is determined to set Omega free.

• And I'm so glad there was a follow-up to the destruction of Kamino as well! Nala Se getting a bit of revenge against one of the beings responsible for the genocide of her people and destruction of her homeworld is not something I expected at all, and I love it. And the setup of Nala Se picking up the detonator and Rampart picking up the blaster is just fantastic, because you know from just those two shots that Rampart is willing to kill to gain Palpatine's favor for himself, and Nala Se is willing to die to make sure the being she loves will be free.

Echo and Omega supremacy

• Give me an Echo-led rebel show where he convinces all sorts of people in the Empire and the underworld to defect/help them, please!!! He's so good at it, completing Emerie's turn so efficiently! We have to assume Rex is also good at it given his cell and that he has clone spies and even undercover agents, but every time he sees Hunter he has tried and failed to recruit him lmao. Also REX'S NAMEDROP but him not showing up surely means...we'll see a continuation of his story soon after this...right??? Also this means Howzer still lives, oh, thank god.

• "Because it's exactly what I would do." Strategist Echo comeback yessss!! A nice little callback to the Techno Union arc that kicked this story off as well. And HELL YEAH Omega's relationship with Echo is my favorite out of all of her connections, and I'm living for their spotlight together this ep. I'm extremely invested in found family stories not relying on nuclear family narratives, and I love that you see throughout the show that Echo doesn't "raise" Omega like a kid—he trains her like a cadet. Like someone who he intends to be his equal, which is a nice and very appreciated contrast to others treating her like a precious sheltered baby.

• Their goodbye scene in "Truth and Consequences" is one of my favorites in the show, and I just adore that when Omega is upset, Echo doesn't coddle her—he reminds her of her duty to watch over the others, giving her a purpose and a reason to stand tall. When he conveys that he was worried about her and thinking of her while she was captured, he gifts her a weapon he designed and made for her during that time, so that she won't have to be defenseless after being defenseless for so long in captivity. It's so clone trooper, and I love it and the glimpses these details give us about clone culture and how the older clones cared for the shinies and the cadets and showed their love for each other.

• I also liked that Omega couldn't have escaped without Tech's training, since slicing was so vital. And all her stealthy stabbing is of course reminiscent of Hunter. And finally some emotional payoff for the ongoing bit about Wrecker being afraid of heights! I'm weak for inspirational Star Wars quotes, and this show hasn't had many, but "Just stay focused on what's ahead, not what's below," is a lovely one.

Forest conversations, my beloved

• The Kiners scored the fuck out of this episode!!! So many clever, thoughtful reprises. This is the first reappearance of Crosshair's theme that's played on the synths since he began healing! And then it segues into a soft violin tremolo version that makes me cry, and then it intertwines with "The Sacrifice" from Tech's death, ouchhhh. I have a lot of meta I need to write out about the tracks "The Reunion" and "They Always Work It Out" and how they say so much about Hunter and Crosshair, but I can't believe how well my analysis paid off in the cues in this scene! More on that in another post.

• Gosh, Wrecker's injury scared the shit out of me. But I love him so much and I'm glad he got at least a little moment, even if he didn't really have a story arc here. Or you know, in the entire damn show. And I ultimately liked that the purpose of it wasn't just to freak us out but to give them a plausible disadvantage and to give Crosshair someone to fuss over the whole time and act more recklessly because of it, thus reiterating this key character trait of his.

• I love Crosshair being worried about Wrecker and Hunter and them being worried about Crosshair. That's the squad content I crave and have been missing!! Unfortunate that it specifically has been happening when Omega is out of the picture. Writers, I swear to you, you can do both.

• Can't believe it took another half season for someone to say something about Tech's death, and it was Crosshair, who wasn't even there?? Cool line and sentiment, but man, so frustrating. I like this callback to his conversation with Rampart, though. "Depends on who's giving them" and in this first act he keeps trying to give those orders himself. Thinking of Rex on Umbara: "We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions."

• God the forest conversations in this ep and the previous one fed me so much. Hunter saying, "And so do those clones" had me literally jumping out of my seat and cheering. Baby boy, it took you so goddamn long, but thank you for finally actually giving a shit before the conclusion of your story. And "It's what I deserve," hnghhh that's the good shit, and it hearkens back perfectly to "I belong in here." And Hunter immediately telling Crosshair hell no made me very happy. And then later Hunter saying "Crosshair—" when he's worried Crosshair is still going to sacrifice himself, but Crosshair reassures him that he'll be right behind them... My heart! What a Crosshunt feast we got in this ep!!!

• Can't believe we also got so many Crosswrecker moments from the get-go and they kept coming! And my three precious little Techwrecker crumbs: the way Crosshair specifically chooses Wrecker to say the cutting remark about Tech to; the way Wrecker bows his head because that was right on target; and Wrecker being the one to watch Tech fall and to scream, "Don't do it, Tech!" in "Plan 99" yet the one to say with such conviction here, "We've always known the risks. And so did Tech." That's just so...finally accepting your beloved is gone ;_; Not really deserved by the text, which kept all but a total of like maybe one total minute of mourning off screen for some fucking reason, but.

Clone X, more like Clone Sexy

• There aren't nearly as many Clone X dudes as I expected?? I guess Crosshair's situation wasn't that rare after all? Or do they just run through them super quickly because Rex's team keeps taking them down?? Regardless, god, THEY ARE ALL SO SEXY. The way they animated their movements was so creepy and hot. And them not speaking was so eerie, I loved it. And then the moment that CX-2 did was so effective and terrifying!!! But remembering that those were clones in there is so, so heartbreaking.

• I really like that Echo really felt like both a clone trooper AND the resistance agent he is now this whole episode, and Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair actually briefly got to feel like commandos. The slick stealth and silent communication was also very sexy.

• MY GOD, I loved these action scenes. They were lit and choreographed so cool, they were super intense and had real consequences and close brushes with death, and the logic of the fight flow was really good, too. A character being incapacitated because they went to try to help an ally is always a wonderful driving force for action and gives it that crucial character-driven element that raises the stakes, and is great for making sure the main characters aren't too OP, and there was a ton of that here.

• Hunter and Wrecker getting shot by laser cannons and Hunter pushing Wrecker away from the blast made me shriek in terror AND THEN CROSSHAIR SHOOTING THE PILOT DEAD ON NO HESITATION NO ANXIETY NO TREMOR BECAUSE HOW DARE YOU HURT MY HUSBAND I'M FUCKING LIVINGGG. And then Wrecker stumbling over to Hunter and lifting the debris like he does in TCW. Boom, three pivotal character-driven action scenes in a row that divulge a key characteristic of each character! Excellently written and directed.

• Also I am SO SO SO HAPPY that we're getting to see this protective Crosshair come out in full force!!! This is the Crosshair who risked his life to try to save Mayday, who shouted hysterically when Hunter fell into the ice and was so desperate to get him out, who worried over Omega on Teth. I also really like this contrast with how he was about Echo—"Echo's on it." He knows Echo will get the job done and be safe and that's despite his former prejudice against regs. He's worried about Hunter and Wrecker and that's despite previously spending time trying to hunt them down. And when he suffers consequences, it's because of him worrying about them, and that's so delicious.

• Finally got to hear Crosshair screaming! And Hunter was already the screamer in this show, but goddamn does he get to scream in this episode. Thank you, directors, for this whump material! My man Steward Lee never lets me down.

• THE WAY THAT WHEN CROSSHAIR IS TRYING TO SAVE WRECKER HE REACHES FOR A DC-17 OMG!!!! I feel so validated! And just like with Mayday, he's incapacitated afterward...

• God the way CX-2 waits to be tossed the vibrosword and then leans down with it while Crosshair is already incapacitated is SO brutal, like this is not a battle injury. It's straight up what Anakin fucking Skywalker does to Count Dooku just before he becomes a Sith Lord, like holy shit, dude. This scene is so cool and I've watched it 10,000 times over the past 24 hours, but also why did he do that lol, is he just supposed to be particularly cruel?? Obsessed with tormenting Crosshair for some reason?? Also, these vibroswords are exactly how I've pictured Ahsoka's being in A Future for Us :D

• At this point I was like, uhhh, the messaging of Crosshair struggling with this psychomatic hand tremor since the first episode of the season and then the symptom literally being taken out of his........hands sure is a Choice, especially coupled with how they've treated Echo (or you know, not). When they showed him still with the symptoms later, I was very relieved, AND THEN HUNTER LITERALLY CURES CROSSHAIR THROUGH THE POWER OF THE LOVE AND FAITH AND TRUST HE HAS FOR HIM IS THERE ANYTHING MORE BEAUTIFUL IN THE WORLD???? But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Echo is the GOAT

• "You were helping us, Dr. Karr?" / "I am." I love this subtle line and how Emerie acknowledges that she wasn't sure of her loyalties before but is certain now. And I love that she says such a clone trooper thing, "You have my word," and then doing the clone shoulder pat, especially in direct contrast to the natborn kids hugging Omega just before.

• "Hey, kids. ...And other kids." is just so fucking 501st, I can't explain it. I'm just so ecstatic that they did Echo such justice in the end, giving a nod to everything about his character, even his dorkass cadet personality. And it wasn't just so he could die, thank god!!!

• Like Echo even got a DARTH VADER homage??? That's his mass-murdering general (affectionate). More on this here!

• Also is there anything more Big Dick Energy in the world than Echo eviscerating Rampart—who either the clones would recognize as a former vice admiral or at least see his captain rank plaque—with what may not be a theme this show really earned but is ABSOLUTELY a theme that Echo deserves and has shouldered for over two seasons...and then just straight up shoving him out of the way so that he can talk to his brothers???? And with his stormtrooper helmet—which is like Echo refusing to dirty his hands (including his new, long-awaited one) by touching Rampart oh my god??? Sexiest man alive.

• So the answer is no, there isn't. Fives is hollering from the afterlife. Half those clones immediately developed a crush on him in that moment. That one clone later placing a blaster in Echo's arms so gently confirmed this for me (remember the symbolism of Echo making the energy crossbow for Omega? He even gives her his borrowed blaster in this scene), but it's so sad that he died because of it, whyyy.

• Also I love the "Clones don't leave our brothers behind" riff on the "We don't leave our own behind" adage. It's very fitting that Hunter would put it that way because he only means his squad (+/-1), whereas Echo would see it as meaning his people.

• And I love how when Rampart first shoves Echo, the clone in front that Echo's been talking to prickles and makes brief eye contact with him, to be like, "Should we take him? I've got your back." I felt that girls (gender neutral) in the bathroom energy so hard.

• The clones helping each other out of their cells made me so emotional. And it's the same way that Hunter and Crosshair do later...

• Echo asking for volunteers, just like Rex did on Umbara..................

• I think this post is breaking and I'm still only two-thirds of the way through my rewatch, oops. And yesterday I stayed up until 8 a.m. after I put it on again after watching it for the first time... I'm so normal about this show. More tomorrow!

• Part 2!

#the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #this ended up being 3k of me gushing about echo sorry not sorry #love of my life #amph talks #the bad batch #star wars

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marchivists · 9 days

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season two of iwtv isn’t really working for me and i’m not exactly sure why? i think emphasizing/exploring the longevity of the paris era humanizes all the vampires in a way that bores me and makes it hard to hold onto the thread of louis and claudia’s mania and desperation. i also think the writers are having a hard time juggling all the different plotlines/angles the show is trying to explore: louis and lestat’s relationship, louis and armand’s relationship, louis and lestat’s relationship’s impact on louis and armand’s relationship, claudia’s relationship with her body, claudia’s relationship with louis, claudia’s relationship with the coven, claudia’s relationship with madeline, armand’s personal history, louis’ memory, armand’s influence over louis’ memory, armand’s influence over daniel’s memory, daniel being drawn into a vampiric world-overthrow conspiracy, daniel being drawn into the human investigation of said vampiric world-overthrow conspiracy, lestat’s absence, lestat’s imaginary presence, louis’ relationship with art and photography, coven dynamics, etc etc. with so much going on the important stuff kinda goes unnoticed in the background until its brought up in what should be a pivotal scene (ex, louis and santiago’s animosity coming to a head at the dinner as santiago plays the mimic, which i don’t think he had really done until that moment??) but ends up falling flat. all that being said it is still very hot so i will continue watching

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #iwtv s2 #amc iwtv #if anybody has similar or contrary thoughts i would be happy to hear them!#mine

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tedcicle · 6 months

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Official Palcove Propaganda Post

[ID: Text with a fire effect that says "WATCH PALCOVE NOW" in red capital letters. /.End ID.] Now you may be asking... Who?

Palcove is both the name of the iconic duo of Ted Nivison (of Rainforest Cafe/Margaritaville/400mg edible fame) and Charlie Slimecicle (professional gay sex roleplayer, at least that's what he should be known for) and the area they lived in during their brief time on EpicSMP (a modded SMP created by, uh... *cough* Matt SuperMega *cough*. You can hazard a guess as to why this SMP didn’t really take off.)

Okay, why should I care?

I shan't lie and say EpicSMP is like, crazy good, or a hidden gem, or YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS — really, it's basically TekkitLive but there's way more people on it. It's a largely forgotten SMP, overshadowed by more popular and successful SMPs that happened before or around it. (OriginsSMP, for example.) There's a bunch of interesting duos trying to start their own businesses, and while nothing happened happened, at the end everybody died, which is interesting to think about. (Actually, wait... yeah, it’s just like TekkitLive.) But it was fun. There were some good bits, some light roleplay, and enough seedlings of a plotline to get an average viewer Andy like me invested in. There was some kind of season 2, but it never took off. I'm sure MCYT fans are accustomed to the disappointment of non-existent fandoms, unfinished stories, or lacking narratives by now (Shadow of Israphel was my first heartbreak, but maybe yours was something else). Another one wouldn’t hurt, right? Why Palcove specifically? Well, as a former SMPLiver— (I am escorted off the stage to a chorus of boos) I just really like Ted and Charlie's dynamic. They’re the perfect comedy duo. Charlie works best when he has someone to bounce bits off of, and Ted knows exactly how to pick up what Charlie is putting down and elevate it to the next level. (The adverb and adjective bit in the first VOD had me DYING.) Story-wise, Charlie had a satisfying character arc. He’s a pivotal character and I liked how he plays off of Schlatt and Swagger, too. Not to mention, this is the last time Ted has uploaded or streamed any Minecraft content... I miss him, chat. Also, it makes me happy. Isn't that enough?

Well, okay, you got me interested. How do I watch?

I'm glad you asked (even if you wouldn't fucking say that, I don't care). Firstly, a primer. Sometimes we start a new thing, but it ends up not being to our liking, and that's fine. Maybe you want to walk around and see how it fits before you commit. That's fine! All I ask for is 14 minutes of your time. That's like, 4 songs.

youtube

This video is the first day edited down into a nice, palatable, taste-tester, courtesy of unknown energy on YouTube. It's so nice and cozy and comfy, it's the equivalent of a mug of hot chocolate curled up in an armchair with a warm blanket wrapped around you. As for continuing, I highly recommend starting with Charlie's POV. It's probably who you're most familiar with, and he bothered to edit down his streams (even if the videos are like, an hour long). If you like listening to men argue and make the unfunniest jokes imaginable, then definitely try the full VODs. All of these have been archived by the channel EpicSMPVods.

Charlie's POV Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 VODS Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | End of S1* Ted's POV Episode 1 (Yes, he really only did one episode) VODS Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

*This VOD is Swagger's POV, as Charlie didn't upload the finale at all, and the VOD of it either doesn’t exist or wasn’t archived. The relevant Charlie section starts around 15 minutes in.

And if you want more of the story, well, Swagger has one of the most comprehensive EpicSMP POVs.

Final Thoughts

Like many other “stream only” SMPs, a lot of content regarding them simply gets lost and forgotten. There's plenty of reasons why EpicSMP wasn't very successful (in-depth analysis post pending). I’m just glad that not only did Palcove exist, but it's archived. It just so happened to survive against surmountable odds and even have what I consider a satisfying narrative ending (in-depth analysis post pending). And I’m insane about it. And everyone else should be, too.

[ID: Text with a fire effect "WATCH PALCOVE NOW" in red capital letters. /.End ID.]

#storm in a teacup #epicsmp #ted nivison #charlie slimecicle #palcove #described #id in alt #fuck yeah accessibility!!!

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prairiedust · 7 months

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one thousand days of destiel, or cas: fuckerupper of endings

Idk why I’m crawling out from under my woodpile to write this, except that it occurred to me that in three years I’ve not rewatched a single episode of Supernatural and have at least two dozen tags yet blacklisted on tumblr, and that I am still not okay about this stupid show.

I never tried to tie up the folklore/author themes I’d been geeking out about through the last seasons, neither as the show was ending nor afterwards. I’ve been simmering now for over a thousand days. I could not even write a complete sentence about spn for all this time, and so I just left that pot on the back burner and did other things. Finished my Master’s degree. Started a new job. Saw my oldest child graduate from high school and move off to college, and helped my younger child move on to sixth grade. Watched some other shows, got a new blorbo, saw some movies, started painting again, picked up a couple of new hobbies as I am wont to do.

Today is the 5th of November, 2023. (ETA i sat on this for a bit.)

November 5th, 2020, was exactly one thousand and ninety-five days ago.

I see gifs from the show from time to time and I think to myself, wow, that scene/episode/series is completely irrelevant to my life now. I am fine and normal about everything. But if it really was, if I really was, it would not hurt so much to see the gifs and the lyric posts and the amvs when they aren’t caught in my tag filters. So maybe it’s time to get some things out of my head and onto paper.

I genuinely, nearsightedly, naively thought that since Dabb et al had been the ones writing the whole folk v author themes, and thus posing as someone we could count as being on “our side,” the folk-side of the postmodern audience, they’d honor that conceit, even to the very last shot.

They did not.

And yet… they absolutely did.

Which hurts and is fucked up, but also it’s fine. It’s fine.

In the end, the only “folk hero” (by which I mean the only force in the spn universe capable of warping the threads of the story with any permanence) was Castiel. When Castiel left the story (of his own volition, if you can find a comfortable layer of this meta pie for that concept to rest in,) the writers reverted to God Mode. Because Castiel had been their freedom, their mouthpiece, their avenue for improvisation, and so at the end of the series…

well, we got You changed me/I love you

•

and then we got “Cas helped.”

So much has been written about that pivot point, but genuinely I don’t give a rat’s ass about rewrites, producers, the cutting room floor, or COVID. It exhausts me, and I’m not beholden to writing about spn for grades or notes or any kind of other bullshit that would oblige me to do research.

I feel like… we got what we got.

So let’s criticize some media.

The Paradox:

Cas imploded— went from flexing the narrative from within to being narrated by a force from without. And I couldn’t bear to wrap my head around that for a long time. It seemed that this “twist” was beyond cruel. That’s what he got. Vanished and nerfed. For saying ily. That was what happened when he was finally in focus, fully revealed. He lost. He was relegated, along with Jack, to become heaven’s Two Men and a Truck.

It was a trick, the whole “Chuck is a writer” plotline. The Author regained control of the character that had previously been acting independently. Very Pirandellesque, very frustrating, ultimately even tragic.

So, yes, thematically and critically, having Castiel give up his Agency for Characterhood– giving up his ability to create plot for a role as a character in a plot— was ‘literary’ brilliance. It cemented his status as a grand fucker-upper of the show in a way that any show writer “authoring” a requited destiel ending would not and could not have done. Even Jack, I believe, had been “manipulated” into god-hood from within the narrative. Jack was Dabb’s grand metaphor, he was a product of Author. Castiel was… well, he was a chaos engine from the moment he walked through those barn doors.

To seal the metaphor, the writers ended up living that truth.

I really don’t know if I’m being cogent about this. I’ve been struggling to turn this idea into words for, like, ONE THOUSAND DAYS.

The folk-vs-Author themes becoming A Thing in The Supernatural Show was like a chemical reaction: once the ions had bonded, the resultant compound could not be separated back into the different materials. What on that screen was Author, what was “author,” ie show writer, and what was text-experiencer-as-author? Where did the Sam-as-magician arc go, what were we supposed to do with the semi-metatextual moments that Mary had, having been brought back into the narrative by Amara, not Chuck? Everything got so out of control. Add in a smidgen of secret-sauce-TPTB possibly superseding the author/Author, and what you get is that ridiculous mess of a final two episodes.

It’s not about the rusty trombone or the butt hole pleasures. It’s about love. And kids.

Thank you, hon. It really is. (The above line was left in this doc by my spouse. It is a quote from The 40-Year-Old Virgin. I’ll allow it.)

Anyway. It was hard to see past the sound and the fury of it all.

*****

I was feeling nostalgic several months ago and took a swim in my old meta tags; I found a gem from season…10? Idk and idc, but it was from “The Things We Left Behind.”

I compared Claire to Sleeping Beauty (a tale that got a lot of use in later seasons) and wrote: “I tend to think that Castiel’s entire arc is about desperate and unintentionally misguided attempts to Change The Ending of whatever story he’s shown up in” and reading that again really kind of sucker-punched me.

‘We’re making it up as we go’ was the crux of Cas’ existence. Remember that half-related story in Baby wherein Cas got himself hitched to the Djinn queen? Remember when Jack died and the Empty came to claim him in Heaven and Cas made that terrible bargain? The last-minute attempt to gank Lucifer that actually got him killed and sent to The Empty?

Time and time again, Castiel’s go-to for “changing the narrative,” for advancing his plot, is self-sacrifice. In Chuck’s house against the archangel. The Leviathan disaster. Saying ‘yes’ to Lucifer. The Bargain for Jack in Heaven. And those times it worked out. Not without great pain for both the other characters and for the viewers, but he always came back.

And with each return, his motivation became clearer. (Picture your favorite screencap of Dean here.)

Cas’ love grew, crystalized, and then disappeared, like frost on the windowpane of a house on fire.

If they had continued the CasDean storyline, it would have ultimately been The Author IRL writing/creating/manifesting/materializing ‘destiel.’ And so by putting a torch to all of that architecture, they essentially gave everything to us. Unspoilt. Fingerprints wiped. Serial numbers scratched away. Jailbroken. Whatever floats your boat.

The confession was both affirmation and abnegation. Symbolically, The AuthorTM had washed his hands of it, but with destiel out of the picture, The Author also got his ending.

This is why “Cas helped” felt like a ‘fuck you.’ If Cas was out of the narrative, why did he come back as one of Heaven’s real estate developers? It did not fit.

And yet. It did. Because Chuck won. Chuck, or everything that an Author represents in television land– TPTB, showrunner legacies, multiple producers, a chaotic and treacherous and politically messy writer’s room, multiple incompatible or unresolvable MOs and visions— all that ends up being packaged and presented as a single unerring vision.

So I have to admit, although I don’t have to do it with any ion of grace, that in the end it was pretty fucking smart.

Destiel is ours. Destiel is the folk ending. The Author never got to touch it, never so much as breathed on it, was so far divorced from the concept that the absence thereof going forward hit us like a truck full of bricks.

Yes, it hurts that Dean was just left on the floor until the credits rolled, that there were no final words, no ensuing acknowledgement.

I’ll go so far outside the Text as to address the ‘Dean can’t reciprocate’ direction from one of the scripts:

If Dean had made a single move onscreen. Uttered a word. In Despair or either of the other two episodes.

Destiel would have been claimed by The Author.

Anyway. I’ve been collecting posts now and again under the tag ‘the endless folklore of supernatural.’ For three years, the fandom has continued to loot, to ransack, to graffiti, to create and re-create, to burn, to mix, and to distill.

There’s all kinds of things in that tag, it’s sort of a kitchen sink of everything that I thought was even tangentially relevant to folk-Destiel and the postmodern experience of creating text as a reader/viewer etc.

We turned a literary story based on an urban folktale back into folklore.

And so it goes.

I doubt I will do much more analysis of this show, even if it comes back, and I unfortunately can’t touch The Winchesters. But I can’t say I never will. I just thought three years, one thousand days, was a pretty good place to leave a marker on the trail.

—

Epilogue: About The Winchesters:

I did not finish watching The Winchesters because of something wildly, randomly, but highly personally triggering that was built into one of the episodes; however I am very sorry that it was canceled or possibly ironically lost to the WGA-SAGAFTRA strike of 2023.

“What is the maddest thing a man can do? Let himself die.” That’s the clue that leads Castiel to his hidden grace in a copy of The Man of LaMancha in 10.18 ‘The Book of the Damned,’ written by one Robbie Thompson.

I noticed from the get-go that Thompson gave Carlos the last name Cervantez. He was nodding to the self-immolation of the last cadre of writers of Supernatural and stating clearly that he was holding a pen, not a match.

Want some very fun and amusing and wildly pertinent facts about the Don Quixote books?

The narrative conceit of Don Quixote IN THE FIRST PLACE LOL is that Cervantes claims to have found a manuscript by a historian named Cide Hamete Benegeli and Cervantes thought the story was pretty neat, if a little rough; Cervantes retells the story for us from what he’d read by that author, distilling the “original” into the book we experience as Don Quixote the Man of La Mancha.

The final words of Cervantes’ Part One are “perhaps another will sing with a better pick.”

Later, someone publishing under the pseudonym Alonso Fernandez de Avellaneda wrote their own part two, feeling that the original author was taking too long to get their ass in gear (or judging by their own preface they felt that Cervantes had not even done the original story justice in the first place. Which is A Mood.)

So when someone actually did have the audacity to run off with his characters and commit word crimes with them, Cervantes absolutely obliterated the dude in his own Part Two.

Thompson left Spn after season eleven. But, lest someone think this is a commentary about fan fic, he also wrote the episode Fan Fiction. So anyway all the Cervantez-Cervantes business was certainly something.

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emeryleewho · 1 month

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Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to write A Flair of Fate as a comic, rather than prose?

Hi!

So this is actually a really complicated answer, but I'm gonna try to break it down into the key points.

A Flair of Fate is largely in conversation with shounen anime, so I wanted it to be in a medium that would allow it to embody the tropes it deploys, but also where it could be in open conversation with similar stories.

Prose is a really limited medium in a couple of different ways. It's hard to have really large casts in prose novels because it's hard for people to remember all of the characters when all you have is a name to remember them by, and bc prose typically follows a limited number of POVs, you can only keep up with so many characters in their own time, plus you're limited to only seeing that which your POV characters see/know. In a Flair of Fate, this would be a major issue because Javi is a REALLY unreliable narrator. [Mild spoilers to follow], BUT a recurring theme in this comic is normalizing things that are NOT normal. One example is here in the prologue:

This is just an establishing shot of Javi's best friend's house, but there are all these security cameras everywhere. They live in a dystopian police state, where there's hyper-vigilance, but that's normal to them, so if we were navigating all of this through Javi's head, it would be a lot harder to drop these details that he genuinely doesn't notice. Visually, I can establish these subtle cues throughout as the story builds, which is really important because this story has A LOT to explore that Javi is oblivious to at the beginning LOL.

3. The story is long form, kind of like old TV used to be, in that it's one long story that can be divided into arcs or seasons, but the big villain is consistent until we finally confront them at the end. In prose novels, each book is supposed to be able to stand [mostly] on it's own, with a full plot arc per installment, and that would absolutely not work for this story!

4. The fluidity of an illustrated medium detaches readers from a tendency to take things too seriously or too literally. It adds a sort of inherent humor that allows stories like, say, Avatar the Last Airbender, which deals with war and genocide, to still be incredibly light-hearted and funny most of the time. This was super pivotal for this story too because it does have some really dark moments and some very heavy plotlines. It's a dystopian, anticapitalist story at it's core, BUT most of it is a sort of slap-stick humor/friendship/romance story about all the shenanigans that go down in this superhero sports league, so being able to manipulate the tone of a scene through the artwork makes a HUGE difference!

Ex:

5. And the last big reason is because I have ADHD and reading prose sometimes can feel kind of insurmountable, but the bite-size, visual heavy chunks of webcomic format gives my brain the happy hum feeling, so when I decided that I wanted to tell as story that would embody everything *I* the fanboi would want in a story, I realized it only made sense to let it be a webcomic!

Anyway, thanks for asking! Sorry this was the longest response ever LOL

#I love this story a little too much so I could talk about it for days LOL #Asks #A Flair of Fate #webcomics vs prose #literary analysis #media analysis

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neikikardartv · 7 months

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Buffy Still Slays with its use of Supernatural

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a cult classic TV series that aired from 1997-2003 with 7 seasons. The show follows the titular vampire slayer Buffy after she is chosen to be the slayer by fate “to battle against vampires, demons and other forces of darkness”, as the theme song goes. After becoming the Slayer she relocates from LA to Sunnydale California, which is located on a “Hellmouth” (meaning demons are attracted to the area). For her highschool is Hell literally. Buffy has to fight both literal and figurative demons alongside her friends who are affectionately referred to as the Scooby Gang. The format of the show is mainly ‘monster of the week’ style with each season having an overarching ‘Big Bad’ villain plotline. The cult following of Buffy has actually garnered lots of academic attention and scholarly articles, being referred to as “Buffy studies”.

Unlike how the article described Penny Dreadful I don’t believe that Buffy is anti-feminist in its subtext. I believe that Buffy instead uses the supernatural and gothic tropes to portray the complexity of the adolescent girl experience and coming of age.

What concepts of Gothic doubling function to define the natural from the supernatural?

Buffy as a series has many Gothic elements with its themes and supernatural settings and even pastiche characters. Buffy herself is a modern Gothic heroine, while she is still virtuous she also possesses physical and mental strength. Many Gothic doubles are featured in the show as supernatural beings most notably being the vampires that terrorize Sunnydale. In the show vampires are the epitome of one’s shadow self, they are all “id”, once someone turns they become a cruel sadistic version of themselves with no soul or humanity. There is usually a very clear line between the natural and supernatural with vampires as there are countless scenes of Buffy staking each vampire she sees in her slayer duties that protect the town. The show uses visual effects to completely “other” the faces of vampires when they are attacking humans and vampires aren’t meant to be humanized at all.

youtube

(Buffy slaying stop around 30s)

There is one notable exception to that rule in the early seasons that comes in Buffy’s first love interest Angel. Angel is unique in that he is a 200 something year old vampire that has been cursed with having a soul. This makes him feel remorse for all the evil acts he committed prior to the curse. When Buffy first meets Angel she is appalled to find out that he is a vampire and immediately wants to stake him. Once he proves himself to be “a good vampire” he and Buffy form a relationship and he attacks other vampires alongside her.

Angel is a very interesting character in that his gothic double is a part of his vampire form as well, he has an alter ego that comes out when he is soulless that goes by “Angelus”. Angelus first comes out in a pivotal scene after Buffy loses her virginity to him, next thing we know he’s become that guy who changes into an asshole after sex. This scene happens the morning after they had sex (he was gone when she woke up).

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(skip 40s in).

As you can see Angel’s gothic double Angelus is a stereotypical asshole. Prior to this he was a loving and protective boyfriend, afterwards he becomes one of the seasons “Big Bads” who terrorizes Buffy’s friends and family and tries to destroy the world. In his Angelus soulless form Angel is back to being ‘othered’ and Buffy ends up having to kill him in the finale (he does come back as Angel again, spoiler). Through this dichotomy the divide between supernatural and natural becomes clearly defined, the Angel/Angelus gothic double shows that it actually is a lack of humanity that truly separates the supernatural from the natural.

In what ways is gender performativity tied to the supernatural?

Gender performativity is tied to the supernatural in that character’s Gothic doubles often represent extreme stereotypes of masculine and feminine gender performativity. The doubles can sometimes even be manifestations of someone’s desire to ‘perform gender’ which is amplified by the supernatural. One such instance of this occurs in Season 3 episode 4 titled, “Beauty and the Beasts” . In this episode another Jekyll/Hyde like scenario occurs in what seems to be a normal highschool boy named Pete, who is responsible for a string of gruesome murders. Pete is dating another student Debbie and it is revealed that he has been taking a potion that transforms him into a monster. As seen in this clip.

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(1:00m in)

As you can see here it is pretty on the nose with the abusive boyfriend turning into an actual monster metaphor. In the clip it is revealed that Peter made the monster potion to, “Be the man [Debbie] wanted”. Pete has created a potion that forces him to perform gender and it leads him to become a monster double of himself. By having supernatural entities be extreme representations of gender performativity Buffy is able to demonstrate how gender stereotypes can be harmful.

How does the series use the supernatural to liberate characters from oppressive normalcy?

Buffy’s supernatural strength and fighting abilities that come with being the “chosen one” as a slayer, liberate her from oppressive normalcy. Prior to being a slayer Buffy was a popular cheerleader at her old school. After she is granted her slayer duties she struggles with not leading a normal life anymore.

This struggle between accepting being a slayer and wanting to just be normal is Buffy’s main internal conflict in the earlier seasons. While, at first she doesn't find abilities liberating she soon is able to accept her fate and enjoys her power in slaying and saving others.

Another character that is liberated from oppressive normalcy through the supernatural, is Buffy’s best friend Willow. Willow starts out in the series as a shy, studious girl. While she continues to be studious she begins to use her brains to also learn witchcraft. This escalates when Willow goes to college and joins a Wicca group on campus. While expanding her powers with the group she also meets another Wicca named Tara who becomes her love interest; leading her to realize she’s a lesbian (prior to this she had a boyfriend). Willow’s journey with growing her witch powers also aligns with her self discovery and coming out, liberating her from oppressive heteronormativity.

In what ways do Gothic doubles allow characters to transgress scripted gender that society imposes on them?

Early on in her witchcraft abilities, in the episode Doppelgangland, Willow casts a spell that accidentally puts her Vampire doppelganger from another universe into their world. This scene occurs before that happens.

youtube

(2:00-3:00 min).

As you can see Willow is upset with how she is characterized by others. The article states that,“the double can be liberating for women (Saxey 2010), as it can allow them to transgress the traditional gender boundaries imposed on them by society”. Willow’s vampire double is the opposite of her and her desire to be less like herself ends up backfiring when her double terrorizes Sunnydale.

Clip from after she is captured.

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(2:20-3:20).

“That’s me as a vampire? I’m so evil..and skanky.. and I think i’m kinda gay…”

As shown, Willow’s gothic double transgresses Willow’s gender script of being sweet, innocent, and wearing fuzzy pink sweaters. Her doppelganger has dominatrix tendencies and is much more confident and sexual. Interestingly, the first hint of Willow being gay is with her double, showing that her double has been able to transgress the heteronormative gender script as well. As Angel’s, “Well actually...” suggests Willow’s gothic double is a representation of her most buried desires.

How are characters rewarded or punished for subverting their expected character traits?

Willow’s want to subvert her “old reliable” self ends up with her being punished as her plan backfires. Her extreme gothic double ends up being killed immediately via stake after she is returned to her original dimension (Interestingly, Willow didn’t want them to kill her double and instead casts a spell to return her). At the end of the episode we see that her gothic double actually helped her achieve her goal of not being forced to do her athlete classmate’s homework, as he is now intimidated by her. Her gothic double is punished for her gender digressions but her assertiveness ends up benefiting Willow by not letting her be ‘walked over’ anymore.

Buffy’s subversion of her expected feminine character traits are rewarded by her heroism. Her supernatural strength keeps her and her loved ones from being killed and also allows her to easily attack her unsuspecting creepy male classmates, who are always taken aback by her strength. This leads many of her male peers to refer to her as a “freak’ and someone to avoid, despite her looks and wit. However, this doesn’t phase Buffy as she enjoys the freedom that comes with her ability to protect herself.

Questions

Do you think that mythologizing the issues that come with ‘coming of age’, in the form of having the supernatural represent teenage woes, make these concepts more universal and accessible to young viewers?

Why do you think the show made Buffy’s two main love interests (Angel and then former nemesis Spike) vampires, even though her whole thing is that she’s ‘the slayer’?

Do you think that Buffy continuing to ‘other’ and slay vampires even while dating one is ethical? When they could also be potentially redeemed?

How do you think the face altering visual effects contribute to the ‘othering’ of vampires in the show?

@theuncannyprofessoro

Some Articles I read:

#oxyspeculativetv

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harrumphingtons · 1 year

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Alright, moving on to theories that aren't about Jamie (my long list of Jamie theories is here):

This is something random and probably not important, but we got way fewer promo pics for this episode? It's only 5 this week, while:

- E1 had 8

- E2, E5, & E6 had 9

- E4, E9, & E10 had 10

- E3 & E8 had 11

- and E7 had 13

Now, E7 was a pivotal episode, as that was where Richmond turned things around and started building towards the ending, in the sense that they got things together as a team. But I don't think that means E11 will be not as important of an episode. The opposite, actually: I think maybe this is an episode where they're trying to give away as little as possible? As much as I'm rambling about my theories for this episode, the promo pics aren't really all that... telling. So perhaps they're trying to keep the plotline of this episode a surprise?

About the picture of Ted and Rebecca with a projector behind them: I might just be thinking everyone looks like they're about to cry in this episode, but Rebecca looks like she's tearing up??? I'm guessing this is a team movie night situation and maybe Ted and Rebecca are having a quiet conversation in the back, and it's probably about something important, and she tears up a bit because of it?

Speaking of Rebecca and her and Ted having conversations, in the second-to-last episode of both season one and two, Rebecca came down to Ted's office to tell him something important -- S1, that she'd been trying to destroy the club, and S2, that she'd had an affair with Sam. In that scene in S2, Ted even acknowledged that their situation was reminiscent of the past year, and one of them, I think Rebecca, also even said, "See you next year." So it's pretty heavily implied that we're getting another iteration of that scene. For the purposes of narrative symmetry in terms of placement in the season, it would make sense for that to happen this episode. However, I can't think of anything Rebecca would be confessing, this time. I know the Tedbecca shippers are hoping it'll be a confession of love, or something, but based on how things have been going, I'm pretty sure canon will be sticking to platonic relationship between those two through the end. Maybe, instead, this season Ted will be the one telling Rebecca something big, to keep that pattern but switch things around a bit? Maybe this will be when Ted decides he's going to head back to Kansas, to be with Henry? Which, by the way, I'm not entirely sure will be the ending of the show anymore. It's still pretty likely, but (and maybe this is just misplaced hope) I could also see Ted staying with Richmond.

The picture of Keeley, Rebecca, and Higgins sitting up in the box watching the game is kind of stumping in terms of why it's even there. It doesn't seem to be very important? Rebecca's smiling, Keeley's kinda smiling, and Higgins looks a bit annoyed, and they're clapping. So telling. But judging by the angle of Keeley's and Rebecca's heads/eyes, they're not looking down at the pitch, they're looking a bit further down in the stands. Higgins is looking... off into the distance, I don't know. But maybe Keeley and Rebecca are smiling because they're waving/saying hi to some person from a distance? I don't know who this hypothetical person could even be, but. Yeah. That's all I'm getting from that photo.

Ok, then there's the picture of Keeley leaning/sitting on the back of a couch. That could be Jamie's mum's living room, since we do know she (and Roy and Jamie) are going to end up there at some point during the episode, but I think it's more likely that that particular room is a hotel or something? I don't know, the lights in the background and the armchairs and the couch seem kind of... modern... style? Not the type of thing I'd expect to see in Jamie's mum's house, especially considering that since stuff from Jamie's childhood is still up in his bedroom, she's likely lived there at least since he was a teenager. I just think her house would be more cozy and homey.

And finally, the picture of Ted walking down (what I think is) the alley his apartment building lets out into. I really don't know what that picture is. I can't find anything significant in that one. He's just. There. But this does add in to my theory that they're actively trying not to tell us anything with these promo pics. The less we can theorize, the more hard-hitting it'll feel, I guess.

#tl #ted lasso apple tv #ted lasso s3 #ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso s3 spoilers #ted lasso #afc richmond #rebecca welton #keeley jones #leslie higgins #ted lasso speculation

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nostalgia-tblr · 8 months

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Ok, I love reading your asks and your replied to them (never thought of Sylki Darkfic before but you are so right, selflessly possessive Loki being low-key creepy would be fitting). So I want to hear your two cents about this:

Sylvie has no reason to learn how to trust or suddenly be able to trust in S2. As you said, Loki doesn't give her a reason to trust him, it's almost like he just nags her till she gives up. The TVA are still pruning the Timelines (Dox) and they are still indifferent to the Timelines being pruned (Mobius). Sylvie could have seen the chance of the TVA agents redeeming if she had any interactions with B-15, but she doesn't. After trying to hope for the best, they failed at accomplishing whatever they dragged her from her life on the Timeline for.

So, does Sylvie get any development at all, or is she there to be the hysterical anti-cop mouthpiece as the other anon said?

okay first of all my disclaimer on this one is that while i have indeed come to appreciate the male sylvie loki as a character i did first get dragged in by sylvie so i tend to take her side on things because she is the superior blorbo.

(i put this behind a read-more thingy cos it got a bit long)

my feels on sylvie this season are that she's been demoted from 'her quest for revenge is the main driver of the plot' to 'isn't it awful that she makes the man upset by understandably-yet- foolishly disagreeing with him?' she's not had a pivotal moment with B-15 because sylvie in s2 is (so far) primarily there to make loki feel sad. she had that lovely end-credits bit of discovering the McDonalds Burgermatic Universe but then we didn't see that after all, we just skipped to her working on a till apparently established in her new life. there's two episodes left so this could all change but the first half has not been that great on the sylvie front :'(

even the fact that (someone correct me if i'm wrong pls as it is very possible) loki shows up at mcdonalds mostly because he saw her in a lift in the previous episode and assumes this means she will know about... her own future? somehow? or possibly because he knows she's one of the main characters and so she needs to be brought into this new plotline. or for emotional reasons but he obviously can't so much as hint at that to her in case they resolve their relationship issues too early. (how can sylvie expect him to tell her the truth about these things? it was only the second episode and that's far too early! what a daft bint she is!)

people get mad at sylvie for not being nice enough to loki but she's got a normal-seeming life now that she appears to enjoy, and him turning up (in a TVA uniform with his cop buddy AND THEIR PRISONER) demanding answers she doesn't have and telling her to just accept that The Cops Are Good Now Actually, Apart From All The Ones Who Aren't so like... why would she go out of her way to be polite and helpful about keeping the TVA running?

i don't think she's intended to seem like a hysterical rebel, but we're not being shown things from her perspective as much as before and we assume (we could be wrong about this but we do assume) that as the main character loki is going to turn out to be right about most of these things and we don't really get a balanced set of arguments, which seems to be partly because we need to hold off on these characters actually discussing anything so that we can ensure that loki stays sad about her until such time as he can be rewarded for his work on the time loom by the lifting of that sadness (or whatever).

there's still two episodes left though, which is enough time to turn this around a bit, perhaps by showing us a bit of sylvie's new life or by having some proper discussions/arguments about whatever the fuck the TVA are supposed to be doing now. so my feelings are currently mixed. could turn out fine, could end up crap. OH THE TENSION D: D: D:

#replies #loki season 2 #i'll tag this with 'loki series critical' but shall remove that tag if it somehow makes people angry at me #i am not even sure if the people making this show realise that the tva are cops so idk what to think really

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viscountessevie · 2 years

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I was turned off from the hype of Brigerton early on (idk I wasn't feeling it) but I've been seeing gif sets of Kate and Anthony and I'm kind of obsessed. Would I need to watch season 1 for me to get it or can i skip right into season 2 for the kathony canon content?

Ohmygod hello! I'm so flattered you regard my opinion highly enough to ask me about this! Honestly you're so valid and I'm SO happy that Kathony is drawing in people who were never interested in Bridgerton before S2 dropped. More under the cut because as always this got LONG:

Okay so this is tricky and really depends what you're into as a romance fan? S1 is about Simon and Daphne and they are a fake dating trope which was really fun and wholesome to watch! S2 is of course Kate and Anthony and they are PEAK Enemies to Lovers and are very HOT. While the romances each season are stand alone - S1 does have a storyline for Anthony which acts as a prequel for his story in S2 I'll talk more about later in this post.

Honestly as much as I adore Kathony but their season was all over the place as a cohesive story - at times it felt like I was watching two different shows because there was an annoying plotline that didn't connect to the main story and romance AT ALL. (Honestly I always skip their scenes on my rewatch feel free to do the same).

It was shit as an adaptation which is why I'm currently an S2 hater like I love the Kathony of it all but the rest of the season can get fucked - and its mainly because I'm a huge fan of their book. So I would recommend just watching S2 and then reading their book for more of their scenes together - for all her flaws Julia Quinn really FED US with the Kathony content. Also Kate's family is featured more and they are so wholesome! Kate even gets a fully fleshed out backstory (minor spoiler but we were robbed of that in the show) My friend did that and she said the book after watching S2 first felt like a comfort cos you got more scenes. Whereas a book reader, we felt robbed of a lot of pivotal book scenes.

If you have the time and are up for it, I would definitely recommend watching S1 because it was a solid adaptation of Book 1 and Anthony's arc in it is so compelling - yes he was a dick and everyone thought he was annoying af (not me though I've always loved my hot mentally ill eldest sibling clown) but really it's a shield to protect himself from his past trauma - no spoilers but it gets covered in S2! So to see his development from S1 to S2 is very satisfying if you want the whole picture.

Simon and Daphne are cute until their main conflict which was pretty fucked up and going to try to keep it vague but spoilers for S1EP6 at timestamps 47:15 to 49:40 there's a sex scene that turns into an assault at 48:50 and it just soured the rest of the series for me because the perpetrator never atones for their actions. If that's a trigger for you I would suggest just skip that scene all together and come up with a conflict of your own for the couple lmao.

Other than the SA, it was a pretty solid first season, a good introduction to the main family and characters and a cohesive story, the side plots actually worked and the main characters were actually connected to most of them so it didn't feel as disconnected.

Storytelling aspect aside, I will say Kathony is the superior couple just because Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey have INSANE CHEMISTRY and that's what you're seeing in the gifs so I'm not surprised you're hooked! And honestly ignoring the issues I had with the season itself, all their scenes are HOT and amazing and I love these two fucked up clowns in love so much.

Do let me know if you end up watching it and what you think of the show! Honestly if you would just prefer reading, then I recommend just reading the books only (Kathony's book is Book 2 named The Viscount Who Loved Me) I wouldn't bother with the show (it's slowly becoming my new PJO movies/ATLA live action)

#Bridgerton #kathony #kate sharma #anthony bridgerton #Bridgerton S1 #Bridgerton S2 #Bridgerton Asks

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miqolena · 1 year

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Spoilers for my GaiusWoL fic, The Seduction of Gaius Baelsar, ahead (for both past and future additions).

Discussing my past and current methods and my future plans!

The Seduction grew a lot last year. By over 220%, in fact! And I intend to continue to let it grow into an even greater behemoth than it already is. With that said, I've never really talked about my writing methods publicly, and I've had people ask me about writing longfics. I thought I'd share a little about how I do what I do and talk future updates.

My Methods

To start, I want to introduce you to a software I've been using for I think about six months: Obsidian. The Seduction has grown into a monster and has many pieces to keep track of. I keep track of these pieces and add new ones with Obsidian. You can jot down notes long or small and connect them to other notes with backlinks. These connections show up as lines on a graph view.

If you're looking for something to organize your ideas, I highly recommend it! It's a fun little tool to write in. I storyboard chapters in my #Ideas hashtag as I think of more to add to them, and update info on characters as they develop. I still haven't gotten around to adding Carmilla yet. Whoops!

As for how to write longfics, or at least how I write mine - The Seduction is a serial fic, meaning most of its chapters are complete ideas with complete arcs in themselves. This is what a lot of fanfiction ends up being. In the past I normally just thought of an idea spontaneously and put it in as a chapter. Over time I've managed to insert recurring themes, overarching plot threads, or problems that the characters have to confront every once in a while - like Gaius' distrust of Lena's avatar, or Lena's habit of running away to be alone when she is traumatized. But mostly, chapters are open and shut books. I try never to end on a cliffhanger unless I have an immediate followup planned. Maybe someday I'll plan something on a larger scale, but for now, I'm happy doing this.

I draw inspiration from the game's lore and events and write down whatever I think would be applicable to Lena and her journey with Gaius. I toss around ideas with others and take in their feedback. I read books on occasion - not to copy, but to remember how to write well. Something about reading good, professional writing inspires me. And sometimes the best place to find inspiration is outside yourself.

My Plans

As for my future plans, you can see in the #Ideas cluster on the graph what I have floating around in the realm of possibility. There are a few things that aren't there... possible spoilers ahead!

I fully plan for Carmilla to be Lena's Thirteenth shard. I've hinted at it once or twice in the fic. If it turns out that Zero is the WoL's Thirteenth shard, I may pivot to Carmilla being Gaius' shard. Otherwise she will simply remain a very powerful voidsent, my OC donut steal.

I intend for Carmilla to be able to stay inside Gaius as a reaper avatar and separate from Lena as needed. No more holding hands every time they need to teleport. We have the technology. Yes, this means I want to write Gaius struggling with learning magic. I think it would be cute.

I want to bring Liran in on some sort of side adventure. Maybe 6.3 Tataru's Grand Endeavor? That would, of course, mean starting up the 6.1 and 6.2 plotlines in the fic.

I need to work toward establishing my timeline because I have, unfortunately, anchored myself in a particular point in time with my Starlight in Garlemald chapter. Now I need to know how much time has passed if I want to incorporate further seasonal events. Twelve preserve me.

And that's all for my State of the Fic address for now. Thank you for reading as always, and I'll see you on twitter and Ao3.

#ffxiv fanfiction #the seduction of gaius baelsar #lena thoughts

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